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At least 1,009 records · Page 56

A Novel Transactive Energy Control Mechanism for Collaborative Networked Microgrids

Collaboration of networked microgrids (NMGs) with diverse generation sources is a promising solution to smooth volatile generation output and enhance the utilization efficiency of renewable energies. In addition to centralized and decentralized collaboration mechanisms, transactive energy control (TEC) is an emerging and effective market-based control to enable energy transactions among distributed entities such as NMGs. However, existing studies on TEC suffer from several major weaknesses such as unconstrained/simplified model formulations and slow convergence rates. This paper proposes here a novel TEC mechanism to tackle these weaknesses. First, the centralized mechanism, de-centralized mechanism, and subgradient-based TEC mechanism to coordinate the operation of NMGs are briefly reviewed and modeled by a scenario-based stochastic optimization method. A new TEC mechanism is then proposed, consisting of a TEC framework, mathematical model, pricing rule, and algorithm. The optimality of the proposed TEC mathematical model and pricing rule is demonstrated. The effectiveness of the proposed TEC mechanism is verified in case studies where the NMGs operate in grid-connected, islanded, and congested modes. The advantages of the proposed TEC mechanism are also illustrated through comparisons with the centralized mechanism, decentralized mechanism, and subgradient-based TEC mechanism.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Improving performance of two-group interfacial area transport equation models using genetic algorithms and high resolution experimental data

In the two-fluid transport model, the coupling of mass, momentum and energy transfer between phases is highly dependent on interfacial area transfer terms. Several research efforts in the past have been focused on the development of an interfacial area transport equation model (IATE), in order to eliminate the drawbacks of static flow regime maps currently used in best-estimate thermal-hydraulic system codes. The IATE attempts to model the dynamics that are involved in two phase flows by accounting for the different interaction mechanisms affecting bubble transport in the flow. In general, current IATE models perform poorly in high void fraction flow regimes. As both models depend on closure relations that require empirically determined coefficients, a genetic algorithm is implemented to study their optimization. The preliminary study indicates that improvements are achievable by application of the genetic algorithm. Optimization of coefficients for an entire set of high-resolution wire mesh sensor (WMS) data provided a single set of optimal coefficients. The application of WMS-optimized coefficients to external tests improved IATE performance for similar hydraulic diameters and provided a neutral change in performance for significantly smaller/larger hydraulic diameters. This is a crucial outcome as an optimized set of coefficients that provide significant improvement for a subset of experimental data - is shown to benefit performance in external data for which the coefficients are not specifically optimized. (authors)

42 ENGINEERING↗

A Geometric Approach to Aggregate Flexibility Modeling of Thermostatically Controlled Loads

Coordinated aggregation of a large population of thermostatically controlled loads (TCLs) presents a great potential to provide various ancillary services to the grid. One of the key challenges in coordination and control of TCLs is developing a simple and portable model to accurately extract their aggregate flexibility. In this paper, we propose a novel geometric approach to model the aggregate flexibility of TCLs. We show that the set of admissible power profiles of an individual TCL is a polytope, and their aggregate flexibility is the Minkowski sum of the individual polytopes. In order to represent their aggregate flexibility in an intuitive way and achieve a tractable approximation, we develop optimization-based algorithms to approximate the polytopes by the homothets of a given convex set. As a special application, this set is chosen as a virtual battery model and the corresponding optimal approximation problems are solved efficiently by equivalent linear programs. Numerical results show that our algorithms yield significant improvement in characterizing the aggregate flexibility over existing modeling methods. Finally, we also conduct case studies to demonstrate the efficacy of our approaches by coordinating TCLs to track a frequency regulation signal from the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-Maryland (PJM) Interconnection.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

Stellar and Accretion Disk Parameters of the Close Binary HD 50526

We present a photometric and spectroscopic study of HD 50526, an ellipsoidal binary member of the group Double Periodic Variable stars. Performing data mining in photometric surveys and conducting new spectroscopic observations with several spectrographs during 2008–2015, we obtained orbital and stellar parameters of the system. The radial velocities were analyzed with the genetic PIKAIA algorithm, whereas Doppler tomography maps for the Hα and Hβ lines were constructed with the Total Variation Minimization code. An optimized simplex algorithm was used to solve the inverse problem adjusting the light curve with the best stellar parameters for the system. We find an orbital period of 6.ͩ701 ± 0.ͩ001 and a long photometric cycle of 191 ± 2 days. We detected the spectral features of the coldest star and modeled it with a logg=2.79±0.02 dex giant of mass 1.13 ± 0.02 M {sub ⊙} and effective temperature 10500 ± 125 K. In addition, we determine a mass ratio q = 0.206 ± 0.033 and that the hot star is a B-type dwarf of mass 5.48 ± 0.02 M {sub ⊙}. The V-band orbital light curve can be modeled including the presence of an accretion disk around the hotter star. This fills the Roche lobe of the hotter star and has a radius 14.74 ± 0.02 R {sub ⊙} and the temperature at the outer edge is 9400 K. Two bright spots located in the disk account for the global morphology of the light curve. The Doppler tomography maps of Hα and Hβ reveal complex structures of mass fluxes in the system.

79 ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS↗

A novel triple power cycle featuring a gas turbine cycle with supercritical carbon dioxide and organic Rankine cycles: Thermoeconomic analysis and optimization

In this study, a novel triple power cycle is proposed where waste heat from a gas turbine cycle is utilized to drive a supercritical carbon dioxide (s-CO 2 ) recompression cycle and a recuperative organic Rankine cycle (ORC) in sequence. A detailed thermoeconomic model is developed and implemented in MATLAB to evaluate the performance of the proposed cycle under different operating conditions. Optimization using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is performed to minimize the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) and determine the optimum design conditions of the cycle. The optimization results show that for a 100 MW cycle, the overall thermal efficiency and LCOE are 0.521 and $\$52.819$/MWh, respectively. The turbine inlet temperature of the gas turbine and s-CO 2 cycles are found as the most influential parameters on the thermoeconomic performance of the triple cycle. The proposed triple cycle shows an excellent waste energy recovery potential and superiority over a very thermodynamically efficient cycle from the literature, which included a gas turbine topping cycle and a complex cascade s-CO 2 power cycle used a bottoming cycle. As a result, the proposed triple cycle shows up to 0.9% points higher efficiency while it has fewer heat exchangers and turbomachinery than the cycle from the literature.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗

A unified pseudo- C ℓ framework

The pseudo- C ℓ is an algorithm for estimating the angular power and cross-power spectra that is very fast and in realistic cases also nearly optimal. The algorithm can be extended to deal with contaminant deprojection and E/B purification, and can therefore be applied in a wide variety of scenarios of interest for current and future cosmological observations. This paper presents NAMASTER, a public, validated, accurate and easy-to-use software package that, for the first time, provides a unified framework to compute angular cross-power spectra of any pair of spin-0 or spin-2 fields, contaminated by an arbitrary number of linear systematics and requiring B- or E-mode purification, both on the sphere or in the flat-sky approximation. We describe the mathematical background of the estimator, including all the features above, and its software implementation in NAMASTER. We construct a validation suite that aims to resemble the types of observations that next-generation large-scale structure and ground-based CMB experiments will face, and use it to show that the code is able to recover the input power spectra in the most complex scenarios with no detectable bias. NAMASTER can be found at https://github.com/LSSTDESC/NaMaster, and is provided with comprehensive documentation and a number of code examples.

72 PHYSICS OF ELEMENTARY PARTICLES AND FIELDS↗

Validation of Microgrid Algorithms using At-Scale Simulation and Emulation Real-Time (ASSERT) Framework

This paper presents a novel framework for validating microgrid algorithms using a At-Scale Simulation and Emulation Real-Time (ASSERT) setup. The proposed universal microgrid validation framework was developed at Advanced Research on Integrated Energy Systems (ARIES) platform at National Renewable Energy Laboratory in Golden, Colorado, USA. As the number of intercommunicating devices grow in power systems, along with more integration of inverter-based resources, developing and validating microgrid operation and control algorithms is becoming complex and time-consuming task. The ASSERT framework is designed to provide a comprehensive, accurate, and efficient solution for validating microgrid algorithms. It combines at-scale simulations and real-time emulation to create a virtual environment that closely mimics the behavior of a physical microgrids which are characteristic of future smart distribution systems, such as: (1) increasing variability in the physical size of new energy technologies; (2) requiring control large numbers of interconnected devices, and (3) integrating diverse technologies that have not previously worked together. The paper describes the technical details of the ASSERT framework, its validation process, and its benefits over traditional validation methods. The framework's ability to validate the performance of various algorithms is demonstrated through a case study, which shows that it can effectively identify the weaknesses of an algorithm and optimize its performance. Overall, the ASSERT framework is a promising tool that can significantly enhance the development and validation of microgrid algorithms, leading to more reliable and efficient microgrid operation.

at-scale↗

Next-generation Algorithms for Assessing Infrastructure Vulnerability and Optimizing System Resilience

This report summarizes the work performed under the project project Next-Generation Algorithms for Assessing Infrastructure Vulnerability and Optimizing System Resilience. The goal of the project was to improve mathematical programming-based optimization technology for infrastructure protection. In general, the owner of a network wishes to design a network a network that can perform well when certain transportation channels are inhibited (e.g. destroyed) by an adversary. These are typically bi-level problems where the owner designs a system, an adversary optimally attacks it, and then the owner can recover by optimally using the remaining network. This project funded three years of Deon Burchett's graduate research. Deon's graduate advisor, Professor Jean-Philippe Richard, and his Sandia advisors, Richard Chen and Cynthia Phillips, supported Deon on other funds or volunteer time. This report is, therefore. essentially a replication of the Ph.D. dissertation it funded in a format required for project documentation. The thesis had some general polyhedral research. This is the study of the structure of the feasible region of mathematical programs, such as integer programs. For example, an integer program optimizes a linear objective function subject to linear constraints, and (nonlinear) integrality constraints on the variables. The feasible region without the integrality constraints is a convex polygon. Careful study of additional valid constraints can significantly improve computational performance. Here is the abstract from the dissertation: We perform a polyhedral study of a multi-commodity generalization of variable upper bound flow models. In particular, we establish some relations between facets of single- and multi- commodity models. We then introduce a new family of inequalities, which generalizes traditional flow cover inequalities to the multi-commodity context. We present encouraging numerical results. We also consider the directed edge-failure resilient network design problem (DRNDP). This problem entails the design of a directed multi-commodity flow network that is capable of fulfilling a specified percentage of demands in the event that any G arcs are destroyed, where G is a constant parameter. We present a formulation of DRNDP and solve it in a branch-column-cut framework. We present computational results.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization Parameter Estimation Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis (V.6.14) (User's Manual)

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a users manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization, Parameter Estimation, Uncertainty Quantification, and Sensitivity Analysis (V.6.16 User's Manual)

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a user's manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Fast, Dynamic, and Scalable Algorithms for Large-Scale Constrained Optimization

Scientists and engineers constantly aim to optimize an objective subject to physical, environmental, and/or resource constraints. The technique of using mathematical models to formulate and find real solutions of such problems is known as mathematical optimization, a process that has become invaluable for design and discovery in numerous scientific fields. This project has focused on the design, analysis, and implementation of high-performance computing algorithms for solving cutting-edge optimization problems. These include problems that involve (1) data uncertainties, such as those in the future supply, demand, and capacity of a given power system, (2) extreme numbers of alternatives, such as in the design of electrical power grids to avoid network vulnerabilities, and (3) real-time decisions, such as in the control of chemical reactors. The key features of the new algorithms are that they are fast, dynamic, and scalable to meet the computational requirements of scientists and researchers working to optimize large-scale, complex systems. The algorithms that have been designed, analyzed, and tested as part of the project can be characterized based on the types of optimization problems they have been designed to solve. Much of the work has focused on algorithms for solving large-scale constrained optimization problems. Contributions have also been made in the design of algorithms for unconstrained optimization, with some specialized methods for solving problems that have inherent nonsmoothness. Contributions have also been made in areas that have grown to prominence in the field over the five-year award period. These include the design of algorithms for solving large-scale stochastic optimization problems, such as those that arise in large-scale machine learning, and in complexity analyses for solving nonconvex problems, which has been a focal point of much recent work in continuous optimization. Overall, the project has supported work that has led to almost 30 articles that have been published or accepted to top journals in the field of mathematical optimization.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization Parameter Estimation Uncertainty Quantification and Sensitivity Analysis: Version 6.12 User's Manual

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a user's manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization, Parameter Estimation, Uncertainty Quantification, and Sensitivity Analysis: Version 6.13 User's Manual

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers. This report serves as a user’s manual for the Dakota software and provides capability overviews and procedures for software execution, as well as a variety of example studies.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Dakota, A Multilevel Parallel Object-Oriented Framework for Design Optimization, Parameter Estimation, Uncertainty Quantification, and Sensitivity Analysis: Version 6.15 User's Manual

The Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible interface between simulation codes and iterative analysis methods. Dakota contains algorithms for optimization with gradient and nongradient-based methods; uncertainty quantification with sampling, reliability, and stochastic expansion methods; parameter estimation with nonlinear least squares methods; and sensitivity/variance analysis with design of experiments and parameter study methods. These capabilities may be used on their own or as components within advanced strategies such as surrogate-based optimization, mixed integer nonlinear programming, or optimization under uncertainty. By employing object-oriented design to implement abstractions of the key components required for iterative systems analyses, the Dakota toolkit provides a flexible and extensible problem-solving environment for design and performance analysis of computational models on high performance computers.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗

Application of Wireless Charging at Seaports for Range Extension of Drayage Battery Electric Trucks

Even though heavy-duty battery electric trucks (BETs) have become commercially available, their range limitation still hinders widespread adoption. Drayage has been regarded as a suitable application for early BETs due to typically having limited daily mileage. However, drayage operation can vary widely and some form of range extension may still be needed for BETs operating in this application. Here, in this paper, wireless charging at port terminals is proposed for this purpose. Potential wireless charging zones at port terminals are identified, and efficacy of wireless charging to extend BET range in drayage operation is verified by simulating the activity of 20 BETs from a drayage operator serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, using a microscopic BET energy consumption model. Furthermore, an optimization problem is formulated for optimal wireless charging zone planning from the port authority's perspective, considering subsets of the identified zones, and charging power options to choose from, for different budget ranges. In this context, zone planning means determining which areas of the port terminals should be selected for installing wireless charging systems, and what level of charging power should be for each selected zone's system. For each budget range, the optimization problem is solved using genetic algorithm to determine an optimal zone plan that provides the maximum amount of energy through wireless charging per unit cost of installation. The results show that wireless charging can aid improving activity completion of the simulated fleet by 5%, and further optimizing the zone plan can achieve similar performance with lower cost.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

Redesigning rain gauges network in Johor using geostatistics and simulated annealing

Recently, many rainfall network design techniques have been developed, discussed and compared by many researchers. Present day hydrological studies require higher levels of accuracy from collected data. In numerous basins, the rain gauge stations are located without clear scientific understanding. In this study, an attempt is made to redesign rain gauge network for Johor, Malaysia in order to meet the required level of accuracy preset by rainfall data users. The existing network of 84 rain gauges in Johor is optimized and redesigned into a new locations by using rainfall, humidity, solar radiation, temperature and wind speed data collected during the monsoon season (November - February) of 1975 until 2008. This study used the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing as the algorithm of optimization during the redesigned proses. The result shows that the new rain gauge location provides minimum value of estimated variance. This shows that the combination of geostatistics method (variance-reduction method) and simulated annealing is successful in the development of the new optimum rain gauge system.

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES↗

3D Histopathology—a Lung Tissue Segmentation Workflow for Microfocus X-ray-Computed Tomography Scans

Lung histopathology is currently based on the analysis of 2D sections of tissue samples. The use of microfocus X-ray-computed tomography imaging of unstained soft tissue can provide high-resolution 3D image datasets in the range of 2–10 μm without affecting the current diagnostic workflow. Important details of structural features such as the tubular networks of airways and blood vessels are contained in these datasets but are difficult and time-consuming to identify by manual image segmentation. Providing 3D structures permits a better understanding of tissue functions and structural interrelationships. It also provides a more complete picture of heterogeneous samples. In addition, 3D analysis of tissue structure provides the potential for an entirely new level of quantitative measurements of this structure that have previously been based only on extrapolation from 2D sections. In this paper, a workflow for segmenting such 3D images semi-automatically has been created using and extending the ImageJ open-source software and key steps of the workflow have been integrated into a new ImageJ plug-in called LungJ. Results indicate an improved workflow with a modular organization of steps facilitating the optimization for different sample and scan properties with expert input as required. This allows for incremental and independent optimization of algorithms leading to faster segmentation. Representation of the tubular networks in samples of human lung, building on those segmentations, has been demonstrated using this approach.

62 RADIOLOGY AND NUCLEAR MEDICINE↗