DEC Grid-Modulation Interface

Grid-tie modulation matches direct-conversion output to grid demand and rides through faults; it is the burner's electrical-export interface.

From collector to grid

The collected direct-conversion power must be conditioned and exported. The grid-modulation interface sits between the DEC collectors and the grid-tie inverter, modulating collector-grid voltages and inverter output to track demand while protecting the plasma source from grid disturbances.

Control loop

# DEC output modulation (L1)
P_demand = dispatch_setpoint()             # from L4
V_grid   = dec_voltage_mpc(P_demand, spectrum, limits)
inverter.follow(P_demand, grid_freq, grid_V)
if grid_fault_detected():
    ride_through(profile)                  # bounded, do not trip source

Fault ride-through is the hard part: a grid disturbance must not propagate back into the plasma as a sudden load change. The interface absorbs bounded grid faults with a defined ride-through profile and only sheds to a safe state if the fault exceeds the envelope.

Availability context

Continuous export is where the fourth burner gate lives: modeled plant availability is 0.86–0.995, against hyperscale Tier III at 0.99982 — roughly 30–100× more downtime than a Tier III source tolerates. So this interface is designed to export power when available, not as a sole Tier-III source. That is a physics-and-reliability fact, stated without any economic translation.

• Owner: L1 for modulation and ride-through; L4 for dispatch setpoints.
• Sense: grid voltage/frequency, inverter state, collector power.
• Cross-link: firm-power forecasting and dispatch at L4.

Calibration ties inverter output to measured export under known conditions. Design-and-simulation specification; the burner is not built and no delivered-power claim is made.