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Considerations when charging large supercapacitor banks |
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Statement of the
problem
When charging batteries there is a advantage that capacitors don't have. Usually the batteries
don't start at zero voltage, and even if they do only a tiny amount of charge is required to get them to a large fraction of
the open circuit voltage. Capacitors often start at zero volts and the voltage is proportional to the coulombs of charge. This
means that a capacitor charger is very different than a battery charger. A capacitor charger has to deliver a large amount of
current at a wide range of voltages..
Several Solutions to the
Problem
There are two problems that need to be addressed in choosing a power supply to charge
large supercapacitor banks.
1) The power supply needs to be as much a current source as it is a voltage source. This
means that the output current is monitored and the output current controlled. While most switching power supplies are current
limited, the way they act to an overcurrent condition varies. Also, the limit point is usually beyond the recommended operating
range of the supply. Common overcurrent behaviors include:
a) Shutdown. The supply stops delivering power and needs to
be power-cycled to re-start.
b) Hiccup mode. The power supply will shutdown, then restart itself. This will repeat until
either the overload goes away, or a component in the power supply fails from trying.
c) Foldback. This means that the
output voltage is reduced. Depending on the slope of the foldback, the current limit point may also be reduced as the voltage
drops. Some supplies have a combination of these. For example Meanwell's S-150 series will foldback for mild overloads, and
shutdown for larger ones. Foldback is the closest to what is needed for charging batteries or capacitors. But these power
supplies are not designed to foldback until the output current is far beyond the rated power. For the S-150 the threshold is
about 130% of rated capacity, so the supply is running hot when it is in current limit. This point can be adjusted by changing
one fixed resistor. I have also used the SP-320 series for battery charging, but needed to add external circuitry to implement
current limiting. The PSP-500 series has an internal pot to adjust the current limit point.
2) The second problem, at
least for capacitors, is over what range of output voltage will the supply deliver continuous power without shutting down or
hicoughing. With most batteries, the range of voltage between discharged and fully charged is not very wide, so it doesn't pose
much of a problem. With capacitors, the fully discharged voltage is zero. This is a big problem in that most power supplies
usually won't work into the dead short that a fully discharged cap looks like.
The reason for this is because the
operating power for the control circuit is usually derived from an extra winding on the transformer. While this winding is
isolated from the output, the voltage it delivers is a fixed ratio of the output voltage. This ratio is chosen by the designer
to deliver a operating voltage of 10-12 volts when the power supply is delivering it's nominal output voltage. Depending upon
the design, the supply will usually work properly even if this voltage varies by as much as +/- 30%. Unfortunately, there is no
ratio that will deliver any operating voltage when the output is zero volts. I can see two possible solutions to this problem.
One is to have a linear post regulator to keep the switcher output high enough to keep operating when the capacitor is zero.
This linear regulator would be bypassed as soon as the capacitor voltage is high enough for the switcher to continue directly.
The second solution would be to have a power source for the operating circuitry that is independent of the output voltage.
There are trade-offs between these for efficiency and simplicity. Of course, the trade-offs will vary with the actual power
supply chosen, it's minimum operating voltage, and complexity of modifications.
PowerStream has experience with
chargers for large supercapacitor banks.
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PowerStream Technology: 140 South Mountainway Drive, Orem
Utah 84058
Phone: 801-764-9060, 9062, 9063, or 9064
 Fax: 801-764-9061 |
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PowerStream Technology
140 South Mountainway
Dr.
Orem, UT 84058
Phone: 801-764-9060, 9062, 9063, or 9064
Fax: 801-764-9061
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