Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	EP/C52652X/1
Title:	Complex Structures of Power Electronic Converters: An Exploration of Benefits
Principal Investigator:	Klumpner, Dr C
Other Investigators:
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:
Department:	Sch of Electrical and Electronic Eng
Organisation:	University of Nottingham
Scheme:	First Grant Scheme Pre-FEC
Starts:	01 September 2005	Ends:	31 March 2008	Value (£):	124,542
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Electric Motor & Drive Systems Power Electronics
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Electronics Energy
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
This research project proposal to relates to an area of power electronic converters known as Direct Power Converters (DPC). These are a special class of converters which do not rely on large energy storage components such as electrolytic capacitors or large inductors to perform the energy conversion. This makes them very attractive compared to conventional converters. However, DPCs have also a few major drawbacks which have delayed their industrial implementation. First, the voltage transfer ratio (output-input) is less than unity making them unable to compete with the more traditional converter topologies in many applications. Secondly, their operation is highly sensitive to system disturbances such as voltage unbalance, and this results in a limitation of converter power output under many conditions.A hybrid power electronic converter consists of a main power electronic converter which processes most of the electrical power while a small interconnected auxiliary power converter improves the performance of the assembly above the typical performance of the main power converter topology. The gains of a hybrid power electronic converter cover, for example, reduced component cost, reduced passive filter component size, reduced power losses and reduced waveform harmonic content. The added cost of the auxiliary converter is very small. A few research teams worldwide are currently investigating hybrid power electronic converters for conventional main converter topologies.The purpose of this proposal is to investigate hybrid power converter topologies where the main converter is a DPC topology. The auxiliary converter is used to improve the DPC performance by minimizing its inherent limitations. It is expected that this will allow both the increase of the output voltage capability and the improved operation under unbalance voltage supply. The added cost of the auxiliary converter will be justified by the increase in the output power capability. Additional studies will investigate the interleaving of modular topologies which promise considerable benefits, such as improving the input current quality or decreasing the size of the filters, especially at higher powers.The investigation work will consist in identifying the most promising hybrid DPCs, building their simulation models (in Saber), developing new control strategies for the hybrid DPCs to overcome their limitations, building two prototypes of the most promising hybrid DPCs and evaluating their performance.The research program is intended to run over a two year period, requiring a research assistant over the full period and needing a six-months technician time to assist in building the two prototypes demonstrators and carry out the tests.The deliverables of this project will be the verification of a novel power electronic converter concept that will overcome the known disadvantages of the DPCs..
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Organisation Website:	http://www.nottingham.ac.uk