Converteam has built a DC architecture system at the test site in Whetstone, UK to demonstrate the feasibility of control and protection of DC power transmission systems. The development has been specifically targeted at marine applications with multiple generators operating in parallel.
The DC architecture team have developed the technology needed to reduce current levels under fault conditions using power electronics (a technique referred to as fold back) which then enables the breakers to be opened under minimal load conditions and the system automatically configured. Equipment size can be reduced accordingly, when compared with conventional DC systems.
The development of an advanced DC busbar is also part of this project, this is very compact, armored and with very low emissions. As well as size benefits of the DC system, fault levels and arc flash energy can be significantly reduced resulting in a far safer system.
The system has been fully modeled and the models validated with empirical results, this is extremely significant because having proved the modeling techniques we can now design with confidence systems for a wide variety of applications. The potential applications of this technology are enormous ranging from high power density marine applications to DC transmission of power ashore from offshore wind farms.