Energy and Power Systems Cluster

Research Assistants

• Muhammad Awais | Team Lead
• Asad Nawaz Khan
• Syed Husnain Shah
• M. Azmeer Zahid

Research Assistants

• Muhammad Anees | Team Lead
• Uzair Ahmed
• Reesha Arshad
• Bilal Khan
• Abdur Raheem

• Improvement in power factor by using out of phase operation of induction motors through IoT enabled VFDs.
• Investigation of matrix-converter based phase controlled IoT enabled VFDs for improvement in power quality and power factor operation of multiple machines in an industrial setup.
• Enhanced efficiency operation of IoT enabled synchronized VFDs in commercial setups.
• Servomotor SVPWM drives for PMSM and Induction motors using field oriented control and direct torque control.
• Electric vehicle drivetrain with regenerative braking using brushless dc machines and switched reluctance machines.

• MIMO converters for integration of renewables: The work was carried out in multiple projects and thesis work on specific and scalable multiple input-multiple output converters for dc-dc and dc-ac conversion applications. Work in this area has been extended to multi-level inverters for different applications.
• High density power converters: Work was carried out for IEEE-Google Littlebox challenge. The focus was on coming up with a new topology for high power density dc-ac inverter with focus of reduction of twice-the-line-frequency ripple for efficient power processing.
• Solar microinverter and optimizer: The work was on development to different converters for direct dc-ac inversion with MPPT for grid-tied microinverter with a dual operation as a solar optimizer in developing countries with unstable grid.
• Some work on inductive and capacitive wireless power transfer is ongoing for use in electric-vehicle infrastructure and low power applications.
• Design and development of a 1000W solar charge controller: This was an industry sponsored project for a startup that was subsequently launched as PakShine. The product allows scalable integration of Solar panels to create a flexible solution for domestic consumers. The product has since been launched as a local industry.
• Optimum Integration of Solar with existing UPS infrastructure with neighborhood level distributions: This project was sponsored by United States-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Energy, National University of Science and Technology (USPCAS-E, NUST) Campus. It involves design and development of a scalable solution for existing UPS systems to integrate solar PV based energy in a pseudo-hybrid conversion and allows multiple units to be integrated for neighborhood level integration. The project prototype has been successfully completed.
• Design of new topologies for UPS systems: The work was sponsored by Schneider Electric and carried out at Colorado Power Electronics Center (CoPEC) in Summer 2017 on very high power density and high efficiency UPS system design for high frequency models with a goal of 70% reduction in volume. A new topology was developed which has since been filed for patent: US Provisional Patent: High Power Density Uninterruptible Power Supply Circuit and Related Techniques - 62/554,967.
• DC and Hybrid Microgrids: A series of investigations and projects have been undertaken to evaluate and propose new architectures for beyond subsistence energy provisioning to rural communities which are poorly serviced or not serviced by existing grid infrastructure. The work includes in scientific evaluation of different architectures, control schemes for stable and efficient operation, hardware topologies for technology implementation and economic and policy provisioning to create an energy micro-economy.

Two separate projects were carried out to assess the noise levels and communication performance for standard NB-PLC technologies and Huawei BPL technology on LESCO LT distribution network.

• The first project titled: “Measurement of noise levels in LT Distribution Network of LESCO to assess viability of Narrowband Over Power Line Communication” was sponsored by LESCO and done in collaboration with University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore. The scope of work included measurements on the low tension (LT) distribution network and assess the feasibility of narrowband (NB) over power line carrier communication (PLC) for an advanced metering infrastructure (AMI) initiative. The noise on the network and the interconnectivity pose a challenge that has to be assessed in each environment. The noise is periodic, additive and although an instance of noise may be narrowband, the harmonics span the entire communication bandwidth due to slight variations in power line frequency. The project work was divided into two phases. Noise measurements on the power line were carried out in the first phase on a set of potentially challenging locations. The measurements were carried out for time domain and frequency domain analysis of noise characteristics in the frequency bands of interest. Based on the noise measurements, the trends in types of noise, periodicity and spectral distribution was used to determine network nodes especially prone to noise induced interference in propagated data. Some of the old sites and a few new sites were then visited for signal propagation characteristics. A total of 27 site visits allowed us to characterize both the noise and propagation of standard PLC signals on the distribution network.
• The second project titled: “Feasibility Assessment and Testing of Huawei Broadband Power Line Carrier Communication (BPL) Modems on LT Distribution Network of LESCO” was sponsored by Huawei and done in collaboration with LESCO. One of the goals was to develop valuable insights on potential challenges specific to LT distribution network in Pakistan for Huawei to upgrade its communication technology and tweak its parameters for local environment. The project work was a technical continuation of the earlier project done to assess the feasibility of NB-PLC communication on the LT distribution network. Although the signals of interest at higher frequencies of BPL technologies are considered to be confined within the power lines, the measurement of radiated EMI is considered essential for BPL based communication infrastructure. The measurements carried out in this project comprised of noise measurements to assess the ambient state of the network and propagation characteristics to assess the performance of modems under test. The noise on the network is not governed by the device under test but allows establishment of a baseline state of the network for comparison with environments in other countries where BPL technology is deployed. Signal propagation characteristics were measured at all of the sites where noise measurements were carried out. Standard Huawei BPL modems were used for this testing with enhanced data capture capabilities to inject and receive signals to ascertain the quality, speed and maximum distance for successful communication between two nodes with and without the repeater modules. The parameters observed included signal to noise ratio (SNR), received signal strength indication (RSSI), packet error rate and effective data communication rate. A total of 15 sites were identified and visited.

Decentralized Electric Power Delivery Model for Rural Electrification in Pakistan:

2015-2016

This project was done jointly by the Electrical Engineering and Economics Department at LUMS and sponsored by the International Growth Center (IGC). There are two components to this study, namely: a) technical design and costing, and b) estimating demand for solar services in pilot rural areas. A major part of the work was to conduct surveys in neighboring electrified and non-electrified regions to assess variation in ‘willingness to pay’ for consumers. Report on the project has since been published.

Consulting/Advisory engagements with software, electronics manufacturing and process industry:

There have been multiple consultancy engagements with the software, electronics manufacturing and process industry. The work done on different threads includes engagement with:

1. Techlogix Pakistan Pvt. Ltd.: The scope of work was related to software development office setup in Beijing China where operations were to be managed. This was in continuation of the work done in the software industry on enterprise software applications and setup and operation of offshore development centers in Pakistan and China for work done with clients in US, Europe, Middle-East, Pakistan and China.
2. Microtech Industries Pvt. Ltd.: The scope of work included 9-month long discussions on technical and business process evolution for work in the electronics manufacturing and associated software systems. The discussions were centered around right structuring of the organization based on the size of operations and technology footprint evolution.
3. Tripak Films Ltd.: The scope of work included understanding of issues with a 350kW IGBT based variable frequency drive in the hot and humid Karachi environment.

Lithium-Ion based Storage Solutions:

2017-Present

This project was initiated by Sozo Group of Companies to develop Lithium-Ion based storage solutions for the local market. The work is being pursued under the Higher Education Commission Technology Development Fund (HEC-TDF) initiative. The work includes design and development of technology for the following market segments:

1. Solar PV Storage
2. Backup storage systems for UPS
3. Backup storage systems for telecommunication towers
4. Backup storage systems for distribution grid stations
5. Automobile battery systems