Electrical Engineering in Japan最新文献

This paper proposes methodology and gate drive circuit that can immediately detect short-circuit (SC) of multiparalleled SiC-MOSFETs even under current imbalance condition. Proposed method detects SC current using an integration circuit that can sense di/dt. The detection level of SC current can be adjusted to a desired value regardless of the number of SiC-MOSFETs connected in parallel. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was experimentally validated for four-paralleled SiC-MOSFETs under extreme current imbalance in SC condition. SC was detected within 0.5 μs and all SiC-MOSFETs were protected without destruction at most 2.2 μs after the onset of SC, for all types of SC 1, 2, and 3.

The pulsed electroacoustic method determines the distribution of space charge in an insulation system by applying a pulse voltage and detecting the acoustic response. It estimates the location and magnitude of charges from time-domain signals. For quantitative analysis, a bias voltage is applied to a specimen with no space charge, and the acoustic signal generated from the electrodes only is used as a reference waveform for calibration. However, a full-scale, extra-high voltage insulation system often already contains space charges in it. Therefore, a method of acquiring a reference signal under such a condition was studied. We studied methods to compare voltage variations and response signal variations. We proposed a method that measures the signal difference at different voltages. In addition, we proposed a method of correlating voltage and signal variations that may allo for more rapid signal acquisition. The feasibility was proved using an 11 mm-thick mimic polyethylene specimen.

A multiphase DC-DC converter consisting of a coupled inductor and fast switching devices enables power electronics equipment to achieve a high-power density. However, with such devices, the fast voltage transition generates substantial common mode (CM) noise. However, there are very few studies on CM noise reduction for multiphase converters using a coupled inductor. Therefore, in this paper, a CM noise reduction method is proposed for a multiphase DC-DC converter that hardly lowers the power density.

We are planning to develop the new Advanced Distribution Automation System (ADAS) equipped with optical communication network and sectionalizer with sensor for more grid reliability and efficiency on maintenance operation. The new system is featured with the function of fault cause or damaged part estimation. The new sectionalizer captures the waveform of electrical line surge originated by fault and the system analyzes the waveform for this function. This paper mainly introduces the system configuration of ADAS and an early stage examination of fault cause estimation technology.

At present, there is a growing demand for energy saving to prevent global warming. Thus, the railway industry is also focusing on energy saving methods. Power consumption of running trains has a large variation of approximately 20% caused by drivers’ operation. Therefore, improving the running profile can considerably reduce energy consumption. Numerous algorithms for generating energy saving running profiles have been researched and developed. To adapt energy saving operation to various environments, we developed a technology that maintains punctuality without reducing the energy efficiency when temporary differences occur in driving conditions. We propose a method that determines the re-creation command point to complete the re-creation at the switching point of the driving operation in the existing energy-saving target pattern, to achieve both punctuality and ride comfort. As a result of verifying the effect of the proposed method on the conventional method via a simulation, it was confirmed that the proposed method can prevent the increase in the number of operation changes when the driving conditions change, whereas the conventional method increases the number of operation changes.

With the developments in power electronics equipment, the electromagnetic environment has become severe for electronic equipment. In the smart facility field, the stable operation of electronic devices is indispensable, and noise countermeasures must be improved. To suppress intrusive noise from cables, shielded cables are used in many cases. However, electromagnetic induction cannot be suppressed when the shield is grounded at one end, and when grounding both ends of the shield, current flows through the shield creating intrusive noise in the cable. That is, even if a shielded cable is used, a sufficient effect cannot be obtained. Therefore, as a countermeasure, this study prototypes and evaluates cables that combine double shielded cables with magnetic cores. Evaluations conducted using the copper pipe method, triaxial method, and impulse test confirm that the shielded performance improved by 10–30 dB compared with the conventional shielded cable.

The partial discharge (PD) waveform reflects the evolution process of electron avalanche in the discharge space. The authors expect to estimate the condition of the discharge space based on the PD waveform characteristics. The semi-conductive sheet was attached to the insulator to simulate the decrease in surface resistance due to deterioration. With the reduction of the surface resistivity, the shoulder appeared on the rising part of the PD waveform and the rise time of the PD waveform became longer. In addition, we simulated the change in the rise time using an equivalent circuit model. The displacement current was calculated from the surface potential distribution estimated by the diffusion equation, and the PD current was simulated by summing up all the current components. As a result, the shoulder was reproduced at the rising part of the PD waveform in the simulation as well. The surface resistance was estimated from the PD waveform by fitting with the experimental results.

The photovoltaic (PV) power output might be frequently curtailed to maintain electricity supply-demand balance in future power systems. In our previous study, we proposed a new method for updating the battery energy storage system (BESS) charge/discharge and the generator unit commitment (UC) schedules based on the forecasted and actual PV power outputs. The forecast dataset was updated every 3 h (eight times a day). Although the simulation results showed that the proposed method could reduce the supply-demand imbalances, it was not clear whether the forecasted or actual values made contributions. Therefore, in this study, we propose and evaluate a real-time scheduling and operation method using the forecasted and actual PV power outputs assuming that the forecasted dataset is updated only once a day. Numerical simulations of supply-demand operations are conducted on the power system model of the Kanto area of Japan for one year. The results show that the previous study method has a slight advantage over proposed method in terms of curtailed PV energy and operational cost of thermal generators reduction, but the difference is very small, indicating that the contribution of the actual PV power outputs is greater than that of the forecasted PV power outputs.

In this study, we have measured the negative ion mobility in O₂ at high pressures with a little amount of H₂O concentration between 15 and 17,000 ppb. After that, we carried out a Monte Carlo simulation using mobility of electrons, that of the ions obtained in the measurements, and rate coefficients of ion-molecule reactions. As a result, the mobility value 2.39 cm²/V·s of O₄¯ is obtained in ultrahigh purity O₂ of which the H₂O concentration is between 15 and 100 ppb. Moreover, the mobility decreases with the H₂O concentrations at which the ion species are considered to be O₂¯·(H₂O)_n (_n = 1, 2, 3). Then, we compared the experimental result with that of the simulation and estimated the ion mobility and rate coefficients of ion molecule reactions. Simulation results using estimated values of the ion mobility and rate coefficients agree well with measurement results.

In recent years, the aggregation business has gained a lot of attention in Japan. Aggregators will make contracts with customers with photovoltaic (PV) power systems and battery energy storage systems (BESSs) including electric vehicles (EVs) to participate in electricity markets. Aggregators might have to pay electricity supply-demand imbalance charges when generated and consumed energies contracted at the day-ahead supply-demand market are different from those at the current day operation due to distribution network constraints such as voltage and power flow limitations. Therefore, the information on network constraints is very important for aggregators to determine their day-ahead schedules. In this paper, we evaluated the relationship between aggregator supply-demand schedules and the distribution system operation. It was assumed that the reverse power flow limitations due to network constraints are notified to the aggregators by distribution system operator (DSO). Two cases of the aggregators’ schedules of PV systems and stationary BESSs were compared in the simulations. In addition, aggregator strategies for making adequate schedules were evaluated.