LSU Electrical, Computer Engineering Professor Researches Hybrid Circuit Breaker
June 24, 2024
BATON ROUGE, LA – LSU Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Shahab Mehraeen is working on a bipolar hybrid direct current circuit breaker (DCCB) that generates a current zero crossing (i.e., point at which there is no voltage present) that reverses and re-routes the current, causing current decay with minimal arc.
The new DCCB employs a design that prevents over-voltages across the breaker contacts, reducing stress across the switches and other components, making it so that the fault energy can be partially sent back to the direct current (DC) source. In addition, the design ensures reduced arc, or discharge of high current between conductors through an air gap, making it safer for operation in the presence of a human.
“Experimental and simulation results have proven the performance of the bipolar hybrid circuit breaker in current breaking and rapid fault interruption with no significant arc between the breaker contacts,” Mehraeen said.
Benefits of the DCCB include improved DC grid reliability, protection from short circuiting by rapid current interruption via creating artificial current zero crossing, reduced arc and providing user safety, low-cost production and reduced size compared to other hybrid DCCBs that utilize bulky inductors, energy loss reduced without use of complex control and energy conservation methods, and increased life span and decreased maintenance costs.
The new DCCB is marketable to low- and high-voltage DC power grids, as well as green energy resources such as wind farms, solar panels, and tidal wave generators. It is also useful for multi-terminal DC systems.
Mehraeen is working with LSU’s Office of Innovation & Technology Commercialization (ITC) on patenting this DCCB.
About LSU ITC
LSU ITC protects and commercializes LSU’s intellectual property. The office focuses on transferring early-stage inventions and works into the marketplace for the greater benefit of society. ITC also handles federal invention reporting, which allows LSU to receive hundreds of millions of dollars each year in federally funded research, and processes confidentiality agreements, material transfer agreements, and other agreements related to intellectual property.
Like us on Facebook (@lsuengineering) or follow us on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram (@lsuengineering).
###
Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Manager
225-578-4840
ehaydel1@lsu.edu
Latest College of Engineering News
- LSU Student Team’s FarmSmart App Helps Farmers Manage Crops, Weeds With AITeam to compete in the SEC Student Pitch Competition on October 17, hosted by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, this week.Farmsmart logoLSU students and alumni have created a new, AI-powered tool called FarmSmart that puts decades of LSU AgCenter research right under the green thumbs of Louisiana’s farmers. With a few clicks on their smartphones or computers, farmers and gardeners can quickly access actionable intelligence on how to best manage their crops and get rid of weeds.
- LSU ChE PhD Student's Paper Published on CO2 ReductionOctober 15, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - Monsuru Dauda, a third-year Ph.D. student in the LSU Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, has had a very busy 2024. He's co-authored five research conference papers and been lead author on another two, the most recent being published in the Journal of The Electrochemical Society. This latest publication brings his total for the year to seven.
- LSU CS Professor Designs Reliable App for Public Professor and Course EvaluationsOctober 8, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - With so much information on the Internet these days, it's hard to know what is accurate. Pretty much anyone can post a review on a product, service, or even a college professor, but who's to say this is reliable information? Wanting to improve the process of rating a college professor online, LSU Computer Science Professor Nash Mahmoud created an app called Professor Index, which is set to transform how college students evaluate and select professors and courses.
- LSU Chemical Engineering Team Researching New Production Method for Clean HydrogenOctober 3, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - A team of LSU Chemical Engineering researchers is exploring a cheaper, alternative means of producing "clean hydrogen," and its doing it, in part, through the use of formate salts widely used in de-icing.
- ECE's Vaidyanathan Named IEEE Life MemberOctober 1, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Ramachandran Vaidyanathan was recently awarded Life Member designation by the Institute of Electrical and Electronical Engineers (IEEE). It's his second honor from the organization in three years, as he was previously named in the first class of IEEE's Computer Society Distinguished Contributors.
- CEE's Mohammad Receives Lifetime Honor From ASCEOctober 1, 2024BATON ROUGE, LA - LSU Civil and Environmental Engineering Professor Louay Mohammad has been awarded the prestigious 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Louisiana Section--Baton Rouge branch. The honor recognizes his contributions to the field of civil engineering, significant service to ASCE, and unwavering commitment to integrity and technical excellence.