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This paper proposes a single-phase, transformer-less, seven-level inverter that utilizes eight switches, three capacitors, and two diodes to produce seven voltage levels with triple boosting ability. The availability of the common-ground point eliminates the leakage current in PV applications. The proposed Transformer-Less Triple-Boosting Seven-Level Inverter (TLTB7LI) has the ability to feed different types of loads from non-unity to unity power factors. The voltage balancing of capacitors takes place naturally without the need for auxiliary circuits and complicated control strategies. This paper investigates the appropriateness of the proposed TLTB7LI for grid-connected application. The Peak Current Controller (PCC) is employed to generate the switching pulses and regulate the active/reactive power transfer between the converter and the output, which guarantees the high quality of injected current to the output. Moreover, the operational principles, its control technique, as well as the design procedure of the key components of the proposed inverter have been presented. The superiority of the proposed inverter over existing counterparts has been verified through comparative analysis. The simulation and experimental analysis validated the proper operation of the proposed TLTB7LI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A grid-forming wind generation system exhibits exceptional grid frequency support abilities. The DC capacitor of the grid-forming wind generation system, which is characterized by rapid response and high sensitivity to minor disturbances, can provide short-term inertia support for the power system. This paper proposes the capacitor virtual inertia control for the grid-forming wind generation system, coupling the DC capacitor voltage with the power system frequency, which enables the DC capacitor to participate in the system frequency response process and reduces the rate of change of the system frequency during the disturbance. To analyze the inertia of the wind power generation system, this paper establishes an equivalent Philips-Heffron model for the grid-forming wind generation system and uses the equivalent inertia constant to quantify the inertia of the wind power generation system. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy and the reasonableness of the inertia assessment method are verified through simulations in the single-turbine system and the IEEE four-machine two-area system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In today's healthcare landscape, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) plays a pivotal role in early diagnosis and treatment decisions. However, the quest for higher frequencies to achieve micron‐level resolutions poses technological challenges. This paper focuses on coils and capacitors, with special attention to air gap considerations for movable electrodes. The paper delves into the development of adjustable capacitors using high‐fired NP0 ceramic, tailored for 128‐MHz MRI systems. These capacitors boast impressive specs: a 3‐kV breakdown voltage (VBreakdown), a 3‐pF minimum capacitance (Cmin), a 30‐pF maximum capacitance (CMax), and a 1.5‐pF stepwise capacitance variation (Cvariation step). Notably, they enhance breakdown voltage while preserving frequency stability with MgTiCa ceramic between the fixed and mobile electrode, critical for adaptive blocks. Leveraging geometrical parameters analyzed through the ANSYS simulator, the authors meticulously designed an optimized 25–40 pF capacitor with a 15‐mm height and 1600 mm2 surface area. Post‐fabrication and sintering, extensive testing using a vector network analyzer across 10 MHz to 100 MHz validated performance against simulated expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In photovoltaic grid-connected systems, the interaction between grid-connected inverters and the grid may cause harmonic oscillation, which severely affects the normal operation of the system. To improve the quality of the output electrical energy, photovoltaic grid-connected systems often use LCL filters as output filters to filter out high-frequency harmonics. Taking the three-phase LCL-type photovoltaic grid-connected inverter system as an example, this paper addresses the issue of harmonic resonance. Firstly, based on the harmonic linearization method and considering the impact of the coupling compensation term on the grid-side voltage, a modular positive and negative sequence impedance modeling method is proposed, which simplifies the secondary modeling process of the converter under feedback control. Then, the stability analysis is conducted using the Nyquist criterion, revealing the mechanism of high-frequency resonance in photovoltaic grid-connected systems. Furthermore, this paper delves into the impact of changes in system parameters on impedance characteristics and system stability. The results indicate that the proportional coefficient of the internal loop current controller has a significant influence on system impedance characteristics. Additionally, this paper proposes an active damping design method that combines lead correction and capacitor current feedback to impedance-reconstruct the easily oscillating frequency band. Finally, the effectiveness of this method is verified in the simulation platform. Simulation results confirm the effectiveness of this method in suppressing harmonic resonance while maintaining rapid dynamic response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extensive research on the multi-bridge extension of cascaded rectifier stages is deemed important to meet the requirements of high-voltage and high-power applications. Two control structures for capacitor voltage balancing in cascaded rectifier stages are analyzed in this paper. On this basis, the balance strategy for the multi-bridge extension of single-phase cascaded rectifiers is explored. The balance method of ultra-fast balance modulation trajectories is introduced into single-phase multi-bridge cascaded rectification, and the optimal control strategy is selected through simulation verification and comparative analysis. During the actual experiments, some disturbance factors were introduced into the system, causing an instantaneous unbalanced state. However, through the control strategy proposed in this paper, the system can quickly regain balance. Through simulation validation and analysis of the experimental results, the reliability and innovation of this control strategy have been demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel topology for Z-source inverters (ZSI). The new Z-Source network is based on the coupled-inductors and active switched boost. Features of the topology include high voltage boost ability, single magnetic-core, low voltage stress on the active switch, and capacitors. The principles of operation, analysis, voltage and current equations of each component, and the converter voltage gain in the steady-state are presented. A comparison with other topologies has also been performed to determine the advantages and disadvantages of the proposed ZSI. Finally, experimental results of the laboratory prototype are presented to confirm the performance of the proposed topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grid-forming (GFM) wind storage systems (WSSs) possess the capability of actively building frequency and phase, enabling faster frequency response. The frequency regulation power of GFM WSSs is provided by both the rotor of wind turbine and the battery storage (BS) in parallel with DC capacitor. However, with existing control strategies, the energy storage immediately responds to both small and large grid disturbances. The frequent responses significantly decrease the lifespan of energy storage. To address this issue, a cooperative strategy between rotor and energy storage is necessary. This paper proposes an advanced strategy of GFM WSSs for cooperative DC power support. The cooperative principle is that for small disturbances, the BS is disabled and total frequency regulation power is provided by the rotor, while for large disturbances, the BS is enabled to cooperatively provide power support with the rotor. The proposed cooperative strategy can decrease the charging and discharging times of BS with a small range of rotor speed fluctuation, and then the service life of BS can be significantly extended. Simulation results validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three‐level neutral point clamped (3L‐NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI) topology can be advantageous in electric vehicles with a high DC‐link voltage and a high switching frequency. A bulky DC‐link capacitor is not an option; thus, the DC‐link capacitor's sizing considering the traction system characteristics is an important design step. This paper investigates how the DC‐link capacitor size of a 3L‐NPC VSI gets affected by the combination of the interdependent characteristics of an electric drive, such as its power factor, modulation index, current, and fundamental frequency, with the effects of the modulation methods. Five pulse width modulation (PWM) methods, of which three of them have an active neutral point potential control, are compared in terms of their neutral point potential (NPP) oscillations. Then, the size of the DC‐link capacitor is determined for each PWM method so that the NPP ripple is kept under desired limits at all operating conditions. It is shown that both the modulation technique and the electric machine characteristics influence the capacitor size. For example, electric machine design modifications can introduce more than a 30% reduction in capacitor size. Finally, DC‐link and NPP oscillations with different PWM methods are experimentally validated in a scaled‐down 3L‐NPC inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is concerned with a magnetorheological (MR)-damper-based vibration-reduction system with energy harvesting capability considering sprung mass changes. The system represents a mechanical harmonic oscillator with electrical coupling, set in motion by kinematic excitation. The authors examine the system performance in the case when the MR damper control coil (damper control coil) is powered directly by the alternating current resulting from the voltage generated in an electromagnetic harvester in the assumed frequency range of sine excitation. Such a system is able to attenuate vibration in the near-resonance frequency range when the current in the damper control coil increases; however, its drawback is vibration amplification at higher frequencies. To eliminate this negative feature, it is proposed to connect shunt capacitors in parallel with the damper control coil. Then, the system can be tested experimentally in terms of current in the damper control coil, sprung mass, and the capacity of shunt capacitors in order to evaluate system performance according to the assumed performance index. The obtained results demonstrate significant improvement in system performance at higher frequencies of excitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to cope with the failure of existing fault analysis schemes for AC/DC distribution networks with a high proportion of distributed generations, this paper proposes a fault characteristic analysis method for AC/DC distribution networks that considers the influence of distributed generation control strategies. Firstly, a transient model for the AC/DC distribution network connected to distributed generations is built. Then, the fault characteristics of the AC/DC distribution network in different stages, such as the capacitor discharge stage, inductive renewal stage, and steady state stage, is analyzed. Finally, detailed simulation analysis is conducted using PSCAD/EMTDC to validate the effectiveness of the developed scheme by the superior approximation performance between simulated curves and calculated curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper focuses on the influence of the fractional-order (FO) resonant capacitor on the zero-voltage-switching quasi-resonant converter (ZVS QRC). The FO impedance model of the capacitor is introduced to the circuit model of the ZVS QRC; hence, a piecewise smooth FO model is developed for the converter. Numerical solutions of the converter are obtained by using both the fractional Adams–Bashforth–Moulton (F-ABM) method and Oustaloup's rational approximation method. In addition, the analytical solution of the converter is obtained by the Grünwald–Letnikov (GL) definition, which reveals the influence of the FO resonant capacitor on the zero-crossing point (ZCP) and resonant state of the converter. An experimental platform was built to verify the results of the theoretical analysis and numerical calculation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Capacitors are crucial components in power electronic converters, responsible for harmonic elimination, energy buffering, and voltage stabilization. However, they are also the most susceptible to damage due to their operational environment. Accurate temperature estimation of capacitors is essential for monitoring their condition and ensuring the reliability of the converter system. This paper presents a novel method for estimating the core temperature of capacitors using a long short-term memory (LSTM) algorithm. The approach incorporates a continued training mechanism to adapt to variable load conditions in converters. Experimental results demonstrate the proposed method's high accuracy and robustness, making it suitable for real-time capacitor temperature monitoring in practical applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional 5-level active neutral-point-clamped (5L-ANPC) topology and state-of-the-art 5-level hybrid active neutral-point-clamped (5L-HANPC) topology are popular for inverter applications. However, their dc-link voltage utilization is limited to only 50%. With the maximum voltage level generated by only half dc-link voltage, these inverters are not capable of boosting voltage in their ac output. To resolve these drawbacks, this paper proposes a family of four novel 5-level boost-active neutral-point-clamped (5L-BANPC) inverters. Without requiring any flying capacitors, the proposed topologies can generate five voltage levels by effectively using the dc-link capacitors. The dc-link voltage utilization of the proposed 5L-BANPC inverters is twice that of the 5L-ANPC and 5L-HANPC topologies. While generating the five-level ac output voltage, natural voltage balancing of both dc-link capacitors and voltage boosting are achieved. Ease of implementation is another noteworthy merit of the proposed 5L-BANPC inverters because they can be implemented using six widely available commercial half-bridge modules without requiring a dedicated circuit design. The operation of the proposed topologies is analyzed. Experimental results are presented for verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a single-stage direct AC to high-frequency (HF) AC resonant converter based on LLC configuration for induction heating (IH) systems or HF applications. Unlike conventional converters for IH systems, the proposed topology converts the utility frequency to HF AC in a single stage without using a DC link inductor and capacitors and takes the advantages of LLC configuration. Additionally, it improves the power factor to 0.9–1, lowers the THD (3.2% experimentally), and protects against the high-frequency components. An embedded control scheme was designed to keep the HF current oscillating at a resonant frequency, ensuring zero-voltage switching. The operating principle of the proposed topology was investigated using mathematical equations and equivalent circuits. Finally, it was verified using computer simulation, and an experimental prototype of 1.1 kW was developed to demonstrate the proposed topology's uniqueness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three LED drivers which can be used for illumination, but whose main task is the transmission of information (data) via the light of the LEDs, are explored in this paper. The converter circuits need no capacitors for the energy transformation and avoid an inrush current. The lack of necessity of electrolytic capacitors reduces cost and space. Dimming the illumination is also easy to achieve. The control concept of the converters and the generation of pulsing of the LEDs for transmitting the information (data) are explained. The converters can also be expanded to more stages to drive more LEDs with different types of information. All three converters are explained in detail; all presented circuits are built up and simulated with LTSpice. Several data transmission concepts are applied and demonstrated through simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A capacitance multiplier is an active circuit designed specifically to increase the capacitance of a passive capacitor to a significantly higher capacitance level. In this paper, the use of a voltage differencing differential difference amplifier (VDDDA), an electronically controllable active device for designing grounded and floating capacitance multipliers, is proposed. The capacitance multipliers proposed in this study are extremely simple and consist of a VDDDA, a resistor, and a capacitor. The multiplication factor ( K c ) can be electronically controlled by adjusting the external bias current ( I B ). It offers an easy way of controlling it by utilizing a microcontroller for modern analog signal processing systems. The multiplication factor has the potential to be adjusted to a value that is either less than or greater than one, hence widening the variety of uses. The grounded capacitance multiplier can be easily transformed into a floating one by utilizing Zc-VDDDA. PSpice simulation and experimentation with a VDDDA realized from commercially available integrated circuits were used to test the performance of the proposed capacitance multipliers. The multiplication factor is electronically adjustable, ranging in approximation from 0.56 to 13.94. The operating frequency range is approximately three frequency decades. The realization of the lagging and leading phase shifters using the proposed capacitance multiplier is also examined and proven. The results reveal that the lagging and leading phase shifts are electronically tuned via the multiplication factor of the proposed capacitance multipliers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has many advantages of low switching losses, good harmonic performance and high modularity structure in state-of-the-art HVDC applications. The full-bridge submodules (FBSMs) of the hybrid MMC can inherently output negative voltage to absorb fault currents, and consequently the hybrid MMC can ride through severe DC faults without blocking. During the DC fault-ride-through process, the submodule capacitor voltage and arm current of the MMC will be temporarily increased. These characteristics limit the proportion of the FBSMs, which should not be too low and thus increase the cost and operating losses of the hybrid MMC. In this paper, an improved sorting algorithm of SM capacitor voltage is established, and a novel virtual damping control strategy is proposed that can effectively suppress the increase in submodule capacitor voltage and arm current of the hybrid MMC during the DC fault-ride-through process. By adopting this optimization control, the proportion of FBSMs can be reduced significantly without deteriorating the fault-ride-through capability or safety of the MMC. The effectiveness of the proposed control is verified by careful theoretical analysis and detailed simulation results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Materials offering high energy density are currently desired to meet the increasing demand for energy storage applications, such as pulsed power devices, electric vehicles, high-frequency inverters, and so on. Particularly, ceramic-based dielectric materials have received significant attention for energy storage capacitor applications due to their outstanding properties of high power density, fast charge–discharge capabilities, and excellent temperature stability relative to batteries, electrochemical capacitors, and dielectric polymers. In this paper, we present fundamental concepts for energy storage in dielectrics, key parameters, and influence factors to enhance the energy storage performance, and we also summarize the recent progress of dielectrics, such as bulk ceramics (linear dielectrics, ferroelectrics, relaxor ferroelectrics, and anti-ferroelectrics), ceramic films, and multilayer ceramic capacitors. In addition, various strategies, such as chemical modification, grain refinement/microstructure, defect engineering, phase, local structure, domain evolution, layer thickness, stability, and electrical homogeneity, are focused on the structure–property relationship on the multiscale, which has been thoroughly addressed. Moreover, this review addresses the challenges and opportunities for future dielectric materials in energy storage capacitor applications. Overall, this review provides readers with a deeper understanding of the chemical composition, physical properties, and energy storage performance in this field of energy storage ceramic materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive power compensation (RPC) is a big problem during power system operation. Parenthetically, capacitor allocation and sizing may be the only convenient solution for RPC of power systems. The loss sensitivity factor (LSF) is applied here for finding the optimum capacitor position. This paper presents quasi-oppositional fast convergence evolutionary programming (QOFCEP), fast convergence evolutionary programming (FCEP), and evolutionary programming (EP) for the optimum location and sizing of shunt capacitors in the isolated microgrid (MG) for minimizing total real power loss throughout the day with and without the demand response program (DRP). The 33-node, 69-node, and 118- node isolated MGs have been studied to authenticate the efficacy of the suggested approach. Each MG includes small hydro power plants (SHPPs), solar PV plants (SPVPs), wind turbine generators (WTGs), diesel generators (DGs), and plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 16-bit 125 MS/s pipelined analog-to-digital converter (ADC) implemented in a 0.18 μ m CMOS process is presented in this paper. A sample-and-hold amplifier-less (SHA-less) modified 2.5-bit front-end is adopted, which splits the sampling capacitor in half to eliminate the common-mode voltage buffer. The multiplying-digital-to-analog converter (MDAC) in the first pipeline stage is modified by reusing the sampling capacitor in a foreground digital calibration for improving the ADC linearity. This design can circumvent a dedicated reference buffer to generate the calibration voltages at all comparator thresholds. By calibrating the ADC in the digital domain, the integral non-linearity (INL) is improved from −9.2/10 LSB to −3/2.2 LSB, and the spurious-free dynamic range (SFDR) is optimized by over 8dB. The ADC consumes 154mW (reference buffer and clock included) from a 1.8 V supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As electrochemical research undergoes rapid technological progression, the acquisition of substantial amounts of electrochemical impedance spectra (EIS) becomes increasingly feasible. Yet, this advancement introduces intricate challenges in data processing, automation, and interpretation. This paper delves into the sufficiency of unsupervised machine learning (ML) and in particular dimensionality reduction methods in decoding EIS complexities, examining its strengths, limitations, and potential pathways for optimization. As we navigated the intricacies of non‐linear dimensionality reduction, spotlighting t‐distributed stochastic neighbor embedding (t‐SNE) and uniform manifold approximation and projection (UMAP) algorithms, a pattern emerged: these techniques excel at categorizing divergent impedance spectra but show limitations when faced with analogous circuit configurations, especially those substituting a capacitor with a constant phase element. This observation not only underscores a limitation but also accentuates that unsupervised ML approaches, alone, may not fully unravel the nuances of EIS spectra. In the concluding section of our manuscript, we discuss the implications of this finding from a practical standpoint, particularly for electrochemists seeking to apply these methods in their work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper deals with the capacitance of cylindrical two-dimensional capacitor which consists of Cartesian orthotropic dielectric material. The determination of the capacitance of capacitor with orthotropic dielectric material by a suitable coordinate transformation is reduced to the computation of capacitance of an isotropic capacitor. It is proven that the capacitance of a Cartesian orthotropic capacitor can be obtained in terms of an isotropic capacitor whose dielectric constant is the geometric mean of the dielectric constant of the orthotropic capacitor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) is a research hotspot in medium-voltage and high-voltage applications. The measurement offset error would cause an increase in the monitoring error of the submodule (SM) capacitance of the MMC, affecting the estimation accuracy of the SM capacitance monitoring. This paper proposes a capacitor monitoring strategy based on the offset error compensation, where two reasonable capacitor monitoring periods are selected in one fundamental period under the proposed voltage-balancing control (VBC) based on the virtual capacitor voltage (VCV) to compensate for the offset error impact on the capacitance monitoring. The proposed strategy can effectively eliminate the offset error impact on the capacitance monitoring, which ensures the accuracy of the SM capacitance monitoring in the MMCs. The effectiveness of the proposed monitoring strategy is confirmed by the simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the unique properties of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs), most researchers' interest in RTIL-based electrolytes in electric double-layer capacitors (EDLCs) stems from molecular simulations, which are different from experimental scientific research fields. The knowledge of RTIL-based electrolytes in EDLCs began with a supposition obtained from the results of molecular simulations of molten salts. Furthermore, experiments and simulations were promoted and developed rapidly on this topic. In some instances, the achievements of molecular simulations are ahead of even those obtained from experiments in quantity and quality. Molecular simulations offer more information on the impacts of overscreening, quasicrowding, crowding, and underscreening for RTIL-based electrolytes than experimental studies, which can be helpful in understanding the mechanisms of EDLCs. With the advancement of experimental technology, these effects have been verified by experiments. The simulation prediction of the capacitance curve was in good agreement with the experiment for pure RTILs. For complex systems, such as RTIL–solvent mixtures and RTIL mixture systems, both molecular simulations and experiments have reported that the change in capacitance curves is not monotonous with RTIL concentrations. In addition, there are some phenomena that are difficult to explain in experiments and can be well explained through molecular simulations. Finally, experiments and molecular simulations have maintained synchronous developments in recent years, and this paper discusses their relationship and reflects on their application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new negative lossless grounded capacitance multiplier (GCM) circuit based on a Current Feedback Operational Amplifier (CFOA) is presented. The proposed circuit includes a single CFOA, four resistors, and a grounded capacitor. In order to reduce the power consumption, the internal structure of the CFOA is realized with dynamic threshold-voltage MOSFET (DTMOS) transistors. The effects of parasitic components on the operating frequency range of the proposed circuit are investigated. The simulation results were obtained with the SPICE program using 0.13 µm IBM CMOS technology parameters. The total power consumption of the circuit was 1.6 mW. The functionality of the circuit is provided by the capacitance cancellation circuit. PVT (Process, Voltage, Temperature) analyses were performed to verify the robustness of the proposed circuit. An experimental study is provided to verify the operability of the proposed negative lossless GCM using commercially available integrated circuits (ICs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In power engineering, the importance of maintaining a high power factor in low-voltage electrical installations is known. In power substations for industry, the usual method of coupling is to use an automatic power factor controller which connects capacitors banks (with electromagnetic contactors). Sometimes, AC reactors are connected to the phases of the capacitors banks (to reduce transient phenomena and the deforming regime), depending on the desired value of the power factor. This paper presents an analysis (more focused on experimentation) of a low-cost system for automatic regulation of the power factor with a reduction in transients and an increase in the life of contactors (eliminating the electric arc during switching on), with capacitors banks for low-voltage three-phase installations that connect the capacitors banks by means of one three-phase solid-state relay (an expensive device for a quality device; one is used for all capacitors banks) and using several electromagnetic contactors. The automatic power factor adjustment system has a controller with a microprocessor with six outputs, controlled by the phase shift between the current (measured with a current transformer proportional to the current in a bar) and the phase voltage, which is part of a system of distribution bars (L1,2,3, N) from which electrical consumers (e.g., induction motors) are supplied. To reduce transients when connecting capacitors banks, a three-phase solid-state relay and two related electromagnetic contactors are used for each capacitors bank. The automatic power factor controller is connected to two low-capacity PLCs that control the logic of connecting the capacitors banks to reduce transients. By using the proposed regulation system, a cheaper control solution is obtained compared to the use of one solid-state relay for each capacitors banks, under the conditions in which the power factor adjustment is made as in the classic solution. If twelve capacitors banks are used, the proposed installation is 22.57% cheaper than the classical power factor regulation installation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, multilevel inverters are widely utilized in various applications. Reducing the number of components in the design of these converters is one of the crucial goals so that they have less volume and cost. This paper presents a single‐source structure for a multilevel switched‐capacitor inverter with voltage boost capability. The proposed structure can generate 25 sinusoidal‐like step voltage levels with a six times amplitude increase compared to the input. This converter uses only one direct current (DC) power source, 14 switches, and four capacitors. The nearest level control switching method has been used to control the converter, create voltage levels, and select the switching modes. A comprehensive comparison has been made with other recently presented structures to demonstrate the efficiency of the proposed structure. The advantages of the proposed structure include using only one DC voltage source, the ability to increase the output voltage six times compared to the input, the use of fewer power electronics components compared to the number of voltage levels, proper efficiency, self‐balancing of capacitors, and as a result, the lower cost. The performance accuracy of the proposed converter has been simulated in the MATLAB Simulink environment and then evaluated by a laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The issue of sub-module (SM) capacitor voltage unbalance is a hot topic in the current research into the modular multilevel converter (MMC). An excellent strategy comprises mitigating the SM capacitor voltage imbalance by adjusting the SM on time. The traditional capacitor voltage balancing control regulates the speed to maintain accuracy. A unique SM capacitor voltage balancing control strategy is presented in this paper and is based on conventional capacitor voltage balance management and neural network prediction. Firstly, the SM capacitor voltage and arm current are speculated by operating the time series forecasting technique in real time, considering the dynamic changes in the SM capacitor voltage and arm current. Secondly, the SM capacitor voltage distinction between the actual and theoretical value is determined, and a deviation's mixed Gaussian distribution is established to estimate its compensation voltage. Thirdly, the SM triggering sequence is anticipated by using the neural network along with the pilot values of the SM capacitor voltage, arm current, and the offset compensation value, and the control is executed. Finally, a three-phase, six-leg, eight-module, nine-level MMC model is built to verify the feasibility of the suggested approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacitor mismatch among diverse defects caused by variations in the manufacturing process significantly affects the linearity of the capacitor array used to implement the capacitive digital-to-analog converter (CDAC) in the successive-approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC). Accordingly, the linearity of the SAR ADC is limited by that of capacitor array, resulting in serious yield loss. This paper proposes an efficient foreground self-calibration technique to enhance the linearity of the SAR ADCs by mitigating the capacitor mismatch based on the split ADC architecture along with variable capacitors. In this work, two ADC channels (i.e., ADC1 and ADC2) for the split ADC architecture include their capacitive DACs (CDACs) whose binary-weighted capacitor arrays consist of variable capacitors. A charge-sharing SAR ADC is used for each ADC channel. In the normal operation mode, their digital outputs are averaged to be the final ADC output, as in a conventional split ADC. In the calibration mode, every single binary-weighted capacitor for the two ADCs is sequentially calibrated by making parallel or/and antiparallel connection among two or thee capacitors from the two channels. For instance, because the capacitors of the CDACs ideally exhibit the binary-weighted relation as C n = 2 × C n − 1 , the variable capacitor C n of ADC1 can be updated to be closest to the sum of C n − 1 of ADC1 and C n − 1 of ADC2 for the calibration. For the process, the two capacitor arrays of the two ADCs can be reconfigured to be connected to each other, so that the C n of ADC1 can be connected with two of the C n − 1 of ADC1 and ADC2 in antiparallel. The two voltages at the top and the bottom plates of the CDAC are compared by a comparator of ADC1, and the comparison results are used to update C n . This process is iterated, until C n is in agreement with the sum of two of C n − 1 . Finally, all the capacitors can be calibrated in this way to have the binary-weighted relation. The simulation results based on the proposed work with a split SAR ADC model verified that the proposed technique can be practically used, by showing that the total harmonic distortion and the signal-to-noise-and-distortion ratio were enhanced by 21.8 dB and 6.4 dB, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The capacitor voltage unbalancing is the common problem in modular multilevel converter. This problem occurs even at the fundamental frequency due to the modulation technique which generates the unequal periods of the gate signals. To reduce this problem, this paper introduced a new submodule (SM)-based modular multilevel converter (MMC). The proposed MMC can generate the 2N + 1 level at the load side. By properly controlling the arm current of the converter, DC capacitor voltage in each submodule is balanced at its base voltage and improves the circulating current during unequal periods of the gate signals without using controller. This paper presents the performance of new submodule-based modular multilevel converter. Finally, the proposed converter is compared with the conventional modular multilevel converter topologies with and without third harmonic injection method. Further the proposed structure and presented techniques have been simulated in the MATLAB/SIMULINK, and the practical implementation has been done using hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) test. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a portable low-power low dropout regulator (LDO) with no output capacitance has been designed in 0.18- μ m CMOS technology. In this paper, a PMOS power transistor is used and combined with an overshoot and undershoot suppression circuit to improve the transient response of the circuit. A modified Class-AB operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) is used to reduce power consumption and act as an error amplifier to eliminate low frequency poles. At the same time, a super source follower and a Miller capacitor are used for frequency compensation of the system. Finally, the system can provide a stable voltage for a load step from 0.2 to 25 mA in 500 ns edge-time for 140 pF-load capacitance. The test results show that the circuit achieves a good voltage regulation rate and high transient response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the effect of the number of switching (NOS) per day of capacitor banks on loss reduction in radial distribution systems. To this aim, the daytime (more precisely, 24 h) is divided into different numbers of time segments (equal to the same NOS) for capacitors' size switching. The resulting non‐linear programming with discontinuous derivatives (called DNLP) model is solved subject to related constraints. The results reveal the impact of hourly switching of capacitor banks on further loss reduction (namely 118.4435, 83.7856, and 101.738 MWh for three IEEE systems) and higher net savings (i.e. k$5.6067, k$4.2772, and k$5.3542 for the same systems) of radial distribution systems compared to daily switching. Then, the hyper‐tuned Random Forest model is trained based on the IEEE 69‐bus network, fine‐tuned by the IEEE 10‐bus network, and fitted by the IEEE 33‐bus network to have an intelligent multi‐classification task with the highest accuracy. Numerical simulation, in both classic and intelligent parts, is presented to demonstrate the performance of DeepOptaCap. For the final step, DeepOptaCast is compared to other intelligent models of Light Gradient Boosting Method (LGBM), Decision Tree, and XGBoost, regarding KPIs of mean absolute percentage error, root mean squared percentage error, mean absolute error, root mean squared error, and coefficient of determination to demonstrate the model's superiority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, it is proposed that a two-terminal high voltage direct current (HVDC) be integrated into the power system. Line-commutated converter (LCC)-HVDC is used because of its ability to reduce line losses, which improves overall system efficiency. Shunt capacitors also aid in voltage maintenance by compensating for the reactive power demand. In essence, limiting voltage drops in electrical networks promotes a more efficient power transmission and distribution by lowering resistive losses. In power system investigations, it was discovered that the HVDC link and SCB exist separately. So, for the first time, the backtracking search algorithm (BSA) is used to solve the optimal reactive power flow (ORPF) of a power system with a HVDC link and shunt capacitor banks (SCB). Although BSA simulations on a modified IEEE 30 bus yielded successful results, ABC was also utilized for comparing the outcomes of different methods. Overall, three separate cases of the modified IEEE 30 bus system were examined. When the acquired results are compared to other methods, the suggested algorithm is found to be better at concerning effectiveness as well as performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a cost-effective control method to enhance the low voltage ride-through (LVRT) capability and smooth the output power of a three-phase multilevel flying capacitor inverter (FCI) in wind turbine-based permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG). The proposed approach utilizes the energy storage capability of flying capacitors to mitigate wind power fluctuations and address short-duration outages and deep voltage sags. Additionally, a nonlinear controller based Lyapunov theory is developed to regulate capacitor voltages, improve power factors, and balance DC-link voltage. Numerical simulations are conducted in MATLAB/SimPower systems environment to validate the effectiveness of this comprehensive control strategy across different grid operation scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to improve wireless charging power and reduce heating problems, the optimal design of the high-current wireless charging coil has always been the research focus of wireless charging system research. This paper proposes a multi-branch and multi-capacitance current sharing method for series–series (SS) receiving coils. Firstly, the current sharing model with n branches that are connected parallel to multiple compensation capacitors is established. The current sharing situation of parallel coils with three branches and three capacitors with independently resonant compensation is analyzed. Then, the wireless charging system with the parallel coils of 48 V/100 A receiving coils is simulated. The results show that when one capacitor is used for compensation, the three-coil currents highly differ; when three capacitors are compensated independently, the three-coil currents are basically equal. The simulation results show that the current sharing method can effectively improve the charging power of the system and reduce the maximum temperature of the receiving coil, which proves the effectiveness of this method. Finally, through the experimental comparison, it is verified that the current sharing measure can make the current of each wire basically equal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: The methodology proposed in this article can be employed to improve the capability of the transmitting end of a WPT system to identify and adapt to parameter variations. This paper proposes a novel approach to simultaneously identifying multiple critical parameters in a wireless power transfer (WPT) system, such as the resonant frequency, mutual inductance, and load resistance, solely from the primary side. The key is to adopt a primary-side-switch-controlled capacitor (SCC) to ensure that the imaginary part of the input impedance is only caused by the secondary-side reflected impedance at three predesigned frequencies. The DSP controller then samples and processes the primary voltage and current using a gradient descent algorithm to derive the above parameters. After the identification, the SCC adjusts its equivalent capacitance based on the secondary-side practical resonant frequency to ensure a zero-phase angle (ZPA), thereby significantly improving the compatibility of the WPT system with unknown receivers. Compared to the previous frequency-sweeping method, the proposed approach is simpler and more suitable for deployment on the controller. Finally, experimental results demonstrate that the identification error of mutual inductance and resonant frequency are within 7.5% and 2.68%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a 12-bit SAR ADC capable of calibrating a split capacitor using a binary search technique for bio-signal processing applications. The proposed SAR ADC employs a calibration logic circuit to calibrate a split capacitor vulnerable to process variations and mismatches. The proposed foreground calibration process involves four iterations through the binary search algorithm. In this manner, the calibration speed can be increased by up to 3.75 times compared with that of the linear search calibration. The proposed SAR ADC was implemented with a CMOS 28 nm 1-poly 8-metal process. The effective layout, excluding bonding pads, occupied 939 × 450 μ m. Measurement results illustrated a power consumption of 30.7 μ W (analog power: 16.1 μ W and digital power: 14.6 μ W), INL/DNL of −1.8/1.7 LSB, and −0.7/0.7 LSB, respectively, ENoB of 10.3-bit, and a FoM of 53.7 fJ/step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents an enhanced composite modular DC/DC converter topology designed to address critical technical requirements in wind power full DC systems, including high capacity, high conversion ratio, and fault isolation. The proposed topology combines MMC circuits and module combination circuits, allowing for exceptional modularity and configurability. Through the serial and parallel connection of multiple modules, the voltage or current levels can be further enhanced. Regarding the control strategy, the paper adopts SOGI phase-locked and coordinate transformation technology to precisely measure and control the differential and common-mode voltages within the MMC modules. A mathematical model is established, providing a theoretical foundation for experimental analysis. The research emphasizes the implementation of key strategies such as circulating current suppression, nearest level approximation, and capacitor voltage sorting. To validate the practicality and effectiveness of the proposed converter topology and control strategy, an experiment is conducted using a ±30 kV/±300 kV, 300 MW model constructed within the MATLAB/Simulink simulation environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The noise-shaping (NS) successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converter (ADC) is an innovative hybrid structure that offers performance advantages. The NS-SAR ADC leverages the SAR ADC as its foundation and combines oversampling technology and noise-shaping technology found in Sigma-Delta ADC. This integration effectively combines the strengths of both structures and enhances overall performance. The ADC features a simple circuit structure, compact chip area, and high energy efficiency, which has positioned it as a prominent research area. In this paper, leveraging the TSMC 65 nm GP process, the NS-SAR ADC is designed with a power supply voltage of 1 V. This design adopts an 8-bit differential capacitor structure, operates at a sampling frequency of 16 MS/s, and achieves an oversampling rate of 16 times the desired performance indicators. Through extensive circuit post simulation verification, the SNR obtained reaches 78 dB, providing an effective bit resolution of 12.7 bits. The core chip area of the ADC measures 366 × 333 μm2, while the power consumption is impressively low at 417 μW and FoMs is 168 dB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an algorithm for determining the optimal capacitance by utilizing a mathematical model of a submodule (SM) capacitor in a modular multilevel converter (MMC) specifically for medium voltage motor drives (MVDs). By approximating the voltage fluctuation of the SM capacitor during low-frequency operation, it is feasible to ascertain the minimum capacitance required for the SM capacitor, ensuring that its voltage fluctuations remain within an acceptable limit that is predefined as a specified value. Moreover, the study considered the injection of both a high-frequency common-mode voltage (CMV) and a circulating current to alleviate the SM voltage fluctuation during the acceleration of motor drives. The effectiveness of the proposed method is validated through verification using time-domain simulation results obtained using the MATLAB/SIMULINK software and real-time simulation results acquired using the OPAL-RT simulator platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the domain of automatic visual inspection for miniature capacitor quality control, the task of accurately detecting defects presents a formidable challenge. This challenge stems primarily from the small size and limited sample availability of defective micro-capacitors, which leads to issues such as reduced detection accuracy and increased false-negative rates in existing inspection methods. To address these challenges, this paper proposes an innovative approach employing an enhanced 'you only look once' version 8 (YOLOv8) architecture specifically tailored for the intricate task of micro-capacitor defect inspection. The merging of the bidirectional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) architecture and the simplified attention module (SimAM), which greatly improves the model's capacity to recognize fine features and feature representation, is at the heart of this methodology. Furthermore, the model's capacity for generalization was significantly improved by the addition of the weighted intersection over union (WISE-IOU) loss function. A micro-capacitor surface defect (MCSD) dataset comprising 1358 images representing four distinct types of micro-capacitor defects was constructed. The experimental results showed that our approach achieved 95.8% effectiveness in the mean average precision (mAP) at a threshold of 0.5. This indicates a notable 9.5% enhancement over the original YOLOv8 architecture and underscores the effectiveness of our approach in the automatic visual inspection of miniature capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an improved switched‐inductor quasi‐Z‐source inverter with a higher boost factor than similar inverters, which integrates a switched‐capacitor and a three‐winding switched‐coupled inductor into a conventional quasi Z‐source inverter (q‐ZSI). The proposed inverter is called a switched‐capacitor trans quasi Z‐source inverter (SCT‐q‐ZSI). In this topology, the input current is continuous, and a high voltage gain is reachable with lowduty cycles (D). In this structure, capacitors are used instead of the side diodes of the switched‐inductor quasi Z‐source inverter. The proposed converter has a low inrush current at the startup which might damage the converter components. The performance of the proposed inverter is investigated at different operating modes and the voltage and current equations of all elements are calculated. The analysis, derivation of boost factor, capacitor voltages, and components, of the proposed inverter, are carried out and are compared with similar inverters. Finally, analytical, simulation, and experimental results are also presented to validate its advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of submodule switching frequency reduction in half‐bridge modular multilevel converters (HB‐MMCs) with capacitor voltage self‐balancing control is considered and explored in this paper. A selection principle of submodule switching state vectors is proposed based on the voltage self‐balancing switching state matrix, aiming to lower submodule switching frequency and device losses. The relationship between system stability and submodule switching signals is revealed according to the capacitor voltage self‐balancing characteristics, and the full‐rank constraints on the voltage self‐balancing switching state matrix are proposed. Considering the tradeoff between switching loss and capacitor voltage fluctuation, the evaluation indexes of voltage self‐balancing control effect are determined. The selection principle of submodule switching state vectors and the optimized construction method of switching state matrix are presented. Voltage self‐balancing HB‐MMC models are built in MATLAB/Simulink, and it is verified that the submodule switching state vector selection principle proposed in this study can effectively reduce switching frequency while meeting the evaluation requirements of practical engineering projects, so as to achieve the balance between switching loss and steady‐state capacitor voltage fluctuation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design and application of a boost converter operated in continuous conduction mode for 15 W, with a 25 kHz switching frequency using an inductor-capacitor-inductor (LCL), pi, inductor capacitor (LC) with damping, and LC electromagnetic interference filters. Also, modeling and analysis of the boost converter in terms of state space and small signal are given. Furthermore, the effect of each filter on differential mode (DM) noise and control characteristics is presented using root locus and bode diagrams, which are not detailed in the literature for the boost converter. All results obtained from applications and simulations are compared. Moreover, frequency spectrums are given to compare DM noises. As a result, from a control point of view, the LCL filter provides better results, and for reducing DM noise, the LC and pi filters are superior to others. Besides, the LCL filter reduces the inductor value by 30% compared to other filters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decentralized electrification in remote areas, small-sized wind energy systems (WESs) are considered sustainable and affordable solution when employing an efficient, small-sized component converter integrated with a less-sophisticated, cost-effective MPPT controller. Unfortunately, using a conventional buck DC/DC converter as a MPP tracker suffer from input current discontinuity. The latter results in high ripples in the tracked rectified wind power which reduces the captured power and affects system operation especially in standalone applications which are self-sufficient and independent of grid support. Furthermore, these ripples propagate to the machine side causing vibration and torque stress which impacts turbine performance and safety. To solve this issue, a large electrolytic capacitor is placed at the buck converter input to buffer these ripples, yet at the cost of larger size, losses and reduced reliability. Oppositely, the developed C1, D4 and D6 buck converters have the merit of continuous input current at small component-size. In this paper, dynamic modelling of these three converters is developed to select the one with the least input current ripples to replace the traditional buck converter in the considered WES system. Consequently, fluctuations in the tracked power are minimized and the large buffer capacitor is eliminated. This enhances system lifetime, reduces its cost and increases tracking efficiency. Moreover, mechanical power and torque fluctuations are minimized, thus maintaining machine protection. Furthermore, a sensorless MPPT algorithm, based on converter averaged state-space model, is proposed. Being dependent on variable-step P&O algorithm, the proposed approach features simple structure, ease of control and a compromise between tracking time and accuracy besides reduced cost due to the eliminated current sensor. Simulation results verified the effectiveness of the selected converter applying the proposed MPPT approach to efficiently track the wind power under wind variations with cost-effective realization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proton exchange membrane fuel cells (PEMFC) have been noticed by researchers due to their high efficiency, low pollution, and high‐power density in distributed generation systems. In this paper, an LCL‐type grid‐tied PEMFC fuel cell power conditioning system is evaluated in a harmonics‐polluted low‐voltage grid. The LCL‐filters can lead to resonance and instability despite their capability to attenuate harmonics. In this research, a transformer has been used to connect the fuel cell inverter to the grid. The grid‐side inductor of LCL‐filter is realized by the leakage inductance of the transformer. In addition, for more effective resonance damping and attenuation of current ripples caused by the grid voltage harmonics, a capacitor voltage comprehensive feedback control has been designed and investigated. The comprehensive feedback control of the capacitor voltage contains proportional, first and second‐order derivative terms. In the proposed control scheme, the capacitor‐current‐feedback is opposed by the capacitor voltage derivative term due to reverse loop gain, which leads to deleting both of these loop gains. As a result, there is no need to utilize a current sensor in this control method. Consequently, the proportional and second‐order derivative terms of the capacitor voltage attenuate the LCL‐filter resonance. A low‐pass filter is also considered in the second‐order derivative loop in the controllable frequency range to ensure system stability. The simulation results of the PEMFC power conditioning system in different conditions confirm the proper attenuation of LCL resonance of grid‐tied inverter, high‐quality current injection to the harmonics polluted grid, the suitable stability, and the appropriate dynamic response for the proposed system. Under the proposed control scheme, the fuel cell power conditioning system demonstrates satisfactory stability. Even when reducing the LCL filter values by 5%–20%, the system maintains its stability effectively. Moreover, the THD of the injected current into the grid, employing the proposed control strategy, has been successfully reduced to an impressive value of 1.97% in a weak and harmonical grid. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]