Advanced power electronics enabled distribution architectures: Design, operation, and control

This paper explores how highly reliable power distribution architectures can be implemented, operated and controlled. Potential applications for advanced power distribution architectures include advanced micro-grid enabled smart grids, electric ships, and data centers. The analysis discusses power electronics circuit topologies and system wide architecture design. Some of the possible power architectures included radial, ring, and laddered topologies. Some commented relevant alternatives for any of these power architectures include ac and dc distribution systems. Although it is identified that dc architectures are more advantageous than ac power distribution systems in terms of efficiency, availability, flexibility, and components power density, dc systems present issues with fault detection and clearance. An option involving multiple-input multiple output converters that addressed these issues with dc architectures is commented in this paper. The discussion presents some suitable topologies for these converters including one derived from a multiple-input boost converter and another one realized from a multiple-input fly-back converter. In the proposed architectures multiple-input multiple-output converters are placed in key distribution nodes and act as "power routers" by freely controlling all input and output powers. These power routers allow to address issues related with fault detection and clearance in distributed power architectures through internal over current protection mechanisms.