5.Asynchronous Systems

The past decade has seen tremendous advancement in the design of computer systems. Every year the speed and amount of integration of the processors is increasing exponentially, as per one of the most famous technology predictions of our times: known as Moore’s Law (Dr. Gordon Moore, Cofounder of Intel).
The amount of power dissipation in a chip is also increasing rapidly. Within a decade, the power dissipation in processors as per the current technology will reach to the maximum controllable limits. Reduced power consumption is also very important as we embed computing devices in portable electronic devices. Clockless or asynchronous design methodology is one solution, which can give better performance with reduced power consumption compared to current synchronized to a global clock. So there is no dynamic power consumption. Also, they give "average-case" performance instead of "worst case" performance as in synchronous systems. Thus, asynchronous systems are faster than their synchronous counter parts. The current synchronous design techniques won't be able give optimum results for future processors. A synchronous systems with their improved performance and reduced power consumption are the best alternative currently available for such systems involving intensive computations, portable compact systems etc. This seminar report attempts to bring out the concept of clockless computing and their merits over current computing techniques, which equip it to replace current techniques in near future.

4) ANN Based Power System Restoration

Power System Restoration (PSR) has been a subject of study for many years. In recent years many techniques were proposed to solve the limitations of predetermined restoration guidelines and procedures used by a majority of system operators to restore a system following the occurrence of a wide area disturbance. This paper discusses limitations encountered in some currently used PSR techniques and a proposed improvement based on Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs). This proposed scheme has been tested on a 162-bus transmission system and compared with a breadth search transmission system. The results indicate that, this is a feasible option that should be considered for real time applications.
Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are computational techniques that try to obtain a performance similar to that of human’s performance when solving problems. The building block of ANN is Artificial Neuron, which has got structural & functional similarities with biological neurons. ANN is also an efficient alternative for problem solutions where it is possible to obtain data describing the problem behavior, but a mathematical description of the process is impossible. The proposed restoration scheme is composed of several Island Restoration Schemes (IRS). Each IRS is responsible for the development of an Island Restoration Plan when the power system is recovering from a wide area disturbance

3) Advancements In Inverter Technology For Industrial Applications

An Inverter is simply an electronic device that converts low voltage DC battery power 230 volts AC (Alternating Current) electrical power. They are used in applications ranging from microwaves laptops to satellite systems X-Ray machines etc. Most industrial applications require high frequency high voltage power supply. These increased power requirements have lead to significant development in inverted technology.
Significant improvements have been made to the traditional pulse width modulations (PWM) Inverters to make power distribution system more efficient and more suitable to reactive power (var) compensation and harmonic filtering. This includes using multilevel inverters, zero current switching and other power switching devises. Space application involves high power (hundreds of kilowatts to megawatts) systems. Large power conditioning mass reductions are required to enable this megawatt power System. Therefore inverter design for space applications represents the state - of - the- art in power conditioning technology. Different features such as design parameters, output a characteristics, switching components etc of these inverters used in space application are discussed in the II part of the paper.

2) Adaptive Piezoelectric energy harvesting circuit

This paper describes an approach to harvesting electrical energy from a mechanically excited piezoelectric element. A vibrating piezoelectric device differs from a typical electrical power source in that it has a capacitive rather than inductive source impedance, and may be driven by mechanical vibrations of varying amplitude. An analytical expression for the optimal power flow from a rectified piezoelectric device is derived, and an “energy harvesting “ circuit is proposed which can achieve this optimal power flow. The harvesting circuit consists of an ac-dc rectifier with an output capacitor, an electrochemical battery, and a switch-mode dc-dc converter that controls the energy flow into the battery. An adaptive control technique for the dc-dc converter is used to continuously implement the optimal power transfer theory and maximize the power stored by the battery. Experimental result reveal that the use of the adaptive dc-dc converter increases power transfer by over 400% as compared to when the dc-dc converter is not used.

1) AC Cable Versus DC Cable Transmission for Offshore Wind Farms

A large interest in renewable energy systems has been developed to mitigate the green house effect. In Western Europe, the focus is thus, on wind power and especially on offshore locations, due to higher energy production, a longer expected life time and lack of suitable wind turbine sites on land. A DC cable is the preferred choice when connecting large offshore wind farms to the grid. The utilization of the Dc cables was enabled by the new HVDC transmission technology using voltage sourced converters.

The offshore wind farms that are being built today use an AC connection to shore and the distances to shore are also quite moderate. This paper describes three different solutions with a DC connection the shore and compares the cost and losses of a DC system with a traditional AC system that is used as a reference. DC systems will be competitive solutions in ten years and have several advantages compared with an AC system. This paper includes several reasons for selecting a DC cable is the preferred choice when connecting large offshore wind farms, to the grid.

The offshore wind farms that are being built today use an AC connection to shore and the distances to the shore are also quite moderate. This is a well-known technology and a natural step for the first off-shore wind farms. However in ten, years when the experiences from the first offshore wind farms have been evaluated and the next expansion starts, the alternatives with a DC grid will become cost-effective solutions. The future wind farms will becomes larger and will be situated at a farther distance from shore. The connection to the onshore transmission grid must be at a point with high short circuit capacity and the onshore distance, therefore is expected to be greater in the future.

The cost of power electronics will be significantly lower in the future and the losses will continue to decrease, so the advantages will outweigh the disadvantages.

New Technical Seminar Topics in Engineering

Wide Range of Seminar Topics and its abstracts for students in different branches in Engineering Field. (Electrical, Mechanical, Electronics, Civil, Chemical, Computer, Automobile etc).

About Seminar

A seminar is, generally, a form of academic instruction, either at a university or offered by a commercial or professional organization. It has the function of bringing together small groups for recurring meetings, focusing each time on some particular subject, in which everyone present is requested to actively participate. This is often accomplished through an ongoing Socratic dialogue with a seminar leader or instructor, or through a more formal presentation of research. Normally, participants must not be beginners in the field under discussion (at a university, seminar classes are generally reserved for upper-year students). The idea behind the seminar system is to familiarize students more extensively with the methodology of their chosen subject and also to allow them to interact with examples of the practical problems that always crop up during research work. It is essentially a place where assigned readings are discussed, questions can be raised and debates conducted. It is relatively informal, at least compared to the lecture system of academic instruction.

Definition of Seminar

A seminar is, ideally, a small-group teaching situation in which a subject is discussed, in depth, by the participants.

Explanatory Context

Seminars are not always as small as the optimum maximum of 15 people. In some settings, seminars are hardly indistinguishable from classes, with the teaching presenting material to the students with minimum interaction.

Seminar Presentation - Guidance

1. A seminar topic presentation is a short informal talk giving the results of your researches into a seminar topic on the course. You are sharing your ideas or discoveries in a way that gives seminar participants an opportunity for discussion. These presentations form a normal part of the teaching and learning process in postgraduate studies.

2. Don't think of the seminar presentation as a test. You will not normally be judged on your performance. The person who will learn most from this exercise is you. The act of investigating sources, digesting information, and summarizing other people's work will help to clarify these matters in your mind.

3. You will also develop your confidence in handling information, making useful notes, and presenting an argument.

4. Seminar Topics can be chosen according to your own particular interests. If you are in any doubt, check with your tutor. They might be:

• a 'reading' of a set text from the course, applying one critical theory

• an account of one critical theory and how it can be applied to a couple of set texts

• a response to one of the tutorial seminar topics from the course materials

• an account of the publishing history or the critical reception of one of the set texts

5. A seminar presentation should not try to imitate an essay about seminar topic. It is better to offer a presentation on something smaller and more specific, rather than the type of general question posed in a coursework essay.

6. Don't write down the seminar presentation verbatim. Make outline notes, then speak to these notes using the set text, any critical theory, and your own extended notes as backup material.

7. If you have the resources, it is a nice courtesy to provide other members of the group with a copy of your outline notes.

8. Overhead projection facilities will often be available if you wish to show transparencies. Otherwise, photocopies of any illustrative material will be perfectly acceptable.

Suggested Headings

The general headings for your notes may vary according to the seminar topic of your choice and the approach you adopt. For a presentation in literary studies at post-graduate level, the following may be used.

The set text
Explain which edition you are using, and any special considerations. You might indicate which different editions exist, and what led to your choice of seminar topic.

The course topic or seminar question
You might say why you have chosen it, or why it seems significant. If possible relate it to the other major issues of the course.

The critical theory
Give a brief summary of the origin and principles of any critical theory you will be applying. This will help to 'situate' your remarks.

Your own argument
Give a general summary of what you have to say about your seminar topic, and its relation to the course as a whole. Make the stages of your argument clear, and indicate the conclusion to which they lead.

Scholarly details
You should provide full bibliographical details of any texts you use during the course of the seminar topic presentation.

Topics for discussion
A good seminar presentation should lead to questions or further issues raised by the subject of your enquiry. Including these issues as part of your conclusion should lead naturally into a discussion amongst the seminar participants.