A Generic Holonic Control Architecture for Heterogeneous Multiscale and Multiobjective Smart Microgrids

Abstract

Designing the control infrastructure of future "smart" power grids is a challenging task. Future grids will integrate a wide variety of heterogeneous producers and consumers that are unpredictable and operate at various scales. ICT solutions will have to control these in order to attain global objectives at the macro-level, while also considering private interests at the micro-level. This paper proposes a generic holonic architecture to help the development of ICT control systems that meet these requirements. We show how this architecture can integrate heterogeneous control designs, including state-of-the-art smart grid solutions. To illustrate the applicability and utility of this generic architecture we exemplify its use via a concrete proof-of-concept implementation for a holonic controller, which integrates two types of control solutions and manages a multi-scale multi-objective grid simulator in several scenarios. We believe that the proposed contribution is essential for helping to understand, to reason about and to develop the "smart" side of future power grids.

Self-improving system integration: Mastering continuous change

“…a) Architecture: Architectures are usually introduced to manage distributed (service-oriented [50]) software maintenance [51], wireless sensor networks [52], embedded systems [53], clouds [54] as well as infrastructures, for instance, Smart Grids [55,56]. Architectural aspects on emerging coordination [57] and self-improving interweaving [58] in Autonomous Adaptive System are also studied.…”

Current challenges and future trends in the field of communication architectures for microgrids

“…Therefore, virtual self-management allows agents to make local adaptive decisions on the basis of the information they receive from the agents to which they are linked [107], i.e., global goals are achieved by local management on the basis of local goals and knowledge. In this context, the holonic system approach has emerged [37], [108], [109]. This concept balances the importance of global and local objectives through a hierarchy of collaborative holons.…”

Design Framework for Reliable Multiple Autonomic Loops in Smart Environments

“…In [25], [5], [12], [24], the authors propose multiple autonomic loops for the management of large and/or complex adaptive systems. They identify one or more composition patterns (e.g., collaboration, hierarchy) and explain how they are coordinated to avoid conflicts.…”

“…Several solutions have been proposed for the design and the implementation of single autonomic loop [1], [13], [8], [14]. Solutions for multiple autonomic loops coordination have also been proposed [5], [12], [15], [10], [24], [2], [3]. However, these solutions do not handle the inconsistencies that can result from communication errors and hardware failures.…”