Institute of Electrical Power Engineering

IGEE 401
Power Electronic Systems
LABORATORY MANUAL

Prepared by
Dr. Luiz A. C. Lopes
Dr. Maged Naguib Barsom
Dr. Carlos Martins

September - 2014

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... iii
I.

INTRODUCTION
Safety ............................................................................................................................. iv
General safety rules........................................................................................................ iv
Laboratory rules ............................................................................................................ vii
Scope of power electronics laboratory......................................................................... viii
Organization of the manual.......................................................................................... viii
Experiments ................................................................................................................. viii
Computer-based simulations.......................................................................................... ix
The lab report................................................................................................................. ix
Grading scheme .............................................................................................................. x

II.

EXPERIMENT 1
AC CONTROLLERS: SINGLE-PHASE AND THREE-PHASE .................................................... 1

III. EXPERIMENT 2
DIODE AND THYRISTOR AC-DC CONVERTERS ................................................................ 6
IV. EXPERIMENT 3
DC-DC CONVERTERS .................................................................................................... 16
V.

EXPERIMENT 4
SINGLE-PHASE DC-AC CONVERTERS ............................................................................ 23

VI. EXPERIMENT 5
SINGLE-PHASE SWITCH-MODE AC-DC CONVERTERS ................................................... 33

iii

INTRODUCTION
SAFETY
Engineers are often required to use hand and power tools in constructing prototypes or in
setting up experiments. Specifically, electrical engineers use test instruments to measure the
electrical characteristics of components, devices, and electronics systems.
These tasks are interesting and challenging, but they may also involve certain hazards if
one is careless in his/her work habits. It is therefore essential that students learn the principles of
safety at the very beginning of their career and that they practice these principles.
Safe work requires a careful and deliberate approach to each task. Before undertaking an
experiment, students must understand what to do and how to do it. They must plan everything,
setting out tools, equipment, and instruments on the workbench in a neat and orderly fashion.
Extraneous items should be removed, and all cables should be securely fastened.
GENERAL SAFETY RULES
The first rule of personal safety is always:
Think First!
This rule applies to all industrial workers as well as to those working with electricity.
Develop good habits of workmanship. Learn to use tools correctly and safely. Always study the
job at hand and think through your procedures, your methods, and the applications of tools,
instruments, and machines before searching. Never permit yourself to be distracted from your
work, and never distract another worker engaged in hazardous work. Don't be a clown! Jokes
are fun and so is "horsing around", but not near moving machinery or electricity. There are
generally three kinds of accidents which may occur to electrical students and technicianselectric shock, burns, and equipment-related injuries. Your knowing and studying about them,
and observing simple rules will make you a safe person to work with. You could personally be
saved from painful and expensive experiences.

iv

Electric shocks
What about electric shocks? Are they fatal? The physiological effects of electric currents
can generally be predicted with the chart shown in Fig. 1:

0.2

0.1
EXTREME BREATHING
DIFFICULTIES

DEATH
LABORED
BREATHING

SEVERE SHOCK

MUSCULAR
PARALYSIS

CANNOT LET GO

0.01

PAINFUL

MILD SENSATION

SENSATION
THRESHOLD

0.001
AMPERES

Fig. 1 Physiological effects of electrical currents.

Notice that it is the current that does the damage. Currents above 100 mA, or only one
tenth of an ampere, are fatal. A workman who has contacted currents greater than 200 mA may
live to see another day if given rapid treatment. Currents less than 100 mA can be serious and
painful. A safe rule: Do not place yourself in a position to get any kind of shock.

Nine rules for safe practice and avoiding electric shocks:

1.

Work with one hand behind you or in your pocket. A current between two hands
crosses your heart and can be more lethal than a current form hand to foot. A wise
technician always works with one hand. Watch your TV serviceman.

2.

Be sure of the condition of the equipment and the dangers it can present before working
on it. Many sportsmen are killed by supposedly unloaded guns; many technicians are
killed by supposedly "dead" circuits.
Never rely on safety devices such as fuses, relays, and interlock systems to protect you.

3.
4.
5.

6.
7.
8.
9.

They may not be working and may fail to protect you when most needed.
Never remove the grounding prong of a three-wire plug. This eliminates the grounding
feature of the equipment making it a potential shock hazard.
Do not work on a cluttered bench. A disorganized mess of connecting leads,
components and tools only leads to careless thinking, short circuits, shocks, and
accidents. Develop systematized and organized work habits.
Do not work on wet floors. Your contact resistance to ground is greatly reduced on a
wet floor. Work on a rubber mat or an insulated floor.
Do not work alone. It is just good sense to have someone around to shut off the power,
to give artificial respiration, or to call a doctor.
Never talk to anyone while working. Do not let yourself be distracted. Also, don't talk
to someone who is working on dangerous equipment. Do not be the cause of an accident.
Always move slowly working around electrical circuits. Violent and rapid movements
lead to accidental short circuits and shocks.

Burns
Accidents caused by burns, although usually not fatal, can be painfully serious. The
dissipation of electrical energy produces heat.
Rules for safe practice and avoiding burns:
1.
Resistors get very hot, especially those that carry high currents such as the ones in this

2.

lab. Watch those five- and ten-watt resistors. They will burn the skin of your fingers. Stay
away from them until they cool down.
Be on guard for all capacitors which may still retain charges. Not only can you get a
dangerous and sometimes fatal shock, you may also get a burn from an electrical
discharge. If the rated voltage of electrolytic capacitors is exceeded or their polarities
reversed they may get very hot and may actually burst.
vi

LABORATORY RULES
Considering the number of students attending the labs and in order for the lab to operate
properly, the students are asked to abide by the following rules:
1.

No smoking, eating, or drinking is permitted in the laboratory.

2.

Overcoats, lose clothes (i.e. ties) and briefcases are not permitted in the laboratory,
however, a table will be allocated for those students that must bring these items.
All damaged or missing equipment and cables must be reported immediately to the
demonstrator. Failure to do so will result in students being charged for damages and

3.

4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

losses or extra lab work can be assigned.

Writing on work benches will result in ejection from the laboratory.
Student are required to have their preliminary calculation completed before being
admitted to the corresponding lab session (preparation and participation evaluation).
All data must be recorded on the laboratory sheets in ink and must be signed by the
demonstrator before students leave.
No more than three students are allowed to occupy one laboratory workbench
Any student who is more than 30 minutes late will not be permitted into the laboratory
room. Furthermore, repeated tardiness will not be tolerated.
Do not connect or use any alligator clip leads on equipment binding posts. These posts
are meant to be used with banana plugs or straight wires only.

10.
11.
12.

Demonstrators must verify all setups before any power switches are switched on.
Any changes even minor ones to the setup must be done when the power is off.
Any unusual equipment and machine operating conditions such smoke, sparking, loud
noise, or burning smell must be immediately reported to the lab demonstrator and all
power supplies should be switched off.

13.

Always try to maintain low stress conditions during power up and power down. For
example, start the variac at zero during a power-up or reduce the armature voltage to zero
before power-down. Not only will this increase the life span of expensive equipment in

14.

this laboratory but usually fault conditions can be found before harm or serious damage is
incurred.
Student's complains concerning lab demonstrators should be presented to the full time lab
instructor.

vii

SCOPE OF THE POWER ELECTRONICS LABORATORY

The main objectives of the laboratory work are as follows:
- To provide realistic examples of applications of power electronics.
- To provide experience in both simulation and experimental work.
-

To provide experience in presenting results in a clear and efficient manner.

All three aspects are very important since an engineer spends most of his/her career designing,
measuring, and testing his/her designs and reporting on his/her results.
ORGANIZATION OF THIS MANUAL
This manual is divided into 5 sections, each section describing one experiment. Each
section is broken down into parts as follows:
I.
II.
III.
IV.

Objectives
Theory
Procedure
Questions

The first part gives the objectives of the experiment. The second part provides a brief
introduction to the experiment. Relevant theory is often included in this part for the convenience
of the student. The third part describes the experimental procedure to be adopted and is itself
broken down into subsections. Some of these subsections indicate to the student how to connect
and test a particular circuit. Other subsections require the student to carry out a number of
preliminary calculations. The fourth part gives a list of questions which should be answered by
the student when the experiment has been completed and be included in the lab report.
EXPERIMENTS
Each experiment must be studied in advance and required preliminary calculations
completed. If the theory is understood, the student knows exactly what to expect in an
experiment and accurate measurements can be obtained very quickly.
The procedure section may often dictate that graphs be plotted. It is a very good
engineering practice to plot such graphs as the readings are taken. In this way discrepancies can
be immediately detected and checked. Often sketches of various waveforms are required. These
should be drawn clearly and relevant quantities, such as peak values, should be given.

viii

Devices are invariably characterized with maximum voltage, current, and power ratings.
These should never be exceeded. Otherwise, the properties of a device may be impaired, or it
may be damaged (semiconductor, transformer). If in doubt about the use of a particular
instrument, the operating instructions provided by the manufacturer should be read. Defective
equipment must be reported immediately to the demonstrator or technical support. This is
justified also by the fact that some equipment may be used in more than one experiment and
knowing the exact characteristics of this equipment may be important.
Each group is required to work at the same bench location each week. Equipment and
components must be returned to their places. The benches must be left clear at the end of the
experiment.
Since the laboratory represents a significant portion of the student's practical training, it is
imperative that the students perform all the experiments. If a student has missed an experiment
due to circumstances entirely beyond his/her control, that student will have the opportunity to
perform it at the end of the term. However, it is most unlikely that arrangements can be made for
any individual to perform more than one experiment at this time.
COMPUTER-BASED SIMULATIONS
Each simulation should be studied in advance and any required preliminary calculations
should be completed. By performing the required calculations, the student will gain a batter
understanding of the system and of the objectives of the simulation. Also, they then have a better
idea of what to expect and be able to interpret the results obtained.
The procedure section contains instructions on how to run the simulations and what
graphs should be obtained. Graphs should be properly labeled including the variable being
measured, units and other operating conditions. The laboratory represents an important part of
the course as it demonstrates practical applications of the theory presented in the lectures.
LAB REPORTS
For each experiment, a lab report must be written which can be regarded as a record of all
activities, observations, and discussions pertaining to the experiment. Lab reports should above
all be legible and should contain as much relevant information as possible. A lab report should
consist of papers stapled together with a title page identifying the course, lab section,
experiment, date, student's name, student's ID number, and demonstrator's name. Any reports
without a proper title page will be rejected.
Each lab report should be divided into five parts as follows:
ix

Objectives
They have to be stated clearly and can be copied from the lab manual.
Preliminary Calculations
Results and a summary of computations should be given.
Experimental procedure and results
Should be broken down into items 1, 2, 3, etc., as in the lab manual. Each item should
briefly contain the conditions of the experiment and the results.
Questions and discussions
Answer all the questions (if any) posed in the lab manual or by the lab demonstrator.
Discuss any problems encountered during the experiment and any important observations made
during the report write-up
Conclusions
Should be brief
GRADING SCHEME
Each lab report (one per group) will be marked out of 20 for a total of 100. Lab reports
are due two weeks after the lab is completed and may be handed in either in class or during the
next lab period. Late lab reports will be accepted with a -10% per day penalty.
The grading scheme is as follows:
1.
2.

Objectives and preliminary calculations

Results and relevant figures

30%
40%

3.
4.

Questions, discussion and conclusions

Conclusions and general presentation

20%
10%

EXPERIMENT 1
AC controllers Single-phase and three-phase
I.

OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, the student should:

1.

Become familiar with the simulation tool Matlab/Simulink/SimPowerSystems and be

able to obtain relevant plots.

2.

Be able to analyze simple single-phase and three-phase thyristor-based AC controllers,

feeding resistive, inductive and resistive-inductive loads.

II.

THEORY

AC controllers are AC-AC converters frequently used for controlling the magnitude of
the fundamental component of an AC waveform, keeping the same frequency as of the input
waveform, or for controlling the rms value of the voltage supplied to a given load. An example
of the first case is the Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR) or Thyristor Controlled Inductor
(TCI), which realizes a variable sink of reactive power. An example of the second case is an
industrial heating system with an AC controller interfacing a resistive load to the utility grid.
The reactive power consumed by the TCR can be controlled continuously from rated
value to zero by varying the firing angle of the thyristors () between 90 and 180, respectively.
In other words, the AC controller operates with phase control. In steady-state and at the grid
frequency, the TCR can be replaced by an equivalent inductive reactance, whose value is
determined by . The TCR does, however, introduce current harmonics, which affect the power
quality of the voltage of the AC bus to which the TCR is connected. There are various techniques
to circumvent this problem, such as the use of multi-pulse topologies and harmonic traps, which
are essentially LC shunt filters tuned at the frequencies of the main harmonics created by the
TCR. In the case of heating systems, the voltage/current harmonics also transfer electric power to
the heating elements, usually modeled as a resistance. Therefore, for the calculation of the power
supplied to the load one should consider the total rms value of the voltage/current across the
load.
1

Preliminary calculations
1) What is the rated reactive power of a single-phase TCR with L = 93.7 mH and Vs = 18.8
kV rms? How much reactive power does it absorb when operating with = 120?
2) What is the amount of active power consumed by a three-phase load with R = 0.25
when interfaced to a 600VLL grid by means of a three-phase AC controller operating with
= 90? Note: Assume that the neutral point of the Y-connected load is connected to the
neutral point of the three-phase (Y-connected) source.

III.

SIMULATION PROCEDURE

3.1.

Single-Phase Thyristor AC Controller with RL and R Loads

a) Open file Exp1_1.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 1. Set the resistance and inductance
of the RL load to 306 and 468 mH respectively.
b) Adjust the firing angle of the thyristors to 60 and the width of the current pulse to 9 (2.5
% of the period) in the blocks called pulse generator. Keep in mind that thyristor 2 is
fired 180 after thyristor 1. The data of the phase delay (sec) box can be entered in
degrees for convenience, as (angle)/(60*360) for a 60 Hz system.
c) Plot the following waveforms: Input voltage at the AC controller, load current and
voltage and gate signal of the thyristors. Calculate the current extinction angle.
d) Obtain the harmonic spectrum of the load voltage and current waveforms. Click on the
powergui block and select the option FFT analysis. Recall that to have an accurate
harmonic spectrum (FFT), one should use an integer number of cycles of the waveforms
and in the steady state. Record the magnitude and frequency of the fundamental
components and harmonics up to 1 kHz of the voltage and current waveforms.
e) From the harmonic spectrum of the current waveform calculate the following indexes:
Total rms value, distortion current, THD and crest factor. Calculate the THD of the load
voltage waveform.
f) Run the simulation again for equal to 15 and 120 and compute the values of: 1)
Current extinction angle and 2) magnitude of the fundamental component of the load
voltage. Comment on the effect of varying the firing angle on the measured parameters.
You will need to increase (try double) the width of the gating signal to obtain the desired
waveforms for = 15. Justify.
g) Remove the inductive part of the load, by selecting the option Branch type: R in the
load Block parameters.
2

h) Run the simulation for = 60 and plot the waveforms and record the values of the active
and reactive powers at the input of the AC controller.
i) Plot the following waveforms: Input voltage at the AC controller, load current and
voltage and gate signal of the thyristors. Calculate the current extinction angle and the
magnitude of the load voltage using the FFT analysis. Compare the results to those
obtained with RL load. Justify.

Fig. 1 Single-phase thyristor-based AC controller with RL load.

3.2

Single-Phase Thyristor Controlled Reactor (TCR)

a) Remove the resistive part of the load impedance of the previous section and make the
inductive part equal to 93.7 mH.
b) Adjust the firing angle of the thyristors to 120.
c) Plot the waveforms and record the values of the active and reactive powers at the input of
the TCR. Compare it to the theoretical value.
d) Plot the waveforms of the voltage at the input of the TCR and the voltage and current
across the inductor. Calculate the current extinction angle () and the conduction
angle (). Compare these to the theoretical values.
e) Obtain the harmonic spectrum of the input current waveform. Record the magnitude and
frequency of the fundamental components and harmonics up to 1 kHz.
f) Repeat steps c-e for equal to 105 and 135.
3

3.3

Three-Phase AC Controller for Industrial Heating System

a) Open file Exp1_2.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 2.
b) Adjust the firing angle of the thyristors to = 90, with respect to the related phase
voltage. Note that the positive side thyristor of a given phase shall be fired by a pulse
having a time delay of (90)/(60*360), lagging the negative to positive zero crossing of
the voltage at that phase. Conversely, the negative side thyristor of a given phase shall be
fired by a pulse having a time delay of (90)/(60*360), lagging the positive to negative
zero crossing of the voltage at that phase.
c) Adjust the load resistance (heating filaments) to R = 0.25 per phase.
d) Adjust the Three-phase programmable voltage source to 600 V, 60 Hz.
e) Run a simulation with a simulation time long enough to reach the steady-state condition.
f) Plot the following waveforms: 1) line-to-neutral voltage of the phase A of the voltage
source, 2) Line current in phase A, 3) Current in neutral return wire.
g) Plot the harmonic spectrum of: 1) Current in phase A and 2) current on neutral return
wire. Compute the THD of those waveforms.
h) Record the following values in steady state: 1) Active, reactive and apparent power
delivered by the source, 2) rms value of the line current and 3) rms value of the neutral
return current. Compare 2 and 3 and justify the difference quantitatively.
i) Remove the neutral wire. Run another simulation in the same conditions as above. Repeat
steps f-h above, neglecting the calculations related to the, now removed, neutral wire.
j) Compare the following values obtained with and without the neutral wire: 1) RMS line
current, 2) Active, reactive and apparent power, 3) Power factor. Justify qualitatively the
difference on those quantities obtained with and without the neutral wire.

Fig. 2 Three-phase thyristor-based AC controller for an industrial heating system.

IV.

QUESTIONS
1) Why the load current presents a smaller THD than the load voltage in a thyristor based
AC controller? (Section 3.1.e)
2) Why is there reactive power in the input (grid) side of the AC controller supplying a
resistive load? (Section 3.1.h)
3) What is the effect of varying the firing angle on the fundamental component of the
current waveform and on the reactive power absorbed by the TCR? Are the variations
linear? (Section 3.2.f)
4) Knowing that the AC controller forms a balanced three-phase system, why is the
neutral wire current non-zero? (Section 3.3.h)

EXPERIMENT 2
Diode and Thyristor AC-DC Converters

I.

OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, the student should:

1.

Become familiar with the Lab-Volt equipment used in the experimental procedure.

2.

Be able to analyze diode and thyristor three-phase AC-DC converters.

II.

THEORY

Diode and thyristor based AC-DC converters are used in a number of applications. Diode
AC-DC converters are also known as uncontrolled rectifiers because they present unidirectional
power flow characteristics, only being able to operate as rectifiers, and do not allow the variation
of the dc bus voltage for a constant AC side voltage. Despite these limitations, they are
commonly found in many power electronics interfaces. In applications that require either
bidirectional power flow control, such as in HVDC transmission systems, or control of the output
voltage/current, such as in static exciters for synchronous generators, thyristor AC-DC
converters are used.
Three-phase full-wave diode and thyristor AC-DC converters are illustrated in Fig. 2.1(a)
and (b) respectively. The power supply is represented by a pure three-phase voltage supply
(resistance and inductance of supply are neglected), the diodes/thyristors are considered ideals
and the load is represented by a pure dc current source (highly inductive load).

iD

vs

i Th

vD
is

vs

ed

vTh
is

id

ed

id

a)

b)

Fig 2.1 Three-phase full-wave AC-DC converters. a) Diode. b) Thyristor.

The objective of any performance index is to evaluate quantitatively and qualitatively the
operation of an equipment and allow comparisons to be made between various configurations. In
our case the equipment is based upon an electric supply - static converter - load interaction and,
therefore, the performance indices are derived from measured electric variables as voltages and
currents. The most used indices are presented in TABLE 2.1.
Preliminary calculations
Work out the circuits of Fig. 2.1(a) and 2.1(b), based on the following parameter values
that are used in the experimental part of the laboratory work, in order to complete TABLE 2.2: Vs
= 208 Vrms (line-to-line), 60 Hz, the load is composed of L1 = 0.8 H, R1 = 900 and the firing
angle for the thyristor case is = 60.

TABLE 2.1- PERFORMANCE INDICES FOR THREE-PHASE FULL-WAVE IDEAL SIX-PULSE RECTIFIERS
Converter Type

Performance
Index

Diode Rectifier

Thyristor Rectifier

Vs

Vs

2
Id
3

2
Id
3

Supply phase voltage (Vs)

Supply line current (Is)

Supply fundamental line current (Is1)

3

Active power (P)

6 Vs I d

Apparent power (S)

Id

6 Vs I d cos( )

6 Vs I d
3

Power factor (pf)

Total harmonic distortion (THD)

6 Vs I d
3

= 0.955

1 = 311
. %

2
9

Id

dc current (Id)
3

dc voltage (Vd)

semiconductor average current

semiconductor rms current

6 Vs

Id

cos( )

1 = 311
. %

Id
3

6 Vs cos( )

Id
3

Id
3

Id

Id

TABLE 2.2 - PERFORMANCE INDICES

Performance
Indices

Diode Rectifier
Value [unit]

Thyristor Rectifier
Value [unit]

RMS line voltage

[V]

[V]

RMS line current

[A]

[A]

RMS fundamental line current

[A]

[A]

average load voltage

[V]

[V]

average load current

[A]

[A]

real power

[W]

[W]

III.

PROCEDURE

3.1.

Simulation Steady-state
a) Open file Exp21.mdl with the circuit in Fig 2.2. Set the resistance and inductance of the
RL load to 900 and 0.8 H respectively.
b) Adjust the firing angle of the thyristors (block Alpha-SS, in red) so that the AC-DC
converter operates as a diode rectifier ( = 0.1).
c) Plot the waveforms and record the values of the active and reactive powers at the input of
the AC-DC converter in steady-state.
d) Plot the waveforms of the input current of the AC-DC converter and of the load voltage
and current.
e) Obtain the harmonic spectrum of the previous waveforms. Record the values of the
fundamental components and harmonics up to 1 kHz. Note 1: d) and e) can be shown
together using the powergui block and the FFT Analysis option. Note 2: For the FFT
of the load voltage and current waveforms, you can use a characteristic harmonic of these
waveforms, 6th harmonic @ 360 Hz, as the fundamental frequency of the FFT. Recall
that there should be no 60 Hz components across the load.
f) Plot the waveforms of the current and voltage across one switch (diode/thyristor).
g) Complete TABLE 2.2 using the simulation data and TABLE 2.1.
h) Repeat steps c-g for the AC-DC converter operating with = 60.
9

Fig 2.2 Three-phase AC-DC converter used in the simulations.

3.2.

Simulation Transient

a)

Open file Exp21.mdl with the circuit in Fig 2.2. Set the resistance and inductance of the
RL load to 1 and 0.1 H respectively and the firing angle of the thyristors to 60.

b)

Run the simulation, plot the waveform of the load current and record the time for the load
current to reach the steady state value.
One way to speed up the transient behaviour is to apply initially a large voltage across the

c)

load, with a small (~ 0.1), and then change back to the value that gives the desired
value of load current in steady-state. Replace block Alpha-SS with block Alpha-TS,
in red, which is a step block. Adjust the Alpha-TS parameters so that the initial value is
0.1 and the final value is 60. Select a step time equal to 0.068 s to apply = 60, so
that one gets a fast response without an overshoot in the load current. Plot the waveform
of the load current showing the faster transient response obtained with the selected step
time.
d)

In order to study the operation of the AC-DC converter with reverse power flow, adjust
the step block parameters so that the step time is 0.6 s, the initial value is 60 and the
final value is 120.

10

e)

Obtain the waveforms of the input current of the rectifier, output current of the rectifier
and load voltage. How many different operation modes you identify there? Describe
and explain what happens in each one.

f)

Obtain and compare the harmonic spectrum of the load voltage in each of the operating
modes. Recall that you need to consider segments of the waveforms in the steady-state.

3.3.

Experimentation Diode Converter

1.
2.

Connect the modules as shown in Fig 2.3.

Choose the following settings:
i. On the Power Supply:
Voltage Meter Selector .................................................................................. 4-5
ii. On the Power Diodes module:
Interconnection Switch S1 ..................................................................................1
iii. On the Oscilloscope:
Channel-1 Sensitivity......................................................5 V/DIV (DC coupled)
Channel-2 Sensitivity......................................................1 V/DIV (DC coupled)
Vertical Mode ..................................................................................... CHOPped
Time Base ............................................................................................2 ms/DIV
Trigger Source ........................................................................................... LINE
Trigger Coupling............................................................................................ AC

3.

4.
5.

On the Power Supply, make sure that the voltage control knob is set to the 0 position then
set main power switch to the 1 (ON) position. Slowly set the voltage control knob of the
Power Supply to the 100 position (100% of the AC supply).
Record the dc/ac volt/ammeter readings and complete the Table 2.3. Sketch the dc
current/voltage.
Slowly set the voltage control knob of the Power Supply to the 0 position (0% of the AC
supply). On the Power Supply, set the main power switch to the 0 (OFF) position.

11

CH-2
POWER DIODES

1A

I dc

i1
CH-1

0.5 Adc
0.5 Aac

I ac

Rl = 900

e1

E dc
300 Vdc

Ll = 0.8 H

0 - 120 Vac

300 V

E ac

250 Vac

Fig 2.3 Three-phase full-wave diode rectifier experimental set-up.

3.4.
1.
2.

Experimentation Thyristor Converter

Connect the modules as shown in Fig 2.4.
Note: The DC source is a part of the Thyristor Firing Unit.
Choose the following settings:
i.

On the Power Supply:

Voltage Meter Selector.................................................................................... 4-5

ii.

On the Thyristor Firing Unit:

FIRING CONTROL MODE ............................................................................ 3
ANGLE CONTROL COMPLEMENT ..............................................................O
ANGLE CONTROL ARC COSINE ..................................................................O
DC SOURCE............................................................................................... MAX

iii.

On the Power Thyristors module:

Interconnection Switch S1 ...................................................................................1
Interconnection Switch S2 ...................................................................................1

iv.

On the Oscilloscope:
Channel-1 Sensitivity .......................................................5 V/DIV (DC coupled)
Channel-2 Sensitivity .......................................................1 V/DIV (DC coupled)
Vertical Mode....................................................................................... CHOPped
Time Base..............................................................................................2 ms/DIV
Trigger Source............................................................................................. LINE
Trigger Coupling ............................................................................................. AC
12

POWER THYRISTORS
CH-2
24 V
60 HZ

1A

low
power
input

I dc

i1
CH-1

0.5 Adc
0.5 Aac

I ac

Rl = 900

e1

E dc
300 Vdc

Ll = 0.8 H

0 - 120 Vac

300 V

E ac

250 Vac
9

1
2

dc source

angle control input

firing
control
inputs

thyristor
firing
unit

Fig 2.4 Three-phase full-wave thyristor rectifier experimental set-up.

3.

4.

5.
6.

On the Power Supply, make sure that the voltage control knob is set to the O position
then set both the 24 Vac and main power switches to the 1 (ON) position. Slowly set the
voltage control knob of the Power Supply to the 100 position (100% of the AC network
line voltage). This supplies AC power to the three-phase full-wave controlled rectifier.
Since the firing angle on the Thyristor Firing Unit is to approximately 180, no power is
provided to resistor R1. Thus, the voltage and current indicated by the dc
Voltmeter/Ammeter are zero.
On the Thyristor Firing Unit, slowly turn the DC SOURCE control knob to the MIN.
position in order to set the firing angle to 60, while observing the voltage and current
indicated by the dc Voltmeter/Ammeter and the waveforms on the oscilloscope screen.
Record the dc/ac volt/ammeter readings and complete the Table 2.3. Sketch the dc
current/voltage.
On the Thyristor Firing Unit, slowly turn the DC SOURCE control knob to the MAX.
position in order to set the firing angle to 180. Slowly set the voltage control knob of the
Power Supply to the 0 position (0% of the AC supply). On the Power Supply, set the
main power and 24 Vac switches to the 0 (OFF) position.

13

TABLE 2.3 - PERFORMANCE INDICES EVALUATION- EXPERIMENTAL THREE-PHASE

FULL-BRIDGE RECTIFIER
Performance
Indices

IV.

Diode Rectifier
Value [unit]

Thyristor Rectifier
Value [unit]

RMS line voltage

[V]

[V]

RMS line current

[A]

[A]

RMS fundamental line

current

[A]

[A]

average load voltage

[V]

[V]

average load current

[A]

[A]

real power

[W]

[W]

QUESTIONS
1) Complete the TABLE 2.4 by using the theoretical, simulated (TABLE 2.2) and
experimental (TABLE 2.3) results.
2) Compare the results and comment.
3) How can one calculate analytically the step time used in (3.2.c) to get a fast response
without an overshoot in the load current?
4) Why the negative voltage across the load cannot be sustained indefinitely in (3.2.e)?

14

TABLE 2.4 - PERFORMANCE INDICES EVALUATION - THREE-PHASE FULL-BRIDGE RECTIFIER

Performance
Indices

Diode Rectifier
Theo.

Sim.

Thyristor Rectifier
Exp.

line current THDi

apparent input
power
real power
input power factor

15

Theo.

Sim.

Exp.

EXPERIMENT 3
DC-DC Converters
I.

OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, the student should:

1.

Study the operation of a 1-quadrant (buck) and of a 2-quadrant DC-DC converter in open
loop.

2.

Investigate the performance of these two converters when used in a DC motor drive.

II.

THEORY
The DC-DC converters are widely used in regulated switch-mode power supplies and in

DC motor drive applications. There are a number of possible classifications for DC-DC
converter, one of which is regarding the number of quadrants in a Vout x Iout plane they can
operate.
In this experiment, a 1-quadrant buck (step-down) converter and a 2-quadrant converter,
will be studied for the control of a separately excited DC motor. The power converters and their
respective quadrants of operation are shown in Fig. 3.1. The buck converter consists of a single
switch and a single free-wheeling diode and can only control the motor speed in one direction of
rotation by varying the magnitude of the DC voltage applied in the armature of the DC motor.
The 2-quadrant DC-DC converter, on the other hand, employs twice as many components in an
inverter leg configuration but it is capable of motoring and braking the DC machine in one
direction of rotation. This would allow the flow of kinetic energy from the rotating masses back
to the DC source during braking operation, what is a very desirable feature in transportation
applications. Besides, it can also enhance the dynamic response of the DC motor.
In this experiment the DC-DC converters operate with carrier based pulse width
modulation (PWM). For the simulation part, with MatlabSimulink, a block available in
SimPowerSystems and called Discrete PWM Generator will be used. This block can be used
for generating the gating signals for DC-DC converters as well as single-phase and three-phase
DC-AC converters. When the option of Internal generation of gating signal(s) is not selected,
16

one should provide externally the modulation signal(s). For the DC-DC converters, it should be a
DC signal with magnitude between -1 and 1, which are the minimum and maximum values of
the carrier (triangular) waveform. The frequency of the carrier can be set in the dialog box of the
Discrete PWM Generator block.
The relationship between the control/modulation signal and the duty cycle (D) of the
main switch (S1) is given by:

Fig. 3.1 DC-DC converters and quadrants of operation. a) 1-quadrant. b) 2-quadrant.

The voltage at the output of the DC-DC converters shown above can be varied by means
of duty cycle (D) control according to

The following equations can be used for describing the operation of a separately excited
17

DC motor in steady-state as considered in this experiment. The internal induced voltage (EA) can
be represented by:

where IA is the armature current, RA is the armature resistance and VA is the voltage applied
across the armature terminals. It is related to the shaft speed (m) by:

where K is a machine constant and is the internal flux. If the machine is assumed lossless, the
electrical (e) or induced torque (ind) can be approximated by the load torque. Thus, the
relationship between the armature current and the induced/load torque can be expressed as:

Finally, the shaft speed depends on the armature voltage and on the induced/load torque
according to

This relationship is shown graphically in Fig. 3. 2 for variable load torques and armature
voltages.

Fig. 3.2 Effect of armature voltage variations on the torque-speed characteristics of a separately excited
DC machine.

The mechanical part of the DC motor can be represented by:

where J is the inertia (kg.m2), L is the load torque (N.m), fric is the viscous friction torque (N.m)
and B is the viscous friction coefficient (N.m.s). It should be noted that even if the load torque is
18

null, no-load case, the machine will still have to supply an electrical torque to overcome the
friction losses of this simplified system.

Preliminary calculations
Consider the following parameters for a 5 hp / 240 V separately excited DC motor: RA =
0.5 and K = 1.23. The armature terminals of the DC motor are connected to a PWM
controlled DC-DC converter with an input voltage of 280 V. The value of the viscous friction
coefficient (B) is 0.02 N.m.s.
1) Compute the shaft speed and the armature current of the DC motor at no-load when a 1quadrant buck DC-DC converter is used and operates with D = 0.8 and 0.4.
2) Compute the shaft speed and the armature current of the DC motor when the load torque
is equal to 10 N.m and -10 N.m. Assume that the DC-DC converter operates with D =
0.8.
3) Repeat the previous calculation for the DC motor driven by a 2-quadrant DC-DC
converter.

III.

SIMULATION PROCEDURE

3.1.

1-Quadrant Buck Converter

a) Open file Exp31.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 3.3.

b) For the motor operating at no-load (TL = 0 N.m) adjust the control signal so that the
converter initially operates with D = 0.8 until t = 1 s when D is changed to 0.4. Run the
simulation for a total time of 5 s.
c) Open the scope with motor quantities, plot the waveforms and record the steady-state
values of the shaft speed, armature current (average value) and electrical torque for the
two operating conditions (D = 0.8 and D = 0.4). Compare the values of the load and
electrical/induced torques. Justify possible differences. How long did it take for the shaft
speed to reach the steady-state value with D = 0.8? What about the steady-state values
and settling time for D = 0.4? Note: If the system does not reach the steady-state during
the simulation time, simply indicate > or < than the values at the last simulation point.
Fill Table 3.1.
d) Double-click on the modulation signal selection switch and change the modulation
signal to a fixed value of D = 0.8. Double-click on the torque selection switch and
19

change the load torque to be equal to 10 N.m from start-up until t = 1 s, when the load
torque becomes - 10 N.m. Run the simulation. Obtain the same waveforms and record the
same parameters as in step c). Note: If the system does not reach the steady-state during
the simulation time, simply indicate > or < than the values at the last simulation point.
Fill Table 3.2.

Fig. 3.3 1-quadrant buck DC-DC converter feeding a DC motor.

3.2.

2-Quadrant DC-DC Converter

a) Open file Exp32.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 3.4.

b) For the motor operating at no load (TL = 0 N.m) adjust the control signal so that the
converter initially operates with D = 0.8 until t = 1 s when D is changed to 0.4. Run the
simulation for a total time of 2 s.
c) Open the scope with motor quantities, plot the waveforms and record the steady-state
values of the shaft speed, armature current (average value) and electrical torque for the
two operating conditions (D = 0.8 and D = 0.4). Compare the values of the load and
electrical/induced torques. Justify possible differences. Record the settling times for the
shaft speed during start-up conditions with D = 0.8 and after D is changed to 0.4. Note: If

20

the system does not reach the steady-state during the simulation time, simply indicate >
or < than the values at the last simulation point. Fill Table 3.1.
d) Double-click on the modulation signal selection switch and change the modulation
signal to a fixed value of D = 0.8. Double-click on the torque selection switch and
change the load torque to be equal to 10 N.m from start-up until t = 1 s, when the load
torque becomes - 10 N.m. Run the simulation. Obtain the same waveforms and record the
same parameters as in step c). Note: If the system does not reach the steady-state during
the simulation time, simply indicate > or < than the values at the last simulation point.
Fill Table 3.2.

Fig. 3.4 2-quadrant DC-DC converter feeding a DC motor.

IV.

QUESTIONS
1) Why is the settling time of the 1-quadrant converter larger than that of the 2-quadrant
converter when there is a step variation in D and the DC motor operates at no-load? Why
are the settling times of the two converters similar during the start-up transient with D =
0.8 and load torque equal to 10 N.m?
2) Consider the case of the DC motor supplied by the 2-quadrant DC-DC converter with D
21

= 0.8. Why does the shaft speed for a negative load torque is larger than that for no-load?
What is the meaning of a negative armature current when the motor operates with a
negative load torque?
3) Consider the case of the DC motor supplied by the 1-quadrant DC-DC converter with D
= 0.8. Why does the shaft speed keep increasing and the armature current is zero for a
negative load torque?

IV.

APPENDIX

TABLE 3.1 OPERATION WITH VARIABLE DUTY CYCLE (D) AT NO-LOAD

1-quadrant DC-DC converter
D = 0.8

D = 0.4

2-quadrant DC-DC converter

D = 0.8

D = 0.4

Settling time (ms)

m (rad/s)
Ia (A)
TABLE 3.2 OPERATION WITH CONSTANT DUTY CYCLE (D = 0.8) AND VARIABLE LOAD TORQUE
1-quadrant DC-DC converter
TL = 10 N.m

TL = -10 N.m

Settling time (ms)

m (rad/s)
Ia (A)

22

2-quadrant DC-DC converter

TL = 10 N.m

TL = -10 N.m

EXPERIMENT 4
Single-Phase Voltage DC-AC Converters
I.

OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, the student should:

1.

Study by simulation and experimentation the operation of single-phase voltage source

DC-AC converters (inverters), also known as VSIs, in open loop.

2.

Become familiarized with Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) techniques,

specifically the Bipolar and the Unipolar SPWM.

II.

THEORY

Two basic topologies of single-phase voltage source inverter, the half-bridge and the fullbridge, are illustrated in Fig. 4.1. The supply is represented by a pure DC voltage source (output
resistance and inductance are neglected), the switches (IGBTs), capacitors and diodes are
considered ideals and the load by an RL combination. The half-bridge topology presents one
inverter leg and a capacitive leg with two large splitting capacitors. In this way, the voltage
across each capacitor is equal to half of the DC bus voltage. Since the load is connected between
the midpoints of the capacitive and inverter legs, the load voltage will present only 2 levels: +/0.5 Vd, where Vd is the DC bus voltage. Besides, the power that can be supplied to the load by
the half-bridge topology is only half of that supplied by a full-bridge topology, assuming that all
switches have the same ratings and that both topologies present the same DC bus voltage. The
full-bridge topology consists of two inverter legs. The load is connected between the mid-points
of the two inverter legs. The load voltage can have up to 3 levels, 0V and +/- 0.5 Vd, depending
on the SPWM technique that is employed.
There are two ways to implement SPWM techniques in single-phase full-bridge voltage
source inverters. These are named Bipolar and Unipolar operation modes. The half-bridge
topology is limited to the Bipolar technique. One alternative to generate the appropriate gating
signals for the Bipolar and Unipolar operation modes is by comparing a sinusoidal modulating
signal with a triangular carrier as shown in Fig. 4.2(a) and Fig. 4.2(b), respectively. Note: Due to
23

the way the SPWM gating signals are implemented in the simulation software and in the
experimental set-up, it is not possible to see the comparison between the two waveforms.
The waveforms associated with the ideal configuration of the full-bridge VSI operating with
Bipolar and Unipolar SPWM are presented in Fig. 4.3 and Fig. 4.4. The switches in the same
inverter leg have to switch complementarily to avoid short-circuiting the leg.

Fig. 4.1 Single-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) topologies: a) Half-bridge, b) Full-bridge.

Q 4, Q 1
triangular

Q 3, Q 2

Q1

Q3

Q2

Q4

triangular
-

modulating

-1
modulating

a)

b)

Fig. 4.2 Gating signal generation for single-phase full-bridge VSI. a) Bipolar mode. b) Unipolar mode.

24

vsw1

i sw1

1
1

-1
0

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

18ms

32ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

a)

30ms

32ms

i D1

vg1

28ms

f)
vD1
0

-1

-1
18ms

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

20ms

22ms

32ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

32ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

32ms

g)

b)

iL

1
0

0
-1

vL

-1
18ms

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

20ms

c)
vg2

22ms

24ms

h)

32ms

.8

fo = 60 Hz

f = 960

load voltage spectrum

2f = 1920

-1

3f = 2880

4f = 3840

0
0.0KH

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

1.0KH

2.0KH

3.0KH

4.0KH

i)

32ms

d)
f = 960

.8

vd
1

dc supply current spectrum

2f = 1920
3f = 2880

0
0

id

0.0KH

-1
18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

4f = 3840

28ms

30ms

1.0KH

2.0KH

3.0KH

4.0KH

j)

32ms

e)

Fig. 4.3 Single-phase full-bridge Bipolar SPWM ideal VSI waveforms (ma=0.8, mf=16, pf=0.8).
a) Modulating and triangular waveforms for switch 1. b) Gating pattern for switch 1. c) Modulating and
triangular waveforms for switch 2. d) Gating pattern for switch 2. e) DC supply voltage (vd) and DC
supply current (id). f) Switch voltage (vsw1) and switch current (isw1). g) Diode anode-cathode voltage (vD1)
and diode current (iD1). h) Load voltage (vL) and load current (iL). i) Load voltage spectrum (vL). j) DC
supply current spectrum (id).

27

vsw1

i sw1

1
1

-1
0

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

18ms

32ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

a)
vg1

28ms

30ms

32ms

28ms

30ms

32ms

28ms

30ms

32ms

f)
i D1
vD1
0

-1

-1
18ms

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

20ms

22ms

32ms

24ms

26ms

g)

b)
1

iL

1
0
0
-1

vL

-1
18ms
18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

20ms

32ms

24ms

26ms

h)

c)
vg2

22ms

.8

fo = 60 Hz

load voltage spectrum

2f = 1920

4f = 3840

-1

0
0.0KH

18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

1.0KH

2.0KH

3.0KH

4.0KH

i)

32ms

d)

dc supply current spectrum

.8

vd
1

2f = 1920

id

4f = 3840
0
0
0.0KH
18ms

20ms

22ms

24ms

26ms

28ms

30ms

32ms

1.0KH

2.0KH

3.0KH

4.0KH

j)

e)

Fig. 4.4 Single-phase full-bridge Unipolar SPWM ideal VSI waveforms (ma=0.8, mf=16, pf=0.8).
a) Modulating and triangular waveforms for switch 1. b) Gating pattern for switch 1. c) Modulating and
triangular waveforms for switch 2. d) Gating pattern for switch 2. e) DC supply voltage (vd) and DC
supply current (id). f) Switch voltage (vsw1) and switch current (isw1). g) Diode anode-cathode voltage (vD1)
and diode current (iD1). h) Load voltage (vL) and load current (iL). i) Load voltage spectrum (vL). j) DC
supply current spectrum (id).

28

Preliminary calculations
1) Calculate the R and L elements of a load that consumes 2.5 kVA with PF = 0.8 when
supplied with 120 V / 60 Hz.
2) Compute the modulation index ma required for a full-bridge voltage source inverter with
a DC bus voltage of 200 V to supply 120 V / 60 Hz in the output.
3) Calculate the magnitude of the DC component and of the lowest order harmonic in the
DC side current of the VSI when it supplies rated power (2.5 kVA and PF = 0.8).

III.

PROCEDURE

3.1.

Simulation

a) Open file Exp41.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 4.5. Note that the half-bridge inverter
presents Vdc = 400 V and is controlled with Bipolar SPWM while the full-bridge inverter
presents Vdc = 200 V and is controlled with Unipolar SPWM. Adjust the load elements
of both VSIs to R = 4.6 and 9.2 mH.
b) Adjust the modulation index to 0.85 and carrier frequency to 900 Hz in the blocks called
Pulses, in red.
c) Plot the following waveforms for both VSIs: Input (DC) current, load current and load
voltage. Identify the main differences between the ones for the half-bridge and the ones
for the full-bridge VSIs.
d) Obtain and compare the harmonic spectra of the input (DC) current and load (AC)
voltage of the two VSIs.
e) Plot the current and voltage waveforms across a switch of the two VSIs. Identify the main
differences between the ones for the half-bridge and the ones for the full-bridge VSIs.
f) Plot the harmonic spectra of the input (DC) current and output (AC) voltage of the two
VSIs for a modulation index equal to 1.2. Recall that this value corresponds to the overmodulation case. Compare the results for this case and also with those obtained for a
modulation index of 0.85. Hint: Use the FFT analysis of the powergui.

29

Fig. 4.5 Single-phase half-bridge and full-bridge VSIs with Bipolar and Unipolar SPWM, respectively.

3.2.
1.
2.

Experimentation
Connect the module as shown in Fig. 4.6 (Bipolar SPWM)
Choose the following settings:
On the Power Supply:
Voltage Selector..................................................................................................... 7-N
On the Chopper/Inverter Control Unit:
MODE..................................................................................................... CHOP.PWM
DC SOURCE 2 ........................................................................................ mid position
On the Power MOSFETS module:
Interconnection Switch S1 ...........................................................................................1
On the Waveform Generator:
Function .......................................................................................................Sinusoidal
Frequency............................................................................................................60 Hz
Amplitude ...................................................................................................... 8 V peak
30

DC offset.................................................................................................................0 V
On the Oscilloscope:
Channel-1 Sensitivity...............................................................2 V/DIV (DC coupled)
Channel-2 Sensitivity...............................................................2 V/DIV (DC coupled)
Vertical Mode .............................................................................................. CHOPped
Time Base .....................................................................................................2 ms/DIV
Trigger Source ...................................................................................................... Line
Trigger Coupling..................................................................................................... AC
POWER MOSFET
24 V
60 HZ

low
power
input

I dc

CH-2

Q1

I ac

Q2

0.2 Adc

1A

i1
CH-1

0.2 Aac

Rl = 300

120 Vdc

e1

E ac
Ll = 0.8 H
Q4

dc source

300 V

Q5
9

waveform
generator

250 Vac

1
modulation index
2
switching freq.

firing
control
inputs

chopper /
inverter
control unit

Fig. 4.6 Single-phase full-bridge VSI experimental set-up (Bipolar SPWM)

3.

4.
5.

On the power supply, make sure that the voltage control knob is set to the O position and
then set the 24 Vac and main power switches to the 1 (ON) position. Slowly set the voltage
control knob of the power supply to obtain 120 Vdc ( 75%).
On the Chopper/Inverter Control Unit, adjust the DC SOURCE 2 control knob to obtain a
switching frequency of 900 Hz.
On the Waveform Generator, adjust the Amplitude knob to obtain the following modulation
indices (ma):
ma = 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, and 0.8.
31

6.
7.
8.

Record the DC current, AC voltage/current as a function of ma.

Sketch the load voltage/current for ma = 0.8.
On the Power Supply, set the voltage control knob to the O position and then set the main
power and 24 Vac switches to the O position.

IV.

QUESTIONS
1) Comment on the differences of the two PWM modulating techniques in terms of
input/output waveforms quality and switch/diode voltage/current waveforms. (Sections
3.1.c and 3.1.e)
2) Comment on the linearity of the modulating techniques and on the effects of the overmodulation. (Sections 3.1.f and 3.2.5)
3) Comment on the differences of the two single-phase VSI topologies in terms of AC/DC
gains, flexibility in terms of modulation techniques that can be employed and cost and
ratio output power / total switch power rating. (General)

32

EXPERIMENT 5
SINGLE-PHASE SWITCH-MODE
AC-DC CONVERTERS
I.

OBJECTIVES
In this experiment, the student should:

1.

Study by simulation the operation of single-phase switch-mode voltage source AC-DC

converters (rectifiers), with Unipolar Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) in
open loop.

2.

Investigate the operation of single-phase switch-mode voltage source rectifiers operating

with Hysteresis Current Control (HCC) in closed loop.

II.

THEORY

Switch-mode AC-DC converters are bi-directional power converters that can operate as
inverters and rectifiers. Voltage source AC-DC converters operating as inverters were discussed
in the previous experiment. This experiment focuses on the rectifier mode of operation, when
power flows from the AC to the DC side of the converter. Often, a coupling inductor is used in
the AC side and a filter capacitor is used in the DC side, as shown in Fig. 5.1. The former is
usually selected to limit the magnitude of the switching harmonics while the latter is designed to
attenuate the magnitude of the second order voltage harmonic across the load. For proper
operation, the magnitude of the voltage at the DC bus (Vdc) should be larger than the peak value
of the grid voltage ( ). Only positive voltages are allowed in the DC side of the converter. The
direction of the active power flow is controlled via the direction of the current in the DC side.
The main advantage of switch-mode DC-AC converters with respect to diode- and
thyristor-based rectifiers is that they allow control of active and reactive power flow, in an
independent way. They can operate with unity power factor or with leading power factor,
supplying reactive power to the AC side. Besides, by operating with switching frequencies much
higher than the line frequency, they can be controlled to produce only high order switching
harmonics that are easier to filter.
33

Fig. 5.1 Single-phase switch-mode AC-DC converter.

The analysis of the active and reactive power flowing in an AC-DC converter can be done
using the simplified circuit shown in Fig. 5.2.a. The AC-DC converter is represented by an ideal
voltage source corresponding to the fundamental component of the voltage at the AC side of the
converter (Vinv_1). Assuming that the direction of the grid current is towards the power converter,
the following expression can be derived:

By controlling the magnitude and phase

where
of the inverter voltage (Vinv_1), one can control the magnitude and phase of the current drawn
from the grid and consequently the active and reactive power absorbed by the AC-DC converter.
Regarding the harmonic components of the current at the AC side of the power converter, they
can be calculated using the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 5.2.b. The ideal 60 Hz voltage source
(grid) is considered as a short circuit for components of other (harmonic) frequencies, created by
the switching of the power converter. In such a case, the magnitude of the harmonic currents can
be computed as:

Fig. 5.2 (a) Equivalent circuit for fundamental component analysis, (b) Equivalent circuit for harmonic
component analysis.

34

Common techniques for generating the gating signals of AC-DC converters are Sinusoidal
Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) and Hysteresis Current Control (HCC). In the first case, the
RMS value of the fundamental component of the voltage at the AC side of the depends on the
voltage at the DC bus of the converter (Vdc) and on the modulation index (ma) according to

while its phase () is the same as of the modulating (control) waveform.

For the Hysteresis Current Control, a desired reference current for the AC side is
provided and the switches are turned on and off so as to keep the actual current within a
tolerance band ( A) around the reference current. It should be noted that as the tolerance band
decreases, the average switching frequency increases. The HCC method used in the simulation
file is of the two-level type, meaning that the instantaneous voltage at the AC side of the power
converter is equal to either Vdc or Vdc.
Preliminary calculations
Consider a single-phase AC-DC converter operating with Unipolar SPWM from an ideal
120 V/ 60 Hz voltage source. The frequency of the triangular carrier is 1260 Hz. The coupling
(ac) inductor is equal to 4 mH and the output (DC bus) filter capacitor is equal to 1mF. Compute:
1) The modulation index (ma) and the angle of the sinusoidal modulating signal () so that
one can supply 1.2 kW to a resistive load at 300 Vdc with unity power factor.
2) The magnitude of the 2nd order voltage harmonic across the load for the above operating
condition.
3) The frequency and magnitude of the dominant AC side current harmonic. How large is it
with respect to the fundamental current component? Hint: Use Table 8-1 of the textbook
and consider the modulation index ma to be equal to 0.6, for this calculation.
4) Repeat item 1 for operation with power factor equal to 0.8, leading.

III.

SIMULATION PROCEDURE

3.1.

Unipolar SPWM AC-DC Converter in Open Loop

a) Open file Exp51.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 5.3. Note that the power converter
operates with Unipolar SPWM. Adjust the DC side elements to R = 75 and C = 1 mF.

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b) Adjust the carrier frequency to 1260 Hz, the modulation index to 0.57, the output voltage
frequency to 60 (Hz) and the phase to -7.16 () in the block called Pulses, in red.
c) Plot the following waveforms: Grid voltage and AC side current, input (AC side)
converter voltage, output (DC side) converter current and load voltage.
d) Obtain the harmonic spectra of the AC side current and DC side voltage. Record the
values of the fundamental component and dominant harmonic of the AC current and the
DC and second order (120 Hz) component at the load voltage. Compare these values to
those of the preliminary calculations. Hint: For a better view of the waveforms, select the
Display the FFT window in the Powergui FFT Analysis Tool.
e) Adjust the modulation index to 0.623 and the phase to -6.55 () in the block called
Pulses.
f) Repeat step c). Is the phase of the AC side current waveform as expected?
g) Obtain the harmonic spectrum of the DC side voltage waveform. Record the values of the
DC and second order (120 Hz) component. Compare these values to those obtained with
unity power factor.

Fig. 5.3 Single-phase switch-mode AC-DC converter operating with Unipolar SPWM in open-loop.

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3.2.

Hysteresis Current Controlled (HCC) AC-DC Converter in Closed Loop

a) Open file Exp52.mdl with the circuit shown in Fig. 5.4. Note that power converter
operates with HCC for unity power factor and an output voltage of 300 Vdc. Also that a
breaker will double the load power at 0.25 s. Adjust the switch on and switch off

points (tolerance band) of the hysteresis current controller (HCC) block, in red, to 1 (A)
and -1 (A), respectively.
b) Run the simulation and plot the following waveforms: Grid voltage and AC side current,
input (AC side) converter voltage, output (DC side) converter current and load voltage.
What happens to the output voltage after the load increases at 0.25 s? Does the voltage
remain regulated in steady state? What happens to the magnitude of the voltage ripple
(120 Hz component)?
c) Obtain the harmonic spectra of the AC side current and DC side voltage for the time
interval between 0.15 s and 0.2 s. For the AC side current, record the values of the
fundamental component, the total harmonic distortion (THD) and the frequency range
where most of the harmonics appear. For the DC side voltage, record the magnitudes of
the DC and second order (120 Hz) component at the load voltage. Compare these values
to those of the preliminary calculations.
d) Obtain the harmonic spectra of the AC side current and DC side voltage for the time
interval between 0.4 s and 0.45 s. For the AC side current, record the values of the
fundamental component. For the DC side voltage, record the magnitudes of the DC and
second order (120 Hz) component at the load voltage. Compare these to the values
obtained for the previous interval where the power demanded by the load was half of the
power demanded in this period.
e) Adjust the switch on and switch off points (tolerance band) of the hysteresis current
controller (HCC) block, in red, to 2.5 (A) and -2.5 (A), respectively.
f) Run the simulation and plot the following waveforms: Grid voltage and AC side current,
input (AC side) converter voltage, output (DC side) converter current and load voltage.
Any major changes with respect to the operation with a narrower (-1 A to 1 A) tolerance
band, observed before?
g) Obtain the harmonic spectra of the AC side current for the time interval between 0.15 s
and 0.2 s. Record the values of the fundamental component, the total harmonic distortion
(THD) and the frequency range where most of the harmonics appear. Compare these
values to the ones obtained before, for the -1 A to 1 A tolerance band.

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Fig. 5.4 Single-phase switch-mode AC-DC converter operating with HCC in closed-loop.

IV.

QUESTIONS
1) Comment on possible reasons why the values of the DC component of the output voltage
and the fundamental component of the AC current did not match very well the design
specifications used for the calculation of the modulation index (ma) and phase angle for
the SPWM. (Section 3.1.e)
2) Explain the difference in the magnitude of the second order voltage components found in
the DC bus of the AC-DC converter as the power factor changes from 1 to 0.8, lagging.
(Section 3.1.g)
3) Discuss the impact of the width of the tolerance band used in the Hysteresis Current
controlled AC-DC converter on the THD and on the harmonic spectrum of the AC side
current. (Section 3.2.g)

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