Circuits, Sensors and Renewable Energy Sources Laboratory
Short Description: The Electric Circuits and Renewable Energy Laboratory (ECRESL) serves (a) experimental training for the allocated courses and (b) research activities of its members. Educational equipment for 16 positions is fully developed. The research equipment consist of high precision oscilloscopes, generators and multimeters, electric power quality analyzer, meters for various quantities, as well as microprocessor, DSPs and FPGAs development systems. Also, a number of PCs and peripherals and the necessary software is available. In addition, a wind-generator and a photovoltaic array are installed, along with a meteorological station with data acquisition system for the measurement of related quantities.
The research interests of the people in ECRESL are in the following topics: Electronic control devices based on fuzzy logic, neural networks and genetic algorithms. Wind energy conversion systems (interconnected to the power grid and autonomous). Photovoltaic arrays applications. Energy management systems. Sensors and measurement configurations based on data fusion and sensor networking techniques. Biomedical and bioengineering systems. Automation systems for agriculture. Development of inverters and converters, etc.
Education and Research: The research projects in which ECRESL participates, as well as the research interests and directions of its faculty/staff are branched to the following areas :
- Sensors, transducers and measurement units based on new techniques (fuzzy, neural, data fusion)
- WECS (grid interconnection, autonomous systems)
- Photovoltaic arrays applications
- Design and development of inverters and converters with maximum power tracking (MPPT) for renewable energy sources applications
- Development of fuzzy logic, neural networks and genetic algorithms based electronic systems for industrial control applications
- Energy management and optimization Systems comprising renewable energy sources (EMS)
- Energy Management and saving systems for buildings (BMS)
- Power stations dispatch, interconnected with renewable energy sources
- Bioengineering and biomedical systems
- Development of water desalination systems powered by renewable energy sources
- Development of electronic systems for agricultural applications
There is also high quality instrumentation which supports a wide spectrum of research activities on the electrical and electronic engineering area. More specifically, there are digital storage oscilloscopes with high sampling rate, a dual beam multiple traces oscilloscope, spectrum analyzing oscilloscope with FFT, a power quality analyzer, programmable function generators, high precision multimeters, an RLC measurement bridge, controlled power supplies, power and ground resistance meters, soldering / desoldering stations, as well as a PCB prototyping system. Many of the devices are featured with IEEE488, USB and RS232 interfaces for computer interconnection purposes. Additionally, microprocessor development systems (In Circuit Emulators, evaluation boards and the related S/W) for the main microprocessor families, an EEPROM-FLASH-PLD programmer, a logic analyzer and a pattern generator are also available in the laboratory.
The computer support of the ECRESL consists of a Web and Mail server, an adequate number of fully equipped PCs and network printers, all of them forming a local network interconnected to the University LAN with direct connection to the Internet. There are also peripherals, such as a color scanner, a plotter and several high resolution DAQ cards installed in PCs. All the necessary S/W necessary for the exploitation of the above units and for the development of new applications, is available.
For the renewable energy sources research activities area, there is a 2 kW wind generator and a 1 kW photovoltaic (PV) array installed in the campus (see the maps), a meteorological station for wind speed and direction, solar radiation and other related measurements, as well as a data acquisition system.
The undergraduate courses supported by the laboratory are:
- ACE 202 : Basic Circuit Theory (3rd Semester)
- ACE 212 : Electric Circuits Analysis (4th Semester)
- ACE 402 : Electric Measurements and Sensors (7th Semester)
- ACE 415 : Power Electronics (8th Semester)
- ACE 416 : Renewable Energy Sources (8th Semester)
- ACE 526 : Computer Aided Circuit Analysis (9th Semester)
- ACE 527 : Power Electric Systems (9th Semester)
- ACE 528 : Electronic Systems for Energy Management (9th Semester)
The postgraduate courses supported by the laboratory are:
- ACE 602 : Special Topics in Electric Measurements Systems
- ACE 616 : Renewable Energy Sources
- ACE 633 : Special Topics on Electric Energy Systems
- ACE 635 : Special Topics on Energy Management Electronic Systems
Sector: Electronics and Computer Architecture Division
Director: Kostas Kalaitzakis
Faculty
- Kostas Kalaitzakis - Professor
- Giorgos Stavrakakis - Professor
- Eftichios Koutroulis - Assistant Professor
Lab Staff
- Amalia Sergaki - Special Lab and Teaching Personnel
- George Markoulakis - Special Lab and Teaching Personnel
Contact
Tel.:+30 28210 37213, 37214, 37232, 37264
