Challenges for a reduced inertia power system due to the large-scale integration of renewable energy

This paper reports on the status of technology development under a national project launched in 2019 to address the problem of decreased system inertia associated with the large-scale integration of renewable energy.The project comprises two parts:the development of a system inertia observation technology using a continuous monitoring system to observe inertia and development of an inverter equipped with a function to provide virtual inertia as a countermeasure device.Utilizing both these efforts,the project aims to facilitate the introduction of renewable energy in the future with minimum restrictions.It was confirmed that the trend of inertia observed with the developed method was generally the same as that of the total inertia of synchronous machines observed by an electric utility.The effectiveness of the countermeasure device in reducing the frequency swing during a disturbance was confirmed through evaluation tests.

Smart Inverter Functionality Testing for Battery Energy Storage Systems

Variable distributed energy resources (DERs) such as photovoltaic (PV) systems and wind power systems require additional power resources to control the balance between supply and demand. Battery energy storage systems (BESSs) are one such possible resource for providing grid stability. It has been proposed that decentralized BESSs could help support microgrids (MGs) with intelligent control when advanced functionalities are implemented with variable DERs. One key challenge is developing and testing smart inverter controls for DERs. This paper presents a standardized method to test the interoperability and functionality of BESSs. First, a survey of grid-support standards prevalent in several countries was conducted. Then, the following four interoperability functions defined in IEC TR 61850-90-7 were tested: the specified active power from storage test (INV4), the var-priority Volt/VAR test (VV) and the specified power factor test (INV3) and frequency-watt control (FW). This study then out-lines the remaining technical issues related to basic BESS smart inverter test protocols.

Hydro-mechanical-electrical simulations of synthetic faults in two orthogonal directions with shear-induced anisotropy

Fluid flow in fractures controls subsurface heat and mass transport,which is essential for developing enhanced geothermal systems and radioactive waste disposal.Fracture permeability is controlled by fracture microstructure(e.g.aperture,roughness,and tortuosity),but in situ values and their anisotropy have not yet been estimated.Recent advances in geophysical techniques allow the detection of changes in electrical conductivity due to changes in crustal stress and these techniques can be used to predict subsurface fluid flow.However,the paucity of data on fractured rocks hinders the quantitative interpretation of geophysical monitoring data in the field.Therefore,considering different shear displacements and chemical erosions,an investigation was conducted into the hydraulic-electric relationship as an elevated stress change in fractures.The simulation of fracture flows was achieved using the lattice Boltzmann method,while the electrical properties were calculated through the finite element method,based on synthetic faults incorporating elastic-plastic deformation.Numerical results show that the hydraulic and electrical properties depend on the rock's geometric properties(i.e.fracture length,roughness,and shear displacement).The permeability anisotropy in the direction parallel or perpendicular to the shear displacement is also notable in high stress conditions.Conversely,the permeability econductivity(i.e.,formation factor)relationship is unique under all conditions and follows a linear trend in logarithmic coordinates.However,both matrix porosity and fracture spacing alter this relationship.Both increase the slope of the linear trend,thereby changing the sensitivity of electrical observations to permeability changes.

Formation and Growth of Silver Nanocubes upon Nanosecond Pulsed Laser Irradiation: Effects of Laser Intensity and Irradiation Time

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were fabricated by repetitive irradiation of near ultraviolet (UV) nanosecond laser pulses (355 nm, 5 ns) in an aqueous solution of silver nitrate in the absence of stabilizing agents. A broad absorption peak was observed in the visible region showing the formation of a variety of AgNPs in the solution. Among the variety of products, it was found that silver nanocubes (AgNCs) grew in size with longer laser irradiation time. The size of AgNCs also increased with higher laser intensity. The average size of AgNCs, investigated by a scanning electron microscope (SEM) was in the range of 75 - 200 nm. The number of reduced atoms in AgNCs as a function of laser intensity showed that the AgNCs are apparently produced by a four photon process, implying that the formation of dimer silver atoms is essential for the formation.

A Review on Metal Nanostructures: Preparation Methods and Their Potential Applications

Metal nanostructures have been of great research interest in recent years due to their physicochemical, plasmonic properties and potential applications. A lot of work has been done on the controlled synthesis of metal nanostructures for various applications. In this review, we try to focus on recent developments in synthesis and applications of metal nanostructures. Firstly, we summarized different preparation methods and then briefly explained their potential applications.

An Improved Security Scheme for IEC 61850MMS Messages in Intelligent Substation Communication Networks

Advanced connectivity in substations brings along cybersecurity considerations. Especially, the use of standardized data objects and message structures stipulated by IEC 61850 makes them much more vulnerable to unauthorized access and manipulation. In order to tackle these vulnerabilities, different methods are investigated by researchers all over the world. An important aspect of such efforts is the real-time performance consideration since power systems are bound by the rules of physics and all control/communication tasks need to be completed in a certain time frame. Security schemes for substation communication have been proposed in the recent literature. However, they must be improved to ensure a full security solution. Recently published IEC 62351 standard aims to fill this gap. Node authentication is vital for substation communication networks based on IEC 61850 to mitigate a variety of attacks such as man-in-the-middle(MITM) attack. This short communication presents a node authentication mechanism based on transport layer security(TLS) with certificates to address this knowledge gap. It also investigates the real-time performance by implementing the proposed scheme with Python.