Surge Capability Testing of Supercapacitor Families Using a Lightning Surge Simulator

IECON 2014 - 40th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

Round

et al. 2014

Self Cite

Their combination of large continuous energy ratings and very large time constants allows supercapacitors to be used in surge protection circuits. This fact, supported by recent research publications and laboratory tests, has assisted the authors to propose a new surge protection circuit topology known as the supercapacitor-assisted surge absorber (SCASA). This technique utilizes a multi-winding transformer, common surge protector devices such as metal oxide varistors (MOV) and/or semiconductor types combined with a supercapacitor sub-circuit to absorb part of the surge energy usually expected to dissipate within the MOV or the semiconductor. The paper presents design details and test results for a differential mode surge protector based on the SCASA technique where the test device was subjected to lightning-type surges defined in international standards for Class-A and Class B type protectors. The performance of a prototype based on Class-B waveforms of up to 6.6 kV surges generated from a lightning surge simulator are discussed in the paper. Its performance is compared with two commercially available surge protectors.

Section: B Supercapacitors' Ability To Absorb Surgementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: B Supercapacitors' Ability To Absorb Surgementioning

confidence: 99%

Implementation of the supercapacitor-assisted surge absorber (SCASA) technique in a practical surge protector

Fernando

IECON 2014 - 40th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

Round

et al. 2014

Self Cite

“…SRUPS uses the surge absorption capability of SCs as illustrated in [10] to come up with a surge-resistant uninterrupted power supply (UPS) which can withstand short term power outages up to several ac mains cycles. Both techniques store energy in SCs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Design approaches for fast supercapacitor chargers for applications like SCATMA, SRUPS

Gurusinghe

2016 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC)

Round

et al. 2016

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The proliferation of electric vehicles (EV) creates a need for fast battery chargers. In order for systems of supercapacitors (SC) to reach adequate energy density levels to replace battery packs, fast SC chargers will also be required. However, when a fully discharged supercapacitor pack is charged from an ideal voltage source, the five-time-constant charging bottleneck comes into play. This issue can be addressed by using the high-voltage charging topology proposed here. The new approach partitions the SC bank into two parts. One part is charged by a high voltage charging source, and the other is replenished by the energy stored in a coupled inductor within the charging path used for the first half of the bank. Early experimental results for a 30 V, 15 F SC bank are presented.

“…Recent publications indicate the ability of commercial supercapacitor (SC) families to absorb transient surges safely, due to the case of large time constants created by the supercapacitor and path resistance combination, giving a very large time constant circuit [9]. Based on this ability of the supercapacitors, a new surge absorber topology known as supercapacitor assisted surge absorbers (SCASA) was developed [10,11].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Supercapacitor assisted surge absorber (SCASA) technique: Selection of supercapacitor and magnetic components

Fernando

2014 IEEE Energy Conversion Congress and Exposition (ECCE)

2014

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Compared to typical non-linear devices (NLD) used in surge protection circuits, which have energy absorption ratings applicable to milliseconds order durations, current supercapacitor families have large continuous energy storage capabilities. Based on the transient absorption properties of supercapacitors, confirmed in recent investigations, a supercapacitor based surge energy absorption technique was developed by combining a multi-winding magnetic component with a typical NLD in a novel configuration. This paper presents an overview of new technique known as the supercapacitor assisted surge absorbers (SCASA) and its basis for selecting the magnetic core required and the supercapacitor sub-circuit effectively, with experimental results generated using a lightning surge simulator with surge capability up to 6.6 kV. Selection of the magnetic core is critical for the success of the technique, since the combination of the leakage and magnetizing components of the multiwinding magnetic core plays a dominant role. Overall performance of the SCASA technique with optimized magnetics is compared with a typical commercially available surge protector, which is practically used to safeguard electronic systems against transient over-voltage related power quality issues.