Power Electronics Development Center
NIWeek Energy Technology Summit, August 4-7, Austin, Texas - Don't miss OPAL-RT, Hydro-Quebec, Parker Hannifin and many more
Energy Technology Summit
Learn from industry peers and see how NI customers are using new technology to make a smarter grid. This year’s sessions cover asset monitoring, real-time grid simulation, intelligent node deployment, PMUs, and more. Through this annual technology exchange, researchers, asset managers, and industry professionals share valuable lessons learned from their application development using NI hardware and LabVIEW graphical system design tools. In the midst of NIWeek 2014, the Energy Technology Summit offers an in-depth and focused view of how engineers and scientists are innovating to make a smarter grid.
Who Should Attend
Engineers interested in smart grid technology, researchers, professors, grid operators who want to learn about new technology for the next generation of intelligent devices, students with a power focus or interest in smart grid tech, entrepreneurs, technologists, the press, and companies or utilities with custom equipment needs.
Energy Technology Summit Features
- Two days of technical sessions
- Poster forum with networking cocktail hour (Wednesday, Aug. 6, 5:30-6:30 PM)
- Full access to NIWeek 2014 conference (exhibit floor, keynotes, sessions, and conference party)
Agenda
Sessions
Asset Monitoring Sessions
Critical Asset Monitoring for Nuclear Power Generation (TS4980)
Vaughn Thomas – Principal Engineer, Westinghouse Electric Company LLC
For more than 50 years, Westinghouse has provided digital instrumentation and control upgrade systems to nuclear power plants worldwide for a range of applications including systems for protection, control, information, and monitoring as well as operator training simulators. In this context, plant computer and vibration/diagnostic systems have been integral to both domestic and international projects for existing and new units (for example, the AP1000). NI technology has played a significant role in a number of these applications and has established a basis for increased usage in current and future process/component condition monitoring solutions. At this session, get an overview of these technologies and product applications.
Wednesday, Aug 6, 3:30 PM - 4:00 PM – Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Evolution of Turbine Blade Health Monitoring (TS3346)
Chris Hill – Chief Engineer, Agilis Measurement Systems, Inc.
Explore the evolution of a fully automated turbo machinery blade health monitoring (BHM) system featuring NI hardware and software development tools. Learn how you can use Agilis software with NI DAQ hardware for R&D test and long-term condition-based monitoring. R&D test uses Windows-based computing and NI FlexRIO acquisition, and BHM uses CompactRIO FPGA platforms. CompactRIO enables the deployment of the BHM system to challenging environments in a small, lightweight package. Current development focuses on integration with new NI tools for condition monitoring and aircraft and power generation engine prognostic asset management systems.
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2:15 PM - 2:45 PM – Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
NI Technology Sneak Peak: Advanced Measurements for Asset Monitoring (TS5019)
National Instruments
You need many measurements to get a complete picture of an asset’s health. At this session, get a behind-the-scenes look at some of the more advanced sensors NI is integrating into its platform beyond vibration measurements. Examples of these sensors and measurements include thermography, motor-current signature analysis, and power.
Wednesday, Aug 6, 2:45 PM - 3:15 PM – Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Transmission Monitoring Sessions
Case Study of NI-Based Smart Grid Measurement Platform for WAMS Implementation at Czech TSO (TS4985)
Dr. Daniel Kaminsky –Division Director, ELCOM, a.s.
Learn how an NI-based smart grid measurement platform for wide-area measurement systems (WAMSs) using NI Single-Board RIO hardware and LabVIEW system design software was deployed at a Czech transmission system operator (TSO). Also hear from an integrator experienced in power quality analyzers and phasor measurement unit systems how to successfully commercialize NI-based smart grid measurement solutions.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 4:00 PM-4:30 PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Deploying a Substation Platform for Transmission Network Monitoring (TS5058)
Dr. Danson Joseph – Power Systems Engineer, National Grid
Peter Haigh – Power Systems Engineer, National Grid
National Grid UK is commissioning CompactRIO-based power monitors in over 100 substations. Attend this session to learn more about the benefits of a platform approach when it comes to system and hardware management and see what it takes to deploy new instrumentation to the grid.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 4:45 PM-5:15 PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Grid Simulation and HIL Test Sessions
Keynote: Controlling an HIL Grid Simulator for the World’s Most Powerful Energy Test Facility (TS4339)
Dr. Curtiss Fox – Director of Operations, eGRID, Clemson University
A 15 MVA grid simulator features a wide assortment of electrical components. At this session, learn how Clemson University engineers and their project partners heavily used NI hardware products and FPGAs coupled with LabVIEW system design software to bring these disparate components together in a system capable of accomplishing true hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) control. The deterministic nature of FPGAs and the LabVIEW Real-Time environment helped create a robust, flexible, and reliable system of DAQ, communication, and control.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 1:00 PM-2:00PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Advances in Design V Tools for Power Electronics (TS3434)
Hydro-Quebec and National Instruments
National Instruments is collaborating with industry leaders to bring better tools to market for the design and test of power electronics control systems. Hydro-Quebec will present and demo a new API in SimPowerSystems™ that enables more accurate processor-based simulation of switching power systems. NI will present updates to the Electric Motor Simulation toolkit as well as an FPGA-based circuit simulation solver that supports model export from a variety of industry-standard modeling environments including Multisim. NI will then introduce a new floating point library for FPGA-based control design and simulation along with other new hardware and software for power electronics control.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 2:45 PM-3:15PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Using Open tools for FPGA-Based Power Electronics and Grid Simulation (TS5026)
OPAL-RT and National Instruments
OPAL-RT and National Instruments will present their new collaboration, running OPAL-RT’s eHS on CompactRIO for sub-microsecond power-electronic simulation. The solver supports power electronics and power systems models from industry-standard environments like Plecs, SimPowerSystems, PSIM and now Multisim, allowing quick and straightforward integration from circuit editor to FPGA-based high-speed simulation without any FPGA coding or compilation.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 2:15 PM-2:45PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Developing Power System Simulators Based on the Actor Model Using NI LabVIEW (TS3354)
Universidad de los Andes
Explore a flexible, scalable, and modular power system simulator that combines the versatility of LabVIEW, the Actor Framework library, and CompactRIO to help you analyze and develop smart grid applications.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 3:30 PM-4:00PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Grid Storage, Microgrid, and Grid Control Sessions
Integrating Advanced Power Monitoring with Bi-Directional Communication and Utility Grade Security (TS3352)
Bob Leigh – CEO, LocalGrid
Graham Beauregard - Director of Engineering, LocalGrid
Electric utilities and power providers face increasing pressure to lower costs, boost reliability, and solve the larger, more complex problems of the aging infrastructure. To meet this challenge, LocalGrid has developed a cost-effective Power Quality Analyzer (PQA) based on the NI CompactRIO platform that integrators with minimal training can easily deploy using out-of-the-box functionality. An open architecture allows for customization, mass flexibility, and over-the-air updates. LocalGrid’s PQA is delivered on a hardened, secure platform that offers real-time bidirectional transformation of SCADA into Modbus, DNP3, IEC 61850, and DDS. This solution is crucial for utilities looking to defer capital investments and achieve advanced monitoring
Wednesday, Aug 6, 4:00 PM-4:30 PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Modular Megawatt-Scale Energy Storage Solutions Leveraging NI cRIO Platform (TS4984)
Andrew Chemistruck – Engineer, Parker Hannifin Corporation
Peter Rauch – Parker Hannifin Corporation
Parker EGT develops outdoor-rated megawatt-scale inverter and battery storage products. At this session, discover how the NI cRIO-9068 controller was used in both platforms for command, diagnostics, and control in a typical installation. Parker EGT achieved external control over both CompactRIO controllers using a SunSpec-compliant Modbus/TCP interface. The firmware for both controllers is modular and designed to support several different system components to allow for increased flexibility for future systems.
Tuesday, Aug 5, 5:15PM-5:45PM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Intelligent Loads and Their Place in Tomorrow’s Grid (TS3259)
David Klapp – Lead Engineer, Advanced Microgrid Systems
Today’s technology allows for more intelligent consumption of energy than ever before. With much of the focus on generation sources, advanced meters, and communications, we have overlooked equipment that every consumer already has: loads. The electrical loads we are all accustomed to can now be made intelligent cost-effectively and yield benefits for both consumers and suppliers. At this session, discover the roles intelligent loads can fulfill and how you can create these loads.
Wednesday, Aug 6, 10:30 AM-11:00 AM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Utilizing Electric Vehicles for Fast Response Regulation Services (TS3382)
Southwest Research Institute
Discover how the Southwest Research Institute used the NI cRIO-9068 software-designed controller, DNP3, open communication protocols, and the LabVIEW Electrical Power Suite to monitor grid frequency 40 calculations per second and control electric vehicle chargers within 30 cycles. With this system, the end user became the first electric vehicle fleet qualified to bid on the Energy Reliability Council of Texas ancillary services electricity market.
Wednesday, Aug 6, 11:00 AM-11:30 AM, Energy Technology Summit, Ballroom G
Energy Technology Summit Poster Forum
Poster: Secure Microgrid Solution Utilizing a Peer-to-Peer Architecture with Data Distribution Service (DDS)
Bob Leigh – CEO, LocalGrid
Graham Beauregard - Director of Engineering, LocalGrid
LocalGrid’s DataFabricTM enables rapid development/deployment of distributed analytics on embedded systems. Through peer-to-peer communication architecture, data is easily shared between and processed on each device without requiring any servers or brokers. DataFabricTM provides a secure, low latency, high throughput, and highly scalable architecture to build next generation in-field distributed analytics that can be designed, configured, deployed, and removed dynamically to the live system without interruption, made possible by the open standards based protocol named Data Distribution Service (DDS). At the core is Real-Time Innovations’ Connext DDS, enabling the efficient transfer of data, self-healing network, and automatic discovery of dynamic devices.
Poster: ComfortGuard™ HVAC Monitoring Diagnostics
Jeff Arensmeier – Staff Scientist, Emerson
Home HVAC systems account for over 40% of a home’s energy consumption. Over 60% of systems are known to be operating at less than optimally and over 20% will experience a failure each year. Monitoring those systems for proper operation can save significant energy, reduce operating cost and insure continued homeowner comfort.
Poster: Online Detection and Localization of Rotor and Stator Rub in Steam Turbines Implemented on NI CompactDAQ
Jindrich Liska – Senior Researcher, University of West Bohemia
This presentation covers the authors work on rotor/stator rub detection and localization in steam turbines. For automatic rubbing detection, an on-line tool, called cumulative full-spectra method based on full-spectra computation, is proposed. The detection algorithm is based on characteristic value evaluation, which is computed using special norming of tracked cumulative full-spectrum frequencies. Not only this method was finally implemented into a rub monitoring system based on the cDAQ platform. This presentation also describes the monitoring system features and advanced functionalities. The whole system was successfully tested and is currently in operation on several steam turbines in power plants.
Poster: An Effective Controller Verification Solution for a 2MW PMSG Wind Turbine system Using FPGA based HIL Simulation
Zhenbin Zhang, Ph. D. Candidate, TUM
Wind energy applications are drawing increasingly much attention these years. Due to the size and cost of a common MW wind turbine system, it is impossible to make a prototype for common institutes and researchers. So a HIL simulation for testing the ideas and controllers are highly desirable. This work researches on the effects of the refreshing-rate of the simulator, and a high-refreshing-rate 2MW Back-to-Back PMSG-wind-turbine simulator is developed using discrete modeling. The effectiveness is verified compared to a high-fidelity continuous model. As an example, a FOC-VOC controller implemented a NI-CRIO system is verified against the developed simulator.
Poster: Preventing Electrical Arcing Events with Scadata Software Suite and NI – Scadata
Kevin Stock, Vice President Scadata
Scadata has developed an arc monitoring solution to detect events indicating a developing problem which could lead to an arcing event. Scadata Software Suite is a LabVIEW developed program using ultrasonic sensors to continuously monitor electrical cabinets and other electrical components. Using a NI sbRIO to link software and measuring devices, sound is recorded as an amplitude and wave form. Starting with a baseline level, monitoring tracks deviation from the baseline. As thresholds are passed, sounds will be recorded and compared to known electrical events, notifying staff of the issue averting potentially damaging arcing events.
Poster: Design and Active Control of a Microgrid Testbed
Dr. Greg Turner, The University of Texas at Arlington
Researchers at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) have installed a novel Microgrid testbed architecture to be used for educational and research purposes. This presentation documents the architecture of the UTA grid, the development of the National Instruments (NI) based active control system, and some of the research progress made thus far. The specific commercial off the shelf components that make up the hardware in the system, which is actually broken up into three independent smaller grids, is described. A custom interconnection architecture will also be discussed that enables the three individual Microgrids to operate independently or in an actively interconnected mode of operation. The implementation of system control software will be presented in terms of the state machine used to develop the software. Finally, experimental data gathered from the dynamic performance of the Microgrid will be presented.
Poster: Hydrogen Storage Solution for Remote Assets and Isolated Residences
Pierre-Jean Bonnefond – CTO , Atawey
ATAWEY, is a french company which has developed a packaged solution that provides stand alone applications clean and reliable electricity. The ATAWEY solution uses renewable energy and is based on hybrid of short term storage with batteries for the transition between night and day and a long term storage composed by a complete hydrogen storage system for the transition between summer and winter. The solution is a mix of off the shelf components from National Instruments and some specifically designed components, such as the electrolyser and the solid storage system of hydrogen.
Poster: Battery Management System Development and Test
Ryan Deyo – Systems Engineer, Bloomy Energy Systems
Jonathan Murray – Business Unit Manager, Bloomy Energy Systems
Today’s batteries rely on an advanced Battery Management System (BMS) for optimal operation. With precision closed loop electronics, software development and testing are receiving strong focus. Learn commonly used methods and systems for BMS firmware development. Explore Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) systems, battery simulation, battery modeling, and how to generate simulated battery scenarios commonly seen in a smart grid application to ensure the BMS is property tested throughout the development life cycle.
Energy System Related Sessions from the NIWeek Embedded Systems Track
- Signal Processing, Automated Diagnostics, and Advisory Generation Using Big Analog Data and LabVIEW for Industrial Monitoring Applications
- Embedded System Deployment and Management
- Rugged by Design: How NI Builds Products to Withstand Extreme Conditions
- From Megawatts to Milliwatts: Measuring Power with LabVIEW
- Going Large: Tools, Tips and Tricks for Developing Large Applications as a Large Team
- Optimizing Performance in LabVIEW Real-Time
- Decisions Behind the Design: LabVIEW for CompactRIO Sample Projects
- Architecting High-Performance RIO Embedded Systems
- Create Robust Applications Quickly with the Recommended LabVIEW FPGA Workflow
- Digital Signal Processing for Every Application
Energy System Related Sessions from the NIWeek Software Development Techniques Track
- Going Large: Tools, Tips and Tricks for Developing Large Applications as a Large Team
- Optimizing Performance in LabVIEW Real-Time
- Decisions Behind the Design: LabVIEW for CompactRIO Sample Projects
- Architecting High-Performance RIO Embedded Systems
- Create Robust Applications Quickly with the Recommended LabVIEW FPGA Workflow
- Digital Signal Processing for Every Application
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