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At least 217 records · Page 12
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Control, Fault Management, and Grid Support Functionality of an MV AC-DC Solid State Transformer based EV Extreme Fast Charging Station

Electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular in recent times while revolutionizing the consumer and commercial transportation market. The development of charging infrastructure has become one of the priorities for increasing the adoption of EVs. Extreme fast charging (XFC) technology can reduce the so-called ’range anxiety’ of consumers as they significantly reduce the charging time. With the advent of wide band-gap (WBG) power devices and improvement in power electronic converters, medium voltage (MV) solid state transformer (SST) based XFC system has the potential to replace the traditional XFC stations because of the lower footprint, ease of installation, enhanced control feature, and better system efficiency. The control system design is one of the critical aspects of the SST development process. Careful consideration and detailed analysis are required to find out suitable control method for the SST based on its topology among different centralized and decentralized control architectures. Also, the control parameters selection and potential improvement to the transient response of the controller ought to be investigated. Another major concern of the SST is different types of internal fault which reduces the overall reliability of the XFC system. As a result, designing a robust protection system is essential. Among different fault modes, open circuit switch faults have received significant attention as an active research area because of their likelihood and severe effects on converters. Therefore, the power stages used in the XFC system require functional and accurate open circuit switch fault management methods. An equally significant aspect of this SST based XFC is its compatibility in a microgrid where there is no synchronous generator present. When the grid is not available, the XFC SSTs can provide grid forming capability and continue supplying the critical loads in islanded mode. The transition between grid connected and islanded mode, especially the grid resynchronization process has to be carefully performed for the safety of the microgrid components. The challenges posed by the aforementioned issues have inspired the work done in this dissertation. Here, a 13.2 kV, 1 MVA, AC/DC SST for the XFC system is examined and a comparative analysis is conducted to select the control architecture based on feasibility of implementation and performance. A detailed control parameter design process is demonstrated considering the sensor dynamics and delay. The selected decentralized control method is augmented by introducing a novel sensor-less load current feedforward method to provide better voltage regulation at the DC bus during a change of load. Next, in the fault management section, a hierarchical failure mode effect analysis (FMEA) is proposed to enable a systematic design of the internal fault protection of the XFC SST as there are limited examples in the literature regarding the analysis of the safety and design of the protection of a power electronic converter system. Novel open circuit switch fault management methods for the converters in the system are presented. Finally, XFC SST based MV microgrid operations in grid connected mode and islanded mode are explored. A secondary control method for grid resynchronization is presented and a design process of control parameters is shown to ensure the stability of the secondary voltage and frequency regulation.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2021

Analysis and design of DC-link capacitor in cascaded H-bridge multilevel active front-end converter

Medium-voltage grid-tied systems often use a cascaded H-bridge multi-level active front-end. In this converter, dc link bus capacitors play an important role in stabilizing the converter and enabling both active and reactive power injections. The present work provides analytical expressions for the capacitor current, which are essential for optimizing system design (especially capacitor size vs. lifetime). Then, the expression is incorporated into the grid connected bidirectional power system model. Consequently, this work contributes to the guiding principles to choose accurate dc link capacitor ratings against grid-side power delivery requirements. DC-link capacitors come with an expiration date which is dependent on the operating power and voltage values. Lack of information about the lifetime of the dc-link capacitor creates uncertainty in the duration of online operation of the converter, thus increasing the probability of a contingency outage. The lifetime of the capacitor can range from only a few seconds of online operation of the station due to under-sizing, to a compromised quality of power flowing through other solid state devices which may not have been designed for the transients that are caused by over-sizing of the dc-link capacitor. A better estimate of the lifetime of these capacitors can help maximize usage and maintain scheduled outages more efficiently, without disruption in service.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

A study on dc fault handling of dc-dc converter based on series and parallel connected DABs in MVdc applications

With the increase of direct current (dc) based power generating stations and loads, multi-terminal medium voltage dc (MT-MVdc) systems are gaining popularity. The dc sources and loads are interfaced with the MT-MVdc systems using series and parallel connected dual-active-bridge (SP-DAB). In this paper, the dc fault ride through procedure of SP-DAB meant for MT-MVdc application is analyzed. The need for dc breaker (DCB) under the requirements of MT-MVdc is established through EMT simulation studies. It is shown that an additional dc filter capacitor is essential at the output terminals of the SP-DAB to ride through the dc faults.

Jaldanki, Sreenivasa [ORNL] (ORCID:000000028122322↗
DOE OSTI2026

Demonstration of Power System Black Start with Hydropower Generator and Battery Energy Storage: Preprint

Battery energy storage systems (BESS) are an important asset for power systems with high integration levels of renewable energy, and they can be controlled to provide various services to the grid. This paper presents the hardware demonstration and characterization of using a utility-scale BESS with grid-following (GFL) and grid-forming (GFM) controls and a run-of-river (ROR) hydropower plant to perform a bottom-up power system black start that enhances power systems' resiliency. ROR hydropower plants are generally not used for power system restoration due to their frequency instability during islanded operation; however, BESS with droop control can provide critical damping to convert a ROR hydropower generator into a blackstart- capable unit. To demonstrate this, we carry out hardware experiments at the megawatt-scale integrating a synchronous generator driven by a dynamometer, an actual GFL/GFM BESS, a medium-voltage impedance network, and a load bank. The demonstration shows the different roles of BESS with GFL and GFM control in power system restoration. GFL BESS can suffer from high-frequency oscillations, even instability, depending on the droop control gain and loading condition. The results provide further insights for system operators on how GFL- or GFMcontrolled BESS can enhance grid stability and how hydro-BESS hybrids can operate as a black-start-capable unit. The presented experimental results are also a valuable resource to understand the different stability characteristics of real-world BESS with different control modes.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

State-of-the-Art Medium- and High-Voltage Silicon Carbide Power Modules, Challenges and Mitigation Techniques: A Review

Silicon carbide (SiC) power modules have been demonstrated potential for improving power density and efficiency for low-voltage power electronics systems. This has resulted in a paradigm shift toward development of medium-voltage and high-voltage (MV/HV) SiC power modules to revolutionize the future power grid and transportation systems. However, designing MV/HV SiC power modules involves significant design challenges due to higher blocking voltage and exacerbation of side effects due to high switching dv/dt and di/dt of SiC devices-concerns that may not be as critical as in low-voltage module development. This article reviews the development of state-of-the-art MV/HV SiC power modules, ranging from 3.3 kV to 40 kV, from both industry and academia. First, a discussion on SiC modules based on voltage level is presented. This is followed by a discussion of challenges associated with designing and testing MV/HV modules- including parasitic controls, electromagnetic interference (EMI), partial discharge, and thermal management-and the corresponding mitigation approaches from various perspectives. We conclude with a summary of major findings and future directions for the development of MV/HV modules.

EMI↗
DOE OSTI2022

DC-Link Current Minimization Control for Current Source Converter-Based Solid-State Transformer

This article proposes a fast predictive control method and a small DC-link inductor to minimize the DC-link current in current-source converter (CSC)-based solid-state transformer. The DC-link current minimization can significantly reduce power loss and improve efficiency. The challenge of this problem is on improving both steady-state and dynamic performance. PI control methods and large DC-link inductors are conventionally used in the CSC but have limited dynamic performance. A model predictive control (MPC) method is proposed to achieve switching-cycle-level settling time, and the DC-link inductor is sized for 40% ripple to enable fast current change. Importantly, this article also proposes to minimize the DC-link current by varying the current even within a line cycle under single-phase load to improve the steady-state performance, in contrast with the reduction to a constant value in the literature. The proposed MPC features a constant switching frequency without weighting factors. The MPC does not have a high computational burden and is implemented in a regular digital controller for a prototype of soft-switching solid-state transformer (S4T) with reduced conduction loss. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been experimentally verified on the SiC S4T prototype during steady-state and dynamics under different multiport power flow conditions up to 2 kV peak. Here, the DC-link current in the experiments is close to the minimum current with a short zero-vector duration, which further verifies the performance of the proposed method.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Internal Model-Based Active Damping Strategy for a Back-to-Back Modular Multilevel Converter System for Advanced Grid Support: Preprint

The proposed work focuses on the possibility of achieving the reduction in the size of the interfacing filter for the grid connection for a back-to-back modular multilevel converter system with the use of third order LCL filters. To achieve the same attenuation, it is possible to reduce the size of the interfacing filters by the usage of third order filters. However, this kind of filtering comes with the limitation of having sustained oscillations due to lack of damping especially during transient changes. Therefore, in this work, a methodology has been proposed based on the principle of internal model to cater for this unwanted oscillations. The third order system is modeled inside the microcontroller with the damping enabled. The error between the output from the model and the actual are compared and the error is utilized to accomplish the active damping strategy. The proposed architecture is verified via computer simulations based on MATLAB/Simulink domain and various case study results along with their discussion is presented in this paper.

dq control↗
DOE OSTI2024

Dynamic Modeling of Power Conversion Stages for an Exascale Supercomputer

In this paper a power conversion and energy consumption model for an exascale supercomputer is investigated. Power consumption, energy loss and efficiency are derived for the 27.2 MW liquid-cooled, centralized, High Performance Computing (HPC) power system, which is supplied directly from the 480 V three-phase mains. Two energy conversion stages are analyzed, measured and modeled. The model is developed in order to be adapted and implemented in a digital twin platform utilizing a Resource Allocator and Power Simulator (RAPS) module. RAPS enables estimation of potential energy savings in the direct AC power supply architecture via both conventional rectifier load sharing (commonly used in HPC systems), as well as smart rectifier load sharing. Moreover, besides the direct AC supply architecture analysis, the full direct DC supply architecture with with 1 kV DC bus were also studied. Comparison of 10 hour time frame operation of the system, with direct 480 V AC voltage supply with conventional and smart load sharing and medium dc voltage supply were done. For the direct AC supply architecture, with conventional and smart load sharing the predicted power loss was approximately 840 kW and 820 kW, respectively and the predicted total system efficiency was 92.87% and 93.05%, respectively. For the direct DC supply architecture with the 1000 V DC supply bus power loss was approximately 340 kW and the predicted total system efficiency was 97.02%.

Wojda, Rafal↗
DOE OSTI2023

High Power Density Cost-Effective MVDC Aircraft Cable

To make the power density of electric aircraft closer to conventional aircraft, an electric power system (EPS) with high power delivery and low system mass is necessary. As an essential component of aircraft EPS, cables are necessary to transmit power from one node to another. Virginia Tech will design high-power density, cost-effective ±5 kV cables for twin-aisle all-electric aircraft. Innovations include conductors with increased current-carrying capacity and a multilayer, multifunctional insulation system made of exceptionally high thermal conductivity materials. Designed for DC voltage, the new insulator will allow fewer partial discharge events and provide improved electromagnetic interference protection.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Solid-State Transformer and Hybrid Transformer With Integrated Energy Storage in Active Distribution Grids: Technical and Economic Comparison, Dispatch, and Control

Solid-state transformer (SST) and hybrid transformer (HT) are promising alternatives to the line-frequency transformer (LFT) in smart grids. The SST features medium-frequency isolation, full controllability for voltage regulation, reactive power compensation, and the capability of battery energy storage system (BESS) integration with multiport configuration. The HT has a partially-rated converter for fractional controllability and can integrate a small BESS. Fast grid-edge voltage fluctuations from increased solar photovoltaic (PV) and electric vehicle (EV) penetration are difficult to manage for mechanical load tap changers. Hence, along with the trend towards more BESS in the grid, the controllability and the storage integration capability of the SST and HT are of strong interest. However, a review of literature shows existing SST and HT research is mostly at converter level, while system-level assessments are scarce. Assessing technical and economic impacts is critical to understanding the benefits and role of the SST and HT to guide future research, which is presented for the first time in this article. Experimental results from medium-voltage (MV) SST and MV HT prototypes are shown to confirm equipment-level feasibility, where the voltage controllability waveforms of a MV HT prototype are reported for the first time. Comparative simulations are performed on a modified IEEE 34-bus system. Here, a grid-model-less decentralized grid-edge voltage control method and a day-ahead BESS dispatch method are proposed for the SST and HT. The simulations show that the SST and HT with integrated storage can host more PV, achieve peak shaving, mitigate voltage fluctuation and reverse power flow, and support energy arbitrage for operational cost reduction, as compared to the LFT. Moreover, comprehensive analyses of net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) are performed under different installed PV capacities, HT’s partial converter ratings, and BESS capacities. Sensitivities to future cost reductions of the PV and BESS are studied. Although the NPV and IRR are currently negative, 60% capital cost reduction or 150% revenue increase will make the SST and HT economically viable in the use case studied.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Review of Ultrafast Switching Power Modules: Trends, Challenges, and Technical Solutions

Benefiting from the superior properties of wide-bandgap semiconductor materials, wide-bandgap power devices demonstrate exceptional switching performance, enabling more efficient and compact power electronics systems. However, ultrafast switching poses challenges to the reliability of the system in terms of severe oscillations and voltage overshoot, electromagnetic interference, and increased risk of partial discharge. By developing advanced power module packaging for fast-switching power devices, the above-mentioned challenges can be mitigated at the packaging level, enabling the full utilization of the fast-switching capability of wide-bandgap devices. Meanwhile, such technology also lays the groundwork for packaging next-generation power devices with even higher blocking voltage and faster switching speed. In this paper, a comprehensive review of ultrafast switching power modules has been made, including the benefits and status of ultrafast switching power modules, challenges brought by ultrafast switching, and promising technologies to address these challenges. In addition, future development trends and research gaps are also discussed in this paper. Furthermore, this review can serve as a reference for future wide-bandgap power module packaging design.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2020

Developing More Efficient Wind Turbines: A Survey of Control Challenges and Opportunities

Wind energy has received considerable attention during the past two decades, owing to its vital role in battling both the energy crisis and global climate change. Wind energy has grown to become the most significant nonconventional renewable energy source. Today, modern wind turbines (WTs) are controlled to offer several functionalities that improve their flexibility at a level similar to conventional power sources. However, until now, there have been few reports in the literature summarizing and listing WT control concepts to encourage industry and academia to pursue improvements in developing more efficient WTs and bridge the gap between businesses and universities. Hence, this article focuses on a thoughtful investigation into developing better and more efficient WTs, detailing different issues involved in wind energy generation, such as WT components, control systems, operational modes, and, especially, new research and development trends.

17 WIND ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

NREL Overview of Grid-Tied Power Electronics

This presentation focuses on the power electronics related research efforts carried out by researchers at the Power Systems Engineering Center at NREL.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1986

Accelerating Corrosion in Solar-Cell Tests

In simple electrochemical cell, two silicon solar cells serve as anode and cathode, respectively. Electrolytic medium and voltage between them accelerate corrosion and migration interactions between cell metal contacts and plastic encapsulant. Degradation of metal contacts becomes evident in few hours. Although developed specifically for cells with Ti/Pd/Ag contacts, technique readily adapted to other metal combinations.

Shalaby, H. M.↗
NASA NTRS2009

SOI N-Channel Field Effect Transistors, CHT-NMOS80, for Extreme Temperatures

Extreme temperatures, both hot and cold, are anticipated in many of NASA space exploration missions as well as in terrestrial applications. One can seldom find electronics that are capable of operation under both regimes. Even for operation under one (hot or cold) temperature extreme, some thermal controls need to be introduced to provide appropriate ambient temperatures so that spacecraft on-board or field on-site electronic systems work properly. The inclusion of these controls, which comprise of heating elements and radiators along with their associated structures, adds to the complexity in the design of the system, increases cost and weight, and affects overall reliability. Thus, it would be highly desirable and very beneficial to eliminate these thermal measures in order to simplify system's design, improve efficiency, reduce development and launch costs, and improve reliability. These requirements can only be met through the development of electronic parts that are designed for proper and efficient operation under extreme temperature conditions. Silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based devices are finding more use in harsh environments due to the benefits that their inherent design offers in terms of reduced leakage currents, less power consumption, faster switching speeds, good radiation tolerance, and extreme temperature operability. Little is known, however, about their performance at cryogenic temperatures and under wide thermal swings. The objective of this work was to evaluate the performance of a new commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) SOI parts over an extended temperature range and to determine the effects of thermal cycling on their performance. The results will establish a baseline on the suitability of such devices for use in space exploration missions under extreme temperatures, and will aid mission planners and circuit designers in the proper selection of electronic parts and circuits. The electronic part investigated in this work comprised of a CHT-NMOS80 high temperature N-channel MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) device that was manufactured by CISSOID. This high voltage, medium-power transistor is fabricated using SOI processes and is designed for extreme wide temperature applications such as geothermal well logging, aerospace and avionics, and automotive industry. It has a high DC current capability and is specified for operation in the temperature range of -55 C to +225 C

Patterson, Richard L.↗
NASA NTRS2009

Operation of SOI P-Channel Field Effect Transistors, CHT-PMOS30, under Extreme Temperatures

Electronic systems are required to operate under extreme temperatures in NASA planetary exploration and deep space missions. Electronics on-board spacecraft must also tolerate thermal cycling between extreme temperatures. Thermal management means are usually included in today s spacecraft systems to provide adequate temperature for proper operation of the electronics. These measures, which may include heating elements, heat pipes, radiators, etc., however add to the complexity in the design of the system, increases its cost and weight, and affects its performance and reliability. Electronic parts and circuits capable of withstanding and operating under extreme temperatures would reflect in improvement in system s efficiency, reducing cost, and improving overall reliability. Semiconductor chips based on silicon-on-insulator (SOI) technology are designed mainly for high temperature applications and find extensive use in terrestrial well-logging fields. Their inherent design offers advantages over silicon devices in terms of reduced leakage currents, less power consumption, faster switching speeds, and good radiation tolerance. Little is known, however, about their performance at cryogenic temperatures and under wide thermal swings. Experimental investigation on the operation of SOI, N-channel field effect transistors under wide temperature range was reported earlier [1]. This work examines the performance of P-channel devices of these SOI transistors. The electronic part investigated in this work comprised of a Cissoid s CHT-PMOS30, high temperature P-channel MOSFET (metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) device [2]. This high voltage, medium-power transistor is designed for geothermal well logging applications, aerospace and avionics, and automotive industry, and is specified for operation in the temperature range of -55 C to +225 C. Table I shows some specifications of this transistor [2]. The CHT-PMOS30 device was characterized at various temperatures over the range of -190 C to +225 C in terms of its voltage/current characteristic curves. The test temperatures included +22, -50, -100, -150, -175, -190, +50, +100, +150, +175, +200, and +225 C. Limited thermal cycling testing was also performed on the device. These tests consisted of subjecting the transistor to a total of twelve thermal cycles between -190 C and +225 C. A temperature rate of change of 10 C/min and a soak time at the test temperature of 10 minutes were used throughout this work. Post-cycling measurements were also performed at selected temperatures. In addition, re-start capability at extreme temperatures, i.e. power switched on while the device was soaking for a period of 20 minutes at the test temperatures of -190 C and +225 C, was investigated.

Patterson, Richard↗