Tactile Sensing, Skill Learning and Robotic Dexterous Manipulation focuses on cross-disciplinary lines of research and groundbreaking research ideas in three research lines: tactile sensing, skill learning and dexterous control. The book introduces recent work about human dexterous skill representation and learning, along with discussions of tactile sensing and its applications on unknown objects' property recognition and reconstruction. Sections also introduce the adaptive control schema and its learning by imitation and exploration. Other chapters describe the fundamental part of relevant research, paying attention to the connection among different fields and showing the state-of-the-art in related branches. The book summarizes the different approaches and discusses the pros and cons of each. Chapters not only describe the research but also include basic knowledge that can help readers understand the proposed work, making it an excellent resource for researchers and professionals who work in the robotics industry, haptics and in machine learning.

Sustainable Networks in Smart Grid presents global challenges in smart metering with renewable energy resources, micro-grid design, communication technologies, big data, privacy and security in the smart grid. Providing an overview of different available PLC technologies and configurations and their applications in different sectors, this book provides case studies and practical implementation details of smart grid technology, paying special attention to Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) scenarios with the presence of Distribution Grid (DG) and Electric Vehicles (EV). Covering regulatory policies for energy storage, management strategies for microgrid operation, and key performance indicators for smart grid development, this reference compiles up-to-date information on different aspects of the Internet of Smart Metering. In addition, innovative contributions on Data Analytics, Energy Theft Detection, Data-Driven Framework, Blockchain-IoT-enabled Sensor Networks, and Smart Contacts in the Blockchain are also included.

Reluctance motors induce non-permanent magnetic poles on the ferromagnetic rotor; the rotor does not have any windings and torque is generated through magnetic reluctance. Synchronous reluctance motors (SyRMs) have an equal number of stator and rotor poles. Reluctance motors can deliver high power density at low cost, so they are finding increasing application in the transport sector. Disadvantages include high torque ripple and the complexity of designing and controlling them. Advances in theory, computer design, and control electronics can overcome these issues. This hands-on reference covers the concept and design of synchronous reluctance motors. It conveys all key topics required to understand this technology. Chapters cover magnetic materials, geometry, modeling, design and analysis, optimization, production technology, fault-tolerance, experimental validation, and self-sensing-oriented optimization. Synchronous Reluctance Machines: Analysis, optimization and applications is ideal for researchers working on electrical machines and motors, particularly electric vehicles. The writers - experts from academia and industry - provide the reader with an excellent background and understanding of the core concepts involved in synchronous reluctance motors such that they can engage in their own R&D. The authors of this book are kindly donating all royalties to Operazione Mato Grosso.

In an uncertain and complex environment, to ensure secure and stable operations of large-scale power systems is one of the biggest challenges that power engineers have to address today. Traditionally, power system operations and decision-making in controls are based on power system computations of physical models describing the behavior of power systems. Largely, physical models are constructed according to some assumptions and simplifications, and such is the case with power system models. However, the complexity of power system stability problems, along with the system's inherent uncertainties and nonlinearities, can result in models that are impractical or inaccurate. This calls for adaptive or deep-learning algorithms to significantly improve current control schemes that solve decision and control problems. Cyberphysical Infrastructures in Power Systems: Architectures and Vulnerabilities provides an extensive overview of CPS concepts and infrastructures in power systems with a focus on the current state-of-the-art research in this field. Detailed classifications are pursued highlighting existing solutions, problems, and developments in this area.

The major topical and societal issues of energy transition and environmental conservation have benefited from the contribution of nanotechnologies and nanomaterials. Nanomaterials, including carbon-based newcomers, have helped to improve in particular the performance of energy storage and conversion devices. Some of these nanomaterials, including fullerenes, carbon nanotubes, nanodiamonds and carbon dots, were discovered well before the 2000s. Others are more recent, including graphene (the leading material of the 21st century) as well as many mineral materials developed at the nano scale: atomic clusters, metal or semiconductor nanoparticles, two-dimensional inorganic materials, metal-organic frameworks (MOF) and luminescent quantum dots. All of these are involved in the realization of devices for energy purposes. Nanotechnology and Nanomaterials for Energy provides a critical analysis of the latest work in the fields of batteries, photovoltaics, fuel cells and catalysis as well as lighting, with the advent of light-emitting diodes.

Carbon Capture and Storage in International Energy Policy and Law identifies the main contemporary regulatory requirements, challenges and opportunities involving CCS from a comparative and interdisciplinary perspective. It draws on the scholarship of renowned researchers across the fields of international energy law and policy to address CCS regulation and its impact on climate change, sustainable development, and related consequences for energy transition. In this vein, the book aims to address issues related to energy, energy justice and climate changes (including CCS technology). Contributors discuss the main challenges and advantages concerning international energy and the forms CCS may contribute to energy security, climate change, adaptation and mitigation of GHG emissions and sustainable development. In this light, the book discusses CCS as a bridge that integrates international energy, climate change and sustainable development.

Salinity Gradient Heat Engines classifies all the existing SGHEs and presents an in-depth analysis of their fundamentals, applications and perspectives. The main SGHEs analyzed in this publication are Osmotic, the Reverse Electrodialysis, and the Accumulator Mixing Heat Engines. The production and regeneration unit of both cycles are described and analyzed alongside the related economic and environmental aspects. This approach provides the reader with very thorough knowledge on how these technologies can be developed and implemented as a low-impact power generation technique, wherever low-temperature waste-heat is available. This book will also be a very beneficial resource for academic researchers and graduate students across various disciplines, including energy engineering, chemical engineering, chemistry, physics, electrical and mechanical engineering.

Hybrid Technologies for Power Generation addresses the topics related to hybrid technologies by coupling conventional thermal engines with novel technologies, including fuel cells, batteries, thermal storage and electrolysis, and reporting on the most recent advances concerning transport and stationary applications. Potential operating schemes of hybrid power generation systems are covered, highlighting possible combinations of technology and guideline selection according to the energy demands of end-users. Going beyond state-of-the-art technological developments for processes, devices and systems, this book discusses the environmental impact and existing hurdles of moving from a single device to new approaches for efficient energy generation, transfer, conversion, high-density storage and consumption. By describing the practical viability of novel devices coupled to conventional thermal devices, this book has a decisive impact in energy system research, supporting those in the energy research and engineering communities.

PEM Fuel Cells: Fundamentals, Advanced Technologies, and Practical Application provides a comprehensive introduction to the principles of PEM fuel cell, their working condition and application, and the latest breakthroughs and challenges for fuel cell technology. Each chapter follows a systematic and consistent structure with clear illustrations and diagrams for easy understanding. The opening chapters address the basics of PEM technology; stacking and membrane electrode assembly for PEM, degradation mechanisms of electrocatalysts, platinum dissolution and redeposition, carbon-support corrosion, bipolar plates and carbon nanotubes for the PEM, and gas diffusion layers. Thermodynamics, operating conditions, and electrochemistry address fuel cell efficiency and the fundamental workings of the PEM. Instruments and techniques for testing and diagnosis are then presented alongside practical tests. Dedicated chapters explain how to use MATLAB and COMSOL to conduct simulation and modeling of catalysts, gas diffusion layers, assembly, and membrane. Degradation and failure modes are discussed in detail, providing strategies and protocols for mitigation. High-temperature PEMs are also examined, as are the fundamentals of EIS. Critically, the environmental impact and life cycle of the production and storage of hydrogen are addressed, as are the risk and durability issues of PEMFC technology. Dedicated chapters are presented on the economics and commercialization of PEMFCs, including discussion of installation costs, initial capital costs, and the regulatory frameworks; apart from this, there is a separate chapter on their application to the automotive industry. Finally, future challenges and applications are considered. PEM Fuel Cells: Fundamentals, Advanced Technologies, and Practical Application provides an in-depth and comprehensive reference on every aspect of PEM fuel cells fundamentals, ideal for researchers, graduates, and students.

Microgrids have emerged as a promising solution for accommodating the integration of renewable energy resources. But the intermittency of renewable generation is posing challenges such as voltage/frequency fluctuations, and grid stability issues in grid-connected modes. Model predictive control (MPC) is a method for controlling a process while satisfying a set of constraints. It has been in use for chemical plants and in oil refineries since the 1980s, but in recent years has been deployed for power systems and electronics as well. This concise work for researchers, engineers and graduate students focuses on the use of MPC for distributed renewable power generation in microgrids. Fluctuating outputs from renewable energy sources and variable load demands are covered, as are control design concepts. The authors provide examples and case studies to validate the theory with both simulation and experimental results and review the shortcomings and future developments. Chapters treat power electronic converters and control; modelling and hierarchical control of microgrids; use of MPC for PV and wind power; voltage support; parallel PV-ESS microgrids; secondary restoration capability; and tertiary power flow optimization.

Electrification: Accelerating the Energy Transition offers a widely applicable framework to delineate context-sensitive pathways by which this transition can be accelerated and lists the types of processes and structures that may hinder progress towards this goal. The framework draws insights from well-established literature, ranging from technological studies to socio-technical studies of energy transitions, on to strategic niche management approaches, (international) political economy approaches, and institutionalist literatures, while also adopting wider social theoretical ideas from structuration theory. Contributors discuss a multitude of case studies drawn from global examples of electrification projects. Brief case studies and text boxes help users further understand this domain and the technological, infrastructural and societal structures that may exercise significant powers.

Microsupercapacitors systematically guides the reader through the key materials, characterization techniques, performance factors and potential applications and benefits to society of this emerging electrical energy storage solution. The book reviews the technical challenges in scaling down supercapacitors, covering materials, performance, design and applications perspectives. Sections provide a fundamental understanding of microsupercapacitors and compare them to existing energy storage technologies. Final discussions consider the factors that impact performance, potential tactics to improve performance, barriers to implementation, emerging solutions to those barriers, and a future outlook. This book will be of particular interest to materials scientists and engineers working in academia, research and development.

Recent Advances in Renewable Energy Technologies is a comprehensive reference covering critical research, laboratory and industry developments on renewable energy technological, production, conversion, storage, and management, including solar energy systems (thermal and photovoltaic), wind energy, hydropower, geothermal energy, bioenergy and hydrogen production, and large-scale development of renewable energy technologies and their impact on the global economy and power capacity. Technological advancements include resources assessment and deployment, materials performance improvement, system optimization and sizing, instrumentation and control, modeling and simulation, regulations, and policies. Each modular chapter examines recent advances in specific renewable energy systems, providing theoretical and applied aspects of system optimization, control and management and supports them with global case studies demonstrating practical applications and economical and environmental aspects through life cycle analysis. The book is of interest to engineering graduates, researchers, professors and industry professionals involved in the renewable energy sector and advanced engineering courses dealing with renewable energy, sources, thermal and electrical energy production and sustainability.

Physical Capital Development and Energy Transition in Latin America and the Caribbean introduces the reader to applied theory and potential solutions to manage the transition from fossil energies to renewables given the resource wealth and infrastructural limitations of Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries. The work presents consistent empirical approaches and relevant econometric approaches grounded in case studies that offer realistic portrayals of complex multidisciplinary phenomena. It provides policymakers with the knowledge needed for economic decision-making, especially regarding the energy transition and the physical capital development in the LAC (and similar developing regions). The work concludes by road mapping future LAC physical capital investment options to promote 21st-century sustainable energy development.

Renewable Energy Systems: Modelling, Optimization and Control aims to cross-pollinate recent advances in the study of renewable energy control systems by bringing together diverse scientific breakthroughs on the modeling, control and optimization of renewable energy systems by leading researchers. The book brings together the most comprehensive collection of modeling, control theorems and optimization techniques to help solve many scientific issues for researchers in renewable energy and control engineering. Many multidisciplinary applications are discussed, including new fundamentals, modeling, analysis, design, realization and experimental results. The book also covers new circuits and systems to help researchers solve many nonlinear problems. This book fills the gaps between different interdisciplinary applications, ranging from mathematical concepts, modeling, and analysis, up to the realization and experimental work.

This is an account of the author's investigation, on behalf of the Canadian government, into the life and ideas of the eccentric genius Nikola Tesla. This is a completely revised and redesigned edition, with a new introduction by the former head of the Tesla Museum, a new chapter and a selection of photographs of Tesla and his work in search of the holy grail of electricity - the transmission of power without loss. As a student in Prague in the 1870s, Tesla "saw" the electric induction motor and patented his discovery, -the first of many inventions whose plans seem to have come to him fully fledged. He worked for the Edison company in Paris before emigrating to the US and battling with Thomas Edison himself to ensure that alternating, rather than direct current, became the standard. He sold his patent in the induction motor for $1 million dollars to George Westinghouse, who used this system for the Niagara Falls Power Project. Moving to Colorado Springs, Tesla worked on resonance, building enormous oscillating towers in experiments which still intrigue today. In later life Tesla became a recluse, bombarding newspapers with eccentric claims, including energy transmissions to other planets. Though he died alone and virtually forgotten, rumours gradually grew that Tesla had made further remarkable discoveries. In an attempt to replicate his experiments, people still build Tesla towers and puzzle over the possible link with low-frequency broadcasts which can supposedly disrupt the weather and affect the human mind.

Energy Storage Devices for Renewable Energy-Based Systems: Rechargeable Batteries and Supercapacitors, Second Edition is a fully revised edition of this comprehensive overview of the concepts, principles and practical knowledge on energy storage devices. The book gives readers the opportunity to expand their knowledge of innovative supercapacitor applications, comparing them to other commonly used energy storage devices. With new application case studies and definitions, this resource will strengthen your understanding of energy storage from a practical, applications-based point-of-view without requiring detailed examination of underlying electrochemical equations. Users will learn about various design approaches and real-time applications of ESDs. Electronic engineering experts and system designers will find this book useful to deepen their understanding on the application of electronic storage devices, circuit topologies, and industrial device data sheets to develop new applications. The book is also intended to be used as a textbook for masters and doctoral students who want to enhance their knowledge and understanding the concepts of renewable energy sources and state-of-the-art ESDs.

The Cost of Electricity is an essential tool for any researcher or practitioner seeking to establish the economic and environmental cost of power generation, and thereby to analyse the economic feasibility of power systems. Chapters cover capital cost, fuel cost, levelised cost, subsidies and tariffs, lifetime emission analysis, net energy analysis, traditional generation costs and renewable generation costs. The work is based on published analyses of generation costs and generation cost predictions from trusted organisations such as the US Energy Information Administration and the IEA. Chapters proceed in a logical manner through cost factors before concluding with the current and future cost of electricity generation.