Experimental results and design guidelines derived from the testing of a 2 MW, 250 Hz, auxiliary resonant commutated pole bi-directional converter

An auxiliary resonant commutated pole (ARCP) converter, rated for an output of 2 MW at 250 Hz, has been built and has undergone preliminary tests at the University of Texas at Austin Center for Electromechanics (UT-CEM). Experimental results are reported on its testing as the bi-directional link between a power DC bus and a flywheel energy storage system. Design issues encountered in the course of development of the converter and the system are discussed and some considerations are made regarding the application of soft-switching ARCP-type converters versus their hard-switched counterpart.