Computationally Efficient Strand Eddy Current Loss Calculation in Electric Machines

A fast finite element (FE) based method for the calculation of eddy current losses in the stator windings of randomly wound electric machines is presented in this paper. The method is particularly suitable for implementation in large-scale design optimization algorithms where a qualitative characterization of such losses at higher speeds is most beneficial for identification of the design solutions that exhibit the lowest overall losses including the ac losses in the stator windings. Unlike the common practice of assuming a constant slot fill factor s f for all the design variations, the maximum s f in the developed method is determined based on the individual slot structure/dimensions and strand wire specifications. Furthermore, in lieu of detailed modeling of the conductor strands in the initial FE model, which significantly adds to the complexity of the problem, an alternative rectangular coil modeling subject to a subsequent flux mapping technique for determination of the impinging flux on each individual strand is pursued. Rather than pursuing the precise estimation of ac conductor losses, the research focus of this paper is placed on the development of a computationally efficient technique for the derivation of strand eddy current losses applicable in design optimization, especially where both the electromagnetic and thermal machine behavior are accounted for. A fractional-slot concentrated winding permanent magnet synchronous machine is used for the purpose of this study due to the higher slot leakage flux and slot opening fringing flux of such machines, which are the major contributors to strand eddy current losses in the windings. The analysis is supplemented with an investigation on the influence of the electrical loading on ac winding loss effects for this machine design, a subject that has received less attention in the literature. Experimental ac loss measurements on a 12-slot 10-pole stator assembly will be discussed to verify the existing trends in the simulation result

A Computationally Efficient Method for Calculation of Strand Eddy Current Losses in Electric Machines

In this paper, a fast finite element (FE)-based method for the calculation of eddy current losses in the stator windings of randomly wound electric machines with a focus on fractional slot concentrated winding (FSCW) permanent magnet (PM) machines will be presented. The method is particularly suitable for implementation in large-scale design optimization algorithms where a qualitative characterization of such losses at higher speeds is most beneficial for identification of the design solutions which exhibit the lowest overall losses including the ac losses in the stator windings. Unlike the common practice of assuming a constant slot fill factor, sf, for all the design variations, the maximum sf in the developed method is determined based on the individual slot structure/dimensions and strand wire specifications. Furthermore, in lieu of detailed modeling of the conductor strands in the initial FE model, which significantly adds to the complexity of the problem, an alternative rectangular coil modeling subject to a subsequent flux mapping technique for determination of the impinging flux on each individual strand is pursued. The research focus of the paper is placed on development of a computationally efficient technique for the ac winding loss derivation applicable in design-optimization, where both the electromagnetic and thermal machine behavior are accounted for. The analysis is supplemented with an investigation on the influence of the electrical loading on ac winging loss effects for a particular machine design, a subject which has received less attention in the literature. Experimental ac loss measurements on a 12-slot 10-pole stator assembly will be discussed to verify the existing trends in the simulation results

High-bandwidth microcoil for fast nuclear spin control

The active manipulation of nuclear spins with radio-frequency (RF) coils is at the heart of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and spin-based quantum devices. Here, we present a microcoil transmitter system designed to generate strong RF pulses over a broad bandwidth, allowing for fast spin rotations on arbitrary nuclear species. Our design incorporates: (i) a planar multilayer geometry that generates a large field of 4.35 mT per unit current, (ii) a 50 Ohm transmission circuit with a broad excitation bandwidth of approximately 20 MHz, and (iii) an optimized thermal management for removal of Joule heating. Using individual 13C nuclear spins in the vicinity of a diamond nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center as a test system, we demonstrate Rabi frequencies exceeding 70 kHz and nuclear pi/2 rotations within 3.4 us. The extrapolated values for 1H spins are about 240 kHz and 1 us, respectively. Beyond enabling fast nuclear spin manipulations, our microcoil system is ideally suited for the incorporation of advanced pulse sequences into micro- and nanoscale NMR detectors operating at low (<1 T) magnetic field.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to Rev. Sci. Inst

Wideband digital phase comparator for high current shunts

A wideband phase comparator for precise measurements of phase difference of high current shunts has been developed at INRIM. The two-input digital phase detector is realized with a precision wideband digitizer connected through a pair of symmetric active guarded transformers to the outputs of the shunts under comparison. Data are first acquired asynchronously, and then transferred from on-board memory to host memory. Because of the large amount of data collected the filtering process and the analysis algorithms are performed outside the acquisition routine. Most of the systematic errors can be compensated by a proper inversion procedure. The system is suitable for comparing shunts in a wide range of currents, from several hundred of milliampere up to 100 A, and frequencies ranging between 500 Hz and 100 kHz. Expanded uncertainty (k=2) less than 0.05 mrad, for frequency up to 100 kHz, is obtained in the measurement of the phase difference of a group of 10 A shunts, provided by some European NMIs, using a digitizer with sampling frequency up to 1 MHz. An enhanced version of the phase comparator employs a new digital phase detector with higher sampling frequency and vertical resolution. This permits to decrease the contribution to the uncertainty budget of the phase detector of a factor two from 20 kHz to 100 kHz. Theories and experiments show that the phase difference between two high precision wideband digitizers, coupled as phase detector, depends on multiple factors derived from both analog and digital imprint of each sampling system.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figure

Development of a renewable hybrid power plant with extended utilization of pumped storage unit equipment

The scheme of a renewable hybrid power plant with the extended use of the installed equipment of the pumped storage unit for the conversion of the photovoltaic and wind generators direct current to the alternating one is proposed. The scheme is based on existing components with widely used proven technology. To output the power of solar and wind generators to the grid and for DC to AC conversion, a synchronous generator of the pumped storage unit is used in addition to grid inverters. An induction motor, powered through a variable frequency drive from a common DC bus, is used together with a hydraulic turbine to rotate the generator. In addition, batteries and capacitors banks are connected to the DC bus. The possibility of using various types of electric machines to drive a synchronous generator is analyzed and the preference of an induction motor is shown. The response of an induction motor to rotational speed fluctuations is modeled and its capability to participate in the network frequency regulation is shown. With the example of a typical daily load and generation profile, it is shown that the proposed solution for DC to AC conversion has an efficiency close to that of the grid inverter. The proposed scheme of the hybrid power plant can increase the reliability of renewable energy sources and the stability of the network frequency. This is achieved due to increasing the inertia of the rotating masses in the power system, the power factor control capabilities of the synchronous generator and the proper response of induction motor to rapid fluctuations of the rotation speed. The creation of such hybrid power plants opens the way for a further increase in the share of renewable energy sources in the power system.Запропоновано схему гібридної відновлюваної електричної станції з розширеним використанням встановленого обладнання гідроакумулюючого блока для перетворення постійного струму фотоелектричних та вітрових генераторів в змінний. Схема базується на наявних компонентах з широко використовуваною відпрацьованою технологією. Для видачі потужності та перетворення постійного струму сонячних та вітрових генераторів в змінний окрім мережевих інверторів використовується синхронний генератор гідроакумулюючого блоку. Для обертання генератора крім гідротурбіни також використовується асинхронний двигун, підключений через частотно-регульований привод до загальної шини постійного струму станції. Крім того, до шини постійного струму підключені електрохімічні акумулятори і батареї конденсаторів. Проаналізовано можливість використання різних типів електричних машин для приводу синхронного генератора і показано перевагу асинхронного двигуна. Змодельовано реакцію асинхронного двигуна на коливання швидкості обертання і показано його здатність брати участь в регулюванні частоти мережі. На прикладі типового добового графіка навантаження і генерації показано, що запропоноване рішення по перетворенню постійного струму в змінний має ККД, близький до ККД мережевого інвертора. Запропонована схема гібридної станції дозволяє підвищити надійність роботи відновлюваних джерел енергії і стабільність частоти мережі. Це досягається завдяки збільшенню інерції обертових мас в енергосистемі, можливості управління коефіцієнтом потужності синхронного генератора і властивій асинхронному двигуну реакції на коливання швидкості обертання. Створення таких гібридних станцій відкриває шлях до подальшого збільшення частки відновлюваних джерел в енергосистемі

Voltage dip generator for testing wind turbines connected to electrical networks

This paper describes a new voltage dip generator that allows the shape of the time profile of the voltage generated to be configured. The use of this device as a tool to test the fault ride-through capability of wind turbines connected to the electricity grid can provide some remarkable benefits: First, this system offers the possibility of adapting the main features of the time–voltage profile generated (dip depth, dip duration, the ramp slope during the recovery process after clearing fault, etc.) to the specific requirements set forth by the grid operation codes, in accordance with different network electrical systems standards. Second, another remarkable ability of this system is to provide sinusoidal voltage and current wave forms during the overall testing process without the presence of harmonic components. This is made possible by the absence of electronic converters. Finally, the paper includes results and a discussion on the experimental data obtained with the use of a reduced size laboratory prototype that was constructed to validate the operating features of this new device

Topological characterization of chiral models through their long time dynamics

We study chiral models in one spatial dimension, both static and periodically driven. We demonstrate that their topological properties may be read out through the long time limit of a bulk observable, the mean chiral displacement. The derivation of this result is done in terms of spectral projectors, allowing for a detailed understanding of the physics. We show that the proposed detection converges rapidly and it can be implemented in a wide class of chiral systems. Furthermore, it can measure arbitrary winding numbers and topological boundaries, it applies to all non-interacting systems, independently of their quantum statistics, and it requires no additional elements, such as external fields, nor filled bands

High frequency, single/dual phases, large AC/DC signal power characterization for two phase on-silicon coupled inductors

In this work, a new set-up is presented to characterize the large signal electrical parameters of on-Silicon integrated coupled inductors for Power Supply on Chip. The proposed system is suitable to perform the measurements under different large-signal test conditions given by the dc bias current up to 2 A and ac current through one or both windings, with amplitudes ranging from 0 A to 0.5 A at frequencies up to 120 MHz. Since a key issue when measuring at high-frequencies is the error due to the attenuation and time skew between the channels, an additional test is performed to characterize the measurement system and compensate the voltage and current waveforms

An optimized BSCCO/Ag resonator coil for utility use

AC coils made with BSCCO-2223/Ag tapes and operating in liquid nitrogen have a potential for power related applications, e.g., inductors, transformers and current limiters. High-Tc tapes are available from several producers, while access to the coil building know-help is still rather limited, The relevant knowledge and technology suitable for making HTS coils for 50-60 Hz operation is being developed as a part of the current project. To verify the technology, several test solenoids and a first full-scale sub-coil have been manufactured. Electromagnetic, thermal and mechanical analysis of the coils is performed. The electromagnetic analysis focuses on the reduction of the radial magnetic field component in the windings. Voltage-current characteristics and the AC loss data obtained from relevant short sample measurements are applied. A good agreement between calculated and measured V-I curves and losses of the coils is found. A remarkable increase of the critical current and the reduction of the AC loss at the coil edges are predicted and confirmed experimentally. With the losses defined, thermal analysis and optimization of the coil structure are performed numerically followed by measurements for verification. The paper reports on the series of coils developed and explains the features of the projec