Improving inverter efficiency for electric vehicles: Experimental validation of the neural network-based SHE technique using RT-LAB

Inverters are essential for converting direct current to alternating current in electric vehicles, relying on pulse width modulation (PWM) for efficiency. This study presents a real-time Selective Harmonic Elimination PWM (SHE-PWM) algorithm using artificial neural networks, validated with the OP5600 RT LAB simulator. Unlike the traditional Newton-Raphson method, this approach employs a neural network trained on a database of pre-calculated switching angles, allowing for the precise elimination of specific harmonics while maintaining control of the signal’s fundamental component. Although it offers similar accuracy to Newton-Raphson, the neural method provides significantly faster processing. MATLAB/Simulink simulations and experimental results on the RT-LAB simulator confirm the algorithm’s capability to calculate optimal switching angles and produce high-performance PWM waveforms. The study highlights the neural network-based SHE technique's advantages, including its ability to model complex systems, robustness to noisy data, and versatility. This approach improves inverter performance and offers new optimization possibilities for various applications, including electric vehicles. The simulator results validate the alignment of real and simulated control signals

Comparative Study and Experimental Optimization of Ozone Generators by Cylindrical Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD)

The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is a more efficient medium of ozone production, which requires voltages of the order of several kV and frequencies of a few tens of kHz. The principal objective of this study is to model and optimize a cylindrical-shaped ozone generator with a surface DBD that will be used in a water treatment plant. By playing on the electrical parameters (voltage, oxygen flow) and geometric parameters (the nature and diameter of the dielectric, the length of the electrode), to achieve high ozone efficiency and minimum energy consumption. It is recommended to use cylindrical surface discharge reactors with reduced diameter and electrode length and with the smallest possible oxygen circulation interval to achieve satisfactory ozone concentrations, with reduced power consumption.</jats:p

Analysis of Pulsed electric field pre-treatment for beet juice extraction: Evaluation of treatment chambers configuration effects

The major challenge today for the application of PEF in the industry has interest to increase the production capacity and improve the quality of food products. PEF pre-treatment is a multifactorial process. In addition to the electric field intensity, pulses number and the capacitor value, the configuration of the treatment chamber now presents a significant parameter in this process.Cylindrical and square parallelipedic treatment chambers (TC) are compared and their effect is studied with variation of electric field, number of pulses and capacitor value at frequency of 1Hz. The results show that the cylindrical treatment chamber showed higher beet juice yield with all studied parameters. The quality of extracted juice estimated in terms of absorbance at 530 nm wavelength were determined for each sample and results show that using a cylindrical treatment chamber configuration in PFE technology  gives a  good juice quality compared with square parallelipedic treatment chamber. The energy consumption during PEF treatment is reduced in the cylindrical treatment chamber due to the low values of the electric field, pulses number and capacitor value compared with square parallelipedic treatment chamber

Comparative Experimental Study between Surface and Volume DBD Ozone Generator

International audienceVolume Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) is nowadays considered the most effective way for ozone generation in the industry. Some papers were published only on surface discharge reactors applied for ozone generation. This article describes an experimental investigation for the comparison between these two reactor types of ozone generation. Two surface and volume DBD reactors of cylindrical shape were used in the same experimental conditions. Obtained results showed that although the majority of ozone generators are of volume discharge type, the surface DBD presents significant superiority in terms of ozone generation and energy efficiency

New Hybrid Surface–Volume Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor for Ozone Generation

International audienceDielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is the most efficient way used in industry for ozone generation. In the last decades, many papers were published on such DBD-based ozone generators. Several geometric configurations can be used to generate ozone. They can be classified into two types depending on the discharge form: volume DBD, which is the common one in ozone industry, and surface DBD. Many studies have been conducted to analyze the ozone generation efficiency of both reactors to get maximum ozone production with the lowest possible power consumption. The aim of this paper is to carry out an experimental analysis of a patent-pending new reactor, of hybrid configuration, in which occur simultaneously a volume and a surface DBD. The hybrid reactor comprises a ground stainless steel cylindrical electrode, within which is placed a glass tube separated by an interval of 1 mm in which the volume DBD occurs. A second mesh stainless steel electrode connected to the high voltage is placed inside the glass tube wherein the surface discharge occurs. The obtained results showed a clear superiority of the hybrid reactor compared with both volume and surface DBD in terms of the ozone concentration. The difference in the ozone concentration reaches up to 50% compared with the volume DBD and 30% compared with the surface DBD

Air-Assisted Tribo-Electrostatic Separator for Recycling of Shredded Waste Plastics

Waste minimization is a major way to achieve sustainable development. Electrostatic separation is already used in the recycling industry for processing certain mixtures of shredded plastics originating from waste electric and electronic equipment. Standard tribo-electrostatic separators use electric forces to deflect the trajectories of triboelectrically charged particles in the electric field generated between two vertical plate electrodes connected to high voltage supplies of opposite polarities. However, the efficiency of this device is often limited by the impacts between the particles and the electrodes, which diminish the recovery and the purity of the end product. An innovative electrostatic separator was specifically designed to mitigate this risk. The innovation lies in using two rotating co-axial vertical cylindrical electrodes and assisting the movement of the particles with downward-oriented air flow to reduce their impact on the electrodes and improve the quality of the recovered products. The aim of this study was to optimize the operation of the patented electrostatic separator by using experimental design methodology to obtain quadratic polynomial models of the recovery and the purity of the products as functions of the high voltage applied to the electrode system and of the air flow through the device. The experiments were conducted with a granular mixture composed of 88% polypropylene (PP) and 12% high-impact polystyrene (HIPS) particles, extracted from the recycling process of waste electrical and electronic equipment, and triboelectrically charged in a fluidized bed device. A voltage of 50 kV combined with an air flow rate of 1700 m3/min maximized the recovery and the purity of PP and HIPS products collected at the outlet of the separator. These results open promising prospects for expanding the use of tribo-electrostatic separation for efficient recycling of granular waste plastics