On the use of switched-capacitor multi-level inverters for electro-aerodynamic thrust applications

Author(s)
O'Meara, Suzanne B.
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
Advisor
David J. Perreault.
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Abstract
A prototype HV DC-AC power converter was designed and tested for use on the dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) section of a decoupled thruster on an electro-aerodynamic(EAD) thrust plane application. The converter was a switched-capacitor multi-level inverter(SCMLI) capable of generating a variety of AC waveform shapes. The power draw of the DBD and the DC corona discharge current were measured for each waveform at a DBD voltage of 6kVpp and 10kHz, and used to estimate the thrust to DBD power characteristics of each waveform. The estimated thrust to DBD power for a sine wave and sawtooth wave were >76% higher than for a pulse wave, and >19% higher than for a square wave, indicating that a sine or sawtooth wave generating circuit such as a SCMLI may be a good choice for EAD flight applications.
Description
Thesis: M. Eng., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, May, 2020
 
Date of graduation confirmed by MIT Registrar Office. Cataloged from student-submitted PDF of thesis. "May 2020."
 
Includes bibliographical references (pages 87-88).
 
Date issued
2020
URI
https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/130195
Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Publisher
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Keywords
Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.
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