Simulation and control of a 20-kHz spacecraft power system

A detailed computer representation of four Mapham inverters connected in a series-parallel arrangement has been implemented. System performance is illustrated by computer traces for the four Mapham inverters connected to a Litz cable with parallel resistance and DC receiver loads at the receiving end of the transmission cable. Methods of voltage control and load sharing between the inverters are demonstrated. The computer representation is used to design and demonstrate the advantages of a feedforward voltage-control strategy. It is shown that with a computer simulation of this type, the performance and control of spacecraft power systems can be investigated with relative ease and facility     

A new resonant link aircraft power generating system

A 400 Hz aircraft power generating system which has been designed to achieve significant improvements in power density and reliability is introduced. Design targets for this exploratory development program include system (generator-plus-converter) power density of 1 kVA/lb and mean-time-between-failure (MTBF) of 500 h. At the heart of the new variable-speed constant-frequency (VSCF) configuration is a high-frequency resonant link inverter designed so that all inverter switching occurs under zero-voltage conditions. Advantages include minimization of switching losses and significant reductions in power device switching stresses and electromagnetic interference (EMI) generation. Inverter losses are further reduced by using MOS-controlled thyristors (MCTs) as the power switches in order to take advantage of their low forward voltage. A 60 kVA breadboard version of the system has been constructed, and test results which confirm its key performance characteristics are presented     

Fuel cells for “personal electricity”

Cars powered by fuel cells have been built and tested; however, the aerospace fuel cells could not deliver high power quickly when the driver wanted to accelerate his car. Today's hybrid electric cars carry a battery that supplies the acceleration power, and the prime power source, whether an engine or fuel cell, is not stressed with sudden load peaks. Zero air pollution becomes attainable when fuel-cells supply the prime power on a hybrid vehicle     

Energy storage solutions for premium power

Most utility power quality problems are caused by sags, surges, and momentary outages which last from several cycles to several seconds. Modern loads are very sensitive to these short duration glitches resulting in major losses in revenue through system down-time and loss of product from work in process. Many of these problems are caused by normal transients as equipment and factories go on-line or shut down. Others are caused by lightening strikes and faults on the distribution system. Although power utility companies attempt to minimize the interruptions through filtering and system management, power quality problems continue to cost American industry billions of dollars a year. Batteries have been used for many years in uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) to protect critical loads. However, because many new facilities have a network of broadly distributed critical loads, a UPS on the order of one to several megawatts is needed to support the total plant rather than several small kilowatt installations. This paper reports on the implementation of such a utility scale power quality management system     

Resonant power supplies: their history and status

The various types of converter are described, and the history of resonant power supplies is briefly sketched. The differences between pulse-width-modulated (PWM) switch mode power supplies and resonant power supplies are discussed. Single-switch, multiple-switch, and series and parallel resonant converters are examined. The control of resonant converters is addressed. Hardware is briefly considered     

New architectures for space power systems

Electric power generation and conditioning have experienced revolutionary development over the past two decades. Furthermore, new materials such as high energy magnets and high temperature superconductors are either available or on the horizon. Our work is based on the premise that new technologies are an important driver of new power system concepts and architectures. This observation is borne out by the historical evolution of power systems both in terrestrial and aerospace applications. This paper introduces new approaches to designing space power systems by using several new technologies. Two new architectures are introduced: the current source current intensive system and the articulate system. Basic characteristics of these systems have been investigated. Some aspects of the articulate system architecture, as discussed in this paper can be implemented in the short term. Flexible AC transmission systems which are now undergoing rapid development and implementation, can be regarded as a subset of the family of control methodologies which constitute the realm of articulate systems     

High-frequency AC power distribution in Space Station

A utility-type, 20-kHz, AC power distribution system for the space station employing resonant power-conversion techniques is presented. The system converts raw DC voltage from photovoltaic cells or three-phase, low-frequency AC voltage from a solar dynamic generator into a regulated, 20-G kHz AC voltage for distribution among various loads. Operations of the components of the system such as driver inverter, DC receiver, bidirectional receiver, and three-phase AC receiver are discussed. EASY5 computer modeling and simulations were performed to study the local and global performance of the system. Simulation results show that the system has fast response and good transient behavior. The AC bus voltage is effectively regulated using the phase-control scheme, which is demonstrated with both line and load variations. The feasibility of paralleling the outputs of driver modules is illustrated with the driver modules synchronized and sharing a common feedback loop. A high-frequency, sinusoidal AC voltage is generated in the three-phase, AC input case, when the driver modules are phased 120° away from one another and their outputs are connected in series     

High Voltage/High Power for Airborne Applications

The Air Force has requirements for large amounts of electrical power at high voltage (up to hundreds of kilovolts) for certain airborne applications. Because of the severe weight and volume constraints, these systems cannot be realized using conventional technology. The Air Force, therefore, has been heavily involved in the development of lightweight power generation and conditioning equipment. Programs have been undertaken to reduce the weight of rotating machines, transformers, switches, inverters, and capacitors. The advances made in these areas are described, and some aspects of the use of these components in the design of lightweight systems are discussed.     

270-VDC/hybrid 115-VAC electric power generating system technologydemonstrator

The approach, system architecture, instrumentation, and performance of a technology demonstrator system for the application of 270-VDC/hybrid 115-VAC electrical power generation and distribution to future military aircraft are examined. The design has focused on assembling a highly flexible test system. The loads are typical of those in a hybrid electrical system. The system consists of a single 3-phase, 115-VAC electrical generator whose output is rectified, filtered, and supplied through DC contactors to both a 270-VDC load bus and to the input of an inverter, which supplies a 400-Hz, 115-VAC load bus. A variable-frequency, 115-VAC bus is also available directly from the generator. A prototype variable-speed constant-frequency 120-kVA generator is used. The test facility is designed to provide loads to all power types capable of being produced by the system. The system has provided particularly good insight into various aspects of 270-VDC/115-VAC hybrid systems and their components     

Method of energy efficiency assessment for power supply of autonomous drive systems for perspective mobile objects

Based on an integrated approach, we solve the optimization problem for energy content and weight-dimensional characteristics of the electric servo drive by synthesis of structure and analysis of characteristics for different power supplies. The generalized power supply model, developed for different power supply of drive control systems, is given.     

Low-harmonic three-phase inverters with nonpulsating terminalcurrents

A basic class of three-phase inverters with nonpulsating terminal currents, namely, the four-topology four-inductor four-capacitor class is derived and studied. The expressions of duty-ratios required for low-harmonic dc-to-three-phase-ac conversion, ranges of output voltage variation, and component stresses for given specifications of inverters are derived. The characteristics of inverters include low-harmonic power conversion, low component stresses, variable-frequency variable-amplitude output voltages of values both below and above the dc input value, and the use of minimum number of inductors to achieve nonpulsating terminal currents     

International Space Station power storage upgrade planned

As the Earth-orbit International Space Station (ISS) grows, it needs more power which is generated by solar panels. For periods in which the planet Earth occults sunlight, energy is stored in the biggest set of batteries ever flown in space. Reliability of power is important in a space station because a failure requires costly launch of replacement components. Even greater importance results when astronauts work in the station. A power failure that causes the astronauts to perish would be a very serious event. The first battery-containing "integrated equipment module" was launched November 30, 2000 and installed on port 6 of the International Space Station. Two more modules will be launched by the United States; to be launched in 2004 is the European Space Agency's "attached COLUMBUS APM laboratory," which will have its own power system. Unexpected battery-related events occurred in the integrated equipment module during its first year-and-a-half in orbit. The problems and their solutions were described in papers presented at the 37/sup th/ Intersociety Energy Conversion Engineering Conference. Since the International Space Station carries more battery cells than any other spacecraft, the in-flight performance data from its battery assembly can be useful to engineers who design power supplies for other spacecraft. We, therefore, summarize the battery development process, the adopted design, and an unexpected in-flight battery degradation and its correction.     

Conception of spacecraft centralized power supply

A reliable power supply for spacecraft is one of the central problems determining the future development of space technology. The traditional solution to this problem implies having an autonomous power plant on board each spacecraft. The most widely used are power plants with solar cells. However, there exists an alternative power supply concept of using a centralized power supply system (CPSS) and power transmission to the user satellites by laser or microwave beams. Use of a CPSS has a number of advantages. In particular, it allows the spacecraft to increase power supply level and service life as well as to decrease the spacecraft mass and cost. However, it sets new physical and technical problems associated with long distance power transmission and requires some changes in spacecraft structure and concepts. The feasibility study of CPSS development and use has to rely on existing or firmly forecastable technologies. An attempt of such an analysis has been done by a group of scientists at Moscow State Aviation Institute during 1994-1996. The very first results have already been published. This paper discusses new results obtained lately regarding a space based CPSS     

电流变柔性微致动器驱动电源的研究

针对电流变柔性微致动器所用的驱动电源,在理论上探讨了采用交流或直流供电方式的特点,并以此为基础设计了驱动电源的电路结构,然后针对驱动电源的关键技术做了分析,提出了稳定性补偿方案并进行了试验研究。试验结果表明电流变微致动器的分布电容对驱动电源的动态响应有很大影响。     

Relationships Among Classes of Self-Oscillating Transistor Parallel Inverters

It recently has been shown in the literature that many dc-to-squarewave parallel inverters which are widely used in power-conditioning applications can be grouped into one of two families. Each family is characterized by an equivalent RLC network. Based on this approach, a classification procedure is presented for self-oscillating parallel inverters which makes evident natural relationships which exist between various inverter configurations. By utilizing concepts from the basic theory of negative resistance oscillators and the principle of duality as applied to nonlinear networks, a chain of relationships is established which enables a methodical transfer of knowledge gained about one family of inverters to any of the other families in the classification array.     

A design procedure for the phase-controlled parallel-loadedresonant inverter

High-frequency-link power conversion and distribution based on a resonant inverter has been recently proposed. The design of several topologies is reviewed and a simple approximate design procedure is developed for the phase-controlled parallel-loaded resonant inverter. This design procedure seeks to ensure the expected benefits of resonant conversion and is verified by data from a laboratory 2.5 kVA, 20-kHz converter. A simple phasor analysis is introduced as a useful approximation for design purposes. Experimental results show that under transient conditions such as load short-circuit, a reversal of the expected commutation sequence is possible. This should be accounted for in the design of the power circuit, or prevented by the design of the controller     

开关点预置三相四线SPWM逆变器研究

脉宽调制型交直交变速恒频电源采用开关点预置SPWM逆变器,该逆变器由三相桥,交流滤波器,中点形成变压器及控制、驱动电路组成。绝缘栅双极性晶体管是一种新型的电力电子器件;应用该器件为功率器件,研制了一套15kVA开关点预置SPWM逆变器。由于对电路各个部分均进行了充分分析和优化设计,实际制作的逆变器具有较小的体积、重量,并具有优越的电性能。     

Improved DC/AC interface inverter for high-frequency spaceapplications

A DC/AC interface inverter for a high-frequency space power distribution system that uses dual asymmetrical resonant bridges is examined. Compared to the conventional approach in which two symmetrical bridges are used, the asymmetrical bridges arrangement offers better use of the installed kVA rating and efficiency of the inverter system. A simplified approach for modeling the inverter system in steady-state is presented, and a criteria to select the resonant components is given. A detailed simulation is performed for the following: a symmetrical inverter system with a resistive load, an asymmetrical inverter system with a resistive load, and an asymmetrical inverter system with the type-1A AC/DC converter load     

基于抽样评分法的民用飞机电源系统维修性预计

民用飞机维修性的好坏直接影响到市场竞争力,是民用飞机成功运营的关键因素之一。维修性预计是民用飞机研制过程中维修性设计的主要工作之一,能够评价设计是否满足维修性要求。抽样评分法作为维修性预计的方法之一,具有样本量小、预计简便、设计初始阶段即可应用的优点。电源系统为飞机的所有用电设备供电,其维修性的好坏直接影响机载设备能否正常运行,对整机的维修性设计起着关键作用。对抽样评分法展开研究,并根据民用飞机维修性设计现状,量化了维修要求的人为因素评分核对表,对抽样评分方法进行了优化。通过抽样评分法对某机型电源系统的维修性进行了预计,评价是否达到维修性设计要求。最后阐述了抽样评分法在民用飞机维修性设计过程中的重要性。