Group 9: The Poros

Team Basics:

Project Title: Hardware in the loop testing of solar and storage inverters

Group 9: The Poros

Group URL: http://srproj.eecs.uci.edu/projects/group-9-poros

Team Composition:

Jiajun Su, Electrical Engineering - Circuit Design:

• Skill:Programming language: Matlab, VHDL

• Circuit wiring.

• Experience: Hovercraft design, wiring, fabrication.

• Contribution: wiring of the control system when hardware is fabricated.

• Role: hardware.

James Yi, Computer Engineering:

• Skills:

  • Knows programming languages: C, python, java, assembly, vhdl, html, javascript, css

  • Knows how to parallel program

  • Has worked on platforms such as: Eclipse, Visual Studios, Android Studios, and text editors

  • Knows how to use linux and version control systems

    • VCS includes:

      • GitHub

      • BitBucket

  • Has worked with embedded systems

  • Has basic/beginner operating systems knowledge

  • Experienced in education

• Technical Aspects:

  • Programming the

• Role:

  • Will be the main programmer for the team

  • Will teach one other person on the team how to code

Tin Hong, Electrical Engineering - Circuit Design:

Leadership experience

Coordinating multiple events and enabling smooth operations of projects

Working under pressure and delivering high quality goods

Utility Power equipment and operation of power electronics

Programming language: C, Python, Lego Mindstorm

Kelvin Zheng, Electrical Engineering - DSP:

Programming: Basics of Mathematica, C, C++

Used VisualStudios, Putty, Solidworks

Able to read and use equipments such as volt meters, oscilloscopes, DC/AC power supplies

Circuit design and building

Experience with working with others from being a cashier and tea barista as well as advising in marketing the store towards a broader audience

Can work long hours undeterred

Our team has two hardware circuit specialization that is crucial to the project because the whole testing requires the hardware component. We have a CPE major that will do the coding for the hardware.

Mentor:

Mentor Name: Green

Why we chose this mentor: Green is an accomplished professor who has a great interest in power and appreciation for being a part of the cutting edge of a field that needs innovation more than ever today.

Other faculty we have talked to and why they didn’t work out:

Smedley, emailed; no response

Project Idea:

Our senior project is to create a hardware in loop simulation of solar and storage inverters. Solar energy currently is not usable for the grid, to fix this we will be using solar and storage inverters. We are creating a routine in a software program to experiment on the solar and storage inverter hardware, which we will also be creating.

Project on the power grid and the challenges that utilities face in integrating new technologies into a system that has been maintained and operated for ~50 years.  How can we bring the reliable electric grid into the 21st century and integrate distributed energy resources (DER) into it.

Our leader, Tin, worked for Edison and was able to talk to some colleagues in the company who suggested this project.

Solving the problems of DER integration will go a long way toward a sustainable energy future and improving access to power; both goals that UCI as an institution goes further to expand and develop

Solar and storage inverters are important because power converted from solar panel are unusable until the DC voltage are transformed to AC voltage and then back to appropriate DC voltage for other machinery. The solar inverters can allow for self-sustaining without the need for external power created by power plants. Storage of solar energy will be very useful in the future allowing for easier access to energy without putting a load on power plants. Storage allows for the use of the stored DC power to be used as backup when there is no sun for solar panel. The hardware in a loop simulation can test for worst case conditions of solar inverters so that it can lower the chance of the inverter going bad when put under strenuous situations. So far our group narrowed it down to a inverter for a electric car or for solar panels.

Our mentor, professor Michael Green, teaches high frequency MOSFET and BJT. In addition, Professor Green has taught power class which will help us in understanding of the problem with Hardware in a loop simulations and is currently branching out into power research.

We do not have the sufficient expertise to currently create the project; however, we do have the necessary skills to be able to quickly learn and adapt to this project’s needs. Tin will be our leader, and will organize and plan our project goals. Jiajun will be our main circuit builder and one of our backup programmer. Kelvin will be our other circuit builder and the other backup programmer. James will be our main programmer and will be also instructing the backup programmers how to program. All skills are covered by our team, with the exception of some programming skills that are lacking. This can be easily corrected by letting James teach the others how to code.

It will require some multidisciplinary technical skills; mostly revolving around creating a circuit design and coding the routine: hardware software integration, power, circuitry, programming. The skills of CSE and EE will suffice in this power project.

PLEASE NOTE THAT FURTHER UPDATES WILL NOW BE DONE IN THIS GOOGLE DOC: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-PhLU_NVUJYIx59EqX_FZEZb-ETW_VU5Z_kP...