Offshore renewable energy, including offshore wind and marine (wave and tidal), is a potential sustainable supply to the future energy demand. To integrate offshore renewable energy, subsea DC grids are necessary. However, protection of such grids against any low impedance fault is a challenging task and is dependent on developing reliable DC circuit breaker (DCCB).
In this PhD project the three methods of DC fault isolation will be studied mainly in system level. Advantage and disadvantage of each approach will be identified and the limitations of application in large offshore DC grids will be explored. Additionally, fast, reliable, and discriminative DC fault detection within a large mesh DC grid is to be investigated. This is of great importance for secure DC fault isolation in which minimum sections of the DC grid are isolated in the event of the DC fault. To date, differential method has been proposed which will be used as a benchmark in this study. It mainly suffers from long delays due to communication links between different relays when long transmission lines are used.
Main Objectives are: (1) to explore state of the art technology in either of the proposed DCCBs; (2) to evaluate and improve on the latest technologies proposed so far for DC fault isolation with the aim of better efficiency, lower cost, higher reliability, and performance particularly in harsh offshore environment; (3) to study DC fault detection technique in a large mesh DC grid; and (4) to design protection systems based on studied technologies and evaluate DCCBs performance on offshore DC grids.
The successful applicant should have, or expect to have, a BEng Honours Degree at 2.1 or above in Electrical/Electronic Engineering or related field and have a background in Power Electronics. Evidence of English proficiency is required in the form of IELTS, TOEFL, PTE or Cambridge English Advanced and Proficiency. It would be useful to also have, Good knowledge on PSCAD, MATLAB/SIMULINK (Power System Toolbox), Good interpersonal and analytical skills and the ability to work independently or as a team member
The start date of the project is 5 January 2016.
Funding Notes: Tuition fees will be paid at UK/EU rates which are £3,600 (pro-rata) for 2015/2016. A stipend will also be paid at Research Council rates which is £13,863. The stipend will be paid monthly in arrears.
Candidates not eligible for UK/EU fee rates are welcome to apply, but should consider very seriously if they will be able to cover the difference between fees for the entire duration of their PhD study (minimum 3 years). If this applies to you and you are not able to cover the fee difference, please DO NOT APPLY.
References:
Application procedure
Formal applications can be completed online: http://www.abdn.ac.uk/postgraduate/apply. You should apply for PhD in Engineering, to ensure that your application is passed to the correct College for processing. Please ensure that you quote the project title and supervisor on the application form.
Informal inquiries can be made to Dr M Hajian (m.hajian@abdn.ac.uk) with a copy of your cover letter and curriculum vitae. All general enquiries should be directed to the Graduate School Admissions Unit (cpsgrad@abdn.ac.uk).
Last date: Thursday, October 15, 2015
For more information: m.hajian@abdn.ac.uk