Network Engineering, Modelling and Management - 2025 entry

This module has been designed to develop your knowledge of power electronics and power systems, data acquisition and automation. The future grid will see more integration of renewable energy sources (RES) and, thus, it is vital to understand power electronics, which is the enabling technology for integrating RES to the Grid. You will also learn the basic skills for modelling and analyzing the power network. Additionally, this module will allow you to gain hands-on experience in the practical aspects of data acquisition and control and associated software in the context of power electronic converters. You will have ‘hands-on’ interaction with sensors, data acquisition systems and control equipment. You will then be working in small groups on a chosen project to select sensor components data loggers, and actuators to assemble a data logging and control system for your project that could then be deployed ‘externally’. This is theoretical and practical course using lectures and laboratory-based exercises, and resulting in individual design and group design exercises.

Prerequisite module: ENE2003 or equivalent

The objective of this module is to consolidate and further develop your core knowledge and understanding of electrical power systems engineering, particularly the issues associated with the connection of renewable energy projects to electricity distribution grids. The overall expected level of attainment is a capability of conducting sensible dialogue with specialist electrical engineers that have been commissioned to complete grid connection studies. Furthermore, the module covers data acquisition and automaton which influence the design and operation of power electronic converters.

- distributed generation: introduction to distribution generation; the general characteristics of electrical transmission and distribution networks; the role of distributed generation in local and national energy supply, and the technical constraints inherent in their use;

- fault analysis: fault level and fault flow calculation; transient analysis; symmetrical components; zero sequence, negative sequence and positive sequence voltage and currents; balanced and unbalanced systems; types of unsymmetrical faults i.e. single line to ground (SLG), line-to-line (LL), double line to ground (LLG);

-- basic modelling of power systems including generators, transformers, transmission lines and load 

- control of power systems: delivered electrical energy to meet certain quality standards at fixed frequency and voltage with an acceptable level of reliability; function of generator governors, power shared between synchronous generators fitted with different governor types; mechanisms available to control frequency in stand alone systems, mechanisms used to control frequency in large systems, function of automatic voltage regulators, local nature of reactive power control and reactive power management in large systems;

- stability of power systems: electrical stiffness; swing equation; inertia constant; equal area criterion multi machine stability analysis; factors affecting stability; transient stability, small signal stability, voltage stability problem: causes and improvement methods; impact of renewable on the dynamics and stability of power systems, wide area control; - power electronics: explains what power electronics; brief review of the characteristics of various power semiconductor devices; application of power electronics in renewable energy; a broad overview of advanced power electronics technologies with an emphasis on multi-disciplinary aspects of integrated design;

- power electronics system integration: investigation of relationships between system application requirements and technological challenges in circuit topologies, power semiconductor devices, sensing and control, integrated packaging, and thermal management, and their impact on the system reliability and cost; concept of integrated power electronics modules and application in distributed power systems and motor drives;

- power quality: influence of grid connected renewable energy systems on power quality, voltage sag, variations and flicker, switching operation of renewable energy, harmonics caused by nonlinear load, power electronic loads, rectifiers and inverters in motor drives;

- Sensors and Transducers; Interfaces and signal conditioning; Data Acquisition Computer; Programming for Data Acquisition; Data Access and Storage; DAC Platforms including Arduino and Raspberry Pis;

- Case studies (motor control, power converters, automation, etc.)

If a student is referred or deferred, the failed / non-completed component(s) will be re-assessed at the same weighting as the original assessment.

ELE – http://vle.exeter.ac.uk/

Basic reading:

1. B. M. Weedy, Electric Power Systems, 4th Edition, Wiley 1998. Lib Shelf Number: 621.3191 WEE                                            

2. Grainger, J. & Stevenson, W., 1994. Power Systems: Analysis and Design, McGraw-Hill Education, LIB Shelf Number: 621.319 GRA    

3. Mohamed E. El-Hawary, Electrical Energy Systems, Boca Rotan, London, CRC 20000. LIB Shelf Number: 621.31 ELH.                            

4. J. D. Glover & M.S. Sarma, Power system analysis and design, Brooks-Cole/Thomson Learning, 2002,  Lib Shelf Number: 621.319 GLO 

5. J. C. Das, Power system analysis : short-circuit load flow and harmonics, Marcel Dekker, 2002, Lib Shelf Number: 621.310151 DAS         

6. S.M.Godoy, Renewable Energy Systems: design and analysis with induction generators, London, CRC 2004. LIB Shelf Number: 621.3136 SIM.   

7. E. Lakervi & E. J. Holmes, Electricity Distribution Network Design, 2nd Edition, IET Power Series, Lib Shelf Number: 621.3192 LAK

8. A. Greenwood, Electrical Transients in power systems, John Wiley & Sons, Inc; 1991. LIB Shelf Number: 621.31921 GRE.            

9. Gwyther, H F G., Solving problems in electrical power and power electronics. Harlow : Longman, 1988, Lib Shelf Number: 621.317 GWY      

10. A. Trzynadlowski, Introduction to modern power electronics, Chichester : Wiley, 1998, Lib Shelf Number: 621.313 TRZ                     

11. D.A. Bradley, Power electronics, Wokingham : van Nostrand Reinhold, 1987, Lib Shelf Number: 621.317 BRA                                

12. E. Ohno, Introduction to power electronics, Oxford : Clarendon Press, 1988, Lib Shelf Number: 621.317 OHN                              

MathCAD E-books:                                                                                                                          

Electrical Power Systems Analysis. Available on any IT services PC cluster on Tremough Campus                                              

Electrical machinery. Available on any IT services PC cluster on Tremough Campus                                                           

Reading list for this module: