The Faculty of Engineering

West Indian Journal of Engineering

Latest Issue

Volume 34: Numbers 1 & 2 - January 2012

Contents

Editorial

The Contribution of the Petroleum Studies Programmes at the UWI to the Local Oil and Gas
Industry. - Richard A. Dawe, Raffie Hosein and Jill Marcelle de Silva. Abstract | View PDF

Transition Probability Matrices and Revealed Comparative Advantage Persistence in a Small
Oil-based Economy. - Damie Sinanan and Roger Hosein. Abstract | View PDF

Modelling and Control of a Water-based System of Multiple Mobile Robots for Unmanned
Rescue. - Md. Mosharrof Hossain Sarker and M. Osman Tokhi. Abstract | View PDF

Effects of High Interest Rate on Technology Implementation in Jamaica. - Maurice G. Fletcher. Abstract | View PDF

Analysing the Strength Parameters of Concrete Manufactured Using Natural and Recycled Guanapo Aggregates. - Abrahams Mwasha and Jason R.F. Lalla. Abstract | View PDF

An Investigation of Methanol-Coconut Oil Fuel Blends in Diesel Engines for Caribbean Power Generation Using Biodiesel as a Co-solvent. - Renique J. Murray, Sharaaz Hosein and Solange Kelly. Abstract | View PDF

A Hybrid Soft Regulating (Wind-FC-Diesel-Battery) Renewable Energy for Island/Village Utilisation Scheme. - Adel M. Sharaf and Adel A.A. El-Gammal. View PDF

Abstract
The paper presents a hybrid (Wind–Diesel-Fuel Cell-Battery) renewable energy scheme for island/village electricity utilisation. The proposed hybrid renewable energy scheme with Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) stabilisation devices ensures efficient energy utilisation and robusts low impact interface of hybrid wind, diesel and the fuel cell. The stand-by diesel generator set is mainly used to balance the steady state load demand according to dynamic power changes to minimise the diesel fuel consumption. The stochastic nature of the wind energy system requires new FACTS stabilisation devices to maximise the wind energy utilisation. The paper also presents a application of soft computing self regulating Multi Objective Genetic Algorithm (MOGA) and Particle Swarm Optimisation (MOPSO) techniques to dynamically select optimal control gains for the 6-pulse rectifier interface converter, additional FACTS Dynamic Filter/Capacitor Compensation (DFC) on the AC side and Green Power Filter Compensator (GPFC) on the DC side schemes using dynamic self regulating objective functions based on minimal error tracking. A tri-loop error driven dynamic time-de-scaled controller is used to adjust the switching PWM sequence of the DFC on the AC side filter compensator and the GPFC for stabilisation and energy efficiency. Power factor correction and power quality are improved under different excursions and operating conditions, including load changes disturbances, faults and FC/wind velocity excursions. The multi-objective search and optimisation technique are used to find the optimal dynamic control gain settings that minimise the selective number of objective functions based on control system absolute errors.

Design of an RFID-based Inventory Control and Management System: A Case Study. - Jacky S.L. Ting and Albert H.C. Tsang. Abstract | View PDF

Production and Age-Hardening Behaviour of SiC Reinforced Aluminium Composites
Developed by Modified Stir-Casting Technique. - Kenneth K. Alaneme and Ayotunde O. Aluko. Abstract | View PDF

Hierarchical Evidential Reasoning-based Assessments of New Product Development Strategies. - Kwai Sang Chin and Kit Fai Pun. Abstract | View PDF

Electrical Treeing Diagnostics – An Approach Combining Optical Measurements and
Partial Discharge Statistics. - S. Bahadoorsingh, S. Sambeharry, R. Balliram and C. Sharma. Abstract | View PDF

A Proposed Methodology for Surface Water Quality Management for Sustainable Ecotourism in the Caribbean. - Ken D. Thomas, Erlande Omisca, Joniqua A. Howard and Maya A. Trotz. Abstract | View PDF