DC Bus Mesh Architecture for Fault-Tolerant Data Center Power
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current data centers predominantly use AC power distribution, which is less efficient and less environmentally friendly compared to DC power distribution, despite the recognized advantages of DC power distribution, due to a lack of suitable architectures for critical loads.
Innovation Solution
A DC power distribution architecture featuring a mesh-grid configuration with multiple DC sources, buses, and load combiners, where protection devices selectively disconnect faulty or overloaded buses and sources to ensure redundancy and efficient power distribution without additional actively controlled switching, allowing operational buses to handle increased power without additional switching.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of energy
If AC power distribution is used in data centers, then the system is widely compatible and easily implemented, but power conversion efficiency is reduced due to multiple AC-DC conversion steps
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the power distribution into multiple independent DC buses (first DC bus, second DC bus, third DC bus) that can operate independently. Each bus is protected by its own protection device, allowing granular control and isolation of faults while maintaining overall system efficiency through direct DC power delivery without repeated AC-DC conversions
Solution Approach 2:
The load combiner acts as an intermediary device that receives power from multiple DC buses and distributes it to loads. It includes protection devices that selectively isolate faulty buses while maintaining power flow from healthy buses, enabling efficient power distribution with built-in fault tolerance without requiring complex active control switching
2Reliability
If DC power distribution is implemented, then power conversion efficiency is improved by eliminating AC-DC conversion steps, but system reliability and redundancy are compromised without appropriate architectural design
Solution Approach 1:
Each DC bus is equipped with its own protection device that operates independently to detect and isolate faults on that specific bus. The load combiner also includes protection devices that provide localized protection at the load interface. This distributed protection approach ensures that a fault on one bus does not propagate to other buses, maintaining system reliability while using relatively simple protection circuitry
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates redundant DC buses and protection devices that are pre-configured to handle fault conditions. When a fault is detected on any bus, the protection devices automatically isolate the faulty bus before it can affect other parts of the system. The redundant buses are ready to immediately supply power, providing cushioning against failures without requiring complex real-time control switching
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple DC buses are used with protection devices, then fault isolation and redundancy are improved, but the system complexity and number of components increase
Solution Approach 1:
The protection devices are designed with multi-functionality, serving both as fault detection mechanisms and as isolation switches. The load combiner structure provides universal interfaces that can connect multiple DC buses to multiple loads, and the same protection devices handle both overcurrent protection and fault isolation functions. This reduces the need for separate dedicated components for each function, managing complexity while maintaining high fault tolerance capability
Data Source
AI summary
Some embodiments provide a DC power distribution system that includes a plurality of DC sources coupled to a plurality of DC buses via respective protection devices that are configured to selectively cause an open-circuit between the DC source and the respective DC bus in the event of a fault or overload condition on the respective DC bus. The plurality of DC buses are coupled to a load combiner, and the system is configured to supply power in parallel from the DC sources via the plurality of DC buses to at least one DC/DC step-down converter via the load combiner, which combines the power supplied via the plurality of DC buses. The DC buses, load combiner, and the DC power sources are configured such that the total maximum load current is capable of being supplied via less than all of the plurality of DC buses in the event that any one of the DC buses is non-operational.