Control and protection strategy for MMC MTDC system under converter-side AC fault during converter blocking failure

This paper investigates a control and protection strategy for a four-terminal modular multilevel converter(MMC)based high-voltage direct current(HVDC)system under a converter-side AC fault.Based on the system operating condition,a control and protection strategy against the fault with normal blocking of the converter is proposed.In practical,applications encountering such a fault,the MMC at the fault side may experience different conditions of blocking failure.The blocking failures may occur on:①the whole converter;②one converter arm;③one sub-module(SM)/several SMs of one converter arm;④other conditions.The phenomenon of the multi-terminal HVDC(MTDC)system following the fault is analyzed under the first three conditions with real-time simulations using the real-time digital simulator(RTDS).Based on the impact of different conditions on the MTDC system,the necessity of utilizing special control and protection is discussed.A special control and protection strategy is proposed for emergency conditions,and its effectiveness is verified by real-time simulation results.

Spatial Probabilistic Model of Block Failure Capacity of Piles in Clay

A probability based model of block failure capacity of pile foundation in clay soil under axial load is developed. The model was based on the first order second moment method. Instead of using point variability, the soil inherent variability is modelled as random field model. Based on this model, a reliability based factor of safety for designing pile group foundation, taking into account bock failure mechanism, is proposed. Furthermore, using simplified lognormal model, the relationship between the factor of safety used in design practice and target reliability may be derived explicitly.

Regional anesthesia for orthopedic procedures:What orthopedic surgeons need to know

Regional anesthesia is an integral component of successful orthopedic surgery.Neuraxial anesthesia is commonly used for surgical anesthesia while peripheral nerve blocks are often used for postoperative analgesia.Patient evaluation for regional anesthesia should include neurological,pulmonary,cardiovascular,and hematological assessments.Neuraxial blocks include spinal,epidural,and combined spinal epidural.Upper extremity peripheral nerve blocks include interscalene,supraclavicular,infraclavicular,and axillary.Lower extremity peripheral nerve blocks include femoral nerve block,saphenous nerve block,sciatic nerve block,iPACK block,ankle block and lumbar plexus block.The choice of regional anesthesia is a unanimous decision made by the surgeon,the anesthesiologist,and the patient based on a risk-benefit assessment.The choice of the regional block depends on patient cooperation,patient positing,operative structures,operative manipulation,tourniquet use and the impact of postoperative motor blockade on initiation of physical therapy.Regional anesthesia is safe but has an inherent risk of failure and a relatively low incidence of complications such as local anesthetic systemic toxicity(LAST),nerve injury,falls,hematoma,infection and allergic reactions.Ultrasound should be used for regional anesthesia procedures to improve the efficacy and minimize complications.LAST treatment guidelines and rescue medications(intralipid)should be readily available during the regional anesthesia administration.