Electrical and Electronics Commons^™

A Double-Sided Stack Low-Inductance Wire-Bondless Sic Power Module With A Ceramic Interposer, Si Huang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of this dissertation research is to develop a novel three-dimensional (3-D) wire bondless power module package for silicon carbide (SiC) power devices to achieve a low parasitic inductance and an improved thermal performance. A half-bridge module consisting of 900-V SiC MOSFETs is realized to minimize stray parasitic inductance as well as to provide both vertical and horizontal cooling paths to maximize heat dissipation. The proposed 3-D power module package was designed, simulated, fabricated and tested. In this module, low temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) substrate with vias is utilized as an interposer of which both top and bottom sides …

Protection And Disturbance Mitigation Of Next Generation Shipboard Power Systems, Marounfa Djibo

Electrical & Computer Engineering Theses & Dissertations

Today, thanks to modern advances mainly in the power electronics field, megawatt-level electric drives and magnetic levitation are being integrated into the marine power grids. These technologies operate based on Direct Current (DC) power which require Alternating Current (AC) to DC conversion within the current grid. Medium-voltage Direct Current (MVDC) and Flywheel Energy Storage Systems (FESS) are the next state-of-the-art technologies that researchers are leaning on to produce, convert, store, and distribute power with improved power quality, reliability, and flexibility. On the other hand, with the extensive integration of high-frequency power electronic converters, system stability analysis and the true system …

The Effect Of A Ferrite-Core Relay Vs. An Air-Core Relay On The Output Power Characteristics Of A Three-Coil Wireless Power Transfer System, Jakob L. White

University Honors Theses

The purpose of this thesis is to determine the effect of using a ferrite-core relay on the output power characteristics of a three-coil, parallel-tuned, domino-resonator wireless power transfer (WPT) system in comparison to the effect of using an air-core relay in such a system. First, a general mathematical model is presented to describe both the ferrite-core-relay system and the air-core-relay system and to calculate their output power characteristics for seven different resistive loads at each of five different distance configurations between the coils. Next, experimental results are analyzed and compared to the mathematical results to confirm model accuracy. Finally, the …

High Voltage Dc-Dc Converter Design For Submarine Application, Oscar Ambriz

Master's Theses

In this work a proof of concept for a step-down DC-DC converter used in a high voltage submarine application is presented. The purpose of the converter is to step down a 5000V-6000V input to a 24V output which can serve as an input to a submarine sensor. The completed system consists of two stages where the first stage is an unregulated switched capacitor converter to step down the initial input to a voltage range more appropriate for the selected second stage. The second stage is a regulated flyback converter topology which regulates the final output to the desired 24V. Performance …

Assessment Of The Impacts Of Climate Variability On Hydropower Generation: A Case Study Of The New Pangani Falls, Tanzania, Dativa Byarufu

Tanzania Journal of Engineering and Technology (TJET)

Climate change poses potential impacts on hydropower generation either positively by increasing or negatively by decreasing river flow. This study assessed the impacts of climate variability on hydropower with a focus on the New Pangani Falls in Tanzania. Rainfall and temperature time series data from 1980-2014 were analyzed in relation to river discharge and associated impacts to hydropower generation. The Man-Kendall test was used to detect trend in both annual and seasonal time series. The results showed a negative trend in annual rainfall with Z= -2.41 at α = 0.05 and the slope Q = -0.964. Seasonal trend analysis showed …

Design And Validation Of A High-Power, High Density All Silicon Carbide Three-Level Inverter, Zhongjing Wang

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Transportation electrification is clearly the road toward the future. Compared to internal combustion engine, the electrified vehicle has less carbon-dioxide emission, less maintenance costs and less operation costs. It also offers higher efficiency and safety margin. More importantly, it relieves human’s dependence on conventional fossil energy. In the electrification progress, the revolution of electric traction drive systems is one of the most important milestone. The traction system should keep high efficiency to avoid performance reduction. Moreover, the motor drive should be designed within limited space without sacrificing output power rating. Based on the road map from US Drive Electrical and …

Dc-Dc Buck Boost Converter Using The Lt8390 Controller And Gan High Electron Mobility Transistors, Juan Manuel Urbano Jr, Brian Thongchai Keokot

Electrical Engineering

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo’s ongoing Energy Harvesting from Exercise Machines (EHFEM) project creates a sustainable energy source by converting physical exercise from exercise machines into renewable electricity. Implementing energy harvesting technology into the Recreation Center’s exercise machines helps Cal Poly make progress on its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 [1]. An improvement to the system with new technology increases Cal Poly Recreation Center’s ability to save money and improve sustainability.

The focus of this project improves the design of Nicholas Serres, who used the LT8390 controller in his buck boost DC-DC converter [2]. This project improves …

Wildfire Early Detection System (Weds), Mason Mciver, Vincent Liang, Jeanreno Racines

Electrical Engineering

With climate change causing an increase in temperature over the past several decades, wildfires have been burning hotter and moving quicker leaving a trail of destruction in their path. Detecting a wildfire early allows firefighters to respond efficiently and effectively to ensure containment. With the rise of advanced computer vision and algorithms, autonomous systems can be used to monitor and report any fire activity. Having multiple devices spread out across a large area will allow first responders to map out the fire location and track the fire. By utilizing smart technologies, property damage can be minimized and residents living in …

Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager High Voltage Power Supply, Nicholas Palmer, Jason Thomas Heil

Electrical Engineering

Sending satellites into orbit becomes exponentially more expensive with weight and size, so designing high-voltage DC-DC converters that can achieve kilovolt level outputs in a small form factor is crucial to reducing costs. The Miniaturized Ultraviolet Imager (MUVI) aims to monitor Earth’s ionosphere and report weather patterns to climate scientists within a 2U cube satellite footprint. The imaging equipment consists of a microchannel plate and phosphor screen that require 2.5kV and 5.5kV respectively at microamp level currents. This report explains the implementation of a high voltage boost cascaded flyback converter to meet all of the MUVI satellite output voltage requirements. …

Zero Voltage Switching Hybrid Voltage Divider Converter, Timothy Jeong

Master's Theses

This project proposes a new hybrid voltage divider DC-DC converter that utilizes switching capacitors and inductors to produce zero voltage switching (ZVS) at the turn on state of its switches. By achieving ZVS, the switching losses are significantly reduced; thus, increasing the overall efficiency of the converter at various loads. The goal for this thesis is to perform analysis of the operation of the converter, derive equations for sizing the main components, and demonstrate its functionality through computer simulation and hardware prototype. Results of the simulation and hardware testing show that the proposed converter produces the desired output voltage while …

Power Line Coupling Power Supply Design, Janine Gian Christii C. Darato, Jeni K. Kawate, Nicholas A. Marta

Electrical Engineering

In this project, a power supply was designed for a startup company, Perch Sensing, to detect wildfires with the use of distributed sensors across power lines. The purpose of the power supply is to provide 15W of power to a microcontroller, which controls the sensor nodes. The power supply hangs from power lines and draws energy by inductively coupling to these lines. Our design starts with a current transformer that steps down the current from the power line, which is fed into a shunting mechanism as a safety precaution when the load is absent, then to the power supply itself. …

Buck Converter With Voltage Foldback Protection, Fabian Aaron Enriquez, Pedro Rincon Rosales

Electrical Engineering

In this work, we implemented the idea of current foldback protection onto a buck converter. Current foldback protection essentially helps reduce the power dissipation which may be caused by a short circuit or overload scenario. To achieve the goal of this project, we used a combination of comparators, operational amplifiers and MOSFETs to create a current foldback sub controller. This controller would then serve as a feedback device between the output of the converter and the main controller to detect if a fault condition has occurred. Following the design, we performed simulation of the current foldback controller using PSpice and …

Smart E-Bike Conversion Kit And Helmet, Megan West, Marena Trujillo, Hossein Asghari

Honors Thesis

With many state governments across the United States implementing shutdowns to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many bike retailers have seen dramatic increases in bike sales. Electric bicycles (e-bikes) have become increasingly popular as the public searches for alternatives to public transportation. Unfortunately, e-bike users assume some risk by riding bikes that are faster than conventional bicycles. While kits to convert conventional bicycles to e-bikes exist, no “smart” e-bike/helmet kit specifically designed to keep the user safe is currently available on the market. To mitigate risks, a smart e-bike conversion kit with multiple novel safety features, including auditory and visual …

Design And Fabrication Of A Microstrip Bandpass Filter In Ltcc, Allison Rucker

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

The goal of the project was to design and fabricate a bandpass filter with a center frequency of 25GHz with a 2GHz bandwidth. The first step was to do the calculation to design a bandpass filter to meet these specifications along with the properties of the Dupont^TM GreenTape^TM 9K7. HFSS was then used to verify the results from the initial calculations. There was a significant error between the two results, so more tweaking was done to the calculations to get a better center frequency. After a final design was decided, the fabrication process started. Low-Temperature Co-Fired Ceramics (LLTC) …

Transimpedance Amplification Of Optocoupler Output For High Temperature Applications, Kara Maurer

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

When looking to the future of electronics, one characteristic is becoming more lucrative: high temperature capabilities. With the goals of not only becoming more efficient electronically, spatially, and cost-wise, adapting electronics for a high temperature environment can potentially be a route to all three of these goals. Not only does it take away the need for a cooling method, but it can also increase the longevity of a product which can make it even more cost effective. In an effort to contribute to the push for high temperature electronics, the University of Arkansas is developing a high temperature power module …

Ironless, Axial Flux, Electric Bldc Motor For Aircraft Electric Propulsion, Kevin W. Hobbs

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

3D printing has shown much promise as a method of rapidly manufacturing lightweight ironless motors to meet the growing demand that airlines have for more cost-effective products that reduce emissions and flight prices. 3D-printed ironless, axial flux, electric BLDC motors would meet these needs with both their high efficiency and power density.

A Halbach array motor was designed and 3D-printed for the analysis of its magnetic properties to gain more insight about it performance. Fusion 360 was used to design the 3D drawings of the motor parts. The rotor, stator, and stator mount were designed to accommodate the sizes of …

Performance And Economics Of Solar Inverters And Module Level Power Electronics In A 1 Mw Photovoltaic System, Maxwell Criswell

Biological and Agricultural Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Photovoltaic solar panels convert sunlight to electricity in the form of direct current; therefore, a necessary component of every photovoltaic system is an inverter to convert the electricity to usable alternating current. There are various commercially available inverter technologies manufactured today such as microinverters, string inverters, and central inverters, as well as module level power electronic devices such as DC optimizers that are capable of improving system performance in string and central inverter systems. This thesis compares the performance and economics of five different inverter and module level power electronic systems through model simulation using Helioscope software. The five alternatives …

Impact Of Wind Generation On Transmission Voltage Support During Weak Grid, Yugo Isogai

Electrical Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Today, there are concerns about the effects of high wind penetration on electric power system operations. This is due to the more distributed nature of wind turbine generation and the corresponding multi-path power flows on the electric power transmission grid. In particular, the higher line impendences associated with inverter-based wind generation results in larger voltage fluctuation under varying load. This may results in conditions where even after a fault condition has been cleared, the transmission system voltages may not recover. Therefore, this paper concentrates on the impact of weak grid condition for voltage instability. To approach it, a 6-bus system …

An 8-Bit Analog-To-Digital Converter For Battery Operated Wireless Sensor Nodes, Marvin Wayne Suggs Jr.

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Wireless sensing networks (WSNs) collect analog information transduced into the form of a voltage or current. This data is typically converted into a digital representation of the value and transmitted wirelessly using various modulation techniques. As the available power and size is limited for wireless sensor nodes in many applications, a medium resolution Analog-to-Digital Converter (ADC) is proposed to convert a sensed voltage with moderate speeds to lower power consumption. Specifications also include a rail-to-rail input range and minimized errors associated with offset, gain, differential nonlinearity, and integral nonlinearity. To achieve these specifications, an 8-bit successive approximation register ADC is …

Analog Spiking Neural Network Implementing Spike Timing-Dependent Plasticity On 65 Nm Cmos, Luke Vincent

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Machine learning is a rapidly accelerating tool and technology used for countless applications in the modern world. There are many digital algorithms to deploy a machine learning program, but the most advanced and well-known algorithm is the artificial neural network (ANN). While ANNs demonstrate impressive reinforcement learning behaviors, they require large power consumption to operate. Therefore, an analog spiking neural network (SNN) implementing spike timing-dependent plasticity is proposed, developed, and tested to demonstrate equivalent learning abilities with fractional power consumption compared to its digital adversary.

Design And Assembly Of High-Temperature Signal Conditioning System On Ltcc With Silicon Carbide Cmos Circuits, Sajib Roy

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The objective of the work described in this dissertation paper is to develop a prototype electronic module on a low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC) material. The electronic module would perform signal conditioning of sensor signals (thermocouples) operating under extreme conditions for applications like gas turbines to collect data on the health of the turbine blades during operation so that the turbines do not require shutdown for inspection to determine if maintenance is required. The collected data can indicate when such shutdowns, which cost $1M per day, should be scheduled and maintenance actually performed. The circuits for the signal conditioning system within …

Memory Module Design For High-Temperature Applications In Sic Cmos Technology, Affan Abbasi

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The wide bandgap (WBG) characteristics of SiC play a significant and disruptive role in the power electronics industry. The same characteristics make this material a viable choice for high-temperature electronics systems. Leveraging the high-temperature capability of SiC is crucial to automotive, space exploration, aerospace, deep well drilling, and gas turbines. A significant issue with the high-temperature operation is the exponential increase in leakage current. The lower intrinsic carrier concentration of SiC (10-9 cm-3) compared to Si (1010 cm-3) leads to lower leakage over temperature. Several researchers have demonstrated analog and digital circuits designed in SiC. However, a memory module is …

Enercon Station Vacuum Pump Replacement, Clint Hembree, Jared D'Amico, Connor Moore, Paul Jeffrey Fontenot, Sydnee Castello, J.J. Clements

Senior Design Project For Engineers

This details the progress of the ENERCON pump replacement project as completed by the Kennesaw State University interdisciplinary senior design group. This project is a two-semester capstone effort for the engineering program at Southern Polytechnic School of Engineering, overseen by Dr. McFall during Fall 2020 and Dr. Khalid during Spring 2021 semesters. The 2020-2021 KSU Interdisciplinary Senior Design team was tasked with completing an Engineering Change Package (ECP) for existing vacuum pumps at ENERCON Station. The mechanical, electrical, and civil students worked together, performing evaluations on existing plant systems to ensure the plant could support the new vacuum pumps. By …

A Magneto-Mechanical Piezoelectric Energy Harvester Designed To Scavenge Ac Magnetic Field From Thermal Power Plant With Power-Line Cables, Quan Wang, Kyung-Bum Kim, Sang-Bum Woo, Yooseob Song, Tae-Hyun Sang

Civil Engineering Faculty Publications

Piezoelectric energy harvesters have attracted much attention because they are crucial in portable industrial applications. Here, we report on a high-power device based on a magneto-mechanical piezoelectric energy harvester to scavenge the AC magnetic field from a power-line cable for industrial applications. The electrical output performance of the harvester (×4 layers) reached an output voltage of 60.8 V_max, an output power of 215 mW_max (98 mW_rms), and a power density of 94.5 mW_max/cm³ (43.5 mW_rms/cm³) at an impedance matching of 5 kΩ under a magnetic field of 80 …

Early Wildfire Detection With Line Sensors, Virginia Yan

Master's Theses

Over the last few years, wildfires have become more devastating to communities as the fires are inevitably destructive to many homes, businesses, and ecosystems. Frequent wildfires also pose a significant threat to power grids and nearby residents as they can damage transmission lines and other electrical equipment, which in turn can cause major power shutdowns. Especially in western U.S., severe drought conditions and weather variability cause residents to become more vulnerable to wildfire disasters as their safety is threatened. We are incompetent to control the wildfires effectively despite existing advanced technologies. Hence, an algorithm based on energy conservation and heat …

A Pi Based Coordinated Maximum Power Point Tracking Controller For Grid Connected Photovoltaic System, Md Haidar Islam

Student Works (2020-2029)

The global demand for electric energy has continuously increased over the last few decades. Photovoltaic (PV) sources are predicted to become one of the biggest contributors to electricity generation among all renewable energy generation candidates by 2040. The photovoltaic system a renewable energy source that has attracted the attention of researchers in recent years. The power output of a photovoltaic system has a complex dependence on varying environmental conditions such as solar irradiation and ambient temperature which cannot be controlled, thereby making the current versus voltage (I-V) and power versus voltage (P-V) characteristics of photovoltaic arrays nonlinear. Therefore, maximum power …

Investigation Of The Interfacial Energy Level Within Organic Semiconducting Devices, Wong Wah Seng

Student Works (2020-2029)

This main goal of this research is investigating the interfacial energy level of organic semiconducting devices by correlated to the devices performance as well as physical/chemical change in the blended/mixed organic semiconductor system. The first project reported the high efficiency extra warm white organic light emitting diodes (WOLEDs) by blending tris(4-carbazoyl-9-ylphenyl)amine (TcTa) to poly(vinylcarbazole) (PVK). The hole current for PVK:TcTa (60:40) increased by one order of magnitude in hole only device, but the current efficiency of WOLEDs improved only by 7% compared to pristine PVK. Using Ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS), it was discovered the hole injection barrier between poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene …

Distributed Control, Optimization, And State Estimation For Renewable Power System, Qiao Li

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The traditional power systems are usually centralized systems, in which the control, operation and monitoring are performed by the centralized control center, e.g., SCADA. However, with the development of renewable energy, power systems are getting more and more distributed. So, it becomes necessary to establish the distributed power system operation methods for these power systems. In this research, the distributed techniques for the renewable power systems are proposed based on the consensus protocol technique from graph theory. These techniques cover the three important problems in power systems, i.e., economic dispatch, state estimation, and optimal power flow. First, the Distributed Economic …

Development Of A Hybrid-Electric Aircraft Propulsion System Based On Silicon Carbide Triple Active Bridge Multiport Power Converter, Cole M. Ivey

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Constrained by the low energy density of Lithium-ion batteries with all-electric aircraft propulsion, hybrid-electric aircraft propulsion drive becomes one of the most promising technologies in aviation electrification, especially for wide-body airplanes. In this thesis, a three-port triple active bridge (TAB) DC-DC converter is developed to manage the power flow between the turbo generator, battery, and the propulsion motor. The TAB converter is modeled based on the emerging Silicon Carbide (SiC) Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) modules operating at high switching frequency, so the size of the magnetic transformer can be significantly reduced. Different operation modes of this hybrid-electric propulsion drive …

Special Power Electronics Converters And Machine Drives With Wide Band-Gap Devices, Yibin Zhang

Theses and Dissertations--Electrical and Computer Engineering

Power electronic converters play a key role in power generation, storage, and consumption. The major portion of power losses in the converters is dissipated in the semiconductor switching devices. In recent years, new power semiconductors based on wide band-gap (WBG) devices have been increasingly developed and employed in terms of promising merits including the lower on-state resistance, lower turn-on/off energy, higher capable switching frequency, higher temperature tolerance than conventional Si devices. However, WBG devices also brought new challenges including lower fault tolerance, higher system cost, gate driver challenges, and high dv/dt and resulting increased bearing current in electric machines.

This …