Andrea Benigni

• PhD
• Director - Full Professor at FZJ - RWTH Aachen University

Building control architectures are strongly limited by the systematic lack of measurements at user-relevant locations. This paper proposes a digital twin architecture grounded in Correlated Gaussian Processes (Corr-GP) that provide information in the form of pseudo-measurements. Tested with thermal and CO <sub xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math...

To support the transition to a more sustainable energy supply, interest in Multi-energy Systems (MESs) is increasing due to their ability to enhance overall system flexibility and reliability. Within this framework, control approaches play a key role, as they must address the challenges associated with the different dynamics of various energy domai...

For the open access full paper version, please see: https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/995085

Graph partitioning has many applications in powersystems from decentralized state estimation to parallel simulation. Focusing on parallel simulation, optimal grid partitioning minimizes the idle time caused by different simulation times for the sub-networks and their components and reduces the overhead required to simulate the cuts. Partitioning a...

This article introduces and formalizes a novel stochastic method that combines inverse simulation with the theory of generalized Polynomial Chaos (gPC) to solve and study inverse problems under uncertainty in energy system design applications. The method is particularly relevant to design tasks where only a deterministic forward model of a physical...

Grid management undoubtedly benefits from an accurate monitoring of actual network operating conditions. Such monitoring can be obtained starting from a widespread presence of measurement points and different types of estimation techniques. To exploit all the possible measurements present on the network, data coming from the protection systems can...

This paper proposes the application of Correlated Gaussian Processes (Corr-GP) for the recovery of missing intervals in power systems signals. Based on only local power system topology probabilistic machine learning, the presented algorithm combines cross-channel information of the considered signals with a universal, non-parametric probabilistic m...

This paper proposes a new planning framework to determine the optimal location, capacity, and types of EV charging stations (EVCSs) in multi-energy systems (MESs). We propose a two-stage stochastic programming approach -with scenario-based algorithms-that explicitly considers vehicle-to-grid (V2G) peculiarities (four-quadrant operation and stochast...

The increasing adoption of heat pumps presents new challenges for power grids, including the potential overloading of transformers and cables. To address this issue, in this work, a Model Predictive Control (MPC) for a Low-Temperature District Heating (LTDH) network is proposed to prevent the overloading of transformers and cables. A comprehensive...

Local Energy Communities (LEC) have been recognized by the European Union (EU) as a key component of the energy transition. The Clean Energy Package of the European Commission has defined a legislative framework for the operation of LEC that aim at participation of LEC in energy markets. The digitalization of LECs is a critical step both for the re...

The transition to Smart Grids increases the complexity of power grids by involving many more interdependent actors and integrating additional information and communications technology. To provide a common basis for Smart Grid data representation and exchange, the standardized Common Information Model (CIM) has been introduced and extended, i. a., b...

In this paper we present an approach for multi-level parallel-in-time (PinT) ElectroMagnetic Transient (EMT) simulation. We evaluate the approach in the context of power electronics system level simulation. While PinT approaches to power electronics simulations based on 2-level algorithms have been thoroughly explored in the past, multi-level PinT...

Investigations of the dynamic behaviour of power electronic components integrated into electric networks require suitable and established simulation methodologies. Real-time simulation represents a frequently applied methodology for analyzing the steady-state and transient behavior of electric power systems. This work introduces a guideline on how...

Simulation is one of the most important tools in power system planning and analysis, both for the electrical system as a standalone subject and as a part of an interdependent, multi-physical system. In this chapter, a glossary of essential terminologies to be consulted or refreshed is introduced. Afterwords, traditional approaches to power system s...

In this chapter, the advantages of Modelica features in the context of future power systems modeling applications are summarized. Then some future research directions related to language features are highlighted.

The integration of renewable energy sources into modern power systems requires simulations with smaller step sizes, larger network models and the incorporation of complex nonlinear component models. These features make it more difficult to meet computation time requirements in real-time simulations and have motivated the development of high-perform...

Due to the increasing share of renewable energy sources in the electrical network, the focus on decarbonization has extended into other energy sectors. The gas sector is of special interest because it can offer seasonal storage capacity and additional flexibility to the electricity sector. In this paper, we present a new simulation method designed...

In this paper we present a low latency interface for high-speed multi-FPGA real time simulation. The interface developed is based on a parallel bus structure and has been implemented using two Virtex Ultrascale-plus devices. The operation of the interface is -at first- evaluated using a linear feedback shift register to compare numerical values exc...

Important New Dates: - - - Full Paper Submission: February 15, 2021 March 5, 2021 - - - - Notification of Acceptance: March 31, 2021 April 5, 2021 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Submission of Final Manuscripts: April 20, 2021 April 30, 2021 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Theme: Smart grids are power systems with expected hig...

In this paper we introduce an approach to accelerate many-scenario (i.e., hundreds to thousands) power system simulations which is based on a highly scalable and flexible open-source software environment. In this approach, the parallel execution of simulations follows the single program, multiple data (SPMD) paradigm, where the dynamic simulation p...

In this paper we present an approach for real-time simulation and Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) testing of Modular Multilevel Converters (MMCs) that rely on switching models while supporting system level analysis. Using the Latency Based Linear Multistep Compound (LB-LMC) approach, we achieved a 50 ns simulation time step for systems composed of sever...

The solver code generation tools of the Open Real-Time Simulation (ORTiS) framework are a C++ library and CLI tool designed to create real-time simulation solvers for power electronics systems. These C++ defined solvers – generated by the tools – support high level synthesis to HDL, enabling the implementation of FPGA solvers capable of nanosecond...

Real-time (RT) simulation of power and energy conversion systems allows engineers to interface both simulation- and hardware-based controls using controller hardware-in-the-loop (CHiL) simulation of networks of power electronic converters (PECs) in order to de-risk highly developmental systems such as next generation electrified transportation syst...

One can define an energy system as a system that converts one or more energy fluxes into other energy fluxes of a different kind. This definition may describe a relatively small system, for instance, a power plant, a chemical plant, or the heating and cooling apparatus of a single-family house, as well as one covering larger energy needs, for examp...

This paper presents a protection scheme for DC power distribution systems based on a unique rate-limited operating mode. The concept of this protection scheme is that extremely slow ramp-rate limits can be imposed on the DC network voltage and on all currents drawn from the network through control of the power electronic interfaces. Meanwhile, all...

This paper provides a simple low-level unidirectional global communication method for DC microgrids, and requires no hardware modifications to the microgrid and interfacing power electronic converters. The underlying premise to this communication method is injecting low-frequency low-voltage sinusoidal components into the DC microgrid power lines....

In this paper, a novel approach for real-time, probabilistic digital twinning is proposed for the online diagnostic analysis of power electronic converters. Under this approach, a digital twin of a power converter is defined as a real-time probabilistic simulation model with stochastic (random) variables, the model divided up in terms of control la...

This article investigates the problem of measurement selection for data-driven monitoring approaches. Several approaches to input variable selection (IVS) are analyzed, and a general procedure for finding the optimal order for the selection of candidate measurements is presented. The method is based on the extensions of partial correlation and mini...

In this paper we present a solution for real-time multi-FPGA simulation of energy conversion systems based on the Latency-Based Linear Multistep Compound (LB-LMC) simulation approach. The approach relies on a nodal decomposition approach derived from multiport network analysis, and fast parallel communication between Field Programmable Gate Array (...

In this paper, we present a decentralized load estimation approach to support real-time volt/var optimization in distribution networks with high penetration of distributed generation. The decentralized load estimation scheme relies on local information and on a limited amount of information from neighbor areas. We defined a procedure for measuremen...

The paper presents a Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) platform for testing and evaluating networked control algorithms for microgrid applications. The developed platform supports the testing of control approaches with high communication bandwidth requirement and includes real-time simulation and emulation of both power and communication grids. The platfo...

The Global Real-Time Superlaboratory (Global RT Superlab) represents a vendor-neutral distributed platform based on the virtual interconnection of digital real-time simulators (DRTSs) and hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) setups hosted at eight geographically distributed laboratories in the United States and Europe (Figure 1). This article describes the e...

We present a data-driven modeling (DDM) approach for static modeling of commercial photovoltaic (PV) microinverters. The proposed modeling approach handles all possible microinverter operating modes, including burst mode. No prior knowledge of internal components, structure, and control algorithm is assumed in developing the model. The approach is...

Smart Grids (SGs) are expected to be equipped with a number of smart devices able to generate vast amounts of data about the network status, becoming the key components for an efficient State Estimation (SE) of complex grids. To exploit their potentials, the ICT infrastructure needs to be scalable to follow the increasing amount of data flows and f...

In this paper we demonstrate how Latency Insertion Method (LIM) can be used for real-time simulation of high switching frequency power electronics systems and how this approach can be implemented for scalable FPGA execution. We first present a summary of the LIM and how this method can be developed into a solver for high-performance FPGA execution....

In this paper, the use of Power Hardware-in-the-Loop (PHIL) is presented for analyzing, testing, and characterizing a commercial single-phase grid-tied PV micro-inverter in a laboratory environment. The PHIL set-up used is composed of a real-time system (RTS), device (micro-inverter) under test (DUT), four-quadrant amplifiers for grid simulation, s...

In this paper, an approach to perform model reduction of distribution grids for phasor measurement unit (PMU)-based state estimation (SE) purposes is presented. The method is based on ac load flow equations. An arbitrary number of lines and nodes can be selected and reduced to an equivalent one. The performance of the method is tested using the IEE...

In this paper we present a scalable approach for real-time simulation of ship power systems with high-frequency power electronics converters (100-200kHz). The proposed approach is based on the Latency Based Linear Multi-step Compound Method (LB-LMC) and relies on FPGA execution. Several examples of increasing dimension and complexity are used to ev...

In this paper, we consider collaborative power systems education through the FEEDER consortium. In order to increase students’ access to power engineering educational content, the consortium of seven universities was formed. A framework is presented to characterize different collaborative education activities between the universities. Three of thes...

In this paper, we present a day-ahead optimal scheduling for reactive power of PV inverters and tap position of on-load tap changer (OLTC) in distribution network. We used a pattern search optimization algorithm based on the forecasted load demand and PVs active power generation. While the objective is to minimize the node voltage deviation and net...

Distribution systems are being challenged by voltage fluctuation due to the increasing penetration of distributed photovoltaic generation. In this paper, a stochastic approach based on kernel density estimation is proposed to identify the optimal location for the PV plant installation in distribution systems so that the voltage deviation and networ...

We define here a new parallel simulation method designed for real-time execution. This method is highly parallelizable and scalable, and the simulation execution time is fully predictable, which is very important for real-time execution. The stability conditions for the method are defined. Furthermore, we show how to define appropriate flow variabl...

This paper introduces a new data-driven bottom-up monitoring approach for distribution systems. In this approach, local estimations of the subsections into which the system is split are performed independently, thus leading to a scalable architecture. The monitoring approach is focused only on the estimation of voltage magnitude rather than the com...