Associate Professor Rahul Sharma

Associate Professor

School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Faculty of Engineering, Architecture and Information Technology
rahul.sharma@uq.edu.au
+61 7 336 57240

Overview

The core area of my research is ‘Control systems applications’. This encompasses system modelling, control development and model-based fault diagnosis. The specific application areas of my core area in the order of priority are as follows:

  1. Solar farm fault detection and diagnosis: The theme of this work is to use control theoretic concepts to devise methods for automatic detection and diagnosis of underperforming solar panels in large solar farm spread over hectares of land. Underperformance in solar panels could be due to faults, degradation or panel soiling. The work involves extensive experimental work on an experimental setup at UQ and ongoing field trials at Gatton Solar farm. This work is of significant industrial and commercialisation potential as underperforming solar panels have major economic and safety consequences in large solar farms.
  2. Control of grid-connected inverters: The main objective here is to apply advanced control theory for the control of grid-connected inverters. Power quality, stability and performance outcomes associated with grid connected inverters is heavily reliant on underlying control algorithms. Despite significant advancements in inverter technologies, the underlying control methods continue to be rudimentary. This research theme is aimed at applying advanced modern control methods to tackle operational challenges associated with growing number of grid connected inverters.
  3. Control algorithms for demand side management: Demand side management is a key tool in the effective and efficient management of future power networks comprising of distributed and intermittent energy resources. However, most of the existing demand side potential to improve power network performance remains untapped mostly due to lack of adequate control algorithms. This reserach theme is to develop novel control methods based on advanced control theory for effective and robust management of distributed energy resources.

Prospective PhD students are welcome to contact me directly (rahul.sharma@uq.edu.au) provided you have strong academic credentials and relavent background/research experience & interest in one or more of the above areas in control system applications.

Publications

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Grants

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Supervision

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Publications

Book Chapter

  • Habibullah, Mohammad, Mithulananthan, N., Sharma, Rahul and Shah, Md. Rakibuzzaman (2021). A comprehensive stability analysis of multi-converter-based DC microgrids. Emerging power converters for renewable energy and electric vehicles: modeling, design, and control. (pp. 281-314) edited by Md. Rabiul Islam, Md. Rakibuzzaman Shah and Mohd. Hasan Ali. Boca Raton, FL United States: CRC Press. doi: 10.1201/9781003058472-8

Journal Article

Conference Publication

  • Sharma, Rahul, kumar, Ashish, Mathur, Aviral and Kumar, Dadhish (2023). An Approach to Enhance the Performance of Hybrid Solar Dryer. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. doi: 10.1007/978-981-19-3498-8_6

  • Sharma, Aditi, Sharma, Chandani, Sharma, Rahul and Panchal, K. D. (2023). Crime Analysis and Prediction in 7 States of India Using Statistical Software RStudio. Springer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH. doi: 10.1007/978-981-19-9888-1_8

  • Taghvaie, Amir, Zare, Firuz, Sharma, Rahul and Kumar, Dinesh (2022). Mathematical analysis of grid impedance effects on grid harmonics and commutations in a distribution network with a three-phase diode-rectifier. 10th IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (IEEE PEDES), Jaipur, India, 14-17 December 2022. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/pedes56012.2022.10080367

  • Moradi, Arash, Zare, Firuz, Kumar, Dinesh and Sharma, Rahul (2022). The influence of background voltage interharmonics on amplifying current distortions in distribution networks. 10th IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (IEEE PEDES), Jaipur, India, 14-17 December 2022. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/pedes56012.2022.10080168

  • Lankeshwara, Gayan and Sharma, Rahul (2022). Dynamic operating envelopes-enabled demand response in low-voltage residential networks. 14th IEEE PES Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC), Melbourne, Australia, 20-23 November 2022. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/appeec53445.2022.10072108

  • Pradana, Adlan, Nadarajah, Mithulanathan, Haque, M. M., Sharma, Rahul, Setiadi, Herlambang and Kristianto, Awan Uji (2022). SoC-dependent electric vehicle model for frequency V2G support service. 2022 IEEE PES 14th Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC) , Melbourne, VIC, Australia, 20-23 November 2022. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/appeec53445.2022.10072057

  • Taghvaie, Amir, Zare, Firuz, Sharma, Rahul and Kumar, Dinesh (2022). Impacts of grid impedance on power quality of converters in distribution networks. 48th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, Brussels, Belgium, 17-20 October 2022. Piscataway, NJ USA: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/iecon49645.2022.9968362

  • Lankeshwara, Gayan, Sharma, Rahul, Yan, Ruifeng and Saha, Tapan K. (2021). Control of residential air-conditioning loads to provide regulation services under uncertainties. 2021 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, PESGM 2021, Washington, DC United States, 26 - 29 July 2021. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE Computer Society. doi: 10.1109/PESGM46819.2021.9637890

  • Sunbul, Ali, Zare, Firuz, Sharma, Rahul and Ghosh, Arindam (2021). A comprehensive steady-state analysis for Modular Multi-Parallel Rectifiers (MMR) with shared DC-link. IEEE 19th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference (PEMC), Online, 25-29 April, 2021. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PEMC48073.2021.9432630

  • Matijevic, Edi, Sharma, Rahul, Zare, Firuz and Kumar, Dinesh (2021). Adaptive grid current feedback active damping for active front end converters. 2021 IEEE 19th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference (PEMC), Gliwice, Poland, 25-29 April 2021. Piscataway, NJ United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/pemc48073.2021.9432565

  • Moradi, Arash, Yaghoobi, Jalil, Zare, Firuz, Kumar, Dinesh, Sharma, Rahul and Kroese, Dirk (2021). Current harmonics generated by multi-power converters in distribution networks in the frequency range of 2-9 kHz. IEEE 19th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference (PEMC), Gliwice, Poland, 25-29 April 2021. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PEMC48073.2021.9432621

  • Sunbul, Ali, Zare, Firuz, Sharma, Rahul and Ghosh, Arindam (2021). Steady-state analysis of Modular multi-Parallel Rectifiers (MMR) with lossy elements. IEEE 19th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference (PEMC), Gliwice, Poland, 25-29 April 2021. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PEMC48073.2021.9432631

  • Sunbul, Ali, Zare, Firuz, Sharma, Rahul and Ghosh, Arindam (2021). Democratic current sharing controller for Modular Multi-Parallel Rectifiers (MMR). Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Perth, WA, Australia, 26-30 September 2021. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/AUPEC52110.2021.9597780

  • Matijevic, Edi, Sharma, Rahul and Zare, Firuz (2020). A higher-order filter approach to implement grid current based active damping in active front end converters. 2020 IEEE International Conference on Power Electronics, Drives and Energy Systems (PEDES), Jaipur, India, 16-19 December 2020. Piscataway, NJ United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/pedes49360.2020.9379552

  • Alduraibi, Abdulrahman, Yaghoobi, Jalil, Rathnayake, Hansika, Zare, Firuz and Sharma, Rahul (2019). Dynamic analysis of a modular three-phase rectifier system with harmonic mitigation function: Addressing IEC 61000-3-12. 2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Melbourne, Australia, 13-15 February, 2019. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/icit.2019.8755236

  • Rathnayake, Hansika, Solatialkaran, Davood, Zare, Firuz and Sharma, Rahul (2019). Grid-tied inverters in renewable energy systems: Harmonic emission in 2 to 9 kHz frequency range. 21st European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications, Genova, Italy, 3-5 September, 2019. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.23919/epe.2019.8914845

  • Rathnayake, Hansika, Khajeh, Kiarash Gharani, Zare, Firuz and Sharma, Rahul (2019). Harmonic analysis of grid-tied active front end inverters for the frequency range of 0-9 kHz in distribution networks: Addressing future regulations. 2019 IEEE International Conference on Industrial Technology (ICIT), Melbourne, Australia, 13-15 February, 2019. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/icit.2019.8755015

  • Habibullah, Mohamad, Mithulananthan, N., Zare, Firuz and Sharma, Rahul (2019). Impact of control systems on power quality at common DC bus in DC grid. IEEE PES GTD Grand International Conference and Exposition Asia (GTD Asia 2019), Bangkok, Thailand, 19-23 March 2019. New York, NY, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi: 10.1109/GTDAsia.2019.8715875

  • Mat Suboh, S. and Sharma, R. (2019). Robust control of wind turbines under uncertain wind speed measurements. IEEE PES GTD Grand International Conference and Exposition Asia (GTD Asia 2019), Bangkok, Thailand, 19-23 March 2019. New York, NY, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). doi: 10.1109/GTDAsia.2019.8715877

  • Alduraibi, Abdulrahman, Yaghoobi, Jalil, Zare, Firuz and Sharma, Rahul (2018). A new technology to reduce harmonic emission in distribution networks: Addressing IEC 61000-3-12. Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Auckland, New Zealand, 27-30 November 2018. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/AUPEC.2018.8758007

  • Surina, M.S. and Sharma, R. (2017). Control strategy of wind turbine generator with storage in short-term dispatch scheme. 7th IEEE Innovative Smart Grid Technologies - Asia (ISGT-Asia), Auckland, New Zealand, 4-7 December 2017. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/ISGT-Asia.2017.8378424

  • Thomas, Ebby, Sharma, Rahul and Nazarathy, Yoni (2017). Implementation of energy storage Systems for solar PV ramp stabilization. Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Melbourne, Australia, 19 - 22 November 2017. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/AUPEC.2017.8282422

  • Sharma, Rahul and Zare, Firuz (2017). On the Significance of Analysing Duty Cycle Saturation Nonlinearity in LCL Filter Control Systems. Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Melbourne Australia, 19-22 November 2017. New York NY United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/AUPEC.2017.8282410

  • Ahmadi, Mohsen, Mithulananthan, N. and Sharma, Rahul (2016). A review on topologies for fast charging stations for electric vehicles. IEEE International Conference on Power System Technology (POWERCON), Wollongong, Australia, 28 September-1 October 2016. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/POWERCON.2016.7753886

  • Dhoke, Amit, Sharma, Rahul and Saha, Tapan K. (2016). Condition monitoring of a large-scale PV power plant in Australia. 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, PESGM 2016, Boston, MA, United States, 17 - 21 July 2016. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PESGM.2016.7742048

  • Deeba, Shohana Rahman, Sharma, Rahul, Saha, Tapan Kumar and Thomas, Andrew (2016). Investigation of voltage performance of an LV distribution network for improving rooftop photovoltaic uptake in Australia. 2016 IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, PESGM 2016, Boston, MA, United States, 17 - 21 July 2016. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PESGM.2016.7742037

  • Beere, Nicholas, McPhail, Donald and Sharma, Rahul (2015). A general methodology for utility microgrid planning: a Cairns case study. IEEE PES Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC), Brisbane, Australia, 15-18 November 2015. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). doi: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7380871

  • Deeba, Shohana Rahman, Sharma, Rahul, Saha, Tapan Kumar and Chakraborty, Debraj (2015). A tool to estimate maximum arbitrage from battery energy storage by maintaining voltage limits in an LV network. IEEE PES Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC), Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 15-18 November 2015. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers). doi: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7380894

  • Deeba, Shohana Rahman, Sharma, Rahul and Saha, Tapan Kumar (2015). Coordinated control of multi-functional battery energy storage system in an unbalanced network. Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Perth, WA, Australia, 28 September – 1 October 2014. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/AUPEC.2014.6966642

  • Ahmadi, Mohsen, Mithulananthan, Nadarajah and Sharma, Rahul (2015). Dynamic load control at a bidirectional DC fast charging station for PEVs in weak AC grids. IEEE PES Asia-Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference (APPEEC), Brisbane, Australia, 15-18 November 2015. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE). doi: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7380948

  • Jess, Adrian and Sharma, Rahul (2015). Modelling, control and performance analysis of a 6 MW wind turbine. IEEE Asia Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 15-18 November 2015. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). doi: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7381003

  • Raygani, Saeid Veysi, Sharma, Rahul and Saha, Tapan K. (2015). PV power output uncertainty in Australia. IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting, PESGM 2015, Denver CO, United States, 26-30 July 2015. Piscataway NJ, United States: IEEE Computer Society. doi: 10.1109/PESGM.2015.7286078

  • Salgado-Contreras, Jorge, Sharma, Rahul, Ranatunga, Shantha, Moroz, Stephanie and Thomas, Sebastian (2015). Value proposition of energy storage options for wind power output smoothing. IEEE Asia Pacific Power and Energy Engineering Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 15-18 November 2015. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). doi: 10.1109/APPEEC.2015.7381072

  • Raygani, Saeid Veysi, Sharma, Rahul and Saha, Tapan (2014). Analysing the PV output variability and its mitigation through aggregation in Queensland, Australia. 2014 IEEE PES General Meeting: Conference and Exposition, National Harbour, MD, United States, 27-31 July 2014. Piscataway, NJ, United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PESGM.2014.6939367

  • Tan, C. P., Saha, S., Aldeen, M. and Sharma, R. (2014). Fault diagnosis in transmission networks of linear and nonlinear power systems. European Control Conference 2009, Budapest, Hungary, 23–26 August 2009. Piscataway, NJ United States: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. doi: 10.23919/ecc.2009.7074878

  • Weatherhog, Samuel and Sharma, Rahul (2013). Component-wise physics-based modelling of a lithium-ion battery for power equalization. PES-GM 2013: IEEE Power and Energy Society General Meeting 2013, Vancouver, BC, Canada, 22-25 July, 2013. Piscataway, NJ, USA: Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers. doi: 10.1109/PESMG.2013.6672206

  • Sharma, Rahul, Yan, Ruifeng and Kearney, Michael (2013). Predictive control of wind turbines with storage. AUCC 2013: Third Annual Australian Control Conference, Perth, WA, Australia, 4-5 November, 2013. Barton, ACT, Australia: Engineers Australia. doi: 10.1109/AUCC.2013.6697269

  • Raygani, Saeid Veysi, Sharma, Rahul and Saha, Tapan Kumar (2013). Variability and performance analysis of the PV plant at The University of Queensland. 2013 Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Hobart, TAS, Australia, 29 September–3 October 2013. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE (Institute for Electrical and Electronic Engineers). doi: 10.1109/aupec.2013.6725342

  • Sharma, Rahul, Bessede, Maxime, Manzie, Chris, Brear, Michael and Crawford, Robert (2012). An economic and in-service emissions analysis of conventional, hybrid and electric vehicles for Australian driving conditions. SAE 2012 World Congress and Exhibition, Detroit, MI, United States, 24-26 April 2012. Warrendale, PA, United States: SAE. doi: 10.4271/2012-01-0819

  • Sharma, R., Dennis, P., Manzie, C., Nesic, D. and Brear, M. J. (2011). Real time model predictive idle speed control of ultra-lean burn engines: Experimental results. 18th World Congress of the International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC), Milan, Italy, 28 August - 2 September 2011. Milan, Italy: International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC). doi: 10.3182/20110828-6-IT-1002.00634

  • Kim, Tae Soo, Manzie, Chris and Sharma, Rahul (2011). Two-stage optimal control of a parallel hybrid vehicle with traffic preview. IFAC World Congress 2011, Milan, Italy, 28 August - 2 September 2011. Milan, Italy: International Federation of Automatic Control. doi: 10.3182/20110828-6-IT-1002.03423

  • Sharma, R., Nesic, D. and Manzie, C. (2010). Idle speed control using linear time varying model predictive control and discrete time approximations. 2010 IEEE International Conference on Control Applications Part of 2010 IEEE Multi-Conference on Systems and Control, Yokohama, Japan, 8-10 September 2010. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/CCA.2010.5611327

  • Sharma, R., Nesic, D. and Manzie, C. (2009). Control oriented modeling of turbocharged (TC) spark ignition (SI) engine. SAE World Congress 2009, Detroit, MI, United States, 20-23 April 2009. Warrendale, PA, United States: SAE International. doi: 10.4271/2009-01-0684

  • Sharma, R. and Aldeen, M. (2009). Design of integral sliding mode observers with application to fault and unknown input reconstruction. IEEE Conference on Decision and Control 2011, Shanghai, China, 16-18 December 2009. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/CDC.2009.5399985

  • Kim, Tae Soo, Manzie, Chris and Sharma, Rahul (2009). Model predictive control of velocity and torque split in a parallel hybrid vehicle. 2009 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics (IEEE SMC 2009), San Antonio, TX, U.S.A., 11-14 October 2009. New York, NY, U.S.A.: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/ICSMC.2009.5346115

  • Sharma, R., Nesic, D. and Manzie, C. (2009). Model reduction of automotive engines using perturbation theory. Joint 48th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control and 28th Chinese Control Conference, Shangai, China, 16-18 December 2009. Piscataway, NJ, United States: IEEE. doi: 10.1109/CDC.2009.5400086

  • Saha, S., Aldeen, M, Sharma, R. and Tan, C. P. (2008). Fault detection in transmission network of a power system: Part I modelling. 2008 Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC'08), Sydney, Australia, 14-17 December 2008. Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales.

  • Tan, C. P., Saha, S., Aldeen, M. and Sharma, R. (2008). Fault detection in transmission network of a power system: Part II design. 2008 Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC'08), Sydney, Australia, 14-17 December 2008. Sydney, Australia: University of New South Wales.

  • Sharma, R. and Aldeen, M. (2008). Fault diagnosis in nonlinear systems using interconnected sliding mode observers. IFAC World Congress 2008, Seoul, Korea, 6-11 July 2008. Seoul, Korea: International Federation of Automatic Control.

  • Sharma, R. and Aldeen, M. (2007). Fault and unknown input reconstruction in VTOL aircraft system using sliding mode observers. European Control Conference 2007 (ECC '07), Kos, Greece, 2-5 July 2007. EUCA. doi: 10.23919/ecc.2007.7068640

  • Sharma, R. and Aldeen, M. (2007). Fault detection in nonlinear systems with unknown inputs using sliding mode observer. 2007 American Control Conference (ACC '07), New York, United States, 11-13 July 2007. Dayton, OH, United States: American Automatic Control Council. doi: 10.1109/ACC.2007.4282152

  • Sharma, R., Aldeen, M. and Crusca, F. (2006). Fault detection in nonlinear power systems. 25th IASTED International Conference on Modelling, Identification and Control, Lanzarote, Spain, 6-8 February 2006. Calgary, Canada: ACTA Press.

  • Sharma, R., Aldeen, M. and Crusca, F. (2005). Robust fault detection in the load-frequency control of interconnected power systems. Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC), Hobart, Australia, 25-28 September 2005. Hobart, Australia: School of Engineering, University of Tasmania.

  • Sharma, R. and Aldeen, M. (2004). Estimation of unknown disturbances in nonlinear systems. Control 2004, Bath England, 6-9 September 2004. London, U. K.: Professional Engineering Publishing.

  • Sharma, R., Aldeen, M. and Crusca, F. (2004). Incorporation of faults in transmission lines with a nonlinear model of power systems. Australasian Universities Power Engineering Conference (AUPEC 2004), Brisbane, Australia, 26-29 September 2004. Brisbane, Australia: The University of Queensland.

Other Outputs

PhD and MPhil Supervision

Current Supervision

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Principal Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

    Other advisors:

  • Doctor Philosophy — Associate Advisor

Completed Supervision