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Results for “POWER ELECTRONICS”

Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 289 records · Page 16
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2018

Thermal-Conductive Boards Based on Aluminum with an Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} Nanostructured Layer for Products of Power Electronics

The experimental results of electrical and thermal characteristics of circuit boards based on aluminum with a nanostructured layer of anodic aluminum oxide and copper conductors for assembling high-power field-effect transistors have been considered. It has been shown that the presence of a thin dielectric layer and thick aluminum base with high thermal conductivity provides a uniform distribution of heat generated by the active element over the entire volume of the board without formation of local regions with increased temperature. The experimental results have shown that the temperature gradient between the heat source and anodic aluminum oxide surface is about 17–18°C at a surface heat power of 4.4 W/cm{sup 2}.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2021

Power Electronics Based Self-Monitoring and Diagnosing for Photovoltaics Systems

Self-monitoring and diagnosing technology for photovoltaic (PV) systems is a method to reduce energy production losses. The proposed technology will enable existing panel-level power optimizers and inverters in a PV system to actively perturb the system, measure its response to these small-signal perturbations, and detect any changes in the small-signal impedances. Impedance measurement will be used to identify specific faults and power degradation trends in a PV panel. This information can be used to instantly alert Operations and Maintenance (O&M) personnel of the need for corrective action, thereby reducing energy production losses earlier relative to standard PV systems.

Panchal, Jeet↗
DOE OSTI2020

Cybersecurity Methods for Grid-Connected Power Electronics

The present work shows a secure-by-design process, defense-in-depth method, and security techniques for a secure distributed energy resource. The distributed energy resource is a cybersecure, solar inverter and battery energy storage system prototype, collectively called the Cybersecure Power Router. Consideration is given to the use of the Smart Green Power Node for a foundation of the present work. Metrics for controller security are investigated to evaluate firmware security techniques. The prototype's ability to mitigate, respond to, and recover from firmware integrity degradation is examined. The prototype shows many working security techniques within the context of a grid-connected, distributed energy resource. Further work is expected in the Cybersecure Power Router project. Consideration is also provided for the migration of the present research and the Smart Green Power Node to realize a pre-production prototype.

Moquin, Stephen Joe↗
DOE OSTI2022

Time series anomaly detection in power electronics signals with recurrent and ConvLSTM autoencoders

The anomalies in the high voltage converter modulator (HVCM) remain a major down time for the spallation neutron source facility, that delivers the most intense neutron beam in the world for scientific materials research. In this work, we propose neural network architectures based on Recurrent AutoEncoders (RAE) to detect anomalies ahead of time in the power signals coming from the HVCM. Bi-directional gated recurrent unit, bi-directional long-short term memory (LSTM), and convolutional LSTM (ConvLSTM) are developed, trained, and tested using real experimental signals from the HVCM module. The results show a good performance of the proposed RAE models, achieving precision up to 91%, recall up to 88%, false omission rate as low as 20% (i.e. 80% of the anomalies were detected), and area under the ROC curve up to 0.9. The three RAE models provide very comparable performance, with LSTM showing slightly better performance than GRU and ConvLSTM. The RAE models are benchmarked against other anomaly detection methods, including isolation forest, support vector machine, local outlier factor, feedforward and convolutional autoencoders, and others; showing a better performance. Here, the results of this study demonstrate the promising potential of RAE in anomaly detection for real-world power systems, and for increasing the reliability of the HVCM modules in the spallation neutron source.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2019

Non-uniform Mg distribution in GaN epilayers grown on mesa structures for applications in GaN power electronics

A strong variation in the luminescence characteristics in Mg-doped GaN grown on mesa structures has been observed, with the sidewall luminescence being different from that of the flat regions. A comparison with the luminescence characteristics of Mg-doped GaN epilayers with different Mg concentrations indicates that the sidewall has a significantly lower Mg content. Here, this observed non-uniform Mg distribution is attributed to the dependence of Mg incorporation efficiency on the crystal orientation of the growth surface, which should impact the electrical performance of power devices.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2013

AlGaN/GaN field effect transistors for power electronics—Effect of finite GaN layer thickness on thermal characteristics

AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistors with a 150 nm thick GaN channel within stacked Al{sub x}Ga{sub 1−x}N layers were investigated using Raman thermography. By fitting a thermal simulation to the measured temperatures, the thermal conductivity of the GaN channel was determined to be 60 W m{sup −1} K{sup −1}, over 50% less than typical GaN epilayers, causing an increased peak channel temperature. This agrees with a nanoscale model. A low thermal conductivity AlGaN buffer means the GaN spreads heat; its properties are important for device thermal characteristics. When designing power devices with thin GaN layers, as well as electrical considerations, the reduced channel thermal conductivity must be considered.

77 NANOSCIENCE AND NANOTECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

POWER ELECTRONICS GRID TIED SYSTEM FINAL REPORT

Across the country, electric utilities are grappling with the persistent hurdles of integrating Distributed Energy Resources (DERs). Managing these assets safely and effectively is a complex endeavor, complicated by varying ownership structures, management philosophies, and the diversity of the technologies themselves. Consequently, the industry has seen a proliferation of bespoke system designs, control strategies, and communication frameworks—forcing utilities to spend significant time and resources developing one-off integration solutions. This project addressed these integration hurdles through a scalable demonstration of intelligent devices designed to coordinate and control diverse resources in low-voltage applications. This concept minimized the need for complex integration by transforming the separate DERs into a dispatchable virtual power plant (VPP) with integrated resiliency functions (called a Node). By collaborating with a utility partner, the project focused on developing rapidly implementable use cases that bridged the gap between theoretical control and real-world deployment

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗
DOE OSTI2018

Finite element modeling of nanoscale-enabled microinductors for power electronics

Here, this paper focuses on the finite element modeling of toroidal microinductors, employing first-of-its-kind nanocomposite magnetic core material and superparamagnetic iron nanoparticles covalently cross-linked in an epoxy network. Energy loss mechanisms in existing inductor core materials are covered as well as discussions on how this novel core material eliminates them providing a path toward realizing these low form factor devices. Designs for both a 2 μH output and a 500 nH input microinductor are created via the model for a high-performance buck converter. Both modeled inductors have 50 wire turns, less than 1 cm 3 form factors, less than 1 Ω AC resistance, and quality factors, Q’s, of 27 at 1 MHz. In addition, the output microinductor is calculated to have an average output power of 7 W and a power density of 3.9 kW/in 3 by modeling with the 1st generation iron nanocomposite core material.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗
DOE OSTI2019

Titanate Capacitors for Power Electronics

Titanium alloys were synthesized and coated with oxide dielectric films using anodizing in electrolytic baths. They possess high specific energies based on high charge-densities and high breakdown-electric-fields. These were made into alloy ribbons by rapid solidification by vacuum-spin casting, then anodized to form homogeneous dielectric films that serve as the medium in which electric charges are stored with high specific energy density in electrolytic capacitors. The new energy-dense dielectrics were formed by anodizing homogeneous Ti-Zr-X anode alloys, where X is a combination of Hf, Nb, Mo, Be, and/or Si. Thus homogeneous, dense and essentially-defect-free oxide-glass films were formed, e.g., (Ti-Zr-Hf-Be)O 2 films with high specific energy with stability over a wide voltage range, up to over 300 Volt, at temperatures from cryogenic to over 100 degrees C. When packaged with oxidizing electrolyte the dielectric is self-repairing in the event that accidental defects spring up. This provides reliable high-energy and high power performance with little de-rating, i.e., high reliability and lifetime in pulsed or high-frequency operating conditions.

25 ENERGY STORAGE↗
DOE OSTI2013

Non-Invasive Beam Detection in a High-Average Power Electron Accelerator

For a free-electron laser (FEL) to work effectively the electron beam quality must meet exceptional standards. In the case of an FEL operating at infrared wavelengths in an amplifier configuration the critical phase space tends to be in the longitudinal direction. Achieving high enough longitudinal phase space density directly from the electron injector system of such an FEL is difficult due to space charge effects, thus one needs to manipulate the longitudinal phase space once the beam energy reaches a sufficiently high value. However, this is fraught with problems. Longitudinal space charge and coherent synchrotron radiation can both disrupt the overall phase space, furthermore, the phase space disruption is exacerbated by the longitudinal phase space manipulation process required to achieve high peak current. To achieve and maintain good FEL performance one needs to investigate the longitudinal emittance and be able to measure it during operation preferably in a non-invasive manner. Using the electro-optical sampling (EOS) method, we plan to measure the bunch longitudinal profile of a high-energy (~120-MeV), high-power (~10kW or more FEL output power) beam.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2011

Performance and Economic Analysis of Distributed Power Electronics in Photovoltaic Systems

Distributed electronics like micro-inverters and DC-DC converters can help recover mismatch and shading losses in photovoltaic (PV) systems. Under partially shaded conditions, the use of distributed electronics can recover between 15-40% of annual performance loss or more, depending on the system configuration and type of device used. Additional value-added features may also increase the benefitof using per-panel distributed electronics, including increased safety, reduced system design constraints and added monitoring and diagnostics. The economics of these devices will also become more favorable as production volume increases, and integration within the solar panel?s junction box reduces part count and installation time. Some potential liabilities of per-panel devices includeincreased PV system cost, additional points of failure, and an insertion loss that may or may not offset performance gains under particular mismatch conditions.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2011

Commercialization Effort for 1W Consumer Electronics Power Pack

A commercial ready fuel cell charger has been further developed, demonstrated, and field tested during the three phases of this project. The work performed and demonstrated has shown the commercialization readiness of this future product and underlying technology. The tasks in phase 1 of the project focused on component cost reduction, redesign for manufacturability, performance & reliability testing, and system integration. The end of phase 1 was completed on time and was signified by passing the Go/No-Go checkpoint. As shown in the report all technical metrics have been met or exceeded and the Go/No-Go checkpoint was passed in November of 2009. The tasks in phase 2 focused on tool fabrication and tooled component prove-out in working systems. The end of Phase 2 was the accomplishment of building working systems made almost completely of tooled components. The tasks in phase 3 of the project were preparing for and executing a 75 unit field test of the DMFC charger product developed in Phase 1 and phase 2. This field test demonstrated the functionality of the DMFC in the hands of real users while also providing feedback for potential design improvements. This was the first time a significant number of MTI units were put into the field to test usability and functionality. Feedback from the field test was positive and the units functioned well in the field.

08 HYDROGEN↗
DOE OSTI2013

Transmission of High-Power Electron Beams Through Small Apertures

Tests were performed to pass a 100 MeV, 430 kWatt c.w. electron beam from the energy-recovery linac at the Jefferson Laboratory's FEL facility through a set of small apertures in a 127 mm long aluminum block. Beam transmission losses of 3 p.p.m. through a 2 mm diameter aperture were maintained during a 7 hour continuous run.

43 PARTICLE ACCELERATORS↗
DOE OSTI2014

Numerical simulations of epitaxial growth process in MOVPE reactor as a tool for design of modern semiconductors for high power electronics

In the present study numerical simulations of epitaxial growth of gallium nitride in Metal Organic Vapor Phase Epitaxy reactor AIX-200/4RF-S is addressed. Epitaxial growth means crystal growth that progresses while inheriting the laminar structure and the orientation of substrate crystals. One of the technological problems is to obtain homogeneous growth rate over the main deposit area. Since there are many agents influencing reaction on crystal area such as temperature, pressure, gas flow or reactor geometry, it is difficult to design optimal process. According to the fact that it's impossible to determine experimentally the exact distribution of heat and mass transfer inside the reactor during crystal growth, modeling is the only solution to understand the process precisely. Numerical simulations allow to understand the epitaxial process by calculation of heat and mass transfer distribution during growth of gallium nitride. Including chemical reactions in numerical model allows to calculate the growth rate of the substrate and estimate the optimal process conditions for obtaining the most homogeneous product.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗