Steel production worldwide continues to grow and, consequently, also the energy consumption of the steel sector. With the applications of the electric arc furnace route in the steelmaking process, the concern with aspects of power quality and overload of the transmission grid lines increases. This work presents the zero harmonic distortion (ZHD) converter static synchronous compensator (STATCOM), which makes it possible to increase the displacement power factor of an electric arc furnace (EAF) application from 0.88 to 0.98 with total demand distortion in the grid around 1.44% with the ZHD prototype operation, this being accomplished without using high-order sinusoidal filters and with consolidated components in the industry.

Heavy machinery is critical to agriculture, construction, mining, and other sectors of a country’s economy. However, such vehicles consume a high amount of fuel, increasing production costs and the emission of polluting gases into the atmosphere. One of the alternatives to reduce fuel consumption is the electrification of these vehicles, but the definition of an optimal topology for the electrification of heavy vehicles is still under study, and works with electric drive systems projects for these machines are scarce. This paper presents the main characteristics of the design of an electric drive system for the electrification of a backhoe, including the control and simulation of the motor drive system, and presents a prototype bench and experimental tests carried out in the context of the hybridization topology presented. Based in these results, improvements are proposed and discussed with aid of computational simulation.

This work presents a study of the performance of prime mover and hydraulic implement electrification in a backhoe loader. The results are validated through simulation and experimental tests. The construction and agriculture sector has grown in recent years with the aid of compact non-road mobile machines. However, as is common in fossil fuel-powered vehicles, they significantly contribute to increasing emissions. Previous research has primarily relied on powertrain electrification to address the low-efficiency drawbacks. Notably, compact off-road vehicles comprise implements less discussed in the literature. A hybrid series topology is employed, where the rear implement is driven by an electrical drive and the Diesel engine is coupled to a generator. A rule-based energy management strategy is applied. The operation of the Diesel engine and electrical machines in optimal points of the efficiency maps are the basis of the analysis. The design is validated using simulations and experimental tests in a commercial backhoe loader as a benchmark. Experimental and simulation results obtained from the hybrid series backhoe loader applied to the hydraulic implement show a 33% reduction in fuel consumption, demonstrating the effectiveness of electrification in reducing emissions and fuel consumption of compact non-road mobile machines.

The Zero Harmonic Distortion converter is a grid-tied converter that can be used in various applications in the metal industry. Its current is sinusoidal and obtained without using a high-frequency rectifier and capacitive filter elements. Instead, there is a three-winding transformer with two converters using selective harmonic elimination (SHE) modulation. However, its use on an already distorted grid presents a challenge to mitigate current distortions. This paper discusses the implementation of a new set of angles for SHE modulation that generates a lower level of non-eliminated harmonics and therefore reduces the current total demand distortion (TDD). Experimental results show a TDD reduction of from 7.39% to 2.41% in distorted grids, within the limits recommended by IEEE 519-2022, and a TDD of 2.02% in sinusoidal grids.

Grid-forming converters in islanded microgrids face power quality problems due to disturbing loads and possible resonance issues caused by multiple electronically interfaced systems. In addition, grid-forming converters require complex control, filters or topology structures. The present work proposes the application of the Zero Harmonic Distortion Converter (ZHD) as a grid-forming converter due to its inherently sinusoidal voltage source characteristic without the need for capacitive filtering elements that negatively impact costs, efficiency, size, and can originate resonance conditions. These features are achieved by the harmonic cancellation in a three-winding transformer along with harmonic elimination using the Selective Harmonic Elimination Pulse Width Modulation (SHE PWM). Simulation, hardware-in-the-loop, and experimental results show the ZHD converter setting voltage and frequency to an islanded microgrid, delivering sinusoidal voltage waveforms respecting the IEEE 519 harmonic limits, even in the presence of nonlinear loads.

In recent decades, the use of photovoltaic (PV) modules as a source of electricity has grown significantly, driven largely by government incentives and regulatory advancements. However, merely installing these systems does not ensure optimal energy production, as maximizing solar energy capture requires additional measures. This study examines the impact of dirt accumulation on PV modules, focusing on a system installed at the School of Engineering of the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. The research involved visual and thermographic analyses, as well as an evaluation of the I–V and P–V curve behavior for specific system arrays, which were cleaned during the 2024 dry season. Electrical parameters were compared between the dirty and cleaned states of the system, and the soiling ratio (SR) was calculated, ranging from 0.91 in the most affected case to 0.93 in the least affected.