Special Issue "Microgrids Integrating Renewable Energy Sources, Fuel Cells and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles"

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Power Electronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2021.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Nicu Bizon
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Electronics, Communication and Computers, University of Pitesti, 110040 Pitesti, Romania
Interests: electrical engineering; power electronics; power converters; inverters; renewable energy; energy efficiency; energy storage; fuel cell; hybrid power systems; control; optimization; MATLAB simulation
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Mihai Oproescu
E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Electronics, Communication and Computers, University of Pitesti, 110040 Pitesti, Romania
Interests: electrical engineering; power electronics; power converters; renewable energy technologies; control systems engineering; MATLAB simulation; power systems simulation; power systems analysis
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Generation and management of distributed electricity using Fuel Cell (FC) / Renewable Microgrids integrating FC / Electric Hybrid Vehicles represents a challenging and feasible opportunity for the next decade to reduce CO2 emissions if the potential of hydrogen and renewable energy are used effectively using advanced Control Techniques and Energy Management Strategies. Thus, a limitation of global warming to 2 °C can be achieved by replacing fossil fuels with hydrogen-based energy and renewable sources.

In this Special Issue, entitled “Control Techniques and Energy Management Strategies for Fuel Cell (FC) / Renewable Microgrids integrating FC / Electric Hybrid Vehicles”, the latest proposals and paradigms based on by the keywords below related to hybrid microgrid integrating FC / Electric Hybrid Vehicles will be collected. The present Special Issue aims to include innovative Control Techniques and Energy Management Strategies for power converters and experimental research in FC / Renewable Microgrids supported by appropriate modeling and design, but also state-of-the-art studies, in the following topics:

  • Fuel Cell (FC) systems;
  • Hybrid FC / Renewable Microgrids;
  • Hybrid Power Systems (HPSs);
  • FC / electric hybrid vehicles;
  • Renewable Energy Sources (RESs);
  • Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESSs);
  • Energy Management and Optimization Strategies for FC/RES HPS;
  • Control of the power converters;
  • Control, optimization and energy management strategies for FC / Electric Hybrid Vehicles;
  • Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) architectures;
  • Cyber-security in communication between the microgrids based on IoT Blockchain technology and smart contracts;
  • Reliability, maintenance, resilience and safety in operation of the power systems;

Papers received are subject to a rigorous, but fast, peer review procedure, ensuring wide dissemination of research results accepted for this Special Issue. I am writing to invite you to submit your original work to this Special Issue. I am looking forward to receiving your outstanding research outcomes.

Prof. Dr. Nicu Bizon
Prof. Dr. Mihai Oproescu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Electronics is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Fuel Cell (FC) systems
  • Hybrid Power Systems (HPSs)
  • Renewable Energy Sources (RESs)
  • FC RES hybrid microgrids
  • Energy Management Strategies (EMSs)
  • Hybrid Energy Storage Systems (HESSs)
  • Fuel Cell vehicles (FCVs)
  • Electric vehicles (EV)
  • Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)
  • Vehicle-to-grid (V2G)
  • Energy management strategies
  • Power converters control
  • Cyber-security
  • Blockchain technology
  • Optimization strategies
  • Smart contracts

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

Article
Terminal Synergetic Control for Direct Active and Reactive Powers in Asynchronous Generator-Based Dual-Rotor Wind Power Systems
Electronics 2021, 10(16), 1880; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10161880 - 05 Aug 2021
Viewed by 251
Abstract
A terminal synergetic control (TSC) is designed in this work for a rotor side converter (RSC) of asynchronous generator (ASG)-based dual-rotor wind power (DRWP) systems. The design is based on a novel sliding manifold and aims at improving the ASG performance while minimizing [...] Read more.
A terminal synergetic control (TSC) is designed in this work for a rotor side converter (RSC) of asynchronous generator (ASG)-based dual-rotor wind power (DRWP) systems. The design is based on a novel sliding manifold and aims at improving the ASG performance while minimizing active and reactive power undulations. The method performance and its effectiveness were studied under harmonic distortion (THD) of current, parameter variations and power undulations. Simulation results, carried out using Matlab software, confirmed the system’s robustness against parameter variations and its effectiveness in power undulations. The performance of the designed technique was further compared to that of integral-proportional (PI) controllers in terms of parameter variations, power undulations and THD value of current. While both controllers were able to reduce the effects of power undulations and protect the rotor circuit against over-currents, the proposed TSC was shown to be more effective than the classical PI controller in tracking power and minimizing the undulations effect. Full article
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Article
A Three-Phase Resonant Boost Inverter Fed Brushless DC Motor Drive for Electric Vehicles
Electronics 2021, 10(15), 1799; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10151799 - 27 Jul 2021
Viewed by 362
Abstract
The present article proposes a three-phase resonant boost inverter (TPRBI) to feed a permanent magnet brushless DC (PMBLDC) motor at the requested torque with low ripples due to the sinusoidal current injected into the PMBLDC motor. PMBLDC motors have the highest torque-to-weight ratio [...] Read more.
The present article proposes a three-phase resonant boost inverter (TPRBI) to feed a permanent magnet brushless DC (PMBLDC) motor at the requested torque with low ripples due to the sinusoidal current injected into the PMBLDC motor. PMBLDC motors have the highest torque-to-weight ratio compared to other motors and are the best choice for electric vehicle applications. Conventionally, these motors are driven by voltage source inverters (VSI) with trapezoidal current injection, introducing unwanted torque ripples. Moreover, due to the buck operation of VSI, an extra power conversion stage is required to elevate the battery voltage level to desired DC-link voltage. This extra stage increases the number of components used, complexity of control and decreases the efficiency and reliability of the overall system. TPRBI injects sinusoidal current in the PMBLDC motor in the proposed method, thus minimizing the torque ripples. The proposed inverter also has an inherent voltage boost characteristic, thus eliminating the extra power conversion stage. The single-stage conversion from DC to boosted sinusoidal AC enhances the system reliability and efficiency and minimizes the cost and weight of the system. A MATLAB/Simulink model is presented along with simulation results and mathematical validation. A comparative evaluation of the proposed system with the conventional VSI-fed PMBLDC motor is presented in terms of induced torque ripples. Full article
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Figure 1

Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: Multichemestry active battery balancer with fuzzy logic control
Authors: BOGDAN-ADRIAN ENACHE
Affiliation: Polytechnic University of Bucharest, Romania
Abstract: Battery balancing is a standard practice to improve battery efficiency, especially for Li-Ion batteries. Due to the manufacturing process, there are no two batteries alike, and these differences are causing energy loss in series-connected battery strings. An active battery balancer extracts energy from the cell with the highest energy and delivers it to a nearby cell or the battery module. In this paper, a cell to module battery balancer is developed. The system's key component is a flyback converter with a wide enough voltage input to cover all the Li-Ion batteries and even lead-acid. The flyback converter is controlled by a microcontroller that uses fuzzy logic to improve the converter efficiency. The input variables are the voltages from each cell, the discharge current and the temperature, and the output variables are the balancing period and the current value.

Title: Microgrid-based Optimization Techniques with Power Quality Enhancement
Authors: Marian Gaiceanu 1, Iulian Ghenea, 2 Razvan Buhosu and Raluca Necula
Affiliation: 1.Dunarea de Jos University of Galati; [email protected] 2.Fundamental Sciences and Engineering Doctoral School; Iulian.[email protected], [email protected], [email protected] 3.Liberty Steel Group
Abstract: The ecological impact of the electricity producing way and the conservation of ecosystems have become decisive environmental factors worldwide. Centralized energy systems have proven to be ineffective in disrupting natural factors, such as storms, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc. The transition from conventional energy sources energy production, a predominant pollutant for the whole world, to the production of energy based on wind energy, solar energy, geother-mal energy, biomass energy, tidal and wave energy is made exclusively on the basis of static power converters. The types of interconnection of the power grid supplied from renewable en-ergy systems can be insular and respectively connected to the centralized power grid through electricity distribution systems. The factors that negatively influence the power grid are mainly the voltage decrease below the minimum limits or the capacity of injection of reactive power in the network. Island networks can include all types of renewable energy, including energy stor-age systems. The stability and robustness of the power grid may be affected by the intermittency and interaction between renewable energy sources. In order to increase the level of penetration of renewable energy in this paper will be presented strategies to control the green power sources. For three-phase autonomous energy systems, the active power control is activated, along with the use of energy storage systems. The development of energy infrastructure in rural areas of the planet is essential to ensure the development of the planet. Recent advances in tech-nology have made the use of micro-grids as an economical solution. Therefore, it becomes im-perative to capitalize on and optimize energy generation through the use of local sources. Moreover, it is necessary to design a micro-grid that integrates renewable energy sources into the power grid. Applications with individual distributed generators can cause very serious problems. In order to use the green potential of distributed generation systems is to adopt a systemic approach whereby generation and associated tasks are treated as a subsystem or as a microgrid. This power flow capacity in insularized power systems has a greater potential for local increase in reliability than that offered by the energy system as a whole. This paper estab-lishes a control strategy that can manage a power grid composed of different Renewable Energy Sources for a local community. Dynamic modeling of the energy system is based on energy models of the microgrid components. It will be highlighted in the new static conversion systems, the proper operation of the grid power converter system in accordance with the required re-quirements: unity power factor, control of active and reactive power, DC link voltage control. Thus, both operation modes of a microgrid will be highlighted through the obtained numerical results. Optimal control of the microgrid is required. The solution found by the authors allows the optimal selection of the energy source depending on the degree of pollution and the load requested by consumers. Nowadays, the implementation of nature-inspired optimization tech-niques attracts a lot of attention, for which conventional solving algorithms fail. This paper pre-sents the optimal control techniques for energy management, so as to achieve both safe and effi-cient operation of microgrids. The authors developed a control strategy for managing stored energy and optimizing the total power consumption of the microgrid at the point of common coupling (PCC), taking into account the restrictions imposed by storage devices, voltage and power limits.

Title: Adequacy Evaluation of Stand-Alone LV Distribution Network
Authors: Martin Kjaer, Huai Wang and Frede Blaabjerg
Affiliation: Department of Energy Technology, Aalborg University, Aalborg 9220, Denmark

Title: Contribution to the Flatness-based control of a PWM-rectifier with LCL-filter interfaced between AC & DC Microgrids
Authors: Maxime Lapique 1,3,*, Roghayeh Gavagsaz-Ghoachani 2, Jean-Philippe Martin 1, Serge Pierfederici 1 and Sami Zaim 3
Affiliation: 1 Affiliation 1; LEMTA, Université de Lorraine, CNRS, Nancy, France, [email protected] 2 Affiliation 2; Renewable Energies Engineering,Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran, [email protected] 3 Affiliation 3; Safran Electrical & Power, Safran Group, Paris, FRANCE, [email protected]
Abstract: Decarbonization of civil air transport requires significant leap in airborne hybridization. As consequence, future more electrical aircraft (MEA) will require a massive amount of power elec-tronic converters and high frequency passive filters. Increase of the embedded electrical power, combined with the electrical network complexification is challenging in terms of both weight and safety. Shared converters and high order passive filters are considered solutions to cope with weight saving. However, the self-oscillating behavior of those filters may interact with the control of the power converters and may not be mitigated throw the filter’s design. Thus, the control shall be able to handle filter’s oscillation. Flatness-based control (FBC) is a good candi-date since it embeds all the dynamic, even non-linear, of the model. The whole state of the sys-tem may be controlled with a reduced set of flat variables and ensure global stability. However, FBC exploits the flatness property of the model which may be difficult to prove with high order systems, or may simply not exist. Moreover, practical implementation may be difficult with high order system within noisy environment. This paper gives various theoretical and practical considerations for the design of flatness-based control applied to a three-phases PWM-rectifier associated with un-damped LCL-filter. Experimental results will be given to compare transient performances and maximum output power capabilities of the flatness-based control with two-loops linear control and passivity-based control.

Title: Grid Operation Assessment under a Specific EVs Chargers’ Deployment plan in Heraklio City
Authors: Emmanuel Karapidakis 1,* Konstantinos Fiorentzis 1, Alexandros Paspatis1, Emmanuel Koudoumas1, Giorgos Stav-rakakis 2 and Panagiotis Zervas
Affiliation: 1 Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Hellenic Mediterranean University, GR-71004 He-raklion, Greece; [email protected] (E.K.); [email protected] (K.F.); [email protected] (A.P.); [email protected] (E.K.) 2 MES Energy SA, Athens, Greece; [email protected] (GS); [email protected] (P.Z.) * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +30-2810-379-889
Abstract: The development of electric vehicles (EVs) as a part of the electrification of the transportation sector, plays a significant role in energy transition for a low-carbon and high-renewable society. The use of EVs has been promoted through the development of inclusive strategies for electro-mobility in recent years. Apart from actions directed and funded by the European Union, na-tional strategies are also employed to support electromobility. Such a strategic plan has already been enacted from the Hellenic Ministry of Environment and Energy, funding the municipalities to perform siting and sizing plans for electric vehicles chargers. In this paper, the final study of this strategic plan for the municipality of Heraklion in Crete is used as a case study to investi-gate the effect of EV chargers on the operation of the Cretan power system. Their selected siting points are evaluated by performing a power flow analysis at the level of 150kV. Thus, they are aggregated in each 20kV/150kV substation of the electrical grid with the aim to investigate their effect on substation loading, and transmission lines losses. Additionally, the utilization of bat-teries energy storage systems is proposed to better manage the chargers by avoiding the high system stress, especially in peak hours.

Title: Clustering-based Energy Prosumer Profiling and Its Impact on the Operation of the Active Electric Distribution Networks
Authors: Gheorghe Grigoras*, Bogdan-Constantin Neagu, Florina Scarlatache, Dandea Vasilica
Affiliation: Department of Power Engineering; “Gheorghe Asachi” Technical University of Iasi, Romania
Abstract: The optimal operation of the active electric distribution networks (AEDNs), considering the transition towards the smart grids, must ensure maximum benefits in the conditions of some minimum investments for the Distribution Network Operator (DNO). In the last years, a diversity of end-users (consumers, prosumers, or storage systems) are connected to the AEDNs. Even if the injected powers have the values the order of kilowatts, in the case of a high number of the prosumers, an inverse power flow through the AEDNs can occur, modifying their dynamic behaviour. Thus, the emergence on a large scale of the prosumers, connected locally to the EDNs and requires increased attention from the DNOs in the optimal operation process. In the paper, two main challenges have been treated: the first refers to the determination of the typically injected power profiles (TIPPs), which to help the DNOs in understanding the PV prosumers’ behaviour connected to their AEDNs, and the second involves a deeper analysis of the impact of using the TIPPs on the optimal operation of the AEDNs. Determination of the TIPPs has been performed considering all PV prosumers belonging to the households’ category connected in the AEDNs of a DNO from north-eastern Romania, and a real AEDN has been used to evaluate their impact on the steady-states. Based on the obtained results, the DNO can develop the best strategies for the optimal operation of the AEDNs.

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