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Dielectric elastomer transducers (DETs) are commonly modeled by lumped-element models (LEMs), however such models do not capture the cutoff behavior that manifests at relatively low frequencies due to the high resistivity of the stretchable electrodes. Moreover, the contribution of the electrodes into the lumped series resistance is not accurately known. The aim of this work is to define the accuracy and frequency limits of the LEM and to derive the exact values of its lumped components. This is achieved by developing a detailed three-dimensional distributed-element model (DEM) of the transducer structure. Based thereon, analytical expressions are developed for the LEM components and limits are explored. Through numerical evaluation of the DEM it is found that only two-third of the single-polarity electrode resistance contributes to the lumped series resistance, which is three times lower than predicted by existing models. Comparison between the LEM and DEM further shows that the LEM is adequate for frequencies significantly below the cutoff frequency. Thereafter, capacitance and resistance fall off as a result of signal propagation limitations. This has been experimentally verified. The developed DEM and established validity range of the simple LEM allows for more accurate sensors and better optimized transducers designs, with up to three times less electrode material., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage

In this article, a novel fan-out panel-level printed circuit board (PCB)-embedded package for phase-leg silicon carbide (SiC) metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) power module is presented. Electro-thermo-mechanical co-design was conducted, and the maximum package parasitic inductance was found to be about 1.24 nH at 100 kHz. Compared with wire-bonded packages, the parasitic inductances of the PCB-embedded package decreased at least by 87.6%. Compared with blind via structure, the thermal resistance of the proposed blind block structure reduced at most by about 26%, and the stress of the SiC MOSFETs decreased by about 45.2%. Then, a novel PCB-embedded packaging process was developed, and three key packaging processes were analyzed. Furthermore, effect of PCB-embedded package on static characterization of SiC MOSFET was analyzed, and it was found that: 1) Output current of PCB-embedded package was decreased under a certain gate-source voltage compared to SiC die; 2) Miller capacitance of SiC MOSFET was increased thanks to parasitic capacitance induced by package; and 3) compared with SiC die, nonflat miller plateau of the PCB-embedded package extends, and as drain-source voltage increases, the nonflat miller plateau extends. Lastly, switching characteristics of the PCB-embedded package and TO-247 package were compared. The results show that the PCB-embedded package has smaller parasitic inductances., Electronic Components, Technology and Materials

SiC devices are promising for outperforming Si counterparts in high-frequency applications due to its superior material properties. Conventional wirebonded packaging scheme has been one of the most preferred package structures for power modules. However, the technique limits the performance of a SiC power module due to parasitic inductance and heat dissipation issues that are inherent with aluminum wires. In this article, low parasitic inductance and high-efficient cooling interconnection techniques for Si power modules, which are the foundation of packaging methods of SiC ones, are reviewed first. Then, attempts on developing packaging techniques for SiC power modules are thoroughly overviewed. Finally, scientific challenges in the packaging of SiC power module are summarized., Electronic Components, Technology and Materials, DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Electrical Sustainable Energy

In this paper, a novel fan-out panel-level printed circuit board (PCB) embedded package technology for silicon carbide (SiC) MOSFET power module is presented to address parasitic inductances, heat dissipation, and reliability issues that are inherent with aluminum wires used in conventional packaging scheme. To withstand high temperature beyond 175 °C and high voltage over 1.2 kV and improve thermomechanical reliability of the fan-out panel-level PCB embedded SiC power module, bismaleimide-triazine (BT) laminate and prepreg with high-temperature stability, high dielectric strength, coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) matching with SiC, and high T-g are selected as PCB embedded package materials. Then, high-temperature stabilities, dielectric breakdown strength, and thermomechanical performances of the embedded materials are characterized. The experimental results show that the PCB embedded materials can withstand high temperature beyond 200 °C and a high voltage above 1.2 kV. T-g is as high as over 260 °C, and CTE is matching with SiC. Besides, in order to provide one guideline for the high-temperature and high-pressure laminating process during the PCB embedded SiC MOSFETs packaging, cure kinetics of BT prepreg are analyzed. The results show that 1-h curing time at 280 °C curing temperature and 2-h curing time at 210 °C curing temperature can ensure the full cure of the BT prepreg., Accepted author manuscript, DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Electronic Components, Technology and Materials, ESE Programmes

The power electronic converter, especially the power semiconductor, is a major contributor to the failure rates of the wind turbine drivetrain. As the temperature is a major driving factor behind the failure mechanisms of these power semiconductors the choice of topology and switching strategy can have a significant effect on the reliability of the converter. This paper presents a detailed comparison of several three level converter topologies and switching strategies on the basis of loss distribution, thermal, and lifetime performance. This investigation is done through simulations on a 10MW direct drive permanent magnet drivetrain. The study shows that over-rating in the form of using overrated topologies, or the use of overrated components can result in large gains in lifetime expectancy and quantifies these gains. It concludes that the improvements offered by overrated topologies and overrated components are comparable and that use of the overrated topologies do not offer a significant advantage over the use of topologies with overrated components., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Delft Energy Initiative, Transport Engineering and Logistics, ESE Programmes

Modularity is promising from a view to increasing turbine availability through fault tolerant operation as well as reduced downtimes, especially for offshore wind turbines. This paper focuses on a quantitative analysis of large scale (or extreme) modularity in power electronic converters of wind turbine generator systems. It uses mathematical models to investigate the effect of the choice of module number on the availability of a converter. It further analyses the availability in conditions where increased levels of modularity lead to a reduction of failure rates in the system. The paper extends this analysis by quantifying the benefits for a 10MW case study turbine. Finally, it concludes that extreme modularity holds merit only when it is accompanied by a reduction in failure rates., Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Transport Engineering and Logistics, ESE Programmes

This paper aims at assessing the potential of partially superconducting generators for 10 MW direct-drive wind turbines by investigating their performance for a very wide range of excitation currents. Performance indicators such as shear stress and efficiency and other generator characteristics are compared for 12 different generator topologies. To be sufficiently attractive, superconducting generators must have significant advantages over permanent magnet direct-drive generators, which typically have shear stresses of the order of 53 kPa and efficiencies of 96%. Therefore, we investigate what excitation is required to obtain a doubled shear stress and an efficiency of 98%. To achieve this, the different topologies require a range of excitation from 200 to 550 kAt (ampere-turns) with a low armature current density of 2 A/mm2. The more iron that is used in the core of these topologies, the easier they achieve this performance. By examining the maximum magnetic flux density at the location of the superconducting field winding, feasible superconductors can be chosen according to their engineering current density capabilities. It is found that high- and low-temperature superconductors can meet the performance criteria for many of the topologies. MgB2 superconductors are feasible for the fully iron-cored topology with salient poles but need cooling down to 10 K., Accepted Author Manuscript, DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, ESE Programmes

The brushless doubly-fed induction machine (DFIM) has great potential as a variable-speed generator for wind turbine applications. This special machine has a richer space-harmonic spectrum due to its special nested-loop rotor construction compared with conventional induction machines. It may result in higher iron losses, higher torque ripple and more time-harmonics adding to the grid total harmonic distortion (THD). This paper applies the 2D finite element (FE) model to investigate several different nested loop rotor constructions. It shows the outer loop makes more contribution to the torque while the inner loop plays a small role in the torque production. The most outer loop determines the overall THD level while the inner one has little influence on it. The THD could be reduced by increasing the number of the outer loops. More machine performances could be studied to derive more guidelines for designing the middle loops., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Numerical Analysis, Electrical Power Processing

This paper deals with a generic methodology to evaluate the magnetic parameters of contactless power transfer systems. Neumann's integral has been used to create a matrix method that can model the magnetics of single coils (circle, square, rectangle). The principle of superposition has been utilized to extend the theory to multi-coil geometries, such as double circular, double rectangle and double rectangle quadrature. Numerical and experimental validation has been performed to validate the analytical models developed. A rigorous application of the analysis has been carried out to study misalignment and hence the efficacy of various geometries to misalignment tolerance. The comparison of single-coil and multi-coil inductive power transfer systems (MCIPT) considering coupling variation with misalignment, power transferred and maximum efficiency is carried out., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, ESE Programmes

This paper describes the behavior of voltage weak DC distribution systems. These systems have relatively small system capacitance. The size of system capacitance, which stores energy, has a considerable effect on the value of fault currents, control complexity, and system reliability. A number of potential definitions of voltage weak DC distribution systems are proposed. These definitions address the main characteristics of voltage weak systems. A small signal model of a general voltage weak DC distribution system is developed in order to observe sufficient conditions for system stability. This is achieved by analyzing the dominant poles. The source converters are modeled as droop-controlled current sources in parallel with their respective terminal capacitors. As constant power loads have incremental negative impedances, which affect the system stability, especially, in voltage weak system, ideal constant power loads with their terminal capacitors are included in the small signal model. A three-node voltage weak DC distribution grid is analyzed, as a case study, by implementing the developed small signal model. The effects on system stability by the values of system capacitance, cable inductance, and cable resistance are investigated using dominant pole placement. Likewise, the influence of proportional-integral regulators and droop coefficients of source converters on the stability of the system is examined. Finally, the three node DC distribution grid is developed in MATLAB/Simulink in order to demonstrate the influence of small capacitance on system stability. Moreover, effect of the rate of change of constant power loads on the system stability is simulated. These results are further compared and verified on a voltage weak DC experimental test bench with a 350 VDC bus voltage., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, ESE Programmes

This paper aims at finding feasible electromagnetic designs of superconducting synchronous generators (SCSGs) for a 10-MW direct-drive wind turbine. Since a lower levelized cost of energy (LCoE) increases the feasibility of SCSGs in this application, 12 generator topologies are compared regarding their LCoE in a simplified form of levelized equipment cost of energy (LCoE$_{\text{eq}}$). MgB$_2$ wires are employed in the field winding. Based on the current unit cost and critical current density capability of the MgB $_2$ wire at 20 K, the topologies with more iron have a much lower LCoE$_{\text{eq}}$ than the topologies with more nonmagnetic cores. The fully iron-cored topology with salient poles has the lowest LCoE $_{\text{eq}}$. Then a scenario study shows that the difference of LCoE$_{\text{eq}}$ between the topologies will become much smaller when the unit cost of the MgB$_2$ wire drops to a quarter and the current density capability of the MgB $_2$ wire increases to four times. Then the topologies with more nonmagnetic cores will become comparable to those with more iron. Aiming at a lower LCoE $_{\text{eq}}$ to increase the feasibility of SCSGs for large wind turbines, those topologies having the most iron in the core are the most promising for both now and the long term. If low weight is required, the topologies with more nonmagnetic cores should be considered.

This paper aims at assessing the potential of partially superconducting generators for 10 MW direct-drive wind turbines by investigating their performance for a very wide range of excitation currents. Performance indicators such as shear stress and efficiency and other generator characteristics are compared for 12 different generator topologies. To be sufficiently attractive, superconducting generators must have significant advantages over permanent magnet direct-drive generators, which typically have shear stresses of the order of 53 kPa and efficiencies of 96%. Therefore, we investigate what excitation is required to obtain a doubled shear stress and an efficiency of 98%. To achieve this, the different topologies require a range of excitation from 200 to 550 kAt (ampere-turns) with a low armature current density of 2 A/mm(2). The more iron that is used in the core of these topologies, the easier they achieve this performance. By examining the maximum magnetic flux density at the location of the superconducting field winding, feasible superconductors can be chosen according to their engineering current density capabilities. It is found that high- and low-temperature superconductors can meet the performance criteria for many of the topologies. MgB2 superconductors are feasible for the fully iron-cored topology with salient poles but need cooling down to 10 K.

Superconducting synchronous generators (SCSGs) are being proposed for 10-MW direct-drive wind turbines, because of their advantages of low weight and compactness. So far, however, there has not been a commonly accepted design philosophy of SCSGs and various possibilities with many tradeoffs remain for study. Partially SCSGs are considered a starting point since excessive AC losses in armature windings can be avoided. Many topologies can be applied to partially SCSGs and may significantly affect the performance indicators (PIs) of a wind turbine. Since cost of energy (CoE) is usually used as a key PI to evaluate the feasibility of an SCSG in wind turbine applications, this paper compares twelve topologies using MgB2 wires regarding the capital CoE as well as other resulting PIs. These topologies cover most possibilities for a radial-flux SCSG and four scenarios are investigated regarding the used MgB2 wire. The comparison results shows clear trends of these PIs over the twelve topologies and can be used as a reference for designing an SCSG for large direct-drive wind turbines., Activities/Press-Media?, DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Electrical Power Processing

Availability is an important factor to be considered when designing wind turbine generator systems. The quest for increasing availability is based on the following five design approaches - design for component reliability, active control for reliability, design for fault tolerance, prognostics, and design for maintainability. This paper reviews methods focussing on the first three, i.e. component reliability, active control, and fault tolerance. The paper further identifies some promising directions for further research., DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage, Electrical Power Processing

In this paper, the brushless DFIM based wind turbine drive-train topology is compared to the DFIG based and PM generator based drive-train topologies, that are most commonly applied in modern wind turbines. The comparison will be based on a 3:2MW case study wind turbine. By using FE based multi-objective optimization, optimized generator designs for the dierent topologies are generated. Then the capital expenditures of the resulting drive-train topologies are calculated and compared. Additionally, wind turbine drive-train congurations with 1, 2 and 3 stage gearboxes as well as a direct-drive conguration are taken into account. The resulting comparison shows that the brushless DFIM based drive-train with a 2 stage gearbox conguration provides a feasible alternative in commercial wind turbine drive-train applications., Electrical Power Processing, DC systems, Energy conversion & Storage