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R&D100
Awards
For
42 years, the prestigious R&D 100 Awards, sponsored
by R&D
Magazine, have been helping companies provide
the important initial push a new product needs
to compete successfully in the marketplace.
The
winning of an R&D 100 Award provides a mark
of excellence known to industry, government,
and academia as proof that the product is one
of the 100 most technologically significant
new products of the year.
The DOE ESS Program has received three R&D 100 Awards and one I-R Award since 1984.
2003 R&D 100 Award
Emitter
Turn-Off (ETO) Thyristor Switch: an inexpensive,
high power/high speed, semiconductor switch
for use in high power converters requiring
elevated current and reverse voltage blocking
capabilities.
Fiber
Optic Electrical Current Transducer: an optical
current sensor that measures current, magnetic
fields, and ambient/conductor temperature
in high-power applications with increased
safety, isolation, and lower installation
costs than conventional technologies.
1997 R&D 100 Award
PQ2000
Power Quality System: an easily installed
power source that delivers up to 2,000,000
watts for 30 seconds…and it can easily
become mobile!
1984 I-R 100 Award
Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage: Development and construction of a 10MVA liquid helium cooled Superconducting Magnetic Energy Storage (SMES) device by Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and deployment to stabilize the 900 mile, ac intertie between BPA and Southern California. (ref: LANL Publication)
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Emitter Turn-Off (ETO) Thyristor Switch (PDF)
is an inexpensive, high power/high
speed, semiconductor switching tool that can
be used in systems requiring elevated current
and reverse voltage blocking, such as the nation’s
power infrastructure.
It
was conceived and developed through the joint
efforts of Solitronics, Blacksburg, Va., Virginia
Polytechnic Institute and State Univ., Blacksburg,
DOE Energy Storage Program/Sandia, Albuquerque,
N.M., and American Competitiveness Institute,
Philadelphia, Pa.
Combining
both a metal-oxide semiconductor field effect
transistor (MOSFET) and a gate turn-off thyristor
(GTO), this product can be easily integrated
in series and parallel connections. With an
embedded current sensing capability, it provides
snubberless turn-off capacity and rapid switching
speed. The elimination of a snubber capacitor,
which is required in a conventional GTO to shield
it during turn-off, saves energy on a resistor,
minimizing size and cost. Additionally, its
rapid switching enables the regulation of high
frequency pulse width modulation in power electronics
conditioning systems.
For
more information contact: Stan
Atticity.
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Fiber
Optic Electrical Current Transducer
Developed
by Airak, Inc., Manassas, Va.,
PPI, Ashburn, Va., and the U.S.
Dept. of Energy, Washington,
D.C., the FOECT measures the
magnetic field surrounding, or
current flowing through, a conductor,
while simultaneously providing
temperature readings. It is designed
to replace existing current transducers
in applications ranging from
monitoring load currents in electrical
power lines to providing feedback
information in high-energy power
electronic converters.
Unlike
the usual measurement devices,
it is not necessary to completely
encircle the conductor that is
being monitored. Rather than perform
an integration of the magnetic
field, the sensor samples a point
in the field using an optical crystal
at a predetermined location. The
strength of the magnetic field
is measured through Faraday rotation
of the polarized state and temperature
is extracted from fluctuations
in the rotation angle.
Airak's transducer has a bandwidth that exceeds 30 MHz; by tailoring the Faraday crystal composition, this rate can reach at least as high as 700 MHz. It can measure a steady-state DC offset in a magnetic field or current while reporting an AC magnetic field or current, and is capable of operating to 19.2 kV, with no additional requirements for insulation, isolation, or cooling.
For
more information contact: Stan
Atticity.
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PQ2000
Power Quality System
Every year, short duration
voltage surges, sags, and momentary
power losses cause billions of dollars
in losses for American manufacturers.
They last for periods of less than
one 60 Hz cycle (16 milliseconds) up
to 10-seconds and can be caused by
events as varied as routine electrical
power transients, lightning strikes
or faults on the utility distribution
system.
For
years, multiple small-scale batteries
were sufficient as uninterruptible
power supply systems to protect selected,
critical loads in a manufacturing
line. However, current industrial
facilities contain networks of
broadly distributed, critical electronic
loads, the type most affected by
power quality problems. These networked
systems require a large-scale backup
power source on the order of 200
kilowatts to several megawatts.
Omnion Power Engineering Corp (the Power Engineering Div. of S&C Electric) successfully developed such a power source, and it can be easily mobile. The Mobile PQ2000, developed in partnership with Sandia National Laboratories and under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Energy, can deliver up to two million watts of power for a period of 30 seconds. It has switching speeds of less than four milliseconds, which means power can be transferred from the utility grid to the PQ2000 in less than one quarter of a 60-hertz cycle, well below the sensitivity levels of modern electronic equipment.
Batteries
have been used for many years in uninterruptible
power supply (UPS) sys-tems to protect
critical loads. However, because many
new industrial facilities contain networks
of broadly distributed critical loads,
a large scale backup power source on
the order of 200 kilowatts to several
megawatts is needed to support the total
plant rather than relying on multiple
small scale UPS dedicated to selected
critical loads.
Mounted on a trailer, Mobile PQ2000 can be easily moved and installed at a plant experiencing serious power quality problems, where it then supplies high quality back-up power to a customer’s entire site, not just to localized areas within the plant.
In its first application, Mobile PQ2000
protected a polymer fabrication plant
at S&C Electric in Chicago. Over
the first two years of its operation,
the system corrected a dozen faults
that would have shut down the plant.
At the estimated cost for each shutdown,
this resulted in a one-year payoff
for the Mobile PQ2000. S&C is currently
marketing stationary versions of
this system under the trade name
Purewave.™
For
more information contact: Garth
Corey
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