CURENT Seminar: Integrating Magnetic Amplifiers into Power Systems Research

Date: Friday, September 27, 2013

Time: 12:20 p.m. (ET)

Location: 406 Min H. Kao Building, 1520 Middle Drive, Knoxville, TN

Title: Power Flow Control Technology

Presenter: Aleksandar Dimitrovski, Power and Energy Systems Group Leader, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)

Abstract: The concept of magnetic amplifier – an electromagnetic device that used to be common in electronic applications – has seldom been used in power systems. Recently, an innovative low-cost magnetic amplifier-based power flow controller (MAPFC) has been proposed at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). The uniqueness of MAPFC is in using the saturation property of the ferromagnetic core, shared by an AC and a DC winding. The common magnetic field is used as the medium to control the AC winding reactance inserted in series with the controlled transmission line. Large power flow in the line can be regulated by a small DC current in the control winding. Since early 2012, an R&D project on MAPFC has been funded by the DOE and conducted by ORNL, the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, and SPX/WES Inc. Progress on the project and some preliminary results are presented.

Biography: Aleksandar (Aleks) Dimitrovski received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. in power engineering from the University Sts. Cyril & Methodius, Macedonia and M.Sc. in applied computer sciences from the University of Zagreb, Croatia. Before joining ORNL he was with Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Washington State University in Pullman WA. Before coming to the US he was a tenured assistant professor at the University Sts. Cyril & Methodius. His subjects of interest include advanced computing techniques in power system analysis and simulation.