Electronic Instrumentation for Distributed Generation and Power Processes

The goal of the book is to provide basic and advanced knowledge of design, analysis, and circuit implementation for electronic instrumentation and clarify how to get the best out of the analog, digital, and computer circuitry design steps. The reader will learn the physical fundamentals guiding the electrical and mechanical devices that allow for a modern automation and control system, which are widely comprised of computers, electronic instrumentation, communication loops, smart grids, and digital circuitry. It includes practical and technical data on electronic instrumentation with respect to efficiency, maximum power, and applications. Additionally, the text discusses fuzzy logic and neural networks and how they can be used in practice for electronic instrumentation of distributed generation and power systems.

Felix Alberto Farret was born in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil. He received his Bachelor and Master degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria, in 1972 and 1976, respectively. He was a specialist in electronic instrumentation at Osaka Prefectural Industrial Research Institute, Japan, in 1975. Later, he received his MSc from the University of Manchester, UMIST, England in 1981, and then his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of London, Imperial College, England in 1984. He followed a Postdoctoral program in alternative energy sources in the Colorado School of Mines, USA, 2003. He worked as an operation and maintenance engineer at the State Electric Power Company (CEEE), RGS, Brazil in 1973-1974. He was a visiting professor at the Colorado School of Mines in the Division of Engineering, USA in 2002-2003. Dr. Farret has published several books on electrical power sources of energy. Currently, he is a Professor of Electronic Instrumentation in the Department of Processing Energy, Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil. His interests are mostly related to industrial applications in integration, sizing and location of alternative power sources for distribution and industrial systems including stacks of fuel cells, hydro generators, wind, photovoltaic, geothermal energy storage applications in batteries and other power converter systems.

Marcelo Godoy Simoes received a B.Sc. degree from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, a M.Sc. degree from University of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and a Ph.D. degree from The University of Tennessee, USA in 1985, 1990 and 1995 respectively. He received his D.Sc. degree (Livre-Docencia) from the University of Sao Paulo in 1998. Dr. Simoes was a US Fulbright Fellow for AY 2014-15, working for Aalborg University, Institute of Energy Technology (Denmark). He has been elevated to the grade of IEEE Fellow, Class of 2016, with the citation: "for applications of artificial intelligence in control of power electronics systems." He is with Colorado School of Mines since 2000, and is currently a Visiting-Professor with Petroleum Institute, in Abu Dhabi (UAE), from January to December of 2016.

Danilo Iglesias Brandao was born in Sao Goncalo do Sapucai, Brazil. He received his M.Sc. degree from Universidade EstadualPaulista, Brazil in 2013, and a Ph.D. degree from University of Campinas, Brazil in 2015—both in electrical engineering. He was a FAPESP scholarship student from 2008 to 2015, a visiting researcher at Colorado School of Mines, USA, in 2009 and in 2013, and at University of Padova, Italy, in 2014. He is currently an Associate Professor of Electronics with the Department of Electrical Energy (DEE), Federal University of Minas Gerais. His main interests are power filter, power quality, photovoltaic power system, distributed energy resource and microgrid. Dr. Brandao is a member of IEEE and SOBRAEP