Micro-Systems for Power Systems and Low Loss Conductors

拟议的研究是在应用于智能电网、交直流混合电力技术和微电网公用事业网络的微系统领域。智能电网是一个宽泛的概念，它包括在整个配电网中集成传感器。这种电网现代化有几个方面和目标，包括对潮流和电网基础设施的智能监测、提高可靠性和降低成本。智能电网的努力有几个驱动力。最近的天气事件(热浪、冰暴)表明，公共安全需要紧急应变能力。停电和电力质量问题每年给北美企业造成的损失超过1000亿美元。由于不断增加的能源需求和不断增加的部署新基础设施的成本，现有的电网基础设施面临着前所未有的压力。替代能源正在增加，风能和太阳能等一些能源不具备持续输送能力。AC/DC混合电网是一种进化过渡，包括在本地安装的AC和DC组合网络，通过减少对AC/DC有损电力转换的需求来最大化效率。混合网络正受到多种力量的推动，包括直流替代能源(光伏、高效风力涡轮机、电池和燃料电池存储)、固态LED照明、电动汽车和使用直流电源的消费电子产品。当地微电网公用事业网络提供对负载和发电机的精细控制，从而实现更高的可靠性、成本降低和能源来源多样化。固态变压器在KHz频率下运行时，为微电网网络提供了重要的性能优势和小巧的体积。然而，大电流应用需要一个60赫兹的中间阶段，以防止由于集肤效应对导体造成的电阻损耗增加，从而增加成本。

The proposed research is in the area of micro-systems with application to Smart Grid, hybrid ac/dc power technologies, and microgrid utility networks. The Smart Grid is a broad concept, which includes integration of sensors throughout the electrical distribution grid. This modernization of the electricity network has several aspects and goals, including intelligent monitoring of power flow and grid infrastructure, increased reliability, and reduced cost. The Smart Grid effort has several driving forces. Recent weather events (heat waves, ice storms) have demonstrated the public safety need for emergency resilience. Outages and power quality issues cost North American businesses more than $100 billion per year. Existing grid infrastructure is ever more stressed, due to increasing energy demand and increasing costs to deploy new infrastructure. Alternative energy sources are being added, with some sources such as wind and solar not having continuous delivery capability. The hybrid ac/dc power grid is an evolutionary transition, involving combined ac and dc networks in local installations, to maximize efficiency by reducing the need for lossy ac/dc power conversion. Hybrid networks are being driven by many forces, including dc alternative energy sources (photovoltaic, high efficiency wind turbines, battery and fuel cell storage), solid state LED lighting, electric vehicles, and consumer electronics which run on dc power. Local microgrid utility networks offer fine control of loads and generators, enabling greater reliability, cost reduction, and energy source diversification. Solid state transformers offer microgrid networks important performance benefits and small size when operating at kHz frequencies. However, high current applications require an intermediate 60 Hz stage to prevent increased resistive losses caused by skin effect on conductors, adding to their cost.