Non classé

Context

Due to the increase of the renewable energy sources connected to the grid, the number of power electronic converters in the grid is largely increasing. Currently, nearly all the converters are driven with a grid following control which needs a grid strong enough to be synchronized.  As it has already been well documented, increasing too much the number of grid following converters connected to the grid may endanger the overall dynamic stability of the power system to which they are connected. The grid forming control is promoted as a solution by the TSO to mitigate this risk. In the future, it is likely that the converters may switch between both controls depending on the system needs.

The generic idea of this project is to be able to classify the converter in two main classes grid forming/grid following and subclasses, by only using external measurements. This classification is based on the use of the frequency impedance of the converter. However, there are so many variants of control, parameters, operation points that the Artificial Intelligence is a extremely useful tool for this purpose. 

A first step of theoretical analysis has already been developed by a Phd student. The idea is to check the simulation results on actual converters. 

Description of the work

The experimentation will be based on the setup described on the following figure.  The core idea of the experimentation is the use of the Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL) principle as recalled in the figure below. Thanks to this principle, the converter is virtually connected to the AC grid which is simulated in the real-time simulator. 

An excitation system is added to generate current and voltage variation in order to identify the frequency impedance. 

A converter developed in the lab will be identified. Since it is an internal development, it is possible to modify the control, grid forming/following, modification of the parameters, operating point. The results will be compared with those obtained in simulation.

Position Requirements

As an ideal candidate for this position

• You have a Phd with a relevant background in power electronic converters with application in power systems, 
• You have already done some experimentation on power electronic converters
• You should have a keen interest to work in a team with various people (Phd, academic staff) studying different aspects of power electronics and power systems.
• You have excellent written and oral communication skills in English.

Practical information:

• L2EP is a Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Power electronic, located at Lille. http://l2ep.univ-lille1.fr/
• Duration : 12 to 24 months
• Apply here: openposition@epmlab.eu

Your application must include:

• A motivation letter oriented towards the position and detailing your experience;
• A scientific CV with contact details;
• List of publications (and patents, if applicable);
• Contact details of 2 references.

The research project is managed by professors Xavier Guillaud, Frederic Colas 

Are you passionate about research? So are we! Come and join us

The National School of Arts et Métiers is a French Engineering School. It is made up of eight campuses and three institutes spread across the territory. Its missions: education, research and development.

The Lille campus welcomes 600 students each year and 120 staff work there every day. Research activities in the fields of electrical engineering are carried out by the Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics (L2EP).

This open position is integrated in the Electrical Energy 4.0 (EE4.0) project which gather electrical engineering research in north of France to design advanced electrical devices. As part of this project, the L2EP seeks to develop PHIL (Power Hardware In the Loop) stability analysis methods that combine real-time simulation and real equipment. 

How will you contribute?

Simulation is used in many applications and the core of many applications in science. Simulation can be considered as an essential step in the design of large number of electrical applications like the optimization of energy management in Electrical Vehicule (eV), the tuning of motor drive controller or the transient simulation in large scale power systems. One special application is when a digital simulator can solve the mathematical representation of a system in a sufficiently small time-step so that the computed model can be executed faster than the chosen simulation time-step. In this case, the digital simulator becomes a Real-Time (RT) simulator and can interact with an actual device. This interaction is the true meaning of RT simulators as without any external device interaction there is no real interest in executing a simulation in RT. An illustration is provided below where a PV inverter can be tested thanks to PV power plant emulation.

The objective of this open position is to study the stability of PHIL simulation where an actual power device interacts with a simulated device through power amplifier. The component under test feedbacks information to the real-time simulator, this information interacts with the simulated network and a loop is then created. As it is a loop its stability should be studied.

More precisely, the researcher is placed under the direct responsibility of the local laboratory manager and has the following missions:

1- Develop some stability analysis methods for Power Hardware In the Loop simulation

2- Participate in the development of a test platform for high power converters (>100kVA)

3- Test and validate these methods on a high-power test platform dedicated to the characterization of converters connected to the electrical network.

The L2EP has, in fact, developed over many years a proven skill in real-time simulation through numerous projects. In addition, the laboratory had the opportunity to develop very high-performance power amplifiers as well as ultra-fast FPGA-based control. This equipment will, without a doubt, be essential in improving the stability of the PHIL loop.

Must-have requirements 

• PhD in electrical engineering or control system
• Strong knowledges in control system
• An easy ability to work and thrive in a collaborative environment, alongside with an excellent team mentality

We offer

An organization with a passion for impact and strong industrial partnerships in France and Europe that works on responsible and independent research projects; 

Innovative infrastructures and exceptional labs

Multicultural and international work environment

Up to 50 days’ paid annual leave, flexible working hours; 

An environment encouraging curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurship in all areas. 

Apply here: openposition@epmlab.eu  

Duration: 12 months

Your application must include:

• A motivation letter oriented towards the position and detailing your experience;
• A scientific CV with contact details;
• A List of publications (and patents, if applicable);
• Contact details of 2 references.

Are you passionate about research? So are we! Come and join us

The National School of Arts et Métiers is a French Engineering School. It is made up of eight campuses and three institutes spread across France. Its missions: education, research and development.

The Lille campus welcomes 600 students each year and 120 staff work there. Research activities in the fields of electrical engineering are carried out by the Laboratory of Electrical Engineering and Power Electronics (L2EP https://l2ep.univ-lille.fr/).

The L2EP has developed for many years a proven skill in the numerical simulation of electromagnetic systems and the techniques of reduction of models making it possible to now consider real-time simulation. In addition, the L2EP has recognized skills in the field of real-time simulation through numerous projects.

This open position is integrated in the Electrical Energy 4.0 (EE4.0) project which gather electrical engineering research in north of France to design advanced electrical devices. As part of this project, the L2EP seeks to develop real-time models of electrical systems from a model based on the calculation of the electromagnetic field with Finite-Element methods.

How will you contribute?

When an electrical device is under design, the use of finite-elements (FE) methods to optimize is very useful. However, it is very complex to integrate this kind of modeling in Electromagnetic Transient (EMT) Software to test some control laws for electrical devices and analyze their interaction. One way to circumvent this issue is to test these control laws on a reduced order model deduced from its FE model. This reduced model can be implemented in a classical EMT simulation software or even a real-time simulator to test a real control board. This allows to have very accurate and reliable models to validate the controls of the various devices under test. 

As this reduced order model is directly deduced from the FE model, one can then see the impact of the controllers on the electrical device and even retrieve the impact on local quantities which can be retrieved from the behavior of the reduced model. The model is then a real “Digital Twin” of the electrical device.

The main objective of this open position is to design a method to obtain a reduced order model from a FE model and to be able to execute it in real time. The method is illustrated in the figure 1.

The researcher will work under the direct responsibility of the local laboratory manager and has the following missions:

1- Choose and develop a model reduction method to perform a dynamic simulation of an electromechanical system (i.e. transformer or electrical machine) in real time

2- Implement and test this model on a real-time environment

3- Post-processing process: use the waveform of EMT to study the impact on local values (like electromagnetic saturation)

Must-have requirements 

• PhD in electrical engineering or numerical analysis
• Strong knowledges in numerical analysis
• Strong programming skills
• An easy ability to work and thrive in a collaborative environment, alongside with an excellent team mentality

We offer

An organization with a passion for impact and strong industrial partnerships in France and Europe that works on responsible and independent research projects; 

Innovative infrastructures and exceptional labs

Multicultural and international work environment

Up to 50 days’ paid annual leave, flexible working hours; 

An environment encouraging curiosity, innovation and entrepreneurship in all areas. 

Apply here: openposition@epmlab.eu  

Duration: 12 to 18 months

Your application must include:

• A motivation letter oriented towards the position and detailing your experience;
• A scientific CV with contact details;
• List of publications (and patents, if applicable);
• Contact details of 2 references.

Institutional partners:

Industrial partners:

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Industrial renewables partners:

Industrial provider partner:

Industrial Building’s experimentation partners: