A new Z-source inverter that responds to electrical faults 1,000 times faster than traditional methods, aims to enhance power grid stability and prevent disasters like wildfires caused by downed power lines. Credit: SciTechDaily.com
He was in middle school when his remote Chinese hometown first received electric service. His family shared a single portable, 15-watt light bulb attached to a cable. It was his job to replace the bulb. Fang Peng, Distinguished Professor in Engineering In Electrical and Computer Engineering at the FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. Credit: Mark Wallheiser/FAMU-FSU College of Engineering, he shows how a semiconductor device he created, named a Z-source inverter, can rapidly reduce voltage and current in the case of a short-circuit or open-circuit fault.
“The purpose of our study is to make the energy source more responsive to the loading condition,” Peng said. “If there is an unexpected large current, we want to reduce the voltage to a safe range to prevent fires. Traditional generators keep generating a constant voltage regardless of the current.”Peng’s solution can be used to retrofit existing infrastructure to make it safer.
Much of the electric grid in the United States was built and expanded in the 1960s and 1970s. Along with fires from downed power lines, aging infrastructure poses other problems, such as power outages or vulnerability to cyberattacks.