Annual Research Conference 2017Abstract Booklet

School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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Table of contents

ARC 2017 welcomes you………………………………………………………………..

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ARC 2017 Committee .................................................................................................. 4

Sponsor’s and Guest’s Information………………………………………………………

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Presentation schedule…………………………………………………………………….

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Poster schedule…………………………………………………………………………..

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Map of The Research Beehive…………………………………………………………...

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Oral Presentation Abstracts ………………………………….......................................

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Poster Presentation Abstracts ......................................................................................... 35

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ARC 2017 welcomes you

On behalf of the School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, the ARC 2017 Committee

would like to offer a warm welcome to the 19th Annual Research conference (ARC 2017) at

Newcastle University.

In its first 13 iterations, ARC was known as Post Graduate Conference (PGC). In its early

beginning, it has been initiated as an in-house platform for students in order to practice their

communication skills and show off their research Then, it has been growing to become a well-

known platform for research networking and a bridge between academia and industrial partners,

within and beyond our University.

The School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering at Newcastle University aims to

provide a research environment in which ambitious new and original ideas can flourish and in

which every individual member of staff can be research active. The School was awarded a 5A for

research in the Research Assessment Exercise (RAE) 2001. Research has increased dramatically

since the RAE 2001 and we have exceeded our targets for the RAE 2008. In The Sunday Times

University Guide on Research Quality EEE is ranked amongst the top 5 schools in the UK. Our

research work is centred on four major research groups of international standing in

Communications, Sensors, Signal and Information Processing (ComS2IP), Electrical Power (EP),

Emerging Technologies and Materials (ETM) and Micro Systems (μSystems). The School runs an

Annual Research Conference which provides a showcase for our research students and young

research staff. This annual event is an excellent opportunity for staff and research students to come

together with industrial partners to celebrate the school’s research and collaborative links. It is a

great networking event, where attendees can meet people from other research areas, exchange

knowledge and discuss common research interests.

The conference organising committee is very pleased to welcome our industrial and

academic sponsors SIEMENS, ARUK, Wolfram, IET and IEEE and we look forward to their

participation throughout the conference three days. Contributions from our sponsors have allowed

the committee to bring more value and expertise to the conference and for that, we are very grateful.

This year will be the first ARC to have a tutorial session where three prestigious companies are

giving tutorials in different disciplines: NI, Wolfram, and COMSOL. Having such an opportunity is

one of biggest achievement of our committee where our school PGRs and researchers will make use

of the cutting-edge tools which will definitely help them in achieving their research projects and

boost their CVs.

This year’s conference will involve over 109 technical presentations describing the

University’s latest research and findings to over 160 attendees across the three days. This will cover

a vast range of research areas that are explored across every research group within the school. We

are very proud of the growing strength of researchers and their cutting edge work.

Finally, this year will have an awards ceremony of £100 given for best paper, poster and oral

presentation winner of each group and combined networking event at the Research Beehive, old

library. This will be followed by prize giving for best papers, presentations, and posters. The

networking event is aimed at encouraging cross-research-group networking as well as with the

industrial sponsors and representatives from the IET. We hope that you find the three days

interesting that you thoroughly enjoy these days of the Annual Research Conference 2017, and take

something of value and lasting memory.

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ARC 2017 Committee

Harith Al-Shwaily

Chair

Group: ComS2IP

h.al-shwaily@newcastle.ac.uk

Ruisheng Li

Vice Chair / Student Liaison

Group: EP

r.li9@newcastle.ac.uk

Ari Al-Jaf

Industrial Liaison

Group: EP

a.hassan@newcastle.ac.uk

Mohammed Al-hayanni

Media Executive

Group: Micro System

m.a.n.al-hayanni@newcastle.ac.uk

Bilal Jebur

Event Coordinator / Secretary

Group: ComS2IP

b.a.jebur@newcastle.ac.uk

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Sponsors and Guests Information

1. SIEMENS.

Siemens Energy Management Division is one of the leading global suppliers of products,

systems, solutions, and services for the economical, reliable, and intelligent transmission and

distribution of electrical power. As the trusted partner for the development and extension of

an efficient and reliable power infrastructure, Siemens offers utilities and the industry

the portfolio they need. This includes facilities and systems for the low voltage and

distribution power grid level, smart grid and energy automation solutions, power supply

for industrial plants, and high-voltage transmission systems.

More information available at: http://www.siemens.com/energy-management

2. WOLFRAM.

For three decades, Mathematica has defined the state of the art in technical computing and

provided the principal computation environment for millions of innovators, educators,

students, and others around the world. Widely admired for both its technical prowess and

elegant ease of use, Mathematica provides a single integrated, continually expanding system

that covers the breadth and depth of technical computing and with Mathematica Online, it is

now seamlessly available in the cloud through any web browser, as well as natively on all

modern desktop systems. More information available at: https://www.wolframalpha.com/

3. ARUK.

A leading supplier of Test & Measurement solutions since 1990, ARUK offers a comprehensive

range of products including ZES ZIMMER Power Analysers, ITECH Power Supplies, Teledyne

LeCroy Digital Storage Oscilloscopes and Associated Research Electrical Safety Tester. Based in

Milton Keynes, ARUL provides after sales support for the complete product portfolio.

More information available at: http://www.arukltd.co.uk/

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4. IET.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is Europe’s leading publisher of world-class

engineering & technology content. We publish 32 research and letters journals; hundreds of

conference proceedings; over 450 eBooks; Inspec, the world’s leading database for physics and

engineering, and IET.tv, a vast online archive of video content.

More information available at: http://www.theiet.org/

5. Dr Themis Prodromakis

Themis is a Reader in Nanoelectronics and EPSRC Fellow affiliated with the

Nano Research Group and the Southampton Nanofabrication Centre of ECS

at University of Southampton. He is also a Honorary Research Fellow within

Imperial College London. He previously held a Corrigan Fellowship in

Nanoscale Technology and Science, funded by the Corrigan Foundation and

LSI Inc., within the Centre for Bio-inspired Technology at Imperial College

and a Lindemann Trust Visiting Fellowship in EECS UC Berkeley. Dr Prodromakis is a Senior

Member of the IEEE, and a Member of the INE and the IET, and also serves as member of the

BioCAS, Nanoelectronics and Gigascale Systems and the Sensory Systems Technical Committees of

the IEEE Circuits & Systems Society. He is also a member of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council,

representing the CAS society, and Associate Editor for Nature's Scientific Reports, IEEE Sensors and

the Frontiers in Neuromorphic Engineering. Dr Prodromakis is also the Director of the Lloyds

Register Foundation International Consortium for Nanotechnology, a global initiative for building a

safer world with nanotechnologies. His contributions on electron devices were recognised by his

appointment as a member of the Semiconductor Research Corporation (SRC) Emerging Research

Devices working group that produces the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors

(ITRS). In 2015, Dr Prodromakis established ArC Instruments Ltd, a start-up that delivers high-

performance testing infrastructure for automating characterisation of novel nanodevices. His

background is in Electron Devices and nanofabrication techniques, with his research being focused

on bio-inspired devices for advanced computing architectures and biomedical applications.

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TIME ARC 2017 Presentations Schedule – Day One, Research Beehive 25th

January 2017

08:30 - 09:00 Registration – Ground floor reception, Research Beehive.

09:00 - 09:15 Opening Plenary –Room 2.21 &2.22.

09:15- 09:35 Keynote Presentation - Room 2.21 & 2.22.

09:35 - 10:15 Coffee Break

SESSION I COMS2IP Presentation

Room 2.21

EP Presentation

Room 2.22

10:20 - 10:35 10:35 - 10:50 10:50 - 11:05 11:05 - 11:20 11:20 - 11:35

Chair: Charalampos Tsimenidis Assessor: Said Boussakta

PGR Yachao Ran PGR Yang Sun PGR Chaoqing Tang PGR Jiachen Yin PGR Israa Al-Shaikhli

10:20 - 10:35 10:35 - 10:50 10:50 - 11:05 11:05 - 11:20 11:20 - 11:35

Chair: Glynn Atkinson Assessor: Mohammed Elgendy

PGR Fangbo Liu PGR Xiang Li PGR He Liu PGR Yang Lu PGR Andrew Jenkins

11:35-12:50 Lunch Break

COMS2IP, µSystem and ETM Poster Session. Room 2.20.

SESSION II COMS2IP talks-Room 2.21 EP talks -Room 2.22

12:50 - 13:05 13:05 - 13:20 13:20 - 13:35 13:35 - 13:50 13:50 - 14:05 14:05- 14:20

Chair: Said Boussakta Assessor: Martin Johnston

PGR Yulong Chen PGR Zeyu Fu PGR Ali Munthr Alameer PGR Mahmoud Alageli PGR Huan Cao PGR Bilal Jebur

12:50 - 13:05 13:05 - 13:20 13:20 - 13:35 13:35 - 13:50 13:50 - 14:05 14:05- 14:20

Chair: Volker Pickert Assessor: Petros Missailidis

PGR Weichi Zhang PGR Chenming Zheng PGR Yaohui Gai PGR Huaxia Zhan PGR Yerasimos Yerasimou

- - - - - - - - - - - -

14:20 - 14:40 Tea Break

SESSION III COMS2IP talks -Room 2.21 µSystem talks -Room

2.22

14:40 - 14:55 14:55 - 15:10 15:10 - 15:25 15:25 - 15:40 15:40 - 15:55 15:55 - 16:10 16:10 – 16:25

Chair: Mohsen Naqvi Assessor: Jonathon Chambers

PGR Sinan Alkassar PGR Fahad Alsifiany PGR Ruslee Suthaweekul PGR Mohammed Dahri Buhari PGR Saadoon Al-Sumaidaee PGR Xiaotian Chen PGR Hayfaa Hussein

14:40 - 14:55 14:55 - 15:10 15:10 - 15:25 15:25 - 15:40 15:40 - 15:55 15:55 - 16:10 16:10 - 16:25

Chair: Graeme Chester Assessor: Alex Bystrov

PGR Lijuan Xia PGR Konstantinos Goustos PGR Mohammed Al-Hayanni PGR Kaiyuan Gao PGR Yuqing Xu PGR Issa Qiqieh PGR Mohammed Al-Daloo

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TIME ARC 2017 Presentations Schedule – Day Two, Research Beehive 26th January 2017

SESSION IV ETM talks -Room 2.21 EP talks -Room 2.22

09:00 - 09:15 09:15 - 09:30 09:30 - 09:45 09:45 - 10:00

Chair: Jonathan Goss Assessor: Noel Healy

PGR Johannes Gausden PGR Hind Alsnani PGR Luke Bradley PGR Faiz Bin Arith

09:00 - 09:15 09:15 - 09:30 09:30 - 09:45 09:45 - 10:00

Chair: Dave Atkinson Assessor: Simon Lambert

PGR Ari Akbar Al-Jaf

PGR Hamza Khalfalla PGR Ilias Saratakos PGR Stalin Eloy Munoz Vaca

10:00 - 10:20 Coffee Break

SESSION V COMS2IP talks -Room 2.21 EP talks -Room 2.22

10:20 - 10:35 10:35 - 10:50 10:50 - 11:05 11:05 - 11:20 11:20 - 11:35 11:35 - 11:50

Chair: Martin Johnston

Assessor: Gui Yun Tian

PGR Wael Abd Al Alaziz PGR Aobo Zhao PGR Zaid Abdullah PGR Jafaar Al-Khasaraji PGR Safaa Nash At-Awny

PGR Jamal Hussain

10:20 - 10:35 10:35 - 10:50 10:50 - 11:05 11:05 - 11:20 11:20 - 11:35 11:35 - 11:50

Chair: Nick Baker Assessor: Mohammed Dahidah

PGR Jamie Lamb PGR Mohamed Mohamed PGR Mohammad Raihan PGR Ruisheng Li PGR David Mecrow PGR Ehsan Dehghan-Azad

11:50-13:15

Lunch Break

EP Poster Session. Room 2.20.

A talk given by Dr Themis Prodromakis. Room 2.21.

SESSION VI COMS2IP talks -Room 2.21 ETM talks -Room 2.22

13:15 - 13:30 13:30 - 13:45 13:45 - 14:00 14:00 - 14:15 14:15 - 14:30

Chair: Mohsen Naqvi Assessor: Charalampos Tsimenidis

PGR Sameer Alsudany PGR Lindsay Smith PGR Ahmad Abdulfattah PGR Denis Ona

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

13:15 - 13:30 13:30 - 13:45 13:45 - 14:00 14:00 - 14:15 14:15 - 14:30

Chair: Mark Rayson Assessor: Patrick Briddon

PGR Nurul Mohamed PGR Tiago Marinheiro

PGR Sherko Ghaderi PGR Muhammed Idris

PGR Fatimah Bahrani

14:30 - 14:50 Tea Break

SESSION VII µSystem talks -Room 2.21

14:50 - 15:05 15:05 - 15:20 15:20 - 15:35 15:35 - 15:50 15:50 - 16:05 16:05 - 16:20

Chair: Patrick Degenaar Assessor: Fei Xia

PGR Vladimir Dubhikhin PGR Ali Majeed Aalsaud

PGR Mohamed Abulgalgha PGR Dave Burke PGR Jonathan Beaumont PGR Alessaxundro De-Gennaro

16:20 – 16:50 Drink Reception

16:50 – 17:40 Closing Plenary. Room 2.21 and 2.22.

Presentation Ceremony - Dr Glynn Atkinson, EEE Postgraduate Research Director

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TIME ARC 2017 Presentations Schedule – Day Three, Research Beehive

27th January 2017

SESSION I First Tutorial -Room 2.21

09:00 – 11:30

LabVIEW Tutorial

SESSION 2 Second Tutorial -Room 2.21

11:30 – 13:00 Mathematica Tutorial

SESSION 2 Third Tutorial -Room 2.21

14:00 – 17:00

COMSOL Tutorial

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ARC 2017 Poster Presentations Schedule – Day One, Research Beehive 25th January 2017 (09:00 – 17:00)

Board No. Group: ComS²IP 1 Adi Mahmud Jaya Marindra

2 Ana Carolina Pinto Da Silveira

3 Federico Angelini

4 Haicang Li

5 Monika Roopak

6 Scott Stainton

7 Yang Xian

Group: ETM

8 Amy Peters

9 Hector Galvan Brugal

10 James Beattie

11 Ryan James Siddall

12 Yu Tang

Group: uSystems

13 Adrian Reece Wheeldon

14 Banafsaj Jaafar

15 Danhui Li

16 Serhil Mileiko

17 Sidharth Maheshwari

18 Thanasin Bunnam

Group: Electrical Power

19 Ahmed Almoraya

20 Cuili Chen

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ARC 2017 Poster Presentations Schedule – Day Two, Research Beehive 26th January 2017 (09:00 – 17:00) Board No. Group: Electrical Power

1 Bassey Nyong-Bassey

2 Bethany Hoare

3 Chaudhry Jibran Javaid

4 Dan Wood

5 Gashtil Hamidreza

6 George Gkiza

7 Iago Martinez Ocano

8 Jin Xu

9 Jonathan Thompson

10 Li Lei

11 Luke Burl

12 Mark Turner

13 Najib Kabir Dankadai

14 Nasiru Aliyu

15 Nicola Chiodetta

16 Nikolas Spiliopoulos

17 Timothy D. Scott

18 Van-Binh Vu

19 Yarah Jamil Khawaja

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Maps of the Research Beehive

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Abstracts

Communications, Sensors, Signal & Information Processing

(ComS2IP) Research Group Presentations

Physical layer authentication scheme in WSN/IoT systems

Yachao Ran, Guiyun Tian and Martin Johnston

Conventional techniques of authentication involving cryptography and key management which are consuming for

computation and power resources applying to wireless devices. Physical layer authentication methods provide a

lightweight solution by utilizing physical layer. The paper investigates and analyses a design framework for

authentication at physical layer where authentication information is transmitted with data, using channel estimates and

one-way function. The efficiency of the scheme is tested through simulations for aspects of stealth and robustness. The

trade-offs in security, robustness and covertness is discussed.

Underdetermined Source Separation Using Time Frequency Masks and an Adaptive Combined Gaussian –

Student’s Probabilistic Model.

Yang Sun Waqas Rafique, Jonathon Chambers and Mohsen Naqvi

Time-frequency (T-F) masking algorithms are focused at separating multiple sound sources from binaural reverberant

speech mixtures. The statistical modelling of binaural cues i.e. interaural phase difference (IPD) and interaural level

difference (ILD) is a significant aspect of such algorithms. In this paper, a Gaussian-Student’s t distribution combined

mixture model is exploited for robust binaural speech separation. The weights of the distribution components are

calculated adaptively with the energy of the speech mixtures. The expectation maximization (EM) algorithm is applied

to calculate the parameters of the distributions. The speech signals from the TIMIT database are convolved with the real

binaural room impulse responses (BRIRs) from two datasets for the evaluation of the proposed method. The objective

performance measure signal to distortion ratio (SDR) confirms the improvement and robustness of the proposed

method.

Smart Compressed Sensing for On-line Evaluation of CFRP Structure Integrity

Chaoqing Tang , Gui Yun Tian, Said Boussakta and Martin Johnston

A compressed sensing (CS)-based algorithm framework is proposed enabling intelligent of open-ended waveguide

imaging system. Compared to traditional raster scan designs which require complete sampling, this smart compressed

sensing technique can generate whole damages pattern while the scanning is conducting, the sensor intelligence is

achieved by the proposed algorithm framework rather than seeking hardware update. The CS enables accumulated

down sampling and sparse recovery based on the spatial sparse and frequency sparse of impact damages on CFRP

structures. The damage edge/location in the reconstructed image can be detected using the proposed histogram

threshold edge detection (HTED) algorithm when the image is stabled enough. Edge-preserving smooth is used to

improve the stability of the reconstructed image. The experimental results illustrate time efficiency and more accurate

damage localization than other state-of-the art algorithm frameworks. The proposed smart compressed sensing

technique is attractive in quality control of CFRPs production.

Low cost Dual Polarised GPS antenna for effective signal acquisition in Multipath Environment

Jiachen Yin and Rajesh Tiwari

Recently, there has been increasing demands of precise positioning particularly in signal fading environment which is a

challenge for the autonomous and semi-autonomous vehicle. GPS signal is a right hand circularly polarisation (RHCP),

in very dense multipath environment, the polarisation may change to left hand circularly polarisation (LHCP). The GPS

receiver uses RHCP antenna. In vehicular communication, urban environment is a very good source of multipath which

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can lead GPS lose lock. In this paper, we design a low-cost dual polarisation patch antenna for a software-based GPS

receiver, which helps in acquiring LHCP signal

XG-FAST: Evolving the Copper Access

Israa Ali, Charalampos Tsimenidis and Martin Johnston

Recently, the fourth generation broadband technology (4GBB), abbreviated as G.fast, demon- strated data rate up to 1

Gbps over length loop up to 250 meters. XG-FAST dubbed fifth generation broadband technology is currently finalised

by ITU to succeed G.fast. This tech- nology aims to increase bit rate to 10 Gbps over shorten copper length loop up to

70 meters. This PhD project will focus on the concept of XG-FAST technology by utilising bonding and phantom

transmission modes over short loop lengths up to 30 meters and multiple copper twisted-pair cables. XG-FAST uses an

increased frequency range, up to 500 MHz with DMT modulation and concatenated Reed-Solomon (RS)code and four

dimensional trellis coded modulation(4-D TCM) for forward error correction with an interleaver in between. it is worth

noting that Soft-decision decoding of the TCM coding scheme is accomplished by using the Viterbi algorithm that its

output is represented the most likely transmitted sequence, which is the one at minimum Euclidean distance from the

received sequence.

Low Complexity Hybrid Precoding in Finite Dimensional Channel for Massive MIMO Systems

Yulong Chen, Said Boussakta, Charalampos Tsimenidis and Jonathon Chambers

Massive multiple input multiple output (MIMO) is an emerging technology for future wireless networks, scaling

up conventional MIMO to an unprecedented number of antennas at base stations. The large antenna array makes the

system achieve high channel capacity and spectral efficiency, but it also leads to the high cost of the hardware

complexity. In this paper, we consider a finite dimensional channel model in which finite distinct directions are applied

with M angular bins. In massive multi-user MIMO systems, a hybrid precoding method is proposed to reduce the

required number of radio frequency (RF) chains at the base station, employing single antenna per mobile station. The

proposed precoder is partitioned into a high-dimensional RF precoder and a low-dimensional baseband precoder. The

RF precoder is designed to obtain the power gain with phase-only control and the baseband precoder is designed to

facilitate multi-stream processing. For realistic scenarios, we consider the situation where the RF phase control is

quantized up to B bits of precision. Furthermore, an upper bound on spectral efficiency is derived with the proposed

precoding scheme. The simulation results show that hybrid precoding achieves desirable performance in terms of

spectral efficiency, which approaches the performance of zero-forcing precoding.

Robust Particle PHD Filter with Sparse Representation for Multi-Target Tracking

Zeyu Fu , Pengming Feng, Mohsen Naqvi and Jonathon Chambers

Recently, sparse representation has been widely used in computer vision and visual tracking applications, including face

recognition and object tracking. In this paper, we propose a novel robust multi-target tracking method by applying

sparse representation in a particle probability hypothesis density (PHD) filter framework. We employ the dictionary

learning method and principle component analysis (PCA) to train a static appearance model offline with sufficient

training data. This pre-trained dictionary contains both colour histogram and oriented gradient histogram (HOG)

features based on foreground target appearances. The tracker combines the pre-trained dictionary and sparse coding to

discriminate the tracked target from background clutter. The sparse coefficients solved by l1-minimization are

employed to generate the likelihood function values, which are further applied in the update step of the proposed

particle PHD filter. The proposed particle PHD filter is validated on two video sequences from publicly available

CAVIAR and PETS2009 datasets, and demonstrates improved tracking performance in comparison with the traditional

particle PHD filter.

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The Contribution of Peripheral and Central Vision on Cortex-like Models’ for Object Recognition

Ali Munthr Alameer, Kianoush Nazarpour and Patrick Degenaar

The human capability for recognition in a physical environment is still significantly better than any computer-based

model. It is believed that one reason for this, is that human utilises dierent visual fields for recognition depending on the

recognition task. Experiments on human subjects, done in [1], have shown that peripheral vision is more important than

central vision to achieve maximum performance in recognising a scene. In this paper, we present our visual cortex

model (En-HMAX) alongside with the HMAX model to replicate the experiments of [1]. We have created similar

experimental conditions using both “window” and “scotoma” conditions for object and scene datasets. Our experiments

show that the En-HMAX model achieves a maximum accuracy of 99% using only the peripheral vision (up to 7 visual

angle) for scene recognition. However, the experimental results have shown more sensitivity toward the information in

the centre when an object dataset has been used for recognition. Furthermore, the experiment on retinal images predicts

that central information is more ecient across all recognition tasks using same image area (in pixel), this is consistent

with the results in [1] . The inferred dierences in the relative important areas in cortex-like models had led us to train

and test only these regions of the input images. The results suggest that 50% of the visual field (relative data) is enough

to achieve a maximum accuracy of 95% to classify unseen images. This suggests that bio-inspired models, such as the

En-HMAX distribute a relative order of importance depending on the type of the processed data.

Relay Selection for Asynchronous AF Relay Networks with Frequency Selective Channels

Mahmoud Alageli , Aissa Ikhlef and Jonathon Chambers

In this paper, relay selection schemes in asynchronous multi-relay network for frequency selective channels have been

investigated. In particular, distributed Alamouti space time coding and amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying are

exploited, and orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) is implemented with adaptive cyclic prefix (CP) to

deal with the frequency selectivity of the channels and timing errors. Several optimal and suboptimal relay selection and

joint relay-subcarrier selection schemes have been proposed based on two selection criteria. The first selection criterion

uses the end-to-end signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the second one uses the effective capacity which is a function of

both the end-to-end SNR and the CP length. Simulation results reveal that the optimal relay selection based on effective

capacity performs better in terms of network outage probability compared to the selection based on the SNR alone.

Also, it is shown that the more severe the frequency selectivity of the channels the larger the gain.

Performance of Polar codes on additive impullsive Noise Channels

Huan Cao and Martin Johnston

As an emerging class of error correction codes, polar codes are the first proven capacity-achieving codes for any

symmetric binary input discrete memoryless channels (BDMCs). They have a very low encoder and decoder

complexity and are now considered as an error-correcting code in wireless standards such as 5G. In most

communication systems, the noise at the channel is usually assumed to be Gaussian. However, this assumption is not

always valid if the signal is affected by impulsive noise. The aim of this paper is to evaluate the bit error rate

performance of polar codes with successive cancellation decoding on impulsive channels.

Performance Analysis of an AF Full-Duplex Physical-Layer Network Coding System

Bilal Jebur , Charalampos Tsimenidis, Martin Johnston and Jonathon Chambers

In this paper, we present a two-way relay channel (TWRC) network that utilizes a full-duplex physical layer network

coding (FD-PLNC) scheme in conjunction with amplify-and-forward (AF) relaying and orthogonal frequency-division

multiplexing (OFDM). In order to cope with the self-interference (SI) induced by the FD mode of operation, a self-

interference cancellation (SIC) scheme is utilized at each node in the proposed system. The performance of the

proposed system is thoroughly investigated in the presence of residual SI by deriving a closed-form expression for the

distribution of the tight upper bound end-to-end (E2E) signal to interference and noise ratio (SINR). Furthermore, an

exact closed-form expression for the tight upper bound ergodic capacity is derived and used to evaluate the E2E upper

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bound ergodic capacity of the proposed AF-FD-PLNC system. The obtained results demonstrate the ergodic capacity

gain of the proposed AF-FD-PLNC over the ergodic capacity of traditional AF half-duplex (HD) PLNC systems. In

particular, the proposed AF-FD-PLNC can increase the ergodic capacity of AF-HD-PLNC by a factor of 2 when the

SNR is higher than 25 dB and the SI to noise ratio is less than 0 dB.

Efficient Eye Corner and Gaze Detection for Sclera Recognition Under Relaxed Imaging Constraints

Sinan Alkassar, Lok Woo, Satnam Dlay and Jonathon Chambers

Sclera recognition has provoked research interest recently due to the distinctive properties of its blood vessels.

However, segmenting noisy sclera areas in eye images under relaxed imaging constraints, such as different gaze

directions, capturing on-the-move and at-a-distance, has not been extensively investigated. In our previous work, we

proposed a novel method for sclera segmentation under unconstrained image conditions with a drawback being that the

eye gaze direction is manually labeled for each image. Therefore, we propose a robust method for automatic eye corner

and gaze detection. The proposed method involves two levels of eye corners verification to minimize eye corner point

misclassification when noisy eye images are introduced. Moreover, gaze direction estimation is achieved through the

pixel properties of the sclera area. Experimental results in on-the-move and at-a-distance contexts with multiple eye

gaze directions using the UBIRIS.v2 database show a significant improvement in terms of accuracy and gaze detection

rates.

Exploiting Differential Modulation in Multiuser-MIMO Systems with Downlink Precoding

Fahad Alsifiany , Aissa Ikhlefy and Jonathon Chambers

In this paper, we consider a space time block coded multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) system with

downlink precoding. In particular, we propose to use downlink precoding combined with differential modulation (DM)

to shift the complexity from the receivers to the transmitter. As a space time block code, we use the Alamouti code

which can be encoded/decoded using DM thereby eliminating the need for channel knowledge at the receiver. The

block diagonalization (BD) precoding method is used to cancel the co-channel interference (CCI) in addition to its

advantage of enhancing diversity and improving the bit error rate (BER). The proposed scheme allows reduction in the

receiver complexity as well as enhancing the performance of the system. Monte Carlo simulation results demonstrate

the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Influence of Lift-off on Microwave Open-ended Waveguide Time of Flight Based Tire Inspection

Ruslee Sutthaweekul , Guiyun Tian and Mohammed Buhari

The comfort and safety of driving vehicles largely depends on state of the tires. However, inspecting defects within tires

is a challenging task. Numerous inspection methods have been proposed such as X-ray, impact-acoustic and machine

vision. X-ray is a mature method providing high-resolution images of tire structure but it is costly and requires safety

precaution. Impact- acoustic requires impactor and cannot tolerate noisy environments; machine vision is

computationally slow and can only obtain information of the tire surface. In this paper, we propose the use of

Microwave inspection using open-ended waveguide probe that is fast, low cost and can penetrate to reveal the internal

structure of the tire. This is achieved using Time of Flight (ToF) to extract the tire features for the reconstruction.

Cumulative side lobe level is used to determine the optimum lift- off scanning range which is used for the tire scanning.

Experimental results show that the technique can image the surface and reveal the internal structure of the tire.

SAR Multiple Targets Reconstruction using MUSIC-LSE Algorithm

Mohammed Dahri Buhari, Ruslee Sutthaweekul and Guiyun Tian

In Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image reconstruction, the quality of the image depends on the range and cross range

resolution to resolve multiple target positions. If the distance between the targets is less than both SAR resolutions, the

radar imaged them as one single target. To overcome this challenge, Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing

(OFDM)

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SAR has been proposed to improve the image resolution. However, the image quality degrades in lower boundary

conditions. In this paper, we propose the use of Multiple Signal Classification (MUSIC) algorithm to estimate the signal

Direction of Arrival (DoA) and Least Square Estimation (LSE) algorithm to estimate the phase history. The Cross-range

Profile Reconstruction (CPR) is reconstructed using the phase history and combined with Range Profile Reconstruction

(RPR) to form the image. Simulation results show that the proposed MUSIC-LSE SAR approach gives a higher image

resolution compared to the LSESAR imaging. The approach also shows that by estimating the signal DoA and then

apply LSE, the radar can separate the targets even at distances below the range and cross-range resolution without

necessarily increasing the bandwidth.

Recognizing The Facial Expressions using The Histogram Features of The LGGC-HD Descriptor and SVM

Classifier

Saadoon Al-Sumaidaee

We propose a new method for the facial expression recognition by constructing a new layer structure that compound

from the local gradient features based on the Gabor’s coefficients. Hence, we combine the Local Gradient Code-

Horizontal Diagonal (LGC-HD) descriptor with set of the Kernel Gabor Filters (KGFs). Firstly, we extract the Gabor

Features Map (GFM) by convolving each image with five scales and eight orientations of the KGFs. Then, we apply the

LGC-HD descriptor on the output of each image in the GFM to obtain the new Local Gabor Gradient Code-Horizontal

Diagonal descriptor (LGGC-HD). Consequently, a sequence of the histogram features of the LGGC-HD descriptor is

calculated from the 42 blocks of each image in the GFM. In terms of high feature dimensionality, we applied principal

component analysis as a reduction techniques. We then classified each expression based on the histogram features of

the LGGC-HD descriptor using two well-known machine learning methods, template matching and support vector

machine. The experimental results on the JAFEE database demonstrated the efficiency of the proposed method

compared to different methods in the state-of-the-art.

Active 3D Surface Temperature Mapping for Eddy Current Pulsed Thermography

Xiaotian Chen and Guiyun Tian

Eddy Current Pulsed Thermography is a Non-Destructive Testing and Evaluation technique which provides accurate,

quick and non-contact method for detection and identification of defects. Previous ECPT system heat the testing object

and use thermal camera to capture the transient state of the object for defect detection. However, thermal imaging

system is blurred and lack the information of geometry and depth. Furthermore, camera at different viewing angle will

have different imaging result due to optical projection as well as directional emissivity. To solve the problem, this paper

propose to use RGB-D camera to capture 3D point cloud. The 3D point cloud and thermal image is used to regenerate

3D thermal surface. A new registration method is proposed to establish reliable projection matrix. The fusion result has

shown that 3D active thermography gives a more accurate and better presentation of thermal distribution.

Study of Sparsity-Based Facial Expression Recognition on a Spontaneous Database

Hayfaa Hussein , Jonathon Chambers and Mohsen Naqvi

The target of facial expression recognition is to analyse a specific image or a set of video frames to detect an

individual’s emotion, thereby producing more natural and smarter interaction between human beings and computers. In

this paper, we investigate the identity-independent expression recognition problem. Our experimental results using a

Sparse Representation Classifier (SRC) together with Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Fisher Linear

Discriminant Analysis (FLDA) methods on two types of databases namely the posed database CK+ and the spontaneous

database VDMFP, yield two main findings: results with the spontaneous database are worse than with the posed

database in terms of average accuracy. Training on difference images rather than the original images yields better

accuracy both with the posed and spontaneous databases.

19

Non-Binary Turbo Codes on Additive Impulsive Noise Channels

Wael Abd Al Alaziz, Martin Johnston and Stephane Y. Le Goff

It is well known that binary error-correcting codes with iterative decoders can achieve near Shannon-limit performance

on the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) channel, but their performance on more realistic wireless channels can

become degraded due to the presence of burst errors or impulsive noise due to interference. A better performing coding

scheme is the class of non-binary codes, which are known to be more effective in correcting burst errors, but there is no

research reported in the literature investigating non-binary codes on impulsive noise channels. In this paper, we

investigate the performance of no binary turbo codes defined in finite fields on symmetric alpha stable impulsive noise

channels and compare with comparable binary turbo codes employing a Cauchy receiver to mitigate the effects of the

channel. Our simulation results show that the no binary turbo code slightly better than the binary turbo code on the

AWGN channel, but significantly outperforms the binary turbo code as impulsiveness increases.

UHF RFID Tag Antenna Based Sensors for Corrosion Characterization with Miniaturization for Resolution

Enhancement

Aobo Zhao and Guiyun Tian

Two Ultra-High Frequency (UHF) Radio-Frequency Identification (RFID) tag antenna based sensor designs for steel

corrosion sensing and miniaturization for robustness improvement are proposed in this paper. In early corrosion process

of steel, the corrosion layer thickness increases. To characterize corrosion, the new antenna adopts the structure of patch

antenna with a meander line feed. Based on the microstrip line theory, the impedance of meander line feed changes as

the corrosion layer thickness increases. The impedance changes of meander line feed results in mismatch between tag

antenna and tag IC so that this change can be captured with characteristics change of the tag antenna. To increase the

spatial resolution, 3D antenna via folding has been redesigned from the non-folded antenna to reduce the antenna size.

Experimental studies with ThingMagic development kit on dedicated corrosion samples have been undertaken to

validate the antenna designs. Resonance frequency features of developed antenna are studied for corrosion

characterization. Folded antenna shows enhanced robustness while non-folded antenna has better thickness sensitivity

with averaged effect. The experimental study has validated the different antennas for RFID-based corrosion

characterization.

Tabu Search vs. Bio-inspired Algorithms for Antenna Selection in Spatially Correlated Massive MIMO Uplink

Channels

Zaid Abdullah, Charalampos Tsimenidis and Martin Johnston

Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) systems can significantly improve the system performance and

capacity by using a large number of antenna elements at the base station (BS). To reduce the system complexity and

hardware cost, low complexity antenna selection techniques can be used to choose the best antenna subset while

keeping the system performance at a certain required level. In this paper, Tabu Search (TS) and three bio-inspired

optimization algorithms were used for antenna selection in Massive MIMO systems. The three bio-inspired algorithms

were: Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO), Genetic Algorithm (GA), and Artificial Bee Colony (ABC). Simulations

showed promising results for the TS by achieving higher capacity with GA than PSO and ABC, and much shorter CPU

time than any of the bio-inspired techniques.

Channel Modelling For Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Based On Monte-Carlo Simulation

Jafaar Al-Khasaraji and Charalampos Tsimenidis

Channel Modelling For Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Based On Monte-Carlo Simulation. This paper

considers the point-to-point configuration links for underwater optical wireless communication (UWOC). The

commonly used Monte Carlo method is employed to build the impulse response of UWOC channels for three aqueous

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environments. We then existing a double Gamma functions (DGF) model to characterize under water optical impulse

response. Simulation results have shown that the DGF model agrees with the Monte Carlo simulations for various FOV

and water types.

BER Computation of Hierarchical Modulation with OFDM-PLNC in Fading Environments

Safaa Nash At-Awny and Charalampos Tsimenidis

In this paper, we investigate the performance of hierarchical modulation (HM) that utilizes a half-duplex physical layer

network coding (HD-PLNC) scheme with two-way relay network (TWRN) and denoise and forward (DNF) operations

over Rayleigh Fading channel. The proposed scheme is based on analyzing the average bit error rate (BER) expression

of the 4/16-QAM HM of the information exchanged between the two end nodes, A and B, with the aid of a relay. The

main concept is to merge two different streams at the modulation level, the High Priority (HP) stream and the Low

Priority (LP) stream, which select the quadrant and the position inside the quadrant, respectively. Furthermore, a half-

duplex physical layer network coding (HD-PLNC) scheme and orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM)

system are used to remedy the two-way relay network (TWRN), which is helping the two end nodes to communicate.

This scheme improves the system throughput by deriving the bit error rate performance (BER) expressions of the 4/16-

QAM constellations over Rayleigh fading channel and describing the point-to-point performance. In this

correspondence, particular numerical results show that the BER expressions and the simulation results are closest

matches over Rayleigh fading environments depending on the constellation size M.

Exact Outage Performance of the SIMO Cognitive Cooperative Network in the Presence of Co-Channel

Interference

Jamal Hussein

The nature of cognitive radio is based on the coexistence of secondary users in the area of primary users. Co-channel

interference (CCI), therefore, is a vulnerable phenomenon in such a system. Motivated by this, a more practical scenario

has been considered for studying the performance of the single-input-multiple-output (SIMO) underlay cognitive

cooperative network. In this investigation, the primary transceiver is considered as well as the impact of the CCI on the

secondary network. For this practical scenario, the equivalent signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) of the

secondary system is obtained by employing the selection combining (SC) technique at the receiver side. Then, the

cumulative distribution function (CDF) of the equivalent SINR is derived. Using the derived CDF, exact outage

probability for the secondary network is assessed. From the results, it can be deduced that using a multi-antenna scheme

and applying the SC technique has the advantage of improving the system performance. Moreover, besides the impact

of the interference power constraint, the presence of the primary transmitter and the CCI will severely reduce the system

performance, especially when the CCI linearly increases with the secondary transmit powers. Finally, numerical results

and Monte Carlo simulations have also been provided to support the correctness of the analytical derivations.

A Novel Algorithm to Compress IPV6 Header using Context-Based Scheme for 6LoWPAN Networks

Sameer Alsudany Said Boussakta and Martin Johnston

Internet Wireless embedded devices are a subset of the Internet of Things. The connections between wireless sensor

networks (WSNs) and the Internet is challenging due to the large differences in the capabilities

of the two technologies. One of the most important challenges is the difference in the Maximum Transmission Unit

(MTU). The frame length of the medium access layer of the WSN is not large enough to embrace the IPV6 header

efficiently. Therefore the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) has developed the encoding format LoWPAN_IPHC

to map and compress the multi-byte IPV6 header to 4-bits CID (context identifier). The CID can map only 15 prefixes,

which is far too few for practical needs. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel algorithm to manage the context system

by using an adaptable scheme with two modes. One mode conforms to the requirements of the standard scheme. The

other mode uses 8-bits CID to map and compress up to 255 Internet prefixes. The system adapts its operation according

to the most energy saving mode. The scheme implements four processes (mapping, updating, synchronization, and

adaptation) to manage the context system. Simulation results prove the performance of the proposed algorithm which

outperforms the standard scheme that uses only 4-bits CID.

21

Acoustic Emission Methods to Localise Partial Discharge Events in Subsea Umbilicals

Lindsay Smith and Jiff Neasham

Failures in Umbilicals caused by insulation breakdown from partial discharge (PD) in MV cables can lead to excessive

down time and costs. Ideally these discharges would be detected & located before complete breakdown occurred. This

paper discusses acoustic emission sensing methods used to detect PD events along with time difference of arrival

(TDOA) and time delay estimation (TDE) algorithms to establish the fault location. Analysis is shown on the two main

propagation paths for the emission from the PD signal. The first being the propagation through the cable itself and the

second being the propagation out of the umbilical and through the surrounding water. The analysis is performed on

results taken from trials carried out on cable samples containing 'man made' faults which are subjected to HVAC to

create PD events.

Subthreshold-based m-sequence code generator for ultra low-power body sensor nodes

Ahmad Abdulfattah, Charalampos Tsimenidis and Alex Yakovlev

Power dissipation is one of the challenges of body sensor nodes (BSNs) transceivers in which ultra-low power

consumption is essential for the sensor QoS. In this paper, m-sequence code generator designs for different code lengths

are presented and analyzed to demonstrate their efficiency within the region of sub-threshold voltage. The proposed m-

sequence generators are investigated at a transistor level and their quality and reliability are verified using the auto-

correlation and eye diagram characterizations. The maximum switching frequency is obtained at different supply

voltages and the power consumption is measured at the maximum achieved frequencies. Simulation and results reveal

the capability of our design schemes to work efficiently within the region of sub-threshold voltage.

Improving detectability of Pulsed Eddy Current Sensor for Pipeline Integrity Inspection

Denis Ona and Gui Tian

Detection sensitivity of PEC largely depends on crack length orientation with respect to eddy current (EC) flow

direction in test specimen. In traditional EC testing the induced eddy currents flow mainly through a single direction in

the tested specimen. In pipeline, axial, circumferential and angular cracks are common and one specific orientation of

EC flow will not detect all of the cracks. This paper investigates the use of printed circuit board (PCB) PEC sensors

with different orientations and configurations for detection of cracks at different orientations. A rectangular steel slab

with fabricated cracks is scanned using PCB based PEC sensors with two different coil configurations at various scan

orientations. Results show that for angular positioning of the sensor (45 degrees), the lowest point determined the crack

position however for perpendicular position the highest range determined the crack position. This shows that the sensor

orientation has influence on the crack detection sensitivity

Electrical Power (EP) Research Group Presentations

A Triple Three-phase Fault Tolerant Induction Machine

Fangbo Liu and Barrie Mecrow

A tipple three-phase induction machine rewound from a conventional three-phase induction machine has been proposed

and invested for safety critical applications. In order to achieve the optimized fault-tolerant capability, three sets of the

three-phase winding is adopted and to make that there is no overlapping between each two parts the segregated winding

configuration is devised here. Each set of the three-phase segment is supplied by a conventional three-phase inverter.

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With the “off-the-shelf” inverter, the cost reduced and integration speed increased. The performance of the triple three-

phase induction under one segment failure and two segments failure has been simulated by the FEA software, according

to those results some other parameters is calculated . The results show that the triple three-phase induction machine

exhibits high performance and good capability of the fault tolerant.

Signal injection Method for SiC MOSFET Health Monitoring

Xiang Lu

Comparative works have been done in regarding the TSEPs (Temperature Sensitive Electrical Parameters) of both Si

devices including MOSFET and IGBT and SiC MOSFET. The results show that traditional TSEPs which work well for

the Si devices are not quite suitable for the SiC MOSET. This is mainly because the sensitivity of the TSEP of SiC

MOSFET is too small to be detected in practical experiment and the shift of the TSEP is not sufficient enough to tell the

temperature change. Another difficulty is the dynamic response of the SiC MOSFET is also hard to be observed due to

the ultra-fast switching frequency while the device is more vulnerable and sensitive to the parasitic components than the

Si devices. In this letter, a new method has been proposed to use signal injection to detect the degradation of the bond

wire of SiC MOSFET.

High Voltage High Power Modular Multilevel DC/DC Converter for Off-shore Windfarm DC Collection Point

He Liu

This paper presents a new high voltage high power DC/DC converter configuration suitable for off-shore windfarm

application. The proposed converter functions as a DC collection point and boosts the wind generators voltage to

facilitate the employment of high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission lines. The proposed converter utilizes the

modular multilevel converter (MMC) structure and combined converter linked by medium frequency transformer,

which leads to lower voltage and current stresses of diode bridge rectifier compared to the conventional DC/DC

converters while using relatively smaller transformer. This topology also features modularity, which significantly

improves system’s reliability and implementation. This paper presents the design and analysis of the proposed converter

under various operating conditions. A new control method will be derived and demonstrated to show the effectiveness

of the proposed system.

Double Stator Switched Reluctance Machine with four phase opposing winding

Yang Lu and James Widmer

The switched reluctance machine (SRM) is a promising candidate for no permanent magnet electric propulsion system.

However, the lower torque density and efficiency compare to other electrical machines such as permanent magnet

synchronise machine (PMSM), may become one of the main drawback. To achieve a higher performance than a

conventional SRM, this paper will describe a SRM with double stator structure and four phase opposing winding

configuration. It can be proved that the four phase opposing winding configuration may provide best torque producing

ability during phase interaction period (if the winding are excited by 180-degree ideal square wave). And this

superiority could become more distinct with high split ratio and deep magnetic saturation level. The double stator

structure can be exactly pleased by the same design trend, and itself is a promising novel SRM structure as well. The

combination of these two ideas will be simulated using 2D FEM method and will present an excellent torque per unit

copper loss value. The manufacture and assemble method will be briefly discussed as well. The plastic material will

support and stable the rotor lamination to minimum the potential eddy current in rotor. And the structure is examined by

3D FEM in JMAG to prove its survivability under centrifugal force.

Improving the Scheduling of Services that Energy Storage Systems could provide in Urban

Andrew Jenkins, Charalampos Patsios, Phil Taylor, Neal Wade, Phil Blythe and Olamayowa Olabisi

Energy Storage Systems (ESSs) and microgrids can enable the connection of Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Solar

generation to urban electrical networks, by ensuring power flows and voltages stay within equipment ratings, without

23

network reinforcement. The load from EVs and generation from Solar is often uncertain and as such the scheduling of

the ESS to keep the network operating state within equipment ratings must take this into account, while also minimizing

the storage power and energy exchange to do this in a cost effective manner. This paper uses a Robust Optimisation

(RO) formulation, utilizing a linearization of the full AC power flow calculation, to schedule ESS under load and

generation uncertainty. A contribution is made through considering the optimisation horizon to be considered during the

optimisation. By minimizing the horizon, the time step between each rolling re-scheduling of the ESS can be minimized

thus leading to more frequent updated forecasts and reduced uncertainty. This in turn is expected to lead to reduced ESS

degradation and losses from round trip efficiencies.

DC Current Extraction in Transformer-less Inverter Based on DC Link Sensing Technique

Weichi Zhang, Matthew Armstrong and Mohammed Elegendy

Transformer-less, grid connected, photovoltaic inverter systems are becoming increasingly popular due to their reduced

volume and high efficiency performance. However, the potential risk of dc current injection into the grid is of

significant concern in such systems, and strict guidelines and standards are normally in place to protect the integrity of

the distribution network. Nevertheless, accurate determination of the dc current content in the inverter output is

particularly challenging. This is primarily because the very small dc signals have to be extracted from much larger ac

signals, and the measurements can be significantly influenced by noise. This paper investigate a novel dc extraction

method based on the dc link sensing technique. The principle of the proposed circuit and algorithm are thoroughly

explained and the advantages in simplicity, accuracy and robust are successfully demonstrated in theory and simulation.

Condition Monitoring of Capacitors in Modular Multilevel Converters

Chenming Zhang and Mohamed Dahidah

This paper address the condition monitoring of sub-module (SM) capacitors in modular multilevel converter (MMC),

by utilising the online estimation methods to get capacitance and ESR as indicators to reveal the conditions of the sub-

module capacitors. The online estimation scheme require the transfer function derived from second order differential

equations which only works during the on-state of SM. The input and output of transfer function are obtained by using

the existing arm current sensors and capacitor voltage sensors. The proposed scheme is to get sufficient sampling points

from ON-STATE period for the stochastic-gradient algorithms based on the existing sorting balancing control method.

Therefore no extra signal injection or terminating the system operation are required. The accuracy test is based on

MATLAB/Simulation environment and experiment results are presented to validate the proposed estimation scheme.

24

Cooling System Investigation and Analysis for Electrical Machines - A Review

Yaohui Gai, Mohammad Kimiabeigi and James Widmer

This paper presents an overview of the studies and analysis of cooling system for electrical machines. A high

temperature has an insignificant effect on the machines performance and life expectancy. Accurate and promptly heat

dissipation is an essential element of the machine design process. The various cooling methods: natural cooling, air and

liquid forced convection, phase change are proposed and compared the merits and defects of each. In addition, some of

practical applications are described. Finally, the thermal and mechanical behavior are taken into account based on

lumped parameter thermal-network, finite-element analysis and computational fluid dynamics.

A Cascaded Transformer-based Equalization Converter for Series Connected Battery Cells

Huaxia Zhan

Lithium-ion batteries have been used as energy storage device in many applications, such as electric vehicles. As part of

the battery management system a process for voltage equalisation of cells throughout the stack is essential. The

drawback of traditional transformer-based equalization circuit is the size and the difficult manufacture of the

transformer.

This paper proposes a new battery charging system integrated with equalization circuit. Compared to traditional

equalization circuit, the new circuit assembles charging and equalization function. Therefore, it will reduce the volume

and fabrication cost of the system. The topology concept and operating principals are discussed in this paper. In

addition some experimental work has been displayed as well.

A Liquid Metal Cooling Device for Adaptive Thermal Management of IGBT Power Modules

Yerasimos Yerasimou and Volker Pickert

Power semiconductors are key elements for safety critical and high-reliability applications. While operating, high

junction temperature swings occur that result in high thermomechanical stress within the structure of the power module.

Consequently, the lifetime of the module can be significantly reduced. Liquid metals received little attention in the area

of power semiconductors cooling, despite being able to remove high heat fluxes. This paper proposes a novel adaptive

liquid metal cooling device, which is capable of reducing the thermomechanical stress of the power semiconductors by

adapting the flow rate of the coolant. A magneto hydrodynamics pump is utilised for driving the liquid metal, which is

impinged directly on the baseplate and under the IGBT chip. Experimental work has been carried out, clearly showing

the advantages that adaptive cooling can offer compared to a conventional heat sink.

Winding Arrangement and Design Development for Fault Tolerant EPS Systems

Ari Al-Jaf , Barrie Mecrow and David Moule

Driverless cars are expected to become a reality over the next 20 years. The sub-systems within these vehicles will

require increased fault tolerance and capability. This is in addition to the already high reliability, efficiency and

performance of today’s systems such as electric power steering (EPS) systems. This paper presents a motor design

development of such an auxiliary system. Predicted performance of various double-layer and single-layer options are

presented and contrasted.

An Adaptive Proportional Resonant Controller for Single Phase PV Grid Connected Inverter Based on Band-

Pass Filter Technique

Hamza Khalfalla, Salaheldine Ethni, Maher Al-Greer, Volker Pickert, Matthew Armostrong and Van Tung

Phan

This paper presents an adaptive proportional resonant (PR) controller for single phase grid connected inverter that

adapts its control parameters to grid impedance variations. Forth order band bass filter is designed and then integrated

with the adaptive scheme for on-line detection of any variations in the resonance frequency. The estimated frequency is

25

then processed by statistical signal processing operation to identify the variations in the grid impedance. For the on–line

tuning of the PR parameters, a look-up table technique is utilized and its parameters are linked with the estimated

impedance values. Simulation results based on MATLAB environment clearly verify the effectiveness of the proposed

control scheme for 2 kW grid connected inverter system.

Incorporating Asset Management into Power System Operations

Ilias Sarantakos , Simon Blake and Phil Taylor

Generally, decisions regarding power system operations are based only on operational parameters of the distribution

network (DN) such as voltages, currents and power flows. Asset condition is a key parameter that is usually not

considered by Network Management Systems (NMS) in their optimization process. Against this background, this paper

seeks to indicate that the condition of power system assets can influence the network operation decisions. The criteria

used to decide the optimal network operation are asset condition-based risk and

losses. This is illustrated by a case study, where a number of network reconfigurations are examined in a representative

DN and the results show that by taking asset condition information into account, then an improved operation of the

network can be achieved.

Frequency Response Enhancement of Wind Farms by using Hybrid Energy Storage Systems

Stalin Munoz Vaca, Charalampos Patsios and Phil Taylor

Several grid regulations require the provision of mandatory frequency response for large-scale grid wind generators.

This could affect their regular operation by limiting the generator’s energy and power capacity and triggering revenue

losses. The use of energy storage (ES) technologies can support in limiting these losses and guaranteeing the delivery of

mandatory services. Nevertheless, single energy storage devices might not be economically viable in many occasions.

The present paper addresses a techno-economic methodology for sizing hybrid energy storage systems (HESSs) when

working together with wind generators for the provision of frequency support. HESS refers to the combination of

multiple energy storage technologies and it merges the individual benefits of these devices without having their

drawbacks. The methodology applies linear programming for achieving the best combination of HESS and wind

generator’s reserves in terms of power and energy capacity and maximum revenues. This study was analysed in a 60

MW wind farm which contains Vanadium Redox flow batteries (VRFB) and supercapacitors under the United Kingdom

(UK) regulations and UK energy market. The results show that HESSs can provide higher economic benefits under

certain conditions in comparison with a single ES technology and with non-using ESS for this type of service.

Sensor-less Induction Motor Drive with Multilevel Converter, Output Filtering and Active Damping

Jamie Lamb

Passive power filters are required to have low losses. A high Q factor for a LC power filter is desirable. A high Q factor

is characteristic of a highly resonant underdamped system. Passive damping can be used to overcome the issues that this

presents however power is dissipated in the components used which significantly contributes to the total energy loss of

a power electronics system. Vector control with output filter is not a common practice. Inclusion of a highly resonant

filter to the system complicates the control scheme. PI controllers are a common component in most vector control

schemes. A PI controller transfer function interacts with the system and shifts the resonant frequency upwards, towards

the inverters switching frequency. This results in steady state oscillations in the machines terminal voltage limiting the

range of the PI-controller gains. This increases the system response times. Stator voltage knowledge is an essential

parameter for MRAS speed estimation and direct measurement is not normally possible with a PWM voltage source due

to the necessary high sampling rate. With inverter output filtering direct measurement of the machine terminal voltage

becomes possible.

Active damping can be utilised to defend against system oscillations and allow higher PI controller gains in order to

decrease response times. This ultimately improves the torque response of the system.

26

Challenges of Integrating Magnetics of LCL Filter into High Speed Machince with Pre-compressed coils

Mohamed Mohamed , Barrie Mecrow, Simon Lambert, David Atkinson and A. C. Smith

This paper presents a high speed high power machine with integrated magnetics of the grid side LCL filter. This

integrated drive has been designed to take full advantage of sharing the magnetic steel for volume reduction. The main

outcome of this paper is firstly the integration of all 3-phase LCL filter inductors into the proposed machine by sharing

the original machine’s magnetic circuit without magnetic cross-coupling whether between the integrated filter inductors

windings or with the main machine magnetic circuit. Secondly, the coils are prepressed directly to the double slot

machine to form a solid component with fill factors for the main machine and filter windings 60% and 50%

respectively. The use of a segmented stator enabled rapid and repeatable construction of this complex magnetic

component. There are a number of important design features which are not possible with conventional preformed Litz

windings for the main machine coils. For example, the main machine coils were formed with safety margin from the

machine slot opening along with the restriction of slot area. The prototype offers superior performance of the

achievement of filter inductances.

A novel Linear Permanent Magnet Vernier Hybrid Machine (LPMVHM) machine for ocean wave enrgy

converter and improved performance

Mohammad Abdul Hakim Raihan , Nick Baker and Kristopher Smith

In this paper, a linear permanent magnet vernier hybrid machine (LPMVHM) is proposed, in which the long mover

comprises of an iron teethed salient structure while, both magnets and armature windings are set on the stator.

Henceforth, it is reasonable for long-stroke applications, for example, wave energy power take-off. It took into account

a baseline model, analyses and compare the model with a novel proposed machine incorporates two different

polarization magnets together, which can reduce dominant leakage flux and improve flux density of the baseline model.

The proposed design has the benefit of having lower magnet mass, rigid and compact stator design with higher force

density, lower force ripple and back EMF compared to the initial model, while maintaining lower cogging force.

On-line Parameter Estimation of Non-Minimum Phase DC-DC Converters

Ruisheng Li and Matthew Armstrong

Time varying parameters, such of passive components within the circuit and load elements, can significantly impact on

the control and voltage regulation of power electronic systems, such as switch mode power converters (SMPC).

Therefore, there is increasing interest in parametric system identification and adaptive control techniques to optimize

system performance. Most literature focuses on the DC-DC buck converter. However, unlike the DC-DC buck

converter, the boost converter has two left half-plane poles (LHP) and one right half-plane (RHP) zero in its

mathematical model. The existence of a RHP zero in the s-domain transfer function causes a zero to be outside of the

unit cycle in the discrete model. As a result, system identification of the boost converter is much more difficult in

comparison to the buck converter. The paper sets out to illustrate the RHP zero problem in detail and propose a novel

method to resolve this problem.

Magnetic Field and Force Calculation Using 3D Analytical Methods

David Mecrow and Glynn Atkinson

A novel permanent magnet simulation was produced using the Coulombian model for permanent magnets. The

simulation calculates both the field from a primary permanent magnet and the resultant force on a secondary ring

magnet. The solver is compatible with any prismatic design, including rings and segment, and can be adapted to

irregular shapes.

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Sensorless control of IM based on stator-voltage MRAS for Limp-home EV applications

Ehsan Dehghan-Azad, Shady Gadoue and Dave Atkinson

This paper proposes a novel sensorless speed estimation for an induction motor (IM) based on a new stator voltage

model reference adaptive system (Vs-MRAS) scheme. This is utilized for torque-controlled drive (TCD) in limp-home

mode operation of EV applications. The Vs-MRAS scheme uses the error between the reference and estimated stator

voltage vectors and estimates the synchronous speed. Unlike existing MRAS schemes, the proposed sensorless scheme

does not require the measured nominal values of stator resistance, stator inductance, and rotor resistance. This scheme is

insensitive to variations of the aforementioned parameters. Moreover, using the proposed scheme eliminates the need

for slip calculation. The proposed scheme is implemented and experimentally tested in a lab environment, on a 19-kW

IM, and also applied on an electric golf buggy, powered by a 5-kW IM. The experimental results show that the

proposed scheme is immune to parameter variations and is consistent in vehicle-starting from standstill and hill-starting

tests. This scheme is also free from drift problems associated with a pure integration and is stable in the field weakening

region. The test-drive results from the golf buggy confirm suitability of the proposed Vs-MRAS scheme over a wide

range of speeds for the purpose of TCD in EV applications.

μSystems Research Group Presentations

A flash-FPGA based implantable neuroprosthetic micro-system for intervening epileptic seizures by optogenetics

Lijuan Xia and Mike Walker

Recent technological advances have shed lights on lightweight battery head-mounted operated microsystem for freely

moving transgenic rodents. In this paper, we demonstrate a flash-based FPGA micro-system in-vivo implantable in

freely moving transgenic rodents for intervening epileptic–like seizure in brain cells. The proposed neuroprosthetic

micro-system, which collects electrophysiological recordings of Local Field Potential (LFP), performing non-linear

proportional, integral and derivative processing and delivering close- loop pulse width modulation (PWM) optical

stimulus simultaneously, is composed of totally commercial off-the-shelf component. This implantable micro-system

can receive recording LFP from CANDO optrode , then amplify and digitalize the recording LFP to be used in digital

domain for further non-linear PID controlling in real time based on a flash based low power field programmable gate

array ( Microsemo Smartfusion A2F500M3G-FGG484). An intensity-modulated PWM module will be designed in

cortex-M3 for interfacing with CANDO Optrode to shine the light to cells with neurons which are genetically

manipulated to be sensitive to light for intervening epileptic–like seizures. This will be the exploratory reported flash-

FPGA based close loop neuroprosthetic micro-system in the market for intervening epileptic–like seizure implantable in

freely moving transgenic rodents for lower power consumption. Further biomedical experimental measurements on

rodents will verify the system performance.

Unclonability as a Security Enabler

Konstantinos Goutsos, Alex Bystrov and Alex Yakovlev

As networked devices are increasingly becoming a part of everyday life, they are starting to penetrate even the most

sensitive of sectors. This leads to a need for elevated security which will not get in the way of progress. We believe that

one of the most promising areas in this effort for improved security are protocols and methods making use of the notion

of unclonability. In this paper we introduce the concept in the context of system security and propose some first steps

for exploiting unclonability along with discussing some of the practical constructions that offer unclonability in

electronics.

Furthermore, being firm believers in the need for a closer mapping between human organisation structures and machine

network topologies, we make a first attempt at modelling these relationships. The resulting formalisation of the issue

will help create protocols that advance the goals of security while not hindering the usability of the systems.

28

Power and Energy Normalized Amdahl’s Speedup Model for Heterogeneous Many Core Computing

Mohammed A. Noaman Al-Hayanni, Ashur Rafiev, Rishad Shafik, Fei Xia and Alex Yakovlev

Continued technology scaling in VLSI has enabled more and more computation cores to be integrated in the same chip.

This has facilitated the parallelization of processing and the increase of performance whilst keeping energy

consumption at reasonable levels. To study the potential improvement of performance in such many core systems.

Amdahl’s law is the original speedup model that estimates the maximum performance improvement with fixed

workloads. This model is further extended via the Hill-Marty model to cover a limited form of heterogeneity. This

paper extends this model to cover a more comprehensive assumption of core heterogeneity. We also present power and

energy models based on the extended heterogeneous model. Our model cover popular power and performance control

methods such as Dynamic Voltage Frequency Scaling (DVFS), power gating, etc. A case study is performed with an

ARM big.LITTLE architecture containing Cortex A7 and A15 cores, including a comprehensive analysis with different

ratios of parallel and sequential workloads to identify the most energy-efficient system configuration based on this

model. Experimental results demonstrated high correlations between practically measured power normalized

performance and that of the proposed extended models.

Fast Capacitance-to-Digital Converter with Internal Reference

Kaiyuan Gao, Delong Shang, Fei Xia and Alex Yakovlev

Conventional capacitance-to-digital converters (CDC) widely used in IoTs particularly in portable applications tend to

make use of complex analog-to-digital technologies. However this can be power hungry and take long conversion time.

In addition, the analog parts are hard to implement in ASICs, especially under wide working conditions, such as energy

harvesting scenarios. Recently digitalized CDCs were proposed to meet these challenges, but existing solutions still

required long conversion time, and need external voltage references limiting their portability. A novel CDC with low

energy consumption and short measuring time is presented in this paper. With a new internal time reference method, it

is fully portable and achieves fast conversion response. A method of decoupling the sensing resolution from the

discharge mechanism enhances the programmability of such sensors making energy to precision tradeoffs

straightforward. This paper contains both theoretical analysis and the experimental demonstration of these methods.

This new solution can reduce the conversion time by more than 20 times, and reduce energy consumption by half.

A Smart All-Digital Charge to Digital Converter

Yuqing Xu , Delong Shang, Fei Xia and Alex Yakovlev

Capacitance sensors, that report the values of capacitances as digital codes, are important in such areas as biomedical,

environmental, and mobile applications. Voltage sensors are also widely used in many modern application areas, e.g.

where battery life information is important. Conventional capacitance sensing methods use complex ADC techniques

that are power hungry, and existing digital solutions, which use the charge to digital conversion (CDC) method tend to

suffer from slow sensing response. A novel dual-use all-digital CDC method is proposed in this paper, which can be

used to sense either capacitance values as a capacitance sensor or voltage levels as a voltage sensor. It shows low

power/energy consumption and fast sensing response.

Energy-Efficient Approximate Multiplier Design using Bit Significance-Driven Logic Compression

Issa Qiqieh , Rishad Shafik, Ghaith Tarawneh, Danil Sokolov and Alex Yakovlev

Approximate arithmetic has recently emerged as a promising paradigm for many imprecision-tolerant applications. It

can offer substantial reductions in circuit complexity, delay and energy consumption by relaxing accuracy requirements.

In this paper, we propose a novel energy-efficient approximate multiplier design using a significance-driven logic

compression (SDLC) approach. Fundamental to this approach is an algorithmic and configurable lossy compression of

the partial product rows based on their progressive bit significance. This is followed by the commutative remapping of

the resulting product terms to reduce the number of product rows. As such, the complexity of the multiplier in terms of

logic cell counts and lengths of critical paths is drastically reduced. A number of multipliers with different bit-widths

29

(4-bit to 128-bit) are designed in SystemVerilog and synthesized using Synopsys Design Compiler. Post-synthesis

experiments showed that up to an order of magnitude energy savings, and reductions of 65% in critical delay and almost

45% in silicon area can be achieved for a 128-bit multiplier compared to an accurate equivalent. These gains are

achieved with low accuracy losses estimated at less than 0.00071 mean relative error. Additionally, we demonstrate the

energy-accuracy trade-offs for different degrees of compression, achieved through configurable logic clustering. In

evaluating the effectiveness of our approach, a case study image processing application showed up to 68.3% energy

reduction with negligible losses in image quality expressed as peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR).

Energy Efficient Bootstrapped CMOS Inverter for Ultra-Low Power Applications

Mohammed Al-daloo, Alex Yakovlev and Basel Halak

This paper describes an energy efficient bootstrapped CMOS inverter for ultra-low power applications. The proposed

design is achieved by internally boosting the gate voltage of the transistors (via the charge pumping technique), and the

operating region is shifted from the sub-threshold to a higher region, enhancing performance and improving tolerance to

PVT variations. The proposed bootstrapped driver uses fewer transistors operating in the sub-threshold region, and

consists of two stages. The first stage is a normal driver with PMOS and NMOS transistors that are driven by the

enhancing voltage circuit (stage 2) which generates voltage levels theoretically between -VDD for pulling up to 2VDD

for pulling down. Our analysis shows that the proposed implementation achieves around 20% reduction in energy

consumption compared to conventional designs under a supply voltage of 0.15V VDD.

A Workflow for the Design of Mixed-signal Systems with Asynchronous Control

Vladimir Dubikhin, Alex Yakovlev and Danil Sokolov

This paper presents a novel workflow for the design of mixed-signal systems. Current methods rely

on synchronous control logic and full-system simulation, which might lead to suboptimal results and even project

respins due to critical errors. The proposed workflow aims to combine state-of-the-art tools for asynchronous circuit

design and formal verification of analogue systems in a unified environment.

Power-Aware Performance Adaptation of Concurrent Applications in Heterogeneous Many-Core Systems

Ali Majeed Aalsaud, Rishad Shafik, Ashur Rafiev, Fei Xia and Alex Yakovlev

Modern embedded systems execute multiple applications, both sequentially and concurrently. These applications are

exercised on heterogeneous platforms generating varying power consumption and system workloads (CPU or memory

intensive or both). As a result, determining the most energy-efficient system configuration (i.e. the number of parallel

threads, their core allocations and operating frequencies) tailored for each kind of workload and application scenario is

extremely challenging. In this paper, we propose a novel runtime optimization approach with the aim of achieving

maximized power normalized performance considering dynamic variation of workload and application scenarios.

Fundamental to this approach is a comprehensive study to investigate the tradeoffs between inter-application

concurrency with performance and power consumption under different system configurations. Using real experimental

measurements on an Odroid XU-3 heterogeneous platform with a number of PARSEC benchmark applications, we

model power normalized performance (in terms of IPS/Watt) underpinning analytical power and performance models,

derived through show that with increasing number of concurrent CPU intensive applications show variable gains in

IPS/Watt compared to the memory intensive applications in both sequential and concurrent application scenarios.

Furthermore, we demonstrate that it is possible to continuously adapt system configuration through a low-cost and

linear-complexity runtime algorithm, which can improve the IPS/Watt by up to 125% compared to the existing

approach.

Derivation of the Reliability Metric for Digital Circuits

Mohamed Abufalgha and Alex Bystrov

30

A new method of evaluation of reliability of combinational circuits uses two levels of characterisation: a Stochastic

Fault Model (SFM) of the component library and a design-specific Critical Vector Model (CVM). The idea is to move

the high-complexity problem of stochastic characterisation of parameters into the generic part of the design process, and

do it just once for a great number of the specific designs. The SFM captures variations of the vector of parameters of a

library component fault model, those causing a transient fault at the component output; it is meant to be supplied by the

foundry, similar to timing library files. The CVM is derived by a limited number of simulation runs on the specific

design, and represents the boundary between the erroneous and error-free operation, w.r.t. the vector of parameters of

each component. The probability of error-free operation is subsequently calculated by jointly using SFM and CVM. The

method is demonstrated on a chain of inverters for simplicity, and subsequently applied to a single path derived from an

ISCAS benchmark circuit. A complex three-way trade-off between energy, performance and reliability is explored.

Multiple paths and fault masking effects are not discussed. The method is meant to serve as a basis for design-time

reliability evaluation and run-time power-reliability management

Energy-Efficient, Smart Security Vision System Design using Significance Driven Learning

Dave Burke and Rishad Shafik

The historical evolution of the internet and embedded systems has seen massive growth in the performance of hardware

components and sub systems in terms of processing power, data transfer rates and data storage capacity. This has

enabled furnishing of data centres that can accommodate the huge quantity of data to be stored and the complexity of

applications to process these large amounts of data. Embedded systems are typically evolving with the same sort of

developments as sensor data and their data rates are becoming larger.

Typically increases in performance have been met by shrinking device geometry, offering faster clock rates and

therefore faster performance however this comes with a penalty that as you increase the clock rate the power

consumption increases linearly to the clock rate. This increased power consumption is now a significant issue with data

centres and server farms and could become a significant issue for embedded systems as sensor processing complexity

and data rates increase.

Devices and Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) have come to a practical limiting frequency around 3GHz and the use of

Multiprocessor systems was left as the only way to increase performance, again resulting in an increase in power

consumption. The next generation evolution of heterogeneous systems is seeing combinations of asymmetric

multiprocessing coupled with Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) and Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) as

ways of improving the power consumption to performance ratio. The system design of heterogeneous systems produces a

new challenge for design tools. System designers will need to estimate and select combinations of processor, GPU and

FPGA to give the desired performance and power usage against the specific tasks to be executed, rather than just

throwing an array of high performance processors at the solution. Other key topics in this process are management of

the running tasks in a Real Time

Operating System (RTOS) and power gating in order to minimise power consumption. The introduction of Internet of

Things (IoT) embedded devices has highlighted a serious number of security issues which has become a highly

focussed area which needs to be addressed in future embedded systems. This research is to look at ways of analysing,

fixed camera position, Ultra High Definition (UHD) camera video, initially, utilising Computer vision software

techniques to extract relevant information from the data stream, within user defined and prioritised polygonal Regions

of Interest (RoIs), for onward transmission to a storage or image processing utility. The background, slowly changing

data, will be transmitted at a lower frame rate.

In this way all elements can be recorded or processed to display a re-constructed image as seen by the camera. A further

stage of this research will be to analyse the image processing algorithms to identify areas of software that can be

accelerated by the use of FPGAs hardware and reduce the overall power consumption

Automated translation of asynchronous concepts to Signal Transition Graphs

Jonathan Beaumont

Asynchronous circuits are becoming increasingly important in system design for Internet-of-Things, where they

orchestrate the interface between big synchronous computation components and the analogue environment, which is

inherently asynchronous and has high uncertainty with respect to power supply, temperature and long-term ageing

31

effects. However, wide adoption of asynchronous circuits by industrial users is hindered by a steep learning curve for

asynchronous control models,such as Signal Transition Graphs, that are developed by the academic community for

specification, verification and synthesis of asynchronous circuits. Previously, we have introduced a novel high-level

description language for asynchronous circuits, which is based on behavioural concepts – high-level descriptions of

asynchronous circuit requirements, that can be shared, reused and extended by users. In this paper we will discuss more

examples using concepts, and an algorithm to automatically translate these to Signal Transition Graphs for further

processing by conventional asynchronous and synchronous EDA tools, such as PETRIFY and MPSAT. Our aim is to

simplify the process of capturing system requirements in the form of a formal specification, and to promote behavioural

concepts as a means for design reuse. The proposed design flow is fully automated in open-source toolsuite

WORKCRAFT.

Design of Control and Datapath of Scenario-based Hardware Systems

Alessandro De-Gennaro

One of the possible approach to the design of hardware systems is to start with the description of their behaviours. Each

of them represents a task that the system is supposed to execute. A task, also known as scenario, is nothing else but the

set of operations which need to be performed in a certain order for the achievement of the requested answer.

This has been validated with the design, fabrication and verification of an asynchronous reconfigurable pipeline (using a

miniASIC with TSMC 90nm technology). The models and tools used are available in the open source Workcraft

framework. Other models and theories for the synthesis of scenario-based hardware systems are also considered and

briefly examined, in order to picture the benefits that the presented design-flow comes with.

Emerging Technology and Materials (ETM) Research Group

Presentations

Facile Strain Induction in Monolayer MoS2

Johannes Gausden

Two dimensional materials have received signifi- cant interest over the past decade. Their low mass coupled with their

high tensile strength make them an excellent option for use within nano-electro- mechanical systems. There has also

been signif- icant interest surrounding bandgap engineering of two dimensional semiconductors via the local appli-

cation of strain. A rapid, facile method for the in- duction of localised strain within MoS2is presented which is fully

compatible with modern silicon tech- nology, and is anticipated to be fully transferable to all two dimensional materials.

The role of Carbon Vacancy in 4H-SiC

Hind Alsnani , Jonathan Goss and Alton Horsfall

This paper presents the results of carbon vacancy calculations for 4H-silicon carbide (SiC). Theoretical investigations

based on the density functional theory techniques are used to provide information on the ionisation levels of the VC

defects and the thermodynamic stability of the different charge states. Changes to the band structure of SiC with the

introduction of carbon vacancies enables a direct comparison between the calculated defect levels and those that have

been identified experimentally using techniques such as deep level transient spectroscopy. The energy level of the

double negatively charged state, that is thermodynamic stable, indicates that the Z1/2 centre, which limits the carrier

lifetime in SiC originates from a carbon vacancy.

Critical Field for Complete Impurity Ionisation Below Carrier Freeze Out Temperatures

Luke Bradley, Glynn Atkinson and Alton Horsfall

32

The field induced ionisation of dopants within semiconductors dramatically increases the suit- ability of semiconductor

devices for applications at liquid helium temSperatures. It is shown that carriers with sufficient kinetic energy are

capable of ionising shallow dopants at temperatures where the majority of carriers have frozen out. The ionisation

fraction of dopants reaches unity at field strengths above a critical field value. The critical field for ionisation increases

with dopant concen- tration as the resulting decrease in carrier mobility reduces the kinetic energy of free carriers. The

ionisation mechanism is of great benefit for semi- conducting devices functioning at temperatures well below the carrier

freeze out temperature with Ge being highlighted as the optimal material for power devices.

SiC MOSFET

Faiz Arith, Jesus Urresti, Konstantin Vasilevskiy and Anthony O'Neill

Investigating improvements in MOS mobility for SiC MOSFETs, we report the introduction of an ultrathin SiO2 layer

between Al2O3 gate dielectric and 4H-SiC interfaces. By using Angle Resolved X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy

(ARXPS), we confirmed that the SiO2 is grown and the thicknesses is well defined. From our results, by introducing

the ultrathin SiO2 layer at low temperature condition underneath Al2O3, the density of interface traps are reduced

significantly. This ultrathin layer exhibited a good interface layer between 4H-SiC and Al2O3. Specifically, we

believed that thermally grown SiO2 generates single interstitials carbon atom (Ci) that can eventually bind to each other

and form immobile carbon clusters like (Ci)2 giving rise to a increment of the density of interface traps. Furthermore,

the combination of Al2O3 and ultrathin SiO2 produces an adequate barrier height to render a low leakage current.

Low Energy X-ray Detection in 4H-SiC Schottky Diode at Elevated Temperatures

Nurul Mohamed , Nick Wright and Alton Horsfall

The superlative material properties make silicon carbide radiation hard and this ability has enabled it to be demonstrated

in a range of detector structures for deployment in extreme environments, including those where the ability to tolerate

high radiation dose is imperative. This includes applications in space and nuclear environments, where the ability to

detect highly energetic radiation is important. In contrast, detectors used in medical treatment, such as imaging and

radiotherapy, uses a range of radiation dose rates and energies for both particulate and photonic radiation. Here, we

report the response and linearity of detectors fabricated from silicon carbide to dose rates in the range of

0.185mGy.min-1, typical of those used for medical imaging purposes. The data show that the radiation generated

current originates within the depletion region of the detector and that the response is linearly dependent on the volume

of the space charge region. The realisation of a vertical detector structure, coupled with the high quality of epitaxial

layers, has resulted in a linearity and sensitivity of the detector that are more than four orders of magnitude higher than

those published previously for similar dose rates. The temperature dependence of the characteristics indicate that silicon

carbide Schottky diode based detectors offer a performance suitable for medical applications at temperatures below 100

C without the need for external cooling.

Towards accurate, fast and large scale Kohn-Sham DFT.

Tiago Marinheiro

Towards accurate, fast and large scale Kohn-Sham DFT. The power of Density Functional Theory (DFT) property

prediction has led to its acceptance in a variety of fields. But for all its success at predicting a material properties, DFT

suffers from a bottleneck problem, large and accurate calculations can take a prohibitively long time. Most of the

widely used codes nowadays use plane waves as a basis sets. From a theoretical point of view plane wave basis offers

systematic convergence, but they are one of the most computationally expensive methods. Meanwhile, Gaussian basis

sets are not as easy to converge, but results can be obtained in much shorter timescale for small and medium sized

systems, providing a good complement to plane wave codes. As large scale calculations become more important for

accurate results such as in point defect studies, the necessity for a code with plane wave accuracy and a small

computational overhead. A brief explanation of DFT using Gaussian basis sets is given. A procedure is shown which

greatly simplifies the generating of Gaussian basis sets to bring it on par with the accuracy of plane waves (the first step

in obtaining large and accurate DFT calculations). A benchmark calculation, which is used to compare different codes

and produced and averaged “error” value, is used to assess the basis generating procedure

33

34

Characterization of nickel-nanoparticles embedded in silica aerogel

Sherko Ghaderi , Sarah Olsen, Lidija Siller, Khalil Hassan and Xiao Han

Silica aerogel embedded with nickel nanoparticles (NP) is characterized and considered as a potential thermoelectric

material. The thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, and Seebeck coefficient have been analyzed as the density of

NiNP are increased from 0 to 700 ppm. The results suggest that optimizing the density of NiNP could yield promising

thermoelectric properties. The electrical resistivity is found to be highly sensitive to the density of NiNP, while the

thermal conductivity remains unchanged. The samples exhibit (10)^6 improvement in power factor when the density of

the NiNP is increased from 0 to 700 ppm. This arises from metallic percolation networks developing which improve the

electrical conductivity. Material composition is analyzed using Raman spectroscopy, the electrical resistivity is assessed

using four-point probe techniques and thermal conductivity is measured using HotDisk measurements and scanning

thermal microscopy (SThM). All measurements were performed at room and elevated temperatures. By using SThM,

characterization of individual NiNP clusters is possible.

Instability of phosphorous doped SiO2 in 4H-SiC MOS capacitors at high temperatures

Muhammad Idzdihar Idris, Alton Horsfall and N.G. Wright

In this paper, the effect of inclusion of phosphorous (at a concentration below 1%) on the high temperature

characteristics (up to 300°C) of the SiO2/SiC interface is investigated. Capacitance – Voltage measurements taken for a

range of frequencies have been utilized to extract parameters including flatband voltage, the effective oxide charge and

the interface state density. The variation of these parameters with temperature has been investigated for bias sweeps in

opposing directions and a comparison made between phosphorous doped and as grown oxides. At room temperature,

the effective oxide charge for SiO2 may be reduced by phosphorous termination of dangling bonds at the interface.

However, at high temperatures the effective charge in the phosphorous doped oxide remains unstable and effects such

as flatband voltage shift dominates the characteristics. The instability in these characteristics was found to result from

the trapped charges in the oxide (±1012 cm-3) or near interface traps at the interface of the gate oxide and

semiconductor (1012 ~1013 cm-2eV-1). Hence, the performance enhancements observed for phosphorous doped oxides

are not realised in devices operated at elevated temperatures.

Investigation of the migration mechanisms and diffusion of Cd in CZTS/CdS heterojunction

Fatimah Bahrani , Jonathan Goss and Patrick Briddon

The interface between CZTS as an alternative absorber for low cost thin film and the CdS buffer layer is one of the

most important issues affecting CZTS/CdS cell performance. The determination of the activation energy through the

interface is a crucial point for the high-efficiency CZTS cell. The diffusion barrier across the heterojunction interface

for the CZTS/CdS cell was determined on the basis of the first-principles calculations. The charge-neutral substitution

defect CdZn has the lowest formation energy (0.035eV), so that it can be formed easily in the hetero-structure interface.

In this study, the results revealed that there is a diffusion of Cd, Cu, and Zn at the epitaxial interface

CdS(100)/CZTS(100), that the dominant diffusion defects via the heterojunction interface CdS/CZTS is the neutral

charge CdZn, and that the diffusion barrier of CdZn is about 2.1eV.

35

Abstracts

Communications, Sensors, Signal & Information Processing

(ComS2IP) Research Group

(Posters)

Crack Detection and Characterisation System for Metallic Structures Using Chipless RFID Tag Sensor

Adi Mahmud Jaya Marindra and Gui Yun Tian

Passive chipped RFID sensor systems have been studied for structural health monitoring (SHM) applications on

metallic structures. However, the use of silicon chip makes RFID tags not economical enough and unable to work in

extreme environments. This research proposes chipless RFID sensor system for crack detection and characterisation on

metallic structures. The system consists of a metal-mountable chipless RFID tag, which is attached onto the monitored

metallic surface; and a reader, which performs signal transmission and reception, signal processing and feature

extraction. This research aims to explore feasibility of chipless RFID for crack detection and characterisation on

metallic structures and overcome challenges, such as sensing sensitivity, resolution, and read distance, by optimising the

sensor design and the reader. A feasibility study through simulations shows that chipless RFID system has great

potentials for crack detection and characterisation.

Sensory Feedback in Prosthetic Limbs

Ana Carolina Pinto Da Silveira, Emma Brunton and Kianoush Nazarpour

In the event of limb loss, prosthetic devices have been able to restore some functionality, enabling the user to regain

independence. Even though these devices are increasingly sophisticated, prosthetic limbs do not provide sensation to the

user and are not able to rival the functionality of the natural limbs [1], [2]. The aim of this project is to contribute to the

next generation of prosthetic devices that will provide sensory feedback through neural interfaces. Neural interfacing

technologies, differing on their level of invasiveness, selectivity of stimulation and electrode-density, will be compared

by performing in vivo experiments in animal models. The experiments will be divided into acute and chronic, where

both peripheral nerve recording and stimulation will be performed. The goal is to be able to discriminate the recorded

sensory afferent signals using classification algorithms and to then use this information to stimulate peripheral nerves

and, therefore, provide sensory feedback.

Multimodal Wide Area Surveillance

Federico Angelini

This work will focus upon Machine Learning and Fusion Techniques for the automatic analysis of multimodal wide

area sensor measurements. The aim is to obtain a robust model for human activity based on video camera data in order

to estimate abnormal behaviour. Wide area surveillance is a thriving field, providing plenty of challenges. One of the

most interesting is the human behaviour recognition in public environment, with special focus on situation awareness

and prompt reaction in case of suspicious events. Techniques related to face/gaze/head/body recognition,

gesture/posture recognition, skeleton estimation and modelling of human activities are involved in this project. The

work would align with activities within the University Defence Research Collaboration (UDRC) and the opportunities

to work with the academic and industrial partners, in particular Thales, which is also providing real world data for

testing (supporting preliminary testing based on CAVIAR dataset). Facilities within the new Intelligent Sensing

Laboratory at Newcastle University will also be available for this work.

36

Cognitive Radio Approach and Implementation for Smart V2X Communication

Haicang Li

Efficient, secure and reliable, vehicular communication is one of the critical parameters in the intelligent transport

system, and is the next generation research and application which has the potential to ease traffic and provide safety to

drivers and road users. Vehicle to vehicle (V2V) and vehicle to anything (V2X) communication can share security,

safety related and general messages between vehicles within the radius of a 1-2 km vehicular network, and

infrastructure and with emergency vehicles within the radius stated in WAVE protocol. There are enormous channels

for communication between every node within a vehicular network and the topology of this network is mobility and

dynamic which add challenges to have efficient V2X communication in the urban environment. Therefore, improving

the capacity and efficiency is one of the most critical things in a vehicular network. Cognitive radio is based SDR

(Software Defined Radio), can detect and access unoccupied channels in wireless spectrum. It is reprogrammable and

reconfigurable to change the parameters of its communication dynamically. The major benefit of having cognitive radio

is that the efficiency and capacity of the vehicular network can be improved significantly. This study focuses on using

SDR for safe, secure V2X communication for next generation intelligent transport system.

A Review of Intrusion Detection Schemes for IOT

Monika Roopak, Prof Gui Yun Tian and Jonathon Chambers

The future of the Internet is emerging on the basis of the concept of the Internet of Things (IoT). It promises to create a

world where all the objects around us are connected to the Internet and communicate with each other without human

interference. The IoT has to implement a proper security mechanism such as encryption and back up of data,

authenticate users and applications and integrity assurance of processed and stored data in the system. In theory IoT

system is secure of all the necessary security mechanisms are in place, however the situation is not be simple as that.

The protective mechanisms alone are not sufficient to provide adequate security for a system. It is important that IoT

systems are also equipped with a proper second line defence mechanism that can be used to detect and analyse security

incidents therefor the Intrusion Detection System (IDS). In this poster, we review various intrusion detection

approaches to mitigate those attacks in IOT.

Cooperative Communication in Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks

Scott Stainton

In this research, cooperative communication using relays is proposed as a solution to mitigate the harsh effects of

vehicular channels and maximise throughput under varying conditions. Throughout, the research is focussed on abiding

by the IEEE 802.11p standard for Wireless Access in Vehicular Environments (WAVE) with specific attention being

paid to having practical applications in the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS) sector. Due to the highly mobile nature

of vehicular ad-hoc networks (VANETs), many existing techniques become suboptimal as the network topology

changes rapidly. It is hoped to be shown that through the efficient use of relay selection and relay processing protocols

that the overall system performance can be optimised even when the direct link between the transmitter and the receiver

is weak. This research will focus on the creation and repurposing of algorithms to achieve these tasks, while being

mindful of the strict latency requirements imposed by the WAVE standard.

Model-Based Robust Speech Separation

Yang Xian, Mohsen Naqvi and Jonathon Chambers

My research project focuses on the analysis, design and evaluation of statistical signal processing methods and

computational auditory scene analysis (CASA) based method to address the machine cocktail party problem (MCPP).

The statistic signal processing based on principle component analysis (PCA),independent component analysis (ICA)and

independent vector analysis (IVA). The CASA based well-know MESSL with Student's t-distribution is reviewed in

this report. More specifically, the Student's t-distribution are used to model binaural cues such as distributions of

interaural phase difference (IPD) and interaural level difference (ILD). The maximization of log likelihood function is

37

realized by expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm. Finally, the probabilistic time-frequency (TF) masks are

obtained, which are used to separate sources. The experimental results based on TIMIT data base and BRIRs data base

shows signal to distortion ratio (SDR), perceptual evaluation of speech quality (PESQ) and short time objective

intelligibility of Student's t-distribution mixture models (SMMs) outperforms Gaussian mixture models (GMMs). In

future work, binaural and monaural statistical models will be studied for robustness BSS.

Emerging Technology and Materials (ETM)

Posters

Graphene Hall Sensors for Harsh Environment Current Sensing

Amy Peters, Alton Horsfall and Nick Wright

Whilst current sensing techniques are advanced, their sensitivity to high temperatures somewhat limits their use in

power electronics applications. The 2-D nature of graphene along with its exceptional electronic properties such as high

carrier mobility (~10,000〖cm〗^2 V^(-1) s^(-1)) and high thermal conductivity makes it an ideal material for the

realization of highly sensitive, low-noise Hall sensors capable of operating at high temperatures. These properties are

true only for suspended graphene as when fabricated on a substrate it is transfer doped leading to degradation of its

electronic properties, particularly the carrier mobility. Indeed, there are many limitations in graphene device design,

namely in its sensitivity to the surrounding environment. Chemical contamination from conventional lithographical

processes results in degradation of electronic properties with high contact resistance at the metal/graphene interface also

being a significant challenge. Methods into reducing this chemical contamination and achieving a low contact resistance

need to be investigated in addition to optimizing the electronic properties of graphene when fabricated on a substrate.

Optimization Considerations for Thermoelectric Generators

Hector Gabriel Galvan Brugal and Sarah Olsen

Cheap, clean, and reliable energy is one of the greatest challenges ever presented to researchers. Photovoltaic cells, tidal

power, and wind farms are good sources of clean energy, but are expensive. A recent trend also requires energy to be

mobile. Thermoelectric-based generators are the cost-effective solution to applications which require clean, mobile

energy. The aim of this research is to develop efficient designs for wearable thermoelectric generators. This

optimization will consider advanced thermoelectric materials, contact resistance and device geometry.

Calculated electron affinity and stability of Aluminium Oxide terminated diamond

James Beattie and Jon Goss

Chemically engineering a materials surface to exhibit an NEA (Negative Electron Affinity) is desirable, as it lowers the

potential barrier for electron emission. Hydrogen terminated diamond exhibits an NEA but is unstable at high

temperatures where it desorbs from the surface above 700oC. Desorption reverses the NEA back to a PEA making it ill-

suited for high power operations. Using the quantum mechanical modelling software AIMPRO, calculations are

performed to assess the viability of varying Aluminium Oxide stoichiometry’s and geometries on the 111 surface of

diamond. Finding the most energetically favourable termination with a binding energy that can withstand temperatures

above that of Hydrogen as well as an NEA in the region of 1-2eV could prove Aluminium oxide to be a suitable

termination choice for device applications.

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The Fabrication of Silicon Carbide Gas Sensors for use in Automotive Applications

Ryan James Siddall, Alton Horsfall and Nick Wright

The aim of my project is to produce a silicon carbide metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) gas sensor capable of

selectively monitoring automotive exhaust gases. In order to meet the upcoming changes to European legislation,

selectivity to nitrogen oxides (NOx) and carbon monoxide (CO) will be focused upon. An investigation into the

influence of the high-κ dielectric and catalytic gate metals on the selectivity to different gases in the exhaust mixture

will be carried out. A number of different materials will be incorporated into the device structure to selectively target

gases. Working in collaboration with an industrial partner, Littelfuse, the aim of this work is to develop laboratory

prototypes from conception into fully functional devices capable of meeting the required performance specifications of

the automotive industry. The ultimate goal is to produce a reliable, fully contained and stable sensor system which can

be packaged and integrated into a vehicle with ease.

Magnetron sputtering magnetostriction film for characterisation and sensing application

Yu Tang and Sarah Olsen

Magnetostriction is the effect of changes in physical dimensions by an applied magnetic field or vice versa.

Magnetostrictive materials can be exploited in many applications including micro-drivers for servo motors, actuators,

sonar and sensing applications. In a magnetostrictive sensor, the change in dimension arising from the magnetization

may be detected. This can be used for force, torque or displacement sensing, or liquid level detection. In addition to

exhibiting high magnetostriction, galfenol (iron-gallium) benefits from machinability and mechanical robustness. In this

project magnetostrictive films such as galfenol will be developed for sensing applications using magnetron sputtering.

The sensor films will be characterised using a variety of techniques including magnetic force microscopy, x-ray

diffraction and vibrating sample magnetometry. The change in magnetostriction with external circumstances will be

evaluated.

μSystems Research Group

Posters

Design Methods for Minimum Energy Point Asynchronous Processors in the Internet of Things

Adrian Reece Wheeldon

As internet of things devices become increasingly abundant, the need to minimise their energy consumption becomes

evermore important. This research will concentrate on processor design for the internet of things, specifically focused

on the use of asynchronous (clockless) digital logic. While asynchronous design has been around for decades and can

offer many advantages, it remains underutilized in industry, presumably due to its more formal design process and

underdeveloped design tools when compared with synchronous design. The research covers four areas of processor

design using asynchronous design methodologies, and works towards wider adoption of asynchronous design. The areas

include design partitioning, memory architecture, parameterised circuits, and instruction set architecture; all of which

will enable improved energy efficiency. Throughout, special consideration will be given to the design process, and

effort made to improve existing (or create new) design flows in an attempt to push asynchronous design into wider use.

Wireless Energy Transfer and Communication for Implantable Medical Devices

Banafsaj Rasool and Patrick Degenaar

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One of the most important and challenging disciplines in this era is the implantable medical devices. Particularly,

Increasing concern to improve the blind peoples’ life by developing and implementing a new visual aid. The major goal

of this research is to implement a novel design of visual cortical implant as a visual aid for blind people. The implanted

visual cortex prosthesis, by using an implanted optoelectrode (optrode) array, will be capable of firstly optically

stimulate the visual pathway and generate a spatial pattern of visual precepts so-called phosphens, secondly

electronically recording the field potential and send this information back to the external system. The key challenging in

this field is those related to the power consumption which resulting a fast depletion in the implants battery life. In

addition, the data link which required a high rate and small latency. This system will be implemented with the acoustic

power transfer and wireless data transfer characteristics.

RF Energy Harvesting system

Danhui Li

There are a variety of RF signals including TV, cellular and WIFI transmission, intriguing the widely use of RF energy

harvesting technologies. WISP is a typical RF energy harvesting application refers signal sensing, data processing and

wireless communicating capabilities. As RF signal in the environment is not stable, energy efficiency is the key issue

that needs to promote for the purpose of improving the life span of the battery in the RF energy harvesting system. In

energy harvesting system based on piezoelectric transducers, high-efficiency power delivery methods such as Switched

Capacitor DC-DC Converter (SCC) and Capacitor Bank Block (CBB) are developed. However, in the RF energy

harvesting system the high efficiency of these power delivery is need to be verified.

Self-Timed Control of Two-Phase Switched Capacitor Converters

Serhil Mileiko, Alexander Kushnerov, Danil Sokolov and Alexandre Yakovlev

The paper considers the shoot-through currents in two-phase switched capacitor converters (SCCs) as switching

hazards. Despite the fact that the existing control circuits provide safe operation, there is no formal method to

synthesize such circuits for multiphase SCCs. Besides that, the existing circuits are synchronous and therefore do not

sustain large changes in the operating conditions. The paper shows how one can use a CAD tool for designing

asynchronous circuits to synthesize an SCC controller and thereby alleviate both of the above-mentioned drawbacks.

The obtained circuit is self-timed, i.e. does not require external clock and has low sensitivity due to inherent negative

feedback.

Computational Costs of State-of-the-art Algorithms for Read Alignment in Whole Genome Sequencing

Sidharth Maheshwari, Rishad Shafik, Alex Yakovlev and Ian Wilson

Whole genome sequencing (WGS) is leading from the front in the current revolution underway in medicine to transform

it from reactive to preventive. WGS facilitate predictive, preventive, participatory and personalized (P4) form of

medicine through continuously decreasing cost of genome sequencing and technological advancements in the

sequencing instruments. This, however, posits immense pressure on the computing resources to crunch large amounts of

data in a reasonable time and energy framework. Among the two categories of algorithms for genome assembly viz. de

novo assembly and read alignment, we study the state-of-the-art algorithms in the latter, owing to its runtime

advantages, to characterize w.r.t energy, peak power, and runtime and memory utilization in order to propose

approximate computing solutions. We study all the major algorithms, proposed in the last decade since the arrival of

next generation sequencing, and report the run-time and resource utilization.

Low-power QDI design using novel device and interconnect technologies

Thanasin Bunnam, Danil Sokolov and Alex Yakovlev

Recently, various computing device and interconnect technologies, for instance carbon nanotube and silicon nanowire,

were invented due to the limitations of CMOS technology in nano-scale circuits. Although they revealed a great

promising performance, they suffered from fabrication process variabilities which caused leakage and timing variation

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problems and finally reduced circuit yield. In the meantime, Quasi-Delay-Insensitive (QDI) design has been considered

to be an approach for designing low-power time-invariant circuits because of its event-driven property inherited from

the asynchronous circuit.

This research will investigate on process variability problems of the novel device and interconnect technologies and a

solution using QDI design approach. Therefore, the expected result will be an approach that is able to enhance power

efficiency, variation robustness and yield of the circuit. To evaluate this, the experiments will be conducted by

statistical analysis with process variation probability and power analysis between the proposed design and the

traditional one.

Electrical Power (EP) Research Group

Posters

Development of a Double-Sided Linear Vernier Hybrid Machine for Direct Drive Wave Energy Converters

Ahmed Almoraya, Nick Baker and Kristopher Smith

In recent years, low speed high thrust force linear permanent magnet (PM) machines which are suitable for direct drive

wave energy converters have attracted the attention of many researchers. In literature, a linear veriner hybrid permanent

magnet (LVHPM) machine with inherent magnetic gearing was proposed for direct drive wave energy converters.

However, since the magnets with alternating polarity are used in this class of machine, a large amount of PM material is

required leading to high initial cost. This project aims to develop a double-sided LVHPM machine with less than 50%

PM mass resulting in low capital cost. The consequent pole technique is adopted in the new machine where one polarity

of PMs is replaced with ferromagnetic poles. This topology is capable of improving the main flux and the machine

performance consequently. The present machine is designed, analysed and compared with that of the conventional

LVHPM using finite element analysis (FEA).

Integrated Diagnostic System for Wind Power Generators

Cuili Chen , Volker Pickert and Charalampos Tsimenidis

IGBT power modules are the fragile part in wind power converter. Intensive research is focused on the reliability

improvement of power module to make the power system more trustworthy and cost-effective. This poster is mainly

about the state of art research on this area. First, an overview about the power module itself is provided along with the

general failure mechanisms. Second, reliability of power modules is introduced followed by a summary of approaches

aimed at reliability improvement. Then, pilot study about simulation and experimental test is presented including a

proposed method for online application. Finally, this research will mainly focus on signal process based method in the

future.

Power Pinch MPC - RL based Control for Adaptive Energy Management of an Integrated Hybrid Energy

Storage Smart Grid

Bassey Nyong-Bassey, Damian Giaouris, Shady Gadoue and Haris Patsios

In a hybrid RE microgrid, the use of predefined power management strategy (PMS) for optimal decision making

requires anticipation of all possible sequence of control and corresponding actions. The model predictive and

reinforcement learning (Q-Learning) control techniques may be used to explore and evaluate in advance the rewards of

undertaking several control actions for optimal (PMS). Therefore, this research work proposes to exploit the adaptive

shaping of the Power Pinch strategy for inferring the PMS with respect to demand side response load shifting within a

hybridised MPC and RL (Q-Learning) framework to enhance robustness to uncertainty. Also, the proposed method will

be exploited for RE grid sizing cost minimisation.

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Application of Wide Band Gap (WBG) Switching Devices in Automotive Integrated Machine Drives.

Bethany Hoare , Dave Atkinson, Simon Lambert and Barrie Mecrow

Wide Band Gap (WBG) switching devices have several characteristics that make them desirable for integrated drives.

They can operate at higher temperatures, voltages and frequencies. These features may enable a smaller, lighter

integrated drive system to be designed, a highly desirable opportunity for applications where weight and space are a

premium. The automotive drive company Protean have several modifications that they would like to make to their

existing product, it is thought that WBG technology will enable these changes. The first stage of research will be to

carry out a feasibility study in order to determine the expected benefits of a WBG based drive over its silicon

counterpart. The two WBG materials that will be considered are silicon carbide and gallium nitride, the material chosen

for the project will depend upon the results of the feasibility study and literature review.

Decarbonisation of the Chemical Industry through the deployment of Virtual Power Plants

Chaudhry Jibran Javaid , Damian Giaouris, Phil Taylor and Simon Blake

The Chemical Industry is a heavy user of energy and most of this energy is generated by using fossil fuels. Given the

UK target for 80% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2050 this situation will have to change. This is very challenging and

the chemical industry is a heavy energy user and fossil fuels have relatively high energy densities when compared to

renewable forms of generation. The proposed method and currently under investigation is that of the virtual power

plant. This concept seeks to use real time control and energy management of demand, variable generation, networks and

energy storage in order to present what appears to be a power plant capability to the grid. This means that although

behind the grid connection a number of relatively small stochastic sources and sinks of energy exist inside a micro grid

or sub network, from a point of common coupling to the grid the overall entity appears predictable, dispatchable and

responsive. This offers commercial, environmental and operational benefits. The research would examine three

scenarios:

• A very large centralised chemical plant with a grid connection capacity in the region of 500MVA.

• A small scale highly distributed form of chemical plant with a grid connection capacity in the region of 1 MVA.

• A mid-scale chemical plant with a grid connection capacity of approximately 50MVA that could be reduced to around

20MVA through the use of the VPP concept.

High-Frequency Machines using Soft Magnetic Composites

Dan Wood and Glynn Atkinson

This PhD programme will apply soft magnetic composite (SMC) machine design and new powder technology to the

area of high-speed electrical machine (HSEM) development. The programme aims to produce a high-speed SMC

electrical machine in several leading edge SMC low loss powders with an upgrade or paralleled performance compared

to a current commercially available lamination machine. Initially, a suitable application will be sought and material

measurement, machine design and overall development will run in synchronism. A status of mechanical, thermal, power

electronic switching element and other necessary associated limitations will be investigated and outlined and an outlook

for the future will be included. An intention of forming a link to work incorporation with a partner company for the

production of an optimised HS machine is also envisioned subject to the chosen application. Here the desired

application would be for an e-turbocharger, in a hybrid or combustion engine, used to spin a compressor to a required

speed when there is a lack of energy, and harness energy when there is an excess of energy.

Develop a Software Tool that Identifies the Technology Selection and Realisation of Inline Power Supply, Power

Electronics Drive and Drive Controller for a Defined Automotive Hybrid Vehicle Transaction Electric Machine

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Gashtil Hamidreza , Volker Pickert, Damian Giaouris, Mohamed Dahidah and Shady Gadoue

Using the powerful software tool, that can help manufacture to visualize and optimize the finalize performance, cost,

weight and volume of their productions, is the vital key in decreasing the expenditure and improving the outputs of

productions. The proposed software has an ability to expose the performance of control methods applied in drive

controllers for different type of machines such as IM, IPM, SynRM and PMaSynRM. Then, the operating performance,

cooling/ packaging requirements and operating efficiency should be evaluated in Inline Power Supply (which is

Interface between High Voltage Battery and Power Electronics Drive) and Power Electronics Drive (which is Interface

between Inline Power Supply and Electric Machine). Furthermore, the durability and cost verses performance impact of

power components used in power electronics and drives should be considered in the proposed software. Finally, An

Indication of Radiated EMI Based on the dv/dt and di/dt Waveforms will be presented in the software.

Control of Power Conversion Systems and Nonlinear Analysis

George Gkiza

The control design of power conversion systems is a challenging processes that demands special treatment due to their

complex nature. This complexity stems from their highly nonlinear dynamics, which can be attributed to their switching

action, as well as from the uncertainty that governs these kind of systems system concerning load, input and parameter

variations. As a result, advanced control design techniques need to be considered that take into account the nonlinear

behaviour of the system and provide robustness and satisfactory performance as well. The controlled design techniques

that need to be employed utilize polytopic models that incorporate the aforementioned uncertainties. However, the

challenge lays in incorporating the nonlinear phenomena that stem from the switching action of the power conversion

systems. This presents several challenges and it is an uncharted territory due to many problems that stem from the

mathematical point of view. The novelty of my research lays in the derivation of model that fully describes the

nonlinear behaviour of the system and can be used to directly apply control theory. This is of very high importance

since these kind of nonlinear phenomena can severely affect the operation of the system and deteriorate its performance

due to the increase of power loss and the violation of performance specifications.

Transverse flux machine for in-wheel applications

Iago Martinez Ocaña

Protean’s in-wheel motor offers an interesting solution for motor placing in electric vehicles. This project will develop a

new topology based on the Transverse flux machine (TFM) configuration. In a TFM the increase in power is

proportional to the pole number as the coil MMF is seen by all the poles, hence torque increases with electric loading.

The project will cover a study to show the capabilities of the TFM with the volume, and converter constrains, aiming to

demonstrate its high torque performance. Deeper study of the topology will be performed analytically and using Finite

Element Analysis (FEA) tools. Due to its unique flux path only 3D FEA models can be used, which require high

computational time. The use of analytical or reluctance networks calculations will speed up the design process. The

desired project outcome is to manufacture and test such novel machine.

System Identification of Multi-Rail DC-DC Power Converter

Jin Xu , Matthew Armstrong and Maher Al-Greer

Since the requirements of multi-rail DC-DC power converter include soft-start / shut-down, sequencing, margining,

fault management, fault recovery fault prediction and etc., adaptive control based on parametric system identification

would be introduced soon to obtain the detailed information of system operation and then adjust the controller into

optimized working conditions, which is the main topic of my future work. Meanwhile, as to multi-rail DC-DC

converter, an appropriate time schedule would be proposed to reduce reacting time of master auto-tuner and individual

controller.

Novel Advanced Powered Air Purifying Respirator (PAPR) Concepts.

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Jonathan Thompson , Steve McDonald, Barrie Mecrow and Simon Lambert

Powered air purifying respirators (PAPR) utilise a motor blower to provide a positive pressure in the mask of a

respirator. Recent breath responsive PAPRs perform well overall but suffer from a problem known as overbreathing,

whereby the demand volumetric airflow is larger than the supplied. To improve the breath responsive systems, current

models of the PAPRs available have been simulated in Simulink and will be compared against real data from a rig to

simulate a user breathing into said device. Once the simulated model has been validated it can be optimised for the best

possible system. Results show that the motor power density, weight and dimensions of the impeller, sensor response,

and the battery power density are the main limitations of the system’s response. A method is also being produced to

calibrate and even predict the user’s breathing pattern to customise the system for individuals.

Droop control method in DC/AC hybrid micro grid

Li Lei, Mohammed Elgendy and Neal Wade

Although there are many advantages of distributed generation (DG), there are still many problems, such as the cost of

stand-alone access is very high and difficult control. Furthermore, the distributed power supply is an uncontrollable

power supply relative to the power grid, which will have some disadvantages on the stable operation of the power grid.

In order to coordinate the contradiction between power grid and distributed power, and to promote the large-scale

integration and application of distributed generation, the concept of micro-grid is put forward. As a basic power

electronic interface unit in the micro grid, the micro grid inverter has a direct and reasonable control on the safe and

stable operation of the micro grid. In order to realize the dual-mode stable operation and the smooth switching between

two modes, this project will focus on the droop control strategy of micro grid inverter.

Next generation monitoring for enhanced asset management

Luke Burl

Real-time condition monitoring represents a large opportunity for power system network operators.

This is becoming more important due to ever-increasing challenges faced by the power systems and network operators.

To enable this real-time condition monitoring and asset management capability, a number of developments within the

power systems and ICT industries have occurred:

•Increased interoperability and data gathering capability due to the adoption of IEC61850

•Increased computational capabilities due to Cloud computing techniques

•Greater visibility of grid systems through additional smart enabled monitoring systems

•Availability of load, generation and weather forecasting techniques and data

•New novel smart sensor technologies

This PhD research project will investigate the application of these advances to condition monitoring and diagnostics for

future substations. The research will consider the technical feasibility of the next generation substation sensor

technologies and analytic techniques including machine learning and other Artificial Intelligence techniques to provide

useful information to operators and planners.

Research into Switched Mode Power Supplies for Consumer Products

Mark Turner

As consumer products keep improving and becoming more powerful. This means the technology that supplies this

power needs to also improve. When an applications power level increases, a battery with greater capacity would be

required to keep the same operating time or a higher capacity supply would be required if it is directly mains connected.

In order to maintain acceptable charging times with larger batteries, higher power level supply would be required.

Therefore, in both mains and battery powered cases, the power supply needs to be able to deliver more power to charge

a battery quicker or directly supply the application with sufficient power. As a result of these requirements, these power

supplies need to be very efficient. The most common used power supplies are switched mode power supplies (SMPS).

Increasing the size of the SMPS is not an option for increasing power capacity because they want to be decreased in size

for cost and aesthetic reasons. Therefore, the power density must be improved in line with the efficiency improvement.

This research will look into methods such as adding dual active bridges into the circuit and other techniques for making

the SMPS smaller and more efficient. Finally, consumer SMPS must meet certain European standards such as IEC

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1000-3-2 which has constraints of certain harmonic on the supply current which the SMPS can create which affects the

design and control of these supplies. Techniques such as unity power factor control and other techniques will be

reviewed to overcome this and meet the standards.

Stochastic Predictive Control of Switched Reluctance Motor

Najib K Dankadai and Mohammed Elgendy

This research will investigate the application of a stochastic model predictive controller (MPC) for direct instantaneous

torque control of a switched reluctance motor (SRM). In this project, an objective function of MPC will be developed to

ensure tracking of the desired torque as accurate as possible with low ripples, minimize winding currents and improve

system operation during normal and faulty conditions. The objective function of the MPC will be varying with time by

a fast and non-complex auto-tuning algorithm to cope with the SR machine uncertain inductance profile. The proposed

structure of the controller will also consist of a designed filter with the low computational cost to allow a fast response,

ambient noise rejection, and robustness. Finally, simulation and experimental results will be provided to demonstrate

the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.

A new compact axial flux permanent magnet motor development for dishwasher using soft magnetic composites.

Nasiru Aliyu , Glynn Atkinson and Nick Stannard

With increasing demand for electric motors used in nearly all sectors of our day to day activities, which range from the

motor that rotates the washing machine and dishwasher to the tens of thousands of motors in the vehicle we drive. The

number of applications for soft magnetic composites (SMC) material is growing significantly. This paper presents the

development of a new compact single sided concentrated winding axial flux PM motor using soft magnetic composite

as core for reducing core losses and cost. The effects of changing the flux carrying component to pressed SMC parts is

investigate based on a comprehensive understanding of the properties of the material. A 3-D finite-element analysis is

performed for accurate parameter calculation. To validate the simulation, a new static test measurement was fully

conducted on a prototype motor and the results agree with the theoretical calculations and old measured static test.

Hybrid Electric Aircraft Propulsion Motor

Nicola Chiodetta

Moving to Hybrid Electric Aircraft Propulsion is now being recognised as a major option to provide more

environmentally friendly air travel. Maximum exploitation of existing gas turbines technology has already been

reached, and no significant further development is forecasted. Latest models for electrical solutions suggest up to 75%

fuel (CO2) savings with corresponding gains in NOx and noise emissions. Multiple propulsion configurations have

been proposed, among which the BLI (Boundary Layer Ingestion), that this project will aim to design a propulsion

motor for.

Since airplanes will need to fly by means of electrical propulsion rather than continue to exploit conventional turbo

engines, electrical machines design must achieve extremely high power densities. Novel configurations need to be

studied, as no existing electrical machine can reach the performance required by the aerospace sector: at least 20

kW/kg. High speeds/high power solutions with particular attention on the cooling side will be investigated.

Energy storage in the context of smart grids

Nikolas Spiliopoulos , Phil Taylor, Neal Wade and Damian Giaouris

The concept of energy storage in the context of smart grids is investigated. Part of the research is focused on EVs and

particularly in Vehicle - to - Grid (V2G) technology. More precisely, the potential benefits that an EV owner could gain

for providing particular services are examined. One scenario evaluates the use of vehicle, for providing energy to the

home of the owner (Vehicle-to-Home concept). Moreover, other aspects of energy storage concept are going to be

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evaluated in the context of battery degradation and renewable energy integration. In addition smart techniques, such as

Demand –Side Management (DSM) could be correlated as well, by investigating the benefits for the grid and the

customers. A challenging issue, will be to evaluate how DSM could compromise customer’s comfort and give solutions

towards this direction.

Control of the Linear Electric Machines in a Free Piston Engine

Timothy D. Scott

Free Piston Engine (FPE) technology promises the prospect of higher efficiency, lower emission, fuel flexible

combustion engines. Coupled to a linear electric generator, Free Piston Engines are an attractive possibility for future

range extender technology in series hybrid electric vehicles. However as purely linear machines, with their motion

ungoverned by a crankshaft, challenges remain with the degree of control needed to keep Free Piston Engines operating

in a safe, reliable and efficient manner. These have to be addressed before commercial FPE technology will become

widely available. This presentation identifies these challenges and looks at how they might be addressed. In particular it

studies the issues around the control of the linear electric machine, used both as a starter and a generator within these

engines.

A Comprehensive Comparison in a Dynamic Electric Vehicle Charging System

Van-Binh Vu, Mohamed Dahidah and Volker Pickert

Electric vehicle technology has been intensively developed as an attempt to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions caused by

internal combustion engines in conventional vehicles. EVs in general are equipped with expensive on-board energy

storage (batteries) and power electronics for charging and discharging the battery. The main issue is that batteries take

up large space and weight portion in vehicles, and require frequent and long hour charging time for short driving range.

These problems are not easily solved by current battery technology, which currently affects the number of EVs

distributed in the market at present. In recent times, wireless power charging (WPC) of electric vehicles (EVs) has

gained huge attractions. To reduce the cost, size, weight, and volume of batteries and on-board chargers, the concept of

dynamic EV charging (DEVC) adopting WPC has been proposed. With this system, electric vehicles can be charged

wirelessly while moving on the road. A DEVC system can be classified as long-track transmitter and short-individual

transmitters. In this research, a comprehensive comparison between two kinds of transmitters in a DEVC system

illustrating with some simulation results is presented.

Sizing of Hybrid Renewable Systems with Energy for the Isle of Wight

Yarah Jamil Khawaja , Damian Giaouris, Haris Patsios and Mohamed Dahidah

This research aims to find the optimal sizing for a hybrid renewable energy system with energy storage for the Isle of

Wight, the main objective is to develop an optimization method to size the components of HRES with ESS to be applied

on the Isle of Wight, and perform a reliability and cost analysis in order to reach the optimum HRES with minimum

costs. The IOW project targets to decarbonise the electricity system of the island to make it self-sufficient in energy

from renewables. An analytical method will be applied on the distribution network of the Isle of Wight for limiting

import energy from the main grid. A various group of simulations have been executed on Matlab by implementing an

analytical method to find the adequate sizing of ESS. Three case studies were analysed based on three areas on the Isle

of Wight and they are: Cowes, Freshwater, and Newport. The results shows the power rating of the ESSs for the three

cases equal to the maximum load in that area, while the energy capacity of them increase with the load increasing.