Isolated Power Converter Stacked Copper Bars
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional isolated power converters experience reduced reliability and efficiency due to large gaps between copper bars, leading to increased heating and eddy current losses from high-frequency currents, which affects the effective current-carrying capacity and overall performance.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves an electrical connection structure where secondary winding output bus bars and rectifier circuit input bus bars are insulated and stacked copper bars without gaps, allowing for overlapping connections that cancel high-frequency magnetic fields and increase the effective current-carrying area, reducing heating and improving reliability and efficiency.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If large gaps are maintained between bare copper bars for safety, then electrical insulation is improved, but current-carrying capacity and reliability deteriorate due to reduced flow capacity and severe heating
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides each copper bar into multiple parallel sub-bars (first copper bar divided into first sub-bars, second copper bar divided into second sub-bars). This segmentation increases the total surface area and current-carrying capacity while maintaining safety gaps between different potential copper bars. The subdivided structure allows current to distribute across multiple pathways, reducing heating in each individual sub-bar.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a single-plane copper bar arrangement to a multi-dimensional stacked configuration where first sub-bars and second sub-bars are arranged in overlapping layers. This dimensional change allows current to flow through multiple spatial pathways simultaneously, increasing effective current-carrying area without requiring larger gaps between bars, thus reducing heating while maintaining insulation.
2Reliability
If large gaps are maintained between bare copper bars, then safety insulation is improved, but conversion efficiency deteriorates due to eddy current losses in surrounding metal
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting copper bars into multiple sub-bars with distributed arrangement, the patent reduces concentrated eddy current paths in surrounding metal. The fragmented current distribution minimizes large-loop eddy currents that cause energy losses, while still maintaining adequate insulation gaps for safety.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces insulating structures (insulating layers or insulating blocks) as intermediaries between copper bars and surrounding metal components. These intermediaries prevent direct coupling that would induce eddy currents, reducing energy losses while allowing safety gaps to be optimized.
3Speed
If skin effect is considered in high-frequency current, then frequency response is improved, but effective current-carrying area of bare copper bar is greatly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides each copper bar into multiple thin sub-bars, where each sub-bar's thickness is optimized for high-frequency current distribution. This segmentation increases the total effective current-carrying surface area while maintaining appropriate thickness-to-width ratios that minimize skin effect losses, thereby improving high-frequency response.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent arranges sub-bars in a multi-layer stacked configuration, utilizing the vertical dimension to increase effective current-carrying area. This three-dimensional arrangement allows current to utilize surface areas of multiple layers, effectively combating skin effect limitations and improving high-frequency current carrying capacity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration enhances the reliability and efficiency of the isolated power converter by preventing overheating, reducing eddy current losses, and increasing the effective current-carrying capacity of the copper bars, resulting in a more reliable and efficient power conversion process.
Implementation Method 1
Due to the skin effect of a high-frequency current outputted from the high-frequency transformer, an effective current-carrying area of the bare copper bar is greatly reduced
Implementation Method 2
The high-frequency current may result in a high-frequency alternating magnetic field which further results in an induced eddy current in metal around the gap
Implementation Method 3
The high-frequency current may result in a high-frequency alternating magnetic field which further results in an induced eddy current in metal around the gap
Data Source
AI summary
An isolated power converter and a hydrogen production system are provided. An electrical connection structure in the isolated power converter includes N secondary winding output bus bars, N rectifier circuit input bus bars, and a positive-negative bus bar, where N is greater than or equal to 1. A secondary winding may include M tapping points, and the secondary winding output bus bar and the rectifier circuit input bus bar that correspond to the secondary winding each include M copper bars that are insulated and stacked. The M tapping points of the secondary winding overlap the M copper bars of the secondary winding output bus bar at input ends of the M copper bars, respectively. The positive-negative bus bar includes two copper bars that are insulated and stacked.