Centralized control algorithm limits the hardware flexibility of a Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC). Therefore, industrial MMC applications have started adopting distributed control structures. Even though distributed controller reduces a single point of failure risk compared to the centralized controller, the failure risk of the entire control systems increases due to the number of local controllers. However, the distributed controller can be programmed in such a way as to bypass the faulty local controller and take care of the power modules with the adjacent local controllers. This paper implements a modular distributed fault-tolerant controller for a scaled laboratory MMC prototype. Experimental results show that an MMC can operate without interruption, even under two local controller failures. Besides, the experimental results are verified with the Opal-RT, a real-time simulator with the same controller in a Control Hardware in Loop (CHIL) environment.

The increased focus on sustainability in response to climate changes has given rise to many new initiatives to meet the rise in building load demand. The concept of distributed energy resources (DER) and optimal control of supply to meet power demands in buildings have resulted in growing interest to adopt microgrids for a precinct or a university campus. In this paper, a model for an actual physical microgrid has been constructed in OPAL-RT for real-time simulation studies. The load demands for SIT@NYP campus and its weather data are collected to serve as input to run on the digital twin model of DERs of the microgrid. The dynamic response of the microgrid model in response to fluctuations in power generation due to intermittent solar PV generation and load demands are examined via real-time simulation studies and compared with the response of the physical assets. It is observed that the simulation results match closely to the performance of the actual physical asset. As such, the developed microgrid model offers plug-and-play capability which will allow power providers to better plan for on-site deployment of renewable energy sources and energy storage to match the expected building energy demand.

In globe artichoke both the edible portion and the waste biomass are recognized as valuable sources of bioactive compounds. For this study, heads with 30 cm-long floral stems, including 2-3 leaves, were harvested from five genotypes which included two traditional vegetatively-propagated varietal types (‘Brindisino,’ and ‘Violetto di Foggia,’) and three "seed"-propagated hybrids (‘Tempo,’ ‘Opal,’ and ‘Madrigal’). The study aimed to determine the total and individual polyphenolic concentrations (measured spectrophotometrically and by HPLC) and antioxidant activity (AA) in different artichoke parts, namely the "hearts" (H), head waste (HW), stem waste (SW), and leaf waste (LW). ‘Brindisino’ SW exhibited the highest accumulation of luteolin (26,317 mg kg−1 F.W.), while ‘Tempo’ H displayed the highest cynarin content (190 mg kg−1 F.W.). ‘Tempo’ HW and H showed the highest levels of apigenin (640 mg kg−1 F.W.), and the greatest source of chlorogenic acid was found in the HW of ‘Opal’ and the H of ‘Brindisino’ (4,300 mg kg−1 F.W.). The hybrids generally exhibited lower total polyphenolic concentrations than the traditional genotypes, particularly evident in the LW. The SW demonstrated the highest concentration of total polyphenols (18,000 mg kg−1 F.W.), followed by the edible H and non-edible HW (12,000 mg kg−1 F.W.), while the LW exhibited the lowest concentration (2,000 mg kg−1 F.W.). Interestingly, the AA did not precisely align with the total polyphenolic concentration, showing slight variations between the examined parts and genotypes.

In this paper, the active front-end (AFE) converter topology for the total harmonic distortion (THD) reduction in a wind energy system (WES) is used. A higher THD results in serious pulsations in the wind turbine (WT) output power and in several power losses at the WES. The AFE converter topology improves capability, efficiency and reliability in the energy conversion devices; by modifying a conventional back-to-back converter, from using a single voltage source converter (VSC) to use pVSC connected in parallel the AFE converter is generated. The THD reduction is done by applying a different phase shift angle at the carrier of digital sinusoidal pulse width modulation (DSPWM) switching signals of each VSC. To verify the functionality of the proposed methodology, the WES simulation in Matlab-Simulink® is analyzed, and the experimental laboratory tests using the concept of rapid control prototyping and the real-time simulator Opal-RT® Technologies is achieved. The obtained results show a type-4 WT with total output power of 6MVA, generating a THD reduction up to 5.5 times at the WES.