Experimental Evaluation of a Flywheel Energy Storage System under Continuous and Transient Loading Conditions
Abstract
Future Navy ships might employ directed energy (DE) loads that operate transiently and those unique loads present operational and power quality challenges for traditional power generation sources. It has been proposed that energy storage be employed to buffer thetransient load placed on rotating power sources. If integrated and controlled properly, the energy storage can improve the generator(s) power quality, reliability, resiliency, and operability. New power system architectures that employ power electronic power conversion are required for this concept to be implemented successfully. These challenges are being studied by many in the shipboard power system community and they are relying heavily on model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approaches to study the pros and cons of every aspect of the proposed architecture(s). It is imperative that the models being developed are properly constructed and fully verified and validated (V&V) before they are utilized. This is easier said than done and there is considerable Navy investment being made to perfect this power system design process. When it comes to energy storage, there are several different options that the Navy is considering. Finding the solution(s) that offer the highest combined power density, energy density, cost, lifetime, and of coursesafety is the goal. Lithium-ion battery technology has skyrocketed in the past two decades and it is widely deployed in billions ofconsumer electronic devices every day. Despite these successes, there have been a few notable safety incidents that cause concern for those in the shipboard power system community. Flywheel energy storage (FES) has been lesser studied of late but is certainly of interest given is excellent characteristics in each of the categories listed above. Through ONR DURIP funding, the Pulsed Power and Energy Laboratory (PPEL) at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) has recently procured two FES systems, with operational powerlimits slightly in excess of 100 kW each, that are being installed and commissioned within a medium voltage (MC) AC/DC testbed. The~1 MW testbed has been setup to emulate one zone of a zonal shipboard power system architecture. It is proposed here that UTA#s PPEL employ this hardware to study the feasibility of FES for buffering transient loads within a power system architecture. Test plans will be developed, and data will be collected in collaboration with other ONR performers who are actively producing FES component models that will be utilized in the MBSE process. The outcome of this work will be a thorough understanding of the electrical, mechanical, and control challenges, advantages, and disadvantages that FES offers when compared with other energy storage technologies. FEScomponent models will be developed that are fully V&V under continuous and transient modes of operation. Graduate and undergraduatelevel students will perform the proposed research under the advisement of the PI producing students who are well educated in these research areas and ready to join the naval and/or commercial power systems work force.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Jan 24, 2024
- Source ID
- N000142412100
Entities
People
- David A. Wetz
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of Texas at Arlington