Ifsttar PhD subject

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Title : Nonlinear control of electric vehicles charging to cope with power systems inertia reduction and frequency instability

Main host Laboratory - Referent Advisor COSYS - IMSE  -  DAMM Gilney

Director of the main host Laboratory LINGUERRI Roberto  -

Laboratory 2 - Referent Advisor COSYS - PICS-L  -  NETTO Mariana  -    -  tél. : +33 130844023

PhD Speciality Mathématiques appliquées, Automatique

Axis of the performance contract 2 - COP2017 - More efficient and resilient infrastructure

Main location Marne-la-Vallée

Doctoral affiliation UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFEL

PhD school MATHEMATIQUES ET SCIENCES ET TECHNOLOGIES DE L'INFORMATION ET DE LA COMMUNICATION (MSTIC)

Planned PhD supervisor DAMM Gilney  -    -

Planned PhD co-supervisor NETTO Mariana  -    -

Planned financing Contrat doctoral  - Université Gustave Eiffel

Abstract

Context

The electrical power system is changing very fast because of the arrival of renewable energy sources (renewables), mostly through distributed generation, and Electric Vehicles (EVs). The main characteristics of either are that they are based on power converters, so include a Direct Current (DC) link, to interface them with the legacy utility grid in Alternative Current (AC). In addition, most storage systems like batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells are in DC, while modern loads like computers, and cell phones, and many classical loads like heating and cooling can also be in DC. This will lead in the long run to SmartGrids and MicroGrids partially in DC.

An important point in this current trend is that this increase in DC elements (or even MicroGrids), will continuously reduce the amount of inertia, ultimately possibly leading to AC grids only composed of power electronics, and as a consequence, inertia-less. One of the most important challenges for systems with small amounts of inertia like islanded MicroGrids is that they are more sensitive to system disturbances due to less stored energy to compensate for energy imbalances and to slow the rate of change in frequency. As a consequence, even mild disturbances may cause the power system frequency to fall very quickly and there is a high likelihood of a power system blackout [1,2]. This has already started, with lack of inertia being the main reason for some blackouts [3,4].

From the theoretical point of view, this problem is seen as an interconnection of nonlinear systems, with time-varying external parameters and network topologies, with only local measurements available for control. In addition, such systems present different time-scales, with unknown equilibrium points. All these characteristics make their stabilization challenging, even though they represent critical infrastructures. Current strategies are to oversize the system and to add large amounts of storage. But following the speed the grid is changing, neither are economically sustainable nor feasible in due time. For this reason, it is capital to develop new control strategies based on the existing system (with as small as possible new elements) to allow a smooth change in the following years.

Objectives of the PhD project

The proposed work aims to investigate how to use power inverters, and in particular DC MicroGrids and large EVs charging stations, to provide inertia emulation and to help stabilize the reduced inertia AC grid. This is expected to be attained through new intelligent control algorithms (nonlinear, adaptive, predictive) in a distributed manner, mostly based on local measurements. This is a strategic topic for future grids and will allow their development aiming to mitigate the effect of future increases in DC elements such as renewables, electric vehicles, and storage systems like batteries and supercapacitors. Furthermore, this inertia emulation is even more efficient and cost-effective if using small power reserves. For this reason, electric vehicle charging stations are a very interesting way to create this power reserve. Bi-directional charging stations can supply the necessary reserve, such as to create MicroGrids that provide the lacking inertia to the main grid [5].

The proposed PhD thesis will investigate how to obtain inertia emulation and frequency support from several interconnected sources (PVs, wind turbines) and storages (charging stations, stationary batteries) to the main grid through power converters [10].

The main objectives of the proposed PhD thesis are:
- Understanding and developing mathematical models for power system dynamics, in particular frequency and inertia, and how to stabilize these systems
and provide support through spinning and inertial reserves
- Exploring the means to supply the required ancillary services (frequency and inertial) with and without storage
- Synthetic inertia emulation and control for charging stations and MicroGrids
- Stability analysis of power networks integrating large shares of electric vehicles and renewables
- Adaptive algorithms for synthetic inertia: adaptive inertia and damping

Method

The starting point will be a series of results from the team, bridging the fields of nonlinear control and power systems/power electronics such as [6-10]. The thesis work will follow different steps:
- Carry out a literature review on the topic of the thesis
- Study the results of the advising team. For this, study/revise if necessary with the thesis directors some key control techniques (eg. adaptive control)
- Study the above-defined problems
- Simulate the results
- Publish the results in international peer-reviewed journals.

Background

We look for strongly motivated candidates with a background in either control (nonlinear control) or mathematics (dynamical systems, nonlinear systems). Knowledge in the complementary fields (electric engineering, power electronics) will be appreciated. Previous experience in simulation environments Matlab/Simulink/Simscape will be acknowledged.

Other information

Address:
Université Gustave Eiffel
Marne-la-Vallée Campus
5 Boulevard Descartes • Champs-sur-Marne
F-77454 Marne-la-Vallée Cedex 2 • France

Start of the PhD: October 2025 (subject to the approval of the scholarship)

Application: Please send an email with your most recent transcripts, CV, and motivation letter to mariana.netto@univ-eiffel.fr and gilney.damm@univ-eiffel.fr.

References
[1] ENTSO-E Position Paper Stability Management in Power Electronics Dominated Systems: A Prerequisite to the Success of the Energy Transition June 2022
[2] “Stability management in power electronics dominated systems: A prerequisite to the success of the energy transition,” ENTSO-E, Tech. Rep., 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.entsoe.eu/news/2022/06/21/entso-e-publishes-a-positionpaper-on-stability-management-in-power-electronics-dominatedsystems/
[3] “Preliminary report: black system event in south australia on 28 september 2016,” Australian Energy Market Operator, Tech. Rep., 2016.
[4] “9 august 2019 power outage report,” OFGEM, Tech. Rep., 2019.

[5] N. B. Arias, S. Hashemi, P. B. Andersen, C. Træholt, R. Romero, Distribution system services provided by electric vehicles: Recent status, challenges, and future prospects, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (2019) 4277–4296.
[6] V. Cuong Nguyen, M. Netto, G. Damm. Control of a DFIG based wind turbine using modified Conditional Servo-compensator. IFAC-PapersOnLine, Volume 56, Issue 2, 2023, Pages 7668-7673, ISSN 2405-8963, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1167.
[7] S. B. Siad, A. Iovine, G. Damm, L. Galai-Dol, M. Netto. Nonlinear Hierarchical Easy-to-Implement Control for DC MicroGrids. Energies 2022, 15(3), 969.
[8] L. F. Normandia Lourenço, A. Louni, G. Damm, M. Netto, M. Drissi-Habti, S. Grillo, A. J. Sguarezi Filho, L. Meegahapola. A Review on Multi-Terminal High Voltage Direct Current Networks for Wind Power Integration, Energies 2022, 15(23), 9016.
[9] Erico Gurski, Roman Kuiava, Filipe Perez, Raphael A. S. Benedito, Gilney Damm, ``A Novel VSG with Adaptive Virtual Inertia and Adaptive Damping Coefficient to Improve Transient Frequency Response of MicroGrids’’, Energies, to appear.
[10] Filipe Perez, Gilney Damm, Cristiano Maria Verrelli, Paulo Ribeiro, ``Adaptive Virtual Inertia Control for Stable Microgrid Operation including Ancillary Services Support’’, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, doi: 10.1109/TCST.2023.3234282, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 1552-1564, July, 2023.

Keywords : Nonlinear control, Electric Vehicle integration, renewable energies integration, MicroGrids, SmartGrids.

Main host Laboratory - Referent Advisor	COSYS - IMSE - DAMM Gilney
Director of the main host Laboratory	LINGUERRI Roberto -
Laboratory 2 - Referent Advisor	COSYS - PICS-L - NETTO Mariana - - tél. : +33 130844023
PhD Speciality	Mathématiques appliquées, Automatique
Axis of the performance contract	2 - COP2017 - More efficient and resilient infrastructure
Main location	Marne-la-Vallée
Doctoral affiliation	UNIVERSITE GUSTAVE EIFFEL
PhD school	MATHEMATIQUES ET SCIENCES ET TECHNOLOGIES DE L'INFORMATION ET DE LA COMMUNICATION (MSTIC)
Planned PhD supervisor	DAMM Gilney - -
Planned PhD co-supervisor	NETTO Mariana - -
Planned financing	Contrat doctoral - Université Gustave Eiffel
Abstract Context The electrical power system is changing very fast because of the arrival of renewable energy sources (renewables), mostly through distributed generation, and Electric Vehicles (EVs). The main characteristics of either are that they are based on power converters, so include a Direct Current (DC) link, to interface them with the legacy utility grid in Alternative Current (AC). In addition, most storage systems like batteries, supercapacitors, and fuel cells are in DC, while modern loads like computers, and cell phones, and many classical loads like heating and cooling can also be in DC. This will lead in the long run to SmartGrids and MicroGrids partially in DC. An important point in this current trend is that this increase in DC elements (or even MicroGrids), will continuously reduce the amount of inertia, ultimately possibly leading to AC grids only composed of power electronics, and as a consequence, inertia-less. One of the most important challenges for systems with small amounts of inertia like islanded MicroGrids is that they are more sensitive to system disturbances due to less stored energy to compensate for energy imbalances and to slow the rate of change in frequency. As a consequence, even mild disturbances may cause the power system frequency to fall very quickly and there is a high likelihood of a power system blackout [1,2]. This has already started, with lack of inertia being the main reason for some blackouts [3,4]. From the theoretical point of view, this problem is seen as an interconnection of nonlinear systems, with time-varying external parameters and network topologies, with only local measurements available for control. In addition, such systems present different time-scales, with unknown equilibrium points. All these characteristics make their stabilization challenging, even though they represent critical infrastructures. Current strategies are to oversize the system and to add large amounts of storage. But following the speed the grid is changing, neither are economically sustainable nor feasible in due time. For this reason, it is capital to develop new control strategies based on the existing system (with as small as possible new elements) to allow a smooth change in the following years. Objectives of the PhD project The proposed work aims to investigate how to use power inverters, and in particular DC MicroGrids and large EVs charging stations, to provide inertia emulation and to help stabilize the reduced inertia AC grid. This is expected to be attained through new intelligent control algorithms (nonlinear, adaptive, predictive) in a distributed manner, mostly based on local measurements. This is a strategic topic for future grids and will allow their development aiming to mitigate the effect of future increases in DC elements such as renewables, electric vehicles, and storage systems like batteries and supercapacitors. Furthermore, this inertia emulation is even more efficient and cost-effective if using small power reserves. For this reason, electric vehicle charging stations are a very interesting way to create this power reserve. Bi-directional charging stations can supply the necessary reserve, such as to create MicroGrids that provide the lacking inertia to the main grid [5]. The proposed PhD thesis will investigate how to obtain inertia emulation and frequency support from several interconnected sources (PVs, wind turbines) and storages (charging stations, stationary batteries) to the main grid through power converters [10]. The main objectives of the proposed PhD thesis are: - Understanding and developing mathematical models for power system dynamics, in particular frequency and inertia, and how to stabilize these systems and provide support through spinning and inertial reserves - Exploring the means to supply the required ancillary services (frequency and inertial) with and without storage - Synthetic inertia emulation and control for charging stations and MicroGrids - Stability analysis of power networks integrating large shares of electric vehicles and renewables - Adaptive algorithms for synthetic inertia: adaptive inertia and damping Method The starting point will be a series of results from the team, bridging the fields of nonlinear control and power systems/power electronics such as [6-10]. The thesis work will follow different steps: - Carry out a literature review on the topic of the thesis - Study the results of the advising team. For this, study/revise if necessary with the thesis directors some key control techniques (eg. adaptive control) - Study the above-defined problems - Simulate the results - Publish the results in international peer-reviewed journals. Background We look for strongly motivated candidates with a background in either control (nonlinear control) or mathematics (dynamical systems, nonlinear systems). Knowledge in the complementary fields (electric engineering, power electronics) will be appreciated. Previous experience in simulation environments Matlab/Simulink/Simscape will be acknowledged. Other information Address: Université Gustave Eiffel Marne-la-Vallée Campus 5 Boulevard Descartes • Champs-sur-Marne F-77454 Marne-la-Vallée Cedex 2 • France Start of the PhD: October 2025 (subject to the approval of the scholarship) Application: Please send an email with your most recent transcripts, CV, and motivation letter to mariana.netto@univ-eiffel.fr and gilney.damm@univ-eiffel.fr. References [1] ENTSO-E Position Paper Stability Management in Power Electronics Dominated Systems: A Prerequisite to the Success of the Energy Transition June 2022 [2] “Stability management in power electronics dominated systems: A prerequisite to the success of the energy transition,” ENTSO-E, Tech. Rep., 2022. [Online]. Available: https://www.entsoe.eu/news/2022/06/21/entso-e-publishes-a-positionpaper-on-stability-management-in-power-electronics-dominatedsystems/ [3] “Preliminary report: black system event in south australia on 28 september 2016,” Australian Energy Market Operator, Tech. Rep., 2016. [4] “9 august 2019 power outage report,” OFGEM, Tech. Rep., 2019. [5] N. B. Arias, S. Hashemi, P. B. Andersen, C. Træholt, R. Romero, Distribution system services provided by electric vehicles: Recent status, challenges, and future prospects, IEEE Transactions on Intelligent Transportation Systems (2019) 4277–4296. [6] V. Cuong Nguyen, M. Netto, G. Damm. Control of a DFIG based wind turbine using modified Conditional Servo-compensator. IFAC-PapersOnLine, Volume 56, Issue 2, 2023, Pages 7668-7673, ISSN 2405-8963, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ifacol.2023.10.1167. [7] S. B. Siad, A. Iovine, G. Damm, L. Galai-Dol, M. Netto. Nonlinear Hierarchical Easy-to-Implement Control for DC MicroGrids. Energies 2022, 15(3), 969. [8] L. F. Normandia Lourenço, A. Louni, G. Damm, M. Netto, M. Drissi-Habti, S. Grillo, A. J. Sguarezi Filho, L. Meegahapola. A Review on Multi-Terminal High Voltage Direct Current Networks for Wind Power Integration, Energies 2022, 15(23), 9016. [9] Erico Gurski, Roman Kuiava, Filipe Perez, Raphael A. S. Benedito, Gilney Damm, ``A Novel VSG with Adaptive Virtual Inertia and Adaptive Damping Coefficient to Improve Transient Frequency Response of MicroGrids’’, Energies, to appear. [10] Filipe Perez, Gilney Damm, Cristiano Maria Verrelli, Paulo Ribeiro, ``Adaptive Virtual Inertia Control for Stable Microgrid Operation including Ancillary Services Support’’, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology, doi: 10.1109/TCST.2023.3234282, vol. 31, no. 4, pp. 1552-1564, July, 2023.
Keywords :	Nonlinear control, Electric Vehicle integration, renewable energies integration, MicroGrids, SmartGrids.

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