Electrical and Electronic Engineering - Theses

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    Novel all-optical signal processing schemes and their applications in packet switching in core networks
    Gopalakrishna Pillai, Bipin Sankar. (University of Melbourne, 2007)
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    Resource allocation for multiuser OFDM systems
    Chen, Liang. (University of Melbourne, 2006)
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    Resource allocation for multiuser OFDM systems
    Chen, Liang. (University of Melbourne, 2006)
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    Steady-state multi-energy flow problem in coupled energy networks
    Mohammadi, Mohammad ( 2023-07)
    Energy systems worldwide are experiencing a rapid transition towards a low-carbon future, calling for greater energy efficiency and flexibility in utilising energy networks. This transition is accompanied by the growing adoption of multi-energy technologies like combined heat and power (CHP), power-to-heat, and power-to-gas units, leading to rising interdependencies between different energy networks, particularly in district and energy community applications. Hence, more effective utilisation of coupled energy networks (CEN) can bring several efficiency and flexibility benefits. Developing efficient energy flow models for CEN analysis is thus key to fully unlock these inherent benefits. The steady-state multi-energy flow (MEF) problem is the cornerstone of CEN analysis and lays the foundation for optimal operation and flexibility studies. This thesis presents a systematic evaluation of the MEF problem for steady-state analysis of CEN, exemplified in the case of coupled electricity, heat, and gas networks, by highlighting three main principles, namely formulations, coupling strategies, and solution techniques. Regarding formulations, a MEF framework is developed to incorporate various formulations for steady-state analysis of CEN, while demonstrating their impact on the convergence and computational properties of MEF models. With respect to coupling strategies, a systematic analysis is conducted on three essential coupling strategies, i.e., Decoupled, Decomposed, and Integrated, which may be associated with parallel, sequential, and simultaneous MEF computations, respectively. A set of fundamental underlying principles that characterise the coupling effectiveness in the MEF problem is introduced, namely, underlying formulations, problem size, interdependencies between networks, and calculation sequence, while highlighting their role in appraising different coupling strategies. In terms of solution techniques, besides classical Newtown-Raphson (NR), the performance of other potentially suitable algorithms, such as Quasi-NR, Levenberg-Marquardt, and Trust-Region, is extensively studied for solving MEF problems. A novel cross-over strategy is then proposed to utilise the synergistic benefits of studied algorithms for improving convergence properties without compromising computational efficiency. Building upon the insights gained from the MEF analysis, a fast decomposed algorithm is introduced for solving large-scale coupled electricity and gas networks with hydrogen injection modelling and gas composition tracking. Finally, this thesis provides novel insights and practical recommendations to identify the most suitable formulations, coupling strategies, and solution techniques for solving the steady-state MEF problem in a robust and computationally efficient way.
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    Communication Receivers with Low-Resolution Quantization: Fundamental Limits and Task-based Designs
    Bernardo, Neil Irwin ( 2023-08)
    The use of low-resolution analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) in communication receivers has gained significant interest in the research community since it addresses practical issues in 5G/6G deployment such as massive data processing, high power consumption, and high manufacturing cost. An ADC equipped in communication receivers is often designed such that its quantization thresholds are equally-spaced or the distortion between its input and output is minimized. These design approaches, however, may yield suboptimal performance as they neglect the underlying system task that the ADCs are intended to be used for. This presents an opportunity for us to explore receiver quantization designs that cater to specific communication tasks (e.g. symbol detection, channel estimation) and to understand how quantization impacts various aspects of receiver performance such as error rate, channel capacity, estimation error. In this thesis, we consider five independent research problems related to the communication receivers with low-resolution quantizers. Three of these research problems deal with capacity analysis of certain communication channels with quantized outputs. More precisely, we derive the capacity-achieving input distributions for four different channels with phase-quantized observations and the Gaussian channel with polar-quantized observations. For the channels with b-bit phase quantizer at the output, 2^b-phase shift keying modulation scheme can attain the channel capacity. Meanwhile, the capacity can be achieved in the Gaussian channel with polar quantization by an input distribution with amplitude phase shift keying structure. Capacity bounds for MIMO Gaussian channel with analog combiner and 1-bit sign quantizers are also established in this thesis. The remaining two research problems fall under the category of task-based quantizer design. The idea is to design the quantizer in accordance to the underlying system task rather than simply minimize its input-output distortion. Focusing on M-ary pulse amplitude modulation (PAM) receiver with symmetric scalar quantizer, the closed-form expression of the symbol error rate is derived as a function of quantizer structure and position of equiprobable PAM symbols. The derived expression is used to design the quantizer according to the symbol detection task. The high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) behavior of the error rate of the quantized communication system is characterized. Our final work is a development of a new design and analysis framework for task-based quantizers with hybrid analog-to-digital architecture. In contrast to existing task-based quantization frameworks, the theoretical predictions of our proposed framework perfectly coincides with the simulated results. Moreover, the proposed frameworks can be used in data acquisition systems with non-uniform quantizers and observations with unbounded support.
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    Managing Future DER-Rich Distribution Networks with a Distributed Approach: Optimal Power Flow and ADMM
    Gonçalves Givisiez, Arthur ( 2023-06)
    The growing adoption of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) is making distribution networks (i.e., both medium voltage [MV] and low voltage [LV] networks) to not only consume power but also to produce it, creating bidirectional power flows, which was something unexpected to happen when these networks were designed. This unexpected situation is creating some challenges for distribution companies to operate their networks, which includes voltage excursions (i.e., overvoltage or undervoltage) and congestion of transformers and/or conductors. To deal with these challenges, distribution companies have been using rule-based approaches to manage their controllable network assets (e.g., transformers with tap changers) and DERs (e.g., PV systems). However, rule-based approaches are very likely to become impracticable in the future, when the number of DERs is expected to be much higher, increasing the complexity of management. Besides, the higher amount of DERs is very likely to require a real-time operation of all controllable elements (i.e., DERs, OLTC-fitted transformers), which would inevitably press distribution companies to become much more active on managing these controllable elements. In this context, more advanced techniques will be required to handle the real-time operation of all controllable elements, which will have great number of variables (e.g., individual setpoints for controllable elements) and constraints (e.g., voltage and thermal limits) to be simultaneously considered. An advanced technique that has great potential to manage such complex problem is the AC OPF, but it is not scalable to be used for DER-rich, realistic large-scale integrated MV-LV distribution networks. In this PhD project, the following research is carried out to address the scalability issues of the conventional nonconvex AC OPF, particularly found in large-scale problems. Key findings and achievements are also highlighted. - An ADMM-based nonconvex three-phase AC OPF tailored for integrated MV-LV distribution networks is proposed. Its performance is tested in DER-rich, realistic large-scale integrated MV-LV networks with more than 20,000 single-phase equivalent nodes and more than 4,600 customers. The proposed ADMM-based nonconvex three-phase AC OPF shows to be accurate and faster than the conventional approach for large distribution networks. - A strategy to choose penalty parameters that allows fast convergence for the proposed ADMM-based algorithm was developed in this thesis. It is based on using different penalty parameters to each split variable, which facilitates the selection of penalty parameters that better adapts to each variable, and on using the engineering knowledge of distribution networks (i.e., number of houses, typical demand, PV sizes, maximum feeder capacity) to estimate adequate initial values for the penalty parameters, which then are fine tunned. The selected penalty parameters proved to quickly converge the proposed ADMM-based algorithm. - The implementation and performance assessment of the proposed ADMM-based nonconvex three-phase AC OPF was carried out for four engineering applications: calculation of setpoints for active power of PV systems, calculation of setpoints for active and reactive power of PV systems, calculation of setpoints for active power of PV systems as well as OLTC-fitted transformer tap positions, and calculation of setpoints for active and reactive power of PV systems as well as OLTC-fitted transformer tap positions. The proposed ADMM-based OPF has similar performance to the conventional OPF (i.e., nonconvex three-phase AC OPF) on calculating setpoints that ensure network integrity for all four applications. However, the proposed ADMM-based OPF is much faster than the conventional OPF. Therefore, the quality of the results and faster solution time across all investigated applications and time-varying conditions makes the proposed ADMM-based OPF a good alternative to solve large-scale, DER-rich three-phase AC OPF problems. - With the ADMM split, which separates the MV network problem from the LV network problems, voltage regulation devices (e.g., OLTC-fitted transformer) located at the MV network cannot sense voltage problems that occur at the end of LV feeders. This happens because the ADMM-based algorithm only shares the split point variables, which is located at the start of LV feeders, where there are no voltage problems. So, the MV network problem does not “know” about the voltage issues at the end of the LV feeder. In order to make these voltage regulation devices to sense voltage problems in another subproblem, hence enabling them to correct voltage issues, a novel adaptation on the ADMM-based algorithm was proposed. - An ADMM-based linearised three-phase AC OPF tailored for integrated MV-LV distribution networks is proposed. Its performance is tested in DER-rich, realistic large-scale integrated MV-LV networks with more than 20,000 single-phase equivalent nodes and more than 4,600 customers. This creates a formulation that is faster than the ADMM-based nonconvex three-phase AC OPF, which is ready for real-time (control cycles of 1 minute) operation of distribution networks. - A discussion on other potential applications of the proposed ADMM-based OPF formulations is carried out on the context of bottom-up services provision and TSO-DSO coordination.
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    Planning of Future-Proof Low Voltage Residential Networks
    Zeb, Muhammad Zulqarnain ( 2023-05)
    The increasing penetration of residential rooftop photovoltaics (PV) and home charging of electric vehicles (EVs) is presenting technical challenges for distribution companies responsible for managing the poles and wires. These challenges include problems such as voltage rise and asset congestion, which are caused by reverse power flows from PV systems. Additionally, there are issues of voltage drop and asset congestion that result from EV charging. Distribution networks are experiencing these problems because the existing low voltage (LV) networks were not designed for PV and EVs. To host PV and EVs, solutions such as thicker conductors or On-load Tap Changer (OLTC) must be added to the existing networks. Most of the existing LV networks were planned traditionally, by appropriately sizing three-phase conductors of distribution lines and suitable LV distribution transformer to ensure that customer voltages and power flows in network assets (transformer, lines) are within designed limits. To host PV and EVs in traditionally designed networks, many research works in the literature focused on adding smart voltage regulation devices such as OLTC to avoid using thicker conductors for three-phase line segments. Some also suggested the use of thicker conductors for distribution lines with a transformer using nominal voltage setting or an off-load tap changer. However, a detailed cost comparison of the mentioned design has not been done for the brand-new three-phase LV networks with 100% PV and EVs, i.e., when each house has a PV system and an electric car. Such a comparison can help identify the most cost-effective design for brand-new LV networks that can host 100% residential PV and EVs without requiring the addition of solutions later. This thesis fills the mentioned research gap by proposing an optimal power flow (OPF) based methodology to plan the brand-new three-phase LV residential networks for 100% PV and EVs. The developed methodology determines suitable conductor sizes and optimal tap changer position (depending on the design alternative) while the topology of the LV network follows the street layout. Additionally, it compares three design alternatives to determine the most cost-effective design. The compared design alternatives include appropriately sized conductors for three-phase line segments with either nominal voltage settings, off-load tap changer fitted transformer, or OLTC fitted transformers. Realistic considerations related to the tap changers, sizes of conductors available in the market, the impact of parallel unbalanced LV feeders on each other, and the impact of connected medium voltage (MV) with their LV parts are included in this planning. The proposed planning methodology is applied on a realistic Australian neighborhood with 89 single-phase residential customers. For the case study neighborhood, it is concluded that the most cost-effective design depends on the distance of the LV transformer from the zone substation (HV/MV transformer). Due to the impact of the connected MV network, voltage varies on the primary side of the LV transformer. The closer the distance, the lower are the voltage variations on the primary side of LV transformer, and therefore, the lower need for voltage regulation. For such LV networks, thicker conductors for lines and a transformer fitted with off-load tap changer provide the most economical design. On the other hand, for a group of customers located far away, the use of a transformer fitted with OLTC, and thinner conductors is the most economical design due to the need for better voltage regulation. The single tap setting of off-load tap changer needs a combination of thicker conductors for the lines, whose cost is not justifiable in such a scenario. This analysis helps us understand that no single design alternatives is economically feasible for all LV neighborhoods, and rather, the characteristics of the network are important to be considered. With the proposed three-phase methodology, and implementation on a neighborhood, this research work provides a detailed insight of the most cost-effective design for the future LV networks with higher penetrations of PV and EVs. It can guide distribution companies to make their three-phase LV networks future-proof, by selecting the most cost-effective design for neighborhoods with different characteristics.
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    Distributed Failure-Tolerant Anomaly Detection in Cognitive Radio Networks
    Katzef, Marc ( 2023-04)
    The communications landscape has seen exciting developments through the emergence of small, low-cost, wireless devices. Developments in these devices have led to unprecedented connectivity and distributed computational resources—ready to support new applications. Such applications provide new benefits to end users (through cognitive radio and Internet-of-Things, IoT, to name a few), as well as new attack vectors for malicious users—with a higher number of exposed devices and communications. In this work, we investigate the use of these new wireless networking devices to make wireless communication and networking more secure by analysing wireless activity throughout a network and training anomaly detection models to identify any unusual behaviour. Using their flexible communications, onboard computation, and ability to record wireless network data, we explore state-of-the-art methods to learn patterns in network behaviour using distributed sensing and computational resources. These methods span classical and modern anomaly detection approaches, each with its own benefits and drawbacks in terms of performance, resource usage, and reliability. Throughout this work, the tradeoff between these benefits and drawbacks is outlined and new collaborative anomaly detection methods are proposed. The methods and tools in this thesis have been analysed in various network environments, to strengthen present and future wireless networks.
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    Thermal Multispectral Imaging and Spectroscopy with Optical Metasurfaces and Deep Learning
    SHAIK, NOOR E KARISHMA ( 2022-12)
    Spectral imaging captures information in one or more selective bands across the electromagnetic spectrum, permitting the objects in the world to be identified by their absorption or reflection characteristics. Advancements in spectrally selective imaging have primarily been in colour imaging in the visible domain; however, infrared detectors have also enjoyed technological advances that position them ideally for thermal spectral imaging. Advanced spectrally selective imaging systems in longwave infrared (LWIR) thermal wavelengths of 8-14 microns can produce unique thermal fingerprints of objects by recording the heat radiation emitted from objects, thereby creating additional knowledge of the world otherwise difficult to acquire with colour cameras. Therefore, advanced spectral imaging finds important applications in precision agriculture (e.g., early detection of plant diseases), non-invasive medical diagnosis (e.g., vein and dental analysis, skin screening), mining (e.g., non-destructive testing), environmental monitoring (e.g., greenhouse gas detection) and recycling (e.g., plastic classification). However, existing LWIR multi- and hyperspectral imaging systems are expensive and bulky (with cryogenic cooling) and demand time and resources to process several images. Further, LWIR spectral imaging is hindered by the lack of materials responding to thermal wavelengths to design wavelength filters and the low resolution of thermal sensors to design a multi-band filter mosaic compared to their counterpart in the visible wavelengths. Recently, miniaturized infrared spectrometers were reported in the thermal wavelengths. However, they work only with a single isolated object using an active blackbody in the background and fail to detect multiple objects in real scenes. They collect an average emission from multiple objects using single or multiple detectors, which cannot be further resolved due to missing spatial information. There has been an ever-increasing demand for miniaturized and CMOS-compatible LWIR sensors performing imaging spectroscopy to realize their full potential with increased on-chip integration and new compact applications. In this thesis, I design and demonstrate lightweight and high-performance computational infrared imaging technology to enable joint spatial and spectral data acquisition in LWIR wavelengths. I propose and discuss promising solutions for handheld, mass-producible and affordable LWIR multi- and hyperspectral sensing systems using existing monochrome thermal sensors with a focus on plasmonic filters, sensor engineering and artificial intelligence. The first part of this thesis is focused on designing narrowband filter technology towards LWIR multi- and hyperspectral imagers. I begin by presenting optical metasurfaces and designing nano-optical filters with hexagonal lattices of hole/disk geometries to create surface plasmonic resonances in the LWIR regime. I perform comprehensive detector studies and detailed analyses of nano optical filters to accurately tailor the spectral responsivities of the LWIR plasmonic filters for imaging applications. I propose CMOS standard infrared plasmonic filters offering horizontal scalability, narrow spectral width, micron size thickness, and high transmission features. In the second part of this thesis, I explore time-resolved and spatially-resolved multispectral imaging systems for acquiring spatial image information in selective spectral bands. I substantiate the findings from the plasmonic filter simulations by experimentally realizing the novel LWIR plasmonic filters. Their instrumentation is explored by stacking into thermal image sensors through a filter wheel, and by integrating the filter mosaic into the camera to make a compact single-sensor imaging system. I experimentally demonstrate their time- or spatial-multiplexing performance in real-time and recover high-resolution multispectral images with deep imaging. In the third part of this thesis, I develop a deep learning-based LWIR imaging spectroscopy system prototype for acquiring more spectral information with selective spatial images in real time. This is a computational LWIR spectral imaging system acquired by the joint design of a snapshot multispectral imager at the hardware front, and a novel deep learning-based algorithmic spectroscopy concept for rapid spectral reconstruction at the software front. Snapshot images are acquired in selective spectral bands using LWIR plasmonic filters stacked to multiple detectors, which are further processed with deep neural network architecture to rapidly predict the spectra. The power of our deep learning-based imaging spectrometer is experimentally demonstrated by identifying four minerals: amethyst, calcite, pyrite, and quartz. The proposed technique is a simple and approximate 'uncooled LWIR thermal hyperspectral imaging system', which can be used to identify multiple objects by retrieving the spectral fingerprint in a real scene without recording a large number of images and without needing an active blackbody source. I thus demonstrate next-generation thermal sensing systems by merging nanoplasmonic sensors and artificial intelligence. Our results will form the basis for a snapshot, lightweight, compact, and low-cost hyperspectral LWIR imagers enabling diverse applications in chemical detection, precision agriculture, disease diagnosis, environmental sensing and industry vision.