High Speed, Medium Voltage Direct Current Isolation Device

摘要

Future Navy vessels will have significantly increased power demands compared to ships of similar size today. Advanced architectures for Medium Voltage Direct Current (MVDC) will likely be needed to effectively move generated power to both propulsion and advanced weapons and sensors. MVDC architecture requires technologies to quickly open and clear faults while isolating faulted parts of the system. IAP Research, Inc. specializing in electromagnetic launchers, advanced materials, and power electronics, is developing a compact, ultra-high speed isolation device (disconnect) for MVDC architectures targeting future ship upgrades and new construction. The work presented here is conducted under a Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) project sponsored by PMS320, the Navy's Electric Ships Office. The concept utilizes electromagnetic forces to launch the moving contacts at high speeds and then catch them with enough separation maintained to withstand the system voltage. The voltage isolation is maintained by placing the contacts in a high pressure bottle, which allows separation between the stationary and moving contacts to a distance similar to low voltage application, allowing for a compact device. This paper will present the concept and the results of preliminary tests that shows the feasibility and demonstrate the capability of isolating faulted circuit in few hundred microseconds.