Abstract
The ubiquitous diffusion of Power Electronic Converters (PECs) in many fields of application including traction and energy conversion suggests the possibility of new and better integration of advanced power conversion and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) services. This work investigates the possible advancements in the use of optical communication links made of plastic optical fibers for control of PECs. The optical communication link connects the switching control to the converter control, following the line of separation between the expertise of power electronic and control engineers. Control wise, a PEC is a black box compatible with any off-board controller, now immune from the Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) produced by the power switches. The redundant optical link is ready for the high switching and sampling frequencies, made possible by relying on SiC power semiconductor devices (100+ kHz). Distributed control of multiple PEC units and advanced telemetry for diagnostics and prognostics are targeted. A proof-of-concept demonstrator is presented and tested. Moreover, the possible evolution towards a power electronic cloud with remote management and orchestration is described.
Highlights
Power Electronic Converters (PECs) are assuming a fundamental role in modern society
This work deals with advancements in the use of optical fibers for control at the switching level of PECs made with SiC power devices, aiming at the definition of a serial communication standard for the control of the PEC using Plastic Optical Fiber (POF)
Serial communications from the Power Electronic Building Blocks (PEBBs) to the converter control unit are often realized with POFs: the dedicated communication protocol Power Electronics System Network (PES Net) was developed, running on a 125-Mb/s serial communication line implemented on a hard clad silica optical fiber [7]
Summary
Power Electronic Converters (PECs) are assuming a fundamental role in modern society. This work deals with advancements in the use of optical fibers for control at the switching level of PECs made with SiC power devices, aiming at the definition of a serial communication standard for the control of the PEC using Plastic Optical Fiber (POF). One discontinuity with the past is that the priority here is to optimize the use of optical communications for one single PEC, targeting the exploitation of new SiC power modules These power devices permit higher switching frequencies at the cost of more severe EMI. Telemetry data from the power electronic cloud will be exploited together with aggregated data from users for a holistic optimization
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