A design method for specifying power sources for hybrid power systems

Many efforts have been made in recent years to address issues surrounding the use of fossil fuels for energy. However, it must be conceded that world’s dependence on fossil fuels cannot cease overnight. In reality, the switch is expected to be a relatively slow migration of technologies over many decades. During this transition period the world will need bridging technologies to aid in the transition to alternate energy sources. One such technology, which shows much promise in boosting energy efficiency while reducing emissions and costs, is the adoption of hybrid power systems. This thesis investigates the motives behind seeking alternate energy sources and discusses the future need to move away from fossil fuels and the likely role hybrid power systems will play in the future. A general outline of a hybrid power system is presented, and its key subsystems identified and discussed, paying attention to power generation, energy storage technologies and the performance of these systems. A novel method of specifying the power sources in bespoke hybrid power systems are presented. A custom software tool aimed at evaluating how different hardware configurations and output duty cycles affect the performance of a hybrid power system is then presented and used in several case studies to investigate the effectiveness of the presented method in specifying power sources for a given application. It was found that the hardware, output application and control strategy of a hybrid power system affects the overall performance of the system. Furthermore, if the output duty cycle of a hybrid power system is repetitive and predictable in nature, it was found that the hardware and control strategy of the system can be fine-tuned using simple techniques to optimise the overall system configuration and performance.

Name dc:type.qualificationname

d_ph

Level dc:type.qualificationlevel

d_ph

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

University of Birmingham

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Meegahawatte, Danushka Hansitha

• T Technology (General)
• TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering
• TL Motor vehicles. Aeronautics. Astronautics