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This paper introduces a new model for transient moisture equilibrium in oil-paper insulation, easily applicable even in a continuous way, based on Fick's second law. According to the model, the moisture concentration in paper follows step response function, but the equilibration time constant changes with time since it depends on temperature, paper thickness, equilibration moisture in oil-paper insulation, and number of oil-paper interfaces. The model is validated against experimental data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The oil-paper insulation in a transformer gradually ages due to the combined effects of thermal and electrical stress that occur during its operation. In this paper, for investigating the changes that occur within the oil-paper during the aging process with different aging stresses, partial discharge (PD) characteristics and trap parameters are measured. An internal discharge cavity model is designed for the electrical stress, and the thermal stress is generated by a baking oven simultaneously. The experiments are designed such that the dominant factor on the aging process is either thermal, electrical, or a unity of both stress factors. The phase resolved partial discharge (PRPD) spectrograms are recorded at different aging time, and the trap parameters are extracted by thermally stimulated depolarization current (TSDC) method. Additionally, the surface morphologies of these samples are observed by using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The results show that the trap energy presents a decreasing tendency when the electrical stress plays the dominant role, and the discharge energy becomes larger over the aging time until pre-breakdown. When the thermal stress dominates the aging process, the trap energy shows an increasing tendency over the aging time, and there exists a process of ‘material conditioning’ that occurs at the initial stage of the aging process. The change of trap parameters in aged oil-paper will further affect PD characteristics. Correlation analysis of PD and trap characteristics can promote more accurate condition estimation of aged oil-paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The suppressive effect of triazole-based passivators such as 1,2,3-benzotriazole (BTA) and Irgamet 39TM (CIBA Specialty, Basel, Switzerland) on the deposition of copper sulfide on insulating paper in transformers and reactors was investigated by heating test with bare and paper-wrapped copper plates. Commercially available mineral oil meeting the specification of IEC 60296 was used. This oil contained 136 ppm wt./wt. of dibenzyl disulfide (DBDS). The deposition of copper sulfide occurred after 144 h of heating at 140 °C without these passivators. However, little deposition of copper sulfide occurred even after 432 h of heating when either of these passivators was added to the oil. The concentration of dissolved copper significantly decreased when either of these passivators was added to the oil, which reflects the formation of complex layers on the copper surface caused by the reaction between these passivators and copper. The complex layers were confirmed by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer (TOF-SIMS). The suppressive effect was derived from retarding copper from dissolving into: the oil due to the reaction inhibition between DBDS and copper by the complex layers. The duration of these passivators can be determined by the durability of the complex layers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moisture and ageing strongly influence the dielectric properties of oil/paper insulation system of power transformer. Moisture measurement in oil sample generally gives inconclusive information since oil/paper moisture equilibrium is temperature dependent and takes a long time to be in equilibrium. Direct moisture measurement of paper sample is not practicable for in-service transformers. The measurement and evaluation of the "dielectric response" and conductivity is one possible way of diagnosing a transformer insulation condition. In a recent research project, polarization and depolarization current measurement has been used for assessing the condition of oil/paper insulation. The polarization and depolarization current (PDC) analysis is a non-destructive dielectric testing method for determining the conductivity and moisture content of insulation materials in a transformer. On the basis of this analysis it is possible to take further actions like oil-refurbishment, drying or replacement of the winding of the transformer. This paper presents a description of the PDC technique with the physical and mathematical background and some results of PDC measurements on several transformers. Analyses and interpretation of the field test data are also presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polarization and Depolarization Current (PDC) technique is an effective tool to assess the condition of oil-paper insulation system in power transformers. So far the PDC behaviors of mineral oil-paper insulation have been widely investigated. However, with the increasing number of transformer choosing natural ester as its insulation oil, it is important to investigate the PDC characteristics of natural ester-paper insulation to see whether the PDC technique can also be used to assess the condition of new insulation system using natural ester in transformers accurately. In this research, natural esterpaper insulation sample and mineral oil-paper insulation sample were subjected to thermally accelerated ageing experiment at 110°C for 120 days. The PDC characteristics of natural ester-paper insulation sample and mineral oil-paper insulation sample were compared over the ageing process. A new method for assessing the ageing condition of the oil-paper insulation in terms of the depolarization charge quantity was proposed. Results show that the polarization/depolarization current of natural ester-paper insulation sample is higher than that of mineral oil-paper insulation sample with the same ageing intervals. The depolarization charge quantity of both kinds of oil-paper insulation sample is very sensitive to their ageing conditions. There is an exponential relation between the stable depolarization charge quantity of both kinds of oil-paper insulation sample and the degree of polymerization (DP) of paper. The depolarization charge quantity can be used to predict the ageing condition of oil-paper insulation providing the measurement temperature is kept the same. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three instruments have been evaluated for their ability to estimate the load conditions and efficiency of operating motors based solely on measurements of terminal voltage and current. Laboratory tests, compared to a high-accuracy dynamometer system were used to assess the instruments' accuracy. Field tests were conducted in a paper mill to determine the ease of use and lack of intrusion. In both laboratory and field tests the instruments were applied to 50-hp, 100-hp, and 200-hp 460-V induction motors. Data of the relative accuracies of the three instruments, as functions of motor load and supply voltage, are presented together with observations of ease and lack of intrusion in use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analysis of Polarization-Depolarization Current, recorded from high voltage oilpaper insulation using insulation model is common among researchers. It is reported that paper insulation of power transformers undergoes non-uniform aging. Unlike Conventional Debye Model (CDM), Modified Debye Model (MDM) is capable of modeling such non-uniform aging. However, factors like insulation geometry affect the values of the MDM branch parameters. Therefore, model parameterized using data obtained from one insulation system finds limited use in assessing the condition of a different transformer, even with similar loading history and power rating. The present paper shows that a performance parameter, which is less sensitive to insulation geometry, can be evaluated from Transfer Function, TFM(s) of MDM. The parameter is the zero Z1 of TFM(s) which is located farthest away from the origin in the Left Half Plane of s-plane. The capability of Z1 as an insulation condition sensitive parameter is first tested on laboratory samples and then on data recorded from several real life power transformers. Results obtained for these transformers show that there is a good correlation between magnitude of Z1 and paper moisture content obtained from Frequency Domain Spectroscopy (FDS) using IDAX 300. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Search for a reliable and efficient insulation diagnostic tool has always been the interest of power utilities. Today a large number of methods are available that can be used for insulation condition monitoring. These methods include both traditional and newer techniques. However due to complex aging process of oil paper insulation under the influence of different types of stresses, insulation condition assessment is generally performed by experts after carefully evaluating different measurement data. Furthermore, measurement data are influenced by various factors (like conductive aging byproducts, furanic compounds, paper and oil-moisture) in addition to measurement error (if any). This makes prediction of insulation condition based on single type of measurement rather difficult. This paper presents an Expert System designed to perform insulation diagnosis. The Expert System considers measurement data obtained using both traditional and newer techniques in order to come to a definitive conclusion. The Expert System extracts insulation condition sensitive information from data obtained using different techniques and then uses these to devise an optimized insulation model. This optimized model is used to predict papermoisture content and other insulation condition sensitive parameters. Since these values are predicted using optimized model, they are not dependent on a single type of measurement and hence are less likely to be affected by error of any specific measurement. The performance of the developed Expert System is first tested on a laboratory sample and then on several real life power transformers belonging to NTPC Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need for economic, reliable, and effective delivery of electric power has lead to the search for fast, efficient, and effective methods for diagnosing the insulation of high-voltage (HV) equipment in the power industries. The recent dielectric techniques that have been carefully considered by major industries for transformer insulation condition assessment are the recovery voltage method (RVM) and the polarization and depolarization current (PDC) measurement. However, due to the complexity of the transformer insulation structure and various degradation mechanisms under multiple stresses, insulation condition assessment is usually performed by experts with special knowledge and experience. In this paper, an expert system (ES) is developed, which imitates the performance of a human expert, to make the complicated insulation condition assessment procedure accessible to plant maintenance engineers. The structure of the ES is described in detail including knowledge base, inference engine, and human-computer interface. Examples of the application of the ES are also presented to confirm that the system can provide accurate insulation diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides instructions and guidelines to prospective authors who wish to submit manuscripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nature and causes of corrosive sulfur induced failures are examined in oil-filled transformers and shunt reactors. Copper sulfide, which is formed when the corrosive sulfur in a mineral oil reacts with the copper conductors, is likely to diffuse into the paper tapes insulating the conductors. Since copper sulfide is partially conducting, the dielectric losses of the contaminated oil-impregnated-paper tapes are markedly increased; paper tapes in close proximity to the copper conductors are found to attain tan 5 values > 1.0 even at room temperature. It is highly likely that thermal instabilities develop at those sites at operating temperatures, leading to increased loss currents and, ultimately, short circuits between the turns. This sequence of events is substantiated by evidence from the field, which indicates large areas of thermally degraded insulations and charred breakdown regions along the coils, the extent of which becomes more pronounced at higher operating temperatures (toward the top of the windings). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a decomposed co-design optimization framework for an electric vehicle powertrain equipped with a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT). We jointly design the sizes of the powertrain components and the energy management strategy, considering the design and the dynamics of the transmission. Specifically, we divide the resulting nonlinear optimization problem into separate hierarchical optimization subproblems leveraging the concept of Analytical Target Cascading (ATC). Furthermore, we compare the proposed decomposition-based strategy with a centralized approach, in which we solve the same problem, and show that the method presented in this paper can be a potential alternative to a centralized optimization formulation for solving the large-scale, complex integrated plant and control system design. Finally, we compare the resulting performance of using a CVT on the vehicle total-cost-of-ownership with that equipped with a Fixed-Gear Transmission (FGT), which is what is commonly implemented in current electric vehicles. Our results show that by jointly optimizing the design of the transmission along with the control strategy, the CVT yields a lower energy consumption and total-cost-of-ownership compared to that of the FGT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel modular relieving-dc-saturation Vernier reluctance machine for electric vehicle application, which integrates the merits of a robust structure, controllable excitation field, strong fault-tolerant capacity, and enhanced torque density, benefiting from its special relieving-dc-saturation design. In the proposed machine, zero-sequence current establishes a modular magnetic path and functions as the dominant excitation source for the torque generation. Especially, slot permanent magnets are introduced into each module, which mitigates the saturation effect in stator core caused by dc-biased flux with the zero-sequence current source. Therefore, the proposed machine can achieve enhanced torque density with relatively high current density. In this paper, the machine structure and operation principle are illustrated in detail, with its electromagnetic performance evaluated by time-stepping finite-element analysis. It is revealed that, due to its relieving-dc-saturation ability, torque density of the proposed machine is enhanced by about 20% with high current density. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new cableless transportation system that associates a magnetic actuator with the piping system in which it travels. To achieve high-speed transport within the pipe, the proposed actuator must show excellent movement characteristics. An aluminum pipe was cut in half longitudinally, and an alternating current was passed through the cut piping. The proposed cableless actuator powered by an electric current supplied by an electric brush was demonstrated to be capable of high-speed movement in a curved pipe. A scheme of attaching a cargo container to a nodal point of the actuator using a flexible rod was also proposed. The experimental results show that the actuator can be driven through the pipe even when the curved pipe is nearly U-shaped. Furthermore, the cableless actuator transporting a cargo mass of 30 g can be driven at a speed of 87.9 cm/s in a curved aluminum pipe with a curvature angle of 22.5°. The method established in this paper is considered to be applicable to the high-speed transport of lightweight reagents, bacteria, and microfluidic chips. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new Vernier reluctance machine (VRM) drive for electric vehicle. The key is to incorporate both stator-slot permanent magnets (PMs) and zero-sequence current as the excitation source to establish a parallel magnetic field and interact with armature winding. In this way, two different machines, namely, slot-PM-excited VRM and dc-excited doubly salient machine, are artificially integrated into a single structure, which contributes to enhance the torque density. Moreover, flexible flux control can be realized by regulating zero-sequence current. In this paper, the machine structure and operation principle are introduced, with its feasibility verified by both finite-element analysis and prototype experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pulsed alternator (PA) is a kind of high-power pulsed supplies widely applied in the field of electromagnetic (EM) launch. Over the past decades, the self-excited air-core PA is widely studied, but it has the disadvantages of poor heat transfer and high electric field loss. The hybrid excitation PA combined with the advantages of electric excitation and permanent magnet excitation PA, and the output voltage of armature winding can be adjusted by the electric field current. This paper presents double-electric-excitation hybrid excitation compensated PA (DEE-HECPA). In order to improve the adjustable performance for the output voltage of HECPA, the rotor structure is changed and double excitation coils are used in PA. In this paper, the equivalent magnetic circuit model for hybrid excitation region is established and the air-gap flux density is calculated. The dimensional parameters are calculated by the special EM design method for PA, the characteristics of electric excitation are verified by finite-element analysis, and the characteristics of output current for DEE-HECPA are analyzed. The research results demonstrate that DEE-HECPA is a feasible topology for PA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water is damaging for power transformers since it accelerates aging processes, reduces dielectric margin, decreases partial-discharge inception voltage, and, therefore, increases the probability of unexpected failures. Taking into account that power transformers are the most expensive equipment in an electrical plant and that the electrical supply guarantee is closely related to their reliability, it seems clear that transformer water content is a variable that must be kept under control. Since water is a byproduct of aging reactions in cellulosic insulation, the amount of water contained in a transformer usually increases from levels below 0.5% in weight, after its manufacturing, to levels of 6% in weight at the end of its life. However, it is not unusual to find high humidity levels in not so-old transformers, for example, in those that have been subjected to repairs in field. These days, some techniques are available to dry transformers in the field. Most of these methods achieve proper drying of transformer oil, but a great amount of water usually remains in cellulosic insulation and water in oil rises slowly some months after finishing the process. In these cases, drying treatments, which are very expensive; would have limited effectiveness. In this paper, a finite-element study is presented that analyzes different field-drying methods that are currently widely used. The efficiency of these methods will be studied and compared, and recommendations about drying parameters will be given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digital relays are capable of computing the negative-sequence current on both primary and secondary sides of the transformer along with the phase difference between these two negative-sequence currents. By using both phase and magnitude information, negative-sequence current could be used to detect minor turn-to-turn faults involving 3% of the transformer's windings or more. Turn-to-turn faults may still occur even if no current is flowing on one side of the transformer, such as during energization. With no current flowing in the secondary windings of the transformer, negative-sequence current-based algorithms become insensitive. This paper introduces a relay prototype, using both negative-sequence current and negative-sequence voltage, which retains its sensitivity during energization. The relay's performance for several commonly encountered system scenarios, such as overexcitation, current-transformer saturation, nonzero fault resistance, transformer energization, and external faults were also examined. The experimental results presented in this paper indicate that the algorithm proposed in this paper is faster and more sensitive than restrained current differential protection and is capable of detecting turn-to-turn faults occurring during transformer energization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a literature review on magnetically-controlled devices, variable inductors (VI), and variable transformers (VT), and their applications to lighting gears for discharge lamps and/or LED lamps. These current-controlled devices are mainly characterized by nonlinear and non-uniform saturation of the magnetic core. The paper describes the fundamentals and basic operating principle of such devices and provides an overview of existing patents. These patents refer the devices, VIs or VTs, as useful or industrially applicable. Some present one or more claims regarding the construction of the device and behavioral characteristic; others refer to specific applications, such as voltage regulation or universal ballast operation. Afterwards, the paper focuses on the review of specific techniques and circuits taking advantage of the presence of a controlled inductance value, by covering recent applications regarding discharge and solid-state lamp drivers. These applications will show how these multi-winding devices, typically not considered due to their low efficiency, may fulfill an important role and add features to state-of-the-art lamp drivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes the effects of shunt capacitors installed on the low voltage sides of 10/0.4 kV distribution transformers on the operation of these transformers. Using the results of an extensive measurement campaign, this paper compares: real and reactive power losses, secondary-side current, and primary-side apparent power before and after the installation of transformer capacitors. The following four cases of reactive power compensation are considered and discussed: adequate, conditionally adequate, and total compensation, as well as overcompensation. The presented analysis helps to identify transformer substations where the initial compensation should be changed or adjusted, in order to improve transformers’ operational performance. Voltage dependencies of real and reactive power demands of the transformer-supplied loads are taken into account, based on the previously identified load characteristics in the considered networks as well as voltage dependence of reactive power of shunt capacitors. The result with and without including these voltage dependencies in the analysis is compared and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenging demands of pulsed electron beam devices (such as the GESA device) with respect to their pulsed power supply have led to the development of a new semiconductor-based Marx generator. At a maximum output voltage of 120 kV and 600-A pulse current for a duration of up to 100 $\mu \text{S}$ , stepwise arbitrary output waveforms are desired. A fast rise time of the generator is achieved by using fast switching circuitry, low inductance capacitors, and a low inductance stage arrangement. For low jitter triggering of all stages and efficient signal transmission, the generator uses an optical bus system for communication. Due to the inherent dynamic load characteristics of the GESA device, the generator features a fast overcurrent protection scheme. This paper presents selected design aspects of the generator and their validation in a small-scale assembly able of delivering up to 8 kV at 600-A load current. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the impact of backgate biasing ( VBS ) on the drain current ( ID ) of ultrathin-body III-V heterojunction tunnel FET (HTFET). Compared with homojunction TFET and III-V/Ge MOSFET, this paper indicates that HTFET exhibits significantly higher I\mathrm{{\scriptstyle OFF}} ( ID at VGS = 0 V and VDS=0.5 V) modulation efficiency and the influence of VBS rapidly decreases with increasing VGS . In addition, it is observed that the change of source available states with VBS determines the ID modulation efficiency of p-type HTFET (pHTFET). Depending on the source doping concentration and operating VGS , the ID of HTFET under forward VBS can be anomalously smaller than that at VBS=0 V. Furthermore, the impacts of source/drain doping concentrations and junction properties are discussed and shown to be critical in determining the ID modulation efficiency of HTFET. We find that, under controlled ambipolar current, reverse backgate biasing can be utilized to suppress the I\mathrm{{\scriptstyle OFF}} of HTFET, and the modulation efficiency increases with decreasing source doping concentration. Our study may provide insights for device/circuit designs with advanced TFET technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a novel hybrid excitation vernier permanent magnet machine (HE-VPM). The characteristics of the proposed machine are: 1) the PMs are embedded in the stator teeth, which is helpful for the heat dissipation; 2) the rotor is salient structure without PMs and windings, which ensures the reliability of high-speed operation; 3) the nonoverlapping concentrated winding shortens the end-connection, and improves the torque density, 4) only half of the stator teeth possess PMs, and the total amount of PMs are decreased; and 5) the dc current are injected to the armature coils, therefore, the exciting field can be adjusted flexibly. In this paper, the electromagnetic performance, including back electromotive force, torque, etc. are analyzed with finite element analysis. The results show that the proposed machine exhibits flexible field adjustment capability, which may be suitable for applications requiring wide speed range operation. Besides, it is found that, compared with the existing pure sinusoidal phase current, higher torque density can be obtained with dc-biased phase current under constant stator copper loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the flexible dc capacitor voltages balancing control method for star-connected cascaded H-bridge converters. In this paper, the power flows are analyzed by investigating all the converter's control freedoms. Based on the analyses, users can accomplish the dc capacitor voltage balancing with both negative-sequence current and zero-sequence voltage. These two kinds of control options are further integrated together with the defined weighting factor $K$. The low-voltage ride-through operation of a proposed control method is also discussed in this paper. The control method is verified with a 220-V 1-kVA static synchronous compensators based on the star-connected cascaded H-bridge converters, and the experimental test results show that all the dc voltages are well regulated at the commanded value with different weighting factor $K$. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inrush currents in transformers can have very disruptive effects, such as voltage sags, false tripping of the protective devices, and mechanical stresses in the transformer windings. This paper shows that there are operating situations that may cause a transformer to draw abnormally high inrush currents. Examples include the normal operation of offline uninterruptible power-supply (UPS) systems, interruptions, voltage sags, and notching. These conditions may produce inrush-like currents of more than twice the value of the “normal” maximum inrush caused by energizing at voltage zero-crossing. For this condition, the term “phase-hop” is used in this paper. Laboratory experiments were performed on four different transformers (1 kVA) with varied characteristics and show the impact of phase-hop in the magnitude of inrush currents. The experiments are also used to validate the Electromagnetic Transients Program model used for the analysis of multiple cases. In addition, the behavior of the magnetic flux in a transformer under phase-hop is investigated and compared with different operating conditions using finite elements. The results of this paper have implications in transformer design and in the operation and design of UPS systems to prevent the damaging effects of phase-hop. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ever growing penetration of distributed generation (DG) in a distribution network has a profound impact on network protection and stability. Traditional protection schemes and algorithms need to be extensively investigated as more and more DGs get introduced into the network. The current version of IEEE Standard 1547 does not present a comprehensive solution for fault current detection in the presence of various kinds of DGs. Power electronic inverter-based DGs (IBDGs) are of special concern in distribution network protection as they are often incapable of providing sufficient fault current and their controllers play a principal role in the DG behavior. In this paper, the effects of voltage and current controllers for IBDGs on industrial and commercial power system protection schemes are investigated. It is shown that the inverter control mode has a direct impact on its fault current levels and duration. A simplified distribution network model with IBDG operating under voltage and current control modes was tested to verify the effects of these controllers. This paper also proposes an adaptive relaying algorithm to detect the faults in the presence of IBDGs with various types of controllers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to propose a new Vernier reluctance machine (VRM), which integrates the advantages of a robust rotor structure, good torque density, and flexible flux control ability. The key is to establish the excitation field with both stator slot permanent magnets (PMs) and zero-sequence current. Two excitation sources have different pole pair numbers but share a parallel magnetic circuit and contribute to superimposed torque in this machine. Meanwhile, a flexible flux control can be achieved by regulating zero-sequence current, and little demagnetization risk exists for slot PMs during flux control. In this paper, the machine configuration and operation principle are introduced, along with its integrated ac and dc drive method. Electromagnetic performance of this new machine is evaluated by finite-element analysis. Leading design parameters are determined and optimized considering optimal injection ratio of zero-sequence current. A prototype is fabricated, and relevant experiment results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an analytical calculation method for the computation of the magnetic vector potential of an axisymmetric solenoid in the presence of an iron shield and a ferromagnetic core. The proposed method can be used as a fast analytical computation technique for accelerating the design optimization process of the solenoid systems. In this paper, the analysis of the current carrying coil in the presence of the ferromagnetic materials is treated as a boundary value problem. The solution approach is based on partitioning the solution domain into distinct regions. The general form of the solution to Maxwell’s equation in each region along with the corresponding boundary conditions is obtained using the Fourier analysis and the separation of variables. The final solution to the boundary value problem is constituted by considering the continuity of the magnetic vector potential, as well as the magnetic field, on the interfaces between the regions. Finally, the proposed analytical computation method is applied on an electromagnetic actuator. The magnetic vector potential is computed over the entire solution domain, and the result is compared with that of the finite-element method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the performance of switch-mode power supplies used in desktop PCs (PC-SMPS’) across the entire range of operating powers. Experimental results show that at low to medium operating powers, the input ac current might lose its periodicity with supply voltage frequency, when PCS-MPS’ can be an unexpected source of interharmonics and dc component. In such cases, there is a significant increase of PC-SMPS’ current waveform distortion and a substantial decrease of efficiency and operational power factors, which requires application of appropriate measurement and calculation procedures during the analysis. To correctly assess these power-dependent changes in performance and power quality indicators, this paper introduces a novel testing and evaluation methodology, based on the known or assumed PC-SMPS operating cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a generalization of the charge-based model for ultrathin junctionless double-gate (JLDG) field-effect transistors (FETs) by including quantum electron density. The analytical derivation relies on a first-order correction to the infinite quantum well. When restricting the analysis to the first and second quantized states, the free carrier charge distribution and the current in an ultrathin body JLDG FETs are in agreement with numerical TCAD simulations in all the regions of operation, i.e., from deep depletion to accumulation and from linear to saturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air circuit breaker (ACB) is widely used in power distribution system. The movable contact of ACB consists of multiple parallel contacts and the arc will be ignited between arcing contact and static contact when the short-circuit current appears. This paper focuses on the arc evolution process at various currents in multiple parallel contact systems. A 3-D magnetohydrodynamic model of a multiple parallel contact structures is developed. In this model, the anode consists to five parallel contacts, and they are separated by insulation material. The near-electrode layer with a nonlinear voltage–current density characteristic is modeled to describe the near-electrode voltage drop, and the difference between near-anode and near-cathode layers is considered. The magnetic vector potential approach is adopted to calculate the time-varying electromagnetic field produced by the current loop. The arc evolution processes at various currents are analyzed by current density and arc voltage. It is noted that the anode arc root appears on multiple contacts with the increase of current. The arc evolution process mainly depends on the arc resistance characteristic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a variable off-time control method for a single-phase microinverter operating in the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) for efficiency improvement. First, the fixed off-time control method is analyzed. The concept is to fix the off-time of the active switch throughout a line cycle for all output powers and scale the on-time of the active switch to shape a sinusoidal output current. Then, based on the fixed off-time control method, a variable off-time control method is proposed to modulate the preset fixed off-time in order to decrease the switching frequency during ac line zero-crossings and light load conditions. Compared with existed fixed-frequency DCM control or boundary conduction mode control, the variable off-time control is more flexible to optimize the efficiency under different load conditions as the switching frequency range can be automatically adjusted according to the output power. The switching frequency is high at heavy loads to limit the maximum peak current and is low at light loads to increase the light load efficiency. In addition, a predictive on-time method is adopted to simplify inverter control and reduce hardware costs. The parameter design principle is detailed in this paper. A 300 W prototype is built to verify the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The next big change in various industry applications is associated with power dense motors, such as permanent magnet synchronous motors (PMSMs). Utilization of multiphase PMSM can offer an additional fault-tolerant capability to their applications. Combining both advantages, this paper proposes a simple yet robust current control strategy for a five-phase PMSM under normal operation and in a case of a loss of one phase. Traditional linear current controllers successfully applied to reference tracking of a healthy motor may become less efficient during postfault operation due to additional unmodeled dynamics. This paper proposes a modified angular transformation to a special rotating frame in which the postfault permanent magnet flux linkage remains unchanged and the motor model remains decoupled. Following this, a nonlinear current control scheme based on sliding mode control is proposed, which successfully treats model inaccuracies and provides good dynamic performance and tracking accuracy. Feasibility of the proposed control strategy is experimentally validated on a laboratory scale PMSM motor with a digital signal processor/field programmable gate array based drive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In countries with a high ambient temperature and strong solar irradiation, transformer winding hot-spot temperature may increase over its maximum permissible limit. This can considerably reduce the insulation life of the transformer by enhanced degradation of the paper insulation. According to current loading guides, for each 6 K increase in working temperature, the ageing rate increases with approximately a factor two. Therefore, it is important to take into consideration the impact of the sun on the power transformer thermal behavior. In this paper, a modified hot-spot temperature model is presented to account for the effect of transformer winding temperature rise by solar irradiation. The effects of solar irradiation on transformer winding paper insulation are shown by comparing the degree of polymerisation (DP), the fault probability and the remaining life. Here, the fault probability is defined as the probability that the estimated DP-value at a certain moment in time is below a certain end-of-life criterion (threshold value). An additional winding hot-spot temperature rise of 9 K during the summer and a temperature rise of 6 K during the winter may occur in countries with strong solar irradiation. This may result in a reduction of the remaining lifetime by up to 40%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In Robot Assisted Minimally Invasive Surgery, discriminating critical subsurface structures is essential to make the surgical procedure safer and more efficient. In this paper, a novel robot assisted electrical bio-impedance scanning (RAEIS) system is developed and validated using a series of experiments. The proposed system constructs a tri-polar sensing configuration for tissue homogeneity inspection. Specifically, two robotic forceps are used as electrodes for applying electric current and measuring reciprocal voltages relative to a ground electrode which is placed distal from the measuring site. Compared to existing electrical bioimpedance sensing technology, the proposed system is able to use miniaturized electrodes to measure a site flexibly with enhanced subsurfacial detection capability. This paper presents the concept, the modeling of the sensing method, the hardware design, and the system calibration. Subsequently, a series of experiments are conducted for system evaluation including finite element simulation, saline solution bath experiments and experiments based on ex vivo animal tissues. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed system can measure the resistivity of the material with high accuracy, and detect a subsurface non-homogeneous object with 100% success rate. The proposed parameters estimation algorithm is able to approximate the resistivity and the depth of the subsurface object effectively with one fast scanning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acquisition of information on heat inflow is essential to the control of thermal displays and the rendering of thermal sensations. This paper addresses a method of estimating the amount of heat inflow without using a heat flow sensor and demonstrates sensorless heat inflow control using a Peltier device, which is often employed as a thermal device in thermal displays. Moreover, this paper introduces a method of identifying the thermal contact resistance of the device needed for the proposed observer. The observer estimates heat inflow by using information on electrical currents and temperatures. By using the observer instead of a heat flow sensor, which generally has a larger thermal capacity than a temperature sensor, an improvement in the response of a thermal device is expected. The applicability of the proposal is tested by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A number of recent reports have noted excess OFF-state leakage current ( I\mathrm{{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}}) in scaled InGaAs quantum-well nMOSFETs. There is growing evidence that a combination of band-to-band tunneling (BTBT) and a floating-body bipolar gain effect is responsible for this. Unless this issue is effectively addressed, the scaling potential of this transistor structure will be compromised. This paper presents a detailed study of the physics of I\mathrm{{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}} and explores I\mathrm{{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}} reduction strategies through 2-D device simulations that have been calibrated with experiments. In essence, under OFF conditions at even moderate values of V\textrm {ds} , a BTBT process at the drain-end generates holes in the channel and thereby reduces the source–channel potential barrier. This results in injection of electrons into the channel that contribute to enhanced I\mathrm{{\scriptscriptstyle OFF}} while the holes are injected into the source where they recombine. In a nanoscale device, the bipolar effect that is at play here can have a very large current gain and amplify many fold even a small BTBT current. A study of approaches to mitigating this effect is analyzed here. It is concluded that the most effective strategy is to minimize the bipolar current gain rather than BTBT in scaled transistors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the laser power density is varied to increase the P2 laser spot size to investigate its effects on the performance of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-germanium (a-SiGe:H) thin-film solar modules. A larger P2 line spot size is expected to lower the series resistance of the modules, due to the increased contact area between the front and rear electrodes . However, increasing the laser power density faces several problems , which are: 1) damage of the SnO2 front electrode if the used power density exceeds the ablation threshold; 2) reduced quality of a-SiGe:H films; and 3) low spot size increasing rate at high power densities. The first can further lead to the presence of silicon oxide formation at the bottom of the P2 scribes. This paper demonstrates another method to obtain a larger spot size. A multiple P2 line scribing process has been performed to increase the spot size without deteriorating the film’s quality and the module performance. Finally, a 6-P2 linewidth of about 160 $\mu $ m leads to a balance between the gain in fill factor and the loss in photocurrent. The optimal module conversion efficiency of 8.82%, which is 8.7% higher than that using a single P2 line process, can be obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a novel approach to designing a high-current magnetic field generator (HCMFG) with adjustable pulse width for transcranial magnetic stimulation applications. Challenges for robust and practical design are introduced. A few of the main possible solutions for designing versatile and powerful pulses are introduced and discussed. Finally, future improvement in functionality of the HCMFG is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the perspective directions in high-energy-density physics is the creation of powerful electro physical facilities capable to form megampere current pulses with short front. This paper presents test results of the device based on five-element disk magnetocumulative generator DMCG480 and an explosive current opening switch. The current pulse of 15 MA with characteristic rise time of \sim 0.8~\mu \texts was obtained in the equivalent multiwire array load of 17 nH at circuit breaking with the current of 32 MA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the simulation results for the most important 1-D problems of current flow in planar vacuum diodes. For the first time, classical problems of vacuum electronics have been solved using the basic principles of nonequilibrium physical kinetics. This approach is based on the accurate numerical solution of the Vlasov–Poisson equation system to find the electron distribution function. We have obtained time-dependent numerical solutions that satisfactorily agree with theoretical approximations and with particle-in-cell simulations as well. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An accurate evaluation of the lightning performance of overhead power distribution lines, that is, the evaluation of the expected number of annual flashovers, can be obtained by the application of the Monte Carlo method. In order to reduce the computational effort, a simplified waveform of the channel base current is generally assumed, for example, a linearly rising current with flat top. This paper proposes a Monte Carlo approach able to take into account the typical functions adopted to represent the waveform of the lightning current at the channel base (i.e., the Heidler function and the CIGRÉ function). Moreover, this paper analyzes the effects of different current waveforms on the lightning performance of distribution lines for both direct and indirect strokes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is proposed that the local electro-explosion is the main cause of rail groove formation on rail surface in this paper. The primary current paths between rails and armature are around the armature edges or corners. The liquid metal film formed on armature-rail interface is produced by electric heating and friction heating related with mechanical and electromagnetic pressures. The liquid film is squeezed out along the armature edges and dragged into many filaments. The filaments through which the current flows can be named as current bridge. When the current bridges stretch to certain thinness and their temperature produced by the power loss reach to a certain value, the phase transition caused by electro-explosion phenomenon happens, so that the liquid metal transforms into plasma. The plasma bombs the rail surface, like the arc cutting conductor technology, and craters the surface, resulting from material melting, evaporation, and transferring. After multilaunch accumulation, the rail groove appears. The electro-explosion intensity and the size of craters are estimated in this paper. Although the estimation is approximate and rough, it might be achieved to demonstrate the essential relationship between the electro-explosion and the groove formation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In addition to field-oriented control and direct torque control, the model predictive control (MPC) is another typical control method for permanent-magnet synchronous machine (PMSM) drives. In some critical applications, fault-tolerant controls are usually required. The faults of PMSM drives in this paper are limited as a single-phase open-circuit fault, which may be caused by open circuit or short circuit of one power switch. In the postfault operation, the neutral point of the PMSM is connected to a redundant leg. As is known, MPC is a model-based control method. Since the PMSM has different mathematical models in both normal and postfault operations, two different MPCs (MPC-I and MPC-II) should be, respectively, designed for both normal and postfault operations according to traditional thinking. However, it is first found in this paper that the faulty PMSM drive can be treated as an equivalent healthy PMSM drive, and MPC-I can be shared by both normal and postfault operations without any modification. The major contribution of this paper is to find this fact, and verify it with theoretical analysis and experimental validation. Obviously, this finding will simplify the whole control method of PMSM drives considering single-phase open-circuit fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a compact ambipolar model for homojunction strained-silicon (sSi) nanowire (NW) tunnel FETs (TFETs) capable of accurately describing both I – V and G – V characteristics in all regimes of operation, n- and p-ambipolarity, the superlinear onset of the output characteristics, and the temperature dependence. Experimental calibration on long channel (350 nm) complementary n- and p-type sSi NW TFETs has been performed to create the model, which is used to systematically benchmark the main analog figures of merit at device level: gm/{I}\text {d} , gm/gds , fT and fT/{I}d{V}d , and their temperature dependence from 25 °C to 125 °C. This allows for a direct comparison between 28-nm low-power Fully Depleted Silicon on Insulator (FD-SOI) CMOS node and 28-nm double-gate (DG) TFET. We demonstrate unique advantages of sSi DG TFET over CMOS, in terms of: 1) reduced temperature dependence of subthreshold swing; 2) higher transconductance per unit of current with peaks close to 40~\text V^-1 , for currents lower than 10 nA/ \mu \textm ; and 3) higher unity gain frequency per unit power for currents below 10 nA/ \mu \textm . [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a wideband circularly polarized millimeter-wave (mmw) antenna design. We introduce a novel 3-D-printed polarizer, which consists of several air and dielectric slabs to transform the polarization of the antenna radiation from linear to circular. The proposed polarizer is placed above a radiating aperture operating at the center frequency of 60 GHz. An electric field, E , radiated from the aperture generates two components of electric fields, E \mathrm {x} and E \mathrm {y} . After passing through the polarizer, both E \mathrm {x} and E \mathrm {y} fields can be degenerated with an orthogonal phase difference which results in having a wide axial ratio bandwidth. The phase difference between E \mathrm {x} and E \mathrm {y} is determined by the incident angle $\phi $ , of the polarization of the electric field to the polarizer as well as the thickness, {h} , of the dielectric slabs. With the help of the thickness of the polarizer, the directivity of the radiation pattern is increased so as to devote high-gain and wideband characteristics to the antenna. To verify our concept, an intensive parametric study and an experiment were carried out. Three antenna sources, including dipole, patch, and aperture antennas, were investigated with the proposed 3-D-printed polarizer. All measured results agree with the theoretical analysis. The proposed antenna with the polarizer achieves a wide impedance bandwidth of 50% from 45 to 75 GHz for the reflection coefficient less than or equal −10 dB, and yields an overlapped axial ratio bandwidth of 30% from 49 to 67 GHz for the axial ratio ≤ 3 dB. The maximum gain of the antenna reaches to 15 dBic. The proposed methodology of this design can apply to applications related to mmw wireless communication systems. The ultimate goal of this paper is to develop a wideband, high-gain, and low-cost antenna for the mmw frequency band. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we show a validation of our compact model for negative capacitance FET (NCFET) presented in Part I. The model is thoroughly validated with the TCAD simulations with respect to ferroelectric thickness scaling and temperature effects. Interestingly, we find that an NCFET with PZT ferroelectric of a large thickness provides a negative output differential resistance in addition to an expected high ON current and a sub-60 mV/decade subthreshold swing. The model is also tested for the Gummel symmetry and its transient capabilities are highlighted through a ring oscillator circuit simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To prevent the high voltage direct current ground electrode from eroding, it is usually wrapped by a coke bed, which may affect the electrical performance of the electrode, such as current distribution and step voltage. In this paper, the effect is analyzed by a numerical method, which couples moment method with circuit theory by regarding the coke bed as several resistors connecting the ground electrode with soil. The method is simple and efficient. The calculated results are in good agreement with the measured ones. The current distribution, ground resistance. and step voltage of several typical electrodes with and without coke beds are calculated. The effect of the coke bed on the above parameters is summed up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses formal mathematical optimization techniques based on parametric finite-element-based computationally efficient models and differential evolution algorithms. For constant-power applications, in the novel approach described, three concurrent objective functions are minimized: material cost, losses, in order to ensure high efficiency, and the difference between the rated and the characteristic current, aiming to achieve very high constant-power flux-weakening range. Only the first two objectives are considered for constant-torque applications. Two types of interior permanent magnet rotors in a single- and double-layer V-shaped configuration are considered, respectively. The stator has the typical two slots per pole and phase distributed winding configuration. The results for the constant-torque design show that, in line with expectations, high efficiency and high power factor machines are more costly, and that the low-cost machines have poorer efficiency and power factor and most importantly, and despite a common misconception, the saliency ratio may also be lower in this case. For constant-power designs, the saliency ratio can be beneficial. Nevertheless, despite a common misconception, when cost is considered alongside performance as an objective, a higher saliency ratio does not necessarily improve the power factors of motors suitable for ideal infinite flux weakening. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]