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The 2005 International
Future Energy ChallengeTM

Sponsored by 

the IEEE Power Electronics Society,

the IEEE Industry Applications Society,

the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society,

the IEEE Power Engineering Society,

the National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

the European Power Electronics Association, and others.

 

 

August 17, 2005 – 2005 Awards Announced

We concluded the 2005 final competition. Congratulations to the following winners.

 

Topic A:

 

·        First Place (for $10,000) - University of Belgrade, Serbia

·        Outstanding Design Innovation (for $6,500) - University of South Carolina, USA

·        Outstanding Educational Impact (for $2,000) - University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

·        Outstanding Presentation (for $2,000) - University of Belgrade, Serbia

·        Outstanding Technical Report (for $2,000) - University of Belgrade, Serbia

 

Topic B:

 

·        1st Place - Monash University, Australia (for $10,000)

·        2nd Place - Seoul National University of Technology, South Korea (for $8,000)

·        3rd Place - University of Illinois at Chicago, USA (for $5,000)

·        Outstanding Presentation - Universities of Cologne / Aachen, Germany (for $2,000)

·        Outstanding Technical Report - University of Applied Sciences Cologne / RWTH Aachen University, Germany (for $2,000)

·        Outstanding Educational Impact – Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil (for $1,500)

·        Innovative Design - University of Central Florida, USA (for $1,500)

·        Innovative Packaging - University of Wisconsin – Madison, USA (for $1,000)

·        Outstanding Teamwork - Monash University, Australia, USA (for $1,000)

·        Honorable Mention - Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh

 

 

August 10, 2005 – Topic B

·        Final Schedule of Activities (August 15-17, 2005) for Topic B in PDF Format

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May 27, 2005 – Topic B Finalists Announced

 

Six reviewers read the reports sent on May 1st and made their recommendations for selection of finalists and semi-finalists. Based on this evaluation, the organizing committee made the following recommendation:

 

FINALISTS:

·        Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil 

·        Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives of the RWTH (Aachen) and Institute for Automation of the University of Applied Sciences Cologne (FH KÖLN), Germany

·        Monash University, Australia

·        Seoul National University of Technology, South Korea

·        Texas A&M University, College Station, USA 

·        University of Central Florida, USA

·        University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

 

SEMI-FINALISTS:

·        Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Bangladesh 

·        Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil

·        Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China 

·        School of Electrical and Computer Engineering of the State University of Campinas, Brazil 

·        University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA 

 

Congratulations to all teams. The finalists are entitled to send a prototype for testing and competing for the major award. The semi-finalists are also invited for the testing event to compete for other prizes. All hardware is to be received by Wednesday, August 10, 2005. Please ship to the following address:

 

Prof. Marcelo Godoy Simoes

Colorado School of Mines

Engineering Division

1610 Illinois St.

Golden, Colorado 80401-1887

USA

 

Preliminary final competition agenda for Topic B is as follows.

 

Monday, August 15, 2005

 

8:00 - Welcome Ceremony (NREL Visitor’s Center)

8:45 -  Students unpack their hardware and are allowed to inspect and provide judges with 'keys' to start, a drawing is performed to establish testing order. Any repair of hardware is at the discretion of judges.

9:30 - Unit#1 placed on test stand. Any adjustments by NREL necessary to run their tests are made. Testing begins once judges allow to proceed.

11:30 - Lunch – Teams on their own

12:30 - Testing unit#1 continues

2:00-4:30 - Unit #2 tested.

4:30 – Day 1 testing complete

5:30 - Reception at local restaurant

 

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

 

8:00-10:30 Unit #3 Tested

10:30 - 2:00 Unit  #4 Tested

2:00 - 4:30 Unit #5 Tested

4:30 - Evening off

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

 

7:30 - 9:30 Unit #6 Tested

9:30 – 11:00 Unit #7 Tested

11:30 - 4:30 Presentations at Colorado School of Mines

4:30 Barbecue / Entertainment at Colorado School of Mines

6:00 Judges Confer Awards

6:30 Competition Finished

 

 

May 13, 2005 – Topic B Announcement

 

Dear Topic B Teams,

We appreciate your dedication to the competition. We have a group of judges that are reviewing the latest progress reports from ten teams. Due to the length of the reports, the judging process is taking more time than expected. We will post final decisions and a competition itinerary by May 27, 2005.

Sincerely,

Marcelo Simoes

 

 

May 11, 2005 – Topic A Finalists Announced

Congratulations to the following Topic A finalist teams who are invited to the final competition event that will begin August 15, 2005 

 

·        University of Belgrade, Serbia

·        University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

·        University of South Carolina, USA

 

Finalists must ship their hardware to arrive at the following address by close of business Friday, August 12, 2005. Shipments must include operating documentation and experimental verification. The Final Report will be due at the competition event (Monday, August 15, 2005).

 

Prof. Ali Emadi

Illinois Institute of Technology

Electrical and Computer Engineering Department

3301 S. Dearborn Street

Chicago, IL 60616-3793

USA

Phone: +1-312-567-8940

Fax: +1-312-567-8976

E-mail: emadi@iit.edu

 

Preliminary final competition agenda for Topic A is as follows.

 

Monday, August 15, 2005

 

8:00-8:30 AM              Arrival at the competition test site: MPC Products Corporation, 7426 North Linder Avenue, Skokie, Illinois 60077, USA. URL: http://www.mpcproducts.com/ 

8:30-9:30 AM              Welcome and introduction by Prof. Ali Emadi (Illinois Institute of Technology) and Dr. Nick Nagel (MPC Products Corporation)

9:30-10:00 AM            Students unpack their hardware and are allowed to inspect and provide judges with “keys” to start; a drawing is performed to establish testing order. Any repair of hardware is at the discretion of judges.

10:00-12:00 Noon       Testing unit #1

12:00-1:00 PM            Lunch

1:00-3:00 PM              Testing unit #1 continues

3:00-5:00 PM              Testing unit #2

6:00 PM                       Banquet

 

Tuesday, August 16, 2005

 

8:00-10:00 AM            Testing unit #2 continues

10:00-12:00 Noon       Testing unit #3

12:00-1:00 PM            Lunch

1:00-3:00 PM              Testing unit #3 continues

3:00 PM                       Durability test

 

Wednesday, August 17, 2005

 

8:00-10:00 AM            Team Presentations at Illinois Institute of Technology

10:00-12:00 Noon       Judges meet

12:00-3:00 PM            Lunch ceremony; judges confer initial awards

3:00 PM                       Competition finished

 

 

March 28, 2005 – Reminder: Final Progress Reports

 

Final progress reports are due May 1, 2005. Final progress reports must include preliminary experimental results and are limited to 25 single-column pages total including all diagrams, attachments, and appendixes. Final progress reports must present: 1) Team Members, 2) Safety Regulations Established, 3) Technical Status, 4) Project Timeline, and 5) Educational Impact. The electronic copy of the final progress report in PDF format must be sent to the topic coordinators via email. The electronic copy of the report can also be delivered on floppy disk (IBM format), Zip disk (IBM format), or CD.

 

By May 15, 2005, judges will select finalist teams and finalists will be notified. Selection is based upon likelihood of deliverable hardware, quality of design, and likelihood of success in meeting all the challenge objectives. These finalist teams will be invited to the competition event that will begin August 15, 2005. Teams not selected as finalists are encouraged to attend the final competition and present their design.

 

 

March 22, 2005 – Questions and Answers (Topic B)

 

Question 1: How will the DC source used for testing will be power limited. Will it be current limited to the proper current, say 25A @ 40V?

Answer: The power supply has the ability to be current limited. The power supply will be a voltage source. Please have the ability to turn off any peak-power tracking for the testing. If the inverter does have peak power tracking, then we could connect to an actual PV array if there is sufficient sunlight for the test, but we would not be able to control the array.

 

Question 2: We understand that the input DC source has a static characteristic. At open circuit, the voltage is 60 V and, at the maximum set power the voltage drops to 30V. Is it correct?

Answer: The source will be set to deliver enough current at each voltage (60, 50, 40, 30V) to allow the inverter the capability to always export 1kW. So at 60V and at 30V the inverter output must be 1kW.

 

Question 3: What is the 250W emergency load? Is it always connected at the AC output? Or would it be connected only when the grid is disconnected?

Answer: The 250W load can either be connected to a separate electrical connection or to the AC output connection, but it must remain on when the inverter is disconnected from the utility. The 250W load will be connected in both modes. It is up to the team to determine how this is accomplished.

 

 

November 5, 2004 – Electrical Connections for the Inverter (Topic B)

 

For Topic B (Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation), the inverters should have a screw down terminal strip for external connection to the input and output. The strip is also called power distribution or splicer blocks, rated at 600V, 35A. It needs to be able to accept #8 AWG size wire. Some suggested U.S. suppliers are Marathon and Newark.

 

 

October 22, 2004 – Worksheets: Comparative Cost Analysis 

 

Updated cost (points) worksheets for Topics A and B, which will be used for the 2005 International Future Energy Challenge, are: 

·        Topic A Cost (Points) Worksheet

·        Topic B Cost (Points) Worksheet

Please note that these spreadsheets are used for comparative cost analysis. Final reports will require completion of these cost-analysis spreadsheets.

October 11, 2004 – Workshop Highlights

We had a two-day workshop for the participants of the International Future Energy Challenge during the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS) Annual Meeting, in the afternoon of Sunday, October 3rd, and the morning of Monday, October 4th. Presentations given at the workshop in PDF format are:


First progress reports are due November 1, 2004. Progress reports are limited to 10 double-spaced, single-column pages total, including all diagrams, attachments, and appendixes. Progress reports must present: 1) Team Members, 2) Safety Regulations Established, 3) Technical Status, 4) Project Timeline, and 5) Educational Impact. The electronic copy of the progress report in PDF format must be sent to the topic coordinators via email. The electronic copy of the report can also be delivered on floppy disk (IBM format), Zip disk (IBM format), or CD.

Organizing committee will soon provide spreadsheets for comparative cost analysis for each of the two topics. Final report will require completion of cost-analysis spreadsheet that will be provided by the organizing committee soon.

Second progress reports are due February 1, 2005. Last progress reports are due May 1, 2005. The reports will be judged by a similar expert panel.

By May 15, 2005, judges will select finalist teams. These teams will be invited to the competition event that will begin August 15, 2005. A Final Report will be due at the competition event.

Selection is based upon likelihood of deliverable hardware, quality of design, and likelihood of success in meeting all competition objectives. Teams not selected as finalists are encouraged to attend the final competition and present their design. Finalists must ship their hardware to arrive at the test site by close of business August 15, 2005. Shipments must include operating documentation and experimental verification.

It is planed to select award winners (Award Categories: Written Technical Report, Presentation, Innovation in Design, Educational Impact, and Others TBD by judges) by the end of the week of the final competition. It is planned to announce these awards at the banquet at the end of the final competition event. However, the competition results will be reviewed further after the final competition event for the possible Grand Prize. In each topic, the team achieving the best overall results that meet all the requirements will receive a Grand Prize of no less than US $10,000 (and more based on sponsorship levels). Possible Grand Prize, in each topic, will be announced at the 2005 IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, October 2004, in Hong Kong.

For the final competition event in August 2005, international students should apply for US visas early. The US has new restrictions on visas and the result is a major increase in the time required to process and approve applications. For Topic B, please note that NREL requires pre-registration of all visitors (forms will be sent to teams by May 15, 2005). Organizing committee will also work to provide access to a block of rooms at the competition hotels.

For Topic A, please note that speed regulation and command must be linear 0-10V analog, referenced to the unit case based on 2V/1000 rpm. Speed regulation is ±5% (no load to full load) or ±50 rpm, whichever is greater. No testing will be performed below 150 RPM.

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July 13, 2004 – International Future Energy Challenge Workshop Travel Grant  

 

The IEEE Industry Applications and Power Electronics Societies will host a workshop for the participants of the International Future Energy Challenge during the IEEE Industry Applications Society Annual Meeting, October 2004. The two-day workshop will be held the afternoon of Sunday, October 3, and the morning of Monday, October 4. The workshop will focus on the 2005 event, including an overview of the specifications and testing that will be performed, technical concerns of participants, and safety. There will also be guest speakers from industry to discuss the latest innovations in power electronics and motor drives. A representative from each team will give a brief overview of their team and technical progress.

 

The schools that have been accepted to participate in the 2005 IFEC are eligible to apply for a travel grant which will support a stipend for only one team member (a student) to participate in the workshop. Only those students working toward their first degree are eligible. The travel grant will be awarded upon the evaluation of a proposal addressing:

 

1)      Team participation in the workshop (a description of those who will be attending from the team)

2)      Progress that has been made on the project

3)      Support that has been raised for the project

4)      How the school is supporting the team

5)      How attendance at the workshop will be used to enhance the team

 

The proposal must be no longer than three pages, single-column, double space. The proposal should clearly indicate the approximate funding that would be required for the student to attend. It is noted that funding is limited. The organizing committee will provide a review of proposals and allocate travel funding. One criteria that will be used is to encourage a diverse audience from multiple international institutions.

 

Please send your proposal in PDF format to both Marcelo Godoy Simoes (mgsimoes@ieee.org) and Ali Emadi (emadi@iit.edu) no later than August 10, 2004. Funding will be announced by August 31, 2004.

 

 

May 14, 2004 – Schools informed of acceptance into the competition

The following schools have been accepted to participate in the 2005 International Future Energy Challenge

 

Topic A (Single-Phase Adjustable Speed Motor Drive):

·        University of Akron, USA 

·        University of Belgrade, Serbia 

·        University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, USA

·        University of South Carolina, USA

 

Topic B (Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation):

·        Bangladesh University of Engineering & Technology, Bangladesh

·        Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil

·        Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte – UFRN, Brazil

·        Institute for Power Electronics and Electrical Drives of the RWTH (Aachen) and Institute for Automation of the University of Applied Sciences Cologne (FH Köln), Germany

·        Krishna Institute of Engineering & Technology, India

·        Memorial University of Newfoundland, Canada

·        Michigan State University, USA

·        Monash University, Australia

·        Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, China

·        Seoul National University of Technology, South Korea

·        State University of Campinas, Brazil

·        Texas A&M University, USA

·        University of Central Florida, USA

·        University of Illinois at Chicago, USA

·        University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA

 

Congratulations to all accepted teams.

 

 

News – April 18, 2004

Line Current Harmonic Limitations Based on IEC 61000-3-2 for Topic A (Motor Systems)

 

Explanation--The numbers below are taken from tables in standard IEC 61000-3-2, p. 35, for “class A” equipment. Class A equipment includes many household single-phase loads, including appliances. Notice that the limits are presented as absolute ampere values (all values RMS), consistent with the standard. Strictly speaking, IEC 61000-3-2 does not apply to nominal voltages below 220 Vrms. The numbers in the 110 V column are based on similar per-unit system impedance, and must be met by teams with nominal voltages near 110 Vrms. Harmonics are defined here such that n=1 corresponds to the fundamental, n=2 to twice the fundamental, and so on.

Please notice that in addition to the limits given here, the input must also achieve a power factor (defined as pf = P/S, where P is average power in watts and S is the product of actual RMS voltage and current) of at least 0.80.

Harmonic limits for Topic A input current

Harmonic order

n

Maximum permissible harmonic current

220 V systems (1)

110 V systems (2)

Odd harmonics

1

(Based on actual load)

(Based on actual load)

3

2.30 A

4.60 A

5

1.14 A

2.28 A

7

0.77 A

1.54 A

9

0.40 A

0.80 A

11

0.33 A

0.66 A

13

0.21 A

0.42 A

15 £ n £ 39

2.25/n A

4.5/n A

Even harmonics

2

1.08 A

2.16 A

4

0.43 A

0.86 A

6

0.30 A

0.60 A

8 £ n £ 40

1.84/n A

3.68/n A

(1)  Per IEC 61000-3-2, p. 35.

(2)  Modified from IEC 61000-3-2, p. 35, according to equivalent base impedance in a lower voltage system.

 

 

News – March 13, 2004

 

·        The RFP for Topic B (Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation) does not specify the definition of peak load. Therefore, we are adding this note: “Peak load will be applied during 20 cycles of the input voltage frequency. Since the system must work with both 50Hz and 60Hz, the worst case is 0.4 seconds.”

·        Competition Test Site for Topic (A): MPC Products Corporation, 7426 North Linder Avenue, Skokie, Illinois 60077, USA. URL: http://www.mpcproducts.com/

·        Competition Test Site for Topic (B): National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 1617 Cole Blvd., Golden, CO 80401, USA. URL: http://www.eere.energy.gov/distributedpower/flash/der_process2.html

·        Final Testing (Final Competition): August 15-19, 2005.

·        A workshop is being organized at the 39th Annual Meeting of the IEEE Industry Applications Society (IAS), which will be held October 3-7, 2004, at The Westin Hotel in downtown Seattle, USA. There will be an open session on Sunday afternoon for both topics (A) and (B). On Monday, in the morning, there will be two sessions, one for topic (A) and one for Topic (B).

·        The organizing committee stands firm that each university is limited to one topic area. Each school can support only one team.

·        A teaming arrangement of two universities is acceptable, provided that teaming is not used to enter more than one competition. Therefore, if two universities form a team, no other groups from either schools are eligible to participate.

·        In the meeting of Feb. 24th at APEC, concerns were raised regarding the expected level of participation of undergraduate/graduate students in the competition. Conclusions of the organizing committee are as follows.

q       The organizing committee does not change the RFP. The organizing committee does not add any amendments. The RFP is very clear in this regard: “Commitment to excellence in undergraduate education is important, and acceptable proposals will involve undergraduate students as the primary team members. Interdisciplinary teams are encouraged. Graduate students are not excluded, but the impact on undergraduate education is a critical judging criterion.”

q       Throughout the competition, undergraduate students (or students pursuing their first university degree) must play a dominant role. The scoring is set up accordingly. Final reports must clearly explain the role of each team members.

q       Special Award on Undergraduate Educational Impact will be given at the final competition.

q       Oral presentation at the final competition will be done only by undergraduate students (or students pursuing their first university degree). These students will be interviewed by the judging panel.

q       Only undergraduate students will be considered for possible financial support (travel expenses) by the organizing committee.

 

 

About the 2005 International Future Energy Challenge

 

The 2005 International Future Energy Challenge has been organized for participation by student engineering teams around the world. The competition is open to college and university student teams from recognized engineering programs in any location. The 2005 competition addresses two broad topic areas: (A) Single-Phase Adjustable Speed Motor Drive and (B) Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation, respectively described as follows:

 

  1. Single-Phase Adjustable Speed Motor Drive: Innovations in motors and motor drive systems that produce deep cuts in losses and costs for home (appliance) use, or that could replace “universal motor” brush machines in residential applications. Target hardware costs are US$40 for a combination of motor, power electronic driver, and controller that can operate from a single-phase residential source, deliver rated shaft load of 3/4 HP (or 500 W) at 1500 RPM, exhibit a useful speed control range of at least 150 RPM to 5000 RPM, and provide power efficiency of at least 70% for loads ranging from 50 W to 500 W at a specified speed.

B.     Utility Interactive Inverter System for Small Distributed Generation: The objective of this competition is to improve and foster innovation in the design of flexible utility interactive inverter systems for small distributed generation. The inverter must be efficient and comply with requirements for harmonic control, interconnection, and safety standards. The inverter must be capable to operate in typical voltage and frequencies, grid-connected or stand-alone. Target hardware costs are US$200 for an inverter that can operate from a dc input voltage varying from 30 volts to 60 volts, under constrained input power varying from 250W to 1000W, to a single-phase utility line 110/240V either 50Hz/60Hz, with efficiency of at least 90%.

 

Participation is on a proposal basis. Those schools that are interested must submit a proposal no later than April 10, 2004. Each university is limited to only one topic area. Schools with successful proposals will be notified by May 15, 2004. Student teams will then carry out the work and prepare hardware prototypes and reports. First and second progress reports are due November 1, 2004 and February 1, 2005, respectively. Final progress reports are due May 1, 2005. By May 15, 2005, the judging panel will select a group of teams as Finalists. These teams will be invited to a competition event that will begin August 15, 2005. A Final Report will be due at the competition event. Prizes totaling at least $25K are expected to be awarded in each competition.

 

 

The Request for Proposal (RFP) is linked here in PDF and Microsoft Word formats.

Resources:
·        2003 Fuel Cell Seminar – Proceedings

This page was original hosted through the courtesy of the Grainger Center for Electric Machinery and Electromechanics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.