The unit contains an integrated gate driver. The 50–kW (1200-V/150–A peak) SiC power modules are rated up to 250 °C. They can reduce system size and weight up to an order of magnitude over present state-of-the-art silicon-based solutions and can reduce energy losses by more than 50%.

The device was developed by Arkansas Power Electronics International, Inc., the University of Arkansas, and Rohm Semiconductor through funding as an SBIR project from the US DOE Energy Storage Systems Research Program.

Developed by Airak, Inc., Manassas, Va., PPI, Ashburn, Va., and the U.S. Dept. of Energy, Washington, D.C., the FOECT measures the magnetic field surrounding, or current flowing through, a conductor, while simultaneously providing temperature readings. It is designed to replace existing current transducers in applications ranging from monitoring load currents in electrical power lines to providing feedback information in high-energy power electronic converters.

Unlike the usual measurement devices, it is not necessary to completely encircle the conductor that is being monitored. Rather than perform an integration of the magnetic field, the sensor samples a point in the field using an optical crystal at a predetermined location. The strength of the magnetic field is measured through Faraday rotation of the polarized state and temperature is extracted from fluctuations in the rotation angle.

Airak's transducer has a bandwidth that exceeds 30 MHz; by tailoring the Faraday crystal composition, this rate can reach at least as high as 700 MHz. It can measure a steady-state DC offset in a magnetic field or current while reporting an AC magnetic field or current, and is capable of operating to 19.2 kV, with no additional requirements for insulation, isolation, or cooling.

Every year, short duration voltage surges, sags, and momentary power losses cause billions of dollars in losses for American manufacturers. They last for periods of less than one 60 Hz cycle (16 milliseconds) up to 10-seconds and can be caused by events as varied as routine electrical power transients, lightning strikes or faults on the utility distribution system.

For years, multiple small-scale batteries were sufficient as uninterruptible power supply systems to protect selected, critical loads in a manufacturing line. However, current industrial facilities contain networks of broadly distributed, critical electronic loads, the type most affected by power quality problems. These networked systems require a large-scale backup power source on the order of 200 kilowatts to several megawatts.

The PQ2000 Integrated on its Mobile Trailer Omnion Power Engineering Corp (the Power Engineering Div. of S&C Electric) successfully developed such a power source, and it can be easily mobile. The Mobile PQ2000, developed in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories and under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy, can deliver up to two million watts of power for a period of 30 seconds. It has switching speeds of less than four milliseconds, which means power can be transferred from the utility grid to the PQ2000 in less than one quarter of a 60-hertz cycle, well below the sensitivity levels of modern electronic equipment.

Batteries have been used for many years in uninterruptible power supply (UPS) sys-tems to protect critical loads. However, because many new industrial facilities contain networks of broadly distributed critical loads, a large scale backup power source on the order of 200 kilowatts to several megawatts is needed to support the total plant rather than relying on multiple small scale UPS dedicated to selected critical loads.

Mobile PQ2000 in Transit Mounted on a trailer, Mobile PQ2000 can be easily moved and installed at a plant experiencing serious power quality problems, where it then supplies high quality back-up power to a customer’s entire site, not just to localized areas within the plant.

The Mobile PQ2000 Installed and Operating at S&C Electric CompanyIn its first application, Mobile PQ2000 protected a polymer fabrication plant at S&C Electric in Chicago. Over the first two years of its operation, the system corrected a dozen faults that would have shut down the plant. At the estimated cost for each shutdown, this resulted in a one-year payoff for the Mobile PQ2000. S&C is currently marketing stationary versions of this system under the trade name Purewave.™