Semarang State Polytechnic (Polines) has again added lecturers with doctoral degrees. Dwiana Hendrawati, a lecturer in Mechanical Engineering at Polines, won a doctorate at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Sepuluh Nopember Institute of Technology (ITS) Surabaya.
Dwiana Hendrawati, raised her dissertation research with the title Reconfiguration of Wind Turbine Power Coefficient Values Based on the Firefly Algorithm to Increase Wind Power Generation (PLTB). He was declared to have graduated as the 128th doctorate from ITS Electrical Engineering with a very satisfactory predicate in the Doctoral Promotion Open Session which was held at the ITS Surabaya campus, Friday (23/8).
As a promoter in this doctoral promotion, Prof. Ir. Mochamad Ashari, M.Eng., Ph.D who is also the Chancellor of ITS, while the co-promoter, Prof. Dr. Ir. Adi Soeprijanto, MT For the examiners, Prof. Dr. Ir. Bambang Sujanarko, MM, Dr. Ir. Soedibyo, M.MT, and Dedet Candra Riawan, ST, M.Eng, Ph.D.
Also attending the Doctoral Open Session were Dr. Totok Prasetyo BEng MT, Director of Higher Education Institutional Development of the Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education (Kemenristekdikti). Also attended by, Ir. Supriyadi, MT, Director of Polines. In addition, the Deputy Director of Polines, as well as the leadership of the department and lecturers of mechanical engineering of Polines.
The research conducted by Dwiana Hendrawati aims to determine the optimization design of a Wind Power Plant (PLTB) that produces optimal electrical energy using the firefly algorithm. The potential for wind energy in Indonesia is 9,290 MW and only about 1.1 MW has been utilized. Utilization of wind energy into electrical energy is still limited, encouraging research on the use of wind energy on a large scale in wind farms or wind power plants (PLTB). The maximum power extraction constraint in PLTB is the wake effect which causes the downstream turbines to experience a decrease in speed compared to the upstream turbines. The decrease in speed results in a decrease in the overall power of the PLTB. Therefore, this study designed an optimization algorithm for increasing the power of PLTB. To achieve this goal, this research develops a firefly algorithm to optimize turbine operation (WFCO/Wind Farm Control Optimization), which begins with turbine placement optimization (WFLO/Wind Farm Layout Optimization). Serially, the optimization design provides two main contributions, namely the turbine placement model and the design of the blade pitch angle determination algorithm that represents the power coefficient. The application of the optimization method succeeded in increasing the power up to 20,33%; for wind potential between 4 to 10 m/s.
Dwiana said that currently renewable energy needs to be better utilized. With the increasing demand for energy in Indonesia, wind energy can be a good choice. The conversion of wind into electrical energy will be more optimal if it is carried out on a large scale through this PLTB. This is an obstacle to developing these energy sources. "Wind energy is not given much attention because it requires investment funds and a large area of land," he said.
The results of his research succeeded in finding that the PLTB design with a staggered or zigzag position was more suitable to be applied in Indonesia. This is because the wind speed in Indonesia only ranges from three to five meters per second. While the aligned layout is more advantageous if applied to an area that extends in the direction of the greater wind speed.