MSc Thesis Proposal

Multi-agent control of power networks

Mentors: Rudy Negenborn, Bart De Schutter

Keywords: Multi-agent systems, distributed and large-scale systems, distributed control, discrete-event and hybrid systems

Description:
Due to the deregulation of the power market and the participation of more and more components in the power grid (e.g., wind mills, solar panels, etc.), the power network cannot be controlled from a single, centralized, point anymore. New control methods are necessary that consider more localized control, managed by a so-called multi-agent control structure, in which communication of information and cooperation are central elements. Currently, methods for multi-agent control of power networks based on model predictive control are being developed in our group. These methods are so far being tested on Matlab simulation studies with small networks. Our methods need to be further developed and tested on more realistic networks.

The Electrical Power Systems group at the EWI faculty owns one of the largest power network simulation computers in the world (see Figure 1). This super computer can be used to simulate the complete power network of The Netherlands in real time. It is therefore ideally suited to examine state-of-the-art multi-agent control systems in more detail.

Real-time power network simulator

Figure 1: Left: The software running the simulator. Right: The real-time power network simulator

Having this super computer in Delft provides the unique opportunity to test developed multi-agent methods in almost real world power network settings. Interesting practical thesis research can come from the following directions: More theoretical thesis research can come from: Of course, these topics can be varied according to your own interests.



If you are interested in selecting this project as your MSc project, please come along or send us an email for more information.


This page is maintained by Bart De Schutter.