Reducing Impact of Pulsed Power Loads on Microgrid Power Systems

Microgrid power systems are becoming increasingly common in a host of applications. In this work, the mitigation of the adverse affects of pulsed-power loads on these systems is considered. In microgrid power systems, pulsed loads are particularly problematic since the total system inertia is finite. Examples include ships and aircraft with high-power radars, pulsed weapons, and electromagnetic launch and recovery systems. In these systems, energy is collected from the system over a finite time period, locally stored, and then rapidly utilized. Herein, a new strategy to accommodate these loads is presented. This strategy is based on identifying the optimal charging profile. Using simulation and experiment, it is shown the proposed strategy is highly effective in reducing the adverse impact of pulsed-power loads.