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This paper proposes an integrated multiport non-isolated DC–DC converter system for integrating battery–supercapacitor hybrid energy storage with photovoltaics for solar-powered unmanned aerial vehicles applications. Compared to the traditional topologies used, the proposed converter allows a size reduction of at least 20% of the supercapacitor by maximizing the utilization of the rated energy capacity. In addition, by proposing to use a phase-shifted carrier modulation technique, the inductors' current ripple is reduced, which enables a further reduction in the inductor size. These improvements in capability and performance of the proposed topology are experimentally validated on a 500 W PV/battery–supercapacitor integrated power system prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design and evaluation of an energy storage system (ESS) for helicopters with the aim to recover the kinetic energy in the rotor available after landing and to be able to control the 270 V DC bus voltage during load disturbances. A study is conducted in order to identify the suitable mix of commercially available energy storage devices with the aim of obtaining the minimum weight, exploring also the possibility to implement a hybrid supercapacitor-battery system. On the converter side, commercially available Silicon and Silicon-Carbide devices have been evaluated to achieve also the smallest size/weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the existing hierarchical, centrally controlled power grid faces new challenges due to the increase penetration of renewable sources, the need of implementing demand-side management and the 2020 and 2050 environmental targets. A promising concept which can successfully contribute to addressing the environmental concerns and energy challenges of the twenty-first century is the grid-connected decentralised energy systems that embed significant amount of renewable generation and allow reverse power flow from distribution grids into the transmission network. Despite their benefits, decentralised energy storage systems are not yet widely spread due to several implementation and designing barriers. The design obstacle which is being addressed in this study includes the determination of the optimal size of the energy storage system components in terms of battery size and rating of the power converter for a single house application. In order to generalise the findings, nine different real houses were considered. Thus, the most financially beneficial battery and power converter combination for nine existing UK houses with installed PV roof-top system were identified in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interleaved converters with coupled inductors are widely used to share load current in high power applications. It offers high equivalent switching frequency and reduced output current ripples using small size magnetic components. Owing to smaller common-mode inductance, control system can be designed to achieve fast dynamic response. This study proposes eight-channel interleaved DC/DC converter for interfacing super-capacitor energy storage system to a 400 V DC voltage bus. Multi-stage interleaving magnetic circuit with two-phase coupling inductor as a building block is proposed. A methodology is developed to construct the model of the multi-stage magnetic circuit from the basic two-phase coupled inductor model. The derived model is successfully used to evaluate the system power losses and to design the magnetic circuit parameters and its current controller to fulfill the DC/DC converter steady state and dynamic performance specifications. A 20 kW/four stage/8-channel DC/DC converter laboratory prototype has been built to connect a super-capacitor stack to 400 V DC voltage bus. Experimental investigation validates the modelling, the system losses calculations and the design specifications of the system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the development of a supercapacitor energy storage system (ESS) aimed to minimize weight, which is very important for aerospace applications, whilst integrating smart functionalities like voltage monitoring, equalization, and overvoltage protection for the cells. The methodology for selecting the supercapacitor cells type/size is detailed to achieve the safest and most energy-dense ESS. Additionally, the development of the interface electronics for cells' voltage monitoring and overvoltage protection is presented. The proposed design implements a modular distributed architecture coordinated using communication buses to minimize the wirings and associated complexity and to enable system reconfiguration and expansions, as well as fault diagnoses. Validating the proposed ESS functionalities has been done via experimental testing and the results are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]