Publications

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Development and Validation of a Railway Safety System for Nordic Trains in Isolated Territories of Northern Quebec Based on IEEE 802.15.4 Protocol

Ferrier, L., Ibrahim, H., Issa, M., Ilinka, A.,

Connected objects are deployed all over the world. Thus, they are contributing to improving communications. In urban areas, technological challenges are gradually being overcome, and advances in this area are exponential. Unfortunately, isolated territories such as northern Quebec do not beneficiate from this technological progress. Yet, northern Quebec relies on abundant natural resources, with notably its huge hydroelectric dams and iron mines, and therefore, the region’s economic life revolves essentially around the exploitation of these resources and is heavily reliant on rail transportation. However, according to Transport Canada, 1246 railroad accidents were reported in 2019 to the Transportation Safety Board (TSB). Thirty-eight people described as trespassers lost their lives, and five railroad employees were fatally injured. In this context, we present the implementation of a security system in an isolated environment for employees intervening on the railroad track to warn them of the imminent arrival of a train. Due to the context of the isolated environment, i.e., without an electrical network, without internet, and without an LTE network, a solution for employees has been developed using a Zigbee telecommunication system and a connected watch. A case study on a train operating in a remote and isolated area in northern Quebec is presented to validate the performance of the proposed system based on an open-source and customizable solution.

Pour consulter l’article: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/18/6129

– Neural Network Optimization Algorithms to Predict Wind Turbine Blade Fatigue Life under Variable Hygrothermal Conditions

Ziane, K., Ilinca, A., Sattarpanah. S., Dimotrova, M.

Moisture and temperature are the most important environmental factors that affect the degradation of wind turbine blades, and their influence must be considered in the design process. They will first affect the resin matrix and then, possibly, the interface with the fibers. This work is the first to use a series of metaheuristic approaches to analyze the most recent experimental results database and to identify which resins are the most robust to moisture/temperature in terms of fatigue life. Four types of resin are compared, representing the most common types used for wind turbine blades manufacturing. Thermoset polymer resins, including polyesters and vinyl esters, were machined as coupons and tested for the fatigue in air temperatures of 20 °C and 50 °C under “dry” and “wet” conditions. The experimental fatigue data available from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) for wind turbine-related materials have been used to build, train, and validate an artificial neural network (ANN) to predict fatigue life under different environmental conditions. The performances of three algorithms (Backpropagation BP, Particle Swarm Optimization PSO, and Cuckoo Search CS) are compared for adjusting the synaptic weights of the ANN and evaluating the efficiency in predicting the fatigue life of the materials studied, under the conditions mentioned above. For accuracy evaluation, the mean square error (MSE) is used as an objective function to be optimized by the three algorithms.

Pour consulter l’article: https://www.mdpi.com/2673-4117/2/3/18

– State of the Art of Telecommunication Systems in Isolated and Constrained Areas

Ferrier, L., Ibrahim, H., Issa, M., Illinca, A.

Smart objects are deployed globally, contributing to improved communications and the growth of industrial systems’ performances. Unfortunately, isolated territories are generally excluded from this progress. Remote areas in Canada are no exception. Thus, about two hundred thousand people are living in isolated regions in Canadian territory. The development of these communities is slowed down not only by an outdated energy supply, but they are also dependent on telecommunication systems not fully deployed in those regions, thus contributing to the amplification of those populations’ isolation. Furthermore, the magnetic field in some regions of the planet and very often in isolated areas undergoes partial or total absorption, known as white areas, making the propagation of the signal very delicate. As a part of this article, a state of the art of telecommunication solutions available in an isolated environment is applied with a critical analysis based on several criteria. It shows the ability to use an original approach based on a captive balloon. Despite the proposed solution’s feasibility, several challenges need to be addressed before formally adopting it. These challenges include: (i) controlling the height of the balloon; (ii) stabilization of the balloon; and (iii) powering the system. The list of references given at the end of the paper should offer aids for the industry and for researchers working in this field.

Pour consulter l’article: https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/9/3073/htm

– Control of Green Configuration for Isolated Telecom Tower Base Station Application

Rezkallah, M., Chandra, A., Feger, Z., &  Ibrahim, H.

In this paper hybrid Wind/Solar/Diesel configuration as the solution to minimize the use of diesel fuel in isolated Telecom tower base stations is studied.To achieve high performance from wind turbine (WT) and solar panels (PVs), DC-DC boost converters are controlled using perturbation and observation (P&O) technique. All DC loads are fulfilling from the DC bus through controlled DC-DC buck converter. To balance the power in the system, lead acid batteries are connected to the DC bus through controlled DC-DC buck/boost converter. The AC-DC interfacing voltage source converter (VSC) is controlled to regulate constantly the AC voltage and frequency using the symmetrical components technique.Diesel generator (DG) is connected to the AC bus through static transfer switch. The performance of the proposed configuration, as well as, the the control strategies, are tested using Matlab/Simulink under load and weather condition change.

– Implementation of Two-Level Control Coordinate for Seamless Transfer in Standalone Microgrid

Rezkallah, M., Chandra, A., Ibrahim, H., & Singh, B.

This paper investigates two-level control coordinate and enhanced phase locked loop (EPLL) for a seamless transition between modes of operation under presence of nonlinear loads in standalone Microgrid (SMG). Two-level coordinating control approach for voltage, frequency regulation and power quality improvement at the point of common coupling (PCC), are proposed. Furthermore, the saturation issue, and mitigation of the 5th and 7th order-harmonics, are taken on considered in design of the proportional resonant and proportional integral controllers. To ensure soft and fast transition between mode of operation in SMG, enhanced phased looked loop (PLL), is employed. The proposed concept for standalone microgrid is validated by simulation using MATLAB/ Simulink and in the laboratory using a small ratings prototype of 2 kW.

– Comprehensive Controller Implementation for Wind-PV-Diesel Based Standalone Microgrid

Rezkallah, M., Singh, S., Chandra, A., Singh, B., Tremblay, M., Saad, M., & Geng, H.

In this paper, a comprehensive controller of a standalone microgrid is implemented, which has three dispersed generation units based on a wind, solar photovoltaic (PV) array, and a diesel generator (DG). The power ratio variable step perturb and observe method is applied to achieve maximum power point tracking of a solar PV array and a variable speed wind turbine coupled a permanent magnet brushless dc generator without rotor/wind speed sensors. Moreover, to ensure perfect synchronization of a DG to the point of common coupling (PCC), a control algorithm is developed, which is based on in-phase and quadrature units. An active power control based on proportional–integral controller with anti-windup, is used for voltage and frequency regulation. The LCL filter based on virtual resistor, is used for power quality improvement at PCC. Simulation and test results are presented for the validation of the proposed system using a prototype of 2 kW in the laboratory.

Read more: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8760399

– Design and Implementation of Active Power Control With Improved P&O Method for Wind-PV-Battery-Based Standalone Generation System

Rezkallah, M., Hamadi, A., Chandra, A., & Singh, B.

In this paper, the design and implementation of active power control with antiwindup PI controller (AWPI) and improved perturbation and observation (P&O) method with sliding mode control (SMC), are investigated to get a high level of performance with a reduced number of sensors for a stable operation of a wind-PV-battery-based hybrid standalone power generation system (HSPGS). The SMC approach with boundary layer is used for an optimum trajectory on the sliding surfaces, with variable operating conditions of many power converters connected at the same DC bus. Furthermore, detailed modeling and stability analysis to demonstrate the transversality, reachability, and equivalent control are presented. The effectiveness and robustness of HSPGSs and their respective control strategies are validated by simulation and test results on a hardware prototype using a DSP-dSPACE real time controller.

Read more: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7563431

– Real-Time Implementation of Robust Control Strategies Based on Sliding Mode Control for Standalone Microgrids Supplying Non-Linear Loads

Benhalima, S., Miloud, R., & Chandra, A.

In this paper enhanced control strategies for standalone microgrids based on solar photovoltaic systems (SVPAs) and diesel engine driven fixed speed synchronous generators, are presented. Single-phase d-q theory-based sliding mode controller for voltage source converter voltage source converter (VSC) is employed to mitigate harmonics, balance diesel generator (DG) current, and to inject the generated power by SVPA into local grid. To achieve fast dynamic response with zero steady-state error during transition, sliding mode controller for inner control loop is employed. To achieve maximum power point tracking (MPPT) from SVPA without using any MPPT method, a DC-DC buck boost converter supported by battery storage system is controlled using a new control strategy based on sliding mode control with boundary layer. In addition, modeling and detailed stability analysis are performed. The performance of the developed control strategies, are validate by simulation using MATLAB/Simulink and in real-time using hardware prototype.

Read more: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/10/2590

– Les CCTT : des experts de l’innovation aux services des entreprises

Faucher, L.

Forum Stratégie Innovation-Édition Côte-Nord. Sept-Îles

– Le transfert de connaissances entre le Cégep de Sept-Îles et le secteur minier dans le contexte d’implantation de l’Industrie 4.0: Impact sur les techniciens miniers, les superviseurs et les      gestionnaires

Faucher, L.

– L’utilisation de la simulation pour évaluer la dissipation thermique dans des réservoirs afin de diminuer les coûts associés à l’instrumentation

– Predictive maintenance based on four parameters on an industrial test bench

Ramdenee, D.  et al.

– Comment créer des alliances stratégiques avec des organismes de recherche pour améliorer vos processus de maintenance et augmenter la compétitivité de votre entreprise?

Ramdenee, D.

– Augmenter votre productivité : la clé de la compétitivité 

Damergi, M. A.

Visualiser la conférence : https://itmi.ca/CLIENTS/1-itmi/docs/upload/sys_docs/ITMI20131205Amelioration_Continue.pdf

– Modélisation numérique de la distribution thermique dans une salle de serveurs industriels: optimisation de la configuration

Paradis, P. L. et al.

Ce travail compare six scénarios de climatisation d’une salle de serveurs typique. La climatisation par plancher surélevé et par conduit fixe au plafond est comparée avec différents degrés de confinement des allées froides dans les salles. Les résultats dénotent une stratification plus importante de la température lorsque l’air est admis par le bas, la contamination de l’air froid par des boucles de recirculation lorsque le confinement n’est pas adéquat, de même qu’un gain d’efficacité lorsqu’un panneau relie le haut des cabinets au plafond lorsque l’air froid provient du haut. Aucune différence n’est toutefois relevée entre les deux configurations de salles (plancher surélevé ou conduit au plafond) lorsque l’allée froide est totalement confinée. Ce travail est conclu par un algorithme décisionnel simple basé sur les résultats de simulations pour l’intervention sur les salles de serveur existantes et vétustes.

Lire la suite : http://t3e.info/pdf/Publications/2013-CIFQ-Paradis.pdf

– Aeroelasticity of Wind turbine blades using numerical simulation

Ramdenee, D.  et al.

With roller coaster traditional fuel prices and ever increasing energy demand, wind energy has known significant growth over the last years. To pave the way for higher efficiency and profitability of wind turbines, advances have been made in different aspects related to this technology. One of these has been the increasing size of wind turbines, thus rendering the wind blades gigantic, lighter and more flexible whilst reducing material requirements and cost. This trend towards gigantism increases risks of aeroelastic effects including dire phenomena like dynamic stall, divergence and flutter.

Read more: https://www.intechopen.com/books/advances-in-wind-power/aeroelasticity-of-wind-turbines-blades-using-numerical-simulation

– Simulation of flutter phenomenon on a naca 4412 airfoil

Ramdenee, D.  et al.

Wind Energy journal 2012.

– 3D Computational Model including topographic data for the prediction of dire wind regimes and vortex shedding in an attempt to improve tall building reliability

Ramdenee, D.  et al.

Meteorological and oceanographic journal 2012.

– Guide de mise en oeuvre des bonnes pratiques vers la maîtrise de la gestion de la maintenance dans les PME

Ramdenee, D. 

ETS de Montréal