Power management utilizing synchronous common coupling

1. A power management apparatus utilizing synchronous common coupling, the power management apparatus comprising:

a synchronous common coupling;

a plurality of ports; and

a plurality of stacks connected through the synchronous common coupling, each stack comprising at least one stage, each stage comprising at least one source/load bridge, at least one flux bridge, and a DC bus,

wherein the at least one source/load bridge of one stage of each of the plurality of stacks is connected to a separate power source through one of the plurality of ports, the at least one flux bridge of each stage is connected to an electrically isolated winding in the synchronous common coupling, and the at least one flux bridge of each stage is connected to the at least one source/load bridge of the stage through the DC bus, the synchronous common coupling configured to exchange power between each of the plurality of stacks, and

wherein the at least one stage of each of the plurality of stacks further comprises control circuitry to control transmission of power through the stage, one of the plurality of stacks being connected through the port associated with the stack to a first phase of a multiphase AC power source and another of the plurality of stacks being connected through the port associated with the stack to a second phase of the multiphase AC power source, the control circuitry being configured to operate the apparatus for VAR compensation.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one stage comprises one source/load bridge and a plurality of flux bridges, each of the plurality of flux bridges further connected across a corresponding DC bus capacitor on the DC bus.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one stage comprises a plurality of source/load bridges and a plurality of flux bridges, the number of source/load bridges and the number of flux bridges being different.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the synchronous common coupling comprises a single common flux core, and wherein the at least one flux bridge of each stage is connected to an electrically isolated winding on the single common flux core.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the synchronous common coupling comprises a high-frequency current bus, and wherein the at least one flux bridge of each stage is connected to the high-frequency current bus through a separate transformer.

6. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the control circuitry of each stage is configured to switch the flux bridge of the stage in a synchronized fashion so that power to the connected electrically isolated winding in the synchronous common coupling is in phase and at a same frequency.

7. The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a central controller configured to control the control circuitry on each stage.

8. A power management system utilizing synchronous common coupling, the power management system comprising:

a plurality of source ports, each of the plurality of source ports connected to a separate power source;

a stack connected to each source port, each stack comprising at least one stage, the at least one stage comprising a DC bus, at least one flux bridge, and a stage controller, the at least one flux bridge connected to an electrically isolated winding in the synchronous common coupling, the stage controller configured to switch the at least one flux bridge in a synchronized fashion so that power flows from the DC bus of each stack to the connected electrically isolated winding in the synchronous common coupling in phase and at a same frequency, the synchronous common coupling configured to exchange power between the stacks;

a plurality of arrays, each array comprising a plurality of source ports and an isolated synchronous common coupling, each of the plurality of source ports connecting a stack of the array to one phase of a multiphase AC power source, the isolated synchronous common coupling of each array further comprising a winding connected to one phase of a high-frequency, multi-phase output; and

a central controller configured to control and synchronize each stage controller.

9. The power management system of claim 8 , wherein the DC bus of the at least one stage is connected directly to the source port of the stack.

10. The power management system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one stage further comprises at least one source/load bridge between the DC bus and the connected source port, and the stage controller is further configured to switch the at least one source/load bridge to convert AC power at the source port to DC power on the DC bus.

11. The power management system of claim 8 , wherein the at least one stage comprises a plurality of flux bridges, each of the plurality of flux bridges further connected across a corresponding DC bus capacitor on the DC bus.

12. The power management system of claim 8 , wherein the stack comprises a plurality of stages connected in a cascaded fashion.

13. The power management system of claim 8 , wherein the synchronous common coupling comprises a single common flux core, and wherein the at least one flux bridge of each stage is connected to an electrically isolated winding on the single common flux core.

14. A method of utilizing synchronous common coupling for power management, the method comprising the steps of:

connecting a first phase of a multiphase AC power source to a first source/load port of a power management system and a second phase of the multiphase AC power source to a second source/load port of the power management system, the power management system comprising a plurality of stacks, a first stack of the plurality of stacks connected to the first source/load port and a second stack of the plurality of stacks connected to the second source/load, each of the first stack and the second stack comprising at least one stage, the at least one stage comprising at least one source/load bridge, a DC bus, at least one flux bridge, and control circuitry, the at least one source/load bridge connected between the connected source/load port and the DC bus, and the at least one flux bridge of the stage is connected between the DC bus and an electrically isolated winding of the synchronous common coupling; and

controlling, by the control circuitry, a flow of power through the stacks between the connected source/load port and the synchronous common coupling by switching the at least one source/load bridge to synchronize power between the connected source/load port and the DC bus and switching the at least one flux bridge to synchronize power between the DC bus and the electrically isolated winding of the synchronous common coupling, the synchronous common coupling configured to exchange power between the plurality of stacks such that the power management system provides VAR compensation between the first phase and the second phase of the multiphase AC power source.