Computational issues of an electromagnetics transient meshless method

In this paper we refer to the computational issues in solving Maxwell’ s curl equations without using any connectivity among the points in which the problem domain is discretized. The adopted procedure is able to approximate the electric and magnetic vector fields making use of the derivatives of a kernel function at points arranged in the computational domain. In order to improve the numerical accuracy, dealing with irregular data distribution or data located near the boundary, a suitable strategy is considered. The computational core of the overall process requires elementary linear algebra operations. In the paper the method is presented and the discussion is revolved to the computationa…

Finite difference time domain simulation of earth electrodes soil ionisation under lightning surge condition

The non linear effects of soil ionisation on the behaviour of earth electrodes are investigated by a finite difference time domain numerical scheme. A time variable soil resistivity is used in order to simulate the soil breakdown; step by step the resistivity value is controlled by the local instantaneous value of the electric field compared with the electrical strength, fixed for the soil. No a priori hypothesis about the geometrical shape of the ionised zone around the electrodes has to be enforced. Simulation results related to complex earth electrodes of limited extension are reported. The model has been validated by comparing the computed results with data available in technical litera…

PCB-Based Planar Inductive Loops for Partial Discharges Detection in Power Cables

Partial discharge (PD) diagnosis tests, including detecting, locating, and identifying, are used to trace defects or faults and assess the degree of aging in order to monitor the insulation condition of medium- and high-voltage power cables. In this context, an experimental evaluation of three different printed circuit board (PCB)-based inductive sensor topologies, with spiral, non-spiral, and meander shapes, is performed. The aim is to assess their capabilities for PD detection along a transmission power cable. First, simulation and experimental characterization are carried out to determine the equivalent electrical circuit and the quality factor of the three sensors. PD activity was studi…

Legal Liability of Professional Engineers: The Case of a Fire at a Shopping Center

In this paper, the authors discuss the legal liabilities of the professional engineer as both the engineer of record of a project and the construction site manager. In particular, this paper analyzes the case of a fire at an end-user MV/LV substation of a shopping center in Italy, occurred a few years after maintenance works on the electrical installation. The professional engineer who had designed and overseen the construction of the substation was accused of criminal negligence. The authors through the examination of applicable technical standards, as well as of safety regulations, demonstrate that the professional engineer had acted diligently and that there was no ground for the neglige…

Physiological compatibility of wireless chargers for electric bicycles

The Inductive Power Transfer represents a viable solution of wireless battery charging for all users of electric mobility. This method brings some benefits to the electric vehicles, being a convenient technique, compared to the conventional wire-based battery charging. Among the electric vehicles, the electric bicycles particularly fit with this innovative method of battery charging. Nevertheless, the physiological effects of the produced magnetic fields need to be taken into account. In this paper, the design of an Inductive Power Transfer system for E-bike wireless battery charging is presented and the measurements concerning the surrounding magnetic field are provided in order to validat…

Contract for the support of household appliances control and monitoring application interworking specification

Deformation of bubbles in silicon gel insulation under an alternating electric field

The behavior of silicone gel under electrical stress plays a significant role in the reliability and durability of high voltage electronic power devices due to its widespread use for the insulation of IGBT modules and other components. The charges accumulation at the bubble boundaries leads to significant displacements due to the establishment of Coulombic forces and the high deformability of colloidal system. The main purpose of this work is to validate a numerical approach useful to investigate, for a given silicone gel, the non-linear relation between the applied HVDC stress and the electric field over an air bubble within the insulation bulk. The analysis has been carried out by means o…

Unconditionally stable meshless integration of Maxwell's eqautions

Wavelet-like bases for thin-wire integral equations in electromagnetics

AbstractIn this paper, wavelets are used in solving, by the method of moments, a modified version of the thin-wire electric field integral equation, in frequency domain. The time domain electromagnetic quantities, are obtained by using the inverse discrete fast Fourier transform. The retarded scalar electric and vector magnetic potentials are employed in order to obtain the integral formulation. The discretized model generated by applying the direct method of moments via point-matching procedure, results in a linear system with a dense matrix which have to be solved for each frequency of the Fourier spectrum of the time domain impressed source. Therefore, orthogonal wavelet-like basis trans…

Different scenarios of electric mobility: Current situation and possible future developments of fuel cell vehicles in Italy

The diffusion of electric vehicles in Italy has started but some complications weight its spread. At present, hybrid technology is the most followed by users, due particularly to socioeconomic factors such as cost of investment and range anxiety. After a deep discussion of the Italian scenario, the aim of the paper is to recognize whether fuel cell technology may be an enabling solution to overcome pollution problems and respect for the environment. The opportunity to use fuel cells to store electric energy is quite fascinating&mdash

Transient DC-Arc Voltage Model in the Hybrid Switch of the DTT Fast Discharge Unit

The focus of this work is the transient modelling of the DC-arc voltage on a Hybrid Switch (a mechanical switch in parallel with a static switch) of a key protection component called Fast Discharge Unit (FDU) in the Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT). The DTT facility is an experimental tokamak in advanced design and realization phase, which will be built in the ENEA Research Centre in Frascati (Italy). The FDU allows the safe discharge of the Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting magnets when a quench is detected or a failure occurs in the power supply or in the cryogenic system. In this work, the arc conductance of the mechanical By-Pass Switch (BPS) of the Hybrid Switch is modelled using the well…

Forensic Analysis of Fire in a Substation of a Commercial Center

In this article, the authors discuss the legal liabilities of the professional engineer as both the engineer of record of a project and the construction site manager. In particular, this article analyzes the case of a fire at the end-user medium voltage–low-voltage (MV–LV) substation of a shopping center in Italy, which occurred a few years after the maintenance works on the electrical installation. The professional engineer who had designed and overseen the construction of the substation was accused of professional negligence. The authors through the examination of applicable technical standards, as well as of safety regulations, demonstrate that the professional engineer had acted diligen…

The effect of the axial heat transfer on space charge accumulation phenomena in HVDC cables

To date, it has been widespread accepted that the presence of space charge within the dielectric of high voltage direct current (HVDC) cables is one of the most relevant issues that limits the growing diffusion of this technology and its use at higher voltages. One of the reasons that leads to the establishment of space charge within the insulation of cables is the temperature dependence of its conductivity. Many researchers have demonstrated that high temperature drop over the insulation layer can lead to the reversal of the electric field profile. In certain conditions, this can over-stress the insulation during polarity reversal (PR) and transient over voltages (TOV) events accelerating …

Un solutore pseudospettrale basato su RBF per l'equazione di Helmoltz

Electric Vehicles and Psychology, Part 2

This paper presents the main psychological attitudes influencing the transition from conventional ICEV to BEV, and it is the continuance of Electric vehicles and psychology, part 1, [1]. This part faces the range anxiety problem, the risk of explosion of batteries, the autonomous silver vehicles and the experience of driving electric vehicles. If the reader is looking for simple answers, the author does not recommend the subsequent reading, since few paradoxes will be solved.

Numerical simulation of radiated EMI in 42V electrical automotive architectures

The work is focused on the evaluation of radiated electromagnetic interference generated by dc/dc converters in 42 V systems automotive environment. The results obtained by using the method of moments and the finite difference time domain method, separately, are presented and validated in comparison with those measured in a semi-anechoic electromagnetic chamber. A measurement system set up by the authors is employed. Both the used numerical approaches are proved to be an useful tool for radiated disturbance prediction, and also for electromagnetic compatibility oriented design of the vehicle electrical architecture.

Un solutore meshfree per EEG e MEG

Analisi del fenomeno della ionizzazione del terreno nel comportamento dinamico di elettrodi interrati sottoposti ad elevate correnti impulsive

Partial Discharge Detection Using a Spherical Electromagnetic Sensor

The presence of a partial discharge phenomenon in an electrical apparatus is a warning signal that could determine the failure of the insulation system, terminating the service of the apparatus and/or the network. In this paper, an innovative partial discharge (PD) measurement instrument based on an antenna sensor is presented and analyzed. Being non-intrusive is one of the most relevant features of the sensor. The frequency response of the antenna sensor and the features to recognize different PD sources and automatically synchronize them with the supply voltage are described and discussed in details. The results show the performance of the instrument can make a fast and correct diagnosis …

Design optimization for the quench protection of DTT's superconducting toroidal field magnets

Abstract The paper is focused on the optimal design of Fast Discharge Unit (FDU) for the quench protection of the Toroidal Field (TF) magnets of the Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT), an experimental facility under construction in ENEA Frascati Research Centre (Rome, Italy). The FDU is a safety key component that protects the superconducting magnets when a quench is detected through the fast extraction of the energy stored in the magnets by adding a discharge dump resistor (DR) in the TF magnets circuit. A comparison between a fixed DR and a switched variable DR has been implemented by changing resistor parameters and by using multiple current control of the power electronics components …

Un metodo numerico meshfree particellare nel dominio del tempo per l’analisi elettromagnetica: sviluppo di applicazioni 3D

An advanced variant of an interpolatory graphical display algorithm

In this paper an advanced interpolatory graphical display algorithm based on cardinal B-spline functions is provided. It is well-known that B-spline functions are a flexible tool to design various scale rapresentations of a signal. The proposed method allows to display without recursion a function at any desiderable resolution so that only initial data and opportune vectors weight are involved. In this way the structure of the algorithm is independent across the scale and a computational efficiency is reached. In this paper mono and bi-dimensional vectors weight generated by means of centered cubic cardinal B-spline functions have been supplied. (© 2004 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Wei…

FDTD simulation for electromagnetic radiated emissions in 42 V vehicle electrical systems

In this paper a full 3D approach, based on finite difference time domain method, is used to predict the electromagnetic radiated emissions from 42 V vehicle electrical loads. An experimental set-up has been arranged on purpose. A comparative analysis among measured and computed results is performed. The good agreement obtained among simulated and measured data enables to validate the numerical scheme. The proposed methodology contributes to predict electromagnetic emissions in the automotive environment since the design stage. Moreover, the proposed numerical tool can be used to define, for new vehicle electrical architectures, low cost test methods for electromagnetic compatibility and sui…

A methodology for evaluating the flexibility potential of domestic air-conditioning systems

The paper presents a methodology for quantifying the electrical flexibility potential of air-conditioning systems (ACS) installed in residential buildings according to the building envelope characteristics and the ACS performance. In order to provide a thorough analysis of the issue, the ACS baseline consumption referred to the indoor temperature of 24°C has been computed for three typical residential buildings built in the South of Italy over different periods. The baseline consumption was used as a reference to estimate the effect of the set point temperature change on the ACS power profile. The results showed that increasing the set-point temperature of ACS by 2°C and 4°C leads to a redu…

Energy and economic analysis of air-to-air heat pumps as an alternative to domestic gas boiler heating systems in the South of Italy

Abstract According to the electricity tariff recently issued by the Italian government for the domestic heating systems fed with heat pumps (HP), an energy and economic analysis was carried out with the aim of investigating the effectiveness of the air-to-air heat pump systems (HPS) as an alternative to the traditional heating using domestic gas boilers systems (GBS). For the purpose of this study, the apartments of three residential buildings were examined. The hourly heating loads were calculated with the ASHRAE radiant time series and the coefficient of performance (COP) of the HPs was evaluated for each operating condition. The costs for the heating system installation and electricity a…

Optimized design of high power density EMI filters for power electronic converters

Nowadays, power density of power converters and related EMI filters is gaining more and more attention. This severely impacts on the design constraints in several application domains. A conventional design of the EMI filter does not guarantee the selection of components/configuration leading to the best power density. For this reason, an optimized design procedure of discrete EMI filters in terms of power density is proposed in this paper. It is based on a previously developed rule-based design procedure, introducing here additional features to obtain a more effective optimization of EMI filter's power density. The proposed approach has been validated in terms of EMI filter's performance an…

Finite difference time domain simulation of soil ionization in grounding systems under lightning surge conditions

This paper proposes a Maxwell’s equations finite difference time domain (FDTD) approach for electromagnetic transients in ground electrodes in order to take into account the non linear effects due to soil ionization. A time variable soil resistivity method is used in order to simulate the soil breakdown, without the formulation of an initial hypothesis about the geometrical shape of the ionized zone around the electrodes. The model has been validated by comparing the computed results with available data found in technical literature referred to concentrated earths. Some application examples referred to complex grounding systems are reported to show the computational capability of the propos…

Electrical analogous in viscoelasticity

In this paper, electrical analogous models of fractional hereditary materials are introduced. Based on recent works by the authors, mechanical models of materials viscoelasticity behavior are firstly approached by using fractional mathematical operators. Viscoelastic models have elastic and viscous components which are obtained by combining springs and dashpots. Various arrangements of these elements can be used, and all of these viscoelastic models can be equivalently modeled as electrical circuits, where the spring and dashpot are analogous to the capacitance and resistance, respectively. The proposed models are validated by using modal analysis. Moreover, a comparison with numerical expe…

Modello per la simulazione di scariche parziali con approccio probabilistico

Un nuovo approccio per l’identificazione di segnali di scariche parziali multi sorgente attraverso decomposizione wavelet multirisoluzione

A Smoothed Particle Interpolation Scheme for Transient Electromagnetic Simulation

In this paper, the fundamentals of a mesh-free particle numerical method for electromagnetic transient simulation are presented. The smoothed particle interpolation methodology is used by considering the particles as interpolation points in which the electromagnetic field components are computed. The particles can be arbitrarily placed in the problem domain: No regular grid, nor connectivity laws among the particles, have to be initially stated. Thus, the particles can be thickened only in distinct confined areas, where the electromagnetic field rapidly varies or in those regions in which objects of complex shape have to be simulated. Maxwell’s equations with the assigned boundary and initi…

Experimental Investigation on the Performances of a Multilevel Inverter Using a Field Programmable Gate Array-Based Control System

The Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) represents a valid solution for the design of control systems for inverters adopted in many industry applications, because of both its high flexibility of use and its high-performance with respect to other types of digital controllers. In this context, this paper presents an experimental investigation on the harmonic content of the voltages produced by a three-phase, five level cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel inverter with an FPGA-based control board, aiming also to evaluate the performance of the FPGA through the implementation of the main common modulation techniques and the comparison between simulation and experimental results. The control algorithm…

CARATTERIZZAZIONE ELETTROMAGNETICA DEL COMPORTAMENTO DINAMICO DI ELETTRODI INTERRATI IN PRESENZA DI IONIZZAZIONE DEL TERRENO

ODEF: An interactive tool for optimized design of EMI filters

The impact of EMI filters on volume and weight of power converters is significant. For this reason, filter's size optimization is a strategic step towards the improvement of the power converter's power density. An EMI filter design that follows a conventional procedure does not guarantee the selection of components/configuration leading to the best power density. Therefore, in order to help EMI engineers and scientists in pursuing a fast and effective choice of optimal discrete EMI filter components and configuration, a novel tool is proposed in this paper, namely ODEF (Optimized Design of EMI Filters). ODEF is an interactive software application running in Matlab® environment. It suitably …

A New Approach to Partial Discharge Detection Under DC Voltage: Application to Different Materials

Usability of a new Direct Current Periodic waveform for partial discharge qualification in HVDC systems is exemplified by tests performed on different materials.

A wavelet operator in solving electromagnetic fields equations in time domain

Approccio campistico per lo studio del fenomeno di ionizzazione del suolo mediante il metodo FDTD

Modelling, simulation and characterization of Li-Ion battery cell

The decarbonizing process of the transportation system and the spread of unplanned renewables energy source, such as photovoltaic and wind energies, brought the constant need of ever more efficient energy storage technologies. Among these technologies, batteries, particularly the li-ion chemistry, are widely used in automotive and energy storage applications. For an optimized management of the cell it is advisable to have models that can accurately describe cell behaviour. In this paper a battery model for performance simulation in automotive application is identified. The main shapes of battery cells with their own advantages and disadvantages are shown, and a roundup of the best available…

An implicit time domain meshless formulation for Maxwell’s PDEs

A full wave three dimensional meshless approach for electromagnetic transients

Time Evolution of Partial Discharges in a Dielectric Subjected to the DC Periodic Voltage

Partial discharge (PD) detection can be considered one of the most useful tools for assessing the insulation conditions of the power apparatus in high-voltage systems. Under AC conditions, this analysis is widely employed in online and offline tests, such as type tests or commissioning, and can be carried out by applying the phase-resolved PD (PRPD) method, since the patterns can give information about the defect classification. Under DC voltages, the classic pattern recognition method cannot be performed, and the measurements show complexities related to the nature of the phenomena. For this reason, to date, a standard for PD measurements under DC does not exist. In previous papers, a new …

Multiscale Particle Method in Solving Partial Differential Equations

A novel approach to meshfree particle methods based on multiresolution analysis is presented. The aim is to obtain numerical solutions for partial differential equations by avoiding the mesh generation and by employing a set of particles arbitrarily placed in problem domain. The elimination of the mesh combined with the properties of dilation and translation of scaling and wavelets functions is particularly suitable for problems governed by hyperbolic partial differential equations with large deformations and high gradients.

A renormalized formulation of SPH method

The Industrial Applicability of PEA Space Charge Measurements, for Performance Optimization of HVDC Power Cables

Cable manufacturing industries are constantly trying to improve the electrical performance of power cables. During the years, it was found that one of the most relevant degradation factors influencing the cable lifetime is the presence of space charge in the insulation layer. To detect the accumulated charge, the pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method is the most used technique. Despite the wide use of the PEA cell, several issues are still present. In particular, the PEA output signal is strongly disturbed by the acoustic waves reflections within the PEA cell. This causes the distortion of the output signal and therefore the misinterpretation of the charge profiles. This, in turn, may result…

Un metodo meshfree implicito nel dominio del tempo per l'analisi elettromagnetica in transitorio

Partial Discharges in HVDC Cables - The Effect of the Temperature Gradient During Load Transients

The paper investigates the role of the space charge accumulation phenomena in the inception of Partial Discharges (PD) in a defect within the bulk of the dielectrics of a High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cable. It is widespread accepted that the number of PD occurring in an HVDC cable during its lifetime is largely less than that under AC voltage stress. This is essentially due to higher values of the voltage between the conductor and the screen needed to trigger PD under a steady DC voltage than the same value under AC stress. Nevertheless, due to the dependency of the electrical conductivity of the insulation on the electric field and temperature, PD in HVDC cables is strongly influence…

A new approach to calibrate the thermal conditions in space charge measurements on HVDC mini-cables

The PEA method is currently widespread used for space charge measurements in mini-cables in order to qualify the behavior of semicon-dielectric-semicon compound under electric and thermal stress. The main goal of this research is to quantitatively evaluate the relationship between the thermal boundary conditions applied to cables or mini-cables and the maximum local electric field due to the accumulated space charge. Hitherto, several research groups have obtained thermal gradients over the dielectric's radius heating the conductor by Joule effect due to an induced current. In this paper, a numerical approach is offered to calibrate the heat exchange boundary conditions to apply to a sample…

The Effect of the Harmonic Content Generated by AC/DC Modular Multilevel Converters on HVDC Cable Systems

With the increasing penetration of renewable and decentralized energy sources into the power grid, an extended use of DC voltages is expected on both distribution and transmission levels. Generation of DC voltages by means of voltage source converters is associated with a wide spectrum of harmonic distortions at converter terminals, both on the ac and on the dc sides. This can lead to partial discharges in power cables, which deteriorate insulation material thus weakening its performance and reducing cable life-time. In the previously published paper, the effect of harmonic distortion on appearance of partial discharges in cable insulation was evaluated. Here, the study related to the PD be…

Forecasts on the development of hydrogen refuelling infrastructures in Portugal

In Portugal, the transition to new forms of mobility has begun in recent years, but there are still obstacles to overcome. Currently, hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) are the most widespread and accepted by the community and that is probably due to range anxiety, having in fact the possibility of double charging (both through the thermal engine and the electric battery). Furthermore, it must be considered that in addition to electric vehicles, another valid alternative to mobility in the near future is the hydrogen vehicles one. These appear to be even more sustainable from the point of view of air emissions, but on the other hand the costs for the production of hydrogen are still too high. Then, th…

Viscoelasticity: an electrical point of view

Time dependent hereditary properties of complex materials are well described by power-laws with real order exponent. This experimental observation and analogous electrical experiments, yield a description of these properties by using fractional-order operators. In this paper, elasto-viscous and visco-elastic behaviors of fractional order hereditary materials are firstly described by using fractional mathematical operators, based on recent work of some of the authors. Then, electrical analogous models are introduced. Viscoelastic models have elastic and viscous components which can be obtained by combining springs and dashpots: these models can be equivalently viewed as electrical circuits, …

Forecasting the diffusion of hydrogen EV refuelling infrastructures in Italy

In Italy the electric vehicle revolution is arrived but it still has difficulties to take off. At the moment hybrid technology would seem the most quoted, due especially to range anxiety. The aim of this work is to understand if the fuel cell technology can find place in Italy. The possibility to use fuel cell to storage electric energy is quite interesting: the charging times will be reduced, and heavy passenger transportation should be easily faced. Basing on the existing history and analysis of the information accessible, this paper addresses the existing e-mobility scenario in Italy and predicts the cities in which a hydrogen refuelling infrastructure should be more remunerative, in ord…

Un modello numerico particellare per la magnetoencefalografia

The Method of Fundamental Solutions in Solving Coupled Boundary Value Problems for M/EEG

The estimation of neuronal activity in the human brain from electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals is a typical inverse problem whose solution pro- cess requires an accurate and fast forward solver. In this paper the method of fundamental solutions is, for the first time, proposed as a meshfree, boundary-type, and easy-to-implement alternative to the boundary element method (BEM) for solving the M/EEG forward problem. The solution of the forward problem is obtained by numerically solving a set of coupled boundary value problems for the three-dimensional Laplace equation. Numerical accuracy, convergence, and computational load are investigated. The proposed met…

A numerical method for imaging of biological microstructures by VHF waves

Imaging techniques give a fundamental support to medical diagnostics during the pathology discovery as well as for the characterization of biological structures. The imaging methods involve electromagnetic waves in a frequency range that spans from some Hz to GHz and over. Most of these methods involve scanning of wide human body areas even if only small areas need to be analyzed. In this paper, a numerical method to evaluate the shape of micro-structures for application in the medical field, with a very low invasiveness for the human body, is proposed. A flexible thin-wire antenna radiates the VHF waves and then, by measuring the spatial magnetic field distribution it is possible to recons…

A novel numerical meshless approach for electric potential estimation in transcranial stimulation

In this paper, a first application of the method of fundamental solutions in estimating the electric potential and the spatial current density distribution in the brain due to transcranial stimulation, is presented. The coupled boundary value p roblems for the electric potential are solved in a meshless way, so avoiding the use of grid based numerical methods. A multi-spherical geometry is considered and numerical results are discussed.

Effect of Polarity Reversal on the Partial Discharge Phenomena

In the field of High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission, the space charge accumulation phenomenon and the Partial Discharges (PD) phenomena are considered the main causes of dielectric ageing. During the years, the degradation effect of both phenomena under constant DC stress has been widely studied by several researchers. In case of polarity reversal, typically carried out to control bi-directional power flow between interconnected High Voltage transmission systems, the space charge movement may not synchronously follow the electric field polarity. This could make the moment of reversing polarity a very critical one, where space charge injected during preceding polarity produces hi…

Processo di denoising per l'acquisizione di segnali di scariche parziali mediante trasformata wavelet discreta (DWT)

Computer Aided Optimal Design of High Power Density EMI Filters

Power density of power converter systems is becoming an increasingly stringent design constraint for a wide range of applications. Size reduction of EMI filter in power converters is an important aspect due to its significant impact on the overall converter volume and weight. In order to take on this issue, a computer aided procedure for a fast selection of optimal discrete EMI filter components and configuration is described in this paper. The proposed technique is a rule-based automatic procedure based on suitable databases that consider datasheets information of commercially available passive components (e.g. magnetic cores, capacitors). It allows the minimization of the filter's volume …

Applicazione della decomposizione wavelet multirisoluzione (MWD) per il riconoscimento di segnali di scariche parziali multisorgente

Numerical solution of electric field integral equation for thin-wire piecewise antennas shape reconstruction

Experimental Investigation on the Performances of Innovative PV Vertical Structures

The sustainable development of our planet is considerably related to a relevant reduction of CO2 global emissions, with building consumption contributing more than 40%. In this scenario, new technological conceptions, such as building-integrated photovoltaic technology, emerged in order to satisfy the requirements of sustainability imposed by the European Union. Therefore, the aim of this work is to provide a technical and economical comparison of the performances of different vertical-mounted innovative photovoltaic systems, potentially integrated on a building instead of on traditional windows or glass walls. The proposed investigation was carried out by means of experimental tests on thr…

Numerical Investigations of an Implicit Leapfrog Time-Domain Meshless Method

Numerical solution of partial differential equations governing time domain simulations in computational electromagnetics, is usually based on grid methods in space and on explicit schemes in time. A predefined grid in the problem domain and a stability step size restriction need. Recently, the authors have reformulated the meshless framework based on smoothed particle hydrodynamics, in order to be applied for time domain electromagnetic simulation. Despite the good spatial properties, the numerical explicit time integration introduces, also in a meshless context, a severe constraint. In this paper, at first, the stability condition is addressed in a general way by allowing the time step inc…

Effect of Heat Exchange Transient Conditions with Moving Water-Air Interface on Space Charge Accumulation in Undersea HVdc Cables

The accumulation of space charge inside the dielectric layer of an HVdc cable is one of the most important issue to be considered in the design stage and during the operating conditions. The separation of space charge is due to several factors including the dependence on temperature of the electrical conductivity of the insulation and the establishment of a thermal gradient under load conditions. This article is focused on the investigation of the effect of an axial heat transmission on the space charge and electric field distributions in an HVdc cable. In order to assess the impact of this phenomenon, a case study involving a cable immersed partly in water and partly in air has been simula…

Seminari ed esercitazioni del corso di Modelli numerici per l'ingegneria elettrica - Dispensa didattica di Elettromagnetismo Computazionale (SSD ING-IND 31)

An Efficient Numerical Method for Time Domain Computational Electromagnetic Simulation

In this paper an efficient numerical method in approximating the electric and magnetic fields is provided. The method is based on an implicit leapfrog arrangement in time and without mesh in space. Moreover, a projection scheme is introduced in order to improve the accuracy of the proposed approach and applied into the computational electromagnetic (CEM) framework. The PDEs governing the process are solved and some numerical results are reported to validate the numerical process.

On the distribution of lightning current among interconnected grounding systems in medium voltage grids

This paper presents the results of a first investigation on the effects of lightning stroke on medium voltage installations' grounding systems, interconnected with the metal shields of the Medium Voltage (MV) distribution grid cables or with bare buried copper ropes. The study enables us to evaluate the distribution of the lightning current among interconnected ground electrodes in order to estimate if the interconnection, usually created to reduce ground potential rise during a single-line-to-ground fault, can give place to dangerous situations far from the installation hit by the lightning stroke. Four different case studies of direct lightning stroke are presented and discussed: (1) two …

Conceptual Design and Modeling of the Toroidal Field Coils Circuit of DTT

Italian Divertor Tokamak Test (DTT) facility is part of the general European programme on the fusion research. Its specific role is to cover the gap on the power exhaust for the future DEMOstration power plant (DEMO). This tokamak will be built and installed in Italy at Frascati ENEA laboratories. The paper describes the Toroidal Field (TF) coils circuit powered by a TF power supply that feeds in series 18 toroidal superconducting magnets and the development of three software models in order to validate the adopted technical solutions in term of maximum voltage and maximum current stress on each power device/component, due to both the operating and fault conditions, and across TF coils.

Numerical modelling for EM-Fields and biosystems interactions

In this paper the electromagnetic fields related to the current sources in the human brain are investigated by means of the quasi-stationary approximation. The knowledge of these fields are of great interest to understand the human brain activity regions. By considering the current density produced by neural activity and because no current could ow out of the skull, the numerical model describing the problem can be fully defined. The current sources are simulated as current dipoles into an homogeneous sphere proceeding in the computation by solving the Poissons equation with Neumann boundary conditions. Numerical results relating to a spherical head representation are proposed by considerin…

An advanced gridless method for electromagnetic transient simulation

An Advanced Numerical Model in Solving Thin-Wire Integral Equations by Using Semi-Orthogonal Compactly Supported Spline Wavelets

Abstract—In this paper, the semi-orthogonal compactly sup- ported spline wavelets are used as basis functions for the efficient solution of the thin-wire electric field integral equation (EFIE) in frequency domain. The method of moments (MoM) is used via the Galerkin procedure. Conventional MoM directly applied to the EFIE, leads to dense matrix which often becomes computation- ally intractable when large-scale problems are approached. To overcome these difficulties, wavelets can be used as a basis set so obtaining the generation of a sparse matrix; this is due to the local supports and the vanishing moments properties of the wavelets. In the paper, this technique is applied to analyze elec…

Electromagnetic radiated field measurements for partial discharge diagnostic

Recently, improvements have been made in the diagnostic of electrical insulation systems by means of electric Partial Discharge (PD) standard measurements through a stochastic approach in the treatment of the acquired data: in this way, the identification of the defects as well as the separation of multiple defects simultaneously active, have been successfully performed. However, the standard PD measurement process can be affected by the well-known parasitic effects due to conducted noise whose spectrum can have characteristics similar to those of the measured signal. Moreover, the classic PD measurement system have to be suitable assembled on the Device Under Test (DUT) so determining a co…

A MESHLESS PARTICLE FORMULATION FOR ELECTROMGNETIC PROBLEMS

Numerical modelling of electromagnetic sources by integral formulation

Analysis of electromagnetic (EM) transients can be carried out by employing a eld approach in frequency domain, based on an appropriate integral equation. This approach is a powerful method for the analysis of EM antennas and scatterers. Recent work by the authors in modeling electromagnetic scattering in frequency domain are summarized. Thin-wire electric eld integral equation has been handled and possible application in obtaining sources localization information are discussed. Moments method (MoM) is used and time domain analysis is also carried out by discrete Fourier transform. Di erent approaches have been considered by using direct MoM formulation. Simulation results obtained both via…

A Meshfree Solver for the MEG Forward Problem

Noninvasive estimation of brain activity via magnetoencephalography (MEG) involves an inverse problem whose solution requires an accurate and fast forward solver. To this end, we propose the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) as a meshfree alternative to the Boundary Element Method (BEM). The solution of the MEG forward problem is obtained, via the Method of Particular Solutions (MPS), by numerically solving a boundary value problem for the electric scalar potential, derived from the quasi-stationary approximation of Maxwell’s equations. The magnetic field is then computed by the Biot-Savart law. Numerical experiments have been carried out in a realistic single-shell head geometry. The p…

Un modello per l’analisi dei disturbi di modo comune indotti su azionamenti in presenza di fulminazione atmosferica

Un modello di simulazione della ionizzazione del terreno nel comportamento dinamico di elettrodi interrati disperdenti elevate correnti impulsive

The Acoustic Wave Behavior Within the PEA Cell for Space Charge Measurement

In order to evaluate the acoustic wave behavior within the Pulsed Electro Acoustic (PEA) cell, a simulation model has been developed in this work. The model, implemented in Matlab environment, is based on the analogy between acoustic and electrical quantities. Therefore, it was possible to model the PEA cell as cascade connected lossy transmission lines. The model has been validated theoretically by making a comparison with a simulation result found in literature. The experimental validation has also been made by using the PEA cell of the LEPRE high voltage lab. In addition, four graphs have been realized. Two of them can be used to establish in easy and fast way to obtain the minimum groun…

Iterative moment method for electromagnetic transients in grounding systems on CRAY T3D

In this paper the parallel aspects of an electromagnetic model for transients in grounding systems based on an iterative scheme are investigated in a multiprocessor environment. A coarse and fine grain parallel solutions have been developed on the CRAY T3D, housed at CINECA, equipped with 64 processors working in space sharing modality. The performances of the two parallel approaches implemented according to the work sharing parallel paradigm have been evaluated for different problem sizes employing variable number of processors.

Polarity reversal in HVDC joints - The effect of the axial thermal conduction

It has been shown that the establishment of a thermal gradient over the radius of HVDC cables involves the accumulation of space charge within the dielectric layer. High thermal gradients over the insulation thickness of loaded cables can lead to the inversion of the radial electric field pattern. In this scenarios, transient overvoltages and polarity reversal can lead to local and transitory peaks of electric field. Since the temperature distribution plays an important role in reaching critical values of the electric field, it has been considered interesting to have a more in-depth view of the thermal behavior of HVDC systems close the discontinuities of the geometry along the cable axis. …

Different Measurement Setup Configurations for Space Charge test in Mini Cable Specimens with the PEA Method

Under DC stress, the space charge accumulation is believed one of the most responsible of dielectrics ageing. For this reason, due to the increase of the HVDC transmission, a recommendation has been proposed. The latter want to introduce the space charge measure, with the PEA method, in cable specimens during the prequalification or type tests. Considering the several issues related to this kind of measures the aim of the proposed work is find a measurement setup for mini cable specimens which is able to provide a clear and clean space charge profile. Therefore, different tests have been made in this work. In particular, the length of the cable specimen, the width of the pulse electrodes, a…

Design and Performance Evaluation of a High Power-Density EMI Filter for PWM Inverter-Fed Induction-Motor Drives

This paper presents the design of an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter for a low-voltage high-current induction-motor drives supplied by dc power grids. In order to effectively design the EMI filter, a suitable common-mode/differential-mode (CM/DM) separation technique has been used. Due to the high operating currents, the software-based separation technique using time-domain measurements has been applied. The proposed technique allows the CM and DM sections of the EMI filter to be properly selected in a more economical way, i.e., without the need of a dedicated hardware or costly radio frequency (RF) instrumentation. The design has been done according to a power-density criterion. …

A Mesh-free Particle Method for Transient Full-wave Simulation

A mesh-free particle method is presented for electromagnetic (EM) transient simulation. The basic idea is to obtain numerical solutions for the partial differential equations describing the EM problem in time domain, by using a set of particles, considered as spatial interpolation points of the field variables, arbitrarily placed in the problem domain and by avoiding the use of a regular mesh. Irregular problems geometry with diffused non-homogeneous media can be modeled only with an initial set of arbitrarily distributed particles. The time dependence is accounted for with an explicit finite difference scheme. Moreover the particle discretization can be improved during the process time ste…

An advanced numerical model for human brain activity investigation

Corrective meshless particle formulations for time domain Maxwell's equations

AbstractIn this paper a meshless approximation of electromagnetic (EM) field functions and relative differential operators based on particle formulation is proposed. The idea is to obtain numerical solutions for EM problems by passing up the mesh generation usually required to compute derivatives, and by employing a set of particles arbitrarily placed in the problem domain. The meshless Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method has been reformulated for solving the time domain Maxwell's curl equations. The consistency of the discretized model is investigated and improvements in the approximation are obtained by modifying the numerical process. Corrective algorithms preserving meshless consiste…

Acoustic Wave Behavior in a Specimen Containing an Air Void Defect

The PEA method is the most used technique for the space charge measurements. As is well known, this method uses pressure waves to detect the charges accumulated in solid dielectrics. Based on its working principle, the generated acoustic waves travel within PEA cell and the specimen under test in order to be finally detected by the piezoelectric sensor. For a multilayer specimen and, in particular, in case of different materials that make up the specimen, the acoustic wave reflection is inevitable. Considering that, in several cases, the reflected waves could be detected by the piezoelectric sensor before than the main signals, the PEA cell output profile could results distorted. Based on t…

Energy Management via Connected Household Appliances

The study reported hereafter provides results based on a campaign of simulations conducted by University of Palermo on the basis of its knowledge in the field Energy Value Chain and in the field of Energy Management (EM) for household appliances. Inputs from CECED Convergence WG has been fundamental to base that study on realistic data and cases. Moreover, the so called EM study, offers also a clear picture about the opportunity to have energy management applications and services in house, being those opportunities strictly related to the cost of in- frastructure needed and to the benefits belonging to different actors in the energy value chain. Energy savings have been considered both in t…

An improved smoothed particle electromagnetics method in 3D time domain simulations

In this paper, an enhanced variant of the meshless smoothed particle electromagnetics (SPEM) method is performed in order to solve PDEs in time domain describing 3D transient electromagnetic phenomena. The method appears to be very efficient in approximating spatial derivatives in the numerical treatment of Maxwell's curl equations. In many cases, very often, accuracy degradation, due to a lack of particle consistency, severely limits the usefulness of this approach. A numerical corrective strategy, which allows to restore the SPEM consistency, without any modification of the smoothing kernel function and its derivatives, is presented. The method allows to restore the same order of consiste…

Diagnosi dell’affidabilità dei sistemi di isolamento mediante l’impiego di sonde di campo elettrico e magnetico per la misura di scariche parziali

Attenuation of low frequency magnetic fields produced by HV underground power cables

High-voltage underground cable systems are becoming more common as the demand for electrical power within urban centers increase, also considering the difficulties in building new overhead power lines in the vicinity of city centers because of authorization issues. Therefore, interest towards the evaluation of magnetic fields produced by high-voltage power lines has been triggered during the last decade and concern about effects on human health of exposure to extra low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields due to power lines has been increasing as well. Hence, the evaluation of the magnetic field produced by underground power cables is important in order to develop methods for mitigating their in…

Caratterizzazione di sensori elettromagnetici compatti per il rilievo di scariche parziali

Investigation on partial discharges in HVDC cables after polarity reversal events

Due to the accumulation of space charge inside the insulating layer of HVDC cables, the electric field under load conditions may be altered compared to what is established in HVAC cables. For example, a high thermal gradient leads to the inversion of the electric field pattern until the maximum value is reached in proximity of the dielectric-semicon interfaces. These maximum values can be further increased due to transient overvoltages and polarity reversal events until reaching electric field values higher than the rated ones. The main goal of this research is to investigate the possibility that, during these transient phenomena, conditions are created that favor the occurrence of partial …

On the use of a meshless solver for PDEs governing electromagnetic transients

In this paper some key elements of the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics methodology suitably reformulated for analyzing electromagnetic transients are investigated. The attention is focused on the interpolating smoothing kernel function which strongly influences the computational results. Some issues are provided by adopting the polynomial reproducing conditions. Validation tests involving Gaussian and cubic B-spline smoothing kernel functions in one and two dimensions are reported.

An augmented MFS approach for brain activity reconstruction

Abstract Weak electrical currents in the brain flow as a consequence of acquisition, processing and transmission of information by neurons, giving rise to electric and magnetic fields, which can be modeled by the quasi-stationary approximation of Maxwell’s equations. Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) techniques allow for reconstructing the cerebral electrical currents and thus investigating the neuronal activity in the human brain in a non-invasive way. This is a typical electromagnetic inverse problem which can be addressed in two stages. In the first one a physical and geometrical representation of the head is used to find the relation between a given source mo…

Modelli numerici meshfree per l’analisi di problemi elettromagnetici.

Lightning-current distribution in MV grids interconnected earthing systems

The paper presents first investigations results on the effects of lightning stroke on medium voltage (MV) installations' earthing systems, connected together with the metal shields of the MV distribution grid cables. The study enables to evaluate the distribution of the lightning current among interconnected earth electrodes in order to assess if the interconnection, usually done for reducing earth potential rise during an earth fault, can give place to dangerous situations far from the installation hit by the lightning stroke. Two case studies of direct lightning stroke are presented and discussed: two interconnected MV substations of the MV grid; a high voltage/medium voltage (HV/MV) stat…

Simulazione numerica dell’interferenza elettromagnetica radiata in sistemi elettrici automobilistici a 42 V

A multi-sphere particle numerical model for non-invasive investigations of neuronal human brain activity

In this paper, a multi-sphere particle method is built- up in order to estimate the solution of the Poisson's equation with Neumann boundary conditions describing the neuronal human brain activity. The partial difierential equations governing the relationships between neural current sources and the data produced by neuroimaging technique, are able to compute the scalp potential and magnetic fleld distributions generated by the neural activity. A numerical approach is proposed with current dipoles as current sources and going on in the computation by avoiding the mesh construction. The current dipoles are into an homogeneous spherical domain modeling the head and the computational approach i…

Electric Mobility in Portugal: Current Situation and Forecasts for Fuel Cell Vehicles

In recent years, the growing concern for air quality has led to the development of sustainable vehicles to replace conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles. Currently, the most widespread technology in Europe and Portugal is that of Battery Electric Vehicles (BEV) or plug‐in HEV (PHEV) electric cars, but hydrogen‐based transport has also shown significant growth in the commercialization of Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV) and in the development of new infrastructural schemes. In the current panorama of EV, particular attention should be paid to hydrogen technology, i.e., FCEVs, which is potentially a valid alternative to BEVs and can also be hybrid (FCHEV) and plug‐in hybrid…

Special Issue on Advances in EMC numerical modeling

Design of Soft Ferrite filters for EMI reduction in Power Conversion Systems

The use of a discrete passive filter is the most attractive solution for EMI reduction in power conversion systems. This is due to its simplicity of concept and efficiency in the frequency range up to tens of megahertz and over. The common mode and differential mode sections of the EMI filter contain capacitors and soft magnetic chokes and, when they are used in the transportation context, their design has to satisfy further constraints in terms of low weight, low volume, low losses and low cost in adjoint to filtering efficiency. In this framework the authors, by using an EMI filter design procedure already setup by themselves, investigate, also with an experimental setup, the possibility …

Effect of weak magnetic fields on the in vitro propagation of Genista aetnensis (Raf. Ex Biv.) Dc.

Over the years, many studies have emphasized the importance of the magnetic fields (MF), used as a safe alternative choice to improve agricultural production. The induction effect of different magnetic fields varies depending on the species, explants typology, intensity of magnetic field and period of exposure. The aim of the present study was to investigate the application of a continuous magnetic field induction, at different exposure times, as a production enhancement for in vitro culture of Genista aetnensis, an endemic shrub commonly named 'Mount Etna broom'. An in vitro protocol has been settled for the conservation of the species. Plantlets cultured onto a solified Murashige and Skoo…

Transient Electrical Behaviour of the TF Superconducting Coils of Divertor Tokamak Test Facility During a Fast Discharge

The paper is focused on the electromagnetic analysis of the Toroidal Field (TF) superconducting coils of the Divertor Tokamak Test facility (DTT) when electrical transients occur in the TF coils system: for example, during the operations of the Fast Discharge Units (FDUs) and considering also, the simultaneous occurrence of a fault condition. During the FDU intervention, a transient voltage excitation lasting few microseconds occurs at the TF coil terminals and it electrically stresses the insulations of TF coils itsef. To investigate the voltage distribution across, inside and between different Double Pancakes (DPs) of each TF coil, a lumped parameters circuital model has been developed an…

UN METODO COMBINATO CWT-DWT PER IL RICONOSCIMENTO DI SEGNALI DI SCARICHE PARZIALI

Improved fast Gauss transform for meshfree electromagnetic transients simulations

Abstract In this paper improved fast summations are introduced to enhance a meshfree solver for the evolution of the electromagnetic fields over time. The original method discretizes the time-domain Maxwell’s curl equations via Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics requiring many summations on the first derivatives of the kernel function and field vectors at each time step. The improved fast Gauss transform is properly adopted picking up the computational cost and the memory requirement at an acceptable level preserving the accuracy of the computation. Numerical simulations in two-dimensional domains are discussed giving evidence of improvements in the computation compared to the standard formula…

UN SOLUTORE MESHFREE PER M/EEG

A WAVELET OPERATOR ON THE INTERVAL IN SOLVING MAXWELL'S EQUATIONS

In this paper, a differential wavelet-based operator defined on an interval is presented and used in evaluating the electromagnetic field described by Maxwell's curl equations, in time domain. The wavelet operator has been generated by using Daubechies wavelets with boundary functions. A spatial differential scheme has been performed and it has been applied in studying electromagnetic phenomena in a lossless medium. The proposed approach has been successfully tested on a bounded axial-symmetric cylindrical domain.

Towards an efficient meshfree solver

In this paper we focus on the enhancement in accuracy approximating a function and its derivatives via smoothed particle hydrodynamics. We discuss about improvements in the solution by reformulating the original method by means of the Taylor series expansion and by projecting with the kernel function and its derivatives. The accuracy of a function and its derivatives, up to a fixed order, can be simultaneously improved by assuming them as unknowns of a linear system. The improved formulation has been assessed with gridded and scattered data points distribution and the convergence has been analyzed referring to a case study in a 2D domain.

Beyond the mesh handling Maxwell's curl equations with an unconditionally leapfrog stable scheme

Numerical solution of equations governing time domain simulations in computational electromagnetics, is usually based on grid methods in space and on explicit schemes for the time evolution. A predefined grid in the problem domain and a stability step size restriction must be accepted. Evidence is given that efforts need for overcoming these heavy constraints. Recently, the authors developed a meshless method to avoid the connective laws among the points scattered in the problem domain. Despite the good spatial properties, the numerical explicit integration used in the original formulation of the method provides,also in a meshless context, spatial and time discretization strictly interleave…

PROGETTAZIONE OTTIMIZZATA DI FILTRI EMI AD ELEVATA POWER DENSITY PER CONVERTITORI ELETTRONICI DI POTENZA

In molti dei campi di impiego dei convertitori elettronici di potenza (aeronautico, aerospaziale, automotive, etc.) è richiesta la realizzazione di sistemi di conversione che, in relazione a stringenti vincoli di progetto, presentino, a parità di potenza, dimensioni sempre più compatte e pesi ridotti. In tale ottica, l’ottimizzazione della densità di potenza (power density) del convertitore diventa un obiettivo essenziale

Partial Discharge defects Classification by Discrete Wavelet Transform

Un metodo numerico incodizionatamente stabile mesh-free per l'analisi elettromagnetica

Mitigation of 50 Hz magnetic field produced by an overhead transmission line

Power transmission utilities are challenged by the need to expand transmission system capacity to meet growing energy demands. The impact of high voltage overhead transmission lines on the environment represents a hot topic in the context of transport and distribution of electrical energy. In particular, interest towards the effects of extra low frequency (ELF) magnetic fields generated by high-voltage power transmission lines has been increasing significantly during the last decade, giving rise to a number of policy initiatives and research activities. Therefore, the evaluation of the magnetic field generated by conductors of overhead lines is of primary importance in order to develop meth…

STIMA DEL POTENZIALE ELETTRICO IN tDCS CON APPROCCIO MESHLESS INNOVATIVO

Transcranial DC stimulation (transcranial Direct Current Stimulation, tDCS) is a non-invasive technique aimed at modifying neuronal activity for the purpose therapeutic and / or for the improvement of mental performance. A continuous current of entity modest (below the threshold of perception) is injected into the brain via electrodes placed on the scalp surface to produce changes in long-term cortical activity. Despite the increasing use of this and other similar techniques, and the relevant ones applications - for example in the field of neuropsychological rehabilitation - their impact on neuronal activity is not yet fully known, mainly due to the difficulty of predict the spatial distrib…

Energy Storage by using HVDC Power Cables

The development of HVDC (high voltage direct current) systems closely follow the growth of global energy requirements. In particular, HVDC cables are conveniently used for the interconnection of geographical areas which need a low environmental impact and/or when submarines interconnections have to be built up. The paper investigates the stored energy value in an HVDC cable during its normal duty and if it is possible to take advantage of this energy when the cable is disconnected for some reason. In particular, the idea is to store the cable energy, which would be dissipated uselessly, by using a dedicated system and then reuse it when favorable conditions hold, e.g a convenient economic s…

Some Numerical Remarks on a Meshless Approximation Method

In this paper we consider sources of enhancement for the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method in approximating a function and its derivatives. It is well known that the standard formulation is usually poor when scattered data distribution is considered or when the approximation near the boundary occurs. In this paper studies on the accuracy are provided and assessed with gridded and scattered data distribution in the problem domain. The improvements of the method are addressed and supporting numerical experiments are included.

Use of Time-Frequency map combined with DBSCAN algorithm for separation of partial discharge pulses under DC voltage

The Phase-Resolved-Partial-Discharge pattern (PRPD) is a conventional technique used for the evaluation of partial discharges (PD) phenomena in High-Voltage-Alternating-Current (HVAC) systems. This map is constructed by plotting the peak of each detected pulses as a function of the phase angle of the supply voltage. Therefore it is obvious that this technique cannot be used for the analysis of data from PD mesaurement under different supply voltage condition (DC). The aim of this paper is to evaluate the application of the Time-Frequency map (TF map) for the analysis of a dataset obtained from PD measurement under DC voltage. A density-based clustering algorithm was also used to gain more i…

Stability of Microgrids: An Application of Virtual Synchronous Generator

The objective of this paper is to illustrate an alternative control algorithm for power converters which have the task of introducing the energy generated by systems based on the use of renewable sources such as, photovoltaic or wind power, in to small-sized networks, microgrids. Virtual Synchronous Generator can operate both in parallel to the main network as well as in isolated and autonomous conditions (islanding-mode). The contribute of this work is to drive a consolidate approach, made in time domain, in a more flexible and less time-consuming approach based on Park transformation.

Smoothed Particle Interpolation for electromagnetic simulations

A Novel Framework of Hybrid Harvesting Mechanisms for Remote Sensing Devices

Sensing networks have recently proven to be useful in a variety of disciplines. The use of mobile sensing robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) is intended to lessen the burden of sensor node energy consumption. However, conserving energy in the networks remains a major concern. In this work, a design of a hybrid RF-Solar harvesting system to support sensing devices is investigated. The harvesting circuits may collect energy from both solar and radio frequency (RF) resources that are commonly available in ambient environments. This approach creates hybrid harvesting circuits for all elements in the combined sensor networks by combining RF and solar harvester circuits. The RF harvester …

Introduzione ai problemi di EMC

A simulation model for electromagnetic transients in lightning protection systems

This paper deals with the evaluation of electromagnetic transients in a lightning protection system (LPS). A field approach is used, based on the numerical solution of a modified version of the thin-wire electric field integral equation in the frequency domain. Time profiles of interesting electromagnetic quantities are computed by using a discrete fast Fourier transform algorithm. The model takes into account coupling effects among aerial parts and ground electrodes in order to correctly estimate the quantities which can determine electromagnetic hazard inside the LPS; transient touch and step voltages can be easily evaluated also taking into account the human body presence on the soil sur…

Space charge accumulation in undersea HVDC cables as function of heat exchange conditions at the boundaries – water-air interface

Transmission lines with undersea HVDC cables are an interesting technological solution for the supply of electrical energy to islands. The accumulation of space charge inside the dielectric layer of a HVDC cable is one of the most important element to consider in its design and during operation. The formation of space charge is due to various factors including the high dependence on the temperature of the electrical conductivity of the insulation and the establishment of a thermal gradient under load conditions. This research is focused on the space charge accumulation phenomenon around a section of a HVDC cable half dipped in water and half in air. Due to the high difference in thermal con…

Conceptual Design and Modeling of Fast Discharge Unit for Quench Protection of Superconducting Toroidal Field Magnets of DTT

The paper deals with the modelling and simulation of a Fast Discharge Unit (FDU) for quench protection of the Toroidal Field (TF) magnets of the Divertor Tokamak Test, an experimental facility under design and construction in Frascati (Italy). The FDU is a safety key component that protects the superconducting magnets when a quench is detected through the fast extraction of the energy stored in superconducting magnets by adding in the TF magnets a dump (or discharge) resistor. In the paper, two different configurations of dump resistors (fixed and variable respectively) have been analysed and discussed. As a first result, it is possible to underline that the configuration with variable dump…

Performances of a PCB-based Loop Antenna Inductive Sensor for Partial Discharges Detection

This paper presents the test results of an electrically small loop antenna sensor towards detecting the radiated magnetic field due to partial discharge (PD) activities. The loop antenna prototype was printed on an FR-4 substrate with a thickness of 1.6 mm, featuring a compact size of 20 mm times20 mm times1.7 mm. The proposed sensor, initially simulated with Ansys HFSS software, has a resonant frequency of about 100 MHz. Its detection capability for three types of partial discharges (i.e., corona, surface and internal PDs) has been evaluated. Laboratory experiments showed that the evaluated loop spiral antenna is appropriate for the detection of the three types of PDs. Indeed, the results …

A meshless approach solving time domain Maxwell’s equations

The Partial Discharge Behavior of Different Materials under DC Periodic Stress

The aim of the present work is to evaluate the PDs behavior by stressing a specimen with a new type of waveform named DCP. This waveform was proposed by the authors in a previous work with the aim to overcome the main issues of PDs under DC stress. In the previous work PDs test on Kapton specimen was performed. In this paper, we propose a new DCP test on a different insulating material, such as the XLPE. The obtained patterns and the acquired data have been evaluated in order to validate the DCP approach as a new method for PDs measure under constant stress. The behavior of the XLPE material has been reported and compared with the former measures obtained for Kapton material.

Predictability of PD inception in defects included in HVDC cables by conductivity models calibrated through experiments

To date, there are several methods for calculating the electric field distribution within a dielectric layer subjected to HVDC voltage. However, experimental techniques for evaluating the accuracy of models for calculating the electric field, such as space charge measurement, are often not precise enough to be used for this purpose. At the same time, the knowledge of Partial Discharge (PD) phenomenon occurring under HVDC stress is also not as developed as that of PD under HVAC voltage. The main goal of this research is to study the effectiveness of dielectric conductivity models to forecast the inception condition for PD under load and HVDC voltage stress. This study has been carried out by…

Soil ionization of earth electrodes under high pulse transient currents

This paper proposes a numerical model of soil ionization phenomena that can occur when earth electrodes are injected by high pulse transient currents. The model is solved by a finite difference time domain numerical scheme. It has been developed from a thorough analysis of the available studies in technical literature about the peculiar physical dynamics of soil ionization phenomena. As already underlined, soil ionization can occur, for example, when the earth electrode has to drain a lightning current into the soil. In this case, the electric field can overcome the electrical strength and conductive plasma paths can locally grow. The dimension of these ionized air channels are strictly dep…

A numerical meshless particle method in solving the magnetoencephalography forward problem

In this paper, a numerical meshless particle method is presented in order to solve the magnetoencephalography forward problem for analyzing the complex activation patterns in the human brain. The forward problem is devoted to compute the scalp potential and magnetic field distribution generated by a set of current sources representing the neural activity, and in this paper, it has been approached by means of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method suitably handled. The Poisson equation generated by the quasi-stationary Maxwell's curl equations, by assuming Neumann boundary conditions has been considered, and the current sources have been simulated by current dipoles. The adopted meshless…

Un modello dinamico per la simulazione della ionizzazione di terreni non omogenei in presenza di elettrodi disperdenti elevate correnti impulsive

La caratterizzazione elettromagnetica del comportamento dinamico di elettrodi interrati, disperdenti elevate correnti impulsive, costituisce uno degli aspetti primari nella progettazione di un sistema di protezione dalle fulminazioni atmosferiche (LPS). D’altra parte, elevate correnti impulsive possono causare l’insorgere di fenomeni di ionizzazione del terreno, nelle zone prossime agli elettrodi interrati, nei punti in cui il campo elettrico totale supera il valore critico. Modelli teorici e misure sperimentali correlano l’insorgere di variazioni di conducibilità del terreno in prossimità di elettrodi interrati interessati da elevate correnti impulsive al fenomeno della ionizzazione del te…

A Smart Sensing Method for Real- Time Monitoring of Low Voltage Series-Arc-Fault

This paper proposes a smart sensing method for real-time monitoring of low voltage series arc fault. It is based on the wavelet coefficient mean-difference algorithm and the four spikes appearing within two fundamental periods criterion with adaptive threshold. The method also uses the hard thresholding wavelet denoising with the universal threshold. An arc fault factor and a load adaptation factor are introduced and combined with a correction factor, so allowing the selection of the adaptive threshold in real-time and the series arc fault detection.

EMI Analysis in Electrical Drives under Lightning Surge Conditions

In this paper, a complete model of a power drive system including the earth electrodes is proposed to evaluate electromagnetic conducted interference due to lightning pulses. Circuit model of a power drive system is joined with a full-wave approach for the simulation of the time behavior of the grounding system. The proposed model enables to predict the electromagnetic conducted interference generated in the power drive system when lightning conditions involve the earth electrodes.

SOIL IONIZATION DUE TO HIGH PULSE TRANSIENT CURRENTS LEAKED BY EARTH ELECTRODES

This paper proposes a numerical model of the soil ionization phenomena that can occur when earth electrodes are injected by high pulse transient currents, as the one associated with a direct lightning stroke. Based on finite difference time domain numerical scheme, this model ascribes the electrical breakdown in the soil to the process of discharge in the air. In fact, as soon as the local electric field overcomes the electrical strength, the air in the voids trapped among soil particles is ionized, and the current is conducted by ionized plasma paths locally grown. The dimension of these ionized air channels is strictly dependent upon the local temperature. Thus, a local heat balance is en…

Investigation of PCB-based Inductive Sensors Orientation for Corona Partial Discharge Detection

This paper presents an experimental investigation of two different printed circuit board (PCB) inductive sensors, with meander and non-spiral shapes, to assess their capabilities and best orientation for corona partial discharge (PD) detection. First, simulations with the Ansys HFSS software are performed in order to evaluate the equivalent electrical circuit of the two sensors and their 2d radiation patterns. The meander sensors presented a resonant frequency of 600 MHz, while it was around 1.1 GHz for the non-spiral. The 2d radiation pattern showed that better sensitivity is achieved when the inductive sensor is oriented 90 degrees with respect to the PD source. Experimental tests showed …

COMPORTAMENTO IN TRANSITORIO DI IMPIANTI DI TERRA INTERCONNESSI SOGGETTI A FULMINAZIONE ATMOSFERICA

L’attività di ricerca è orientata all’analisi del comportamento in transitorio, durante una eventuale condizione di fulminazione atmosferica diretta e/o indiretta, di impianti di terra interconnessi in sistemi elettrici in media tensione (MT). Usualmente l’interconnessione è realizzata attraverso la guaina metallica dei cavi in MT o mediante l’impiego di corde di rame nudo interrate parallelamente al percorso dei cavi stessi. Tale interconnessione, impiegata durante il normale servizio elettrico per limitare l’ampiezza dell’eventuale corrente di guasto a terra, contribuisce anche a modificare la distribuzione della corrente di fulmine in caso di fulminazione diretta o indiretta dell’impiant…

From electric mobility to hydrogen mobility: current state and possible future expansions

The expansion of electric vehicles in Italy, has already started a few years ago, but some aspects prevent its expansion. Currently users prefer hybrid technology, mainly due to socio-economic factors related to initial investment and anxiety about autonomy. The aim of the document is to understand if the adoption of Fuel Cell technology can be a solution to overcome the problems of environmental pollution. The possibility to be able to use fuel cells to store electricity is very advantageous, especially on charging times that are significantly reduced. Based on the current situation and analyzing the available data, this work reports the current state of electric mobility in Italy and trie…

Studio dell'interferenza elettromagnetica radiata in sistemi elettrici automobilistici a 42 V tramite schema alle differenze finite nel dominio del tempo

A numerical meshless particle method in solving the magnetoencephalography forward problem

In this paper, a numerical meshless particle method is presented in order to solve the magnetoencephalography forward problem for analyzing the complex activation patterns in the human brain. The forward problem is devoted to compute the scalp potential and magnetic field distribution generated by a set of current sources representing the neural activity, and in this paper, it has been approached by means of the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method suitably handled. The Poisson equation generated by the quasi-stationary Maxwell’s curl equations, by assuming Neumann boundary conditions has been considered, and the current sources have been simulated by current dipoles. The adopted meshless…

Smoothed Particle ElectroMagnetics: A mesh-free solver for transients

AbstractIn this paper an advanced mesh-free particle method for electromagnetic transient analysis, is presented. The aim is to obtain efficient simulations by avoiding the use of a mesh such as in the most popular grid-based numerical methods. The basic idea is to obtain numerical solutions for partial differential equations describing the electromagnetic problem by using a set of particles arbitrarily placed in the problem domain. The mesh-free smoothed particle hydrodynamics method has been adopted to obtain numerical solution of time domain Maxwell's curl equations. An explicit finite difference scheme has been employed for time integration. Details about the numerical treatment of elec…

Simulazione elettromagnetica tramite il metodo FDTD: implementazione in ambiente computazionale avanzato

A 9-level three-phase multilevel converter with harmonic mitigation and integrated battery balancing

In this paper, a 9 level three-phase multilevel converter with a harmonic mitigation control method and an integrated battery balancing algorithm for automotive purpose is proposed. Each level of the converter is composed by a buck-boost converter and an h-bridge in cascaded connection. The control algorithm is implemented to achieve the harmonic mitigation on the output voltage waveform and to maintain the battery input voltages balanced. The design and operation of the system is described, and simulation study is reported using Matlab/Simulink platform.

Simplified Hybrid PD Model in Voids

In this paper a novel approach to model partial discharges (PD) activity taking place inside a spherical void in epoxy resin system has been traced. The approach is based on a time varying conductance of the inner void, subjected to multistress conditions: voltage, temperature and pressure. A simple lumped circuit macro-model simulates the global effects of PD activity: the different parameters influencing the discharge phenomenon in the void are taking into account by using a physical approach resulting in a time varying conductance inside the circuit. The evaluated PD activity has been compared with experimental and simulated one for the accessible and inaccessible part of the system. A d…

Un metodo meshfree particellare per la risoluzione delle equazioni di Maxwell: sviluppo di un codice in ambiente GRID

An Improved Solver for the M/EEG Forward Problem

Noninvasive investigation of the brain activity via electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) involves a typical inverse problem whose solution process requires an accurate and fast forward solver. We propose the Method of Fundamental Solutions (MFS) as a truly meshfree alternative to the Boundary Element Method (BEM) for solving the M/EEG forward problem. The solution of the forward problem is obtained, via the Method of Particular Solutions (MPS), by numerically solving a set of coupled boundary value problems for the 3D Laplace equation. Numerical accuracy and computational load are investigated for spherical geometries and comparisons with a state-of-the-art BEM solv…

APPROCCIO "MESHFREE" PARTICELLARE PER L'ANALISI ELETTROMAGNETICA IN DOMINI TRIDIMENSIONALI

Prediction of electromagnetic radiated emissions in 14/42 V vehicle electrical systems by method of moments

Electromagnetic Full-Wave Simulation of Partial Discharge Detection in High Voltage AC Cables

Partial discharge (PD) activity in the insulation system of an electrical equipment can determine the failure of the whole apparatus. PD sensors are widely used in high-voltage electrical systems as the main elements of a detecting system oriented to real time monitoring. Recently, non-invasive sensors have been proposed in industrial applications for cable and other sensitive electrical parts: they are based both on capacitive and on the electromagnetic radiating coupling. In order to assess the real performance of a new sensor produced by a high voltage AC cables manufacturer, the paper proposes electromagnetic fullwave simulation results.

Detection of Radiated EM Transients by Exploiting Compact Spherical Antenna Features

In this paper, the features of a compact spherical antenna, already efficiently used for ultra wide band applications, are investigated by exploiting the possibility of detecting electromagnetic transients with frequency content up to the very high frequency range. Transient phenomena with the above mentioned frequency content are those encountered, for example, in partial discharge detection. The behaviour of the adopted compact spherical antenna enables to successfully detect the waveform of typical partial discharge transient radiated electromagnetic field, so preserving the information necessary for the subsequent pattern analysis, typically carried out by using classical conducted meas…

Automatic EMI filter design for power electronic converters oriented to high power density

In this paper, a complete computer aided procedure based on the power density concept and aimed at the automatic design of EMI filters for power electronic converters is presented. It is rule-based, and it uses suitable databases built-up by considering information on passive components available from commercial datasheets. The power density constraint is taken into consideration by imposing the minimization of the filter volume and/or weight; nevertheless, the system in which the automatically designed filter is included satisfies the electromagnetic compatibility standards limits. Experimental validations of the proposed procedure are presented for two real case studies, for which the per…

Wavelet-based efficient simulation of electromagnetic transients in a lightning protection system

In this paper, a wavelet-based efficient simulation of electromagnetic transients in a lightning protection systems (LPS) is presented. The analysis of electromagnetic transients is carried out by employing the thin-wire electric field integral equation in frequency domain. In order to easily handle the boundary conditions of the integral equation, semiorthogonal compactly supported spline wavelets, constructed for the bounded interval [0,1], have been taken into account in expanding the unknown longitudinal currents. The integral equation is then solved by means of the Galerkin method. As a preprocessing stage, a discrete wavelet transform is used in order to efficiently compress the Fouri…

UN NUOVO APPROCCIO ALLA MODELIZZAZIONE DEGLI EFFETTI DELLE SCARICHE PARZIALI ATTRAVERSO LA MISURA DEL CAMPO ELETTROMAGNETICO

A meshfree approach for brain activity source modeling

Weak electrical currents in the brain flow as a consequence of acquisition, processing and transmission of information by neurons, giving raise to electric and magnetic fields, which are representable by means of quasi-stationary approximation of the Maxwell’s equations. Measurements of electric scalar potential differences at the scalp and magnetic fields near the head constitute the input data for, respectively, electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencepharography (MEG), which allow for reconstructing the cerebral electrical currents and thus investigating the neuronal activity in the human brain in a non-invasive way. This is a typical erectromagnetic inverse problem, since measuremen…

Modelli black-box di dispositivi elettronici per la valutazione della compatibilità elettromagnetica in sistemi interconnessi

An improved Smoothed Particle ElectroMagnetics method in 3D time domain simulations

In this paper, an enhanced variant of the meshless smoothed particle electromagnetics (SPEM) method is performed in order to solve PDEs in time domain describing 3D transient electromagnetic phenomena. The method appears to be very efficient in approximating spatial derivatives in the numerical treatment of Maxwell's curl equations. In many cases, very often, accuracy degradation, due to a lack of particle consistency, severely limits the usefulness of this approach. A numerical corrective strategy, which allows to restore the SPEM consistency, without any modification of the smoothing kernel function and its derivatives, is presented. The method allows to restore the same order of consiste…

Review of acoustic methods for space charge measurement

In the last decade, due to the increased use of direct current, the space charge accumulation phenomenon has reached more interest. In this regard, several non-destructive measurement systems were used. In particular, for solid dielectrics, the acoustic methods have had greater success. This review presents a brief historical evolution of the Pulse Electro- Acoustic (PEA) method, describing the working operation, the thicknesses analyzed and the spatial resolution for the different configurations of the PEA cell. The Pressure Wave Propagation (PWP) method in both configurations Piezo-PWP and Laser Induced Pressure Pulse (LIPP) is also described.

IMAGING DI CANALI SOTTILI PER APPLICAZIONI BIO-MEDICALI

Macromodellamento di convertitori elettronici per impiego in ambito automotive

UAV-Assisted Data Collection in Wireless Sensor Networks: A Comprehensive Survey

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are usually deployed to different areas of interest to sense phenomena, process sensed data, and take actions accordingly. The networks are integrated with many advanced technologies to be able to fulfill their tasks that is becoming more and more complicated. These networks tend to connect to multimedia networks and to process huge data over long distances. Due to the limited resources of static sensor nodes, WSNs need to cooperate with mobile robots such as unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in their developments. The mobile devices show their maneuverability, computational and energy-storage abilities to support WSNs in mul…

A marching-on in time meshless kernel based solver for full-wave electromagnetic simulation

A meshless particle method based on an unconditionally stable time domain numerical scheme, oriented to electromagnetic transient simulations, is presented. The proposed scheme improves the smoothed particle electromagnetics method, already developed by the authors. The time stepping is approached by using the alternating directions implicit finite difference scheme, in a leapfrog way. The proposed formulation is used in order to efficiently overcome the stability relation constraint of explicit schemes. In fact, due to this constraint, large time steps cannot be used with small space steps and vice-versa. The same stability relation holds when the meshless formulation is applied together w…

The Role of Right Interpretation of Space Charge Distribution for Optimized Design of HVDC Cables

In the field of high-voltage transmission systems, different degradation phenomena affect the reliability of the employed components. In particular, under dc stress, the space charge accumulation phenomenon is believed to be the most responsible of the dielectrics lifetime reduction. To measure the accumulated space charges in flat specimens, the pulsed electro-acoustic (PEA) method is one of the most used techniques. The working principle of the PEA cell is based on the acoustic waves propagation and detection. As is well known, the acoustic waves propagating in different means are partially transmitted and partially reflected. Therefore, the piezoelectric sensor of the PEA cell is subject…

Unconditionally stable meshless integration of time-domain Maxwell’s curl equations

Grid based methods coupled with an explicit approach for the evolution in time are traditionally adopted in solving PDEs in computational electromagnetics. The discretization in space with a grid covering the problem domain and a stability step size restriction, must be accepted. Evidence is given that efforts need for overcoming these heavy constraints. The connectivity laws among the points scattered in the problem domain can be avoided by using meshless methods. Among these, the smoothed particle electromagnetics, gives an interesting answer to the problem, overcoming the limit of the grid generation. In the original formulation an explicit integration scheme is used providing, spatial a…

On Psychological Aspects about Electric Vehicles, Part 1

The high diffusion of electric vehicles is evidenced by every sector magazine or by the catalog of all the manufacturers inserting incessantly new models. But what are the user's most hidden reactions to the new world of vehicles? Is the user ready for the fifth level of automation (fully automatic driving and absence of the driving position)? The purpose of this paper is to present and discuss the psychological aspects that influence the adoption of electric vehicles by users and beyond. Topics such as the egg and chicken paradox (electric vehicles and charging stations, who was born first) but also performance anxiety (range anxiety) will be addressed. Contradictions and irony will charac…

A local linear black-box identification technique for power converters modeling

In this paper, a black-box modeling technique for power electronic converters, also used in automotive environment is presented. The aim of this work is to provide a simple yet versatile and powerful tool to schematize complex electric devices in vehicular appliances, in order to fulfill the electromagnetic compatibility already during the project stage. By using input and output measured data, a composite local linear state space model is built up. Radial basis functions are used as weights for the local systems. The proposed approach is validated and applied in modeling a DC/DC converter for DC motors, a pulse width modulation inverter and a controlled rectifier.

A prototypal PCB board for the EMI characterization of SiC-based innovative switching devices

In this paper, a preliminary PCB board for the electromagnetic interference (EMI) characterization of innovative silicon-carbide (SiC) based switching devices is presented. Packaging technological issues can determine hurdles in the high-frequency switching and high power regime where wide band gap semiconductors are intended today for Electric Vehicle (EV) applications. In particular, the parasitic inductances that emerge in such devices, must be assessed, by using e.g. EMI techniques. In this specific case, the EMI characterization is supposed to be carried out in a semi-anechoic chamber, available at the University of Palermo (UNIPA), to assess the electromagnetic disturbances according …

Experimental study on B-spline-based modulation schemes applied in multilevel inverters for electric drive applications

This work presents the design, simulation, and experimental validation of new B-Spline-based modulation techniques applied to a Multilevel Power Inverter (MPI), particularly focusing the attention on the harmonic content of the output voltages of the inverter. Simulation and experimental results are proposed and discussed, mainly describing the potential benefits, such as the increase of the multi-level operation of the converter, and drawbacks (low-order harmonics) related to the adoption of B-Spline functions for multilevel inverters applied in the field of electrical drives.

Reliability of PEA Measurement in Presence of an Air Void Defect

This paper deals with the reliability of the Pulsed Electro-Acoustic (PEA) technique in the case of a specimen containing an air layer. The first approach to this study has been proposed by the authors in previously published works. In these papers, the mathematical description, the PEA cell simulation model, and some experimental tests have been reported. In this work, a more accurate description of the acoustic wave behavior within the PEA cell and specimen with and without an air layer is given. Moreover, the comparison between simulation and experimental tests for both cases (specimen with and without air layer) allowed the validation of the previously developed PEA cell simulation mode…

An advanced numerical treatment of EM absorption in human tissue

The numerical computation of local electromagnetic absorption at points within the human tissue is proposed by avoiding the mesh generation in the problem domain. Recently, meshless numerical methods have been introduced as an alter- native computational approach to mesh based methods. This is an important feature to generate competitive procedure able to provide final evaluations for large data amounts in real time. In this paper the smoothed particle hydrodynamics method is considered to compute the electromagnetic absorption. First experiments are performed in two dimension at single frequencies by considering incident TM plane wave on 2D cylinder simulating a simplified model of human t…

A parametric analysis of the transient behavior of lightning protection systems

The paper have the purpose of investigate the influence of different parameters to enable better understanding of the transient performance of complex lightning protection systems (LPS). Lightning discharges constitute the major source of atmospheric or natural noise that can interfere with electric and electronic installations. The electromagnetic characterisation of the LPS environment plays a fundamental role in order to prevent unwanted coupling phenomena that may generate abnormal signals, electric stresses dangerous for the insulation of electric components, disruptive discharges and danger to persons. The model, developed by the authors, is based on a field-approach: the numerical so…

An efficient solver for electromagnetic transient simulationi

Dynamic reconfiguration systems for PV plant: Technical and economic analysis

Solar plants suffer of partial shading and mismatch problems. Without considering the generation of hot spots and the resulting security issues, a monitoring system for the health of a PV plant should be useful to drive a dynamic reconfiguration system (DRS) to solve bottlenecks due to different panels’ shading. Over the years different DRS architectures have been proposed, but no suggestions about costs and benefits have been provided. Starting from technical subjects such as differences of the topologies driving the hardware complexity and number of components, this paper identifies the cost of DRS and its lifetime, and based on these issues it provides an economic analysis for a 6 kWp PV…

UN SOLUTORE MESHFREE PER EEG/MEG

M/EEG Forward Model Computation Via Source-Adaptive Meshless Solving

Processo di denoising mediante wavelet di segnali dovuti alle scariche parziali

A brief overview on the numerical behavior of an implicit meshless method and an outlook to future challenges

In this paper recent results on a leapfrog ADI meshless formulation are reported and some future challenges are addressed. The method benefits from the elimination of the meshing task from the pre-processing stage in space and it is unconditionally stable in time. Further improvements come from the ease of implementation, which makes computer codes very flexible in contrast to mesh based solver ones. The method requires only nodes at scattered locations and a function and its derivatives are approximated by means of a kernel representation. A perceived obstacle in the implicit formulation is in the second order differentiations which sometimes are eccesively sensitive to the node configurat…

IL METODO DELLE SOLUZIONI FONDAMENTALI PER LA SOLUZIONE DEL PROBLEMA DIRETTO M/EEG

The research already started on the mesh-free solution of the M / EEG direct problem has led to the development of a solver based on the method of fundamental solutions (MFS, method of fundamental solutions) able to manage the physical-geometric complexity of realistic models of the head more efficiently than traditional.

Beyond the BEM Solution of the M/EEG Forward Problem: a Meshfree Approach

Analisi elettromagnetica di dispersori di terra di configurazione complessa sottoposti a corrente impulsiva. Caratterizzazione degli elettrodi e interferenza con altre strutture interrate

Properties determining parameters choice in meshless solver for electromagnetic transients

A novel flexible approach for prediction and on line diagnostic of partial discharge

Partial discharges (PD), due to unavoidable local defects produced by the industrial manufacturing process, can determine local erosion of the material that may cause the electrical breakdown of the component in which the dielectric material represents the fundamental part. Recently, improved diagnostics of electrical insulation systems by means of electric PD measurements through a stochastic processing of the acquired data have been carried out. In this way, the identification of the defects as well, as the separation of multiple defects simultaneously active, have been performed. In this paper, a novel flexible approach for the on-line characterization of the defects in a dielectric mate…

A Meshless Approach for Electromagnetic Simulation of Metallic Carbon Nanotubes

In this paper, a study on the electromagnetic behaviour of a single wall carbon nanotube model is described. The electrons available for conduction are treated as a thin cylindrical layer fluid and their motion is described by means of classical hydrodynamics equations in linearized form. These equations are solved in time domain using the Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics method. The method suitably handled runs on GRID environment.

Evaluation of radiated EMI in 42 V vehicle electrical systems by FDTD simulation

In this paper a full 3D numerical scheme, based on the finite difference time domain method, is used to predict the electromagnetic radiated interference generated by 42 V vehicle power electronic driven electrical loads. An experimental set-up has been arranged on purpose in order to validate the proposed simulation tool. To this aim, the features of a semi-anechoic electromagnetic chamber have been exploited in order to operate in a shielded test site for the measurement of near field radiated emissions. Two different three-dimensional geometrical configurations of realistic vehicle installations of the loads, are studied. A comparative analysis among measured and computed results is perf…

Design and performance evaluation of a high power density EMI filter for PWM inverter-fed induction motor drives

This paper presents the design of an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter for a low voltage high current induction motor drives supplied by DC power grids, such as those used in several vehicle applications. In order to effectively design the EMI filter a suitable Common Mode/Differential Mode (CM/DM) separation technique has been used. In consideration of the high operating currents, a software based separation technique using time domain measurements has been applied. The proposed technique allows the CM and DM sections of the EMI filter to be properly selected in a more economical way, i.e. without the need of dedicated hardware or costly radio frequency (RF) instrumentation. The de…

Modeling of Electronic Devices using Radial Basis Functions for EMC Evaluation

Impiego di metodi numerici meshfree per l’analisi elettromagnetica

Studi numerici per la magnetoencefalografia

Analysis of voltage dips propagation in MV distribution networks by using ATP-EMTP code

In this paper, voltage dips simulation in electric power MV distribution networks by using an improved ATP circuit-breaker model are reported. An equivalent circuit of a MV distribution system is employed. The circuit-breaker is simulated by using a tool written in MODELS language and by arranging a time-variable differential arc-conductance based on the combination of Mayr's and Cassie's equations. The simulations carried out have shown how the amplitude of the voltage dips depends on the type and location of the fault and their duration is strictly related to the circuit-breaker parameters.

Grid parallel simulations of a meshless method for electromagnetic transients

Soil ionization of hearth electrodes under high pulse transient current

Review of the PEA Method for Space Charge Measurements on HVDC Cables and Mini-Cables

This review takes into account articles and standards published in recent years concerning the application of the Pulsed Electro Acoustic (PEA) method for space charge measurement on High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) cables and mini-cables. Since the 80s, the PEA method has been implemented for space charge measurements on flat specimens in order to investigate space charge phenomena and to evaluate the ageing of dielectrics. In recent years, this technique has been adapted to cylindrical geometry. Several studies and experiments have been carried out on the use of the PEA method for full size cables and HVDC cable models. The experiments have been conducted using different arrangements of…

Soil ionization in earth electrodes by a finite difference time domain scheme

This paper proposes a finite difference time domain numerical scheme devoted to analyze the transient behavior of earth electrodes during the soil breakdown that can take place when a surge current has to be drained. To this aim, Maxwell's equations together with a space-time variable resistivity function are used. The model has been validated by comparing the computed results with data available in the technical literature. Simulation results related to complex earth electrodes of limited extension are reported. Electrodes of larger extension can be easily simulated but requiring more computational resources.

The effect of Transient over Voltages on the Partial Discharges activity in HVDC joints

Rapid growth of HVDC cable line installations is expected in the coming years. Several research groups have investigated dielectric phenomena that occur in the insulation of HVDC cables and accessories that accelerate aging and reduce the reliability of this technology over time. Unlike in HVAC cables, under HVDC stress, the distribution of the electric field inside the insulation layer depends not only on the applied voltage but also on the temperature distribution and on other factors related to manufacturing such as the presence of impurities. Reaching local and transient electric field peaks can enhance the onset of Partial Discharges (PDs) which can lead to premature aging of the insul…

Influence of MV distribution networks structure on voltage dips propagation

In this paper, transient behaviour due to voltage dips which occur in electric power MV distribution networks as a consequence of a fault by using an improved ATP circuit-breaker model are reported. The circuit-breaker is simulated by using a tool written in MODELS language and by arranging a time-variable differential arc-conductance based on the combination of Mayr's and Cassie's equations. An accurate analysis of the transient subsequent to circuit-breaker operation, in different fault conditions, are reported in order to show how the amplitude of the dip depends on the fault type, location and network structure.

Design and Assessment of Optimized EMI Filters for Avionic Applications

This paper presents a procedure to design EMI filters to reduce the electromagnetic disturbances generated by electrical apparatus used in avionic environment. The method proposed can be useful to save weight and size of the attenuation systems, and keep their effectiveness in agreement with the standard requirements. A design of a set of different filters with different topological characteristics is presented for a case study about an electrical actuator used for an aircraft onboard application. Performances and reliabilities of the attenuation systems are assessed by suitable full compliance experimental tests.

Non-invasive imaging of biological microstructures by VHF waves

Studi sull’accuratezza numerica di un solutore meshfree per l’approssimazione di campi

L’attività di ricerca è stata finalizzata allo studio di metodologie numeriche avanzate senza reticolazioni per l’approssimazione di funzioni e sue derivate. In particolare si sono condotti studi sull’accuratezza e convergenza del metodo Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics riferendosi a campionamenti regolari e non

A 3D Meshless Approach for Transient Electromagnetic PDEs

A full wave three dimensional meshless approach for electromagnetic transient simulations is presented. The smoothed particle hydrodynamic (SPH) method is used by considering the particles as interpolation points, arbitrarily placed in the computational domain. Maxwell’s equations in time domain with the assigned boundary and initial conditions are numerically solved by means of the proposed method. The computational tool is assessed and, for the first time, a 3D test problem is simulated in order to validate the proposed approach.

A Meshfree Boundary Method for M/EEG Forward Computations

Sensore di campo elettromagnetico per la misura di scariche parziali

A numerical method for imaging of biological microstructures by VHF waves

Imaging techniques give a fundamental support to medical diagnostics during the pathology discovery as well as for the characterization of bio-medical structures. The imaging methods involve electromagnetic waves in a frequency range that spans from some Hz to GHz and over. Most of these methods involve ionizing waves and scanning of a large human body area even if only a focused inspection is needed. In this paper, a numerical method to evaluate the shape of microstructures for application in the medical field, with a very low invasiveness for the human body, is proposed. In particular, the tooth’s root canal is considered. In fact, this is one of the hot topics in the endodontic procedure…

DWT-based method for partial discharge (PD) defects classification