POWER ELECTRONICS AND INSTRUMENTATION

EC307

FACULTY: P.SURESH
•
COURSE OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this course is:

1 To provide an insight on the concepts of Power Electronics and
Electronic instruments.
2 To study the applications of Power electronics such as
Switched mode regulators and inverters.
3 To develop understanding of the concept ofTransducers and
Digital instruments.
SYLLABUS
Power semiconductor switches and its static and dynamic
characteristics. Switched mode regulators, SMPS, Switched
mode inverters, UPS.
Performance characteristics of instruments, Measurement of
passive components, Different Transducers, Digital
Instruments.
 EXPECTED OUTCOME

The student should able:

1 To understand the concepts of Power Electronics and the

various applications.

2 To get an insight on various electronic instruments, their

configuration and measurements using them.

3 To understand the principle of operation of Transducers

Text Books:
1 Umanand L., Power Electronics Essentials and Applications,

Wiley India, 2015.

2 Rashid M. H., ”Power Electronics Circuits, Devices and

Applications”, Prentice Hall India, Third Edition, New Delhi.

3 Bell D. A., Electronic Instrumentation and Measurements,

Oxford University Press, 2003.

References:
1 Mohan N. and T. M. Undeland, Power Electronics:

Converters, Applications and Design, John Wiley, 2007.

2 Mandal, Power Electronics 1e, McGraw Hill Education India,

2014
3 Nakra, Instrumentation, Measurement and Analysis,4e, Mc

Graw –Hill Education New Delhi,2016

4 Daniel W. Hart, Power Electronics, McGraw Hill, 2011.

5 Doeblin E., Measurement Systems, 5/e, McGraw Hill, 2003.

6 Helfrick A. D. and W. D. Cooper: Modern Electronic

Instrumentation and Measurement Techniques, 5/e, PHI,

2003.
 MODULE I

Linear Electronics versus Power Electronics - Power

semiconductor switches.

Power diodes-structure, static and dynamic characteristics

Power transistors - Power BJT, Power MOSFET, GTO and

IGBT

Steady state and switching characteristics of Power BJT,

Power MOSFET and IGBT.
 MODULE II

Introduction to Switched mode regulators

Buck, Boost and Buck-Boost DC-DC converters

Waveforms and expression of DC-DC converters for output

voltage, voltage and current ripple under continuous
conduction mode. (Derivation not required)

Isolated converters - Flyback, Forward, Push Pull, Half Bridge

and Full Bridge Converters - waveforms and governing
equations. (Derivation not required)
 MODULE III
Overview of SMPS, Switched mode inverters- Principles of
PWM switching schemes.

Single phase inverters - half bridge, full bridge and push pull.

UPS - on line and off line.

Three phase inverters - PWM and Space vector modulation in

three phase inverters.
 MODULE IV

Generalized configurations of instruments - Functional

elements. Classification of instruments.

Generalized performance characteristics of instruments -

Static characteristics and Dynamic characteristics.

Measurement of: resistance using Wheastone’s bridge,

inductance using Maxwell-Wien bridge, and capacitance using
Schering’s bridge.
 MODULE V

Transducers - Classification, Selection of transducers.

Resistance transducers - Principle of operation, strain gauge.

Inductive Transducers: LVDT.

Capacitive transducers - different types, capacitor microphone,

Hall Effect transducer, proximity transducers.
 MODULE VI
Electronic Multimeter, Audio Power Meter, RF power meter

Digital Instruments - Basics, digital measurement of time,

phase, frequency and digital voltmeter

Frequency synthesizer, Spectrum analyzers, Logic State

analyzers (block diagram only).

Digital storage oscilloscope – Working Principle, controls and

applications.
Question Paper Pattern The question paper consists of three
parts.

Part A covers modules I and II,

Part B covers modules III and IV and

Part C covers modules V and VI.

Each part has three questions.

Each question can have a maximum of four subparts.

Among the three questions one will be a compulsory question

covering both the modules and the remaining two questions will be
as one question from each module, of which one is to be answered.

Mark pattern is according to the syllabus with 100 % for theory.

WHAT IS POWER ELECTRONICS
It is a branch of electrical engineering dealing with the conversion
and control of electrical energy using electronic converters(eg.
AC-DC, AC-AC, DC-DC, DC-AC etc..). These converters are
developed using semiconductor switches like power diodes, power
transistors, power MOSFETS, IGBTs etc.

Figure: power diodes power transistor

Power Electronics Involves the study of:
Power semiconductor devices - their physics, characteristics,
drive requirements and their protection for optimum
utilisation of their capacities
Power converter topologies involving power semiconductor
devices
Control strategies of the converters
Digital, analogue and microelectronics involved
Capacitive and magnetic energy storage elements
Rotating and static electrical devices
Quality of waveforms generated
Electro Magnetic and Radio Frequency Interference
Thermal Management
Difference between Linear Electronics and Power
Electronics:

It is not primarily in the handling capacity or power rating of

the devices.

The difference lies in the area of operation of the device.

A conventional transistor based amplifier works in the linear

region of the curve while the power electronic switch works in
the saturation zone or cut off zone.
We can comapre the differene between Linear Electronics and Power
Electronics by studying how the Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT) is
used in both Linear Electronics and Power Electronics.
Linear Electronics Power Electronics
The BJT is operated in the lin- All devies are operated in switch-
ear zone of the output character- ing mode- either fully ON or fully
istics curve as the emphasis is on OFF
the quality of amplification.
due to poor linearity the satura- The device is operated in the sat-
tion and cut off zones are avoided uration and cut off zones as losses
are less in these zones.
The transistor is biassed to oper- there is no concept of Q point.
ate it at the Q point
All three configurations are used generally the common emmitter
i.e. common base, common col- mode is used with the load con-
lector and common emitter nected either on collector or em-
mitter
Utilising the complete transistor the transistor rating is selcted
rating is of secondary importance based on utilisation, i.e. rating
matches the requirement
The task or objective of any power electronics system is to
process and control the flow of electrical energy to match the
voltage and current requirements that are optimal for the user
loads.
The input energy is generally from the power supply untility
company and has a line frequency of 50 Hz in India.
The power electronic system processes this input and
generates an output with the voltage, current, frequency and
number of phases as required by the load.

Figure: Block diagram of a Power Electronics system

Power conversion efficiency is an important parameter for any
power electronics equipment.
The system design is carried out to reduce the power losses
becasue of the difficulty in removing the heat generated due
to the dissipated energy and the cost of wasted energy.
In linear electronics the power transistor is utilised in the
active zone where the transistor acts as an adjustable resistor
resulting in low energy efficiency.
In power electronics the transistor is operated as a switch
(either fully OFF or Fully ON, i.e. in the cut-off or saturation
regions), which minimises energy loss during the conduction
stage.
There are losses during the switching stage which is directly
proportional to the switching frequency.
This switching loss is much lower than the loss in linear
regulated power supplies.
Smaller transformer and filter components with less weight
can be used on power electronic systems (due to the high
frequency swithcing) as comapred to the linear line frequency
 Power Electronics applications deal with the flow of power.

Most applications are based on PE switching where

semiconductor devices are used as power switches.

Some common semiconductor switches are:

- BJT - Bipolar Junction Transistor

- Thyristors - SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier)

- GTO - Gate Turn-OFF thyristor

- MCT - Metal oxide semiconductor Controlled Thyristor

- Power MOSFET

- Power IGBT
Study can be undertaken from various view points, namely:
* Physics Viewpoint
* Circuit Viewpoint
* Protection Viewpoint
* Drive Viewpoint
* Modelling Viewpoint
* Packaging Viewpoint

Swicthes handle large currents and dissipate considerable amounts

of heat.
Therefore thermal aspects need detailed attention in order to
ensure that the switch operates in the permissable junction
temperatures.
 Semiconductor devices should behave like switches.

they should emulate a SPST (Single Pole Single Throw)

Features that an ideal switch (SPST) should have:

1 On resistance = 0 (zero forward volatge drop)
2 OFF resistance = infinity (zero reverse current)
3 When Switch is ON – conducts infinite current in fwd and rev
directions
4 When Switch is OFF – switch withstands infinite fwd and
reverse voltage
5 Can switch instantaneously from OFF to ON and ON to OFF.
6 Power dissipated in switches is zero - both conduction and
switch transistion losses are zero.
7 ON to OFF and OFF to ON are fully controllable.
8 No power required for driving and controlling the switch.
Only few devices will be discussed in the course.
Will provide basic insight into the physics of operation of
semiconductor junction taking the diode as an example.
Circuit view point is discussed to aid selection of devices as
power switches for PE applications.