Systems and methods for overvoltage protection of power converters

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9684328-B2
Application number	US-201213724861-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 21, 2012
Priority date	Dec 21, 2012
Publication date	Jun 20, 2017
Grant date	Jun 20, 2017

Abstract

A system includes an excitation system configured to regulate one or more outputs of a power generating system. The excitation system includes a power conversion module (PCM). The PCM includes a direct current (DC) link, a plurality of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) configured to generate an output to the system, and a nonlinear resistor configured to limit a voltage of the DC link to a predetermined threshold.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A system, comprising:
an excitation system configured to regulate one or more outputs of a power generating system, wherein the excitation system comprises:
a power conversion module (PCM) comprising:
a direct current (DC) link;

a plurality of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) configured to generate an output to excite the power generating system; and
a nonlinear resistor configured to limit a voltage of the DC link to a predetermined threshold when the excitation system is operating in a reverse voltage mode or in a non-operating mode each distinct from operation of the excitation system in a forward voltage mode.

2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined threshold is less than or equal to a maximum voltage rating of the DC link.

3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the excitation system further comprises a power output module (POM) communicatively coupled to the nonlinear resistor.

4. The system of claim 3 , wherein the POM comprises a diode communicatively coupled to the nonlinear resistor, wherein the diode is configured to reduce a current associated with the nonlinear resistor.

5. The system of claim 3 , wherein the POM comprises a thermal sensor communicatively coupled to the nonlinear resistor, wherein the thermal sensor is configured to detect an operating temperature of the nonlinear resistor.

6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the nonlinear resistor is configured to singularly protect the DC link from overvoltage damage.

7. The system of claim 1 , wherein the nonlinear resistor is configured to limit the voltage of the DC link up to a user-configurable voltage threshold value.

8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the excitation system is configured to operate in the forward voltage mode, the reverse voltage mode, and the non-operating mode, wherein, in the forward voltage mode, the nonlinear resistor is configured to sustain a first resistance value, and in the reverse voltage mode and the non-operating mode, the nonlinear resistor is configured to sustain a second resistance value to limit the voltage of the DC link.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the nonlinear resistor is configured to sustain the second resistance value when the voltage of the DC link exceeds a lower voltage threshold of the nonlinear resistor.

10. The system of claim 8 , wherein the second resistance value of the nonlinear resistor is less than the first resistance value of the nonlinear resistor.

11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the nonlinear resistor comprises a varistor, a thermistor, a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resistor, or a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) resistor.

12. A system, comprising:
an enclosure, comprising:
an excitation system configured to regulate one or more voltages of a power generating system, wherein the excitation system comprises:
a power conversion module (PCM) comprising:
a direct current (DC) link;

a plurality of insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) configured to generate an output to excite the power generating system; and
a power output module (POM) comprising a nonlinear resistor configured to limit a voltage of the DC link to a predetermined threshold when the excitation system is operating in a reverse voltage mode or in a non-operating mode each distinct from operation of the excitation system in a forward voltage mode.

13. The system of claim 12 , wherein the POM comprises a diode communicatively coupled to the nonlinear resistor, wherein the diode is configured to reduce a current associated with the nonlinear resistor during the forward voltage mode.

14. The system of claim 12 , wherein the POM comprises a thermal sensor communicatively coupled to the nonlinear resistor, wherein the thermal sensor is configured to detect an operating temperature of the nonlinear resistor.

15. The system of claim 12 , wherein the nonlinear resistor is configured to singularly protect the DC link from overvoltage damage.

16. The system of claim 12 , wherein the excitation system is configured to operate in a forward voltage mode, a reverse voltage mode, and a non-operating mode, wherein, in the forward voltage mode, the nonlinear resistor is configured to sustain a first resistance value, and in the reverse voltage mode and the non-operating mode, the nonlinear resistor is configured to sustain a second resistance value to limit the voltage of the DC link.

17. The system of claim 16 , wherein the nonlinear resistor is configured to sustain the second resistance value when the voltage of the DC link exceeds a lower voltage threshold of the nonlinear resistor.

18. A system, comprising:
an excitation system comprising a power conversion module (PCM) and a power output module (POM) configured to regulate one or more outputs of a power generating system, wherein the POM includes a nonlinear resistor configured to:
detect one or more voltage values associated with a direct current (DC) link of the PCM; and
limit the one or more voltage values of the DC link to a predetermined threshold when the detected one or more voltage values exceeds a characteristic threshold of the nonlinear resistor in a reverse voltage mode or in a non-operating mode each distinct from operation of the excitation system in a forward voltage mode.

19. The system of claim 18 , wherein the POM comprises a diode and a thermal sensor communicatively coupled to the nonlinear resistor, and wherein the diode is configured to reduce a current associated with the nonlinear resistor, and wherein the thermal sensor is configured to detect an operating temperature of the nonlinear resistor.

20. The system of claim 18 , wherein the nonlinear resistor comprises a varistor, a thermistor, a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) resistor, or a negative temperature coefficient (NTC) resistor, and wherein the characteristic threshold comprises a voltage threshold, a current threshold, or a temperature threshold.

Assignees

• Gen Electric

Inventors

• Casteel Jordan Brantley

Classifications

• H02M5/45

  using semiconductor devices only · CPC title

• H02M1/32

  Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection · CPC title

• Y10T307/406

  Cross-Sectional Technologies · mapped topic

• G05F3/02 Primary

  Regulating voltage or current · CPC title