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Virginia Tech

Residential Microgrids for Disaster Recovery Operations

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

The need for a continuous supply of electric power is vital to providing the basic services of modern life. The energy infrastructure that the vast majority of the world depends on, while very reliable, is also very vulnerable. This infrastructure is particularly vulnerable to disruptions caused by natural disasters. Interruptions of electric service can bring an end to virtually all the basic services that people are dependent on. Recent natural disasters have highlighted the vulnerabilities of large, economically developed, regions to disruptions to their supply of electricity. The widespread devastation from the 2011 Japanese Tsunami and Hurricane Irene in North America, have demonstrated both the vulnerability of the contemporary power grids to long term interruption of service and also the potential of microgrids to ride through these interruptions. Microgrids can be used before, during, and after a major natural disaster to supply electricity, after the main grid source has been interrupted. This thesis researches the potential of clean energy microgrids for disaster recovery. Also a model of a proposed residential microgrid for transient analysis is developed. As the world demands more energy at increasingly higher levels of reliability, the role of microgrids is expected to grow aggressively to meet these new requirements. This thesis will look at one potential application for a microgrid in a residential community for the purpose of operating in an independent island mode operation.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Electrical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Electrical and Computer Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
2013

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Hurtt, James William
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Mili, Lamine M.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Evrenosoglu, Cansin Yaman
  • Lai, Jih-Sheng

Subjects

dc:subject × 4

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
vt_gsexam:125
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/19242

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-24
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Hurtt, James William. Residential Microgrids for Disaster Recovery Operations. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 2013. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/19242