• 한국신재생에너지학회:학술대회논문집
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.538-541
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• 2007

An expansion device plays an important role in optimizing the heat pumps by controlling refrigerant flow and balancing the system pressures. Conventional expansion devices are being gradually replaced with electronic expansion valves due to increasing focus on comfort, energy conservation, and application of a variable speed compressor. In addition, the amount of refrigerant charge in a heat pump is another primary parameter influencing system performance. In this study, the flow characteristics of the expansion devices are analyzed, and the effects of refrigerant charge amount on the performance of the heat pump are investigated at various operating conditions. Cooling capacity of the heat pump system is strongly dependent on load conditions. The heat pump system is very sensitive with a variation of refrigerant charge amount. But, the performance of it can be optimized by adjusting the flow rate through expansion device to maintain a constant superheat at all test conditions.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.775-785
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• 2015

Many equalization circuits have been proposed to improve pack performance and reduce imbalance. Although bidirectional equalization topologies are promising in these methods, pre-equalization global equalization strategy is lacking. This study proposes a novel state-of-charge (SoC) equalization algorithm for bidirectional equalizer based on particle swarm optimization (PSO), which is employed to find optimal equalization time and steps. The working principle of bidirectional equalization topologies is analyzed, and the reason behind the application of SoC as a balancing criterion is explained. To verify the performance of the proposed algorithm, a pack with 12 LiFePO4 batteries is applied in the experiment. Results show that the maximum SoC gap is within 2% after equalization, and the available pack capacity is enhanced by 13.2%. Furthermore, a comparison between previously used methods and the proposed PSO equalization algorithm is presented. Experimental tests are performed, and results show that the proposed PSO equalization algorithm requires fewer steps and is superior to traditional methods in terms of equalization time, energy loss, and balancing performance.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.11 no.6
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• pp.811-818
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• 2011

Modulation strategies for multilevel inverters have typically focused on synthesizing a desired set of sinusoidal voltage waveforms using a fixed number of dc voltage sources. This makes the average power drawn from different dc voltage sources unequal and time varying. Therefore, the dc voltage sources are unregulated and require that corrective control action be incorporated. In this paper, first two new selections are proposed for determining the dc voltage sources values for asymmetric cascaded multilevel inverters. Then two modulation strategies are proposed for the dc power balancing of these types of multilevel inverters. Using the charge balance control methods, the power drawn from all of the dc sources are balanced except for the dc source used in the first H-bridge. The proposed control methods are validated by simulation and experimental results on a single-phase 21-level inverter.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.33-34
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• 2016

This paper presents a load sharing method based on the low bandwidth communication (LBC) applied to a DC microgrid in order to balance the state of charge (SOC) of the battery units connected in parallel to the common bus. In this method, SOC of each battery unit is transferred to each other through LBC to calculate average SOC value. After that, droop coefficients of battery units are adjusted according to the difference between SOC of each unit and average SOC value of all batteries in the system. The proposed method can effectively balance the SOC of battery units in charging and discharging duration with a simple low bandwidth communication system.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.186-196
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• 2013

This paper presents a low voltage-stress AC-linked charge equalizing system for balancing the energy in a serially connected, valve-regulated lead acid battery string using a modular converter that consists of multiple transformers coupled together. Each converter was coupled through an AC-linked bus to increase the overall energy transfer efficiency of the system and to eliminate the problem of the unbalanced charging of batteries. Previous solutions are based on centralized and modularized topologies. A centralized topology requires a redesign of the hardware and related components. It also faces a high voltage stress when the number of batteries is expanded. Modularized solutions use low-voltage-stress, double-stage, DC-linked topologies which leads to poor energy transfer efficiency. The proposed solution uses a low-voltage stress, AC-linked, modularized topology that makes adding more batteries easier. It also has a better energy transfer efficiency. To ensure that the charge equalization system operates smoothly and safely charges batteries, a small intelligent microcontroller was used in the control section. The efficiency of this charge equalization system is 85%, which is 21% better than other low-voltage-stress DC-linked charging techniques. The validity of this approach was confirmed by experimental results.

• Journal of Industrial Technology
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• v.40 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2020

Lithium-ion cells have become the go-to energy source across all applications; however, dendritic growth remains an issue to tackle. While there have been various research conducted and possible solutions offered, there is yet to be one that efficiently rules out the problem without, however, introducing another. This paper seeks to present a fast charging method and system to which lithium-ion batteries are charged while maintaining their lifetime. In the proposed method, various lithium cells are charged under multiple profiles. The parameters of charge profiles that inflict damage to the cell's electrodes are obtained and used as thresholds. Thus, during charging, voltage, current, and temperature are actively controlled under these thresholds. In this way, dendrite formation suppressed charging is achieved, and battery life is maintained. The fast-charging system designed, comprises of a 1.5kW charger, an inbuilt 600W battery pack, and an intelligent BMS with cell balancing technology. The system was also designed to respond to the aging of the battery to provide adequate threshold values. Among other tests conducted by KCTL, the cycle test result showed a capacity drop of only 0.68% after 500 cycles, thereby proving the life maintaining capability of the proposed method and system.

• Journal of Biomedical Engineering Research
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• v.45 no.4
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• pp.173-178
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• 2024

We present an improved biphasic electrical nerve stimulator designed to overcome limitations. Traditional electrical nerve stimulators lacking a microcontroller unit (MCU) have restrictions in terms of frequency, pulse duration, and amplitude control, making them insufficient for medical applications requiring a broader range of pulse specifications. To address this, we developed a stimulator with enhanced capabilities. By not using an MCU, the design reduces power consumption and the required area, simplifying the overall design and increasing efficiency. In addition, our approach optimizes oscillator parameters to achieve wide frequency and pulse duration ranges. Specifically, we expanded the frequency range of the stimulator up to from 1 mHz to 100 kHz and the pulse duration up to from 5 ㎲ to 500 s. Improved amplitude control mechanisms were implemented for adjustable and high biphasic amplitudes. Furthermore, we added a balancing circuit to ensure proper discharging for tissue safety when biphasic pulses do not occur. The improved stimulator demonstrated an increase in operational range compared to traditional MCU-less designs, producing consistent biphasic pulses with adjustable amplitude and duration. The balancing circuit effectively managed discharging, reducing the risk of tissue damage and ensuring safety and efficacy.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2017.07a
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• pp.212-213
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• 2017

In this paper is presented a pre-charging sequence for single-phase cascaded neutal-point-clamped(NPC) converters for capacitors voltage balancing. capacitor imbalance problem in pre-charge sequence is caused in cascaded NPC converter by its topology. the DC link voltage at each NPC converter module can be balanced by the proposed switching method. the design and performance of the proposed sequence are verified by simulation and experimental results using prototype.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2017.07a
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• pp.347-348
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• 2017

This paper presents a new current balancing operation for LED using double-step-down dc-dc converter. The two output currents of the proposed converter can be balanced by charge balance condition although the two output resistances are different. In addition, voltage stresses of the switches of the proposed converter are lower than those of interleaved buck converter. To verify the operation of the proposed converter, simulation program is used.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.66 no.2
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• pp.292-299
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• 2017

In this paper, multiple ESS(Energy Storage System) control strategy for microgrids is presented. Installation of ESS becomes mandatory when microgrids are used to supply high quality power to the loads. The one of main functions of the ESS is to maintain power balance. However ESS has limitation of its capacity and instantaneous injecting power. Power allocation method based on SOC(State Of Charge) of each ESS is proposed. P-Q control is employed as the basic control strategy for the distributed ESSs. By using the proposed method, the coefficients in the conventional P-Q control method are modified. The ESSs with higher SOC inject more active power, while those with lower SOC inject less, leading to more balanced SOC levels among the ESSs. The proposed method is demonstrated by simulation using PSCAD/EMTDC.