Our final 2020 virtual Technical Meeting was held with Dr Husain from the FREEDM Systems Center at North Carolina State University  where engineers are developing solid-state transformers that promise to make the electrical grid more reliable and also to facilitate renewable energy such as wind and solar. 

Dr Husain described how transformers are entering the world of electronics because they are becoming more powerful and smaller all the time.

The Future Renewable Electric Energy Delivery and Management (FREEDM) Systems Center recently conducted a study using computer models to find that smart solid-state transformers (SSTs) could be used to create a stable, reliable smart electrical grid. This could go a long way in not only increasing the reliability of the grid but also enabling solar and wind energy to function smoothly on our grid. Dr. Husain described the various types of electronics that are being used with transformer to maintain their power transformation capabilities, while also providing protection, harmonics removal, accommodation of both AC and DC loads and energy sources, and bi-directional power flow. Using a high-side rectifier to convert AC to DC, followed by a half bridge DC-DC converter, and a DC/AC inverter, with parallel capacitors between the components, these solid state components can provide access to bidirectional power for both DC and AC needs. Challenges exist, including developing appropriate gate drivers, extending the service live of the components, as well as power supply capacitances and high common-mode coupling currents. 

Dr. Iqbal Husain joined the ECE department at North Carolina State University as a Distinguished Professor after serving as a faculty member at the University of Akron, Ohio for seventeen years. He obtained his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from Texas A&M University, College Station, TX in 1993.

Dr. Husain’s research interests are in the areas of control and modeling of electrical drives, design of electric machines, development of power conditioning circuits, microinverters for distributed power generation, inverter controls for grid synchronization, and modeling of electric and hybrid vehicle systems. He has worked extensively on the development of SR and PM motor drives for various automotive and industrial applications. The research contributions on electric machines are in the areas of design optimizations, sensor-less and high-performance controls, acoustic noise prediction, and parameter identification methods. The primary application of Dr. Husain’s work is in the transportation, automotive, and aerospace industries. As a result of this exposure, Dr. Husain has developed courses for graduate and undergraduate education in electric and hybrid vehicles, and published the textbook Electric and Hybrid Vehicles: Design Fundamentals.