Solid state regulator and circuit breaker for high-power DC bus distributions

A method of regulating current and providing a circuit breaker to a circuit, the method comprising:

• forming an electric circuit between a first input voltage rail and a second input voltage rail, the electrical circuit including:
• a first bidirectional cell including a set of forward switches for power flow during a forward mode of operation and a set of reverse switches for providing reverse power flow during a reverse mode of operation,
• a first control inductor for controlling current flow during a reverse mode of operation, and
• an input terminal and an output terminal of a first bidirectional cell, the input terminal being connected to the first input voltage rail,
• a second bidirectional cell having an input terminal connected to the second input voltage rail and an output terminal,
• a first circuit branch connecting an output terminal of the second bidirectional cell to the first input voltage rail, the first circuit branch including a first clamping switch activated during the forward mode of operation,
• a second circuit branch connecting the second input voltage rail to the output terminal of the first bidirectional cell, the second circuit branch including a second clamping switch activated during the forward mode of operation,
• a third circuit branch connecting output terminal of the second bidirectional cell to the first input voltage rail, the third circuit branch including a second inductor and a third clamping switch is activated during the reverse mode of operation to allow current flow through the third circuit branch;
• a fourth circuit branch connecting the second input voltage rail to the output terminal of the first bidirectional cell, the fourth circuit branch including the first inductor and a fourth clamping switch activated during the reverse mode of operation to allow current flow through the fourth circuit branch and to act as an open circuit in at least the forward mode of operation;
• and
• controlling a timing of the first voltage clamping switch to regulate a power limit for a pulsed load.

An electric system, comprising:

• a circuit for power regulation and circuit breaking, the circuit including:
• a first bidirectional cell including a set of forward switches for power flow during a forward mode of operation and a set of reverse switches for providing reverse power flow during a reverse mode of operation;
• a first control inductor for controlling current flow during the reverse mode of operation;
• an input terminal and an output terminal of the first bidirectional cell, the input terminal being connected to a first input voltage rail;
• a second bidirectional cell having an input terminal connected to a second input voltage rail and an output terminal;
• a first circuit branch connecting an output terminal of the second bidirectional cell to the first input voltage rail, the first circuit branch including a first clamping switch active during the forward mode of operation;
• a second circuit branch connecting the second input voltage rail to an output terminal of the first bidirectional cell, the second circuit branch including a second clamping switch active during the forward mode of operation;
• a third circuit branch connecting output terminal of the second bidirectional cell to the first input voltage rail, the third circuit branch including a second inductor and a third clamping switch active during the reverse mode operation to provide the second inductor into the circuit;
• a fourth circuit branch connecting the second input voltage rail to the output terminal of the first bidirectional cell, the fourth circuit branch including the first inductor and a fourth clamping switch active during the reverse mode of operation to provide the first inductor into the circuit and remove the branch including the first control inductor from the circuit during the forward mode of operation;
• and
• a controller configured to control a turn-on timing of the first voltage clamping switch to regulate a power limit for a pulsed load.