An immediate release of energy may be achieved with pulsed power systems, which acquire and store energy for a pre-determined length of time.
The development of these technologies has a strong connection to the nuclear age. Other military weapons, such as radar and rail guns, were developed in the mid-20th century using pulsed power systems.
X-ray machines, MRI machines, and fossil fuel manufacturing equipment based on Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) were all made possible by pulsed power systems during the 20th century.
Cullen College Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Harish Krishnamoorthy is leading a team of researchers at the University of Houston that is now attempting to create a new generation of ultra-compact pulsed power systems.
IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics released a study proposing a mini-pulsed power system capable of reducing the size of energy storage components like capacitors while yet supplying a powerful burst of power when needed. Pulsed power systems used in crucial applications like radar can be reduced in size by a factor of 10, according to a new report.
A $1 million grant from ARPA-E, the Department of Energy’s advanced research projects agency for energy, was recently given to the team for the development of a gallium nitride (GaN)-based miniaturised pulsed power system based on their innovative pulsed power system architecture. Sub-recipients of the award, Harvard University and Schlumberger, will collaborate with Krishnamoorthy’s team.
“Initially we’ll make a compact pulsed power supply for extreme environment fluid characterization that can disruptively reduce the cost of downhole well logging tools used in fossil and geothermal energy production. This will be followed by a miniaturized converter suitable for mobile hand-held MRI machines. However, we think that we can extend our technology to make small water-purification systems, pulsed laser systems and pulsed electro-magnetic radiation sources,” said Krishnamoorthy. Doctoral student Yu Yao is the paper’s lead author.
“We’re essentially creating a small high-density energy storage machine that will help with reducing the space these machines use, which will save hundreds of thousands of dollars in material costs and improve their reliability,” Krishnamoorthy added.