arXiv subjects

Weihong Tang

Publications and source records attributed to Weihong Tang.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Make it SewSimple: Navigating UK Curriculum and Classroom Practice in Secondary Computing Education with E-textiles

This paper explores the potential of integrating e-textiles as part of the approach to delivering computing in UK secondary schools. As one of the few UK-based exploratory studies of teachers experiences, it investigates how e-textile platforms such as the SewSimple maker kit and the BBC micro:bit can be incorporated into Key Stage 3 computing education (ages 11-14), taking into account both English national curriculum requirements and the realities of classroom practice. Our research question is: How do teachers perceive the potential of including e-textiles as part of computing education in English secondary schools? In summary, our research contributes to secondary computing education in three ways. First, we examine teachers direct, cross-disciplinarity experiences in two participatory design workshops using a newly designed e-textile platform and extend the limited discussion on supporting the BBC micro:bit in e-textile education. Second, we specifically identify opportunities, barriers, and challenges across three dimensions: school planning, national curriculum guidance, and practical e-textile implementation. Third, we offer insights into best practices for supporting maker technology adoption and pedagogical practices within existing institutional structures to maximize students' benefits for secondary school computing education.

cs.CY↗

arXiv2025

Model Predictive Control for Unlocking Energy Flexibility of Heat Pump and Thermal Energy Storage Systems: Experimental Results

Increasing penetration of renewable energy sources (RES) and electrification of energy systems necessitates the engagement of demand-side management (DSM) to help alleviate congestion in electricity grid. Heat pump and thermal energy storage (HPTES) systems, being energy efficient solutions, are becoming popular in modern buildings and are promising to contribute to demand-side management (DSM) due to their significant share in household electricity consumption. For typical HPTES systems, this paper presents a systematic design framework covering a control-oriented modeling process and energy-flexible model predictive control (MPC) design. The proposed MPC-based DSM strategy offers an innovative solution for efficient DSM by following a two-step DSM framework. In the first step, flexibility assessment is performed to quantitatively evaluate the flexibility potential of the HPTES system by solving a mixed-integer economic MPC problem. In the second step, flexibility exploitation is achieved through reacting to feasible demand response (DR) requests while respecting system constraints. Both numerical simulations and real-world experiments are performed based on a real HPTES installation to showcase the viability and effectiveness of the proposed design.

eess.SY↗

arXiv2024

Model Predictive Control Design for Unlocking the Energy Flexibility of Heat Pump and Thermal Energy Storage Systems

Heat pump and thermal energy storage (HPTES) systems, which are widely utilized in modern buildings for providing domestic hot water, contribute to a large share of household electricity consumption. With the increasing integration of renewable energy sources (RES) into modern power grids, demand-side management (DSM) becomes crucial for balancing power generation and consumption by adjusting end users' power consumption. This paper explores an energy flexible Model Predictive Control (MPC) design for a class of HPTES systems to facilitate demand-side management. The proposed DSM strategy comprises two key components: i) flexibility assessment, and ii) flexibility exploitation. Firstly, for flexibility assessment, a tailored MPC formulation, supplemented by a set of auxiliary linear constraints, is developed to quantitatively assess the flexibility potential inherent in HPTES systems. Subsequently, in flexibility exploitation, the energy flexibility is effectively harnessed in response to feasible demand response (DR) requests, which can be formulated as a standard mixed-integer MPC problem. Numerical experiments, based on a real-world HPTES installation, are conducted to demonstrate the efficacy of the proposed design.

eess.SY↗