Publications de Elena Vagnoni | EPFL Graph Search

Fatigue damage reduction in hydropower startups with machine learning

Elena Vagnoni, Ekaterina Krymova, Alessandro Morabito, Martin Seydoux

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

Mario Paolone, Christophe Nicolet, Elena Vagnoni, Martin Seydoux

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

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

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

Elena Vagnoni, Ekaterina Krymova, Alessandro Morabito, Martin Seydoux

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

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

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