Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to James Soeder.
This presentation provides an overview of the Advanced Modular Power Systems (AMPS) Project, along with sections to describe the three technical focus areas - Modular Power Electronics & Standards, Autonomous Power Control, and the Modular Power Testbed.
Under the current Artemis Program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will send its next set of astronauts (first woman and next man) to the Moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface by 2028. The challenge of creating a sustained lunar surface presence is significantly different than previous efforts. Lunar surface operations will require access to continuous and highly reliable power to support mission needs, such as to support ISRU operations. Adding to this challenge, the lunar surface operations are not going to be established over a single effort, rather the system and operations will evolve and grow over time (years). The first initial loads that arrive on the lunar surface will be integrated to their own dedicated power sources. As the lunar surface operations grow, so will the demand for power and at some point these individual loads will require more power than can be generated with any single power device. This power demand drives the need for inter-connecting the loads and power devices to share power between them, resulting in a micro-grid. One of the advantages of developing a lunar surface micro-grid is that allows lunar surface operations to resemble electrical utility operations on Earth; it allows power to be generated where it is convenient and allows power to be consumed where it is convenient, rather than negotiating between generation and consumption. The micro-grid concept also provides another benefit of affording the ability to increase overall system reliability by integrating dissimilar power generation and energy storage devices together, for example modifying the power generation strategy to include both solar arrays and nuclear. Creating a lunar surface micro-grid has its advantages, however there are significant challenges associated with an evolvable micro-grid concept. The challenges include how to efficiently transmit large amounts of power (10kW+) long distances (1kW+), how to effectively integrate dissimilar power generation and energy storage devices to maximize power consumption and minimize downtime, and how to physically connect these devices together with a connector that can survive the lunar environment (dust, extreme cold temperatures) and is capable of both astronaut and robotic operation. The basic components of the micro-grid have to be designed to ensure the system is sustainable, modular, and reconfigurable. An interface to the micro-grid has to be designed that allows for additional technologies, some of which may not yet be fully designed, to easily integrate into the micro-grid concept. This presentation discusses these lunar challenges in some more depth and offers a path forward in designing an evolvable micro-grid to meet the needs of the lunar surface operations and proposes a Universal Micro-grid Interface Converter to connect these dissimilar power sources and mission loads to the micro-grid.
The presentation discuss the constraints; issues; and trades that must be done; to develop a flexible, reliable power micro-grid for the lunar surface.
Sustained lunar surface operations will require access to continuous and highly reliable power to support mission needs and an ability to evolve and grow over time (years). The first initial loads that arrive on the lunar surface will contain their own dedicated power sources. Over time, as the lunar surface operations and power demands grow, these individual power loads will require more power than can be generated with any single power device. This demand drives the need for inter-connecting loads and power devices to share power between them, resulting in a micro-grid. One advantage of developing a lunar surface micro-grid is that it will allow lunar surface operations to resemble electrical utility operations on Earth; it allows power to be generated where it is convenient and allows power to be consumed where it is convenient and required. The micro-grid concept also provides another benefit of affording the ability to increase overall system reliability by integrating dissimilar power generation and energy storage devices together, for example modifying the power generation strategy to include both solar arrays and nuclear. This talk provides an overview of NASA’s interest in developing a lunar microgrid and provides areas where external entities can play a role in developing futuristic power needs.
The Propulsion and Power Systems Alliance promotes programmatic and technical collaboration between government agencies in order to better utilize existing program resources in the areas of power and propulsion. This presentation will provide other government agencies an idea of the ongoing work at NASA GRC for power, focusing on the use of a microgrid for sustainable lunar surface power and autonomous power control development for the lunar surface microgrid.
Contents - NASA Future Power Systems - DC Microgrid with Distributed Battery Energy Storage - A simplified gateway power system - Droop Control (Primary Control) - Distributed battery units, droop control, and load sharing characteristics - Simulation results - Three-Level Hierarchical Control of Distributed Battery Units During Eclipse - Secondary Control - Objective and definition of unit control error - Implementation of secondary control - Simulation results - Tertiary Control - Schedule BU current sharing with the objective of equal SoC - Simulation results•Conclusions