Time: Friday, March 25 from 1:00 PM - 1:50 PM EST

Location: Via ZOOM ,  download calendar file

Presenter: Dr. Fei Lu, Drexel University

Title: High Efficiency Solid State Circuit Breaker for MVDC System Applications

Abstract: This presentation introduces recent progresses in medium voltage solid state circuit breakers (SSCBs) for power grid protection. In an SSCB, wide bandgap (WBG) semiconductor devices are utilized to achieve high efficiency, fast response speed, and high power density. Through the design of energy absorbing circuits, the SSCB is able to interrupt high current faults in MVDC systems with high reliability. As a design example, a 4kV/100A SSCB prototype is implemented and tested based on the latest silicon carbide (SiC) power modules and a symmetrical busbar structure. It can successfully turn off both load current and fast-rising fault current with the efficiency of 99.96%. This presentation will cover the critical considerations and technical breakthroughs in implementing SSCB systems.

Biography:  Dr. Fei Lu is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Drexel University. He received the B.S. and M.S. degree from Harbin Institute of Technology, China, in 2010 and 2012, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree from University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, in 2017, all in electrical engineering. Previously, he was a postdoctoral research associate in San Diego State University from 2017 to 2018.

His research focuses on the high efficiency power electronics technology leveraging the next generation wide bandgap semiconductor devices, especially for electric vehicles wireless charging and solid-state circuit breaker applications. His research has received three Best Journal Paper Awards from the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and two additional conference awards.

Watch the recorded seminar

Upcoming CURENT Power and Energy Seminars

March 18 - Spring Break, no seminar

March 25 - Fei Lu - High Efficiency Solid State Circuit Breaker for MVDC System Applications

April 1 - Timothy Fritch, TVA - Solar Overview

April 8 - Le Xie, Texas A&M - An Open-access Cross-domain Approach to Analyzing the Impact of Extreme Events on the Electricity Sector: What We Learned from COVID-19 and 2021 Texas Winter Outage

April 15 - Spring Break, no class

April 22 - Agasthya Ayachit, Mercedes Benz - eDrive Platforms and Power Electronics

April 29 - Natt Praisuwanna & Pay Kritprajun, University of Tennessee - Fault detection in inverter based grids / reactive power allocation among PV inverters

May 6 - Rupy Sawhney, University of Tennessee - People-Centric Operational Excellence Model

May 10 - Joe Zhou, Kettering University - Energy Storage Systems