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At least 649 records · Page 36

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NASA NTRS1985

Effect of solar-cell junction geometry on open-circuit voltage

Simple analytical models have been found that adequately describe the voltage behavior of both the stripe junction and dot junction grating cells as a function of junction area. While the voltage in the former case is found to be insensitive to junction area reduction, significant voltage increases are shown to be possible for the dot junction cell. With regard to cells in which the junction area has been increased in a quest for better performance, it was found that (1) texturation does not affect the average saturation current density J0, indicating that the texturation process is equivalent to a simple extension of junction area by a factor of square root of 3 and (2) the vertical junction cell geometry produces a sizable decrease in J0 that, unfortunately, is more than offset by the effects of attendant areal increases.

Weizer, V. G.↗

NASA NTRS1984

Voltage controlling mechanisms in low resistivity silicon solar cells - A unified approach

An experimental technique capable of resolving the dark saturation current into its base and emitter components is used as the basis of an analysis in which the voltage limiting mechanisms were determined for a variety of high voltage, low resistivity silicon solar cells. The cells studied include the University of Florida hi-low emitter cell, the NASA and the COMSAT multi-step diffused cells, the Spire Corporation ion-implanted emitter cell, and the University of New South Wales MINMIS and MINP cells. The results proved to be, in general, at variance with prior expectations. Most surprising was the finding that the MINP and the MINMIS voltage improvements are due, to a considerable extent, to a previously unrecognized optimization of the base component of the saturation current. This result is substantiated by an independent analysis of the material used to fabricate these devices.

Weizer, V. G.↗

NASA NTRS1985

Design of high-voltage, high-power, solid state remote power controllers for aerospace applications

Two general types of remote power controllers (RPC's), which combine the functions of a circuit breaker and a switch, were developed for use in dc aerospace systems. Power-switching devices used in the designs are the gate-turnoff thyristor (GTO) and MOSFET. The RPC's can switch dc voltages to 1200 V and currents to 1000 A. Seven different units were constructed and subjected to laboratory and thermal vacuum testing. Two of these were dual units that switch both positive and negative voltages simultaneously. The RPC's using MOSFET's have slow turnon and turnoff times which limit surge currents and voltage spiking from high di/dt. The GTO's have much faster transition times. All RPC's have programmable overload tripout proportional to I sq T and microsecond tripout for large overloads.

Sturman, J. C.↗

NASA NTRS1985

PASP: A high voltage array experiment

In the near future, Air Force mission payloads will require significant increases in power. Sophisticated sensing systems such as infrared focal plane detector arrays and radar will be employed by the Air Force to fulfill its strategic objectives. These payloads will demand that the power subsystem provide up to 50 kW at the end of mission life, more than an order of magnitude greater than is currently required. Some of these payloads must be flown in low-Earth polar orbits to satisfy mission objectives, and it is likely that large (500 to 600 sq m) solar photovoltaic arrays will operate in the low-Earth polar environment. The standard 28 volt power subsystem is not weight efficient for the array power levels being considered. The impact of the solar array operating voltage on the total weight of the array and the subsystem power conditioning and distribution components is illustrated. In the interest of reducing power subsystem weight, higher array operating voltages are considered. The problems which the higher array voltage present to the array designer are discussed. In order to provide a maximum return on the tremendous investment of resources required to develop and place these assets in orbit, they must be designed to operate effectively for extended periods of time. To achieve this, the system must be able to function in the threat-induced and natural space environment.

Scott-Monck, J.↗

NASA NTRS1987

High-Voltage Switch Containing (DI)2 Devices

Series switching diodes triggered on by passing above threshold voltage. High-voltage switch made by connecting multitude of deep-impurity, double-injection devices in series with each other and with another, triggerable high-voltage device such as thyristor. Device operates near ground potential to avoid insulation problems in triggering circuit.

Hanes, Maurice H.↗

NASA NTRS1986

Working group report on advanced high-voltage high-power and energy-storage space systems

Space systems in the future will probably include high-voltage, high-power energy-storage and -production systems. Two such technologies are high-voltage ac and dc systems and high-power electrodynamic tethers. The working group identified several plasma interaction phenomena that will occur in the operation of these power systems. The working group felt that building an understanding of these critical interaction issues meant that several gaps in our knowledge had to be filled, and that certain aspects of dc power systems have become fairly well understood. Examples of these current collection are in quiescent plasmas and snap over effects. However, high-voltage dc and almost all ac phenomena are, at best, inadequately understood. In addition, there is major uncertainty in the knowledge of coupling between plasmas and large scale current flows in space plasmas. These gaps in the knowledge are addressed.

Cohen, H. A.↗

NASA NTRS1987

Low voltage scanning electron microscopy of interplanetary dust particles

The resolution of available low-voltage SEM (LVSEM) models used in the characterization of interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) is limited by a number of factors including energy spread in the electron source, beam brightness, scanning electron detector geometry, and various lens aberrations. This paper describes an improved model of LVSEM which offers an increased resolution at low voltage. The improvements include a cold cathode FE source which has an extremely low inherent energy spread and high brightness, a second condenser lens to converge the beam and maintain an optimum aperture half-angle, and a detector optimized for low-voltage scanning-electron collection. To reduce lens aberrations, the specimen is immersed in the objective lens field. The features of several IDP samples observed using the images obtained with this LVSEM model are described.

Blake, D. F.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Exposed high-voltage source effect on the potential of an ionospheric satellite

A pulsed, high-voltage source, which is able to draw a current from the surrounding plasma, is seen to induce large changes in the potential of an ionospheric satellite (the Iowa Plasma Diagnostics Package flown on Space Shuttle flight STS-51F). This, in turn, may affect the operation of other instruments that use the chassis of the satellite as a ground for electrical circuits. The magnitude of the change in satellite potential is dependent upon both the orientation of the high-voltage source, relative to the plasma flow, and the characteristics of the high-voltage source. When the satellite is grounded to the Shuttle Orbiter, this effect is sufficient to change the potential of the Orbiter by a small, but noticeable, amount.

Tribble, A. C.↗

NASA NTRS1988

Design guide: Designing and building high voltage power supplies, volume 2

This report contains an accumulation of publications and analyses aimed at developing guidelines for improving both high voltage and low voltage power supplies for the U.S. Air Force systems command. It is the intent of the report to supply good design and manufacturing techniques for the packaging and the building of high quality, reliable, long-life power supplies. These data are based on the wealth of engineering practices established by design and manufacturing engineers. The contents are: Fundamentals of Insulation: Gases, Liquid Dielectrics, Solid Insulation; Environment: Pressure, Particulates, Environmental Interactions with Space Power Systems, Surface Charging, System Design Criteria; Configuration and Design Data: Designs, Transients, Grounding and Bonding, Thermal Control; Materials and Processes: Insulation, Processes, Process Variables; Manufacturing: Yield, Government and Industrial Survey, Analysis, Problem Areas and Suggested Solutions, Designs That Have Worked in High Voltage Equipment, Manufacturing Summary; and Tests: Performance, Insulation Tests, Materials Testing, Component and Equipment Tests, Performance Testing, Facility and Environment, Accelerated Life Test; Maintenance and Repair: Maintenance, Test Sets, Pilots and Crewmen, Air Logistic Centers, Design Problem Recommendations.

W G Dunbar↗

NASA NTRS1989

High-voltage, full-floating 10-MHz square-wave generator with phase control

Wherein a fast (50 ns) rise-time high-frequency square-wave generator capable of switching between arbitrary voltages of high potential difference (1000 V or more) is described utilizing solid-state circuitry of low power consumption. Power field effect transistors are used as the active switching element, which afford compact size and simplified circuit construction. With the addition of monostable multivibrators, high-voltage square-wave pulse trains of controllable phase are produced. The generator should find application in a wide variety of situations where fast switching between high voltages is required, such as in time-of-flight, coincidence, and beams-modulation experiments.

Bernius, Mark T.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Current collection by a spherical high voltage probe: Electron trapping and collective processes

The author summarizes the results of theoretical studies of the interaction of an uninsulated, spherical, high voltage (10's of KV positive) probe with the ionospheric environment. The focus of this effort was the phenomenon of electron trapping and its implications for breakdown processes (collisional regime) and the current-voltage relationship governing current collection (collisionless regime) in space-based pulsed power systems with high voltage components exposed to space, e.g., the SPEAR I experiment.

Palmadesso, Peter J.↗

NASA NTRS1991

System and component design and test of a 10 hp, 18,000 rpm AC dynamometer utilizing a high frequency AC voltage link, part 1

Hard and soft switching test results conducted with one of the samples of first generation MOS-controlled thyristor (MCTs) and similar test results with several different samples of second generation MCT's are reported. A simple chopper circuit is used to investigate the basic switching characteristics of MCT under hard switching and various types of resonant circuits are used to determine soft switching characteristics of MCT under both zero voltage and zero current switching. Next, operation principles of a pulse density modulated converter (PDMC) for three phase (3F) to 3F two-step power conversion via parallel resonant high frequency (HF) AC link are reviewed. The details for the selection of power switches and other power components required for the construction of the power circuit for the second generation 3F to 3F converter system are discussed. The problems encountered in the first generation system are considered. Design and performance of the first generation 3F to 3F power converter system and field oriented induction moter drive based upon a 3 kVA, 20 kHz parallel resonant HF AC link are described. Low harmonic current at the input and output, unity power factor operation of input, and bidirectional flow capability of the system are shown via both computer and experimental results. The work completed on the construction and testing of the second generation converter and field oriented induction motor drive based upon specifications for a 10 hp squirrel cage dynamometer and a 20 kHz parallel resonant HF AC link is discussed. The induction machine is designed to deliver 10 hp or 7.46 kW when operated as an AC-dynamo with power fed back to the source through the converter. Results presented reveal that the proposed power level requires additional energy storage elements to overcome difficulties with a peak link voltage variation problem that limits reaching to the desired power level. The power level test of the second generation converter after the addition of extra energy storage elements to the HF link are described. The importance of the source voltage level to achieve a better current regulation for the source side PDMC is also briefly discussed. The power levels achieved in the motoring mode of operation show that the proposed power levels achieved in the generating mode of operation can also be easily achieved provided that no mechanical speed limitation were present to drive the induction machine at the proposed power level.

Lipo, Thomas A.↗

NASA NTRS1991

Step voltage analysis for the catenoid lightning protection system

The main objective of the proposed overhead Catenoid Lightning Protection System (CLPS) is personnel safety. To ensure working personnel's safety in lightning situations, it is necessary that the potential difference developed across a distance equal to a person's pace (step voltage) does not exceed a separately established safe voltage in order to avoid electrocution (ventricular fibrillation) of humans. Therefore, the first stage of the analytical effort is to calculate the open circuit step voltage. An impedance model is developed for this purpose. It takes into consideration the earth's complex impedance behavior and the transient nature of the lightning phenomenon. In the low frequency limit, this impedance model is shown to reduce to results similar to those predicted by the conventional resistor model in a DC analysis.

Chai, J. C.↗

NASA NTRS1990

Threshold voltage for arcing on negatively biased solar arrays

The arcing that has been found to occur when negatively biased high-voltage solar arrays in LEO lie at a critical voltage with respect to the plasma environment is presently proposed to be due to a breakdown of gas emitted under electron bombardment from the solar cells' cover-glass. The elements of the model for this phenomenon include an electron current flow from the interconnect to a neighboring cover-glass, which desorbs neutral molecules under the electron bombardment. The neutral molecules form a gas over the interconnect, and this gas breaks down when the voltage over the interconnect is sufficiently high. Specific scaling predictions are made on the basis of the geometric structure and gas in question.

Hastings, Daniel E.↗

NASA NTRS1990

High voltage interactions of a sounding rocket with the ambient and system-generated environments

EPSAT (environment power system analysis tool) is used to examine the design of SPEAR III, which is scheduled to fly in early 1991. It will test high-voltage designs in both ambient and system-generated environments. Two of the key questions that the experiment hopes to address are whether or not the earth's magnetic field can cause the current that a high-voltage object draws from the plasma to be far less than the current that would be drawn in the absence of the magnetic field and under what neutral environmental conditions a discharge from the high-voltage object to the plasma will occur. The EPSAT program makes it possible to perform a variety of analyses on a preliminary or conceptual-level description of a system in a short period of time. The calculations presented on SPEAR III are all done for a conceptual-level description. The calculations indicate that the experiment will produce the conditions necessary to address these questions.

Kuharski, Robert A.↗

NASA NTRS1992

Electro-Optical High-Voltage Sensors

Electro-optical sensors for measuring high voltages developed for use in automatically controlled power-distribution systems. Sensors connected to optoelectronic interrogating equipment by optical fibers. Because sensitive material and optical fibers are all dielectric, no problem in electrically isolating interrogating circuitry from high voltage, and no need for voltage dividers. Sensor signals transmitted along fibers immune to electromagnetic noise at radio and lower frequencies.

Gottsche, Allan↗

NASA NTRS1992

Evaluation of high temperature dielectric films for high voltage power electronic applications

Three high temperature films, polyimide, Teflon perfluoroalkoxy and poly-P-xylene, were evaluated for possible use in high voltage power electronic applications, such as in high energy density capacitors, cables and microelectronic circuits. The dielectric properties, including permittivity and dielectric loss, were obtained in the frequency range of 50 Hz to 100 kHz at temperatures up to 200 C. The dielectric strengths at 60 Hz were determined as a function of temperature to 250 C. Confocal laser microscopy was performed to diagnose for voids and microimperfections within the film structure. The results obtained indicate that all films evaluated are capable of maintaining their high voltage properties, with minimal degradation, at temperatures up to 200 C. However, above 200 C, they lose some of their electrical properties. These films may therefore become viable candidates for high voltage power electronic applications at high temperatures.

Suthar, J. L.↗

NASA NTRS1993

Programmable Multiple-Ramped-Voltage Power Supply

Ramp waveforms range up to 2,000 V. Laboratory high-voltage power-supply system puts out variety of stable voltages programmed to remain fixed with respect to ground or float with respect to ramp waveform. Measures voltages it produces with high resolution; automatically calibrates, zeroes, and configures itself; and produces variety of input/output signals for use with other instruments. Developed for use with ultraviolet spectrometer. Also applicable to control of electron guns in general and to operation of such diverse equipment used in measuring scattering cross sections of subatomic particles and in industrial electron-beam welders.

Ajello, Joseph M.↗