The increasing amount of renewable energy sources in the electrical energy system leads to an increasing number of converter-based generators connected to the electrical power grid. Other than conventional power plants that are often connected to the grid via synchronous generators, converter-based generators do not provide mechanical inertia intrinsically. Therefore, ensuring frequency stability in the electrical power grid might become even more difficult in the future. With the concept of synthetic inertia, the converter-based generators partially imitate the behavior of conventional generators. By implementing such a concept in converters, they are capable of contributing to frequency stability as well. This paper compares two strategies to realize synthetic inertia by modeling converter-based generators in MATLAB/SIMULINK and simulating their behavior in a small Microgrid. The results prove that any kind of realization of synthetic inertia helps to improve frequency stability. Each of the two investigated strategies may have their scope of application in a future electrical energy system.
Concerning the discussions about emissions caused by individual mobility, it is foreseeable that future vehicle concepts will increasingly be based on hybrid powertrains. These systems lead to more complex operating scenarios, which have a significant influence on the resulting emissions of the engine. This work shows a case study and the results in the operation and emission behavior of a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle with a direct injection gasoline engine when operated in an internationally recognized driving cycle. The vehicle’s exhaust aftertreatment system consists of a three-way catalytic converter; a particulate filter is not installed. The emissions are analyzed with a focus on particulate number emissions (from soot), especially during the warm-up phase and the frequent start–stop events (in total, there are 12 internal combustion engine operating phases), which are typical for hybrid vehicles. The results show that approximately 50% of the emitted particulates have a smaller size, 23 nm (a very high number of particulates with a mean size of 10 to 15 nm are present), which are currently not regulated, but are expected to have a high risk of adverse health effects.
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