Abstract:
A protection device includes a diode having its forward direction in a normal power flow of a region of a DC collection system, a first switch in parallel with the diode, a second switch in series with the diode and a control unit for controlling the switches. The first switch can be opened so that current can flow through the diode in the forward direction without the first switch bypassing the diode, and closed if no current is flowing through the diode in the forward direction and power is needed upstream of the diode. The second switch can be closed so that current can flow through the diode in the forward direction to an AC grid interface of the DC collection system, and opened if no current is flowing through the diode in the forward direction due to a fault in a DC feeder to which the device is coupled.
Abstract:
Five or more level active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converters and operating methods thereof are disclosed. The five or more level ANPC converters may include upper and lower DC links, a neutral point, a converter output, a plurality of switching devices including upper and lower active neutral clamp switching devices, and at least one two-level cell connected to the output. Each of the two-level cells may include a floating capacitor and a bidirectional switch. In some examples, switches may be connected between the upper and lower DC links and the corresponding upper and lower active neutral clamp switching devices, and circuit breaking elements may be connected between the neutral point and the upper and lower active neutral clamp switching devices. In some examples, a bidirectional switch may be connected in parallel with each of the plurality of switching devices other than the upper and lower active neutral clamp switching devices.
Abstract:
While transient current magnitudes at different locations within a DC distribution system themselves are not a reliable indicator of fault location, it is recognized herein that accumulating energy or pseudo energy values provides a reliable basis for tripping the protection element at a fault location. Thus, in one aspect of the teachings herein, pseudo energy values are accumulated independently during a fault condition, for each of one or more protected branch circuits and the protection element for each such branch circuit is tripped responsive to the accumulated pseudo energy values reaching a defined pseudo energy threshold. The pseudo energy thresholds are defined so that the protection element in the branch circuit where the fault is located will trip first.
Abstract:
A generation and distribution system includes an adjustable-speed prime mover and a doubly-fed asynchronous alternating-current (AC) generator driven by the prime mover and having a first poly-phase circuit, e.g., a stator, and a second poly-phase circuit, e.g., a rotor. The system further includes a first AC bus electrically coupled to the first poly-phase circuit configured to deliver AC power at a first AC voltage to multiple loads, and a second AC bus connected to the second poly-phase circuit configured to deliver AC power at a second AC voltage to another group of loads, the second AC voltage being lower than the first. The system includes a poly-phase transformer having first windings electrically coupled to the first AC bus and having second windings electrically coupled to the second AC bus, and a poly-phase AC-to-AC electronic converter circuit electrically coupled between the second poly-phase circuit and the second AC bus.
Abstract:
A protection device includes a diode having its forward direction in a normal power flow of a region of a DC collection system, a first switch in parallel with the diode, a second switch in series with the diode and a control unit for controlling the switches. The first switch can be opened so that current can flow through the diode in the forward direction without the first switch bypassing the diode, and closed if no current is flowing through the diode in the forward direction and power is needed upstream of the diode. The second switch can be closed so that current can flow through the diode in the forward direction to an AC grid interface of the DC collection system, and opened if no current is flowing through the diode in the forward direction due to a fault in a DC feeder to which the device is coupled.
Abstract:
A control apparatus and corresponding control method use per-unit filtering in a plurality of power-sharing controllers, to obtain a power-sharing command signal for respective ones among a plurality of different energy storage units in a hybrid energy storage system. The hybrid energy storage system includes two or more types of energy storage units and the power-sharing command signal for each energy storage unit is obtained by filtering an input signal using a filter having a filter response that is tailored to the energy storage characteristics of the energy storage unit. The input signal reflects load variations on the electrical grid and may be locally generated or provided by a remote node. While the power-sharing control loops used for each energy storage unit advantageously may be the same in terms of architecture and implementation, each loop uses tailored, dedicated filtering and, possibly, individualized values of one or more other control parameters.
Abstract:
A generation and distribution system comprises an adjustable-speed prime mover and a doubly-fed asynchronous alternating-current (AC) generator driven by the prime mover and having a first poly-phase circuit, e.g., a stator, and a second poly-phase circuit, e.g., a rotor. The system further includes a first AC bus electrically coupled to the first poly-phase circuit and configured to deliver AC power at a first AC voltage to multiple loads, and a second AC bus configured to deliver AC power at a second AC voltage to another group of loads, the second AC voltage being lower than the first. Finally, the system includes a poly-phase transformer having first windings electrically coupled to the first poly-phase circuit and the first AC bus and having second windings electrically coupled to the second AC bus, and a poly-phase AC-to-AC electronic converter circuit electrically coupled between the second poly-phase circuit and the second AC bus.
Abstract:
While transient current magnitudes at different locations within a DC distribution system themselves are not a reliable indicator of fault location, it is recognized herein that accumulating energy or pseudo energy values provides a reliable basis for tripping the protection element at a fault location. Thus, in one aspect of the teachings herein, pseudo energy values are accumulated independently during a fault condition, for each of one or more protected branch circuits and the protection element for each such branch circuit is tripped responsive to the accumulated pseudo energy values reaching a defined pseudo energy threshold. The pseudo energy thresholds are defined so that the protection element in the branch circuit where the fault is located will trip first.
Abstract:
A dual-voltage power generation system includes a prime mover configured for adjustable speed operation and a doubly-fed induction generator driven by the prime mover and including a multi-phase stator winding and a multi-phase rotor winding. A first output terminal of the dual-voltage power generation system is electrically connected to the multi-phase stator winding, and a second output terminal is electrically connected to the multi-phase rotor winding. The dual-voltage power generation system further includes a first converter having an AC side connected to one of the multi-phase windings and an AC or DC side connected to one of the output terminals. The multi-phase stator winding has a different turns ratio than the multi-phase rotor winding and the first output terminal is electrically isolated from the second output terminal so that the generator has two isolated power supply outputs at different voltage levels in a first configuration.