New Industry Products

6-kW Rectifiers Provides High Density in 1U Profile

March 18, 2015 by Jeff Shepard

GE's Critical Power business today introduced its new GP100 line of power rectifiers, providing data- and power-intensive three-phase applications with a compact, 1U, 6-kW rectifiers producing 54-Vdc. The new GP100 line includes GE's GP100R compact, module for data center and telecommunications rack or cabinet mounting and the GP100M for embedded data, networking and industrial uses. Targeting high-density data and communications settings, the new GP100 rectifiers take up less than half of the space required to install similar products—enabling two GP100s to be mounted together in 1U of rack space. This combination of power capacity and reduced footprint enables GE to claim an industry-leading power density of 12 kW per 1U, making the GP100 the highest density three-phase power supply available today.

The GP100 rectifiers also can be paralleled into packaged systems ranging from 12 kW to 432 kW, providing efficient power to high-density and high-capacity applications such as 48-kW power bays and cabinets. This enables these applications to implement three-phase power supplies instead of being limited to less-efficient, single-phase options due to space requirements.

“Three-phase rectification frees system designers from the burden and complexities of phase balance and offers a simple, swappable solution,” said Karim Wassef, general manager of Embedded Power, GE’s Critical Power business. “Enabling three phase in 1U combines the best of both worlds without compromise.”

With an energy conversion efficiency level of up to 96.5 percent, the GP100 line provides benefits of both operational cost savings and improved total cost of ownership. The new rectifier product line also helps eliminate potential single-phase balancing issues as power requirements grow by ensuring that electrical phases grow in equal increments.

“There isn’t a power design engineer out there who isn’t trying to get more power in less space,” said Vito Savino, general manager for DC power systems, GE’s Critical Power business. “It’s all about reaching new levels of power and density, whether it’s at the board, rack or bay level. With this compact three-phase, 6-kW, high-power solution, which takes advantage of the three-phase power already being used at a facility, we’re helping our customers in their drive for larger, yet more efficient, data, communications and computing capacity.”

The new GP100 rectifiers were developed using FastWorks methodologies, a set of tools and principles that integrate external thinking and discussion into the design process, bringing the products to market faster than previously possible. Using Fastworks, GE was able to take feedback from customers regarding their power needs and their space limitations and directly apply it to the design of its new rectifiers. For example, in many applications, the installation of three-phase power supplies required customers to increase the size of their box or equipment to accommodate the size of the units. In addition, the amount of power capability per bay in the telecommunications industry is reaching a finite limit. With this information, GE was able to design a new rectifier with a smaller footprint and thus, a higher power density—providing customers with the technology they require to address these issues.

The GP100 is the new building block for system architecture and design in dc output products. While other rectifiers in the industry may be limited to installations in traditional system architectures, the GP100 will challenge how and where a rectifier can be used. Offering a very usable form factor and high-density footprint, GE’s new rectifiers provide the flexibility needed to meet the power capacity challenges of applications across a wide spectrum of industries.

The GP100R and GP100M add to GE’s new GP100 rectifier line of power conversion products. The platform also includes a 1U, high-density product that is specifically engineered for single-phase power supply designs. The rectifier platform also offers expanded communications and diagnostics, such as black box capture capability, field installable firmware upgrades and improved AC measurement accuracy. The company is taking qualification orders on the new GP100M and GP100R products now.