During February 29 – March 2, 2016, Research staff Drs. Aleksandar Dimitrovski and Zhi Li from Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), and research associates Drs. Jingxin Wang and Sheng Zheng from CURENT traveled to National Harbor, MD for the 7th annual ARPA-E Energy Innovation Summit. They showcased the Continuously Variable Series Reactor (CVSR) technology sponsored by ARPA-E. Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz and ARPA-E Director Ellen Williams both visited our booth.
The CVSR is intended for power flow control in a grid by controlling the reactance values. The varying reactance is achieved through changing the saturation level of the CVSR by injecting a DC current in a small separate winding on the same magnetic core with the main AC winding. The DC current is supplied by DC Controller (DCC) - a power electronics converter which is isolated from the power grid voltage and current. Compared with other power electronics based power flow controllers, CVSR can potentially have lower cost and higher reliability. CURENT’s responsibility on this project is DCC development and CVSR system impact study led by Drs. Fred Wang and Kevin Tomsovic, respectively. Drs. Daniel Costinett and Leon Tolbert are also on the team.
Above L to R: Jingxin Wang, Dr. Aleksandar Dimitrovski and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz
Above L to R: Sheng Zheng, Dr. Aleksandar Dimitrovski and Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz
