Title :
Performance of a spacecraft DC-DC converter breadboard modified for low temperature operation
Author :
Gerber, Scott S. ; Patterson, Richard ; Ray, Biswajit ; Stell, Chris
Author_Institution :
NASA Lewis Res. Center, Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
A 10 W 30 V/5.0 V push-pull DC-DC power converter breadboard, designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) with a +50°C to +5°C operating range for the Cassini space probe, was characterized for lower operating temperatures. The breadboard power converter which failed to operate for temperatures below -125°C was then modified to operate at temperatures approaching that of liquid nitrogen (LN2). Associated with this low operating temperature range (>-196°C) was a variety of performance problems such as a significant change in output voltage, power converter switching instability and failure to restart at temperatures below -154°C. An investigation into these problems yielded additional modifications to the power converter which improved low temperature performance even further
Keywords :
DC-DC power convertors; aerospace testing; space vehicle power plants; switching circuits; thermal analysis; 10 W; 30 V; 5 V; Cassini space probe; breadboard power converter; low temperature operation; output voltage; performance problems; push-pull DC-DC power converter; restart failure; spacecraft power supply; switching instability; Current transformers; DC-DC power converters; Laboratories; NASA; Probes; Propulsion; Saturn; Space vehicles; Temperature distribution; Testing;
Conference_Titel :
Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, 1996. IECEC 96., Proceedings of the 31st Intersociety
Conference_Location :
Washington, DC
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-3547-3
DOI :
10.1109/IECEC.1996.552960
