| NSF Org: |
ECCS Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | January 4, 2018 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | February 13, 2020 |
| Award Number: | 1807813 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Anthony Kuh
ECCS Division of Electrical, Communications and Cyber Systems ENG Directorate for Engineering |
| Start Date: | January 1, 2018 |
| End Date: | June 30, 2020 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $72,420.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $72,420.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
9201 UNIVERSITY CITY BLVD CHARLOTTE NC US 28223-0001 (704)687-1888 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
NC US 28223-0001 |
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Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | EPCN-Energy-Power-Ctrl-Netwrks |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.041 |
ABSTRACT
The 2017 hurricane season inflicted two severe blows (Irma and Maria) to the Atlantic region of the U.S. resulting in significant economic losses. Power losses for many customers resulted from collapsed structures, faulted lines, and the inability to resurrect electrical power grid operations immediately after the storm. The effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria are consistent with projected increases in natural disasters, both in terms of frequency and intensity. This study investigates the aftermaths of the hurricanes and reconstructs the power grid failure history through forensic analytics. The intent is to identify critical elements in the design of a resilient system. By collecting the perishable evidence from these extreme events, the project team can provide valuable information to help improve the resilience of electrical power grids through a strategic and optimized process.
Intellectual Merit: This research is a joint effort between multiple universities, Duke Energy and Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority (PREPA). A website will be developed to host the project and will reside in a secured server system. The team will upload the data to the secured website and use the collected data and storm event history to generate the geospatial-temporal integrated analysis within a GIS framework. This work will investigate failure patterns and failure history in order to strategically assess risk based on vulnerabilities and critical importance of the existing grid systems.
Broader Impact: Hurricanes Irma and Maria have the interest of national and international scientific and engineering organizations and the general public. The critical question raised by a concerned public are such storms examples of future extreme events and how can the power delivery systems be more resilient. The collected data will also help coastal utilities evaluate the viability of building a resilient grid system that resists extreme weather. The analysis of the data gathered by this forensic study will allow an evaluation of the effects on the grid in well-developed areas compared to less-developed areas. Such a comparison can be invaluable in designing future grid modernization investments not only in Puerto Rico but also around the world.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
NSF RAPID Grant CMMI-1807813 (NSF Program Director Dr. Anthony Kuh)
Outcomes Report:
Hurricane Maria in 2017 was a devastating storm for Puerto Rico (PR) and the U.S.A. with $90 billion in damages and more than 3,000 deaths. This hurricane affected most aspects of the infrastructure of PR with the power grid being one of the most severely affected. It took approximately a whole year for PR to have complete power restoration. Identification of design solutions to help prevent or minimize such extensive power losses are important for electrically isolated regions such as the island of PR. In this study, a field investigation of structure damages was conducted, followed by a spatial binomial analysis to evaluate the effects of different storm events that occurred as a result of hurricane Maria.
The objective of the proposed NSF-RAPID is to collect and distribute perishable data on damaged power delivery (transmission and distribution) systems in Puerto Rico due to Hurricane Maria and in south Florida due to Irma. Towards this objective, a project web (http://cybergis.uncc.edu/hurricane) has been created to share the findings and data collected.
The goal of this study is to investigate the correlation between the damaging effects in the island of Puerto Rico associated to the passage of hurricane Maria and the power grid damages. This is accomplished via a spatial binomial analysis that was performed to establish an importance factor associating the storm effects and structural damages to help identify the dominant storm effects. The results of the binomial analysis helped delineate the damaging effects on structures and power infrastructure and was used to aid in identifying possible strategies to enhance the resiliency of the PR power grid.
Significant findings of this study indicate that the predominant failure modes of the power transmission grid were due to wind forces and landslides (related to torrential rains). Further damaged transmission structural evaluations indicate the need for more four-legged structures and possible use of rounded prestressed concrete or steel pole structures for supporting power transmission system.
The findings of this study are summarized into three publications submitted for peer reviews.
The products of this study are:
- Chen, S.E., Tang, W.W., Irizarry, A.A., Baez-Rivera, Y., Pando, M.A., Majerekar, M., Young, D.T. and Ng, Y. (2020) “Post-Hurricane Investigations A Critical Component towards Improved Grid Resiliency-Hurricane Maria in the Puerto Rico,” ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities, DOI: 10.1061/(ASCE)CF.1943-5509.0001447.
- Ng, Y. Chen, S.E., Pando, M.A., Irizarry, A.A., Baez-Rivera, Y., Tang, W.W., Majerekar, M. and Martinez, R. “Storm Effect Binomial Analysis and Puerto Rico Grid Hardening after Maria” Submitted to ASCE Journal of Performance of Constructed Facilities.
- Chen, S.E., Pando, M.A., Irizarry, A.A., Baez-Rivera, Y., Tang, W.W. and Ng, Y. “Resiliency of Power Grid Infrastructure under Extreme Hazards – Observations and Lessons Learned from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico,” Submitted to Sustainable City Infrastructures.
- Lecture presentation, Indian National Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), “Forensic Engineering,” Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, host institute: National Institute of Technology at Trichy, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu, India, June 17 to 21, 2019.
- Lecture presentations, “Structural Health Monitoring,” University Immersion Program (UIP), Sichuan University, China, July 1 to 5, 2019.
- Invited Speaker, “Post-Hurricane Reconnaissance – Efforts to Improve Grid Resilience,” Duke Engineers Day, Charlotte, May 14 2019.
- Invited Speaker, IEEE Decentralized Energy Access Solutions Workshop, Georgia Tech, Atlanta, GA, Feb 4 2019.
- Invited Presentation “Enhance power grid resilience against climate-change effect (GRACE) for IAIPSs (Isolated and Autonomous Island Power System)” Taipower, Taipei, Taiwan, July 20, 2018.
- Invited Lecture, Sichuan University, China, June 24, 2018.
- Invited Presentation, “Post Hurricane Reconnaissance Efforts to Improve Grid Resiliency: Recent and Ongoing Efforts for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria” Puerto Rico Electric Power Authority, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 15, 2018 (jointly with Drs. Yamilka Baez and Agustin Irizarry of UPRM).
- Invited Lecture “Post Hurricane Reconnaissance Efforts to Improve Grid Resiliency: Recent and Ongoing Efforts for Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria” CAPER IAB meeting, Charlotte, March 11, 2018 (jointly with Drs. Yamilka Baez and Miguel Pando).
Thesis and Project Reports:
- Yenki Ng, Puerto Rico Grid Resilience Assessment Using Binomial Analysis Following Hurricane Maria Considering Storm Effects, MS Thesis, UNC Charlotte, 2019.
- Michael Brian Bailey, Florida Structure Damage Investigation after Hurricane Irma, MS Project, UNC Charlotte, 2018.
- Cuello-Polo, G.A. and Irrizarry-Rivera, A. (2020) Power Flow Analysis of Hurricane Maria Impact on Puerto Rico’s Electric Power Network, UPRM Final Report, NSF-RAPID: 1807813, Mayagűez, PR.
Last Modified: 09/08/2020
Modified by: Shen-En Chen
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