Title Participants Abstract "An optimal wind farm operation strategy for the provision of frequency containment reserve incorporating active wake control" "Nezmin Kayedpour, Jeroen De Kooning, Arash Ebneali Samani, Farjam Kayedpour, Lieven Vandevelde, Guillaume Crevecoeur" "This study proposes a novel operation strategy for wind farms' optimal Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR) provision that simultaneously distributes FCR and optimally controls wake formation. The power reserve allocation is dynamically decided at the wind farm supervisory control level, considering the intermittent wind power and direction, grid frequency stochasticity, and the aerodynamic complexity of the wake. A two-stage stochastic programming approach supports decision-making for an optimal contribution to day-ahead energy/FCR markets considering sub-hourly wind power and grid frequency uncertainty. Moreover, a novel method is used to reduce the computational complexity by employing a data-driven surrogate model of wake formation in the optimizer. This surrogate model consists of a neural network trained on the Gauss-Curl-Hybrid wake model in FLORIS. This deep learning approach allows fast estimation of the wake control parameters, i.e., the optimal yaw angles and axial induction factors. Then, a coevolutionary-based multi-objective particle swarm optimization searches for the optimal deloading of the WTs and maximizes the total power production and kinetic energy while minimizing wake. The performance of the proposed algorithm is evaluated on the C-Power wind farm layout in the North Sea. Simulation results demonstrate its effectiveness in improving the wind farm's overall performance for different operational conditions." "Load-aware operation strategy for wind turbines participating in the joint day-ahead energy and reserve market" "Narender Singh, Seyyed Ahmad Hosseini, Jeroen De Kooning, François Vallée, Lieven Vandevelde" "Wind power has emerged as a clean alternative to traditional power production, with a significant increase in its installed capacity observed over the past decade. In numerous regions, wind power producers are now afforded the opportunity to participate in day-ahead energy and reserve markets. In this context, the wind turbines can provide ancillary services such as frequency containment reserve (FCR). However, the provision of ancillary services is known to affect the physical loading on a wind turbine. This loading on different parts of the wind turbine can possibly result in sub-optimal performance leading to a reduced net power output or even a faster degradation of the wind turbine. On the other hand, no or low participation of a wind turbine in ancillary services market will lead to a lesser revenue on a long term. Moreover, low participation of wind turbines in the ancillary market will eventually limit the amount of wind power, since the ancillary services are needed to stabilise the grid and must then be provided by other energy sources. Addressing this challenge requires a holistic method to gauge both load and revenue for wind power producers (WPP), thus enabling them to make informed decisions. This study firstly presents a method of calculating major loads on the wind turbine. Then, a load-aware optimisation method of wind power scheduling in the joint day-ahead energy and reserve market (JERM) is proposed that provides WPPs, an ability to strike a balance between revenue and the physical loading of wind turbine." "Soft switching multiple model predictive control with overlapping cross-over time strategy in an industrial high speed pick and place application" "Babak Mehdizadeh Gavgani, Arash Farnam, Foeke Vanbecelaere, Jeroen De Kooning, Kurt Stockman, Guillaume Crevecoeur" "In industrial machinery, position-controlled systems executing repetitive tasks are of significant importance. In such mechanisms, the load-side inertia and torque vary with the angular position of the driven axis, thus imposing a significant nonlinearity in the system dynamics. Linear controllers have a relatively low computational time, but are unable to achieve the required performance over the whole operating region. Nonlinear controllers, such as nonlinear model predictive control (NLMPC), demand an extensive computational time that is difficult to bound. The current Soft Switching Multiple MPC (SSM-MPC) techniques rely solely on the gap metric or weighting techniques to guarantee soft switching between controllers. However, in nonlinear systems with fast dynamics, it may result in poor performance and/or high computational time. In this work, we have addressed these issues by introducing an overlapping cross-over time strategy in the switching unit of the SSM-MPC to ensure a smooth transition when switching in adjacent regions. The key idea behind the overlapping cross-over time strategy is introducing a delay i.e. cross-over time during switching. The crossover time helps to improve the completeness and non-redundancy of the model bank. The closed loop system stability is guaranteed using Lyapunov theory and a general switching stability proof is provided. The proposed SSM-MPC performance is benchmarked against the available SSM-MPC method and a single linear MPC on a high speed industrial pick and place machine through simulations and experiments. The results verify the superior performance of the presented SSM-MPC with 37.67% reduction in tracking error and 20.36% decrease in control signal oscillations at the highest operating speed of the machine compared to the available SSMMPC technique without cross-over time. Moreover, in contrast to the nonlinear MPC, it is proven that the computational load of the SSM-MPC is 77.5% lower, which allows implementation in a standard industrial controller." "Efficiency optimisation and converterless PV integration by applying a dynamic voltage on an LVDC backbone" "Hakim Azaioud, Arash Farnam, Jos Knockaert, Lieven Vandevelde, Jan Desmet" "A low-voltage DC (LVDC) backbone with a battery energy storage system (BESS) and distributed photovoltaics (PV) is proven to be a more efficient alternative compared to the traditional AC architecture. However, previous research has also proven the fact that the benefit strongly depends on the operating voltage level. In this study, a dynamic backbone voltage on architectures with and without distributed maximum power point trackers (MPPT) is investigated. The dynamic voltage is driven by a multi-objective optimisation algorithm that will minimise the cable and converter loss. Applying the dynamic voltage with MPPT leads to a massive decrease of the loss compared to a static voltage with MPPT. Although, if the optimisation objective is extended with the minimisation of the PV curtailment loss, the MPPT can be eliminated without causing a considerable curtailment loss while maintaining a high efficiency. The sensitivity analysis showed that even when the cable is longer, the orientations of the PV distributed systems are different or the PV system is exposed to dynamic shading, dynamic voltage without maximum power point is still competitive compared to the alternatives. However, heavy static shading conditions could cause a notable shift of the MPP making it very hard to track this operating point by the algorithm. The elimination of the MPPT leads to a simpler design and installation, lower investment costs and a reduction of the raw material use. The proposed strategies and architectures are hence favourable to be applied in LVDC backbones massively fed by roof-mounted or building-integrated PV systems. This study provides the general approach which could be extended with distributed electric vehicle chargers." "A digital twin framework for virtual re-commissioning of work-drive systems using CAD-based motion co-simulation" "Rémy Carlier, Joris Gillis, Erwin Rademakers, Gianni Borghesan, Pieter De Clercq, Chris Ganseman, Jeroen De Kooning" "Grid-scale pumped hydro energy storage for the low countries" "Jeremy D. Bricker, Håkan Nilsson, Pal-Tore Selbo Storli, Daan Truijen, Jeroen De Kooning, Antonio Jarquin Laguna, Kristina Terheiden, Bernd Engel, Nils Goseberg, Roelof Moll" "Penetration of intermittent renewable energy sources into the power grid requires large-scale energy storage to ensure grid stability. Pumped Hydro Energy Storage (PHES) is among the most mature, environmentally friendly, and economical energy storage technologies, but has traditionally only been feasible at sites with large natural topographic gradients. ALPHEUS addresses this by developing reversible pump-turbines efficient at low heads, that operate between an enclosed inner basin (that functions as the upper or lower reservoir) and a shallow sea or lake." "A novel current control scheme for grid-connected single-phase PWM bridgeless power converters" "Khalid Javed, Lieven Vandevelde, Frederik De Belie" "In this paper, a new bridgeless single-phase AC–DC power factor corrector is presented. The proposed scheme is based on the interleaved topology of buck–boost converter without a bridge rectifier at the input stage for AC–DC conversion. The required AC–DC conversion is done with the help of the interleaved topology of the buck–boost converter. The absence of rectifier bridge at the input side of the circuit means the reduced numbers of the diodes in the circuit which results in less conduction and power losses. The advantages of such topology includes less power losses in the circuit, low voltage stress on the switch, and improved efficiency of the overall system. Two circuits are used in this paper which are connected in parallel to each other, each circuit comprising the two interleaved boost converters for AC–DC conversion to reduce the power losses and to provide an alternative approach for efficiency improvement. This Power Factor Correction PFC converter will control the output voltage to provide a regulated DC voltage at the user end, and at the same time, it will draw a sinusoidal input current from the power supply source to maintain the power factor of the system. MATLAB is used as a software for results, and simulation results are performed to present the feasibility of the proposed technique." "Circulating current control in interleaved and parallel connected power converters" "Khalid Javed, Ruben De Croo, Lieven Vandevelde, Frederik De Belie" "This article analyzes circulating current control in single-phase power electronic converters, focusing on two different topologies: interleaved and parallel configurations. The study involves a bridgeless interleaving topology with two boost converters for increased efficiency. A parallel connection is also examined for monitoring line current, circulating currents, and power factor control. The article widely explains all current loops, including Common Mode Circulating Currents (CMCC) in the bridgeless interleaved topology and Differential Mode Circulating Currents (DMCC) in parallel-connected interleaved power converters. The proposed control scheme employs voltage and current control loops for output voltage and line current control and introduces CMCC and DMCC compensators to eliminate all types of circulating currents. An efficient Power Factor Correction (PFC) and output voltage control method is presented in this article. The effectiveness of the proposed schemes is validated through comparisons with modern control systems. The results are verified using Simulink/MATLAB and experimental setups with TI Instruments Piccolo prototypes and C2000 (TMS320F28035 microcontroller MCU) microcontrollers in parallel configurations." "Self-sufficiency and lifetime improvement of community BESS on an LVDC backbone compared to individual BESS" "Hakim Azaioud, Robbert Claeys, Jos Knockaert, Lieven Vandevelde, Jan Desmet" "Impact assessment of dynamic loading induced by the provision of frequency containment reserve on the main bearing lifetime of a wind turbine" "Narender Singh, Dibakor Boruah, Jeroen De Kooning, Wim De Waele, Lieven Vandevelde" "The components of an operational wind turbine are continuously impacted by both static and dynamic loads. Regular inspections and maintenance are required to keep these components healthy. The main bearing of a wind turbine is one such component that experiences heavy loading forces during operation. These forces depend on various parameters such as wind speed, operating regime and control actions. When a wind turbine provides frequency containment reserve (FCR) to support the grid frequency, the forces acting upon the main bearing are also expected to exhibit more dynamic variations. These forces have a direct impact on the lifetime of the main bearing. With an increasing trend of wind turbines participating in the frequency ancillary services market, an analysis of these dynamic forces becomes necessary. To this end, this paper assesses the effect of FCR-based control on the main bearing lifetime of the wind turbine. Firstly, a control algorithm is implemented such that the output power of the wind turbine is regulated as a function of grid frequency and the amount of FCR. Simulations are performed for a range of FCR to study the changing behaviour of dynamical forces acting on the main bearing with respect to the amount of FCR provided. Then, based on the outputs from these simulations and using 2 years of LiDAR wind data, the lifetime of the main bearing of the wind turbine is calculated and compared for each of the cases. Finally, based on the results obtained from this study, the impact of FCR provision on the main bearing lifetime is quantified and recommendations are made, that could be taken into account in the operation strategy of a wind farm."