Power Electronics Standards
Yuri Khersonsky IEEE, Sunnyvale, CA, United States
Abstract
As in any rapidly advancing technology, power electronics standards are the risk mitigation tool, which allow using collective practical experience of many generations of engineers. Knowledge of the standards accelerates acceptance of power electronics and allows doing things right from the first time. Typically, standards formulate what is required and should be considered leaving to user decisions how requirements of the standards are implemented.
Keywords
Power electronics; Communication; Control architecture; IEEE standards; Risk reduction; Power electronics standards; IEC standards; Mandatory standards
43.1 Introduction
Famous admiral Rickover often made the point that what was needed to get things done in the world of technology was engineering more than science. He also said: “Engineering is a profession which affects the material basis of everyone's life. To practice a profession one must have acquired mastery of an academic discipline as well as a technique for applying this special knowledge to the problems of everyday life. A profession is therefore intellectual in content, practical in application.”
Dr. Henry Petroski, specialist in failure analysis and professor of civil engineering at Duke University, put it in these words: “Engineers are not superhuman. That they make mistakes is forgivable; that they catch them is imperative. Thus it is the essence of modern engineering not only to be able to check one's own work but also to have one's work checked and to be able to check the work of others.”
As in any rapidly advancing technology, power electronics standards are the risk mitigation tool, which allow using collective practical experience of many generations of engineers. Knowledge of the standards accelerates acceptance of power electronics and allows doing things right from the first time. Typically, standards formulate what is required and should be considered leaving to user decisions how requirements of the standards are implemented.
43.2 General Review of Power Electronics Standards
All power electronics standards are application-specific and could be categorized as follows:
1. Recommended professional engineering standards developed by engineering societies, manufacturing associations, and testing laboratories
2. Mandatory regulation standards developed or adapted by country or local authorities for operation of power electronics in their area of jurisdiction
3. End user- or customer-specific standards mutually agreed by user and manufacturer.
The major international developers of power electronics engineering standards are the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA), and Underwriters Laboratories (UL). Each standard organization has its own procedures for developing standards:
• IEEE Working Groups develop standards through a consensus development process, which brings together volunteers representing varied viewpoints and interests to achieve the final product. These standards are approved only when a 75% consensus is reached. IEEE standards are creating technical base for customer's selection and acceptance of products and the technical base for codes, rules, and regulations by different enforcing and regulating authorities.
• IEC technical committees by specialists from participating countries develop IEC standards expressing an international consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects from all interested IEC National Committees having equal voting rights. Each participating country is responsible for enforcement of standards.
• NEMA technical committees of representatives from members of association develop NEMA standards. NEMA members are responsible for compliance with standards.
• UL specialists develop UL standards with inputs from manufacturers and consumers. Compliance with standards required for power electronics products liability insurance or by end users and consumers.
There are many standards for power electronics components, but the list of power electronics standards as an equipment is relatively short:
• IEEE Std 1100 (Emerald Book), IEEE Recommended Practice for Powering and Grounding Electronic Equipment
• IEEE Std 1303 Guide for Static Var Compensator Field Tests
• IEEE Std 1409 Guide for Application of Power Electronics for Power Quality Improvement on Distribution Systems Rated 1 kV Through 38 kV
• IEEE Std 1566 IEEE Standard for Performance of Adjustable Speed AC Drives Rated 375 kW and Larger
• IEEE Std 1515 IEEE Recommended Practice for Electronic Power Subsystems: Parameter Definitions, Test Conditions, and Test Methods
• IEEE Std. 1573 IEEE Recommended Practice for Electronic Power Subsystems: Parameters, Interfaces, Elements, and Performance
• IEEE Std 1585 IEEE Guide for the Functional Specification of Medium Voltage (1–35 kV) Electronic Series Devices for Compensation of Voltage Fluctuations
• IEEE Std 1662-2008 Guide for the Design and Application of Power Electronics in Electrical Power Systems on Ships
• IEEE Std 1676 IEEE Guide for Control Architecture for High Power Electronics (1 MW and Greater) Used in Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Systems
• IEEE Std 1688 Standard for requirements for the Control of Electromagnetic Interference Characteristics of Replaceable Electronic Modules
• IEC 60146, Semiconductor converters—Basic requirements: Part 1-1: Line Commutated converters and Part 1-2: Self-commutated semiconductor converters including d. c. converters
• IEC 61800 all parts, Adjustable speed electrical power drive systems
• ANSI/UL 347A Medium Voltage Power Conversion Equipment
• ANSI/UL 508C-2008 Power Conversion Equipment
• ANSI/UL 61800-5 all parts, Adjustable Speed Electrical Power Drive Systems
• NEMA Standards Publication ICS 1.1 Safety Guidelines for the Application, Installation, and Maintenance of Solid-State Control
• NEMA ICS 7.2 Application Guide for AC Adjustable Speed Drive Systems
• NEMA Standards Publication IC 10 Industrial Control and Systems Part 2: Static AC Transfer Equipment
• UL 1008S Standard for Solid-State Transfer Switches
43.3 Examples of IEEE Power Electronics Standards
43.3.1 IEEE Std 1662-2016 “Recommended Practice for the Design and Application of Power Electronics in Electrical Power Systems”
This standard was sponsored by the Industrial Applications Society (IAS) and cosponsored by the Power Electronics Society (PELS). The standard recommends that power electronics equipment should do the following:
• Take self-protection actions regardless of the status of communications by reflexive actions to maintain continuity of power.
• Respond to internal and downstream faults.
• Sustain communications and ability to perform control actions following a loss of input voltage to permit detection, isolation, and system reconfiguration following a casualty condition.
• Latch parameter values at the time of the fault and communicate status to higher-level outside controllers.
• Interact with other power electronics equipment for power flow management and fault handling.
• High-resistance grounding preferable on the source side of isolated and otherwise ungrounded three-wire, three-phase distribution systems with voltages over 1000 V and aggregated power above 1.5 MW.
• PE should have a minimum efficiency of 95% (5% total losses) at rated load condition. PE should be provided with an overload rating of 150% for 1 min.
Three sets of test recommended to be conducted on power electronics equipment:
• Type test—Test of one or more devices made to a certain design to demonstrate that the design meets certain specifications.
• Production test—A test conducted on every unit of equipment prior to shipment.
• Commissioning test—A test conducted when the equipment is installed to verify correct operation.
43.3.2 IEEE Std 1676-2010 “Guide for Control Architecture for High Power Electronics (1 MW and Greater) in Electric Power Transmission and Distribution Systems”
This standard sponsored by the IEEE Power Engineering Society (PES) recommends the use of Power Electronics Building Block (PEBB) concept in electric power systems. It recommends PEBB multilayer control architecture and states, for example:
• The interface between layers should be designed to enable layer modularity such that replacement of any layer should not induce modifications in other layers.
• The communication speed requirements at the lowest or hardware layer are the greatest and decline with each higher control layer.
• In order to preserve the hierarchical architecture, horizontal communication between layers should be avoided.
• It is also recommended that each converter have its own independent switch control to serve its hardware control.
43.3.3 IEEE Std 1826-2012 “IEEE Standard for Power Electronics Open System Interfaces in Zonal Electrical Distribution Systems Rated Above 100 kW”
This standard was sponsored by the Industrial Applications Society (IAS) and cosponsored by the Power Electronics Society (PELS). The standard applies in cases where power electronics is the interface between the zones and extends application of IEEE Standards 1662 and 1676. It states that each power electronics device attached to the power bus shall meet following criteria:
1. Each device shall conform to standard control and power interfaces.
2. Each device shall have functionality that lets it “play well” with other power electronics devices including having the same protection and safety features.
3. Each device shall be capable of information exchange and reconfiguration of the system in response to load demands, changes of the mission, or new technologies insertion.
Any standard is always available from standard publishers.
43.4 Conclusions
• The best definition of the importance of standards is the famous saying by Admiral Rickover: “You have to learn from the mistakes of others. You won't live long enough to make them all yourself.”
• Standards establish baseline for customer's selection and acceptance of products.
• Standards are collective practical experience of many generations of engineers. They are the best tools to avoid mistakes and do things right from the first attempt.
• Standards are risk reduction in applying new power electronics technologies by combining established industrial practices with the latest innovations and modern analytic tools.
• Standards are best defense from outrageous regulators demands and frivolous lawsuits.
• The latest editions of any standard are always available from the standard publisher.