Performance Assessment of a Real PV System Connected to a Low-Voltage Grid

The generation of photovoltaic(PV)solar energy is increasing continuously because it is renewable,unlimited,and clean energy.In the past,generation systems depended on non-renewable sources such as oil,coal,and gas.Therefore,this paper assesses the performance of a 51 kW PV solar power plant connected to a low-voltage grid to feed an administrative building in the 6th of October City,Egypt.The performance analysis of the considered grid-connected PV system is carried out using power system simulator for Engineering(PSS/E)software.Where the PSS/E program,monitors and uses the power analyzer that displays the parameters and measures some parameters such as current,voltage,total power,power factor,frequency,and current and voltage harmonics,the used inverter from the type of grid inverter for the considered system.The results conclude that when the maximum solar radiation is reached,the maximum current can be obtained from the solar panels,thus obtaining the maximum power and power factor.Decreasing total voltage harmonic distortion,a current harmonic distortion within permissible limits using active harmonic distortion because this type is fast in processing up to 300 microseconds.The connection between solar stations and the national grid makes the system more efficient.

Review and prospects on the low-voltage Na_(2)Ti_(3)O_(7) anode materials for sodium-ion batteries

Due to its low cost and natural abundance of sodium,Na-ion batteries(NIBs)are promising candidates for large-scale energy storage systems.The development of ultralow voltage anode materials is of great significance in improving the energy density of NIBs.Low-voltage anode materials,however,are severely lacking in NIBs.Of all the reported insertion oxides anodes,the Na_(2)Ti_(3)O_(7) has the lowest operating voltage(an average potential of 0.3 V vs.Na^(+)/Na)and is less likely to deposit sodium,which has excellent potential for achieving NIBs with high energy densities and high safety.Although significant progress has been made,achieving Na_(2)Ti_(3)O_(7) electrodes with excellent performance remains a severe challenge.This paper systematically summarizes and discusses the physicochemical properties and synthesis methods of Na_(2)Ti_(3)O_(7).Then,the sodium storage mechanisms,key issues and challenges,and the optimization strategies for the electrochemical performance of Na_(2)Ti_(3)O_(7) are classified and further elaborated.Finally,remaining challenges and future research directions on the Na_(2)Ti_(3)O_(7) anode are highlighted.This review offers insights into the design of high-energy and high-safety NIBs.

Coordinated planning for flexible interconnection and energy storage system in low-voltage distribution networks to improve the accommodation capacity of photovoltaic

The increasing proportion of distributed photovoltaics(DPVs)and electric vehicle charging stations in low-voltage distribution networks(LVDNs)has resulted in challenges such as distribution transformer overloads and voltage violations.To address these problems,we propose a coordinated planning method for flexible interconnections and energy storage systems(ESSs)to improve the accommodation capacity of DPVs.First,the power-transfer characteristics of flexible interconnection and ESSs are analyzed.The equipment costs of the voltage source converters(VSCs)and ESSs are also analyzed comprehensively,considering the differences in installation and maintenance costs for different installation locations.Second,a bilevel programming model is established to minimize the annual comprehensive cost and yearly total PV curtailment capacity.Within this framework,the upper-level model optimizes the installation locations and capacities of the VSCs and ESSs,whereas the lower-level model optimizes the operating power of the VSCs and ESSs.The proposed model is solved using a non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm with an elite strategy(NSGA-II).The effectiveness of the proposed planning method is validated through an actual LVDN scenario,which demonstrates its advantages in enhancing PV accommodation capacity.In addition,the economic benefits of various planning schemes with different flexible interconnection topologies and different PV grid-connected forms are quantitatively analyzed,demonstrating the adaptability of the proposed coordinated planning method.

Reactor field reconstruction from sparse and movable sensors using Voronoi tessellation-assisted convolutional neural networks

The aging of operational reactors leads to increased mechanical vibrations in the reactor interior.The vibration of the incore sensors near their nominal locations is a new problem for neutronic field reconstruction.Current field-reconstruction methods fail to handle spatially moving sensors.In this study,we propose a Voronoi tessellation technique in combination with convolutional neural networks to handle this challenge.Observations from movable in-core sensors were projected onto the same global field structure using Voronoi tessellation,holding the magnitude and location information of the sensors.General convolutional neural networks were used to learn maps from observations to the global field.The proposed method reconstructed multi-physics fields(including fast flux,thermal flux,and power rate)using observations from a single field(such as thermal flux).Numerical tests based on the IAEA benchmark demonstrated the potential of the proposed method in practical engineering applications,particularly within an amplitude of 5 cm around the nominal locations,which led to average relative errors below 5% and 10% in the L_(2) and L_(∞)norms,respectively.

Dynamic simulation analysis of molten salt reactor-coupled air-steam combined cycle power generation system

A nonlinear dynamic simulation model based on coordinated control of speed and flow rate for the molten salt reactor and combined cycle systems is proposed here to ensure the coordination and stability between the molten salt reactor and power system.This model considers the impact of thermal properties of fluid variation on accuracy and has been validated with Simulink.This study reveals the capability of the control system to compensate for anomalous situations and maintain shaft stability in the event of perturbations occurring in high-temperature molten salt tank outlet parameters.Meanwhile,the control system’s impact on the system’s dynamic characteristics under molten salt disturbance is also analyzed.The results reveal that after the disturbance occurs,the controlled system benefits from the action of the control,and the overshoot and disturbance amplitude are positively correlated,while the system power and frequency eventually return to the initial values.This simulation model provides a basis for utilizing molten salt reactors for power generation and maintaining grid stability.

Enhancement of holding voltage by a modified low-voltage trigger silicon-controlled rectifier structure for electrostatic discharge protection

A novel structure of low-voltage trigger silicon-controlled rectifiers(LVTSCRs) with low trigger voltage and high holding voltage is proposed for electrostatic discharge(ESD) protection. The proposed ESD protection device possesses an ESD implant and a floating structure. This improvement enhances the current discharge capability of the gate-grounded NMOS and weakens the current gain of the silicon-controlled rectifier current path. According to the simulation results, the proposed device retains a low trigger voltage characteristic of LVTSCRs and simultaneously increases the holding voltage to 5.53 V, providing an effective way to meet the ESD protection requirement of the 5 V CMOS process.

Review on synergistic damage effect of irradiation and corrosion on reactor structural alloys

The synergistic damage effect of irradiation and corrosion of reactor structural materials has been a prominent research focus.This paper provides a comprehensive review of the synergistic effects on the third-and fourth-generation fission nuclear energy structural materials used in pressurized water reactors and molten salt reactors.The competitive mechanisms of multiple influencing factors,such as the irradiation dose,corrosion type,and environmental temperature,are summarized in this paper.Conceptual approaches are proposed to alleviate the synergistic damage caused by irradiation and corrosion,thereby promoting in-depth research in the future and solving this key challenge for the structural materials used in reactors.

High-resolution neutronics model for ^(238)Pu production in high-flux reactors

We proposed and compared three methods(filter burnup,single energy burnup,and burnup extremum analysis)to build a high-resolution neutronics model for 238Pu production in high-flux reactors.The filter burnup and single energy burnup methods have no theoretical approximation and can achieve a spectrum resolution of up to~1 eV,thereby constructing the importance curve and yield curve of the full energy range.The burnup extreme analysis method combines the importance and yield curves to consider the influence of irradiation time on production efficiency,thereby constructing extreme curves.The three curves,which quantify the transmutation rate of the nuclei in each energy region,are of physical significance because they have similar distributions.A high-resolution neutronics model for ^(238)Pu production was established based on these three curves,and its universality and feasibility were proven.The neutronics model can guide the neutron spectrum optimization and improve the yield of ^(238)Pu by up to 18.81%.The neutronics model revealed the law of nuclei transmutation in all energy regions with high spectrum resolution,thus providing theoretical support for high-flux reactor design and irradiation production of ^(238)Pu.

Proposal of a Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion/PWR Fission Hybrid Reactor

This article proposes to associate a Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) fusion reactor with a PWR (fission Pressurized Water Reactor) in a hybrid reactor. Even if the mechanical gain (Q factor) of the D-D fusion reactor is below the unity and consequently consumes more energy than it supplies, due to the high energy amplification factor of the PWR fission reactor, the global yield is widely superior to 1. As the energy supplied by the fusion reactor is relatively low and as the neutrons supplied are mainly issued from D-D fusions (at 2.45 MeV), the problems of heat flux and neutrons damage connected with materials, as with D-T fusion reactors are reduced. Of course, there is no need to produce Tritium with this D-D fusion reactor. This type of reactor is able to incinerate any mixture of natural Uranium, natural Thorium and depleted Uranium (waste issued from enrichment plants), with natural Thorium being the best choice. No enriched fuel is needed. So, this type of reactor could constitute a source of energy for several thousands of years because it is about 90 more efficient than a standard fission reactor, such as a PWR or a Candu one, by extracting almost completely the energy from the fertile materials U238 and Th232. For the fission part, PWR technology is mature. For the fusion part, it is based on a reasonable hypothesis done on present Stellarators projects. The working of this reactor is continuous, 24 hours a day. In this paper, it will be targeted a reactor able to provide net electric power of about 1400 MWe, as a big fission power plant.

Proposal of a Deuterium-Deuterium Fusion Reactor Intended for a Large Power Plant

This article looks for the necessary conditions to use Deuterium-Deuterium (D-D) fusion for a large power plant. At the moment, for nearly all the projects (JET, ITER…) only the Deuterium-Tritium (D-T) fuel is considered for a power plant. However, as shown in this article, even if a D-D reactor would be necessarily much bigger than a D-T reactor due to the much weaker fusion reactivity of the D-D fusion compared to the D-T fusion, a D-D reactor size would remain under an acceptable size. Indeed, a D-D power plant would be necessarily large and powerful, i.e. the net electric power would be equal to a minimum of 1.2 GWe and preferably above 10 GWe. A D-D reactor would be less complex than a D-T reactor as it is not necessary to obtain Tritium from the reactor itself. It is proposed the same type of reactor yet proposed by the author in a previous article, i.e. a Stellarator “racetrack” magnetic loop. The working of this reactor is continuous. It is reminded that the Deuterium is relatively abundant on the sea water, and so it constitutes an almost inexhaustible source of energy. Thanks to secondary fusions (D-T and D-He3) which both occur at an appreciable level above 100 keV, plasma can stabilize around such high equilibrium energy (i.e. between 100 and 150 keV). The mechanical gain (Q) of such reactor increases with the internal pipe radius, up to 4.5 m. A radius of 4.5 m permits a mechanical gain (Q) of about 17 which thanks to a modern thermo-dynamical conversion would lead to convert about 21% of the thermal power issued from the D-D reactor in a net electric power of 20 GWe. The goal of the article is to create a physical model of the D-D reactor so as to estimate this one without the need of a simulator and finally to estimate the dimensions, power and yield of such D-D reactor for different net electrical powers. The difficulties of the modeling of such reactor are listed in this article and would certainly be applicable to a future D-He3 reactor, if any.

Application of the CatBoost Model for Stirred Reactor State Monitoring Based on Vibration Signals

Stirred reactors are key equipment in production,and unpredictable failures will result in significant economic losses and safety issues.Therefore,it is necessary to monitor its health state.To achieve this goal,in this study,five states of the stirred reactor were firstly preset:normal,shaft bending,blade eccentricity,bearing wear,and bolt looseness.Vibration signals along x,y and z axes were collected and analyzed in both the time domain and frequency domain.Secondly,93 statistical features were extracted and evaluated by ReliefF,Maximal Information Coefficient(MIC)and XGBoost.The above evaluation results were then fused by D-S evidence theory to extract the final 16 features that are most relevant to the state of the stirred reactor.Finally,the CatBoost algorithm was introduced to establish the stirred reactor health monitoring model.The validation results showed that the model achieves 100%accuracy in detecting the fault/normal state of the stirred reactor and 98%accuracy in diagnosing the type of fault.

Nanotechnology in Nuclear Reactors: Innovations in Fusion and Fission Power Generation

This article explores the transformative potential of nanotechnology and MMs(memory metals)in enhancing the design and operation of nuclear reactors,encompassing both fission and fusion technologies.Nanotechnology,with its ability to engineer materials at the atomic scale,offers significant improvements in reactor safety,efficiency,and longevity.In fission reactors,nanomaterials enhance fuel rod integrity,optimize thermal management,and improve in-core instrumentation.Fusion reactors benefit from nanostructured materials that bolster containment and heat dissipation,addressing critical challenges in sustaining fusion reactions.The integration of SMAs(shape memory alloys),or MMs,further amplifies these advancements.These materials,characterized by their ability to revert to a pre-defined shape under thermal conditions,provide self-healing capabilities,adaptive structural components,and enhanced magnetic confinement.The synergy between nanotechnology and MMs represents a paradigm shift in nuclear reactor technology,promising a future of cleaner,more efficient,and safer nuclear energy production.This innovative approach positions the nuclear industry to meet the growing global energy demand while addressing environmental and safety concerns.

Reduced-order method for nuclear reactor primary circuit calculation

Accurate real-time simulations of nuclear reactor circuit systems are particularly important for system safety analysis and design.To effectively improve computational efficiency without reducing accuracy,this study establishes a thermal-hydraulics reduced-order model(ROM)for nuclear reactor circuit systems.The full-order circuit system calculation model is first established and verified and then used to calculate the thermal-hydraulic properties of the circuit system under different states as snapshots.The proper orthogonal decomposition method is used to extract the basis functions from snapshots,and the ROM is constructed using the least-squares method,effectively reducing the difficulty in constructing the ROM.A comparison between the full-order simulation and ROM prediction results of the AP1000 circuit system shows that the proposed ROM can improve computational efficiency by 1500 times while achieving a maximum relative error of 0.223%.This research develops a new direction and perspective for the digital twin modeling of nuclear reactor system circuits.

Induction System for a Fusion Reactor: Quantum Mechanics Chained up

In the quest for a sustainable and abundant energy source, nuclear fusion technology stands as a beacon of hope. This study introduces a groundbreaking quantum mechanically effective induction system designed for magnetic plasma confinement within fusion reactors. The pursuit of clean energy, essential to combat climate change, hinges on the ability to harness nuclear fusion efficiently. Traditional approaches have faced challenges in plasma stability and energy efficiency. The novel induction system presented here not only addresses these issues but also transforms fusion reactors into integrated construction systems. This innovation promises compact fusion reactors, marking a significant step toward a clean and limitless energy future, free from the constraints of traditional power sources. This revolutionary quantum induction system redefines plasma confinement in fusion reactors, unlocking clean, compact, and efficient energy production.

Effect of internal structure of a batch-processing wet-etch reactor on fluid flow and heat transfer

Batch-processing wet-etch reactors are the key equipment widely used in chip fabrication,and their performance is largely affected by the internal structure.This work develops a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics(CFD)model considering heat generation of wet-etching reactions to investigate the fluid flow and heat transfer in the wet-etch reactor.The backflow is observed below and above the wafer region,as the flow resistance in this region is high.The temperature on the upper part of a wafer is higher due to the accumulation of reaction heat,and the average temperature of the side wafer is highest as its convective heat transfer is weakest.Narrowing the gap between wafer and reactor wall can force the etchant to flow in the wafer region and then facilitate the convective heat transfer,leading to better within-wafer and wafer-to-wafer etch uniformities.An inlet angle of 60°balances fluid by-pass and mechanical energy loss,and it yields the best temperature and etch uniformities.The batch with 25wafers has much wider flow channels and much lower flow resistance compared with that with 50wafers,and thus it shows better temperature and etch uniformities.These results and the CFD model should serve to guide the optimal design of batch-processing wet-etch reactors.

Engineering and Physical Bases of Development and Creation of Plasmochemical Reactors for Mobile Facilities for Medical Waste Disposal

This paper presents the results of the development and creation of plasma-chemical reactors for mobile and stationary installations for the destruction and disposal of solid, liquid, gaseous and mixed medical waste based on the domestic plasma generator PUN-1, with air as the plasma-forming gas. The design and principle of operation of plasma-chemical reactors installed on mobile experimental and industrial plants “Plazmon-1,2,3”, as well as the main features of the plasma waste disposal process are described.

Optimizing near-carbon-free nuclear energy systems:advances in reactor operation digital twin through hybrid machine learning algorithms for parameter identification and state estimation

Accurate and efficient online parameter identification and state estimation are crucial for leveraging digital twin simulations to optimize the operation of near-carbon-free nuclear energy systems.In previous studies,we developed a reactor operation digital twin(RODT).However,non-differentiabilities and discontinuities arise when employing machine learning-based surrogate forward models,challenging traditional gradient-based inverse methods and their variants.This study investigated deterministic and metaheuristic algorithms and developed hybrid algorithms to address these issues.An efficient modular RODT software framework that incorporates these methods into its post-evaluation module is presented for comprehensive comparison.The methods were rigorously assessed based on convergence profiles,stability with respect to noise,and computational performance.The numerical results show that the hybrid KNNLHS algorithm excels in real-time online applications,balancing accuracy and efficiency with a prediction error rate of only 1%and processing times of less than 0.1 s.Contrastingly,algorithms such as FSA,DE,and ADE,although slightly slower(approximately 1 s),demonstrated higher accuracy with a 0.3%relative L_2 error,which advances RODT methodologies to harness machine learning and system modeling for improved reactor monitoring,systematic diagnosis of off-normal events,and lifetime management strategies.The developed modular software and novel optimization methods presented offer pathways to realize the full potential of RODT for transforming energy engineering practices.

Transient Analysis of a Reactor Coolant Pump Rotor Seizure Nuclear Accident

The reactor coolant pump(RCP)rotor seizure accident is defined as a short-time seizure of the RCP rotor.This event typically leads to an abrupt flow decrease in the corresponding loop and an ensuing reactor and turbine trip.The significant reduction of core coolant flow while the reactor is being operated at full load can have very negative consequences.This potentially dangerous event is typically characterized by a complex transient behavior in terms of flow conditions and energy transformation,which need to be analyzed and understood.This study constructed transient flow and rotational speed mathematical models under various degrees of rotor seizure using the test data collected from a dedicated transient rotor seizure test system.Then,bidirectional fluid-solid coupling simulations were conducted to investigate the flow evolution mechanism.It is found that the influence of the impeller structure size and transient braking acceleration on the unsteady head(Hu)is dominant in rotor seizure accident events.Moreover,the present results also show that the rotational acceleration additional head(Hu1)is much higher than the instantaneous head(Hu2).

Preliminary safety analysis for heavy water-moderated molten salt reactor

The heavy water-moderated molten salt reactor(HWMSR)is a newly proposed reactor concept,in which heavy water is adopted as the moderator and molten salt dissolved with fissile and fertile elements is used as the fuel.Issues arising from graphite in traditional molten salt reactors,including the positive temperature coefficient and management of highly radio-active spent graphite waste,can be addressed using the HWMSR.Until now,research on the HWMSR has been centered on the core design and nuclear fuel cycle to explore the viability of the HWMSR and its advantages in fuel utilization.However,the core safety of the HWMSR has not been extensively studied.Therefore,we evaluate typical accidents in a small modular HWMSR,including fuel salt inlet temperature overcooling and overheating accidents,fuel salt inlet flow rate decrease,heavy water inlet temperature overcooling accidents,and heavy water inlet mass flow rate decrease accidents,based on a neutronics and thermal-hydraulics coupled code.The results demonstrated that the core maintained safety during the investigated accidents.

Photocatalytic ozonation-based degradation of phenol by ZnO—TiO_(2)nanocomposites in spinning disk reactor

Spinning disk reactor(SDR)has emerged as a novel process intensification photocatalytic reactor,and it has higher mass transfer efficiency and photon utilization for the degradation of toxic organic pollutants by advanced oxidation processes(AOPs).In this study,ZnO—TiO_(2)nanocomposites were prepared by solgel method,and coated on the disk of SDR by impregnation-pull-drying-calcination method.The performance of catalyst was characterized by X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscope,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy,photoluminescence and ultraviolet—visible diffuse reflectance spectroscopy.Photocatalytic ozonation in SDR was used to remove phenol,and various factors on degradation effect were studied in detail.The results showed that the rate of degradation and mineralization reached 100%and 83.4%under UV light irradiation after 50 min,compared with photocatalysis and ozonation,the removal rate increased by 69.3%and 34.7%,and mineralization rate increased by 56.7%and 62.9%,which indicated that the coupling of photocatalysis and ozonation had a synergistic effect.The radical capture experiments demonstrated that the active species such as photogenerated holes(h^(+)),hydroxyl radicals(·OH),superoxide radical(·O_(2)-)were responsible for phenol degradation,and·OH played a leading role in the degradation process,while h+and·O_(2)^(-)played a non-leading role.