AI-enabled digital technologies for the resilient operation of power systems

About the Project

Are you interested in power system research for the future power grid operation? We have a recent PhD project opportunity at The University of Sheffield, a World leading Russell Group university in the UK.

You will develop an interesting PhD project on “AI-enabled digital technologies for the resilient operation of power systems”. Electrical power systems represent critical national infrastructure that interoperates with wider economic sectors. Resilient power system operation is the key in ensuring the electricity generated from various energy sources can travel in a complex power network to meet the electrical loads of these sectors. Due to recent advances in smart metering infrastructure as well as wide area monitoring protection and control, the data and information flow are significantly increased across various new entities such as distributed energy sources. This will lead to additional information and communications requirements, as well as new information services including data sensing, information flow and processing, and associated information decisions with computational intelligence and control. The increasing size and complexity in cyber systems pose new challenges in cyber-security, such as communication contingencies, information errors, and in some extreme cases, cyberattacks.

This PhD project will investigate the novel digital technologies of AI and cyber-physical systems, with practical tools and models development for the future electricity control centre. This PhD project will focus on the fundamental theory of cyber-physical modelling methods such as graph theory and networked systems, with the latest AI-enable data fusion and digital co-simulation technologies for a more resilient cyber-physical power systems, so that cyber can have a better control of the physical systems. One interesting aspect of this PhD project is to understand how to handle the data and information in the cyber aspect of power systems, and make an AI-assisted decision with multiple data sources. One example is to develop the semi-supervised methods and dynamic system interfacing algorithms to produce an automated and real-time information exchange across the cyber-physical systems. The PhD project will involve the development of the latest power system simulators in our Control and Power Systems Laboratory, with the novel digital technologies that can interface with cyber and physical aspects of power systems such as the software-defined networking (SDN) in the microgrid control.

Supervised by Prof. Xin Zhang (cyber-physical power systems) , the PhD student will join the Electrical Machines and Drives Research Group within Sheffield Engineering Faculty. Specifically, the PhD student will join the Control and Power Systems (CAPS) Laboratory, led by Prof Xin Zhang as the Chair in Control and Power Systems. The CAPS Lab focuses on advanced cyber-physical systems, control systems, optimisation, and cybersecurity with applications to power systems, smart grids, microgrids, and the control of power electronics converters.

Candidates are strongly encouraged to contact the project supervisors, Prof Xin Zhang xin.zhang1@sheffield.ac.uk to discuss your interest in and suitability for the project.