Summer 2020 REU Lecture Series - June 25 & 26 and July 2

Join us for the last three lectures in CURENT's Summer 2020 REU Lecture Series. Zoom link is here and password is 298268. All interested students are welcome to attend. On June 25, Thursday, UTK Research Assistant Hantao Cui will give a talk titled Modeling and Co-Simulation in Cyber-Physical Power Systems. On Friday, June 26, Assistant Professor Dr. Helen Cui will presentMagnetics - The Black Magic to Power Conversion Systems. Alan P. Ferreira, PhD Candidate at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and visiting scholar at RPI will give the last lecture on Thursday, July 2, entitled Voltage Stability Assessment using an Algorithm Based on Local Phasor Measurements and Thévenin Equivalents. 

For more information about the series and upcoming lectures, please visit the Summer 2020 REU page.

June 25, 2020 - Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Modeling and Co-Simulation in Cyber-Physical Power Systems
Dr. Hantao Cui, Research Assistant Professor, UTK

Abstract: With the advancement of communication systems and renewable power generation, modern electric power systems are undergoing significant upgrades to become an integrated cyber-physical system. This research work explores the modeling and co-simulation technologies for renewable energy integration and system security enhancement in an integrated cyber-physical system testbed. In particular, this work studies the integration of differential algebraic equation (DAE)-based dynamic power simulation with communication network and data-driven applications. This presentation first introduces a communication network-in-the-loop simulation architecture for mimicking the real-world systems with simulated phasor measurement unit (PMU) data streaming, energy management, and measurement-based control, all of which are developed as an open-source software suite for the CURENT Large-scale Testbed (LTB). In order to distribute physically coupled devices into multiple software simulations, this paper proposes a data broker setup based on a distributed messaging environment to achieve low-latency data streaming. Case studies verified the data broker setup for low-latency sensing and actuation as well as the communication emulation set up for the desired network latency. The second part of the presentation describes a symbolic framework to simplify the modeling and simulation of DAE-based power system devices. The framework is designed with a goal of making modeling as simple as typing equations and simulations as fast as crafted code. Design philosophy and implementation details are given as an example of a general-purpose symbolic library tailored for power system transient simulation. The framework is validated with power flow calculation and transient simulation with the classical generator model.

Bio: Hantao Cui is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Tennessee. He is the technical lead of the CURENT Large-Scale Testbed (LTB). He earned his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Tennessee in 2018 focusing on power system simulation.

June 26, 2020 - Friday from 10:00 am to 11:00 am

Magnetics - The Black Magic to Power Conversion Systems
Dr. Helen Cui, Assistant Professor, UTK

Abstract: Magnetic materials and components plays an important role in power conversion systems. Highly compact and efficient magnetic designs are critical in improving the converter's overall performance significantly. However, conventional design and modeling of magnetic components largely reply on behavioral-level regression methodologies that lack theoretical guidance and feasibility for advanced applications. This talk starts from the basics of magnetics modeling and design, and then discusses some advanced development and novel applications of magnetics. Challenges and opportunities for magnetic design in high-frequency, high-density applications are also highlighted. Advanced techniques for modeling, packaging, and design should not only provide powerful tools for analyzing magnetic-related issues in the next generation power electronics; but also inspire cross-disciplinary implementations and novel applications.

Bio: Dr. Helen Cui joined CURENT as an assistant professor in January 2020. Before she move to Knoxville, she was a postdoctoral scholar in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles. She received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from Tianjin University, Tianjin, China, in 2011, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, in 2013 and 2017, respectively, both in electrical engineering. Her research interests include magnetic components for high-density and low-loss operations; magnetic material modeling in power electronics with wide-bandgap devices. 

July 2, 2020 - Thursday from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm

Voltage Stability Assessment using an Algorithm Based on Local Phasor Measurements and Thévenin Equivalents
Alan P. Ferreira, PhD Candidate at Federal University of Rio de Janeiro and visiting scholar at RPI

Abstract: This presentation aims to show the performance of a Synchronized Phasor Measurements-based Algorithm developed for performing real-time Voltage Stability Assessment in Electrical Power Systems (EPS). For that, some introduction regarding the Problem of Stability in EPS, Voltage Stability, and Synchronized Phasor Measurements are intended to be briefly covered.

Bio: Alan P. Ferreira (S’14) received the B.Sc. degree in 2014 from the State University of Rio de Janeiro and the M.Sc. degree in 2017 from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro/COPPE, all in electrical engineering. He is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro/COPPE, Brazil. As part of his research development, currently, he is being a Visiting Scholar at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY, USA. Since 2017, he has been with the Electrical Engineering Department, Federal Center for Technological Education/CEFET/RJ, Brazil, where he is currently an Assistant Professor. His research interests include power system dynamics, mainly regarding voltage stability analysis, synchronized phasor data, and renewable generation in distribution systems.