Energy Engineering Education

and Smart Grid Test-Bed

Jian Sun

jsun@rpi.edu; (518) 276-8297

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

Electrical, Computer and Systems Eng. Department

Troy, NY

NSF-Sponsored Workshop on

Electrical Energy Education & Research

December 13-16, 2009, Doha, Qatar

2December 14, 2009

EPE at RPI

• Electric Power Engineering was a Separate

Department at RPI

– Established in 1962

– Offered One-Year MS Program without Thesis

– Undergraduate Student Body was Small

• So was the Number of PhD Students

• Merged into ECSE Department around 2000

– Education for Working Professionals Concentrated

at RPI-Hartford

3December 14, 2009

E. Gross, “Development of the Professional Electric Power Engineering Program at Rensselaer –

The Salient Features,” in IEEE Transactions on Education, vol. E-21, no. 3, pp. 159-161, Aug. 1978.

4December 14, 2009

Undergrduate EPE Curriculum

5December 14, 2009

Core Undergraduate Courses

Semiconductor

Power

ElectronicsElectromechanics

Power

Engineering

Fundamentals

EPE Laboratory

Major in EPE

6December 14, 2009

New Energy Systems Curriculum

Intro to Electric

Energy Systems

• EE Major with Concentration in Energy Systems

• Lab Activities in Each Course

• Modular Curriculum Allows Focus on Different Subjects

Power

Electronics

Electromechanical

Energy Conversion

Power System

Op. & Control

Cyber-Physical

Integrated SystemsRenewable

Energy

Electricity

Policy(Economics

Department)

Required for All

EE Students

7December 14, 2009

Focus on Fundamentals

• For Example, in Power Electronics

– Steady-State Circuit Analysis Based on Inductor Voltage-Second and Capacitor Amp-Second Balance

– PWM Spectral Analysis Using Double Fourier Series

11

1 11

0 θωθωcos2

πsin

2

π

π

4θωcos

2

πsin

2

π

π

4

tntmnmMm

Jm

tmmMm

Jm

cc

m n

ncc

m

• Renewable Energy?

8December 14, 2009

Challenges

• Plug and Play

• Copy and Paste

• Storage is Cheap

9December 14, 2009

Smart Grid Test-Bed

Utility

Local Distribution Grid

Solar Fuel CellWind

10December 14, 2009

Test-Bed Design

• Grid Simulator

– Variable Voltages and Frequency (Weak Grid)

– Programmable Harmonic Contents

– Controllable Impedance and Other Dynamic Characteristics

– Transient and Fault Conditions

• Sources, Loads, Energy Storage Devices

– Solar, Fuel Cell and Wind – Different Time Scales

– Constant-Power and Other Actively Controlled Loads

– Battery Bank, Hybrid Vehicles (to be Added)

11December 14, 2009

Grid Simulator

• Single or Three-Phase

– 70 kW Three-Phase Operation

– 40 kW Single-Phase Operation

• Two Back-to-Back Voltage-Source Converters

– Input Stage Uses a Generative Drive with Line Filter

– Output Formed by Three PWM Inverters in Parallel

• Internal Development Focus on Control

12December 14, 2009

Solar and Fuel Cell Simulation

• Sampling Period < 0.1 ms

– ADC 2 μs

– Computation 50 μs

– DAC 30 μs

13December 14, 2009

Wind Power Simulator

Variable

Speed

Drive

PM

Motor

PM

GenPWM

Rectifier

Grid-

Parallel

Inverter

Commercial Motor Drives with

Custom-Made Control Software

14December 14, 2009

Programmable Loads

• AC and DC Inputs

• Resistive, Inductive, Capacitive

• Constant Current

• Constant Instantaneous Power (DC)

– As Load for Rectifiers

• Constant Average Power

• Control Bandwidth Limitations

20 50 100 200 500 1000

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

20 50 100 200 500 1000

200

150

100

50

0

50

Amplitude Phase

15December 14, 2009

Use of the Test-Bed

• Research

– Renewable Energy Grid Integration

– Distribution System Voltage Stability and Control

– Impedance Matching, Harmonic Resonance

– Energy Storage and System Energy Management

• Education and Outreach

– Renewable Energy (Undergraduate & Graduate)

– Advanced Power Electronics (Graduate)

– System Demonstration, Industry Collaboration

• Future Expansion – RTDS, PMU, Smart Meters