Impact of modularity and redundancy in optimising the reliability of power systems that include a large number of power converters

Abstract

CERN is working on a new particle accelerator that will require a very large number of power converters. In that view, the reliability of the whole powering will be a major issue. The use of a redundancy and modularity may help increasing the overall machine availability. However, the reliability of the redundancy system must be high enough to add a significant improvement when compared to simple module systems. This paper suggests a comparative study of several modular and redundant configurations for optimising power converters reliability and draws some conclusion from what has been achieved in the LHC previous experience.Presented at Presented at the 15th International Conference on RF Superconductivity, SRF2011 25-29 July 2011, Chicago, USA Geneva, Switzerland CERN-ATS-2012-014January 2012 AbstractCERN is working on a new particle accelerators that will require a very large number of power converters. In that view, the reliability of the whole powering will be a major issue. The use of a redundancy and modularity may help increasing the overall machine availability. However, the reliability of the redundancy system must be high enough to add a significant improvement when compared to simple module systems. This paper suggests a comparative study of several modular and redundant configurations for optimising power converters reliability and draws some conclusion from what has been achieved in the LHC previous experience.