CPES-VT Upgrades Lab to have Medium Voltage, Megawatts Power Capability

CPES-VT traditionally has focused its research on low power, low voltage power supplies and converters with power level below 100 kW and voltage level below 480 V. The NSF ERC research activities also center on IPEMs for low voltage low power systems. High-power high-voltage power conversion technologies are increasingly attracting the attentions from industry and academia in response to the need of more and more emerging power electronics applications, including alternative power generations and all-electric ships. CPES-VT has been actively pursing research opportunities in high power areas and has used a $1M DURIP (Defense University Research Instrumentation Program) grant to upgrade its high power lab capability. The new facility has two medium-voltage 1 MVA reconfigurable transformers, corresponding reactors, capacitors, switchgears, and controllers. A 1 MW Innovation Series medium voltage IGBT drive donated by GE will be used as a programmable load. The set-up is capable of testing power converters in various active and reactive operation modes continuously at the 1 MVA, 4160 V level. VT becomes one of the selected few universities in the nation to have such unique capability. It should help CPES-VT to maintain its leading position in power electronics research even after NSF ERC funding.