Draft:Original research/Applications of power electronics

The applications of power electronics include public utilities.

Advanced electronics is applied to the distribution of electrical power such as electricity.

"Power electronics is the application of solid-state electronics to the control and conversion of electric power."

Electronics
Def. the "study and use of electrical devices that operate by controlling the flow of electrons or other electrically charged particles" is called electronics.

Power
Def. electricity "or a supply of electricity" is called power.

Power electronics
Power electronics is "the technology of efficiently converting electric power".

Capacitors
Def. an
 * 1) "electronic component capable of storing electrical energy in an electric field; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric" or
 * 2) "electronic component capable of storing an electric charge; especially one consisting of two conductors separated by a dielectric"

is called a capacitor.

"The double-layer capacitor (DLC) for power applications is a new device. A simple resistive capacitive equivalent circuit is insufficient to characterize its terminal behavior. [An] equivalent circuit [model consisting of three RC branches, one of them with a voltage-dependent capacitance may provide] the power electronics engineer with a model for the terminal behavior of the DLC."

HALEU-fueled fast breeder reactors
"An experimental nuclear reactor in Idaho could be the first of its kind in the United States: a commercial reactor providing power using fuel that reduces nuclear waste. The small power plant could power about 1,000 homes and can run almost autonomously for 20 years."

"Every scenario presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for keeping the planet from warming more than 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels, relies on nuclear providing a growing share of our electricity."

"At just 1.5 megawatts, the plant would be one of the smallest plants ever build—even during the early days of nuclear energy. The smallest exigent nuclear plant in the world produces 11 megawatts, and even Russia’s new floating power plant makes over 30. But the nondescript design looks like an A-frame house and would be easy to squeeze into many more locations than operating nuclear plants."

"In December, Oklo received a permit to begin building their new Aurora plant, which is the first and only permit ever issued in the U.S. to a nuclear plant using something other than a light water (“water-cooled”) reactor. The specific mix of fuel they plan to use is called HALEU for short: High-assay, low-enriched uranium."

"High-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) [...] promises to provide more power per volume than conventional reactors, and its efficiency allows for smaller plant sizes. It also promises longer core life and a higher burn-up rate of nuclear waste."

Processed "and treated used fuel recovered from the now-decommissioned Experimental Breeder Reactor-II (EBR-II) [will be] for use in the demonstration of its 1.5-MW fast reactor."

"High-assay, low-enriched uranium (HALEU) is nuclear fuel that is enriched to a higher degree (of between 5% and 20%) in the fissile isotope U-235. In comparison, the world’s current fleet of light water reactors (LWRs) typically uses fuel enriched to less than 5% U-235."

"HALEU promises to provide more power per volume than conventional reactors, and its efficiency allows for smaller plant sizes. It also promises longer core life and a higher burn-up rate of nuclear waste."

"According to the Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI), many advanced reactor concepts—including some micro-reactors (many smaller than 10 MW), high temperature gas reactors in the 100-MW to 200-MW range, and salt reactors—may require this type of fuel. HALEU could also be used in existing light water reactors. Though NEI suggests annual commercial requirements for HALEU could soar to a cumulative 185.5 metric tons annually, there is no current supply of HALEU. But because establishing a commercial supply of HALEU would require sufficient demand and a minimum of 7 years to develop fuel cycle infrastructure, the industry trade group has urged the DOE for years to tap into its access of high-enriched uranium and downblend it in the interim to supply HALEU for demonstration purposes. The DOE has heeded these calls and recently ramped up efforts to establish HALEU fuel production capability, noting that in the near future, it will be critical to U.S. leadership, as global competition heats up to design and build small modular reactors as well as larger non-LWR reactors."

Applications
"The applications of power electronics [is] in various dispersed generation units, in particular wind turbine generation systems and offshore wind farms, fuel cells and [photovoltaic] PV generators [...] power electronics is the enabling technology for dispersed power generation."

Automobiles
"Application of power electronics in automotive applications plays a major role in controlling automotive electronics. Automotive electronics include modern electric power steering, HEV main inverter, central body control, braking system, seat control, and so on."

"Applications of power electronics in automotive electrical and electronic systems includes high voltage systems, automotive power generation, switched mode power supply (SMPS), DC to DC converters, electric drives, traction inverter or DC to AC converter, power electronic component, high temperature requirement, application of SMPS in power train system, and so on. For example, consider a modern car, in which we can find many power electronic components such as ignition switch, control module, vehicle speed sensor, steering sensor and other components, as shown in [the figure on the right]."

Hypotheses

 * 1) Power electronics may be needed to propel a repellor vehicle.