i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering (JEE)


Volume 13 Issue 4 April - June 2020

Research Paper

Development of a Breathalyzer-enabled Ignition System for Reduction of Road Fatalities in the Caribbean

Marcus Lloyde George* , Nicholas Singh**, Nora Innocent-George***
*-*** Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of the West Indies,St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
George, M. L., Singh, N., and Innocent-George, N. (2020). Development of a Breathalyzer-enabled Ignition System for Reduction of Road Fatalities in the Caribbean. i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering, 13(4), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.26634/jee.13.4.17249

Abstract

A modern motor vehicle is a complex piece of equipment utilized by millions worldwide for transportation between two or more locations. Despite the many advantages of motor vehicles it is the primary source of road fatalities. Operating a motor vehicle while intoxicated is one of the leading causes of vehicular road accidents worldwide. Many technologies, and policies for their use have been developed and placed into practice for minimization of road fatalities caused by driving while intoxicated, however none is without drawbacks. There is need for a novel breathalyser-enabled approach with advantages addressing the drawbacks of the technologies that exist. This paper seeks to explore the development of a FPGA-based breathalyser ignition system to monitor a driver’s alcohol level and ensure that an intoxicated person does not handle the vehicle. To achieve this, an air alcohol sensor was used to capture the driver’s breath before and during vehicular operation. In an effort to make the system more fool-proof, additional sensors incorporated into the alcohol sensor would provide feedback for scenarios where the existing sensor were damaged or being obstructed. From simulation and on-board testing, the system was able to measure and respond to sensor data as expected. However, the system did not account for the vehicle windows being down, and hence this project can be upgraded in the future to improve accuracy and reliability in those scenarios.

Research Paper

Application of RCSO Method in the Placement of OUPFC Device for Static Voltage Stability Enhancement

T. Giri Babu* , G. N. Srinivas**
* Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, TRR College of Engineering & Technology, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
** Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, JNTUH College of Engineering, Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Babu, T. G., and Srinivas, G. N. (2020). Application of RCSO Method in the Placement of OUPFC Device for Static Voltage Stability Enhancement. i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering, 13(4), 24-31. https://doi.org/10.26634/jee.13.4.17271

Abstract

Unified power flow controller (UPFC) is a standout amongst the best Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS) for improving power system security. Despite that, the performance of UPFC can be brought out; it profoundly relies on the location and parameter set of this device in the system. The goal of the proposed approach is to limit the power loss and improves the loadability and voltage stability of the power transmission system. Here, Optimal Unified Power Flow Controller (OUPFC) in IEEE 14 and 57 bus systems is considered to control the dynamic power flows in the transmission line. The DC link storage capacitor in the UPFC system helps to stabilize the real power between the two voltage source converters. By analyzing the parameters, for instance, dynamic and reactive power, voltage and power loss of load buses, loadability of the system is improved. Moreover, with the aim of keeping up the stability of the power system, the optimal location and capacity of OUPFC system is analyzed by the Random Crow Search Optimization (RCSO). The optimal location and capacity of OUPFC achieved depends up on the random search behavior of CSO algorithm. To validate effectiveness of the proposed method, comparison is made with existing Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) method. The performance of the OUPFC device is compared with other FACTS devices such as STATCOM and IPFC.

Research Paper

Design and Analysis of PID, Fuzzy Controller and Cascaded Fuzzy Controllers for DC-DC Converter

U. B. Mahadevswamy * , Manu P. **, Vikas Hallikeri***
*-*** Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Sri Jayachamarajendra College of Engineering, Mysuru, Karnataka, India.
Mahadevswamy, U. B., Manu, P., and Hallikeri, V. (2020). Design and Analysis of PID, Fuzzy Controller and Cascaded Fuzzy Controllers for DC-DC Converter. i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering, 13(4), 32-37. https://doi.org/10.26634/jee.13.4.17401

Abstract

A DC-DC converter is a electronic circuit that synthesis different DC voltage levels from DC source. DC-DC converters has wide range of applications in Industries, automotive and transportation, electrical appliances and so on. Objective of this paper is to model a DC-DC converter which controls the converters output and keeps it constant irrespective of change in the input parameters. The Pulse Width Modulation, Proportional Integral Controller, Proportional Derivative Controller (PID) and Proportional Integral Derivative Controller are the well known methods known to control DC-DC converter. But the performance shows deviations when there is large parameter in load. This is why adaptive non-linear controllers such as Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC) is used. The non-linear controllers provides a much faster response compared to linear controllers. Thus in this paper we have simulated and compared PID controller with FLC controller for DC-DC converter using MATLAB / SIMULINK. Further a new scheme of cascading FLCs is implemented to improve the performance.

Research Paper

Enhancement of Stability of a Multi-Machine System using Firefly Based Power System Stabilizer

Ravindra Babu M.* , G. Saraswathi**, K. R. Sudha ***
* Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University College of Engineering Kakinada, Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, India.
** Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, University College of Engineering Vizianagaram, Vizianagaram, Andhra Pradesh, India.
*** Department of Electrical Engineering, Andhra University College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Ravindrababu, M., Saraswathi, G., and Sudha, K. R. (2020). Enhancement of Stability of a Multi-Machine System using Firefly Based Power System Stabilizer. i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering, 13(4), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.26634/jee.13.4.17517

Abstract

The stability phenomenon of a synchronous machine plays a major role in the interconnected power systems. The dynamic stability of multi machine system can be improved by providing the compensating damping torque to the synchronous generator. Design of power system stabilizer is necessary to enhance the stability of the synchronous generator. The effect of a power system stabilizer located at machine certainly influences the stability of other machines. In this proposed approach, the power system stabilizer is designed by using firefly algorithm for the improvement of stability of a three machine system. The designed stabilizer's performance is observed for different locations of the system and compared with the performance of stabilizer designed by using genetic algorithm. From the results, the power system stabilizer designed from firefly algorithm gives an improved stable performance than a genetic algorithm based power system stabilizer. The stable eigen values are analyzed by using pseudo spectrum analysis. The step responses of each state of the three machines shows that the proposed stabilizer gives enhanced stability of the total system.

Research Paper

FPGA Based Control and Protection Unit of a Multichannel Pulsed Power Supply for Solid State RF Amplifiers

Akhilesh Tripathi* , Amrita Singh **, Sachin Rathi ***, Rinki Upadhyay ****, M. K. Badapanda *****, Mahendra Lad******
*,***-***** RF Systems Division, Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore, India.
** Banasthali Vidyapith, Tonk, Rajasthan, India.
Tripathi, A., Singh, A., Rathi, S., Upadhyay, R., Badapanda, M. K., and Lad, M. (2020). FPGA Based Control and Protection Unit of a Multichannel Pulsed Power Supply for Solid State RF Amplifiers. i-manager's Journal on Electrical Engineering, 13(4), 49-60. https://doi.org/10.26634/jee.13.4.17638

Abstract

This article presents an FPGA based control and protection unit employing Xilinx make Spartan-6 XC6SLX9TQG144C FPGA for driving a multichannel pulsed power supply of pulsed solid state RF amplifiers. The control unit generates synchronized drive pulses for driving 24 units of 50 V, 80 A pulsed output channels of the multichannel pulsed power supply. The pulse width and frequency of drive pulses are settable from 100 μs to 2.5 ms and from 1 Hz to 50 Hz respectively. Over-current protection of output channels is implemented through its protection unit. The FPGA has been programmed in VHDL for pulse generation, control of pulse parameters and over current protection of pulsed output channels. The schematics, simulation results and RTL schemes are presented in this paper. This control and protection unit is integrated with 24 numbers of 50 V, 80 A pulsed output channels which are simultaneously tested up to 80 A peak current and experimental results are also presented in this paper. The rise time and fall time of output pulse are observed as < 20 μs and voltage droop is observed as < 0.5%. Typical jitter among output pulses of different pulsed output channels is observed as 60 ns.