Abhishek Awasthi

Bio: Abhishek Awasthi is an academic researcher from Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad. The author has contributed to research in topics: Boost converter & Particle swarm optimization. The author has an hindex of 4, co-authored 9 publications receiving 161 citations.

Optimal infrastructure planning of electric vehicle charging stations using hybrid optimization algorithm

Abstract: India's steadily expanding populace has made it important to create innovative methods of transportation with electric vehicles (EV's) being the most favoured alternative. The major impediment is the negative impact caused by the improper setup of charging stations on the utility distribution system. This paper takes up the issue of optimal planning (siting and sizing) of charging station (CS) infrastructure in the city of Allahabad, India. It has been labelled as a future smart city under a pilot transportation project started by Government of India. A hybrid algorithm comprising of Genetic Algorithm and improved version of conventional Particle Swarm Optimization (GAIPSO) is employed in this study. The aim is to find optimal location of proposed charging stations in the Allahabad distribution system. PSO further re-optimizes the received sub-optimal solution (site and size of station) which leads to an overall improvement in its functionality and solution. Simulation studies on a real time system of Allahabad city clearly exhibits the superior performance of the aforementioned technique with respect to GA and PSO in terms of improvement in voltage profile and quality of solution obtained for the objective function.

Energy Storage Systems in Solar-Wind Hybrid Renewable Systems

Abstract: In island countries, microgrid systems have the ability to provide reliable and improved power quality especially in the vast country with low population density in remote regions. There are two major types of smart grid design in the absence of central grid, namely DC microgrid and AC microgrid. When microgrids are enabled with renewable energy sources, energy storage units increase the reliability in power supply for the load demand on consumer end. The optimized means of extracting power from renewable energy resources like wind, solar, and fuel cell is difficult in islanding mode of operation. Due to occurrence of power imbalance, energy storage units are required which support the energy requirement when power generation cannot meet the load demand. A microgrid is controlled by a supervisory controller that decides which energy storage units are connected to satisfy the load demand. Though the task is simple, appropriate control strategies are required by the microgrid to cope up with disturbances such as sudden changes in environmental and load conditions. An energy storage unit should be designed to fulfill the requirement of fast and dynamic transition of power consumed by loads connected with microgrid. In AC microgrid, the presence of local energy sources and the ability to regulate voltage and frequency can alleviate the burden for conventional generating unit. In DC microgrid, such a problem does not exist; however, the issue of voltage handling is needed to be dealt with. This chapter deals with the integration of energy storage system (ESS) with DC and/or AC microgrid and related energy management control algorithms. It also addresses the research challenges and solutions towards smooth operational behavior of ESS by integrating microgrid enabled with renewable energy sources. The detailed design specifications of ESS for 500 kW microgrid enabled with solar-wind hybrid renewable energy system (RES) is discussed. Validation through simulation studies is performed to understand the operation of effective and efficient integration of ESS with microgrid operating under islanded conditions.

Dual mode control of inverter to integrate solar-wind hybrid fed DC-grid with distributed AC grid

Abstract: This paper presents integration of solar-wind hybrid fed DC-grid to distributed AC grid. Generally, the renewable hybrid energy systems use two or more energy sources to supply power to the dc grid. In case of insufficient power generation or excessive load demand, in order to supply power to DC loads, it must integrate with AC grid. As dc loads increase in number, complexity increases and tighter voltage regulation is required. This paper presents dual mode control operation of inverter which integrates the solar and wind power fed dc bus to the single phase ac distribution system. The inverter can be operated in hysteresis current control when power is fed from DC grid to AC distributed grid and in AC-DC boost rectifier mode otherwise. The detailed operation of dual mode control of inverter is described in this paper. The effectiveness of the proposed system has been verified through simulation studies using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

Solar PV fed grid integration with energy storage system for electric traction application

Abstract: A grid connected PV system with batteries as the energy storage element for application to electric train has been proposed in this paper. Battery packs and PV arrays are cascaded together to the utility through a bidirectional dc converter and boost converter. The PV module terminal voltage is regulated by a switched dc-dc step up boost converter, which uses the Incremental Conductance algorithm to track the maximum power point (MPP).A bidirectional DC/DC converter efficiently regulates flow of power between battery and grid. Bidirectional Inverter provides supporting grid functions which enhances grid stability. Simulation of the proposed system is performed in MATLAB/SIMULINK and the results are found to be satisfactory.

A Comprehensive Study of Key Electric Vehicle (EV) Components, Technologies, Challenges, Impacts, and Future Direction of Development

Abstract: Electric vehicles (EV), including Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV), Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV), Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicle (PHEV), Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV), are becoming more commonplace in the transportation sector in recent times. As the present trend suggests, this mode of transport is likely to replace internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles in the near future. Each of the main EV components has a number of technologies that are currently in use or can become prominent in the future. EVs can cause significant impacts on the environment, power system, and other related sectors. The present power system could face huge instabilities with enough EV penetration, but with proper management and coordination, EVs can be turned into a major contributor to the successful implementation of the smart grid concept. There are possibilities of immense environmental benefits as well, as the EVs can extensively reduce the greenhouse gas emissions produced by the transportation sector. However, there are some major obstacles for EVs to overcome before totally replacing ICE vehicles. This paper is focused on reviewing all the useful data available on EV configurations, battery energy sources, electrical machines, charging techniques, optimization techniques, impacts, trends, and possible directions of future developments. Its objective is to provide an overall picture of the current EV technology and ways of future development to assist in future researches in this sector.

A Comprehensive Review on Solar Powered Electric Vehicle Charging System

Abstract: Electric vehicles (EVs) are becoming increasingly popular in many countries of the world. EVs are proving more energy efficient and environmental friendly than ICEVs. But the lack of charging stati...

A review of EVs charging: From the perspective of energy optimization, optimization approaches, and charging techniques

Abstract: Introduction of electric vehicles (EVs) or plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) in the road transportation can significantly reduce the carbon emission. Hence, the demand of EVs is likely to increase in the near future. Large penetration of EVs will also ultimately result into high loads on the existing power grids. The controlled charging of EVs can have a significant impact on the power grid load, voltage, frequency, and power losses. In this paper, we have provided a comprehensive review of various energy optimization approaches used for EVs charging. Energy optimization approaches used for EVs not only enhance the battery life but also contribute in regulating the voltage and frequency. During EVs charging, various objective functions such as supporting the renewable energy sources, minimization of the peak load, energy cost, and maximization of the aggregator profit have also been studied from optimization perspectives. The controlled and an optimized EVs charging enhances the performance of EVs batteries and conserves the energy in the system by minimizing the load and power losses. The different EVs charging approaches such as centralized and distributed suited for different objective functions have also been studied and compared with respect to various optimization approaches.