WECS are devices with moving elements that are directly activated by the cyclic oscillation of the waves for Ocean wave energy utilization and energy harvesting. Power is extracted by converting the kinetic energy of these displacing parts into electric current; dynamics, control, and hydrodynamics of oscillating bodies and pressure distributions performing as the primary working element of a wave energy converter. Specific recent research has been on small devices capable of integration into measurement and sensing systems in the ocean, as well as shore and ocean based microgrids serving a variety of applications. A focal area of this current research has been new techniques for modeling and control, including novel ways to utilize existing approaches.
Category: Research Areas
Vehicle to Grid Research
Overview
By treating a hybrid vehicle as a microgrid, it has the ability to exploit interconnection strategies for plug-and-play integration with deployed microgrids while being a mobile, energy exchange system between disconnected power grids. Research is focused on optimization and control of microgrids that have a significant penetration of vehicles that can be loads, sources, or energy storage devices.
Active Projects
Applications
- Exploiting tradeoffs between high power plug-in vehicles, storage and renewable penetration
- Optimal storage state of charge for mobile/vehicular microgrids
- Vehicle design impact on grid connectivity
- Use of military hybrids for FOB microgrid deployment
- Distributed control strategies for plug-in hybrid charging for more manageable grid load
- Information transfer between vehicles and grid (smartgrids)
Human Factors, Curriculum Development and Commercialization Research
Overview
Lead curriculum development and commercial research that educates engineers with skills to solve energy-related, interdisciplinary problems and design next-generation systems. Commercialize IP developed at Michigan Tech to field microgrid and cyber security applications.
Active Projects
Applications
- Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) outreach
- IP commercialization
- Curriculum development
- Military-to-civilian technology training
- PEV vehicle charging and peak shaving
- V2G for provisional grids – disaster relief
- Building storage
Prepositioned Power Research
Overview
Research is focused on developing technology to create systems that can autonomously create a microgrid, for situations that require the ability to preposition a basic level of energy infrastructure such as areas damaged by natural or man-made disasters, and autonomously deploying forward operating bases. Modeling and control of robotics and power conversion systems provides the ability to create such prepositioned electric power networks.
Active Projects
Applications
Autonomous Robots can carry a variety of power equipment:
- Intelligent power electronics for energy conversion
- Power connection hardware
- Generation sources, both traditional and renewable
- Energy storage
Prepositioned Power
Four autonomous microgrid robots, each with different power network functionality. Two have renewable energy generation and storage capability, another has a conventional diesel genset, and the third contains intelligent power electronics for conversion and hard-line interconnection, and switchgear. After assessing the power requirements and available resources they would physically organize and electrically interconnect to form a micro-grid.
Energy Storage Design Research
Overview
From a controls point of view, energy storage systems are the “actuators” in the electrical power grid that enable the mitigation of the transient inputs of power supplies as well as uncontrolled loads. A goal is to optimize the location and amount of energy storage capacity needed to meet microgrid performance and stability constraints. This energy storage capacity can take on many forms from batteries to fly wheels to pumped hydro. Research is focused on integrated energy storage systems that utilize unconventional resources as much as possible. For example, buildings and parking lots full of PHEV’s and EV’s are good targets of opportunity when combined with PV on covered parking structures or distribution-scale PV systems.
Active Research Projects
Energy Storage Design
Secure Intelligent Architectures for Coordinating Agile Microgrids Research
Overview
Agile microgrids allow variable, distributed sources and loads to effectively interoperate over a broad range of conditions. Enabling large numbers of autonomously-managed micro-generators and loads must be accomplished through information-intensive architectures that create significant challenges regarding coordination and cyber security.
Active Research Projects
Applications
Research is concerned with developing concepts, techniques, and tools for enabling the design of secure and effective multi-agent systems for agile microgrids:
- Combine cyber security, secure software, and system design, distributed control, and computational modeling to achieve a resilient and reliable control system design for agile microgrids.
- Design and implement multi-agent system incorporating advanced distributed controls, intrinsic cyber security and safety.
- Develop simulation-based microgrid design tools that utilize advanced in secure multi-agent distributed control to assist in microgrid development projects involving variable sources and controlled loads
Distributed Agent-Based Management of Agile Microgrids Research
Overview
A remote microgrid is a class of stand-alone power grids that services diverse loads, employs distributed generation with renewable resources, and requires on-line control and optimization to maintain stability and power flow. The grid control system is both agile and autonomous, accommodating rapid changes in generation and load resources with minimal training or intervention on the part of human operators.
Active Research Projects
Applications
- Control based on a hybrid approach that marries novel model-predictive control strategies with multi-agent systems.
- Utilizes artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques.
- By imbuing software agents with component models and knowledge about grid operations the collective can cooperatively plan and execute coordinated operations that essentially re-organize grid structure in real-time while maintaining uninterrupted service.
High Order Nonlinear Droop
Interconnected and Agile Microgrids Research
Overview
A microgrid may consist of many interconnected energy assets to improve reliability efficiency. Two or more microgrids can also interconnect to share resources to further improve reliability and efficiency. The scalable microgrid project is aimed at creating a hardware test-bench capable of developing and testing technologies for control and optimization in large numbers of interconnected microgrids. It is also aimed at studying how these technologies can scale up to high and higher numbers of interconnected microgrids. Development of power conversion nodes that adapt and connect to an expanding interconnected microgrid structure to create a large, decentralized power distribution network that can adapt to changing resources and demands.
Active Research Projects
Applications
- Communication protocols
- High penetration renewable
- Agile grid controls
- Control of interconnected microgrids
- Scale model explorations
Agile DC Microgrid Testbed Architecture
MTU – Scalable Interconnected Microgrid Testbed
The light-weight agile DC microgrid testbed will be expanded to dozens of interconnected microgrids.
Control and Optimization of Microgrids Research
Overview
Optimal Control Surface
Researchers are focused on the control of individual energy load, source, and storage energy points as building blocks in a microgrid. This technology enables operation of a stable and optimized system through an agent based approach of the power electronics energy conversion points, enabling a robust and re-configurable system that does not rely on central control or communication.
Active Research Projects
Applications
Research is ongoing to develop new modeling, simulation, control and optimization tools for rational decisions for the best use of microgids with high penetrations renewable and dispatchable loads:
- Rapid deployment of survivable, flexible, reconfigurable, stable, smart microgrids for military forward operating bases and humanitarian missions.
- Transformation of U.S. military installations to be net neutral with safe, reliable power generation.
- Training engineers who can adapt to new interdisciplinary challenges associated with delivering secure energy for both civilian and military applications.
AIM Microgrid Strategy
