Development and Test of a Medium Voltage Converter for Ocean Observatories
Abstract
Power system engineering for ocean observatories has been an active area of research and development for the past 10 years. A number of architectures have been reported and discussed, including AC systems, DC systems, constant-voltage systems, constant-current systems, and various series and parallel cable topologies. A sequence of engineering analyses and prototype experiments led the U.S. MARS and the Canadian NEPTUNE programs to select a constant-voltage, branched DC architecture in their systems. A similar power architecture is in consideration for the U.S. Regional Scale Network (RSN). These regional power systems are generally comprised of shore-based power feed equipment (PFE), one or more long (10 - 400 km) single-conductor undersea telecom cables, one or more undersea nodes, and seawater electrodes to return currents from the nodes to the shore. The power conductors in these undersea cabled systems typically have resistances of 1 ohm/km, with operational currents of less than 2 Amps and operational voltages of less than 12 KVDC. High-voltage, low-current power transmission is essential to minimize power losses within the cables and to maintain stability under dynamic, negative impedance loads. A critical component in regional scale undersea power systems is the medium voltage converter (MVC). The MVC is a DC-DC converter in the primary network infrastructure that receives a medium voltage power input from the PFE via the telecom cable, typically at 1 - 10 KVDC, and provides down-conversion to one or more lower voltage outputs, typically 300 - 600 VDC, to feed power to science nodes and instrumentation in the secondary network infrastructure. The development of a reliable undersea MVC has been a difficult engineering obstacle in ocean observatories, causing delays and overruns in several projects.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA527429
Entities
People
- John Walrod
- Joseph Key
Organizations
- Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division