Bi-Directional Power Converters

The founders of CES have identified three shortcomings of the proposed Integrated Fight Through Power (IFTP) system. The system’s lack of galvanic isolation will lead to ship-wide ground fault problems. The system’s inability to incorporate alternative power sources (fuel cells or energy storage systems) results from unidirectional power flow. The system’s use of non-commercial bus voltages does not permit the inclusion of commercial power electronics forcing costly dedicated converter developments. CES proposes to rapidly demonstrate a bi-directional galvanically isolated power converter that operates at standard voltages. Further, CES will demonstrate these three improvements through modeling and experimentation. We anticipate matching or improving current IFTP power density and efficiency numbers. Because of topology choice, it is anticipated that only turns ratio variations will be required to match any navy load. CES hopes to demonstrate that a standard design practice can be employed to these dc transformers, like a traditional ac transformer. Ultimately, this topology will be transitioned to IFTP vendors for inclusion in military systems and CES will focus on integrating them within alternative energy systems for the electrical grid.