SmartMicro Grid Energy System Management Based on Optimum Running Cost for Rural Communities in Rwanda

The governmental electric utility and the private sector are joining hands to meet the target of electrifying all households by 2024.However,the aforementioned goal is challenged by households that are scattered in remote areas.So far,Solar Home Systems(SHS)have mostly been applied to increase electricity access in rural areas.SHSs have continuous constraints to meet electricity demands and cannot run income-generating activities.The current research presents the feasibility study of electrifying Remera village with the smart microgrid as a case study.The renewable energy resources available in Remera are the key sources of electricity in that village.The generation capacity is estimated based on the load profile.The microgrid configurations are simulated with HOMER,and the genetic algorithm is used to analyze the optimum cost.By analyzing the impact of operation and maintenance costs,the results show that the absence of subsidies increases the levelized cost of electricity(COE)five times greater than the electricity price from the public utility.The microgrid made up of PV,diesel generator,and batteries proved to be the most viable solution and ensured continuous power supply to customers.By considering the subsidies,COE reaches 0.186$/kWh,a competitive price with electricity from public utilities in Rwanda.

Low profile cavity-embedded ultra-wideband UHF array antenna with end-fire beams

A low-profile,vertically polarized,ultra-wideband array antenna with end-fire beams operating in an ultra-high frequency(UHF)band is developed in this paper.The array antenna consists of 1×16 log-periodic top-hat loaded monopole antenna arrays and is feasible to embed into a shallow cavity to further reduce the array height.Capacitance is introduced in the proposed antenna element to reduce profile height and the rectangular top hats are carefully designed to minimize the transverse dimension.Simulated results show that when the antenna array operates in a frequency range of 300 MHz-900 MHz,the end-fire radiation pattern achieves±45°scanning range in the horizontal plane.Then prototypes of the proposed end-fire antenna element and a uniformly spaced linear array(1×2)are fabricated and validated.The end-fire antenna array should be suitable for airborne applications where low-profile and conformal scanning phased antenna arrays with end-fire radiations are required.This design is attractive for airborne platform applications that are used to search,discover,identify,and scout the aerial target with vertically polarized beams.

Design and Implementation of Smart Power Voltage and Frequency Synchroniser in Power Distribution System

Voltage and frequency are usually considered and assessed independently in the design and operation of electrical networks. However, these two are linked. Each and every malfunctioning electrical system has an impact on both voltage and frequency. This paper presents the opportunity for monitoring the distributed electrical energy by means of a system that monitors, controls, and provides a breakpoint based on high or low voltage and frequency tripping mechanism that avoids any damage to the load. The designed system comprised a switch mode power supply (SMPS), a direct digital synthesizer (DDS), and PIC16F876A microcontroller techniques for stable voltage and frequency outputs. Proteus design suite version 8.11 software and Benchcope SDS1102CN were used for modeling and simulation. The hardware prototype was implemented at a telecom cell site for data capturing and analysis. Test results showed that the implementation of the prototype provided stable and constant outputs of 222 V/50 Hz and 112 V/60 Hz which constituted 99% and 99.8% efficiency for voltage and frequency performance respectively. The paper also discusses different technologies that can be adopted by the system to mitigate voltage and frequency effects on customer appliances.

Guest Editorial:Special issue on advances in representation learning for computer vision

Deep learning has been a catalyst for a transformative revo-lution in machine learning and computer vision in the past decade.Within these research domains,methods grounded in deep learning have exhibited exceptional performance across a spectrum of tasks.The success of deep learning methods can be attributed to their capability to derive potent representations from data,integral for a myriad of downstream applications.These representations encapsulate the intrinsic structure,fea-tures,or latent variables characterising the underlying statistics of visual data.Despite these achievements,the challenge per-sists in effectively conducting representation learning of visual data with deep models,particularly when confronted with vast and noisy datasets.This special issue is a dedicated platform for researchers worldwide to disseminate their latest,high-quality articles,aiming to enhance readers'comprehension of the principles,limitations,and diverse applications of repre-sentation learning in computer vision.

Technical Investigation on V2G,S2V,and V2I for Next Generation Smart City Planning

The paper investigates a few of the major areas of the next generation technological advancement,“smart city planning concept”.The areas that the paper focuses are vehicle to grid(V2G),sun to vehicle(S2V),and vehicle to infrastructure(V2I).For the bi-directional crowd energy single entity concept,V2G and building to grid(B2G)are the primary parts of distributed renewable generation(DRG)under smart living.This research includes an in-depth overview of this three major areas.Next,the research conducts a case analysis of V2G,S2V,and V2I along with their possible limitations in order to find out the novel solutions for future development both for academia and industry levels.Lastly,few possible solutions have been proposed to minimize the limitations and to develop the existing system for future expansion.

PAPR reduction in mobile WiMAX:A new ZCMT precoded random interleaved OFDMA system

Mobile WiMAX(worldwide interoperability for microwave access) air interface adopts orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA) as multiple access technique for its uplink(UL) and downlink(DL) to improve the multipath performance.All OFDMA based networks,like mobile WiMAX,experience the problem of high peak-to-average power ratio(PAPR).The high PAPR increases the complexity of analog-to-digital(A/D) and digital-to-analog(D/A) convertors,and also reduces the efficiency of RF high-power-amplifier(HPA).In this work,a new zadoff-chu matrix transform(ZCMT) precoding based random interleaved orthogonal frequency division multiple access(OFDMA) system was proposed for PAPR reduction in mobile WiMAX system.The system is based on precoding the constellation symbols with the ZCMT precoder before subcarrier mapping.The PAPR of proposed system is analyzed with the root-raised-cosine(RRC) pulse shaping to keep out of band radiation low and meet the transmission spectrum mask requirement.Simulation results show that the proposed system has better PAPR gain than the hadamard transform(WHT) precoded random interleaved OFDMA systems and the conventional random interleaved OFDMA systems.Symbol-error-rate(SER) performance of the system is also better than the conventional random interleaved OFDMA systems and the random interleaved OFDMA systems with WHT.The good improvement in PAPR significantly reduces the cost and the complexity of the transmitter.

Guided and Direct Wave Evaluation of Controlled Source Electromagnetic Survey Using Finite Element Method

Deep target hydrocarbon detection is still challenging and expensive. Direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs) in seismic data do not correspond to economical hydrocarbon exploration. Due to unreliability in seismic data for the detection of DHIs, new methods have been investigated. Marine controlled source electromagnet (MCSEM) or Sea bed logging (SBL) is new method for the detection of deep target hydrocarbon reservoir. Sea bed logging has also the potential to reduce the risks of DHIs in deep sea environment. Modelling of real sea environment helps to reduce the further risks before drilling the oil wells. 3D electromagnetic (EM) modelling of seabed logging requires more accurate methods for the detection of hydrocarbon reservoir. Finite element method (FEM) is chosen for the modelling of seabed logging to get more precise EM response from hydrocarbon reservoir below 4000 m from seabed. FEM allows to investigate the total electric and magnetic fields instead of scattered electric and magnetic fields, which shows accurate and precise resistivity contrast below the seabed. From the modelling results, It was investigated that Hz field shows higher magni- tude with 342% than the Ex field. It was observed that 0.125 Hz frequency can be able to show better resistivity contrast of Hz field (31.30%) and Ex field (16.49%) at target depth of 1000 m below seafloor for our proposed model. Hz and Ex field delineation was found to decrease as target depth increased from 1000 m to 4000 m. At the target depth of 4000 m, no field delineation response was seen from the current electromagnetic (EM) antenna used by the industry. New EM antenna has been used to see the EM response for deep target hydrocarbon detection. It was investigated that novel EM antenna shows better delineation at 4000 m target depth for Ex and Hz field up to 10.3% and 15.1% respectively. Novel EM antenna also shows better Hz phase response (128.4%) than the Ex phase response (38.3%) at the target depth of 4000 m below the seafloor.

Optimal Design and Simulation of Solar Photovoltaic Powered Cathodic Protection for Underground Pipelines in Libya

In Libya,pipelines are being used as means of transferring hydrocarbon from wellheads to export sea ports,refineries,storage tanks,steel factory and power plants.Steel pipeline is widely used because it is the safest means of transporting hydrocarbon and other oil products as well as its cost effective.However,one of the challenges facing oil and gas sector is corrosion on infrastructure facilities and processing units.Cathodic-protection(CP)is an electrical method used to protect metallic body in contact with the earth from corrosion.A photovoltaic(PV)provides a reliable solution for powering remote CP stations,enabling the placing of CP units in any location along the underground pipeline,thus ensuring optimal current distribution for the exact protection requirements.In this paper the sizing of the system is determined based on the electrical power needed for the catholic protection,characteristics of the used PV module and the meteorological data of the installation site.Matlab/Simulink and PVsyst V6.43 software are used as tools for optimal design,sizing and simulation of the PV powered cathodic protection system components.In addition to that estimation of system cost was investigated and compared with the conventional system.The results show that using solar energy powered cathodic protection system for underground pipelines is practical and very beneficial besides being economical,especially considering the rapid decreasing in the prices of PV systems components and the increasing of its efficiencies and reliability.

Effect of Switching Devices on Power Quality and Transient Voltage Suppression Using Capacitor Bank Model

The main purpose of the electrical power system is to transport and distribute energy generated by the central power plants in a safe and reliable manner to the customer premises. Most of the electrical equipment is exposed within the open which suggests they can be vulnerable to lightning strikes, road dwindling, windstorms, and a few engineering activities with the potential of causing different degrees of damage to the electrical equipment. One of the ways to guard the equipment is to deploy switching devices. However, the operations of most of these switching devices produce oscillatory transient in the electrical transmission and distribution systems which result in voltage, current, and frequency fluctuations in the load. This paper investigates the effect of switching devices on power quality and proposes a positive sequence voltage power transient suppression technique that can spontaneously improve the distorted voltage at the instant of capacitor switching using the capacitor line model as a case study. MATLAB/Simulink software was utilized for the analysis on an electrical network model with bus voltages of 69 kV/12.47 kV and 480 V. The results showed that, during switching operations, the positive sequence voltage power detector block produces ripple-free accurate results.

Effect of Sand and Dust Storms on Microwave Propagation Signals in Southern Libya

The propagation of electromagnetic waves in millimeter band is severely affected by rain, and dust particles in terms of attenuation and de-polarization. The computations of dust and/or sand storms require knowledge of electrical properties of the scattering particles and climate conditions at the studied region. To compute the effect of dust and sand particles on the propagation of electromagnetic waves, it is required to collect the sand particles carried out by the wind, measure the particles size, calculate the concentration, and carry chemical analysis of the contents, then the dielectric constant can be calculated. The main object of this paper is to study the effect of sand and dust storms on wireless communication, such as microwave links, in the southern region of Libya （Sebha, Ashati, Obari, Morzok, Ghat） by determining the attenuation. The result showed that there is some consideration that has to be taken into account in the communication power budget.

Structural and Dielectric Properties of (Bi2O3Fe2O3)0.4(Nb2O5)0.6 for Different Sintering Temperature

In this research work, (Bi2O3Fe2O3)0.4(Nb2O5)0.6 was made by the solid state reaction method. Samples were sintered at four different temperatures (850°C, 925°C, 1000°C and 1150°C) to study the effect of sintering temperature on the various properties of the samples. X-ray diffraction analysis confirmed that single phase Bi1.721δ0.089Fe1.056Nb1.134O7 was found when sintering temperature increased. At the same time, larger grain size was found when sintering temperature increased. From variation of dielectric loss with respect to frequency, a small peak was found when sample was sintered at higher temperature (1150°C). Dielectric constant of the sample decreases with the increase of frequency for all the samples. With the variation of temperature, DC resistivity of the samples showed that resistivity decreases with the increase of measuring temperature which indicates semiconducting nature.

Squeezed state generation using cryogenic InP HEMT nonlinearity

This study focuses on generating and manipulating squeezed states with two external oscillators coupled by an InP HEMT operating at cryogenic temperatures.First,the small-signal nonlinear model of the transistor at high frequency at 5 K is analyzed using quantum theory,and the related Lagrangian is theoretically derived.Subsequently,the total quantum Hamiltonian of the system is derived using Legendre transformation.The Hamiltonian of the system includes linear and nonlinear terms by which the effects on the time evolution of the states are studied.The main result shows that the squeezed state can be generated owing to the transistor’s nonlinearity;more importantly,it can be manipulated by some specific terms introduced in the nonlinear Hamiltonian.In fact,the nonlinearity of the transistors induces some effects,such as capacitance,inductance,and second-order transconductance,by which the properties of the external oscillators are changed.These changes may lead to squeezing or manipulating the parameters related to squeezing in the oscillators.In addition,it is theoretically derived that the circuit can generate two-mode squeezing.Finally,second-order correlation(photon counting statistics)is studied,and the results demonstrate that the designed circuit exhibits antibunching,where the quadrature operator shows squeezing behavior.

Analysing Various Control Techniques for Manipulator Robotic System (Robogymnast)

The Robogymnast is a highly complex,three-link system based on the triple-inverted pendulum and is modelled on the human example of a gymnast suspended by their hands from the high bar and executing larger and larger upswings to eventually rotate fully.The links of the Robogymnast correspond respectively to the arms,trunk,and lower limbs of the gymnast,and from its three joints,one is under passive operation,while the remaining two are powered.The passive top joint poses severe challenges in attaining the smooth movement control needed to operate the Robogymnast effectively.This study assesses four types of controllers used for systems operation and identifies how far response stabilisation is achieved with each.The system is simulated using MATLAB Simulink,with findings generated regarding rising and settling time,as well as overshoot.The research primarily seeks to exam-ine the application of a linear quadratic regulator controller,proportional-integral-derivative controller,fuzzy linear quadratic regulator controller and linear quadratic regulator-proportional-integral-derivative controller for this type of system and comparisons between the different controllers to demon-strate successful performance,which highlights the claimed advantages of the proposed system.

A distributed VSG control method for a battery energy storage system with a cascaded H-bridge in a grid-connected mode

With the high penetration of renewable energy,new challenges,such as power fluctuation suppression and inertial support capability,have arisen in the power sector.Battery energy storage systems play an essential role in renewable energy integration.In this paper,a distributed virtual synchronous generator(VSG)control method for a battery energy storage system(BESS)with a cascaded H-bridge converter in a grid-connected mode is proposed.The VSG is developed without communication dependence,and state-of-charge(SOC)balancing control is achieved using the distributed average algorithm.Owing to the low varying speed of SOC,the bandwidth of the distributed communication networks is extremely slow,which decreases the cost.Therefore,the proposed method can simultaneously provide inertial support and accurate SOC balancing.The stability is also proved using root locus analysis.Finally,simulations under different conditions are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Limiting Behaviour in Parameter Optimal Iterative Learning Control

This paper analyses the concept of a Limit Set in Parameter Optimal Iterative Learning Control （ILC）. We investigate the existence of stable and unstable parts of Limit Set and demonstrates that they will often exist in practice. This is illustrated via a 2-dimensional example where the convergence of the learning algorithm is analyzed from the error＇s dynamic behaviour. These ideas are extended to the N-dimensional cases by analogy and example.

Electromagnetic Response Studies of the Antenna for Deep Water Deep Target CSEM Environments

The Controlled Source Electromagnetic Method (CSEM) is used for offshore hydrocarbon exploration. Hydrocarbon detection in seabed logging (SBL) is a very challenging task for deep hydrocarbon reservoirs. The electromagnetic field response of an antenna is unable to detect deep hydrocarbon reservoirs due to a weak electromagnetic signal response in the seabed logging environment. This work premise deals with the comparison of the electromagnetic signal strength of a new antenna with a straight antenna and the orientation of an antenna for deep target hydrocarbon exploration. Antenna position and orientation (Tx and Ty) was studied using Computer Simulation Technology software (CST) for deep targets in marine CSEM environments. The model area was assigned as (40 ′ 40 km) to replicate the real seabed environment. From the results, the new dipole antenna shows an 804% and 278% increase in electric and magnetic field strength than the straight antenna. An electric (E) and magnetic (H) field component study was done with and without the presence of a hydrocarbon reservoir. Ex and Hz field component responses with the new antenna at the1 kmtarget were measured in a deep water environment. It was analyzed that the antenna shows 53.10% (Ex) and 83.13% (Hz) field difference in deep water with and without a hydrocarbon reservoir at the30 mantenna position from the sea floor. From the antenna orientation results, it was observed that, the electric field Ex and magnetic field Hz responses decreased from 18% to 12% and 21% to 16%, respectively but was still able to detect the deep target hydrocarbon reservoir at the4 kmtarget depth. This EM antenna may open new frontiers for the oil and gas industry for deep target hydrocarbon detection (HC).

Libyan Licenses Plate Recognition Using Template Matching Method

License plate recognition (LPR) applies image processing and character recognition technology to identify vehicles by automatically reading their license plates. The work presented in this paper aims to create a computer vision system capable of taking real-time input image from a static camera and identifying the license plate from extracted image. This problem is examined in two stages: First the license plate region detection and extraction from background and plate segmentation to sub-images, and second the character recognition stage. The method used for the license plate region detection is based on the assumption that the license plate area is a high concentration of smaller details, making it a region of high intensity of edges. The Sobel filter and their vertical and horizontal projections are used to identify the plate region. The result of testing this stage was an accuracy of 67.5%. The final stage of the LPR system is optical character recognition (OCR). The method adopted for this stage is based on template matching using correlation. Testing the performance of OCR resulted in an overall recognition rate of 87.76%.

H2 Production from Wind Power in a Wind Farm in Spain

A hydrogen production and conversion plant from wind power was installed in the Sotavento wind farm by Gas Natural and the Galician Government. This facility is the highest electrolysis power installed at the European level. It consists of an electrolyser of 300 kW, a piston compressor, a 1,725 Nm3 H2 storage system and an engine of 55 kW. This pilot plant is being operated by Natural Gas in order to extrapolate its behavior to that of an industrial facility capable of managing all the production of Sotavento wind farm following different strategies： balancing, peak-shaving and repowering. In this paper, preliminary results at the facility are presented. The aim of these first tests has been to describe the operation of equipment under operating conditions required in the management of wind power production, in order to understand the behavior of the different equipment and try to make them suitable for this type of applications. This paper shows the difficulty of operating these systems under the wind power requirements.

Ion-focused propagation of a relativistic electron beam in the self-generated plasma in atmosphere

It is known that ion-focused regime(IFR)can effectively suppress expansion of a relativistic electron beam(REB).Using the particle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision(PIC-MCC)method,we numerically investigate the propagation of an REB in neutral gas.The results demonstrate that the beam body is charge neutralization and a stable IFR can be established.As a result,the beam transverse dimensions and longitudinal velocities keep close to the initial parameters.We also calculate the charge and current neutralization factors of the REB.Combined with envelope equations,we obtain the variations of beam envelopes,which agree well with the PIC simulations.However,both the energy loss and instabilities of the REB may lead to a low transport efficiency during long-range propagation.It is proved that decreasing the initial pulse length of the REB can avoid the influence of electron avalanche.Using parts of REB pulses to build a long-distance IFR in advance can improve the beam quality of subsequent pulses.Further,a long-distance IFR may contribute to the implementation of long-range propagation of the REB in space environment.