Line side crowbar for energy converter
AssigneeGeneral Electric Company
InventorsAllen Michael Ritter, Rafael Ignacio Bedia, Cyrus David Harbourt
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A line side crowbar circuit for an energy converter is disclosed. In one aspect there is a power unit that includes an energy converter; a transformer configured to transfer electrical energy generated from the energy converter to an electrical grid; and a crowbar coupled to the energy converter and the transformer that is configured to prevent an overvoltage event from damaging electrical components associated with the energy converter and the transformer.
Claims20
A power unit, comprising:
- an energy converter;
- a transformer configured to transfer electrical energy generated from the energy converter to an electrical grid;
- and
- a crowbar coupled to the energy converter and the transformer that is configured to prevent an overvoltage event from damaging electrical components associated with the energy converter and the transformer.
A wind power unit, comprising:
- at least one wind turbine that includes a nacelle housing a generator mounted on a tower and rotating blades attached to a rotating hub coupled to the nacelle;
- a transformer configured to transfer electrical energy generated from the at least one wind turbine to an electrical grid;
- a crowbar circuit, coupled at the base of the tower of the at least one wind turbine and at the transformer at a location that is proximate to the at least one wind turbine, that is configured to prevent an overvoltage event from damaging electrical components associated with the at least one wind turbine and the transformer;
- and
- a monitoring unit configured to activate operation of the crowbar circuit in response to determining that there is an overvoltage event occurring at the at least one wind turbine that has the potential to damage the electrical components associated with the wind turbine and transformer.
A method for preventing an overvoltage event from damaging a power generation unit having at least one energy converter and a transformer that transfers electrical energy generated from the at least one energy converter to an electrical grid, the method comprising:
- coupling a crowbar to the at least one energy converter and the transformer;
- monitoring the operation of the at least one energy converter and the transformer for a destructive current associated with the overvoltage event that is below a fuse interrupting current;
- and
- activating the crowbar in response to detecting that there is a destructive current associated with the overvoltage event.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.