• Energy Research
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The Industry 4.0 paradigm and all its connected technologies (Big Data, Internet of Thing, Artificial Intelligence, Cloud Computing, Machine Learning, Augmented Reality, etc.) are quickly and deeply impacting on the companies’ organization and technical capability. Although it is commonly accepted that the “digital shift” is an essential requirement for the companies’ competitiveness, the Industry 4.0 paradigm has also introduced several relevant changes in the competences and skills of employees and managers, that may be a bottleneck in the adoption of the Industry 4.0 model. Some initiatives have been created at European level to support the education in the context of Industry 4.0. In this paper we present a selection of them, focusing in particular on the innovative didactic methodologies adopted in each different initiative.

The improvement of the lightning performance of overhead distribution lines, hit by direct strokes, is investigated considering the use of additional shield wires beneath the phase conductors. The frequency-domain theory of multiconductor transmission lines with periodical grounding is adopted permitting a rigorous evaluation of the phase and shield wire currents and of the overvoltages across insulators. These can be minimized by careful positioning of the underbuilt shield wires. A sensitivity analysis on the overvoltages is conducted by varying either the position of the underbuilt shield wires and the grounding impedance.

We present an efficient procedure for the calculation of the characteristic impedance matrix of a lossless multiconductor transmission line with one or more conductors periodically grounded. This matrix can be used to properly simulate power transmission or distribution lines with shield wires periodically grounded and, also, distribution lines with grounded neutral. The presented procedure can be applied to an arbitrary number of ungrounded and grounded conductors. Numerical results are shown for practical cases. Finally, an equivalent circuit of the impedance matrix is derived for the simulation in the time domain.

In this paper, a new learning tool is proposed to train professional figures, such as entrepreneurs, engineers, and technicians, who need to improve their skills in the field of Internet of Energy. The proposed tool aims to cover the lack of experimental knowledge on new energy systems and to layer proper skills, which are useful to deal with challenges required by smart energy management in the new complex distributed configuration of the electric power systems, characterized by demand response services. This tool is based on a small-scale laboratory demonstrator, representative of a smart rural house, equipped with a measurement and control system. This demonstrator can be remotely accessed, through web server applications based on a low cost single-board computer. Trainers can have direct experience on the main concepts related to smart grids, renewable energy sources, electrochemical storage systems, and electric vehicles, through the use of the proposed tool managed by the web software interface.

The paper deals with the evaluation of the characteristic impedance of a multiconductor transmission line with one conductor periodically grounded. The topic, even if not adequately discussed in literature, has a relevant application in the analysis of the role of the shield wire in power lines, in order to quantify the mitigation of induced overvoltages. The problem is here modelled, leading to a nonsymmetric algebraic Riccati equation, that is solved with both a factorization and an iterative method. The solution is presented in a practical case and the efficiency of the methods are discussed.