Power Electronics Research
at the
National University of Ireland
Galway
APEC 2009
Washington DC
19th February, 2009
Presented by
W.G. Hurley
1
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Large-scale multi- and
inter-disciplinary
projects
Synergies: contribute to
ECI, MRI and NUI, Galway
strategic development
National Platforms
ERC
Utilisation
Distribution
Conversion
Individual and
Medium-scale
projects: SFI,
EPA, SEI, etc
Resources
Coordinated, efficient response
Wind and Ocean
Power Control Systems
Bioenergy
Sustainable
Efficient
Materials
Modelling
technologies
Energy and Buildings
Behaviour Law and Policy Economics
Cross-cutting activities:
Research Infrastructure,
Outreach, Visibility
Greater
quality and
Significance
of Research
Greater
visibility and
Impact
2
Research Centres in Engieering
• Environmental Engineering
• Centre for Occupational Health and Safety
Engineering
• DERI (Smart Grid)
• Power Electronics Research Centre
• Materials for Energy (Sean Leen)
• Green Buildings (Marcus Keane)
3
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
5MW Wind Turbine
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Nominal power: 5MW
Nominal wind:12.5 m/s
Operat.wind: 4 to 25 m/s
Revolutions:6 to 18rpm
Rotor diameter: 116m
Tower height: 90-100m
Weight of head: 310 t
Prototype build: 2004
Offshore installation 2008
Design life time: 20 years
4
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Battery
Measured
Cell voltage
Voltage (V)
Cell Voltage Variance
14,2
14,0
13,8
13,6
13,4
13,2
13,0
12,8
12,6
12,4
12,2
ICC
Float charge
0
2
4
6
8
10 12 14
Time (hr)
16
18
20
22
24
Individual cell voltages where measured
on a Pitch Control Battery with 144 cells
5
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Proton Exchange Membrane
Fuel Cells
Pressure
Humidity
Pressure
Hydrogen Density
Purge Valve
Air Filter
Humidifier
Air Condensor
Hydrogen
out
Current
collector
Air in
Power
Converters
Starter Energy
Storage Unit
(Battery)
Hydrogen in
Air out
Check Valve
Water and
Exhaust Air
Hydrogen
Air Pressure
Air Humidity
Hydrogen Density
Hydrogen Pressure
Stack Temperature
Single Cell Voltage
Starter Controller
Load
Energy Management Unit
Air Condensor Controler
Micro Controller
(MCU or DSP)
Purge Valve
Humidifier Controller
Energy Storage Unit for EM (or Power Conditioning)
(Battery or Ultracapacitor)
Figure 2 Products Powered by PEMFC
Figure 1 The Structure of a Whole PEMFC System
Probable Application of PEMFC:
Out put Per f or mance wi t h & wi t hout Ai r Compr essor
Output Performance under Different Hydrogen Flow
3
2. 5
2
Hydrogen Flow 100mL/min
1.5
1
Out put Per f or mance Wi t hout Ai r
Compr essor
2
1. 5
Ou t p u t
Hydrogen Flow 40mL/min
Out put Per f or mance wi t h Ai r
Compr essor
1
0. 5
0.5
0
0
0
0.01
0.05
0.11
0.24
0.34
0.44
0.51
0.66
0.98
1 .8
2.68
O u tp u t V o lta g e / V
Vo l t a g e / V
3
2.5
Current/A
0
0. 5
1
1. 5
2
2. 5
Cur r ent / A
(1)Power Source for Electrical Vehicle
(2)Backup Power for Portable Devices ( eg. Laptop computer,
Video camera, etc.)
(3)Distributed Generation
Project Target:
Modeling a PEMFC sytem
Figure 3 The Static Performance of PEMFC
6
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Ultracapacitor Battery
Comparison
Adrian Schneuwly “Designing auto power systems with ultracapacitors”
7
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
High Frequency Magnetics
High Current, Low Voltage Applications
iph1
iph2
iCo
Multi-phase buck converter
Trade-off in efficiency
vs. processing speed
Solved by  frequency
• Issues for inductors
– Large copper area needed to handle high current vs.
skin depth limitation for eddy-currents
– Core area dominated by material losses; gap is
significant
Distributed inductors proposed
8
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Power Harvesting / Wearable
Power Generator
• Permanent magnets slide
through coils during
walking
N
d i ( x i , t )
v oc ( t )  
dt
i 1
• Power exerted by the
walker is harvested as
electrical power
9
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Wireless Powering of Biomedical
Devices
The main objective is to establish technology for
developing leadless cardiac pace-making devices.
The work is divided into 2
themes:
1) Development of leadless
technology for maximizing power
delivery.
2) Design of an implantable
leadless pace-making device.
10
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Materials for Tidal Energy
FATIGUE OF COMPOSITES FOR OCEAN ENERGY
Fatigue strength (MPa)
S Leen, C Kennedy, C O’Bradaigh
300
Mechanical and Biomedical Engineering, NUIG
Fatigue testing
in seawater
Component
manufacture
E-glass composite in
seawater
Identify damage
mechanisms
Design for
endurance
Develop
damage model
Exposure
time
200
After Segovia et al, J Comp Mats (2007)
Lj3
Materials
selection
FE modelling of
rotor-blade
Lj4
Lj2
Lj5
Lj1
R
Talreja, R, Comp Sci Tech ( 2008)
11
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Scaling-up of offshore wind energy
ICARES (Integrated Compressed Air Renewable Energy
System)
150m diameter “Britannia” Turbine by
Clipper Windpower agreed for installn
at Blyth on Crown Estate. (7.5MW rated).
S D Garvey1, S Leen2, P Nolan2
1University
2Mechanical
WIND POWER
of Nottingham, UK
and Biomedical Engineering, NUIG
 Compressed-Air
TIDAL POWER
?
An apparently-exponential rise in WT
dimensions from the 1980s
has run-out recently.
WAVE POWER
 Compressed-Air
 Compressed-Air
Energy Farm
HEAT
Exchange
/Storage
/Pumping
SOLAR
HEAT?
CMBSTN
MANIFOLD(s)
EXPANSION &
GENERATION
GRID INTERFACING
Electrical
Power
2009
SUBSEA CAES.
Diam’
GEOLOGICAL CAES
kT
ICARES
Air Products ?
Refridgeratn ?
Other Purposes ?
I
Compressors
Manifold
Air-Turbines
Gen’ratrs
V
U
M Energy Harvesters:
N Expander-Generator
Units in Parallel
WIND / TIDAL / WAVE
MNP
Compressed
Air Storage
P Compressed-Air
Storage Modules.
12
Large-scale
floating offshore
WT
Power Electronics
Research
Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
13
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Challenges for Renewables
• Ireland had best wind resource in Europe
• Ireland has potential for European test centre
for wind
• Separate test certs for microgeneration
• Coordination of suppliers/utilities
• Standards for distributed energy/ power quality
etc
14
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Challenges for Renewables
• Installation safety
• Lightning protection
• Noise, strobe effect for domestic wind turbines
• Customer support for SME’s
• One stop shop for regulation
15
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway
Conclusions
• Ireland can lead in Regulatory Environment
• Ireland can be Test House for Europe in
Renewables
• Education needs to support R&D
• Industry and University sector must cooperate
16
Power Electronics Research Centre, National University of Ireland, Galway