University of Tennessee Research Foundation

Keysight Technologies, Inc.

Ut-battelle, Inc.

Fei Wang

Yiwei Ma

Leon Monroe Tolbert

Jingxin Wang

Wen Zhang

Yilu Liu

Edward Vernon Brush

Kevin Tomsovic

Shuoting Zhang

Kai Sun

Lin Zhu

Ben Guo

Neil Martin Forcier

Zheyu Zhang

Edward A Jones

Laura D Marlino

Benjamin J Blalock

He Yin

Bernhard Holzinger

Zhenxian Liang

Fan Xu

Puqi Ning

Dingrui Li

Ishita Ray

Bo Liu

Xiaojie Shi

A system includes a controller that is configured to generate a node control signal and a plurality of switch control signals, a plurality of programmable emulators, each of the plurality of programmable emulators being configurable as one of a plurality of node types responsive to the node control signal, and a plurality of switches that are programmable to couple ones of the plurality of programmable emulators to each other responsive to the plurality of switch control signals.

Power electronics converter based reconfigurable grid emulation platform

An electric power system emulator apparatus includes a plurality of nodes arrayed in first and second dimensions and a plurality of transmission path emulator circuits, respective ones of which are configured to be connected between adjacent ones of the nodes in the first and second dimensions. The apparatus further includes a control circuit configured to control the transmission path emulator circuits to emulate transmission paths of an electric power system. The control circuit may be configured to control the transmission path emulator circuits to emulate transmission lines and/or transformers. The transmission path emulator circuits may include respective power electronics converter circuits. The apparatus may further include source/load emulator circuits configured to be coupled to the nodes.

Scalable reconfigurable apparatus and methods for electric power system emulation

An apparatus for testing components for use in a power system includes at least one power amplifier circuit configured to be coupled to the component and a control circuit configured to operate the power amplifier circuit responsive to at least one state of a component emulator for the component included in a system emulator for the power system. The component emulator may include at least one power electronics converter circuit and the control circuit may be configured to control at least one of a voltage and a current of the at least one power amplifier circuit responsive to at least one of a voltage and a current of the at least one power electronics converter circuit. The control circuit may be further configured to control the component emulator responsive to at least one state of the at least one power amplifier circuit.

Power system component testing using a power system emulator-based testing apparatus

A power converter circuit includes a switch including a field effect transistor, the field effect transistor being a wide bandgap field effect transistor and being configured to maintain an on operational state responsive to a maintenance signal received through a gate terminal, a current sensing circuit that is configured to estimate a drain terminal current of the field effect transistor responsive to a voltage between the gate terminal of the field effect transistor and a source terminal of the field effect transistor, and a gate driving circuit that is configured to generate the maintenance signal responsive to the estimate of the drain terminal current.

Drain current sensing and fault protection circuit based on gate voltage for gate current driven field effect transistors

Methods, systems, and computer readable mediums for protecting and controlling a microgrid with a dynamic boundary are disclosed. One method includes detecting a fault in a microgrid that includes a dynamic point-of-common-coupling (PCC), in response to determining that the microgrid is operating in a grid-connected mode, isolating the fault by tripping a microgrid side smart switch and a grid side smart switch that are located immediately adjacent to the fault, initiating the reclosing of the grid side smart switch, and initiating the reclosing for the microgrid side smart switch via resynchronization if the grid side smart switch is successfully reclosed, and in response to determining that the microgrid is operating in an islanded mode, isolating the fault by tripping a microgrid side smart switch that is located immediately adjacent to the fault, and initiating the reclosing of the microgrid side smart switch.

Methods, systems, and computer readable media for protecting and controlling a microgrid with a dynamic boundary

A transformer emulator includes a DC bus, a first power electronics converter circuit having a DC port coupled to the DC bus, a second power electronics converter circuit having a DC port coupled to the DC bus, and a third power electronics converter circuit having DC port coupled to the DC bus. The transformer emulator further includes a control circuit configured to control the first, second and third power electronics converter circuits to emulate a transformer having a first port corresponding to an AC port of the first power electronics converter circuit and a second port corresponding to an AC port of the second power electronics converter circuit. The control circuit is configured to control the first and second power electronics converter circuits to emulate a voltage transformation of the transformer and to control the third power electronics converter circuit to emulate a loss of the transformer.

Power electronics converter based transformer emulator

A system includes a controller that is configured to generate a plurality of switch control signals; a plurality of electrical circuit elements, the plurality of electrical circuit elements being characterized by a plurality of impedances, respectively; a plurality of voltage sources; and a plurality of switches that are programmable to couple the plurality of electrical circuit elements to the plurality of voltage sources responsive to the plurality of switch control signals.

Universal driver systems and methods of operating the same

The illustrative embodiments pertain to a test fixture having low insertion inductance for large bandwidth monitoring of current signals. In one exemplary embodiment, the test fixture includes a baseplate with each resistor of a set of resistors embedded inside a respective non-plated through slot in the baseplate. A first terminal of each resistor is soldered to a top metallic zone of the baseplate and a second terminal soldered to a first of two bottom metallic zones of the baseplate. The top metallic zone is connected by plated-through holes to a second of the two bottom metallic zones. When mounted upon a PCB, the test fixture allows current flow from the first bottom metallic zone, upwards through the set of resistors to the top metallic zone, and downwards to the second bottom metallic zone. An observation instrument may be coupled to a coaxial connector that is mounted on the baseplate.

Test fixture for observing current flow through a set of resistors

An energy system includes a microgrid including a network of at least one distributed energy resource and a plurality of loads, the at least one distributed energy resource being configured to supply power to the plurality of loads. The microgrid is configurable to connect to one of a plurality of feeder circuits of a main power grid at one of a plurality of coupling interface locations, respectively. The microgrid is also configurable to expand or shrink its power supply area according to the available power generation capabilities.

Microgrids with dynamically configurable boundaries including multiple main grid feeder coupling locations and methods of operating the same

A three-phase current source rectifier (CSR) with three AC inputs may include a controller, a free-wheeling diode with a cathode connected to a positive line and an anode connected to a negative line, three pairs of switches connected in parallel between the positive line and the negative line, and six pairs of diodes, each pair of the diodes connected in series. Each two pairs of the diodes may be connected in parallel with each other and in series with a respective pair of switches. Each AC input may be connected to between each of two pairs of the diodes.

Three-phase current source rectifier for power supplies

A three-phase alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) converter may include a three-phase AC filter receiving a three-phase AC power supply, a plurality of three-phase current source rectifiers (CSR) connected in parallel with each other and connected to a three-phase AC filter, and an output filter connected to the CSR's to generate a DC output. Each of the CSRs may include six switches and a free-wheeling diode. Each of the three filtered AC inputs from the three-phase AC filter may be connected via a switch of the six switches to selectably send current into a positive line, and each of three filtered AC inputs from the three-phase AC filter may be connected via another switch of the six switches to selectably receive current from a negative line. The free-wheeling diode may have a cathode connected to the positive line and an anode connected to the negative line.

Control of parallel-connected current source rectifiers

A double sided cooled power module package having a single phase leg topology includes two IGBT and two diode semiconductor dies. Each IGBT die is spaced apart from a diode semiconductor die, forming a switch unit. Two switch units are placed in a planar face-up and face-down configuration. A pair of DBC or other insulated metallic substrates is affixed to each side of the planar phase leg semiconductor dies to form a sandwich structure. Attachment layers are disposed on outer surfaces of the substrates and two heat exchangers are affixed to the substrates by rigid bond layers. The heat exchangers, made of copper or aluminum, have passages for carrying coolant. The power package is manufactured in a two-step assembly and heating process where direct bonds are formed for all bond layers by soldering, sintering, solid diffusion bonding or transient liquid diffusion bonding, with a specially designed jig and fixture.

Growing community of inventors

Knoxville, TN, United States of America

Fei Wang