Master thesis: Influence of component aging and failure on the power grid resilience

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (www.fraunhofer.com) currently operates 76 institutes and research institutions throughout Germany and is the world’s leading applied research organization. Around 30 800 employees work with an annual research budget of 3.0 billion euros.

The Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft (www.fraunhofer.de) currently operates 76 institutes and research facilities in Germany and is the world's leading organization for application-oriented research. Around 30,800 employees work on the annual research volume of 3.0 billion euros.

The Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institute, EMI, with its 300 employees offers challenging, diverse tasks with responsibility and a lot of creative freedom to dedicated people. On behalf of our customers from various areas of industry and government, we apply the latest findings from science and research to concrete projects in an interdisciplinary manner. Our fields of application are defense, safety and security, space, automotive and aviation.

The Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institute, EMI has a vacant position in the department of Safety, Security and Resilience of Technical Systems in Efringen-Kirchen for a master thesis on the subject: Modeling the influence of component aging and failure on the power grid resilience.

What you will do

Background:
The group agent-based simulation methods investigate the resilience of the German power grid in context of the transition to renewable energy, climate change and increasing digitization as part of the BMBF project RESIST. The resilience is assessed in terms of so-called “Key Performance Indicators” (KPI) which quantify (as ensemble) the capabilities of the power grid to mitigate disturbances, limit their impact in case a mitigation is not possible and restore full functionality after damaging events. Discussions with grid operators showed that understanding the influence of component failures due to aging and changing operation caused by the transformation of energy production is very important to get an encompassing understanding of the resilience of the distribution grids.

Your tasks:
This master thesis addresses exactly this question.

At the start, a structured comprehensive literature review of existing data for the failure of power grid components is performed. Questions to be answered are: which components are prone to failure? Are different references investigating the same component consistent? Are there predictions how the changing operation of power grids due to the energy transition influences the failure probabilities?
Based on the findings, a network model of a transmission grid that explicitly includes the identified critical components is constructed. Simulations using the EMI tool CaESAR are performed to investigate the dynamics of failure cascades caused by component failures for different component ages and (if possible) loading states. The simulation results are investigated to identify and order the relevance of the different components from perspective of the network model.
The findings are used to propose one (or several) “Component-KPI(s)” which quantify the resilience of some distribution grid regrading component age and (if possible) loading state.

What you bring to the table

You are a student of a technical or scientific subject, e.g. computer science, mathematics, physics, engineering, electrical engineering,
You ideally have programming skills, e.g. in Python, C++ or R
You are interested in the modeling and understanding of technical systems and resilience
Excellent communication skills and ability to work collaboratively in a team
Reliable and independent work approach

What you can expect

Very good supervision by experienced scientists who will support you in your work.
Interdisciplinary collaboration with colleagues from different fields.
Very good working atmosphere in a state-of-the-art working environment equipped with the latest technologies and resources.
Opportunity to participate in groundbreaking research projects.
Flexible working time models.

The weekly working time is 39 hours. We value and promote the diversity of our employees' skills and therefore welcome all applications - regardless of age, gender, nationality, ethnic and social origin, religion, ideology, disability, sexual orientation and identity. Severely disabled persons are given preference in the event of equal suitability. Remuneration according to the general works agreement for employing assistant staff.

With its focus on developing key technologies that are vital for the future and enabling the commercial utilization of this work by business and industry, Fraunhofer plays a central role in the innovation process. As a pioneer and catalyst for groundbreaking developments and scientific excellence, Fraunhofer helps shape society now and in the future.

Interested? Apply online now. We look forward to getting to know you!

For questions about this position, please contact:
Katriya Seitz
Recruiting
Katriya.Seitz@emi.fraunhofer.de

Fraunhofer Institute for High-Speed Dynamics, Ernst-Mach-Institut EMI

www.emi.fraunhofer.de

Requisition Number: 73578

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