General Electric Company

Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc.

Other

Baker Hughes Oilfield Operations LLC

Ge Energy Power Conversion Technology Gmbh

Dong Dong

Di Zhang

Rui Zhou

Rolando Burgos

Rixin Lai

Ravisekhar Nadimpalli Raju

Zhi Zhou

Antonio Caiafa

Ahmed Elasser

Dushan Boroyevich

Tomas Sadilek

Mohammed Agamy

Yan Pan

Robert Gregory Wagoner

Manoj Ramprasad Shah

Hao Huang

Luis Jose Garces

Govardhan Ganireddy

Paolo Mattavelli

Song Chi

Yuliang Cao

Jian Liu

Philip Michael Cioffi

Andrew Allen Rockhill

Minh Ngo

Lakshmi Ravi

David Grey Smith

Christof Martin Sihler

Konrad Roman Weeber

Ara Panosyan

Maja Harfman Todorovic

Ranjan Kumar Gupta

Martin Samuel Butcher

Fred Wang

Joshua Stewart

Bo Wen

Martin Richard Ingles

Ruxi Wang

Steven Michael Mankevich

Fang Luo

Xiang Lin

Steven Schmalz

Ning Yan

Gate control of power semiconductor devices using reduced gate drivers is disclosed. A circuit breaker may include a multitude of transistors, such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs), connected in series with one another. Each transistor may be connected to a respective gate resistor. Diodes may be connected between various gate resistors. One or more resistor-capacitor (RC) snubber circuits may be provided in parallel with one or more of the transistors. Likewise, one or more metal-oxide varistors (MOVs) may be connected in parallel to one or more of the transistors. A gate driver (e.g., a single gate drive) may be connected to the one or more diodes and an emitter of at least one of transistors.

Single passive gate-driver for series connected power devices in DC circuit breaker applications

Power converters including electronic-embedded transformers for current sharing and load-independent voltage gain are described. In one example, a power converter system includes an input, an output, a power converter between the input and output, and a controller. The converter includes a first bridge, a second bridge, and an electronic-embedded transformer (EET) between the first and second bridge. The EET includes a capacitor and a capacitance coupling switch bridge. The controller generates switching control signals for the first and second bridges and phasing drive control signals for the capacitance coupling switch bridge in the EET. The controller applies a phase shift to the phasing drive control signals for the EET as compared to the switching control signals for the first and second bridges, so that the voltage across the capacitor in the EET cancels the leakage inductance of the transformer windings in the EET, at any switching frequency.

Electronic transformer for current sharing and load-independent voltage gain

An electric propulsion system includes at least one generator. The electric propulsion system also includes at least one drive engine coupled to the at least one generator. The electric propulsion system further includes at least one electrical device. The electric propulsion system also includes at least one battery integrated isolated power converter (BIIC), where the at least one generator and at least one of the at least one BIIC and the at least one electrical device are coupled, and where the at least one BIIC and the at least one electrical device are coupled.

Battery integrated isolated power converter and systems for electric vehicle propulsion

Aspects are described for hybrid modular multilevel converters that include half-bridge submodules. In some embodiments, a hybrid modular multilevel converter can include a direct current (DC) bus and an alternating current (AC) node. A first arm of the hybrid modular multilevel converter includes a first submodule chain link and a first arm inductor and a second arm includes a second submodule chain link and a second arm inductor. A capacitor connects between a first side of the first arm and a first side of the second arm.

Hybrid modular multilevel converter topologies using half-bridge submodules

A voltage balancing circuit for use in a power converter is described. In one example, a power converter includes series-connected switching transistors for power conversion, and a voltage balancing control loop. The voltage balancing control loop includes a measurement circuit electrically coupled to a transistor in the pair of series-connected switching transistors. The measurement circuit is electrically coupled to measure a body voltage reference of the transistor. The voltage balancing control loop also includes a balancing circuit configured to generate a balancing pulse signal for adjusting a voltage across the transistor using the body voltage reference, and a circuit configured to combine the balancing pulse signal with a gate drive pulse signal for the transistor, to form a balanced gate drive pulse signal for the transistor. The balanced gate drive pulse signal helps to equalize the body diode voltages of the series-connected switching transistors, particularly during 'off' periods.

Short pulse gate signal voltage balancing in series-connected MOSFETs

Aspects are described for line frequency commutated voltage source converters for multiphase modular multilevel converters. A voltage source converter (VSC) capacitor voltage of a multiphase VSC of a multiphase power converter can be identified. The multiphase VSC can include a half-bridge circuit for each phase of the multiphase power converter. A circuit parameter can be identified and utilized to determine an arm voltage of an arm of a branch of the multiphase converter. Switch control signals can be generated to insert or bypass the VSC capacitor for the arm of the branch of the multiphase converter device, based at least in part on a comparison between the arm voltage and the VSC capacitor voltage.

Line frequency commutated voltage source converters for multiphase modular multilevel converters

A modular power converter system includes a plurality of active power link modules (APLMs) coupled to each other, each APLM having a plurality of switching devices including first and second switching devices coupled to each other, and at least one first-type energy storage device (ESD) coupled in parallel with both of the first and second switching devices, the first-type ESD configured to induce a first direct current (DC) voltage. The system also includes a plurality of relays coupled to the first-type ESD, and a charge controller coupled to at least one APLM of the plurality of APLMs and coupled to at least one of an electrical power source and a discharge circuit. The charge controller is configured to alternately charge and discharge the first-type ESD in response to a plurality of switching states including switching states of the plurality of switching devices and the plurality of relays.

Systems and methods for charging and discharging active power link modules in direct current power systems

Various examples of a high frequency, inductor and transformer core loss characterization and measurement method and system for arbitrary waveforms are disclosed herein. A system and method for determining core loss of a magnetic core can include generating a waveform to excite a first test circuit which comprises an excitation circuit, a circuit under test (CUT) comprising the magnetic core, and an inductance circuit having an inductor connected in parallel to the CUT. The method includes measuring a first current, when the first test circuit is excited. The method includes disconnecting the CUT from the first test circuit to form a second test circuit. The method includes generating the waveform to excite the second test circuit, and measuring a second current, when the second test circuit is excited. The power loss for the magnetic core is calculated based on an input voltage and the first and second measured current.

Core loss characterization and measurement

Aspects of bidirectional architectures with partial energy processing in resonant direct current (DC)-to-DC converters are described. In one embodiment, an alternating circuit (AC)-to-DC circuit generates an AC voltage from a DC voltage. A voltage of the AC voltage is transformed into a majority AC voltage of a majority power path and at least one minority AC voltage of the minority power paths. The majority AC voltage is rectified into a majority DC voltage and a minority AC voltage is rectified into a minority DC voltage. The majority power path and the minority power path are combined as a combined DC voltage.

Bidirectional architectures with partial energy processing for DC/DC converters

An inverter with a modular bus assembly is described. In various embodiments, the modular bus assembly includes a laminated motherboard and a plurality of capacitor daughtercards. The laminated motherboard can be configured to interface a plurality of phase-leg modules and a plurality of capacitor daughtercards through a plurality of terminals and connectors located on a bottom side or a top side of the laminated motherboard. The laminated motherboard includes a layer stack with a plurality of conductor layers. Each of the plurality of conductor layers is implemented with a net spacing from a neighboring plated through hole (PTH) based at least in part on differences in potential to be applied to each of the plurality of conductor layers as compared to a potential to be applied to the PTH. Embedded shield polygons can be implemented on the laminated motherboard to mitigate surface discharge at surface terminal (PTH/SMT) triple junctions.

Medium voltage planar DC bus distributed capacitor array

A switching system includes a transformer and a switching assembly for controlling conduction of current from a power source to a first load along a power cable. The switching assembly includes a switch cell conductively coupled to the power cable. The transformer has a primary winding and a secondary winding. The secondary winding is conductively coupled to the switch cell. The primary winding is conductively coupled to a switch controller via the power cable. The transformer is configured to receive an activation control signal from the switch controller at the primary winding via the power cable and convey the activation control signal to the switch cell via the secondary winding. The switch cell is configured to activate and conduct the current from the power source to the first load along the power cable responsive to receiving the activation control signal from the switch controller.

Switch systems for controlling conduction of multi-phase current

Provided is a power distribution system that includes a reconfigurable DC/DC power converter configured to be connected with an energy storage device at an input end for receiving an input voltage therefrom, and a power electronics building block having a primary bridge unit, a secondary bridge unit magnetically connected with the primary bridge unit, and an outer bridge unit at an output end and connected to an output of the secondary bridge unit, configured to output an output voltage.

Reconfigurable front end converter for full power energy storage applications

Systems and methods to improve operation of a modular multilevel converter. Some embodiments include a first upper arm with a first active power link module, which facilitates producing a first portion of a first alternating current electrical power at a base frequency and injecting a first even-order current harmonic of the base frequency in the first upper arm, and a first lower arm with a second active power link module, which facilitates producing a second portion of the first alternating current, in which the first portion of the first alternating current and the second portion of the alternating current are combined to facilitate outputting the first alternating current electrical power at a first alternating current terminal, and injecting the first even-order current harmonic in the first lower arm, in which magnitude of the first even-order current harmonic is zero at the first alternating current terminal.

Modular multilevel converter harmonic injection systems and methods

A switching system includes a switching assembly and a transformer. The switching assembly includes multiple sets of switch cells conductively coupled to different power conductors that extend between a power source and a load and conduct different phases of current. Each set of switch cells controls conduction of a different phase of current to the load. The transformer has a primary winding and multiple secondary windings that are conductively coupled to the sets of switch cells. Responsive to receiving an activation control signal from the transformer via the secondary windings, the sets of switch cells are configured to activate to conduct the multiple phases of current from the power source to the load along the power conductors.

A modular power conversion device includes at least one first-type energy storage device (ESD) configured to induce a first direct current (DC) voltage, and at least one active power link module (APLM) string coupled to the at least one first-type ESD. The at least one APLM string includes a plurality of APLMs coupled to each other. Each APLM of the plurality of APLMs has a plurality of switching devices including a first switching device and a second switching device coupled to each other in electrical series. Each APLM of the plurality of APLMs also has at least one second-type ESD coupled in electrical parallel with both of the first switching device and the second switching device. The at least one second-type ESD is configured to induce a second DC voltage.

System and method for integrating hybrid energy storage into direct current power systems

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Schenectady, NY, United States of America

Dong Dong