Electric Generators and Motors: an overview

Starting with Faraday’s law of electromagnetic induction in 1831,electric(electromagnetic)machines have been developed ever since as“assembles”of electric and magnetic coupled circuits that convert mechanical to electrical energy(in generators)and vice versa(in motors),via magnetic energy storage.Generators and motors are reversible.The Maxwell four equations(laws)later in 19th Century have prompted the rapid development of all basic(DC.brush and travelling field AC machines by 1900.Then by 1930 AC(alternating current)power(energy)systems evolved by connecting in parallel electric synchronous generators(with voltage boost and buck electric transformers for efficient AC power transmission lines)of rather constant frequency and voltage,driven by turbines(prime movers)that harness fossil(coal,gas or nuclear fuels),thermal or hydro energy.The last 50 years have witnessed a dramatic extension of generators power/unit,renewable energy generators and of variable speed AC motor drives in applications with variable output such as ventilators,pumps compressors,conveyors,orr-mills,electric transport(mobility),industrial automation,robotics,home appliances and info-gadgets.This formidable development,required by the need of more but cleaner energy,was mainly driven by power electronics,better materials,better modeling,design methodologies and digital control.This humble inaugural overview attempts to combine a brief history of electrical generators and motors with recent progress and trends in their design and control,for representative applications.

RESEARCH OF THE SWITCHED RELUCTANCE STARTER/GENERATOR SYSTEMS

This paper focuses on the simulation and test of the switched reluctance starter/generator systems. Through the emulational analysis of the initial starting torque, the optimal turn-on section of the power switches is discovered. The fundamental theory of the generating operation is analyzed with the linearity model, and a new method is presented based on voltage pulse width modulation for the generating mode control. Through the steady-state and optimized emulation of the output power and system efficiency, the optimizational control approach for the generating mode over a wide speed range is introduced. At last, the test of the 3KW prototype system shows that the dynamic and static performance of this system is fine.

Quick evaluation and regulation of the maximum instantaneous power and matching resistance for droplet-based electricity generators

Droplet-based electricity generators (DEGs) leveraging triboelectric effects are simple and high-performance devices for harvesting energy from ubiquitous water droplets. Instantaneous power plays a vital role in wide applications of DEGs. However, the governing law of the maximum instantaneous power and matching resistance is lacking and their determination suffers from heavy repetitive experiments, hindering the development of DEGs. Herein, we propose a quick evaluation method for the internal droplet impedance, instantaneous peak power, maximum instantaneous power and matching resistance which exhibits broad universality and excellent accuracy. Moreover, effects of diverse factors pertaining to droplets and devices are fully investigated, highlighting that the maximum instantaneous power and matching resistance can be effectively regulated across multiple orders of magnitudes by controlling the salt concentration. Our findings shed insights into the understanding, evaluation, and regulation of instantaneous power for DEGs, and shall promote the renovation of the DEG technology.

The Disk-Magnet Electromagnetic Induction Applied to Thermoelectric Energy Conversions

The thermoelectric energy conversion technique by employing the Disk-Magnet Electromagnetic Induction (DM-EMI) and improved DM-EMIs is shown, and possible applications to heat engines as one of the energy harvesting technologies are also discussed. The idea is induced by integrating irreversible thermodynamical mechanism of a water drinking bird with that of a Stirling engine, resulting in thermoelectric energy generation different from conventional heat engines. The current thermoelectric energy conversion with DM-EMI can be applied to wide ranges of temperature differences. The mechanism of DM-EMI energy converter is examined in terms of axial flux magnetic lines and categorized as the axial flux generator. It is useful for practical applications to macroscopic heat engines such as wind, geothermal, thermal and nuclear power turbines and heat-dissipation lines, for supporting thermoelectric energy conversions. The technique of DM-EMI will contribute to environmental problems to maintain clean and susceptible energy as one of the energy harvesting technologies.

Design of a d_(33)-mode piezocomposite electricity generating element and its application to bridge monitoring

The piezoelectric effect is used in sensing applications such as in force and displacement sensors.However,the brittleness and low performance of piezoceramic lead zirconate titanate(PZT) often impede its applicability in civil structures which are subjected to large loads.The concept of a piezocomposite electricity generating element(PCGE) has been proposed for improving the electricity generation performance and overcoming the brittleness of piezoceramic wafers.The post-curing residual stress in the PZT layer constitutes a main reason for the PCGE's enhanced performance,and the outer epoxy-based composites protect the brittle PZT layer.A d33-mode PCGE designed for bridge monitoring application was inserted in a bridge bearing to provide a permanent and simple weigh-in-motion system.The designed PCGEs were tested through a series of tests including fatigue and dynamic tests to verify their applicability for monitoring purposes in a bridge structure.A simple beam example was presented to show the applicability of the proposed bridge bearing equipped with the PCGE for adequately measuring the traffic loads.

Bio-inspired water-driven electricity generators:From fundamental mechanisms to practical applications

Harvesting water energy in various forms of water motion,such as evaporation,raindrops,river flows,ocean waves,and other,is promising to relieve the global energy crisis and reach the aim of carbon neutrality.However,this highly decentralized and distributed water energy poses a challenge on conventional electromagnetic hydropower technologies that feature centralization and scalization.Recently,this problem has been gradually addressed by the emergence of a myriad of electricity generators that take inspiration from natural living organisms,which have the capability to efficiently process and manage water and energy for survival in the natural competition.Imitating the liquid-solid behaviors manifested in ubiquitous biological processes,these generators allow for the efficient energy conversion from water-solid interaction into the charge transfer or electrical output under natural driving,such as gravity and solar power.However,in spite of the rapid development of the field,a fundamental understanding of these generators and their ability to bridge the gap between the fundamentals and the practical applications remains elusive.In this review,we first introduce the latest progress in the fundamental understanding in bio-inspired electricity generators that allow for efficient harvesting water energy in various forms,ranging from water evaporation,droplet to wave or flow,and then summarize the development of the engineering design of the various bio-inspired electricity generator in the practical applications,including self-powered sensor and wearable electronics.Finally,the prospects and urgent problems,such as how to achieve large-scale electricity generation,are presented.

Repetition rate tunable ultra-short optical pulse generation based on electrical pattern generator

An actively mode-locked laser with tunable repetition rate is proposed and experimentally demonstrated based on a programmable electrical pattern generator. By changing the repetition rate of the electrical patterns applied on the in-cavity modulator, the repetition rate of the output optical pulse sequences changes accordingly while the pulse width of the optical pulse train remains almost constant. In other words, the output ultra-short pulse train has a tunable duty cycle. In a proof-of-principle experiment, optical pulses with repetition rates of 10, 5, 2.5 and 1.25 GHz are obtained by adjusting the electrical pattern applied on the in-cavity modulator while their pulse widths remain almost unchanged.

Equivalent circuit and characteristic simulation of a brushless electrically excited synchronous wind power generator

A brushless electrically excited synchronous generator （BEESG） with a hybrid rotor is a novel electrically excited synchronous generator. The BEESG proposed in this paper is composed of a conventional stator with two different sets of windings with different pole numbers, and a hybrid rotor with powerful coupling capacity. The pole number of the rotor is different from those of the stator windings. Thus, an analysis method different from that applied to conventional generators should be applied to the BEESG. In view of this problem, the equivalent circuit and electromagnetic torque expression of the BEESG are derived on the basis of electromagnetic relation of the proposed generator. The generator is simulated and tested experimentally using the established equivalent circuit model. The experimental and simulation data are then analyzed and compared. Results show the validity of the equivalent circuit model.

Application of General Fractal Dimension to Coupling Fault Diagnosis

This paper presents the coucept of general and sensitive dimension, and also proposes the calculation formula of the general dimension least squares method. By calculating and analyzing the power spectrum and general dimension from the fault sample, the relationship is achieved between sample status and the general dimension from vibration signals of the equipment so as to provide reference to fault diagnosis. Furthermore, a correlation function of general dimension is proposed, and calculations are carried out for a monitor signal and samples signal. The diagnosis method based on fractal theory is effective through the concrete examples of the steam electric generating set fault diagnosis, and the correlation coefficient of general dimension between a monitor signal and samples signal can improve the accuracy for fault diagnosis.

Ordered mesoporous carbon spheres assisted Ru nanoclusters/RuO_(2) with redistribution of charge density for efficient CO_(2) methanation in a novel H2/CO_(2)fuel cell

Efficiently reducing carbon dioxide(CO_(2))into carbon chemicals and fuels is highly desirable due to the rapid growth of atmospheric CO_(2)ncentration.In prior work,we described a unique H/CO_(2)fuel cell driven by low-valued waste heat,which not only CO_(2)nverts CO_(2)to methane(CH_(4))but also outputs electrical energy,yet the CO_(2)reduction rate needs to be urgently improved.Here,a novel Ru-RuOcatalyst with heterostructure was grafted on mesoporous carbon spheres by in situ partially reducing RuOinto ultrasmall Ru clusters(~1 nm),in which heteroatom-doped carbon spheres as a matrix with excellent CO_(2)nductivity and abundant pores can not only easily CO_(2)nfine the formation of Ru nanocluster but also are beneficial to the exposed active sites of Ru CO_(2)mplex and the mass transport.CO_(2)mpared to pure RuOnanoparticles supported on carbon spheres,our CO_(2)mposite catalyst boosts the CO_(2) nversion rate by more than 5-fold,reaching a value of 382.7μmol gcat.h-1at 170℃.Moreover,a decent output power density of 2.92 W mwas obtained from this H2/CO_(2)fuel cell using Ru-RuOembedded carbon spheres as a cathode catalyst.The Ru-RuOheterostructure can modify the adsorption energy of CO_(2)and induce the redistribution of charge density,thus boosting CO_(2)reduction significantly.This work not only offers an efficient catalyst for this novel H_(2)/CO_(2)fuel cell but also presents a facile method to prepare Ru nanoclusters.

Emerging design principles,materials,and applications for moisture-enabled electric generation

Smart generators that collect energy from the ambient environment are a new approach for meeting growing global energy needs.Moisture is one of the most abundant resources in the ambient environment,and using it to generate electricity has aroused great interest in recent years.In this review,we first summarize the emerging design principles of moisture power generation,including ion diffusion,streaming potential,and charged surface potential.Then,based on these fundamental principles,we systematically summarize the materials thus far known to be suitable for moisture power generation.Finally,we highlight the application of moisture energy generators in various fields,such as thermoelectricity,solar thermal evaporation,capacitors,strain sensors,and information storage,and discuss current challenges and future prospects for the development of moisture energy generators.

High-resolution peak demand estimation using generalized additive models and deep neural networks

This paper covers predicting high-resolution electricity peak demand features given lower-resolution data.This is a relevant setup as it answers whether limited higher-resolution monitoring helps to estimate future high-resolution peak loads when the high-resolution data is no longer available.That question is particularly interesting for network operators considering replacing high-resolution monitoring by predictive models due to economic considerations.We propose models to predict half-hourly minima and maxima of high-resolution(every minute)electricity load data while model inputs are of a lower resolution(30 min).We combine predictions of generalized additive models(GAM)and deep artificial neural networks(DNN),which are popular in load forecasting.We extensively analyze the prediction models,including the input parameters’importance,focusing on load,weather,and seasonal effects.The proposed method won a data competition organized by Western Power Distribution,a British distribution network operator.In addition,we provide a rigorous evaluation study that goes beyond the competition frame to analyze the models’robustness.The results show that the proposed methods are superior to the competition benchmark concerning the out-of-sample root mean squared error(RMSE).This holds regarding the competition month and the supplementary evaluation study,which covers an additional eleven months.Overall,our proposed model combination reduces the out-of-sample RMSE by 57.4%compared to the benchmark.

Availability growth models and verification of power equipment

The general availability growth models for large scale complicated repairable system such as electric generating units, power station auxiliaries, and transmission and distribution installations are presented. The calculation formulas for the maintenance coefficient, mathematical expressions for general availability growth models, ways for estimating, and fitting on checking the parameters of the model are introduced. Availability growth models for electric generating units, power station auxiliaries, and transmission and distribution installations are given together with verification examples for availability growth models of 320–1000 MW nuclear power units and 1000 MW thermal power units, 200–1000 MW power station auxiliaries, and 220–500 kV transmission and distribution installations. The verification results for operation availability data show that the maintenance coefficients for electric generating units, power station auxiliaries, transmission and distribution installations conform to the power function, and general availability growth models conform to rules of availability growth tendency of power equipment.