Gianluca Fabbri

Innovative solutions for stand alone system powering

In the paper, possible hybrid configurations of low power stand alone systems based on renewable energy sources (RES) and alternative sources, suitable for applications in remote areas not connected to the grid such as radio base stations for mobile phone communications, are described and compared. As practical case, different alternative solutions for the powering of a radio base station (RBS) are analysed: the wind-solar technology including also a PEM fuel cell, supplying a conventional refrigeration system or an absorption system for the equipment cooling; a thermally insulated pre-fabricated system that uses the natural air circulation for the equipment cooling.

Design and implementation of a fast recharge station for electric vehicles

In this paper it is described an innovative project born by the cooperation between Polo per la Mobilità Sostenibile (POMOS) and Citroën Italia. The project concerned the implementation of a high power fast recharge station for electric vehicles in the parking lot of the Citroën dealer. This station is free and available for all the owners of electric vehicles with no restriction on the vehicle brand. The fast recharge station is able to restore the battery pack charge to 80% of maximum value in about 20 minutes using direct current charging at 400 V. The whole project includes in addition to the fast recharge dock two traditional recharge docks driven by a vertical axis innovative mini-wind generator able to produce from 6 to 30 kW. The wind generator is allowed to exchange power with the electric grid implementing the concept of smart grid. The recharge station has been inaugurated by the Italian environment minister July 25-th 2012.

Automotive application of lithium-ion batteries: A new generation of electrode materials

New researches suggest that the price of lithiumion batteries could fall dramatically by 2020, creating conditions for the widespread adoption of electrified vehicles in the markets. The aim of this work is to analyze the behavior of titania nanotubes acting as anode for lithium ion batteries. Titania is chemically stable, economically competitive, nontoxic, and an environmental sustainable. Potentiostatic processes were used to treat electrochemically small sheets of commercially pure grade-3 titanium in order to generate titania nanotubes on its surface. After that, the samples were used for to prepare the working electrodes and so tested in a electrochemical cell with lithium metal as anode and LiPF6 in EC-DMC 1:1 as electrolyte. Structural and morphologic characterization of the titania nanotubes have been done by RDX and SEM analysis, while galvanostatic cycles, for to highlight the electrochemical performance as electrodic material, have been made. A comparison of the electrochemical performance with a commercial nanostructured titanium oxide (P25 Degussa), TiO2 obtained by Laser and a commercial lithium titanate Li4Ti5O12 has been made. The TiO2 nanotube electrodes, obtained by our technical anodization, reduces the overall cell voltage and provides good capacity retention on cycling and higher capacity at all used C-rate was delivered.

Design of cast-resin distribution transformers by means of genetic algorithms

In this paper the authors analyse the algorithms and the relevant numerical optimisation techniques for the design of magnetic power devices, with reference to cast-resin distribution transformers. A numerical optimisation algorithm based on genetic algorithms and its application to the design technique is described. Objective functions to be minimised are discussed. Numerical results allow to evaluate the efficiency and the reliability of the proposed method

Automotive application of lithium-ion batteries: Control of commercial batteries in laboratory tests

In this work the behavior of commercial lithium-ions batteries for auto-motive sector usage have been analyzed. Trough laboratory tests the loss of the nominal capacity in a battery has been studied. In particular the three basic causes of this phenomenon such as the amount of power required during the discharge phase, the aging due to high number of cycles and the poorly management of a battery pack have been examined in order to try to identify and define a method to recover battery packs poorly managed.

Cyber Physical Systems and Body Area Sensor Networks in Smart Cities

The increasing pervasiveness of ICT and the development of the Internet of Things (IoT) will allow the spread of the often time and safety-critical embedded Cyber Physical Systems (CPS). The new challenge will be to design, programme and implement highly distributed and connected digital technologies. These technologies will be embedded in a multitude of increasingly autonomous physical systems with various dynamics and satisfying multiple critical constraints including cost, security, safety, power efficiency, high performance, and size. This combination of various cyber-physical systems gives rise to emergent properties and unpredictable behaviours. In the future world of Cyber Physical Systems, a significant number of devices connected to the physical world will be able to exchange data with each other, access web services, and interact with people. Thanks to the development of the IoT and of high speed broadband, this embedded world will then meet the internet world and the physical world will meet the cyber world. The purpose of this paper is to give a comprehensive view on Cyber-Physical Systems and Body Area Sensor Networks (BASNs) focusing on the convergence of these technologies and research thrusts that underpin “Smart Cities” and the Internet of Things concepts. Moreover as a practical example of CPS and BASN, a research project that aims at the development of a Smart and Safe Wearable System for Hand Pattern Recognition is presented. This project has been approved for funding by the Italian Ministry for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in the framework of the Scientific and Technological Cooperation Agreement between Italy and USA.

Bonifica 2.0: An Integrated Territorial System of Sustainable Mobility and Micro Smart Grids

The main objective of this paper is to illustrate an Integrated Territorial System of Sustainable Mobility and Micro Smart Grids developed by the Pole for Sustainable Mobility (POMOS) and its partners, in the framework of a regional R&D project named “Bonifica 2.0”. This project aims at the touristic exploitation of the Pontine territory, a large naturalistic area in the region of Lazio in Italy, configuring mixed routes (waterways, channels and bicycle/pedestrian paths) out of the road network paths and expanding the concept of land sustainable mobility to waterways and coastal lakes that characterize all the Pontine area. One of the main targets is the restoration of historical, archaeological and natural zones in an innovative way and with the use of new technologies and environmentally sustainable means of transportation. A mobility system integrated with the mainland has been studied and will be implemented. The system will allow to manage the fleet and the infrastructures assuring safe routes and the exploitation of historical / cultural sites. The system and its main components are described in this paper illustrating what has been achieved till now. In particular a prototype of an innovative electric boat to be used to navigate shallow waters is presented.

Impact of V2G/G2V technologies on Distributed Generation systems

The aim of this paper is to analyze the current status and implementation impact of V2G/G2V (Vehicle- to-Grid and Grid-to-Vehicle) technologies on Distributed Generation (DG) systems, illustrating requirements, benefits, challenges and strategies for interfaces of both individual vehicles and fleets. Two of the key aspects for the diffusion of these technologies are those related to batteries and charging systems. In this regards, activities of two research projects are described in the paper: the first project is about the behavior of commercial lithium-ion batteries and the second one concerns the implementation of a high power fast recharge station. Some experimental results are also presented.

A tool for the analysis of energy systems in Smart Cities

Today cities house half of the worlds population, and they are set to host three quarters in 2050 considering that urbanization is only set to increase. Cities represent three quarters of world energy consumption and 80% of CO2 emissions worldwide being the most critical of any environmental policy challenge. To cope with this continued urban growth we will need to invent new ways to manage cities and make them more effective. The convergence between the world of energy and digital technologies, will pave the way for a new ecosystem of services which should enable both reduced energy consumption and a better quality of life. The energy sector will see in the upcoming years an increasing numbers of consumers producing their own energy, not only sharing it with one another but also customizing it for their own personal use. Digital technologies, after revolutionizing the information technology sector, are now transforming all economic sectors, including energy. In this paper the main issues related to smart grids and their integration with the cities will be analyzed stressing the importance to dispose of simulation tools and models aimed at facilitating pre-feasibility and feasibility analysis of smarter energy technologies. A simplified tool is under development to introduce the microgrid and distributed power systems designs. The tool takes in account both conventional and renewable energy technologies and it is designed to simulate microgrids or as distributed generation within a larger grid. The first results of the tool have been compared with experimental results and with data from literature and used to perform simulations of various systems. As case study, some results regarding the integration of a battery energy storage system in the grid are reported.

Innovative energy supply and storage systems for telecom radio base stations

In this paper available power alternatives for Stand Alone Power Systems (SAPS) for telecom applications are analyzed and compared. The first part of the paper is an overview of the main energy supply and storage technologies that can be successfully used in a Radio Base Station (RBS). In the second part of the paper, a software tool that has been developed to simulate the behavior of hybrid energy systems is described. The tool allow to easily consider a number of system configurations and operating strategies to evaluate and optimize the design of hybrid systems. In the third part of the paper some results obtained using the tool to simulate the behavior of two different hybrid configuration of SAPS are presented and discussed.