Eleventh International Conference on Road Transport Information and Control, 2002. (Conf. Publ. No. 486)

Currently the operators of electrical distribution networks face a number of challenges, such as load growth, the proliferation of distributed generation and ageing infrastructure. This is drawing attention to techniques which will allow more efficient asset utilisation and facilitate network dynamic management. Power system component real-time ratings are a cost effective solution for increasing network power transfer capacity. Instantaneous ratings can be used for this purpose, but distribution network operator decision making capability regarding network power flow management would be enhanced by the adoption of rating forecasts. Therefore this paper presents an investigation into the technical challenges and potential benefits of power system component rating forecasts. Weather forecasts are used with power system component thermal models and a state estimation technique for calculating rating forecasts at different time horizons.

The car parking business must focus on customer service. This will progressively be about providing better information about spaces available and services to find the car park; for example, signs that light up to indicate the number of spaces available in a car park some way away. The common database architecture supports developing customer service and more cost effective monitoring for multivendor equipment operators.

The introduction of GPRS and UMTS data services for mobile operators greatly increases the complexity of payment solutions since services can no longer be charged on simple duration basis but have to be tailored to the value of service being offered. At the same time, payment schemes need to be affordable and easy to understand for commercial success. The paper describes Nortel Networks' view of the problem domain, where 3GPP IMS (IP multimedia core network subsystem) and OSA (open service access) models provide support (or not) and explains its approach to addressing these problems through a modular, but integrated, solution.

In this paper, we have shown how an OPF tool can enhance an estimated state of a power system network, especially in the unobservable areas. The solution of this problem considers two major aspects: optimizing on the one hand the unobservable areas while respecting the observable areas and on the other hand mathematical methods to solve the nonlinear optimization problem. The addition of active line flow constraints associated to the confidence interval of the estimated line flows greatly helps in respect of the estimated state in the observable areas. Our future work consists in introducing confidence intervals of the enhanced parameters.

OFDM-based wireless LANs will be implemented in the 2.4 GHz ISM band as well as the 5 GHz band. OFDM WLANs provide very high data rates, resilience to multipath and extended operating range. However, they will encounter new interference sources, foremost among them being Bluetooth devices. The paper looks at the coexistence of OFDM WLANs with Bluetooth devices and the use of symbol erasures to ameliorate this interference source.

In this paper we present a geometrically based stochastic model implementation of a MIMO radio channel model. This is based on a 3D two bounce model. The model is designed to be dependent on parameters associated with the deployment scenario rather than being based on any stochastic radio channel information.

Multilevel inverters, including the flying-capacitor topology require more complex control due to the additional flexibility offered by the multiple output voltage levels. One such control method is based on the conventional sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) scheme and uses multiple triangular carriers. There are a number of SPWM variants that achieve the desired inverter control. This paper presents the results of an investigation into these different schemes and their influence on the power quality and efficiency of a flying-capacitor inverter.

Using measurements, a method for optimising in-building UMTS coverage is proposed, minimising cost, complexity and development time. This approach also increases reliability, capacity and system performance for UMTS networks, where interference management is the key to success in improving coverage and capacity.

The Traffic Responsive Intelligent Speed and Headway Adaptation (TRISHA) project investigated the effects of the external application of limits to the performance of individual vehicles from the roadside. The limits considered were maximum speed and minimum headway based on real-time traffic flow information. The objective of such limits would be to promote smoother traffic flow and better control. The project explored the impacts of such systems mainly through detailed modelling of various scenarios.

The downlink soft handover gain is analysed in UMTS networks under three different power control situations: without power control, with perfect power control and with imperfect power control. The results show that although power control in the downlink direction is not as crucial as it in the uplink direction, it does have a significant influence on the downlink soft handover gain. The downlink soft handover gain will be overestimated without considering the power control and underestimated without considering the imperfection of the power control process.