Voltage Stability is a relatively recent and challenging problem in Power Systems Engineering. It is gaining in importance as the trend of operating power systems closer to their limits continues to increase.

Voltage Stability of Electric Power Systems presents a clear description of voltage instability and collapse phenomena. It proposes a uniform and coherent theoretical framework for analysis and covers state-of-the-art methods. The book describes practical methods that can be used for voltage security assessment and offers a variety of examples.

This volume in the acclaimed series Modern Aspects of Electrochemistry starts with a dedication to the late Professor Brian Conway who for 50 years helped to guide this series to its current prominence. The remainder of the volume is then devoted to the following topics: PEM fuel cells; the use of graphs in electrochemical reaction newtworks; nanomaterials in Lithium-ion batteries; direct methanolf fuel cells (two chapters); fuel cell catalyst layers. The book is for electrochemists, electrochemical engineers, fuel cell workers and energy generation workers.

The complexity and volatility of energy markets creates strong demand for quantitative analysis and econometric techniques. This book offers an introduction to the state of the art in econometric modelling applied to the most pertinent issues in today's energy markets for a better understanding of the working of energy systems and energy economics.

Focusing on topics of interest to the practicing engineer, this book codifies the many relevant books, papers, and reports written on this hybrid subject into a single, coherent reference. It looks at each topic from a somewhat narrow perspective to see how that topic affects modeling in industrial combustion. Thorough and clearly representing the techniques and issues confronted in industry, Computational Fluid Dynamics in Industrial Combustion will help bring readers quickly up to date on current methods and gain the ability to set up and solve the various types of problems they will encounter.

Water-Energy-Food Nexus Narratives and Resource Securities: A Global South Perspective provides a knowledge synthesis on the water-energy-food (WEF) nexus, focusing primarily on the global south. By presenting concepts, analytical tools, and case studies, the book serves as a practical resource for researchers, policymakers, and practitioners in sustainability and functional roles across all three sectors. It addresses key issues related to data availability, tools, indices, metrics, and application across multiple scales, beginning with a summary of existing knowledge. Finally, it examines the WEF nexus, presents global insights, and discusses future considerations and implications. This book presents an overview of existing knowledge on the WEF nexus and examines how such research aligns with emerging global WEF nexus perspectives, making it ideal for professionals, government entities, private industry, and the general public.

The introduction of micro CHP - the simultaneous production of heat and power in a single building based on small energy conversion units such as Stirling and reciprocating engines or fuel cells - is of increasing political and public interest. This book introduces into micro CHP systems and technologies, and presents the results of the first such investigation carried out by four German research bodies.

The HAZOP Leader's Handbook is designed specifically to help HAZOP leaders plan and execute successful HAZOP studies, based on the author's many years of experience of participating in, observing and facilitating HAZOP studies, as well as observing, training, mentoring and assessing HAZOP leaders. The book assumes that the reader understands the methodology and has experienced HAZOP meetings and does not seek to explain the methodology itself. Rather, it focuses on the application of the methodology and the responsibilities and skills of the HAZOP leader in the preparation, execution and reporting of the study. Although the principal subject is HAZOP, much of the content equally applies to other facilitated hazard identification techniques such as Hazard Identification (HAZID) or Failure Modes Effects and Criticality Analysis (FMECA). The prime purpose of this book is to provide guidance specific to HAZOP leaders to help them to maximise the effectiveness of their HAZOP studies, thereby getting the most benefit from the methodology, promoting consistency and rigour in its application and sustaining its well-earned reputation.

Energy and feedstock materials for the chemical industry are in increasing demand and, with constraints related to the availability and use of oil, the energy and chemical industry is undergoing considerable changes. In recent years, major restructuring has occurred in the oil, petrochemical, and chemical industry, with increasing attention devoted to the use of natural gas, methane in particular, as a chemical feedstock rather than just as a fuel. The conversion of remote natural gas into liquid fuels or other transportable chemicals is a challenge to industrial catalysis. Few processes exist so far with the major ones involving the conversion of natural gas to synthesis gas by steam reforming, CO2 reforming, or partial oxidation, followed by the syntheses of methanol, hydrocarbons (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis), or ammonia.

In this book, a comprehensive overview of the field of processing natural gas is given, through a series of chapters written by leading scientists and engineers in the field. New developments are discussed and current work relevant to the area is shown by a series of recent works by researchers working in this and related fields.

Energy and feedstock materials for the chemical industry are in increasing demand and, with constraints related to the availability and use of oil, the energy and chemical industry is undergoing considerable changes. In recent years, major restructuring has occurred in the oil, petrochemical, and chemical industry, with increasing attention devoted to the use of natural gas, methane in particular, as a chemical feedstock rather than just as a fuel. The conversion of remote natural gas into liquid fuels or other transportable chemicals is a challenge to industrial catalysis. Few processes exist so far with the major ones involving the conversion of natural gas to synthesis gas by steam reforming, CO2 reforming, or partial oxidation, followed by the syntheses of methanol, hydrocarbons (Fischer-Tropsch synthesis), or ammonia.

In this book, a comprehensive overview of the field of processing natural gas is given, through a series of chapters written by leading scientists and engineers in the field. New developments are discussed and current work relevant to the area is shown by a series of recent works by researchers working in this and related fields.

This volume contains an archival record of the NATO Advanced Institute on Microscale Heat Transfer - Fundamental and Applications in Biological and Microelectromechanical Systems held in Cesme - Izmir, Turkey, July 18-30, 2004. The ASIs are intended to be high-level teaching activity in scientific and technical areas of current concern. In this volume, the reader may find interesting chapters and various Microscale Heat Transfer Fundamental and Applications. The growing use of electronics, in both military and civilian applications has led to the widespread recognition for need of thermal packaging and management. The use of higher densities and frequencies in microelectronic circuits for computers are increasing day by day. They require effective cooling due to heat generated that is to be dissipated from a relatively low surface area. Hence, the development of efficient cooling techniques for integrated circuit chips is one of the important contemporary applications of Microscale Heat Transfer which has received much attention for cooling of high power electronics and applications in biomechanical and aerospace industries. Microelectromechanical systems are subject of increasing active research in a widening field of discipline. These topics and others are the main themeof this Institute."

This volume contains an archival record of the NATO Advanced Institute on Microscale Heat Transfer - Fundamental and Applications in Biological and Microelectromechanical Systems held in Cesme - Izmir, Turkey, July 18-30, 2004. The ASIs are intended to be high-level teaching activity in scientific and technical areas of current concern. In this volume, the reader may find interesting chapters and various Microscale Heat Transfer Fundamental and Applications. The growing use of electronics, in both military and civilian applications has led to the widespread recognition for need of thermal packaging and management. The use of higher densities and frequencies in microelectronic circuits for computers are increasing day by day. They require effective cooling due to heat generated that is to be dissipated from a relatively low surface area. Hence, the development of efficient cooling techniques for integrated circuit chips is one of the important contemporary applications of Microscale Heat Transfer which has received much attention for cooling of high power electronics and applications in biomechanical and aerospace industries. Microelectromechanical systems are subject of increasing active research in a widening field of discipline. These topics and others are the main themeof this Institute."

Communication within project-based environments presents special challenges. Many of the problems that develop in construction projects are a result of both the temporary and inter-disciplinary nature of project teams. Each player having a different employer complicates the situation further.This book offers practical guidance on possible solutions to communication problems, featuring a number of examples related to the construction industry. Several non-typical perspectives on the process of communication are introduced, to encourage the reader to think about communication in a new way. 'Thinking with diagrams', for example, is useful for those such as architects who work primarily with visual communication media. This can be contrasted with the 'visual perception' approach, which emphasises the rational and scientific aspects of human biology. The combination of different perspectives highlights the diversity of communication problems facing those working within project-based environments.

This book is devoted to resonant energy conversion in power electronics. It is a practical, systematic guide to the analysis and design of various dc-dc resonant inverters, high-frequency rectifiers, and dc-dc resonant converters that are building blocks of many of today's high-frequency energy processors. Designed to function as both a superior senior-to-graduate level textbook for electrical engineering courses and a valuable professional reference for practicing engineers, it provides students and engineers with a solid grasp of existing high-frequency technology, while acquainting them with a number of easy-to-use tools for the analysis and design of resonant power circuits. Resonant power conversion technology is now a very hot area and in the center of the renewable energy and energy harvesting technologies.

Autonomous systems are one of the most important trends for the next generation of control systems. This book is the first to transfer autonomous systems concepts and intelligent agents theory into the control and operation environment of power systems. The focus of this book is to design a future control system architecture for electrical power systems, which copes with the changed requirements concerning complexity and flexibility and includes several applications for power systems. This book draws the whole circle from the theoretical and IT-concept of autonomous systems for power system control over the required knowledge-based methods and their capabilities to concrete applications within this field.

This book provides a comprehensive discussion and analysis of global energy resources, international energy markets, international energy forecasts for the first quarter of the 21st century, conventional and alternative energy technologies and pertinent historical developments of world energy. It is organized into four parts with 27 chapters that cover advance energy technologies, primary and alternative energy resources and country profiles. Part I introduces conventional energy resources; Part II covers alternative energy sources and conservation; Part III covers energy modelling and forecast methods for anlaysing energy development in the United States of America and the world; Part IV provides a country-by-country analysis of energy issues, law, resources and programs. It is indeed an assessment of the outlook for international energy that relates to major fuels, transportation, electricity and the environment.

Optical Microscanners and Microspectrometers using Thermal Bimorph Actuators shows how to design and fabricate optical microsystems using innovative technologies and and original architectures. A barcode scanner, laser projection mirror and a microspectrometer are explained in detail, starting from the system conception, discussing simulations, choice of cleanroom technologies, design, fabrication, device test, packaging all the way to the system assembly.

An advanced microscanning device capable of one- and two-dimensional scanning can be integrated in a compact barcode scanning system composed of a laser diode and adapted optics. The original design of the microscanner combines efficiently the miniaturized thermal mechanical actuator and the reflecting mirror, providing a one-dimensional scanning or an unique combination of two movements, depending on the geometry. The simplicity of the device makes it a competitive component.

The authors rethink the design of a miniaturized optical device and find a compact solution for a microspectrometer, based on a tunable filter and a single pixel detector. A porous silicon technology combines efficiently the optical filter function with a thermal mechanical actuator on chip. The methodology for design and process calibration are discussed in detail. The device is the core component of an infrared gas spectrometer.

The energy reserves of the Caspian Region have been hailed as the new 'Middle East'. This book offers a thorough assessment of its energy resources and the nature of the international politics that surround them. This volume presents a unique study of the various dimensions of Caspian energy, ranging from the geopolitical to the economic, technical, religious and political.

Gaseous Dielectrics IX covers recent advances and developments in a wide range of basic, applied, and industrial areas of gaseous dielectrics.

The challenges facing participants in competitive electricity markets are staggering: high price volatility introduces significant financial risk into an industry accustomed to guaranteed rates of return, while illiquid forward markets prevent effective hedging strategies from being implemented. Valuation, Hedging and Speculation in Competitive Electricity Markets: A Fundamental Approach, examines the unique properties which separate electricity from other traded commodities, including the lack of economical storage, and the impact of a scarce transmission network. The authors trace the sources of uncertainties in the price of electricity to underlying physical and economic processes, and incorporate these into a bid-based model for electricity spot and forward prices. They also illustrate how insufficient market data can be circumvented by using a combination of price and load data in the marking- to-market process. The model is applied to three classes of problems central to the operation of any electric utility or power marketer; valuing generation assets, formulating dynamic hedging strategies for load serving obligations, and pricing transmission contracts and locational spread options. Emphasis is placed on the difference between trades which can be 'booked out' in the forward markets, and those which must be carried through to delivery. Lately, significant attention has been given to the role of regulators in mitigating excessive price levels in electricity markets. The authors conduct a quantitative analysis of the long-term effects of regulatory intervention through the use of price caps. By modeling the dynamic interplay between the observed price levels and the decision toinvest in new generation assets, it is shown how such short term fixes can lead to long term deficits in the available generation capacity, and ultimately to market failures and blackouts.

In the increasingly competitive modern world, the industrial sector faces new challenges such as improving productivity and reducing costs while taking into account the process operational constraints.As energy demand increases in many countries, especially in big cities where the environmental concerns are very important and resources to produce energy are limited, the efficiency of operation of power plants becomes of paramount importance.Under this scenario, this book presents new methodologies to improve power plants' efficiency, by using automatic control algorithms. This will lead to an improvement in the generation of companies' profit and also in the quality of their final product.

Terahertz technology has moved on from being a useful but expensive circuit technique, applied largely in astronomy and space science, to become a subject in its own right, with important applications - terahertz imaging in particular. Indeed, the driving force in terahertz technology is currently imaging and spectroscopy. We now have the means to obtain images and chemical information in this frequency band. The images reproduced in this volume are striking and, not surprisingly, the clinical and analytical uses are the subject of intense activity. There is still, however, no complete range of active THz electronic components, but an encouraging conclusion of the book is that THz electronics will become necessary in communications systems in the foreseeable future. Terahertz technology has come of age, and the future lies open to new, exciting science and vital applications.

Terahertz technology has moved on from being a useful but expensive circuit technique, applied largely in astronomy and space science, to become a subject in its own right, with important applications - terahertz imaging in particular. Indeed, the driving force in terahertz technology is currently imaging and spectroscopy. We now have the means to obtain images and chemical information in this frequency band. The images reproduced in this volume are striking and, not surprisingly, the clinical and analytical uses are the subject of intense activity. There is still, however, no complete range of active THz electronic components, but an encouraging conclusion of the book is that THz electronics will become necessary in communications systems in the foreseeable future. Terahertz technology has come of age, and the future lies open to new, exciting science and vital applications.

Many books on Power System Harmonics only cover certain aspects of the subject. This book is the first to cover Power System Harmonics in depth, including real world case studies engineers can learn from. Written by a well-known author with extensive experience designing harmonic filters, this book is written in a thorough and easy to read way, making it an invaluable resource for practicing engineers as well as students. Coverage includes new harmonic mitigation technologies, detailed step-by-step design of passive filters, interharmonics and flicker, and more. Readers who are new to the field will find this book easy to understand and will be able to grasp the subject easily through the many examples, case studies and illustrations. Readers who are already familiar with Power System Harmonics will be able to learn new insights and the latest developments.

The Caspian-Caucasus region has received considerable attention over the past eight years. The old potential of this colossal territory is so significant that the analytical centres of the world's largest oil and refining companies consider it to be more long-term than the unstable Persian Gulf. The Politics of Caspian Oil is a collection of essays presenting the results of recent research, which should serve as a reference book for the politics of Caspian oil.

"International Energy Forum 1999" was held in Washington D.C. during November 5-6, 1999 in the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Crystal City. Once again the main topic was Nuclear Energy. Various papers presented contained pros and cons of Nuclear Energy for generating electricity. We were aiming to clarify the often discussed subject matter of the virtues of Nuclear Energy with regard to Global Warming as compared to using fossil fuels for the generation of electricity. The latter is also currently the only way to operate our means of transportation like automobiles, planes etc. Therefore emission into the atmosphere of greenhouse gases constitutes the main source of Global Warming, which is absent in the case of Nuclear Energy. These arguments are often put forward to promote the use of Nuclear Energy. However not all is well with the Nuclear Energy. There are the questions of the waste problem so far unsolved, safety of Nuclear Reactors is not guaranteed to the extent that they are inherently safe. If we aim to construct inherently safe reactors, then the economics of a Nuclear Reactor makes it unacceptable.