Power Quality Improvement

An electrical power quality problem is defined as deviation and fluctuation of voltage that results in damage or mis-operation of electronic equipment or 

Sketch of improved power quality on distribution side by DVR. 

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ES application areas include power electronics, memory protection, battery enhancement, portable energy sources, power quality improvement, adjustable speed drives (ASDs), high power actuators, hybrid electric vehicles, renewable and off-peak energy storage, and military and aerospace applications. All these application areas will be discussed in this chapter. 

Self-assessment Self-assessment can help an organization to learn about its own strengths and weaknesses. Transforming a DRA into a learning organization which routinely conducts self-assessment and continuous quality improvement can be a powerful approach to enhancing dmg regulatory performance. 

A cooperative alliance of Kenetech Corporation, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Niagara Mohawk Power Corporation, and EPRI has developed an advanced, utility-grade variable speed wind turbine that can deliver 300 kW. Commercially available and in widespread use, the turbine uses advanced power electronics to increase turbine efficiency, improve power quality, and lengthen turbine life. Future efforts are directed at developing turbines capable of individually producing 500—1000 kW for eventual deployment in a large-scale power role. 

Experience shows that adopting the principles of lean manufacturing from assembly industries can be a powerful operational improvement lever. Lean management, first introduced by Toyota, appeals because it holds out a promise no other approach can make not only does it cut costs and improve quality, but it also stabilizes operations and matches supply with demand. A companywide lean transformation program structured around the improvement of Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) may unearth a hidden capacity that is equivalent to adding another plant to the manufacturing network. Lean, however, should not only be applied in production, but across the entire value chain. 

A solution to avoid these situations is the implementation of limitations on the power produced from renewable generators, depending on the operating condition of the system. Such a measure can improve the power quality and stability of the APS. On the other hand, bearing in mind that the introduction of renewable sources in an APS fed by diesel generators aims at the improvement of the operational efficiency and the minimisation of the fuel utilisation, this solution is far from being optimal. 

Four principles construct a planning and design framework in an effort to value natural capital and consider true environmental impact.1 Each of these four principles is powerful enough alone to impact an organization s progression toward sustainability, but the greatest impact is when these principles are adopted as a complete framework. Additionally, the principles will be presented linearly, but are best used as a circuitous framework, similar to the quality improvement framework of the Deming Cycle Plan, Do, Check, Act.2... 

Quality improvement occurs when problems are eliminated permanently. Problems arise primarily from imperfect processes, not from imperfect people. Industrial experience has shown that 85% of aU problems are process problems that are solvable only by managers, with the remaining 15% being problems requiring the action and improvement of performance of individual workers. Thus quality problems are primarily management problems because only management has the power to change work processes. 

Molecular modelling is perhaps one of the most useful techniques available to chemists interested in designing supramolecular synthons or modifying their properties. However, despite the astounding advances in computational power and improvements in software over the past few decades, it must be stated first and foremost that results of computer-generated simulations are no substitute for laboratory-based experimentation. It is worth noting the primary dictionary definition of simulation is to assume the outward qualities or appearance of (something), usually with the intent to deceive [1] Computational approaches can be used to simulate atomic, molecular and supramolecular behaviour thereby... 

Studies showed that a BESS on the MP L system could (i) help stabilize and improve the power quality of the system, i.e., reduce voltage and frequency deviations (ii) reduce reliance on the diesel generator, and thus realize attendant savings in fuel-related costs. Subsequently, the GE-GNB alliance (see Section 10.5.8) provided a suitable, 1.6-MVA (10s)/1.0-MW (continuous) BESS, which was interconnected at a 12.47-kV sub-station. Construction began in April 1996, was completed in December 1996, and the BESS has been operational since February... 

Large OCSM batteries are also suitable for other utility applications. Recently, the concept of a multifunctional energy storage system, which is useful to improve the utilisation of regenerative energies, has been evaluated [88]. This system includes three different functions (i) uninterruptible power supply (UPS), (ii) improvement of power quality, and (iii) peak load assists via the use of regenerating power sources, with surplus energy from periods of low demand stored in a battery for peak-load periods (see Chapter 10). 

High ohmic contact resistances in SiC devices present a serious limitation for high frequency performance. Furthermore, the problem of ohmic and Schottky contact thermal stability has not been solved. Contacts (and, sometimes, packages) usually limit the maximum SiC device operating temperatures. The existence of micropipes in 6H- and 4H-SiC material leads to a low yield for power devices. Improvements in material quality, the development of bulk 3C-SiC for 3C-SiC homoepitaxy, and the development of better contacts are of primary importance for the advancement of the SiC device technology. 

Disc lasers based on YAG Yb are used for welding and higher cutting speeds than other lasers. It uses an optical fiber to deliver the cutting power with improved beam quality and total power achievable. Fiber lasers, which are glass fibers doped with Yb , are also being used in the... 

Jurado F., 2003. Power supply quality improvement with a SOFC plant by neural-network-based control. Journal of Power Sources, Vol. 117, No. 1-2, pp. 75-83. 

In general, batteries are not generally suitable for short duration and fast response applications such as statcons and DVRs because their lifetimes are shortened considerably when their charge is drained. Figure 8.5 shows improved power quality on the distribution side of a DVR. 

Expected new developments are new sample stream interfaces (e.g., ATR techniques), the improvement of IR optical fibres [84] and data handling (chemometrics). A full spectrum approach provides the possibilities of multiple analysis from one measurement and correlations of the IR spectmm with other physical properties associated with composition. Discriminant analysis using principle components of mid-IR spectral data is a powerful quality identification tool where rigorous multicomponent analysis is not only costly but in many cases unwarranted. In combination with discriminant analysis, mid-IR spectroscopy becomes more readily available for QC validation by non-spectroscopists allowing validation without quantitation [85]. 

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