Welding depth measurement for different mode lasers using optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography(OCT)allows a direct and precise measurement of laser welding depth by coaxially measuring the keyhole depth and can be used for process monitoring and control.When OCT measurement was taken during single-beam laser welding,the keyhole instability of aluminum welding resulted in highly scattered OCT data and complicated the welding depth extraction methods.As a combination of an inner core beam and an outer ring beam,a novel adjustable ring mode(ARM)laser for producing a stable keyhole was applied to the OCT measurement.Different ARM laser power arrangements were conducted on aluminum and copper.The results indicated that the ring beam greatly improved the stability of the core beam-induced keyhole,and smooth welding depth can be extracted from the concentrated OCT data.

Directed graph-based distribution network reconfiguration for operation mode adjustment and service restoration considering distributed generation

We present a directed graph-based method for distribution network reconfiguration considering distributed generation. Two reconfiguration situations are considered: operation mode adjustment with the objective of minimizing active power loss(situation Ⅰ) and service restoration with the objective of maximizing loads restored(situation Ⅱ). These two situations are modeled as a mixed integer quadratic programming problem and a mixed integer linear programming problem, respectively. The properties of the distribution network with distributed generation considered are reflected as the structure model and the constraints described by directed graph. More specifically, the concepts of "in-degree" and "out-degree"are presented to ensure the radial structure of the distribution network, and the concepts of "virtual node" and"virtual demand" are developed to ensure the connectivity of charged nodes in every independent power supply area.The validity and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by test results of an IEEE 33-bus system and a 5-feeder system.

Improving Operational Flexibility of Integrated Energy Systems Through Operating Conditions Optimization of CHP Units

As a type of energy system with bright application prospects,the integrated energy system(IES)is environmentally friendly and can improve overall energy efficiency.Tight coupling between heat and electricity outputs of combined heat and power(CHP)units limits IES operational flexibility significantly.To resolve this problem,in this paper,we integrate operating mode optimization of the natural gas combined cycle CHP unit(NGCC-CHP)into dispatch of the IES to improve flexibility of the IES.First,we analyze operational modes of the CHP units from the perspectives of thermal processes and physical mechanisms,including the adjustable extraction mode,backpressure mode,and switching mode.Next,we propose an explicit mathematical model for full-mode operation of the CHP units,in which the heat-electricity feasible region,switching constraints,and switching costs are all formulated in detail.Finally,a novel economic dispatch model is proposed for a heat and electricity IES,which uses the full-mode operation of CHP units to improve operational flexibility.The Fortuny-Amat transformation is used to convert the economic dispatch model into a mixed-integer quadratic programming model,which can then be solved using commercial solvers.Case studies demonstrate the proposed method can reduce operational costs and obviously promotes wind power utilization.