Power Electronics demand appropriate heat dissipation to secure life span, reliability, and power density. Among several cooling methods, oil immersion is an efficient and cost effective one. Natural convection is the most reliable considering the lack of pumps and fans compared to others practical ways of immersion cooling. This paper brings a case study of a power electronics device submerged in an oil tank, the same one used for power transformers. Using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations and an experimental setup, the natural convection process is demonstrated as well as the better heat flow dissipation of oil immersion cooling.

Peak load shaving using energy storage systems has been the preferred approach to smooth the electricity load curve of consumers from different sectors around the world. These systems store energy during off-peak hours, releasing it for usage during high consumption periods. Most of the current solutions use solar energy as a power source and chemical batteries as energy storage elements. Despite the clear benefits of this strategy, the service life of the battery energy storage system (BESS) is a driving factor for economic feasibility. The present research work proposes the use of storage systems based on actively connected batteries with power electronics support. The proposed scheme allows the individualized control of the power flow, enabling the use of batteries with different ages, technologies or degradation states in a same BESS. The presented results show that overcoming inherent limitations found in passively connected battery banks makes it possible to extend the system’s useful life and the total amount of dispatched energy by more than 50%. Experimental tests on a bench prototype with electronified batteries are carried out to proof the central concept of the proposed solution. Computational simulations using collected data from a photovoltaic plant support the conclusions and discussions on the achieved benefits.

This paper presents a multidisciplinary review of electric arc furnace (EAF) and ladle furnace (LF) power plants in use for steel production. The EAF and LF systems comprise of critical electrical equipment that is prone to fail. Depending on the fault condition, a complete shutdown can emerge and consequently cause production loss. This paper presents, in view of an electrical system, each equipment that is needed in order to correctly operate an EAF and an LF. The state of art of each equipment is presented in this review, together with some discussion of the possible problems and solutions that can emerge in this kind of installation, including its impact on the steel production.