Events Calendar

Energy Informatics Distinguished Seminar Series

Speaker: Marija Ilic, Carnegie Mellon University

Talk Title: Physics-Based Modeling and Control for Plug-and-Play Electric Energy Systems

Series: Energy Informatics Distinguished Seminar Series

Abstract: In this talk we consider future electric energy grids as interconnections of coupled modules, often hierarchically arranged. We first review current operating practices, and then describe how one could think of cyber design for the changing grids using simpler-to-understand mechanical representations of these systems. We discuss most of the ideas using these coupled mechanical system analogies and propose a new, physically intuitive state space model which lends itself to modular modeling and cyber design for provable performance. Once the model is established, it becomes possible to identify open control and communication problems necessary to define the information exchange among the modules (type, rate of exchange and entities exchanging this information). This modeling paradigm is illustrated for both bulk power grids and for the emerging micro-grids. Fundamentally, the problem of using coupling (interactions) between modules to support cooperative control and communications within either weakly or strongly coupled nonlinear grids is suggested as the problem presenting theoretical challenge to both control and communications design. This very difficult problem is made manageable by combining physics-based models with the cyber design objectives. It is shown how such an approach could be used to integrate fast power electronically-switched control in micro-grids to stabilize the unconventional dynamics resulting from the presence of distributed energy resources (DERs) and the variable speed drives embedded into responsive demand. The same concept can be used to control flow in delivery systems. A very tangible problem of suppressing subsynchronous control instabilities created by the interactions of power electronics controllers is illustrated using this approach.

Biography: Marija D. Ilic received her Doctor of Science Degree in Systems Science at Washington University in St. Louis, MO in 1980. She is currently a Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, with a courtesy appointment in the Public Policy Department. She is the Director of the Electric Energy Systems Group (EESG) at Carnegie Mellon. She was an Assistant Professor at Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, and tenured Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She was then a Senior Research Scientist in Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, from 1987 to 2002. She has over 30 years of experience in teaching and research in the area of electrical power system modeling and control. Her main interest is in the systems aspects of operations, planning, and economics of the electric power industry. She has co-authored and co-edited a number of books in her field of interest. Her most recent book is Engineering IT-Enabled Sustainable Electricity Services: The Tale of Two Low-Cost Green Azores Islands. Prof. Ilic is an IEEE Fellow.

Host: Viktor Prasanna and the Ming Hsieh Institute

Location: Hughes Aircraft Electrical Engineering Center (EEB) - EEB 132

Audiences: Everyone Is Invited

Contact: Annie Yu