Cryogenic power electronics has the potential to significantly improve Cyber Physical Systems (CPS) applications in aviation and space. However, their safety and reliability are yet to be studied systematically. To this end, we propose the first prototype of a deterministic toolchain for the design of Cryogenic Cyber Physical Systems (CCPS). Obviously, the design, verification and safety analysis of such systems pose considerable unknowns and challenges. Towards a potential solution, we propose an approach for unified functional safety, inspired by our earlier work. We leverage the recently developed deterministic framework (proposed by Google), called Logical Synchrony Networks, for distributed systems. This simplifies the modelling and safety analysis. Moreover, we propose a novel variant of Signal Temporal Logic (STL), called Synchronous Signal Temporal Logic (SSTL), which is specially tailored for CPS applications and designed using logical synchrony. We demonstrate the first prototype solution in the simulation of a CCPS system as a proof of concept.

Previous works have identified that EV charging can be weaponised to attack the power grid. As a case study, we consider the newest charging protocol ISO 15118–20, which provides a high-level communication protocol for EV charging. We first highlight fundamental issues in ISO 15118–20 which prevent the development of security features within the existing standard: We show that an attacker can perform a downgrade attack on ISO 15118–20, and propose modifications to the standard to prevent this. We show how this can be used to enable the development of additional security features within the modified protocol. A proof of concept is developed to prove functionality, determine interoperability between various parties, verify that it meets the original standard's timing requirements, and does not impact charging speed nor noticeably affect the length of a charging session.

Bi-directional Inductive Power Transfer (BDIPT) technique is suitable for renewable energy based applications such as electric vehicles (EVs), for the implementation of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems. Recently, more efforts have been made by researchers to improve both efficiency and reliability of renewable energy systems to further enhance their economical sustainability. This paper presents a comparative reliability study between a typical BDIPT system and an individually controlled segmented BDIPT system. Steady state thermal simulation results are provided for different output power levels for a 1.5 kW BDIPT system in a MATLAB/Simulink environment. Reliability parameters such as failure rate and mean time between failures (MTBF) are compared between the two systems. A nonlinear programming (NP) model is developed for optimizing charging schedule for a stationery EV. A case study of EV optimum charging is provided for a 24 hours period indicating minimum cost and higher reliability.

The ever increasing demand for energy has led towards distributed renewable energy generation systems. Such systems depend on a well integrated information and communication infrastructure for interconnection and integration of various energy sources, loads, and environmental sensors to achieve intelligent distributed control and management. This paper describes the design and implementation of an intelligent hybrid communication system for a micro distributed energy generation application. The industrial standard controller area network (CAN) bus was selected to connect various energy sources and loads, due to its resistance to noisy conditions. An application specific communication protocol was designed, based on the CAN protocol, to allow data exchange and control. The proposed communication system was verified using a prototype micro wind generation system with multiple power converters and a central energy management unit. Combined with intelligent control algorithms, which could in future be incorporated in the energy management unit, the system has the ability to perform optimised load balancing and energy usage planning.

Traditionally, the power supplies employed in low voltage and very high current applications, such as electroplating, use line frequency transformers and thyristor-based control circuits. Such power supplies are bulky and inefficient, taking up valuable plant area and incurring significant operational costs. This study proposes an efficient and compact power supply suited to high current and low voltage applications. It uses a multi-level converter to convert line frequency input waveforms to a high frequency in a low cost and low loss manner. The output of the multi-level converter feeds an AC L-C-L resonant network to implement an easily controllable current source that, in turn, feeds a high current output stage. The output stage is modular, consisting of a number of easily constructed transformers and rectifier circuits that share voltage and current stresses. The proposed topology is modeled and simulated results are presented to verify its performance.

This paper presents an investigation into the performance of a low cost integrated micro-wind generation system. In comparison to a conventional micro-wind system, the integrated solution presented in the paper, which utilizes the phase inductances of the generator as the boost inductor, eliminates the requirement for a separate boost inductor and filter capacitor, significantly reducing the cost and the size. A commercially viable 1.2 kW integrated micro-wind system is designed and the details of the prototype implementation are presented. The performance of this prototype is compared with an equivalent conventional system and the experimental results are presented to demonstrate the viability of the integrated system as an efficient and cost effective solution.

Matrix converter (MC) based grid connected bi-directional inductive power transfer (BD-IPT) systems are preferable for numerous applications such as electric vehicle (EV) charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) systems due to their single-stage grid integration as opposed to two-stage grid integration of conventional BD-IPT systems. However MC based BD-IPT systems essentially produce harmonics which can have adverse effects on power quality of the utility grid. This paper presents a new control technique, through which the grid side harmonic distortion of MC based BD-IPT systems can be improved. A theoretical analysis is presented with simulations to show that the proposed approach is viable, and results suggest that the presented technique improves the power quality of the system significantly by minimizing the grid side harmonic distortion.