Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) System with Adaptable Voltage Level Output

The proposed project will evaluate a variety of power electronic topologies of the interface between a micro SMES system and the dc side of commercially available ac inverters, in-line UPS systems, and variable speed drives. This assessment will be applicable to micro SMES systems with an energy storage of up to 10 MJ and power rating of up to about 5 MW. The range of 500 to 5,000 Vdc will be used in evaluating voltage level performance when connected to the micro SMES. In this proposed phase I effort, a matrix will be made to indicate the possible combinations of coil voltages and currents, inverter dc voltage levels and capacities, and dc-to-dc converters. Criteria such as predicted reliability, ease of up-and-down sizing to different power levels (modularity), efficiency, physical size and weight, ease of production and cost will be used to select an optimal design of the dc-to-dc interface. A report will be produced detailing this work.