Reliability Analysis of the Control and Automation Systems in Electrical Substations

This work consists in a detailed reliability analysis of the control, automation, and communication equipment in an IEC61850 based digital electrical substation considering four different communication architectures. Three preventive maintenance plans are defined according to Birnbaum’s importance measure in order to evaluate if a more detailed planning proves to be beneficial. The method used to perform the substation’s reliability and availability analysis consists in a Markov-Monte Carlo algorithm. Moreover, a quantitative cost analysis throughout the substation’s life cycle is conducted to conclude about the economic feasibility of each architecture, allowing more objective decisions to be taken when considering the reliability requirements for electric power systems.<br>This paper is an extract from the academic research conducted by the first author as requirement to obtain the Master of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, under the supervision of Prof. Paulo J. Costa Branco and the co-supervision of Eng. Andrés A. Zúñiga.<br><br>

Reliability Analysis of the Control and Automation Systems in Electrical Substations

This work consists in a detailed reliability analysis of the control, automation, and communication equipment in an IEC61850 based digital electrical substation considering four different communication architectures. Three preventive maintenance plans are defined according to Birnbaum’s importance measure in order to evaluate if a more detailed planning proves to be beneficial. The method used to perform the substation’s reliability and availability analysis consists in a Markov-Monte Carlo algorithm. Moreover, a quantitative cost analysis throughout the substation’s life cycle is conducted to conclude about the economic feasibility of each architecture, allowing more objective decisions to be taken when considering the reliability requirements for electric power systems.<br>This paper is an extract from the academic research conducted by the first author as requirement to obtain the Master of Science Degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at Instituto Superior Técnico, Universidade de Lisboa, under the supervision of Prof. Paulo J. Costa Branco and the co-supervision of Eng. Andrés A. Zúñiga.<br><br>

Effects of the adjacent channels on IP3 and IP5 of RF amplifier

This paper discusses the impact of the adjacent channels on the 1-dB compression point, the IP3 and the IP5 of Radio Frequency (RF) amplifier by n-tone test. By combining the theoretical derivation and software simulation, the model analysis for the third/five order polynomial nonlinear amplifier has been achieved. Moreover, the control variable method is adopted to draw the curves for the input/output signals. The research shows that the 1-dB compression point, the IP3 and the IP5 drop as n increases, and they all have symmetry for a given n. The fifth-order polynomial nonlinear amplifier model is proposed, the research shows that the adjacent channels have a great impact on the 1-dB compression point, the IP3 and the IP5 of the desired channel. This effect must be taken into account in actual RF amplifier designs and wireless communication architectures.

Communication Network Architectures for Driver Assistance Systems

Autonomous Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) are of increasing importance to warn vehicle drivers of potential dangerous situations. In this paper, we propose one system to warn drivers of the presence of pedestrians crossing the road. The considered ADAS adopts a CNN-based pedestrian detector (PD) using the images captured from a local camera and to generate alarms. Warning messages are then forwarded to vehicle drivers approaching the crossroad by means of a communication infrastructure using public radio networks and/or local area wireless technologies. Three possible communication architectures for ADAS are presented and analyzed in this paper. One format for the alert message is also presented. Performance of the PDs are analyzed in terms of accuracy, precision, and recall. Results show that the accuracy of the PD varies from 70% to 100% depending on the resolution of the videos. The effectiveness of each of the considered communication solutions for ADAS is evaluated in terms of the time required to forward the alert message to drivers. The overall latency including the PD processing and the alert communication time is then used to define the vehicle braking curve, which is required to avoid collision with the pedestrian at the crossroad.

Routing Communication Inside Ad Hoc Drones Network

The world knows a constant development of technology applied in different sectors of activities: health, factories, homes, transportation, and others, one of the big axes that take a lot of attention today is the drone’s field. To communicate information a fleet of drones can use different communication architectures: centralized communication architecture, satellite communication architecture, cellular network communication architecture and a specific AdHoc communication architecture called the UAANET drones architecture. In our work we focused specifically on the routing of information inside the UAANET where we analyze and compare the performances of the reactive protocol AODV and the proactive protocol OLSR, when the UAANET use an applications based on the HTTP protocol, the FTP protocol, the database queries, voice application, and video conferencing application.

Power and chip-area aware network-on-chip simulation

Among different communication architectures employed in Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoC), Network-on-Chip (NoC) is recognized as a state of the art paradigm that can overcome on-chip communication challenges. In this thesis, we introduce the simulation of NoC systems. The structure of a new SystemC based NoC simulator (FANOOS) is presented in this thesis. We discuss various components of the simulator by presenting their SystemC code. We also provide an analytical methodology that employs the micro-architectural level of NoC routers and links by considering their power and chip are requirements. An evaluation flow for early stage design of NoC is introduced.

Power and chip-area aware network-on-chip simulation

Among different communication architectures employed in Multi-Processor Systems-on-Chip (MPSoC), Network-on-Chip (NoC) is recognized as a state of the art paradigm that can overcome on-chip communication challenges. In this thesis, we introduce the simulation of NoC systems. The structure of a new SystemC based NoC simulator (FANOOS) is presented in this thesis. We discuss various components of the simulator by presenting their SystemC code. We also provide an analytical methodology that employs the micro-architectural level of NoC routers and links by considering their power and chip are requirements. An evaluation flow for early stage design of NoC is introduced.

Radio over Fiber Based Spectrally Encoded OCDM To Support 5G & Beyond 5G Mobile Fronthaul Network Challenges

Multi-operator Multi-Service support over mobile fronthaul network would be an important requirement in the evolving 5G Wireless Communication architectures. This in turn dictates the need for high capacity and high connectivity fronthaul options. Optical Code Division Multiplexing over Wavelength Division Multiple Access could be one of the most promising system architectures to support last/first mile bottleneck of the Mobile Networks. This paper reports comparison impact of the energy efficiency and electromagnetic radiation effects for a multi-operator multi-service OCDM based Spectrally Amplitude Encoded Analog Radio over Fiber front-haul for a small cell configuration. The WDM multiplexed mm wave signals at 60GHz and 28GHz and Prime code based spectral amplitude patterns assigned for conventional services are analyzed and compared with Wavelength Division Multiple Access system of the same kind. The comparison results confirms that proposed architecture will be a suitable candidate to meet 5G challenges of Mobile fronthaul Networks.

Quantum teleportation with imperfect quantum dots

Efficient all-photonic quantum teleportation requires fast and deterministic sources of highly indistinguishable and entangled photons. Solid-state-based quantum emitters—notably semiconductor quantum dots—are a promising candidate for the role. However, despite the remarkable progress in nanofabrication, proof-of-concept demonstrations of quantum teleportation have highlighted that imperfections of the emitter still place a major roadblock in the way of applications. Here, rather than focusing on source optimization strategies, we deal with imperfections and study different teleportation protocols with the goal of identifying the one with maximal teleportation fidelity. Using a quantum dot with sub-par values of entanglement and photon indistinguishability, we show that the average teleportation fidelity can be raised from below the classical limit to 0.842(14), adopting a polarization-selective Bell state measurement and moderate spectral filtering. Our results, which are backed by a theoretical model that quantitatively explains the experimental findings, loosen the very stringent requirements set on the ideal entangled-photon source and highlight that imperfect quantum dots can still have a say in teleportation-based quantum communication architectures.