Renewable Energy

Case Study Slide Deck

Solar Case Studies

Solar Panel Manufacturing and Quality Test

Automated, end-of-line test system that performs IV characterization on every panel Increased points on IV curve from 30 to 2000, for more precise calibration parameters Received industry award for providing the best advertized-to-actual performance ratio Other applications include production line automation and optimizing the silicon purification process Implemented test system with NI CompactRIO, S Series, and LabVIEW
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Solar Inverter Prototyping

Prototype solar inverters to prove and iterate on new designs Modular hardware allows for quick iterations of designs Used NI CompactRIO, and LabVIEW
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Calibration of Heliostats for Concentrated Solar Power Plants

Real-time monitoring and calibration of 1879 heliostats (large mirrors) Capture images from cameras located more than 500 meters away Perform image analysis to determine the projection of the solar disc for each heliostat Adjust the heliostat movements by sending position instructions to the mechanical control systems through Modbus protocol Based on NI LabVIEW and Image Acquisition and Analysis platforms
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Automated Testing of Evacuated Tube Solar Collectors

Created a solar simulator for year round, inside test of solar collectors
Control a 2-axis motion system to facilitate real world sun movement Precision control of temperature and mass flow rate of system fluid Monitor and log data from dozens of sensors

Also perform outside tests over long periods (months and years), with data being collected from over Implemented alarms and safety systems for both test rigs Based on NI FieldPoint and LabVIEW

Wind Case Studies

Dynamic Test of Wind Turbine Control System Software

Created a real-time hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test system for new software releases of turbine controllers Simulate the behavior of the real wind turbine components through hundreds of I/O signals and multiple communication protocols Utilized NI FPGA technology to implement wind turbine protocols and sensor simulations Generates automatic test result documentation and provides test case traceability Scalable solution that will provide flexibility and expandability to meet future technical requirements Based on NI PXI and LabVIEW
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Embedded Wind Turbine Control and Monitoring

Embedded monitoring and control of 150 kW turbines Monitoring temperature, wind speed and direction, generator status, encoders and more Controlling hydraulic drives through CANopen network Using NI CompactRIO and LabVIEW
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Wind Turbine Grid Compliance Testing

On-site testing of wind farms and electrical grid integration for certification to stay online during grid faults Create electrical shorts up to 36 KV to simulate faults Switch relays at specified phases of power with millisecond resolution High-voltage DAQ inputs monitor power quality during electrical shorts Based on NI PXI and LabVIEW
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Fuel Cell Case Studies

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Prototyping and Testing a Fuel Cell Control Unit (FCU)

Prototyped a real-time embedded control system for a fuel cell vehicle with NI CompactRIO and LabVIEW Modular hw allowed quick iterations through design changes and allowed experiments with new sensors and actuators Verified the FCU with a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) system based on NI PXI and LabVIEW
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Prototyping a Fuel Cell Control and Monitoring System

Prototyped control system for the worlds first zero emissions locomotive Monitoring and controlling the operation of a 250 kW COTS fuel cell power plant Measure and control pressure, temperature, air mass and coolent flow, proportional valves, etc. Communicate with and send instructions to power plant through CAN network Interface with the train engineer through a networked HMI Based on NI CompactRIO and LabVIEW
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Functional Test of Battery Management Systems for HEVs

Production test system for several designs of battery balancing and management circuit boards Simulate a pack of lithium-ion batteries (up to 12 series cells) Performing high-accuracy voltage and current measurements Based on NI PXI and LabVIEW

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Power Quality Monitoring and Analysis

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Power Quality Analysis System

Turn-key power quality analysis systems based on National Instruments CompactRIO and LabVIEW platforms Functions include: FFT and Vector analyzers, Power Flow monitor, Flicker meter, EN50160 voltage meter, Half-period RMS monitor, and more Complies with international power quality standards: IEC61000-4-30, IEC61000-4-15, and IEC61000-4-7 Local or networked storage for distributed monitoring and off-line analysis Software-based expandability to comply with the latest international standards or feature requests
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