Called ‘GE&EL+ vAC/DC SiC’, Intepro describes it as: “The whole Cinergia catalogue in a single unit. [It] is both an ac and dc grid emulator, and can also works as a load [and] is ideal for testing solar panels, wind turbines, hardware-in-the-loop power, smart grids, batteries and electric vehicles.”
Inside the unit has a bidirectional power converter with a three-phase bridge of silicon carbide mosfets at each end and a bank of dc link capacitors in the middle.
While the nominal input side always expects to be connected to three-phase ac, the nominal output side can be set up for either ac or dc operation. Regenerative operation feeds feeding excess power at the output back to the grid side, for motor testing for example.
An internal DSP-based controller allows the unit to emulate real-world electrical grids in both normal and abnormal conditions including variations in voltage, frequency, phase angle and harmonics, as well as anomalies such as dips and flicker
“With its versatility and performance GE&EL+ vAC/DC SiC is a game-changer for the test and measurement industry,” claimed Intepro CEO Joe Engler.
Compared with an earlier silicon IGBT design that operated at 15kHz, this model uses silicon carbide mosfets and works at 60kHz. Cinergia claims: “The increase of the switching frequency is high enough to improve the current ripple three times and voltage ripple 2.75 times.”
Fundamental frequencies from 10Hz to 1kHz can be generated, and harmonics up to 5kHz controlled. The voltage·frequency limit is 230kVHz (allowing 230V at 1kHz) – the IGBT unit was limited to 46kVHz.
It comes in several physical forms, for example measuring 770 x 835 x 1,100mm and weighing 395kg.
