Powerstax Embraces The New MIL COTS Paradigm Swap Size, Weight & Power

Powerstax, one of Europe’s leading application-rich power solutions manufacturers, is developing solutions that meet the environmental and technical challenges of tactical and non-tactical vehicle based electronics systems.

“The essence of SWAP” claims Tim Worley, CEO of Powerstax plc “is to minimise the size and weight of power conversion solutions while meeting the demand for ever higher power. Very high efficiency, meeting the twin EMC challenges of low emissions and high immunity coupled with high reliability in harsh environments, all add to the challenge.”

Vehicle based electronic systems may be required to run from nominal battery supplies of 12VDC or 24VDC and to comply with the MIL-STD-1275 28VDC electrical systems in military vehicles standard. Meeting all of these input voltages in one product is ideal, with high power up-conversion to 28VDC or 48VDC for end equipment operation. This can create the twin challenges of maintaining high efficiency and low heat dissipation. The move to a 600VDC vehicle supply to reduce power distribution losses will create another opportunity for innovative power conversion, albeit moving to a hazardous high voltage.

Power system design criteria for MIL COTS applications, especially those which may be vehicle mounted, include varying degrees of sealing for environmental protection, which offers challenges to removing heat generated inside the enclosure. Some systems do not allow integral fan cooling as this can affect sealing and introduce reliability issues created by the fans themselves. In these cases, heat removal solutions include high efficiency customised heat-sinking, cold wall cooling by mechanical contact with external surfaces and in extreme cases water cooling. Compliance with MIL-STD-810 environmental specification and MIL-STD-461 EMC requirements place further demands on system design.

Worley continues; ”The MIL COTS market is strategically very important to Powerstax and our F501 high efficiency DC:DC Converter brick is central to our power solutions. Our field proven patented design allows us to perform both step-up and step-down power conversion using the same highly efficient product. It offers a very wide range of input voltages between 11VDC and 75VDC making it ideal for vehicle based operation in both military and the growing non-tactical vehicle market. Optimisation of the main converter can reap significant efficiency benefits, we designed our own brick and we know exactly how to get the best out of it.”

Powerstax has recently launched the TVS1001 ruggedised 1000 watt DC-DC power supply. At the heart of the TVS1001 are two of the patented Powerstax F501 DC-DC converters which have demonstrated ability to perform under the harshest of conditions with field proven use in military applications. It is one of the few units of its kind that offers step-up conversion at consistently high efficiency.

The Powerstax TVS1001 has a wide range DC input voltage, from 11 to 36 volts, with a range of outputs at 24, 28 36 or 48 VDC making it ideal for vehicle mounted Military and Non-Tactical, fixed and mobile communications and security systems. The unit can be also be customised to meet special requirements.

Typical applications for Powerstax MIL COTS power solutions include defence, homeland security, avionics, shipboard and ground systems and mobile/vehicle mounted equipment.

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