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ABSTRACT: Nowadays Power Electronics (PE) is entering more and more in technology which traditionally belongs to different engineering disciplines. E-mobility is one of these. Power Electronics in fact imposes itself as an emerging technology to enhance sustainable mobility, addressing all the engineering aspects starting from energy distribution for charging purposes until energy transformation on board of the traction related vehicles. This paper in particular focuses on newly developed PE infrastructure technologies enabling fast battery charging processes. Depending on the battery and vehicle type, a recharge sufficient for a travel range of more than 100km in less than 10 min is readily achievable. As battery technologies continuously advance, recharging will become available with the speed and simplicity of a today's fuel stop. Two PE converter architectures for recharging infrastructure applications will be presented and discussed based on both low-frequency (LF) and high-frequency (HF) isolation requirements. Technical evaluation of the two different technologies will be addressed and presented, including a pro- and contra analysis. The impact on the grid is studied by means of simulation with the assumption of a dc fast charging station placed in a rural area in Sweden.
Innovative Smart Grid Technologies Conference Europe (ISGT Europe), 2010 IEEE PES; 11/2010
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ABSTRACT: Renewables are playing an increasing role for the future electrical energy production. As the respective windparks are growing in size, the efficiency in the power collection network gets of increasing interest. To improve the power collection efficiency in high power windparks, it is proposed to move higher voltage levels closer to the single wind turbines. Especially the medium voltage - high voltage step-up transformers are moved close to multiple smaller wind turbine clusters within the windpark. This concept allows placing each wind turbine cluster optimally in the geographical landscape. Another substantial energy saving can be achieved in case medium voltage power conversion equipment is used at the generator level. This is the prerequisite to allow further efficiency improvements, i.e. the total elimination of the wind turbine transformers. With reasonably high medium voltage levels combined with local DC grids within the wind turbine clusters the highest energy efficiency in the windpark power collection grids can be achieved. A detailed analysis for a close-to-shore 90 MW windpark is shown. With the discussed improvements energy savings in the windpark power collection grid of more than 1.5% are achievable.
Power Electronics for Distributed Generation Systems (PEDG), 2010 2nd IEEE International Symposium on; 07/2010
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ABSTRACT: The integrated gate commutated thyristor (IGCT) has steadily gained importance on the market since its introduction in 1996. Low on-state voltages and fast switching transients offer minimal semiconductor losses and the highest silicon utilization in medium voltage applications. The low component count in the reliable press-pack and the high utilization of silicon enable the design of low cost, reliable, compact and explosion free converters. Today 4.5 kV, 5.5 kV, 6 kV and 6.5 kV IGCTs are available. IGCT based converters dominate in industrial medium voltage drives (MVDs) as well as railway interties and other energy management systems. Recent developments are setting new converter standards.
Industry Applications Conference, 2005. Fourtieth IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2005; 11/2005
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ABSTRACT: This article describes the requirements, semiconductor design, and the characteristics of the first 10-kV integrated gate commutated thyristors (IGCT) for 6- to 7.2 kV, three-level NPC voltage source converters. It is shown that the use of 10-kV IGCTs enables the reduction of the total number of the main power components and also the reliability of the converter is increased. Finally the tradeoff curve and concept specifications of 10-kV IGCTs are presented.
IEEE Industry Applications Magazine 04/2005; · 0.64 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In the field of power electronics the power electronics building block (PEBB) is a key functional component. With regard to the applications, it is of outmost importance that the PEBB technology used is compact, cost-effective and reliable. The IGCT is at the forefront of technology in high power, medium-voltage applications. For further improvement in size and costs a new ANPC IGCT PEBB has been developed. The main new technologies to achieve higher powers are the new low-inductive gate-unit to maintain hardswitched operation up to more than 6000 A, the increased SOA of the 91 mm asymmetric IGCT (4 inch technology) and the antiparallel diode up to more than 6000 A and the active NPC technology, which allows an optimum and equal loss balancing in all power semiconductors. The maximum inverter output power has been increased by 80% with a parallel increase in the power density and reduced costs per kVA
Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 2005. PESC '05. IEEE 36th; 02/2005
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ABSTRACT: This paper describes the design, experimental investigations and the characteristics of 10 kV IGCTs for 6 kV-7.2 kV applications. Compared to a series connection of two or three IGCTs and inverse diodes in a three level neutral point clamped voltage source converter 10 kV IGCTs and diodes offer several attractive characteristics such as drastically increased reliability due to a substantially reduced component count, a simpler and more compact mechanical and thermal design and thus reduced converter costs. The design of 10 kV IGCTs as well as the test set up are discussed. Measurements of the blocking-, on-state- and switching behaviour are the basis for a detailed description of the device performance. The technology trade off of 10 kV IGCTs is addressed to enable an application specific optimization of the IGCT design for low and high switching frequency applications (e.g. railway interties and medium voltage drives).
Industry Applications Conference, 2003. 38th IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the; 11/2003
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ABSTRACT: Commercially introduced in 1997, the IGCT has rapidly progressed
into the main areas of high power electronics, namely: industrial
drives, traction and energy management. Its simultaneous expansion
towards higher and lower powers in such a short period of time was made
possible by drawing on technologies derived from years of work on both
GTOs and IGBTs. These technologies include anode and buffer-layer
designs, lifetime profiling, separation technology for monolithic diode
integration and junction passivation techniques. Asymmetric, reverse
conducting and symmetric devices have become available to meet expanding
application needs. The future potential especially in respect of 10 kV
and dual gate devices is discussed. Diversified applications will
require standardised components and the Power Electronic Building Blocks
will have to become reality if cost expectations are to be met. The
paper outlines the trends and opportunities for meeting PEBB goals and
shows the newest very high power PEBB, developed with the Office of
Naval Research especially for T&D applications, with simple supply
on potential of series connected IGCTs
Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition, 2001 IEEE/PES; 02/2001
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ABSTRACT: Within 5 years of its introduction, the integrated gate-commutated
thyristor (IGCT) has established itself as the power device of choice at
MV levels by offering the lowest costs, the highest reliability and
efficiency and the highest power densities. With only 4 or 5 standard
housing sizes, it covers a power range of 0.3 to 300 MW. The concept of
a “universal PEBB” has come significantly closer thanks to
standardised platforms and components (standard wafers, housings, gate
units, coolers, clamps etc.). Series-connection is simply achieved and
is destined to become simpler still in the foreseeable future. Parallel
operation, with its attendant uncertainties, remains unnecessary. The
presspack, denigrated in recent years, is once again recognised for its
simplicity, reliability, low inductance, inherent standardisation and
“modularity”, both for IGCTs and IGBTs and the wisdom of
decoupling high-energy DC-links from the switch assembly in VSIs is
gaining steady acceptance for both devices
Power Engineering Society Summer Meeting, 2000. IEEE; 02/2000
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ABSTRACT: This paper describes the series connection of integrated gate
commutated thyristors (IGCTs) using RC-snubbers. An experimental setup
with a power rating of 6 kV, 4 kA is used to analyze the dynamic and
static behavior of the series connected IGCTs in detail. The mechanism
of thermal stabilization of series connected IGCTs is discussed. It is
shown that a good voltage balancing can be achieved by small RC-snubbers
due to the fast switching IGCTs
Industry Applications Conference, 2000. Conference Record of the 2000 IEEE; 02/2000
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ABSTRACT: This paper describes a 24 MVA inverter utilizing the series connection of three IGCTs per switch position in a three-level neutral point clamped inverter topology. The electrical design, especially focused on one phase leg, as well as experimental results, are shown.
Industry Applications Conference, 2001. Thirty-Sixth IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2001 IEEE;
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ABSTRACT: The quest of the last ten years for high power snubberless semiconductor switches has resulted in IGCTs (integrated gate-commutated thyristors) and IGBTs (insulated-gate bipolar transistors) currently available up to 6 kV. Both devices have inherently short switching times but are nevertheless frequency limited by their switching losses. 10 kV IGCTs have been shown to be useable up to about 5.5 kV/sub DC/ and 400 Hz. However market needs for PWM (pulse width modulation) at about 1 kHz cannot be satisfied above 3 kV DC, due to the inherent turn-off losses of the aforementioned bipolar components. The fundamental barrier presented by the charge stored in the n-base of IGBTs and IGCTs must be reduced at turn-off without increasing conduction losses. The use of a second, anode-side gate (n-gate) to reduce the high plasma density at turn-off has already been described for conventional snubbered GTOs but the technique has not yet been applied to a snubberless device such as the IGCT. This paper shows the turn-off loss reductions which can be obtained by "grafting" a second gate to the conventional IGCT and compares these results to those of a new type designed specifically for "gate-assisted turn-off".
Industry Applications Conference, 2001. Thirty-Sixth IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2001 IEEE;
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ABSTRACT: This paper describes the design and the characteristics of 10 kV IGCTs for 6 kV -7.2 kV applications. Design considerations and measurements of 10 kV IGCTs are the basis for a detailed description of blocking, on-state and switching characteristics which enable an attractive design of Medium Voltage Converters.
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ABSTRACT: In the field of power electronics the power electronics building block (PEBB) is a key functional component. With regard to the applications, it is of outmost importance that the PEBB technology used is compact, cost-effective and reliable. The IGCT is at the forefront of technology in high power, medium-voltage applications. For further improvement in size and costs a new ANPC IGCT PEBB has been developed. The main new technologies to achieve higher powers are the new low-inductive gate-unit to maintain hardswitched operation up to more than 6000 A, the increased SOA of the 91 mm asymmetric IGCT (4 inch technology) and the antiparallel diode up to more than 6000 A and the active NPC technology, which allows an optimum and equal loss balancing in all power semiconductors. The maximum inverter output power has been increased by 80% with a parallel increase in the power density and reduced costs per kVA
Power Electronics and Applications, 2005 European Conference on;
