Smart Wires Inc.

Ali Farahani

Haroon Inam

Amrit Iyer

Arthur Kelley

Debrup Das

Joe Carrow

David Munguia

Mark Sanders

Will Schmautz

Casey Heier

Ted Bloch-Rubin

Antonio Ginart

John Parks

Tarek Khoury

Andrew Moodie

Mohammad Dehsara

Bryce Puchta

Shreesha Adiga Manoor

Govind Chavan

Niloofar Torabi

Zbigniew Wolanski

Brock Petersen

Andrii Luchko

Shaiq Aman-ul-haq

Guiping Zou

Nasrin Taheri-Nassaj

Joseph Innis Carrow

Amrit Iyet

A liquid cooling static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) system with series connected inverter valve modules that have liquid cooling blocks is described. The inverter valve modules are operable to inject reactive power into a power transmission line. Inverter valve units are attached to liquid cooling blocks, where there is direct impingement of liquid coolant on an exposed portion of an inverter valve unit in an enclosed fluid chamber. Each liquid cooling block has voltage isolation relative to other liquid cooling blocks. Such voltage isolation may limit ionization of liquid coolant in an SSSC system operating in proximity to high voltages.

Direct impingement liquid cooling for static synchronous series compensator systems

A liquid cooling power flow control system and related method are described. The system has switching assemblies for power flow control, in an enclosure. A pump circulates liquid coolant through a liquid cooling block to each switching assembly. The switching assemblies are electrically isolated from the enclosure.

Scalable modular cooling unit having voltage isolation

A trailer-based system and related method are described for efficiently transporting, configuring and deploying a power flow control system, including connection to a power transmission line. The system may include preconfigured modules using bolted attachments, hoist rings and a corona ring structure. Standardized clamps are also used. A plurality of power flow control modules is operable while mounted on the trailer. The power flow control modules are configurable to inject reactive power into the power transmission line.

Deployment of power flow control systems

A modular liquid cooling block is described for cooling high current devices deployed in power flow control systems. The liquid cooling blocks may have separate shower heads which may be configured for direct impingement, indirect impingement, or parallel flow cooling configurations. Voltage isolation of liquid cooling blocks from an enclosure of the power flow control system and from associated equipment enables serial or parallel connected power flow control units to inject substantial reactive power that may be configurable into a power transmission line. Associated power flow control systems are monitored for temperature, flow rate and pressure gradient. Redundant pumps and fan radiators contribute to reliable operation. Automatic shutdown and alarm may be provided.

Liquid cooling of high current devices in power flow control systems

A capacitor bank assembly has a conductive mount tray and capacitors. The capacitors are vertically mounted and held by the conductive mount tray. All positive terminals of the capacitors are connected to a first conductive plate. All negative terminals of the capacitors are connected to a second conductive plate. An insulating material separates the first conductive plate and the second conductive plate.

Method for mounting high voltage capacitor banks

A liquid cooling static synchronous series compensator (SSSC) system has inverter valve modules, inverter valve units and liquid cooling blocks. Liquid cooling blocks may be configured to provide a jetted flow, a parallel flow or an individualized flow, within an enclosed fluid chamber, for cooling inverter valve units. Liquid cooling blocks may have voltage isolation.

Indirect impingement liquid cooling for static synchronous series compensator systems

An apparatus for injecting impedance into a high voltage (HV) transmission line is disclosed. The apparatus comprises a plurality of modular flexible alternating current transmission systems (FACTS) based impedance injection units (IIUs), each modular FACTS based IIU without fault current protection. The apparatus further comprises a fault current protection module external to the modular FACTS based IIUs. The fault current protection module is coupled to the modular FACTS based IIUs to provide fault current protection to the modular FACTS based IIUs.

Modular FACTS devices with external fault current protection within the same impedance injection module

A passive cooling topology and a manufacturing method are described for a transformer to achieve improved power density at a light weight. No fans or cooling liquids are required. Vertical planar faces are used for the central core element, the primary and secondary windings, the outer core element, and a finned heat sink. The primary flow for thermal cooling is radial, through the vertical planar faces. The transformer may be configured to float at the potential of a high voltage transmission line, leading to improved thermal characteristics. Eddy currents are reduced using repeating air gaps in the central core, and a continuously transposed cable comprising multiple strands per turn in the secondary winding. Air pockets in the windings are eliminated using a potting resin and vacuum pressure impregnation (VPI).

Transformer having passive cooling topology

A transformer for power line reactance injection that can be adapted in manufacturing to different operating current ranges by interchanging primary windings having one, two, three, four or more laminar turns. Through its use of gaps in the magnetic circuit that are filled with high temperature, high thermal conductivity dielectrics, this transformer has tolerance to very high fault currents, and it can be passively cooled by the use of fins on the exterior walls of the core.

Current adaptive reactor structure

Sheet metal construction is described for achieving high strength at low weight for a power reactor and for an impedance injection module incorporating the power reactor. Clamping plates are used to retain the core and the windings of the reactor. Integrated features of a specialized frame of the impedance injection module include flanges for structural rigidity, a convenient yoke plate for lifting by crane, feet for mounting insulators, and sufficient strength to maintain mechanical integrity during normal operation and also during fault conditions. The specialized frame provides a light weight assembly suitable for mounting on power transmission lines as well as on ground assemblies. The specialized frame can reduce the cost of the total enclosure to around 25% of the cost and 50% of the weight of an equivalent conventional enclosure. An insulation topology is also described.

Integration of enclosure and core for improved structural integrity of an impedance injection unit

A power flow control unit has one or more impedance injection units. The impedance injection unit has high current drivers and capacitors forming a capacitor bank, and a cooling plate. The cooling plate is thermally coupled to the high current drivers and thermally decoupled from the capacitor bank. Bus bars connect the impedance injection units in series with a power transmission line. The power flow control unit is configurable to inject into the power transmission line a reactive power of at least one MVAr (mega volt-ampere reactive).

Integration of a power flow control unit

An enclosure includes a power flow control device to attach to a high voltage transmission line, a plurality of panels formed of metal, a shorting connection provided between each pair of panels, an electrical connection from at least one panel of the plurality of panels to the high voltage transmission line, a receiving region provided on each panel for each shorting connection, and an equipotential surface for reducing electromagnetic interference from the high voltage transmission line to internal components of the power flow control device, and from the internal components of the power flow control device to the high voltage transmission line.

Interference limiting enclosure for power flow devices

A power flow control subsystem having multiple configurations is described. The subsystem is three-way configurable: as a transportable configuration, as a deployable configuration, and as a transmission line configuration. The transportable configuration includes a collection of impedance injection modules and at least one bypass module carried on a wheeled vehicle such as a trailer. The deployable configuration is an assembly of the collection of impedance injection modules and at least one bypass module, operable to perform power flow operations. The transmission line configuration includes connection of a deployable configuration to a phase of a high voltage transmission line for performing power flow control. The deployable configuration may be open or closed frame. The deployable configurations may be mounted on one or more wheeled vehicles in a mobile subsystem, or semi-permanently mounted at a ground site.

Power flow control subsystem having multiple configurations

Distributed series reactance modules and active impedance injection modules that are adapted to operating with electric power transmission lines over a wide range of transmission voltages are disclosed. Key elements include a virtual ground, an enclosure that acts as a Faraday shield, radio frequency or microwave control methods and the use of corona rings.

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Yorba Linda, CA, United States of America

Ali Farahani