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Smart Distribution Grid Technologies and Applications

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A1: Smart Grids and Microgrids".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 September 2021) | Viewed by 15190

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Interests: active distribution network; distributed generation; distributed energy resources; management and control; voltage regulation; decentralized and distributed control architectures; volt/var optimization; islanding operation; short-circuit analysis
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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical and Information Engineering, University of Cassino and Southern Lazio, 03043 Cassino, Italy
Interests: object-oriented methods; applied to state estimation in the distribution networks; voltage regulation in distribution networks in the presence of distributed generation; power quality
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Distribution grids are moving towards a renewed flexible architecture to improve energy efficiency and reliability while minimizing costs and environmental impact. The road to the change is not trivial and presents various challenges that have to be tackled. Distributed energy resources together with smart control and communication systems are the ways to face the new challenges, but new studies and methods are required for the validation of the proposed solutions.

This Special Issue aims to encourage both academic and industrial researchers to present their latest enhancements concerning all the technologies for smart distribution grids and their applications. Theoretic findings and investigations about new technologies are awaited. Results from projects, laboratory and field tests are also welcome as well as comprehensive drawing of future scenarios.

Prof. Dr. Anna Rita Di Fazio
Prof. Dr. Giovanni M. Casolino
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Demand response
  • Demonstration or field application experiences
  • Distributed energy resources for ancillary services
  • Distributed generation
  • Distributed monitoring for distribution grids
  • Energy storage integration
  • Management and control of smart distribution grids
  • Microgrids
  • Renewable energies
  • Telecommunication systems for distribution grids

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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23 pages, 6287 KiB  
Article
A Fault Diagnostic Scheme for Predictive Maintenance of AC/DC Converters in MV/LV Substations
by Giovanni Betta, Domenico Capriglione, Luigi Ferrigno, Marco Laracca, Gianfranco Miele, Nello Polese and Silvia Sangiovanni
Energies 2021, 14(22), 7668; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14227668 - 16 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1701
Abstract
The reliability of systems and components is a fundamental need for the efficient development of a smart distribution grid. In fact, the presence of a fault in one component of the grid could potentially lead to a service interruption and loss of profit. [...] Read more.
The reliability of systems and components is a fundamental need for the efficient development of a smart distribution grid. In fact, the presence of a fault in one component of the grid could potentially lead to a service interruption and loss of profit. Since faults cannot be avoided, the introduction of a diagnostic scheme could predict the fault of a component in order to carry out predictive maintenance. In this framework, this paper proposes a novel Fault Detection and Isolation (FDI) scheme for AC/DC converters in MV/LV substations. In order to improve the reliability of the FDI procedure, the system architecture includes also an Instrument Fault Detection and Isolation section for identifying faults that could occur on the instruments and sensors involved in the monitoring process of the AC/DC converter. The proposed architecture is scalable, easily upgradable, and uses cost-effective sensors. Tests, carried out on a real test site, have demonstrated the efficacy of the proposal showing very good IFDI diagnostic performance for the 12 types of faults tested. Furthermore, as the FDI diagnostic performance regards, it shows a detection rate close to 100%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Distribution Grid Technologies and Applications)
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19 pages, 17898 KiB  
Article
Three-Phase State Estimation of a Low-Voltage Distribution Network with Kalman Filter
by Fabio Napolitano, Juan Diego Rios Penaloza, Fabio Tossani, Alberto Borghetti and Carlo Alberto Nucci
Energies 2021, 14(21), 7421; https://doi.org/10.3390/en14217421 - 08 Nov 2021
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1877
Abstract
The state estimation of distribution networks has long been considered a challenging task for the reduced availability of real-time measures with respect to the transmission network case. This issue is expected to be improved by the deployment of modern smart meters that can [...] Read more.
The state estimation of distribution networks has long been considered a challenging task for the reduced availability of real-time measures with respect to the transmission network case. This issue is expected to be improved by the deployment of modern smart meters that can be polled at relatively short time intervals. On the other hand, the management of the information coming from many heterogeneous meters still poses major issues. If low-voltage distribution systems are of interest, a three-phase formulation should be employed for the state estimation due to the typical load imbalance. Moreover, smart meter data may not be perfectly synchronized. This paper presents the implementation of a three-phase state estimation algorithm of a real portion of a low-voltage distribution network with distributed generation equipped with smart meters. The paper compares the typical state estimation algorithm that implements the weighted least squares method with an algorithm based on an iterated Kalman filter. The influence of nonsynchronicity of measurements and of delays in communication and processing is analyzed for both approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Distribution Grid Technologies and Applications)
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16 pages, 10895 KiB  
Article
Field Test of Wind Power Output Fluctuation Control Using an Energy Storage System on Jeju Island
by Sang Heon Chae, Chul Uoong Kang and Eel-Hwan Kim
Energies 2020, 13(21), 5760; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13215760 - 03 Nov 2020
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1771
Abstract
At present, renewable energy installations are expanding to solve both environmental problems and expensive energy fuel import prices in isolated areas. However, in a small-scale power system, rapid output fluctuations of renewable energy may cause power quality problems such as voltage and frequency [...] Read more.
At present, renewable energy installations are expanding to solve both environmental problems and expensive energy fuel import prices in isolated areas. However, in a small-scale power system, rapid output fluctuations of renewable energy may cause power quality problems such as voltage and frequency fluctuations in the power system. To solve this problem, the local government of Jeju Island in South Korea implemented a megawatt (MW)-class pilot project to stabilize the output power of wind turbines using an energy storage system (ESS). In this project, a 0.5 MWh lithium-ion battery was connected to a 3 MW wind turbine via 1 MW power conversion system (PCS). In this paper, the field test results were divided into four categories as follows. First, the performance of stabilizing the output of the wind turbine using ESS was confirmed. Second, the control performance of the ESS was confirmed when the wind turbine suddenly stopped due to an accident. Third, it was confirmed that the ESS discharged energy into the power system after the stabilization of the wind turbine output. Fourth, the reasons for the failure of the ESS to control output stabilization of the wind turbine were analyzed through MATLAB simulation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Distribution Grid Technologies and Applications)
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27 pages, 5725 KiB  
Article
Design and Development of Non-Isolated Modified SEPIC DC-DC Converter Topology for High-Step-Up Applications: Investigation and Hardware Implementation
by Manoharan Premkumar, Umashankar Subramaniam, Hassan Haes Alhelou and Pierluigi Siano
Energies 2020, 13(15), 3960; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13153960 - 01 Aug 2020
Cited by 22 | Viewed by 3415
Abstract
A new non-isolated modified SEPIC front-end dc-dc converter for the low power system is proposed in this paper, and this converter is the next level of the traditional SEPIC converter with additional devices, such as two diodes and splitting of the output capacitor [...] Read more.
A new non-isolated modified SEPIC front-end dc-dc converter for the low power system is proposed in this paper, and this converter is the next level of the traditional SEPIC converter with additional devices, such as two diodes and splitting of the output capacitor into two equal parts. The circuit topology proposed in this paper is formulated by combining the boost structure with the traditional SEPIC converter. Therefore, the proposed converter has the benefit of the SEPIC converter, such as continuous input current. The proposed circuit structure also improves the features, such as high voltage gain and high conversion efficiency. The converter comprises one MOSFET switch, one coupled inductor, three diodes, and two capacitors, including the output capacitor. The converter effectively recovers the leakage energy of the coupled inductor through the passive clamp circuit. The operation of the proposed converter is explained in continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). The required voltage gain of the converter can be acquired by adjusting the coupled inductor turn’s ratio along with the additional devices at less duty cycle of the switch. The simulation of the proposed converter under CCM is carried out, and an experimental prototype of 100 W, 25 V/200 V is made, and the experimental outcomes are presented to validate the theoretical discussions of the proposed converter. The operating performance of the proposed converter is compared with the converters discussed in the literature. The proposed converter can be extended by connecting voltage multiplier (VM) cell circuits to get the ultra-high voltage gain. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Distribution Grid Technologies and Applications)
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Review

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34 pages, 33594 KiB  
Review
Advanced Distribution Measurement Technologies and Data Applications for Smart Grids: A Review
by Antonio E. Saldaña-González, Andreas Sumper, Mònica Aragüés-Peñalba and Miha Smolnikar
Energies 2020, 13(14), 3730; https://doi.org/10.3390/en13143730 - 20 Jul 2020
Cited by 24 | Viewed by 5123
Abstract
The integration of advanced measuring technologies in distribution systems allows distribution system operators to have better observability of dynamic and transient events. In this work, the applications of distribution grid measurement technologies are explored in detail. The main contributions of this review are: [...] Read more.
The integration of advanced measuring technologies in distribution systems allows distribution system operators to have better observability of dynamic and transient events. In this work, the applications of distribution grid measurement technologies are explored in detail. The main contributions of this review are: (a) a comparison of eight advanced measurement devices for distribution networks, based on their technical characteristics, including reporting periods, measuring data, precision, and sample rate; (b) a review of the most recent applications of micro-Phasor Measurement Units, Smart Meters, and Power Quality Monitoring devices used in distribution systems, considering different novel methods applied for data analysis; and (c) an input-output table that relates measured quantities from micro-Phasor Measurement Units and Smart Meters needed for each specific application found in this extensive review. This paper aims to serve as an important guide for researches and engineers studying smart grids. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Smart Distribution Grid Technologies and Applications)
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