Publications by Elena Vagnoni | EPFL Graph Search

Fatigue damage reduction in hydropower startups with machine learning

Martin Seydoux, Elena Vagnoni, Ekaterina Krymova, Alessandro Morabito

As the global shift towards renewable energy accelerates, achieving stability in power systems is crucial. Hydropower accounts for approximately 17% of energy produced worldwide, and with its capacity for active and reactive power regulation, is well-suite ...

2025

A physics-based and data-aided transient prediction framework for sustainable operation of pumped-storage hydropower systems

Elena Vagnoni

Achieving accurate predictions of transient processes for pumped-storage hydropower stations (PSHSs) remains a key challenge due to uncertainties in on-site parameters, particularly the pump-turbine characteristic curves (PTCCs), and limitations of the phy ...

2025

Damage prediction of turbine start-up sequence of a full size frequency converter variable speed pump-turbine using transient stress signals

Elena Vagnoni

Hydropower plants have a high ability to control the stability of the electrical power system, since they are dispatchable energy sources and have a fast response time for providing ancillary services. Therefore, they are key players to guarantee the energ ...

Institute of Physics2025

On the prediction of the induced damage by the start-up sequence of Francis turbines: On operational resilience framework

Christophe Nicolet, Mario Paolone, Martin Seydoux, Elena Vagnoni

The number of transient operations in hydraulic machinery connected to power grid, notably start-ups and shut-downs, has observed a substantial increase in recent decades, primarily driven by the global shift toward intermittent renewable energy sources. S ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

CFD-based analysis of pumped storage power plants implementing hydraulic short circuit operations

Elena Vagnoni, Alessandro Morabito

Hydraulic short circuit (HSC), corresponding to the simultaneous operation of the pumps and turbines, enhances the power flexibility of a pumped storage power plant (PSPP). However, comprehensive analyses are imperative to guarantee a secure and reliable o ...

Elsevier Sci Ltd2024

The new role of sustainable hydropower in flexible energy systems and its technical evolution through innovation and digitalization

Elena Vagnoni

Hydropower has played an important role in Europe in recent decades, offering a unique combination of safe, low-cost, and clean power generation. Today, it is still one of the largest renewable energy sources (RES), accounting for about 35 % of RES electri ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2024

Evaluation of the fatigue-related influence of start-ups on Pelton turbines based on reduced scale model stress measurements

Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Aldo Leonardo Alerci

All rights reserved.In recent decades, the electricity industry has undergone a significant transformation from a vertically integrated supply system to a market-regulated structure. This shift, along with the intermittent nature of increasingly prevalent ...

Institute of Physics2024

Experimental investigation of repurposed Kaplan turbines as variable-speed propellers for maximizing Frequency Containment Reserve

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Martin Seydoux, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

This study explores the practical viability of repurposing aging Kaplan turbines into variable-speed propellers by employing full-size frequency converters. The motivation behind this approach is to improve the provision of Frequency Containment Reserve (F ...

Elsevier2024

On the modelling of the fatigue-induced damage in Francis turbines start-up sequences

Martin Seydoux, Elena Vagnoni, Ekaterina Krymova, Alessandro Morabito

The European Green Deal is prescribing a very ambitious rise in the annual production of renewable energy sources, and grid regulation services are increasingly important in the course of a massive integration of intermittent renewable energy sources. Alth ...

Institute of Physics2024

Optimal Short-Term Dispatch of Pumped-Storage Hydropower Plants Including Hydraulic Short Circuit

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

This paper proposes a methodology to optimize the dispatch and reserve between multiple units in a Hydroelectric Power Plant (HPP) that makes use of the Hydraulic Short Circuit (HSC) operating mode. HSC allows for the simultaneous generation and pumping fr ...

IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers2024

Enhanced Frequency Containment Reserve provision from battery hybridized hydropower plants: Theory and experimental validation

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Martin Seydoux, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

This paper presents a solution to address wear and tear of Run-of-River (RoR) Hydropower Plants (HPPs) providing enhanced Frequency Containment Reserve (FCR). In this respect, the study proposes the integration of a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) wit ...

Elsevier2024

Upper part-load instability in a reduced-scale Francis turbine: an experimental study

François Avellan, Andres Müller, Elena Vagnoni, Ali Amini

Francis turbines with medium or high specific speeds may experience a particular type of instability in the upper part load in which the precessing vortex has an elliptical shape. The occurrence of the upper part-load instability (UPLI) is accompanied by l ...

SPRINGER2023

Structural impact of the start-up sequence on Pelton turbines lifetime: Analytical prediction and polynomial optimization

Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Aldo Leonardo Alerci

Hydropower plants play a crucial role in the power system facing ambitious renewable energy targets. Due to their inherent controllability, they are well suited to provide flexibility to the grid. However, an increased flexibility provision leads to a prol ...

Pergamon-Elsevier Science Ltd2023

Local Effects of Grid-Forming Converters Providing Frequency Regulation to Bulk Power Grids

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Antonio Zecchino, Yihui Zuo, Francesco Gerini

The progressive displacing of conventional generation in favor of renewable energy sources requires restoring an adequate capacity of regulating power to ensure reliable operation of power systems. Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) are considered to b ...

IEEE2022

Prediction of unstable full load conditions in a Francis turbine prototype

François Avellan, Joao Gomes Pereira Junior, Elena Vagnoni

Francis turbines operating in full load conditions feature an axisymmetric vortex rotating in the opposite direction of the turbine runner. In low-pressure conditions, the resulting cavitation vortex may enter in an unstable self-exciting process, leading ...

ACADEMIC PRESS LTD- ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD2022

Optimal grid-forming control of battery energy storage systems providing multiple services: Modeling and experimental validation

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Zhao Yuan, Elena Vagnoni, Rahul Kumar Gupta, Antonio Zecchino, Yihui Zuo, Francesco Gerini

This paper proposes and experimentally validates a joint control and scheduling framework for a grid-forming converter-interfaced Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESSs) providing multiple services to the electrical grid. The framework is designed to dispat ...

Elsevier2022

Optimal CAM Computation of Kaplan Turbines Accounting for Wear and Tear Originated by Frequency Control

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

Nowadays, the importance of providing frequency stability to power systems with hydropower units is significantly increasing due to the growing proportion of volatile renewable energy sources. However, the provision of such services, as frequency containme ...

IEEE2021

Digitalization in hydropower generation: development and numerical validation of a model-based Smart Power Plant Supervisor

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

The paper presents the development of a model-based Smart Power Plant Supervisor, a digital tool targeting the optimization of the operation and maintenance of hydroelectric units to improve ancillary services provision to the power system. The paper focus ...

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2021

Improving frequency containment reserve provision in run-of-river hydropower plants

Sidi-Rachid Cherkaoui, Mario Paolone, Elena Vagnoni, Francesco Gerini

The paper presents a model-based control strategy for optimal asset management of hydroelectric units in run-of-river hydropower plants. The proposed control strategy aims to operate the unit at the best efficiency while improving water flow management and ...

2021

An experimental study on the upper part-load elliptical vortex instability in a Francis turbine

François Avellan, Andres Müller, Arthur Tristan Favrel, Elena Vagnoni, Ali Amini

This paper presents preliminary results of an experimental study on the occurrence and development of the upper part-load instability in a reduced-scale Francis turbine. The study includes draft tube pressure measurements, high-speed flow visualization, an ...

IOP PUBLISHING LTD2021