Improving the efficiency of 3U CubeSat EPS by selecting operating conditions for power converters

González-Llorente, Jesús; Rodriguez-Duarte, D. O.; Sanchez-Sanjuan, Sergio; Rambal-Vecino, Andres

doi:10.1109/aero.2015.7119122

Cited by 14 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…The power dissipation of the converter components, such as inductor and capacitor resistances, leads to power losses, which can be expressed as follows [39]:…”

Section: ) Conduction Power Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power Budgeting of LEO Satellites: An Electrical Power System Design for 5G Missions

et al. 2021

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Although Geostationary-Equatorial-Orbit (GEO) satellites have achieved significant success in conducting space missions, they cannot meet the 5G latency requirements due to the far distance from the earth surface. Therefore, Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) satellites arise as a potential solution for the latency problem. Nevertheless, integrating the 5G terrestrial networks with LEO satellites puts an increased burden on the satellites' limited budget, which stems from their miniature sizes, restricted weights, and the small available surface for solar harvesting in the presence of additional required equipment. This paper aims to design the Electrical Power System (EPS) for 5G LEO satellites and investigate altitudes that meet the latency and capacity requirements of 5G applications. In this regard, accurate solar irradiance determination for the nadir-orientation scenario, Multi-Junction (MJ) solar cells modeling, backup batteries type and number, and designing highly-efficient converters are addressed. Accordingly, the power budgeting of the 5G LEO satellite can be achieved based on defining the maximum generated power and determining the satellite's subsystem power requirements for 5G missions. In the sequel, the measured and simulated values of the electrical V-I characteristics of an MJ solar panel are compared to validate the model by using a Clyde Space solar panel that reaches a maximum power generation of approximately 1W at (I M P P = 0.426A, V M P P = 2.35V ). Moreover, a synchronous boost converter circuit is designed based on commercial offthe-shelf elements.INDEX TERMS 5G, CubeSat, Electrical Power System (EPS), Low-Earth-Orbit (LEO) Satellites, Multi-Junction (MJ) Solar Cells.

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“…The power dissipation of the converter components, such as inductor and capacitor resistances, leads to power losses, which can be expressed as follows [39]:…”

Section: ) Conduction Power Lossesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Power Budgeting of LEO Satellites: An Electrical Power System Design for 5G Missions

et al. 2021

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“…Therefore, one may define the period for which the switch S stays closed as DT D and the period for which it stays opened as (1 − D)T D . Considering the circuit two stages analysis, the average inductor voltage may be described by Equation (22).…”

Section: Maximum Power Point Tracker: Boost Regulatormentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A 3U EPS efficiency analysis is presented by Gonzalez‐Llorente et al 22 The subsystem is based on a buck converter that steps down the solar panels voltage (15 or 7.5 V) to the litChium‐ion battery range of 3.3 or 6.6 V. The authors define an optimum operation point for the DC‐DC converter in order to achieve its maximum efficiency. The operation point is defined by the converter input voltage, output voltage, and output power.…”

Section: State Of the Artmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nanosatellite electrical power system architectures: Models, simulations, and tests

Slongo

Martinez

Eiterer

et al. 2020

Circuit Theory & Apps

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KESSLER SLONGO ET AL. power point tracking (MPPT) techniques, high-efficiency solar cells, and energy-aware scheduling algorithms are some of the hot topics under research nowadays. Due to size restrictions and aiming low complexity in design, many nanosatellite designers adopt the direct energy transfer (DET) architecture. KySat-2 is an example of a successfully accomplished mission, based on this EPS topology. Designed by Morehead State University Space Science and Engineering group, KySat-2 EPS was powered by a set of gold-plated deployable solar panels with 26% of efficiency. It provided four high-power regulated rails (two 3.3 V and two 5 V) and a low-noise, low power 3.3V rail for noise-sensitive devices. The energy storage system was made of three 18650 lithium-ion cells connected in series, and the high-power rails reached efficiencies approaching 90%. 12,21 Aiming minimum space occupation and low power consumption, the EPS proposed for the AraMiS project has a boost regulator operating the solar panels close to their MPP. 16 In order to reduce the number of components, the designers opted by the constant voltage MPPT algorithm, using only analog devices. The EPS steps up solar panels voltage from 4.4 V to the distribution bus voltage level (14 ± 2 V). It provides power buses with 3.3 and 5 V voltage levels. The EPS efficiency analysis is demonstrated, calculating the main components power losses. Although this is a very detailed and well-described work, it does not compare the proposed solution with other EPS architectures. A 3U EPS efficiency analysis is presented by Gonzalez-Llorente et al. 22 The subsystem is based on a buck converter that steps down the solar panels voltage (15 or 7.5 V) to the litChium-ion battery range of 3.3 or 6.6 V. The authors define an optimum operation point for the DC-DC converter in order to achieve its maximum efficiency. The operation point is defined by the converter input voltage, output voltage, and output power. Therefore, the discussion is based on different solar cells connections configurations, and battery cells arrangement, that result in the most efficient EPS configuration. Different scenarios have been analyzed to achieve 98% of peak efficiency on the best configuration: input voltage of 7.4 V, output voltage of 3.3 V, and output current varying from 0.1 mA to 2.1 A. Only the buck converter topology is discussed in this paper, and it does not consider any MPPT technique. An interesting solution adopted for the ERPSAT-1 picosatellite uses fuzzy logic to obtain energy harvesting maximization. 23 The developed subsystem has three main blocks, which are the fuzzy maximum power point tracker, the power conditioner, and the hierarchical fuzzy subsystem controller. The fuzzy logic algorithm has been implemented in a dedicated microcontroller that controls a boost converter. Simulations have been performed to demonstrate the better efficiency of the proposed method when compared to the Perturb and Observe MPPT algorithm. Although a comparison is provided in this work,...

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“…This restriction is mainly given by the choice of the topology of the MPPT. Thus, selecting one topology with high efficiency is a key element in the design process [25]. The main topologies are buck converter, boost converter or buck-boost converter.…”

Section: Design Of Solar Array Regulatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Solar Module Integrated Converters as Power Generator in Small Spacecrafts: Design and Verification Approach

et al. 2019

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As small satellites are becoming more widespread for new businesses and applications, the development time, failure rate and cost of the spacecraft must be reduced. One of the systems with the highest cost and the most frequent failure in the satellite is the Electrical Power System (EPS). One approach to achieve rapid development times while reducing the cost and failure rate is using scalable modules. We propose a solar module integrated converter (SMIC) and its verification process as a key component for power generation in EPS. SMIC integrates the solar array, its regulators and the telemetry acquisition unit. This paper details the design and verification process of the SMIC and presents the in-orbit results of 12 SMICs used in Ten-Koh satellite, which was developed in less than 1.5 years. The in-orbit data received since the launch reveal that solar module withstands not only the launching environment of H-IIA rocket but also more than 1500 orbits in LEO. The modular approach allowed the design, implementation and qualification of only one module, followed by manufacturing and integration of 12 subsequent flight units. The approach with the solar module can be followed in other components of the EPS such as battery and power regulators.

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Improving the efficiency of 3U CubeSat EPS by selecting operating conditions for power converters

Cited by 14 publications

References 9 publications

Power Budgeting of LEO Satellites: An Electrical Power System Design for 5G Missions

Power Budgeting of LEO Satellites: An Electrical Power System Design for 5G Missions

Nanosatellite electrical power system architectures: Models, simulations, and tests

Solar Module Integrated Converters as Power Generator in Small Spacecrafts: Design and Verification Approach

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