RidleyWorks15 02

USER GUIDE
i|RidleyWorks Manual
Manual Version 15.02
November 1, 2022
Copyright ©1991-2022 Ridley Engineering, Incorporated®
RidleyWorks® is copyrighted material. Unauthorized copies of the software may not be made. Your copy of RidleyWorks® may be used by you on one machine only,
and not distributed to others. Any modified, or enhanced versions of RidleyWorks® are also protected by this copyright notice. Full details of copyright notice are
provided on software package.
For more information, please contact Ridley Engineering directly for assistance. We are here to help you.
E-Mail: [email protected] http://www.ridleyengineering.com
ii | R i d l e y W o r k s M a n u a l
Table of Contents
1 Introduction to RidleyWorks® 4 3 Control Analysis Transfer Functions 27
1.1 Computer System Requirements (PC Based) 7 3.1 Turning On Control Options 27
1.2 Computer System Requirements (MAC Based) 7 3.2 Voltage-Mode and Current-Mode Control 28
1.3 RidleyWorks® Software Download 7 3.3 Interactive Compensation Adjustment 30
1.4 RidleyWorks® Software Installation 8 3.4 Voltage Feedforward Control 32
1.5 RidleyWorks® Software Upgrade 10
1.6 Loading Workbooks 10
1.7 Saving Workbooks 11 4 Magnetics Design 33
1.8 Saving Data Only and Transferring to New Version 11 4.1 Turning On Magnetics Options 33
1.9 Which Version Do I have? 12 4.2 Inductor Design Page 34
1.10 Help Notes 12 4.3 Choosing the Inductor Core Size 35
1.11 Software Support 13 4.4 Choosing the Inductor Core Material 36
1.12 Facebook Support Groups 13 4.5 Inductor Winding Design 37
4.6 Transformer Design 38
2 Design and Waveform Simulation 14

2.1 Entering Specifications and Topology 15 5 Exporting to LTspice® with SPICELaunch® 39
2.2 Running Waveform Simulations 18 5.1 Preparing an LTspice® file 39
2.3 Startup Simulation 20 5.2 Simulation Settings in LTspice® 40
2.4 Step-Load Transient Simulation 22 5.3 Simulating Transients in LTspice® 42
2.5 Adding Input Voltage Modulation 23 5.4 Generating Swept Bode Plots in LTspice® 43
2.6 AC Input Simulation 24 5.5 Generating Small-Signal Bode Plots in LTspice® 48
2.7 Exploring Further Simulation Options 26
2|RidleyWorks Manual
6 Exporting Models to PSIM 55 10.5 LLC Topology Choices 81
6.1 Preparing a PSIM file 55 10.6 LLC Circuit Optimization 82
6.2 Opening a PSIM schematic 56 10.7 LLC Circuit Simulation 83
6.3 Running PSIM simulations 57 10.8 High-Line Operation 84
6.4 Plotting PSIM Transient Waveforms 58 10.9 Exporting Waveforms from LTspice® 85
6.5 Sweeping loops in PSIM 59 10.10 Importing LLC Waveforms 86
6.6 Loop gain bode plot in PSIM 60 10.11 Viewing LLC Waveforms in RidleyWorks® 87
10.12 LLC Transformer Design 88
10.13 LLC Transformer Winding Design 89
7 Advanced Proximity Loss and Core Loss 61 10.12 LLC Inductor Design 90
7.1 Estimating Proximity Losses in RidleyWorks® 62 10.13 LLC Inductor Winding Design 91
7.2 Advanced Proximity Losses with LTspice® Modeling 66 10.12 LLC Gain Curve Schematic 92
7.3 Running LTspice® for Proximity Loss 67 10.13 LLC Gain Curves 93
7.4 Advanced Core Losses with LTspice® Modeling 69
7.5 Running LTspice® for Core Loss 70
Appendix A Error Messages 100
8 Using RidleyWorks® with the AP310 Analyzer 71
8.1 Connecting RidleyWorks® to the AP Analyzer 71 Appendix B License Agreement 110
8.2 Measuring Transfer Functions 74
9 Using RidleyWorks® with the RidleyBox® 75

9.1 Connecting RidleyWorks® to the RidleyBox® 75
9.2 RidleyBox® Interface 76
10 Designing LLC Converters with RidleyWorks® 77

10.1 Why LLC? 77
10.2 RidleyWorks® LLC Design Overview 78
10.3 Entering Specifications 79
10.4 Frequency Selection 80
1 Introduction to RidleyWorks®
RidleyWorks® is the only switching power supply design program which provides component design, large-signal simulation, feedback control design, and small signal
analysis in one easy-to-use package. Features of RidleyWorks®, Release 14 include:
• Power stage designer
• Magnetics designer (included in full version, not in Control and Simulation version.) Library of cores.
• 12 most popular topologies used in the industry. All topologies in one program allow you to compare quickly and easily
• Industry’s fastest cycle-by-cycle simulation shows true large-signal performance
• SPICELaunchTM instantly creates LTspice® files to continue design and more detailed simulation with all components selected.
• PSIM Link instantly creates PSIM schematics for more detailed, high-speed simulation.
• Unique LTspice® and PSIM circuit models for proximity loss and core loss.
• Control loop designer suitable for constant-frequency PWM
• Current-mode control using the latest and most accurate modeling techniques
• Voltage-mode control using the results of the PWM switch model
• CCM and DCM converter simulation and analysis
• Small-signal analysis of control system, including loop gain
• Digital compensation delay calculation
• Two-stage input filter design and analysis
• Output impedance analysis
• Audiosusceptibility or PSRR analysis
• Second-stage LC output filter analysis and design
• Snubber design and analysis
• Switching loss analysis for power FETs and IGBTs
There are three levels of application for this software. These levels are commensurate with experience to help you achieve the greatest value from RidleyWorks®
without the burden of struggling with the 5800+ design equations involved in arriving at the solution.
Level 1: Basic Design
At this level, you can simply input the power requirements for your circuit. When you click “OK”, the entire converter, including control loop, is designed for you. The
components are chosen for you based on your data, and these are working values which you can put into hardware with confidence. You can then examine the design
with the simulations of RidleyWorks® or convert designs to LTspice® files with our SPICELaunch® feature. We also have a direct link to automatically generate
simulation schematics for PSIM.
Level 2: Intermediate Design

Level two designers have design experience and want to input their knowledge as the design progresses. They want to understand and further optimize their design. At
this level, you will look carefully at the selected values from RidleyWorks® and change some of them to improve the design.
Level 3: Advanced Design

Level three designers not only know how to design an effective power supply— they know how to get maximum performance out of their power system for their very
specific applications. They have a library of preferred parts that work well for their applications and use these to fully optimize the design.
The magnetics design section works similarly in levels. You can view the transformer or inductor on the main design schematic and
1. Choose from simplified parameters and refer to a magnetics design house for completion.
2. Choose your own cores, wire, and other components and give the completed design to a manufacturer for production; or
3. Design the magnetics from the ground up using your own parameters and knowledge.
Regardless of your design experience, RidleyWorks® allows you to check and cross-check all parameters and results. You can stop at any time during the process and
view resulting waveforms and control parameters.
We hope you enjoy the benefits of this interactive design tool. To learn more about the powerful capabilities of the program, we highly recommend attending one of
our hands-on Five-Day Power Supply Design Courses.
1.1 Computer System Requirements (PC-Based)
To run RidleyWorks® effectively, any modern computer with at least Excel 2013 or later installed will work. The RidleyWorks® code is extremely efficient, and it does
not need a high-powered computer. It is also very compact, taking up only 16 MB of disk space.
You can select the 32-bit or 64-bit version of Excel when installing.
RidleyWorks® will work with Windows XP, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.
1.2 Computer System Requirements (MAC-Based)

Microsoft Office is available to run on the Apple, but Excel for MAC does not work as it should. You will be able load RidleyWorks®, but the formatting will not show
everything properly. In order to use RidleyWorks® on the MAC, you will need to install a Windows partition and the normal PC-based version of Excel (either 32-bit or
64-bit).
1.3 RidleyWorks® Software Download

The latest version of RidleyWorks® is available for download at
http://ridleyengineering.com/software-ridley/download-RidleyWorks.html
If you are installing for the first time, you should download the full install version, and if you are upgrading, download the update version.
In order to download the software, you will need a software product key which looks like
RIDLEYWORKS-XXXX-XXXX-XX
1.4 RidleyWorks® Software Installation
Overview
Install RidleyWorks® in c:\Users\<username>\Documents directory
Install LTspice® XVII in the default directory. You should see library files installed in c:\Users\<username>\Documents directory
Detailed Procedure
1. Earlier version of RidleyWorks® should first be removed using the Windows Uninstall utility.
2. You should have downloaded a zip file RIDLEYWORKSINSTALL on your computer. Inside this zip file, you will see the installation file:
RIDLEYWORKSINSTALL.EXE
There will also be RidleyWorks15.xx file in the zip file. You may be able to just copy this file into your RidleyWorks folder instead of doing a full upgrade.
Instructions will be on the download page.
3. Double click on the RIDLEYWORKSINSTALL application to install in your Documents folder.
3.2 In the target directory, you should see the following files when the installation program is done:
RidleyWorks15xx.xlsm
Transfer.xlsm
ridleyworks_to_LTspice®
ridleyworks_to_psim
You will also see a Config directory which contains the license files:
RIDLEYWORKS.dll
RIDLEYWORKS.dll.cm
RIDLEYWORKS dll.cm.ini
RIDLEYWORKS64.dll
RIDLEYWORKS64.dll.cm
RIDLEYWORKS64 dll.cm.ini
CMInstall.exe
The blue .xlsm filename is the main RidleyWorks® program which will run under Excel. The six files shown in green contain the permission code to work with your
specific password for the program, provided to you when you purchased RidleyWorks®. If you receive an error message that Excel cannot find the .dll
files, please refer to section 101 of this manual.
Error Code 1721 means that the installation process has not been completed due to your system
settings. If you do not see all the six green files in your directory, the software will not be allowed to run.
In this case, right click on the filename shown in red, and select Run As Administrator. Answer OK to any
questions, and at the end of the process, the extra green files in the list above should appear in the
directory.
4. To use the SPICELaunch® feature of RidleyWorks®, you will need to install LTspice® XVII. You can download that from Linear Technology’s site. Please install
LTspice® xvii in the c:\Users\<username>\Documents folder (this is usually the default.) Additional LTspice® file and subcircuits will be placed in the appropriate
folders on your computer when you install RidleyWorks® in step 3 above.
5. Double click on the blue file name to launch RidleyWorks®. When the program begins to load, you may get the message that it contains Macros. Click Enable
Macros. The first time that you load RidleyWorks®, there will be a registration process.
Select the file to be configured as a standalone program and enter the password which you should have received upon
purchase. After this, you will be asked to enter registration information, including address and contact information.
(If you receive an error about RidleyWorks.dll files not being found, please refer to page 78 of this manual.)
1.5 RidleyWorks® Software Upgrades

If you have already installed RidleyWorks® Release 10 or later, please uninstall it before installing the latest version on your computer.
1.6 Loading Workbooks

After registration, Excel will then proceed to open the specified workbook, and a page like that
shown in Fig. 1.1 will appear. Once you see this the words “License Verified” in the bottom left
corner, your product is fully registered.
To make sure sizing is correct for your display, click on Screen Size, and select the option that fit
your system. The pages will fit optimally on the screen when you select the toolbars option. You
can also use the zoom slide bar at the bottom right to adjust individual worksheets.
If you have a RidleyBox or an AP310, you can directly link to them by clicking on the picture.
Fig. 1.1: RidleyWorks® Guide Page

10 | R i d l e y W o r k s M a n u a l
1.7 Saving Workbooks
Your design in RidleyWorks® can be saved just like any Excel workbook. It is recommended that you save a project under a different name from the original file. To do
this, click on File Save As, and specify a folder and a name for your project.
Every time you do this, you will be saving a complete copy of RidleyWorks® together with the simulator, designer, and all the features of the program. It is a live copy
of your design, constantly analyzing and simulating any changes you make, not just the data.
1.8 Saving Data Only and Transferring Data to New Version

It is possible to save just the data from your design in a much smaller file. This feature has been added to allow you to easily transition your design to a new version of
the program without having to re-enter all your design choices. You can also send a design to your colleagues in a very small file.
To take advantage of this feature, it is necessary to
have two files open – RidleyWorks14.xlsm and
TRANSFER.xlsm. (the Transfer file should
automatically open.) Once you have opened these
files, go to the Power Stage page of RidleyWorks®
Save Data and click on the Export/Import Data button. When
you then click the Export button, your data that you
have entered will be placed in the TRANSFER.xlsm
file. Clicking on Import will load data from the
TRANSFER.xlsm file into your RidleyWorks®
worksheet.
You can then open the latest version of
RidleyWorks® and follow the process above to reload
your data into the new version.
1.9 Which Version Do I Have?
Fig. 1.2: RidleyWorks® Version Number and Recent Updates.
To find out which version you have installed, click on the RidleyWorks® name on the opening screen. You can also see the recent changes and upgrades by clicking on
the Updates button.
1.10 Help Notes

RidleyWorks® has extensive on-line help inside the program. Click on any of the help buttons to access notes about a particular feature of RidleyWorks®. A wealth of
design information is contained in the program, together with power supply design tips.
1.11 Software Support
If you are having problems installing or running RidleyWorks®, please call or e-mail for help. If no one is immediately available, please leave a message,
including your name and phone number, and your call will be returned as soon as possible. You can also choose to attach your RidleyWorks® file to an
email for assistance.
Phone: (US) 805 504 2212 E-Mail: [email protected]

(UK) +44 (0)1509 276 245
1.12 Facebook Support Group

If you are a part of Facebook, there is a group dedicated to power supply design with over 6000 industry members. Whenever a new version of the
software is available, a posting will be placed on this site, immediately notifying you. You can also ask questions about the software at this site. The
group is called
POWER SUPPLY DESIGN CENTER
2 Design and Simulation
RidleyWorks® has the fastest closed-loop power supply simulator available. It accurately simulates 800 cycles of closed-loop operation of a converter with
instantaneous results. Change parameter values, control design, or power stage elements and see the results on true large-signal waveforms instantly. To begin your
first design and simulation, click on Begin Design, and you will see be taken to the schematic page to select which features you want to use.
CLICK
Fig. 2.1: RidleyWorks® Guide Page with Start Menu
2.1 Entering Specifications and Topology
You will start working on the schematics page as shown below. This will let you see waveforms and small-signal measurements while interactively changing power
parts and control parts. An automatic expert-system design routine will help you with all component choices. If you are a new designer, you may choose to let
RidleyWorks® choose every parameter for you and you can expect a good working design. On the schematic page, you will see a power topology (a buck converter in
the figure below), a controller with all the settings needed to implement most constant-frequency options, and a feedback compensator. The compensator and
controller may all be in one chip and you have full control of all the parameters.
Schematic components in red are clickable, and you

CLICK
can edit their values and see components stresses. This
will be demonstrated in more detail later. First, though,
you will want to enter your specification for your
power system. To enter your power specifications, click
on the top blue button as shown.
Fig. 2.2: RidleyWorks® Schematic Page
The first area of the Specifications form lets you choose either DC or AC input. You can select the pre-
programmed ranges of ac, or enter specific voltages that you want to use. One of the unique advantages
of RidleyWorks is that there is no limit on the voltage ranges. The design process is not restricted to any
specific controller that may limit the operating ranges. Control chip choice, and semiconductor choice,
will come later.
If you plan on using a flyback converter, you can specify up to 5 outputs. Other converters are restricted
to single outputs in the present release, although this does not limit the experienced designer.
Airflow and temperature ranges will impact magnetics design. The higher the temperature, the larger
the magnetics size estimates will become.
The feedback can be configured as either nonisolated, or with a TL431 optocoupler.
Once you click OK on this form you will see a summary of your inputs to check, then you will be
presented with a set of choices for the topology of the power stage.
Fig. 2.3: RidleyWorks® Specifications Entry Form
Figure 2.4 shows the set of topologies available for the
input and output voltage specifications. Notice that the
boost topology is not possible since the output voltage
is lower than part of the input range of the converter.
Once you have selected a new topology, RidleyWorks®
CLICK will proceed to do an amazing amount of work. First, all
the power components will be selected. A controller
will then be optimized around the power stage to give
good transient performance and stability. Loop gains
will be plotted and analyzed. Finally, 400 cycles of large-
signal operation will be simulated. All of this is done
instantly. This will total change your design and
simulation experience. Your design procedure will
become much more interactive, trying far more options
and repetitively simulating as if you had a live
breadboard.
Before digging deeper into design values, it is very
valuable to look at circuit waveforms to see how the
converter is operating. At this point, you have had no
input to design values and RidleyWorks® will provide
you with fully automated results for a realistic
converter. You can verify this by looking at the
waveforms of the circuit.
Fig. 2.4: RidleyWorks® Topology Choices
2.2 Running Waveform Simulations
CLICK
Figure 2.5 shows the selection of voltages and currents

that can be probed with RidleyWorks®. The simulation
algorithm inside RidleyWorks® is so fast that you will
routinely run hundreds of simulations during a design
session, never having to wait for the results. Every time a
component is changed, another 400-cycle simulation is
run to confirm that the converter is operating properly.
To begin doing this click on the blue button labeled

Waveforms, then click on the scope probe at the output
of the converter.
Fig. 2.5: RidleyWorks® Waveform Choices
Fig. 2.6: RidleyWorks® Output Voltage Waveform
RidleyWorks® automatically simulates 800 cycles at a time. To zoom in on this waveform, treat the controls of RidleyWorks® just like a scope. Turn the Time Base dial
clockwise to zoom in by clicking on the up arrow next to the dial. Each time you click on the up arrow, the number of complete waveforms will be cut in half. You can
quickly turn the dial back to the original setting by clicking on the Min setting.
2.3 Startup Simulation
Startup
Fig. 2.8: RidleyWorks® Start Up Simulation Voltage Waveform
Startup of your converter can be simulated by clicking the green button as shown above. This will start with zero output voltage, and zero inductor current, and
simulate the converter into regulation as shown. It takes over 200 cycles to get the output voltage into regulation in the example shown. It can be instructive to click on
button to add the current waveform of the converter to show what effect the current limiting has on the performance of the startup.
Fig. 2.9: RidleyWorks® Start Up Simulation Voltage and Current Waveforms
In the red waveform of Figure 2.9, you can see that the converter enters current limiting during startup.
Determining the proper values of parameters such as current limit is crucial at the very early stages of design. The peak current will impact the design of magnetics and
sense resistors, and you don’t want to discover this kind of effect later in the design cycle. RidleyWorks® is ideal for this kind of work since it automatically designs all
compensation parameters at the very beginning of a design, and this is essential for proper simulation.
2.4 Step-Load Transient Simulation
STEP LOAD
LINE AND LOAD
Fig. 2.11: RidleyWorks® Step-Load Transient Simulation
The line and load conditions can be set as shown. Two values of load are shown. The first 200 cycles are run with 100% load, the second 200 cycles with 20% load.
Simulation of both the voltage and current are shown, with the inductor current entering DCM on the second transient when the load falls to 20%.
2.5 Adding Input Voltage Modulation
RidleyWorks® has the
capability to add sinusoidal
modulation on top of the
input dc voltage. It can also
be used to add modulation
to the reference voltage to
drive the output.
Modulation
Fig. 2.12: RidleyWorks® Input Line Modulation
2.6 AC Input Simulation
With the full version of RidleyWorks® you can
select an AC input and perform a simulation of
the input rectifier. Three choices of range are
available to you. When you check one of these
RECTIFIER buttons, as shown below, the expected low,
nominal, and high-line voltages will be filled in
for you. You can change these values if you
wish. Once you have checked an AC input, the
schematic will change on the input, showing
you the input rectifier block.
After clicking OK, click on the rectifier at the

input to see the simulated input waveforms.
AC INPUT
Fig. 2.13: Choosing AC Input on the Specifications Form (not available in Demo Version)
The simulation of input line
current and input capacitor
voltage are shown in the
figure above. This helps you
size the input capacitor
appropriately for the desired
amount of ripple at the input
of your converter.
Fig. 2.14: AC Input Waveforms for a 27 W Flyback Converter
2.7 Exploring Further Simulation Options
Many more simulation options are possible within RidleyWorks® and you are encouraged to try them. For example, with the transient load simulation in Fig. 2.11, you
can interactively see the change in transient performance with different value inductors and capacitors. You can move these values up and down while watching the
change in the waveforms. This is a truly unique feature of RidleyWorks® that will change the way that you do your designs and greatly speed up the process.
You are encouraged to try all these options in RidleyWorks®. Let us know what you see and tell us if there are additional features of that you would like to see included
in the program in the future. Once you have a license for the software, all upgrades are free if your license is current.
Please contact us to let us know what you would like to see included in the program in the future. We are constantly upgrading the software to respond to user’s
needs.
3 Control Analysis Transfer Functions
LOOP
RidleyWorks® has unsurpassed techniques for designing and
analyzing the control system for a switching power supply.
The analysis techniques and design routines have evolved
over a period of 25 years to give you all the control
information that you need to optimize the performance of
your power supply.
CONTROL
3.1 Turning On Control Options

When you click on the Control Design blue button you will
see the green options buttons below appear on the power
stage schematic. (If you don’t see the Z Out and the
Audiosusceptibility buttons, make sure these features are
checked when you click on the Features button.)
Once you see the green control buttons, click on the Loop
button to see the main control transfer functions.
Fig. 3.1: Control Design Options in RidleyWorks®

3.2 Current-Mode and Voltage-Mode Control
Figure 3.2 shows the control transfer
functions which are available in
SELECT PLOTS RidleyWorks®. You can select multiple
plots to be shown all at the same time as
shown in the box above. Measurements
from the AP300 Frequency Response
Analyzer can also be overlaid on the graph
to compare with predictions.
You can do many things on these graphs,
including moving the line and load up and
down, and changing the values of the
inductor and capacitor in the converter.
As you change these values, you can see
the immediate effect on the power stage,
compensation and loop gain.
Fig. 3.2: Current-Mode Control Transfer Function Bode Plots in RidleyWorks®

Note that when you change the inductor and capacitor values, each time you click on the button, the control loop is optimized for the new power stage and the
transfer function plotted for the updated design. RidleyWorks® will automatically detect whether the converter is operating in CCM or DCM and provide the
appropriate transfer function. If you wish to see details of the converter you can click on the Power Stage Details button and it will give you the poles and zeros.
The Compensation button is a feature of RidleyWorks® that lets you interactively move the shape of the compensation values while looking at the shape of the loop at
the same time. Figure 3.2 shows the transfer functions for current-mode control, the default control scheme chosen for all converters except the half-bridge.
If you click on the Control
Mode button, you can
change your selection to
voltage-mode control.
Once you do this, the
compensator will be re-
optimized and the
resulting transfer
functions plotted.
MODE
Fig. 3.3: Voltage-Mode Control Transfer Function Bode Plots in RidleyWorks®
3.3 Interactive Compensation Adjustment
It is possible to look at the control

transfer functions of RidleyWorks®
while adjusting the pole and zero
locations of the compensation, as
shown in the figure above. Each
time you click the Adjust button the
zero or pole will be moved, new
ADJUST compensation components
selected, and the curves replotted.
COMPENSATION
COMPENSATION
Fig. 3.4: Interactive Adjustment of Compensation Poles and Zeros with Transfer Functions
You can also interactively change
the compensation parameters
while looking at the simulation
waveforms. This is a powerful and
completely unique feature of
RidleyWorks®. No other design or
simulation program has this
ADJUST capability.
Fig. 3.5: Interactive Adjustment of Compensation Poles and Zeros with Simulation Waveforms
3.4 Voltage Feedforward Control
It is possible to implement voltage-mode control with

feedforward. The normal implementation of this technique in
FEEDFORWARD
the control chip is to make the control ramp proportional to the
input voltage, scaled by an input voltage divider constant, k.
Vin When the input voltage is increased, the ramp size will increase,
Vp − p = and there will be an immediate change in duty cycle. This can
k greatly improve the transient response with changes in input
voltage. Normally it will be at least an order of magnitude
better, especially for buck-derived converters.
RAMP
In addition, the changing ramp will make sure that the loop gain
of the system stays fixed for different input voltages. This can be
very important for large ranges of input voltage, and
compensation will remain optimal across the entire range. The
converter will regulate much better, and step load response will
be improved at low line.
Fig. 3.5: Selecting Voltage-Mode with Feedforward
4 Magnetics Designer
4.1 Turning on the Magnetics
Features
Designer
On the Power Stage design page, clicking on the Features

button allows you to enable the magnetics design features of
RidleyWorks®. You will then see the Inductor Design and
Transformer Design button appear on the screen.
Click on either of these to start your magnetics design

process.
Magnetics
Fig. 4.1: Selecting the Magnetics Design Option Enables the Inductor and Transformer Designers
4.2 Inductor Design Page
Clicking the Inductor Design
button on the Power Stage page
will take you to the inductor
design sheet in RidleyWorks®.
On this page, pushing the blue
buttons on the right will step
you through a detailed design
process. This will include core
selection, material selection,
winding design, proximity loss
and many other details.
A crucial part of magnetics
development is the need for the
frequency response of the
component that has been
designed. There are links to both
the RidleyBox® and the AP310
analyzer from this page.
Fig. 4.2: Inductor Design Page Guides You Through Inductor Details
4.3 Choosing the Inductor Core Size
Core, turns Pushing the top button on the
inductor design page will bring
Core Design up the form for selecting the
design parameters of the
inductor. By default, a generic
core will be selected with a
recommended core area. This
lets you choose any specific core
that you or your company likes
to use that has approximately
that area. A larger core area will
run a little cooler, and a smaller
core size will have higher
dissipation. Your actual selection
will depend on your cooling
situation, and your need for
efficiency versus size.
If you click on the Select Core

button, you will be presented
with an array of standard cores
to use, and you can also add
your own favorite cores very
easily to the program.
Fig. 4.3: Inductor Core and Turns Selection
4.4 Choosing the Inductor Core Material
You can use any core selection with a variety of
core materials. RidleyWorks® incorporates a
unique core loss modeling techniques that
Material accurately give the loss for different materials.
Variable Steinmetz equation coefficients are used
to produce a much more accurate core loss
estimate than is available from the manufacturers.
Details of the techniques used to calculate the loss
are given in the Ridley Engineering Design Center
(www. http://www.ridleyengineering.com/design-
center.html) in paper [A03] Modeling Ferrite Core
Losses.
If you are using a different core material to those

shown, RidleyWorks® gives you the proper
frequency, flux level, and Delta B to be used with
core loss curves.
RidleyWorks® also selects the values of an RL
network to model the losses in LTspice® . This is a
nonlinear frequency-dependent loss model that
allows you to run an LTspice® simulate and click on
the core to see the losses. There is no need to use
core-loss curves.
Fig. 4.4: Inductor Core Material Selection

4.5 Designing Inductor Windings
Pushing the Winding button will show you the details of
the inductor winging. You can build inductors with foil,
helical windings, or with wire, and RidleyWorks® will help
you to optimize each of these. The foil winding thickness
Winding
Winding can be optimized with proper consideration for proximity
losses, by clicking the Minimize Loss button.
Details of the sophisticated techniques used to calculate

the proximity loss are given in the Ridley Engineering
Design Center (www.
http://www.ridleyengineering.com/design-center.html)
in numerous papers on magnetics design and analysis.
Fig. 4.5: Inductor Winding Design
4.6 Designing Transformers
RidleyWorks® has a powerful algorithm for designing
Turns and Core transformers, incorporating advanced core loss
calculation, proximity loss analysis, core and winding
selection, all in an easy-to-use package. The design
program interfaces closely with simulation waveforms
to provide fast, efficient, and reliable designs.
The sequence of design is similar to that of the
inductor. Start by clicking the Turns and Core button to
begin the design.
Fig. 4.6: Transformer Design Page
5 SPICELaunchTM
5.1 Preparing an LTspice® File
Designers often spend a lot of their development time in creating LTspice®
models for their converters. This is a process that requires experience with
magnetics models and power controllers. A powerful feature of
RidleyWorks® is the ability to automatically generate LTspice® schematic
files with just the click of a button.
When you click on the SPICELaunch® button, your will have the option to
create LTspice® schematics, or to adjust loop sweep settings. When using
this feature for the first time, click on the button to create the files, and you
will see the message that three LTspice® files have been created. These can
be found in the folder RidleyWorks LTspice® that is placed on your
computer’s desktop.
SPICELaunch
Fig. 5.1: Running SPICELaunchTM

5.2 Simulation Settings in LTspice®
If you double click on the LTspice® TRAN file that is in the folder on your desktop, it will automatically open LTspice® .
Before running a simulation, it is recommended that you set some parameters of LTspice® for better simulation accuracy. Select Tools Control Panel
Hacks! and set the check boxes as shown below.
LTspice®, like all versions of spice, may sometimes

struggle to converge during a simulation, and you
may need to adjust other simulation parameters to
help it along. This is one of the advantages of the
RidleyWorks® simulation – it never has convergence
issues and simulations are almost instantaneous.
GMIN Setting
VRser setting
Fig. 5.2: Setting Up LTspice® Hacks!
It is also recommended that your
Solver Engine should be selected as
Alternate. This will give greater
simulation accuracy. (The Normal
setting will simulate faster which
may be useful when generating the
Bode plots inside LTspice® .)
Gear Integration We also find that the Gear

integration routine works better for
transformer isolated converters, but
you might want to sometimes try
Alternate Solver the default settings if you run into
difficulty. The default setting is
Modified Trap, and that may work
better for some circuits.
The integration method settings are
not retained in LTspice® each time
you exit the program, so you will
need to set them each time you
come in.
Fig. 5.3: Setting Up LTspice® simulation parameters parameters
5.3 Simulating Transients in LTspice®
When you click on the running man icon,

the spice simulation will start. You can
then probe any waveform on the circuit.
The simulation above is the output
voltage during start-up of a circuit.
Although the spice simulation may be
slow, you have already done all of the
design of the control circuit and power
parts in RidleyWorks®, and you can now
use LTspice® for the things it is good at.
You can add any arbitrary circuits, any
devices, and move your design much
closer to the production schematic.
You will find that the combination of

RidleyWorks® and the rapid generation of
the schematics for LTspice® changes the
way that you design. It should greatly
speed up your process.
Fig. 5.3: Running LTspice® Transient Simulations
5.4 Generating Swept Bode Plots in LTspice®
Fig. 5.4: LTspice® Sweep Schematic for Bode Plots
A powerful new feature of RidleyWorks® is the generation of schematics which can produce Bode plots directly from the time-domain schematic. There is no need to
simulate small-signal equivalent circuits which are, by definition, approximations of the real circuit. For the first time, computers (in 2020) are fast enough that the
intensive simulation needed for Bode plot generation can be done in a reasonable amount of time. This kind of work was only possible up until now with specialized
high-speed simulation programs.
How fast can this be done? At the time of writing this manual, our record for simulation is just 24 seconds for a buck converter. This kind of speed is produced with the
following features in place:
1. Automatic generation of a loop compensation that is ruggedly stable
2. Emulation of the features of the AP300 analyzer with frequency-dependent source, automatically configured to give good results.
3. Proper setup of simulation times for steady-state solution.
For the example buck schematic above, the bode generation is initiated by clicking on the running man icon. If you then click on Point B of the schematic, you can
watch the waveforms being generated ready for measurement. This is done in a very similar way to the powerful AP300 analyzer.
Generation of the sweep schematic is a single button click in RidleyWorks®, and there is no need to change any settings from the default file that is generated. Figure
5.5 shows the repeated sweep waveforms generated in LTspice® . It is very instructional to watch this procedure to enhance your understanding of how the AP300
frequency response analyzer works.
These waveforms are generated by clicking on the Run icon, then clicking a probe on the output voltage of the converter.
Fig. 5.5: LTspice® Sweep Waveforms at Point B of the Circuit.
Once the sweeps shown above are done, and the data has been processed by LTspice®, click on View then Spice Error Log. (If the Spice Error Log option is greyed out,
LTspice® has not yet finished processing the simulation data.) A file similar to that shown in Figure 5.6 will then appear:
Right click in the space to the right of the numbers on the screen and select the option Plot .Step’d meas
data. Answer Yes to the question that pops up about complex data, and you will see Bode plot Axes appear.
If you right click in the plot area, you can then add traces, and the Loop Gain, Power Stage Gain, and
Compensation Gain are available as options.
Figure 5.6 shows the sweep for a buck power stage gain. Notice that approaching half the switching
frequency, noise is apparent on the sweep. This noise characteristic will be very familiar to anyone who has
used the AP300 or the RidleyBox on a switching power supply.
Fig. 5.6: LTspice® Error Log
Figure 5.7 shows the sweep for a buck power stage.
Fig. 5.7: LTspice® Bode Plot of a Buck Power Stage Gain
Figure 5.8 shows the sweep for a
buck power loop gain. Notice
that the phase of this plot is
reading phase margin, not
phase. The cursors on the loop
gain show the crossover
frequency and the phase margin
at this crossover.
Fig. 5.8: LTspice® Bode Plot of a Buck Loop Gain
The ability to sweep the transfer functions on the large-signal schematic inside LTspice® or PSIM is a powerful tool for finding the bode plots of circuits that don’t have
small-signal models available for them and we encourage you to explore this feature of the software.
However, there are times when technique this cannot be used, such as:
• The circuit is not stable

• The desired sweep frequency is too low (10 Hz is very time consuming in LTspice®, not an issue in PSIM)
• Characteristics of the ac sweep are below the noise-floor resolution of the technique.
The next section of this manual describes another method of obtaining loop gains and other transfer functions via the small-signal models.
5.5 Generating Small-Signal Bode Plots in LTspice®
The major modern work on small-signal models for

power converters was initiated by Dr. Vatché
Vorpérian with the publication of the PWM Switch
Model in 1988. Models were completed by Dr. Ray
Ridley with the publication of his Current-Mode
Model in 1990. If you are new to power supply
design, these models can take some time to become
familiar with and implement in your circuit
simulator. We have fully automated this process for
the first time, putting small-signal analysis at every
engineer’s fingertips.
Click SpiceLaunch Release 12.35 of RidleyWorks® exports a small-signal

model for use with LTspice® . This provides a rapid
high-speed design and simulation environment for
the feedback networks. All characteristics of input
and output filters will be seen in the loop
characteristics, providing more detailed sweeps than
those available in RidleyWorks®.
Fig. 5.9: Exporting an LTspice® Small-Signal File. Three files are automatically exported: a transient simulation, a swept-sine simulation, and a small-signal model.
Figure 5.5 shows the buck family
configuration of the small-signal
model in LTspice® . There are three
fundamental families that cover all
of the topologies in RidleyWorks® -
the buck, boost, and buck-boost.
Each of these circuits contains a
single small-signal element, in this
case the Ridley BuckDCM. When the
file is exported to LTspice®,
RidleyWorks® determines whether
the circuit is going to be analyzed in
CCM operation or DCM operation.
Notice that the model is invariant for

both voltage-mode and current-
mode control. This is very important
– our small-signal model is the only
one that works in both regions. As
the compensating ramp for current
mode is increased, it is possible to
get a system that operates in
between voltage mode and current-
mode, but the model gives the right
results regardless.
Fig. 5.9: Buck Family Small-Signal Model Exported to LTspice®
Fig. 5.10: Boost Family Small-Signal Model Exported to LTspice® . Notice the PWM block is the same subcircuit as for the buck converter family.
Fig. 5.11: Buck-Boost Family Small-Signal AC Model Exported to LTspice® . Notice the inversion of the output voltage signal in the feedback path.
inductor
active common
passive
Fig. 5.12: Invariant Small-Signal Subcircuit for Current- or Voltage-Mode control in CCM. For pure voltage-mode control, the gain blocks inside the green rectangle
are all zero.
Fig. 5.13: Invariant Small-Signal Subcircuit for Current- or Voltage-Vode Control in DCM. For pure voltage-mode control, the gain block inside the green rectangle is
zero.
The figure above shows the loop gain plot for a buck-
family converter. Running the sweep only takes a
couple of seconds. You can then add any quantities to
like to see desired transfer functions. The following are
the most useful:
V(b)/V(a) Loop Gain and Phase Margin
V(b)/V(c) Power Stage Gain (specify -

V(b)/V(c) for the buck-boost family
-V(c)/V(a) Compensation Gain
Fig. 5.14: Plotting the loop gain of a converter consists of just clicking on run, then right click on the plot area. The quantity v(b)/v(a) will be the loop gain and
phase MARGIN.
6 Exporting Models to PSIM
6.1 Preparing a PSIM File
PSIM is a powerful high-speed simulation environment that is an alternative to LTspice®
. It is a perfect complement to the design environment of RidleyWorks®. It will quickly
get you up and running in a new simulation environment with fully designed converter
values. A powerful feature of RidleyWorks® is the ability to automatically generate
PSIM schematic files with just the click of a button.
When you click on the PSIMLink button, files will automatically be written to the PSIM
output directory shown on the screen. There will be a subdirectory for each topology
that is used within RidleyWorks, and you will go there to find the PSIM schematics.
PSIM Link
Fig. 6.1: Running PSIMLink to generate PSIM Schematics

6.2 Opening a PSIM Schematic
If you double click on the LTspice® TRAN file that is in the folder on your desktop,
it will automatically open LTspice® .
Before running a simulation, it is recommended that you set some parameters of

LTspice® for better simulation accuracy. Select Tools Control Panel Hacks! and set
the check boxes as shown below.
LTspice®, like all versions of spice, may sometimes struggle to converge during a
simulation, and you may need to adjust other simulation parameters to help it
along. This is one of the advantages of the RidleyWorks® simulation – it never has
convergence issues and simulations are almost instantaneous.
PSIM Schematic
Fig. 6.2: PSIM schematic file location
6.3 Running PSIM Simulations
Simulate
When you double click on the PSIM
schematic file (pcimsch), you will see
the following screen with the
converter topology and all of the
parameters automatically loaded.
The power supply is completely set
up ready to simulate. The default
simulation type is a transient
simulation and this is performed by
clicking on the Run button in the
toolbar, or F8 on your keyboard.
PSIM is extremely fast. A converter
such as that shown will simulate in
less than one second for several
hundred cycles. Once the simulation
is complete, the scope interface to
the waveforms will automatically be
opened.
Fig. 6.3: Running a PSIM Simulation
6.4 Plotting PSIM Transient Waveforms
Any node or branch of the circuit
can be plotted after the
simulation if a measurement point
has been defined for it. Please see
the PSIM documentation for
directions on how to do this.
Multiple plot panes with their
own axes can also be defined.
Here you can see the plot of the
output voltage during a startup
simulation. You will see that the
results are the same as those
obtained within RidleyWorks®.
Fig. 6.4: Running LTspice® Transient Simulations
6.5 Sweeping Loops in PSIM
One of the most profound powerful advantages of

PSIM is sweeping a switching transient circuit with a
simulated frequency response analyzer – either the
RidleyBox® portable machine, or the world’s only full-
featured analyzer, the AP Instruments AP310.
The analyzer setting are automatically set up for you
in RidleyWorks® and these settings are passed over
to the parameter file that accompanies the PSIM
schematic.
Flag = 1 To change from a transient simulation to a swept
simulation, double click on the file icon on the
schematic and change the sweep flag to 1. Now when
you click on the Run button (F8) the converter loop
response will be swept.
A sweep from 100 Hz to 200 kHz for a 2- switch
Parameters
forward converter will only take about 10 seconds to
execute. (This is a huge advantage over LTspice®
which will take about 20 minutes to run the same
circuit – over 100x slower.)
Fig. 6.5: Running PSIM Sweep Simulations

6.6 Loop Gain Bode Plot in PSIM
A sweep from 100 Hz to 200 kHz for a 2-

switch forward converter will only take
about 10 seconds to execute. This is a
huge advantage over LTspice® which will
take about 20 minutes to run the same
circuit.
As with LTspice®, you cannot apply this
technique to arbitrary circuits. The
following cautions apply:
(1) The converter should have a well-
designed loop which is ruggedly stable
(RidleyWorks® does that for you)
(2) Sweep parameters must be
carefully set up and RidleyWorks® will
also ensure that for you.
Fig. 6.6: PCIM Loop Gain and Phase Plot
7 Advanced Proximity Loss and Core Loss
One of the biggest sources of error in designing a power supply
is underestimating the losses in inductor and transformer
windings. To get a reasonable estimate of how much loss there
will be, it is necessary to apply Dowell’s equations, a set of
highly complex formulae that is usually the domain of PhD
students in power electronics. It is estimated that less than 1%
of practicing engineers ever use these techniques in their design
work.
Fortunately, RidleyWorks® will do this for you. It does this in two

ways – first by solving the Dowell’s equation at the switching
frequency to finding the increase in resistance. The winding
current is then broken down into two parts – the dc current, and
the ac current, which is the sum of all the harmonics. For a
simple approximation, RidleyWorks® assumes that all the ac
current is at this frequency. This will give a low estimate of the
proximity loss, but it does provide good and fast guidance for
how to organize the winding layers and winding size.
Secondly, to get more accurate loss in the windings due to all the current harmonics, RidleyWorks® first does a sweep of the Dowell’s equation solutions from 1 kHz to
10 MHz. It then generates a circuit network that produces the same impedance versus frequency as the Dowell’s equations. This network is exported to an LTspice® file
where the proximity losses can be directly simulated in the time domain. This process is described in this chapter.
7.1 Estimating Proximity Losses in RidleyWorks®
The specifications for a 100 kHz two-switch forward

converter are shown in the Specifications entry form
for RidleyWorks®. This is for a 20 V, 20 A isolated
converter running from a high-voltage input.
Figure 7.1 shows the simulated primary current for the

converter. The rms primary winding loss, using the dc
value of the resistance of the winding is calculated to
be 0.491 W. This is the value that most designers would
use for estimating temperature rise, but we will soon
see that it is much too low.
Fig. 7.1: Steady-State primary current from RidleyWorks® Simulation
Figure 7.2 shows the important transformer parameters using and
EC41 core. There are 62 primary turns, and 8 secondary turns.
Fig. 7.2: Transformer parameters from RidleyWorks®.
Figure 7.3 shows the structure and analysis of the primary winding of the transformer.
Two layers of 22 awg wire are used to give a dc resistance of 160 mOhm. When this is
multiplied by the square of the rms current, we see 0.491 W of loss.
However, the ac resistance of the winding, calculated at 100 kHz, is much higher at
1.54 ohms, almost 10 times the dc resistance. RidleyWorks® takes the rms of the ac
current squared and multiplies by this number, adds to the dc current squared times
the dc resistance, to get the total losses. You can see that they are much higher at 2.91
W. This is an increase of four times.
This more detailed and insightful information allows you to experiment with different
numbers of layers, wire sizes, and parallel strands to see what gives the lowest loss
combination. The Minimize Loss button automatically tries different layer counts to
find the best solution for you.
Fig. 7.3: Primary winding structure and analysis from RidleyWorks®
If you click on the blue Proximity Loss
button, you can see a detailed
breakdown of the resistance of the wire
layer-by layer. The complexity of
Dowell’s equations shows why few
engineers ever attempt this analysis.
Fortunately, RidleyWorks® automates
the whole procedure.
Fig. 7.4: Primary loss analysis by layer together with Dowell’s equations published in 1966.
7.2 Advanced Proximity Losses with LTspice® Circuit Modeling
Once you have defined the winding
structure and are happy with the total
dissipation, you can begin the process of
LTspice® model generation and
simulation. When you click on this
button
RidleyWorks® will proceed to sweep the

solutions to Dowell’s equations from 1
kHz to 10 MHz and generate an
equivalent circuit model to match the
complex impedance.
This process must be followed for each

of the magnetics windings to generate
the equivalent circuit models to be used
in LTspice® . You can then click on the
button below to export the complete
circuit model.
Fig. 7.5: Sweep of ac resistance and equivalent circuit model
7.3 Running LTspice® for Proximity Loss
Figure 7.6 shows the two-switch forward schematic in
LTspice® . The yellow resistive elements are the ac proximity
models for each of the windings.
Step 1 is to simulate the converter to steady-state and plot
the primary switch current I(Lpri) as shown.
You can plot the conventional dissipation in the primary
(without proximity) by holding down the ALT key and clicking
on Rpri. This results in the waveform shown in Figure 6.8. If
you click on the name of the waveform in blue, while holding
down the Ctrl key, it will show the average dissipation. You
can see that this number agrees with the dissipation in
RidleyWorks® before proximity is added.
Fig. 7.6: Conventional dissipation in transformer primary (no proximity loss).
Fig. 7.7: Additional proximity loss dues to ac resistance model.
You can now plot the additional proximity loss dissipation in the primary by holding down the ALT key and clicking on the circuit element Rac in the primary. This
results in the waveform shown in Figure 6.9. If you click on the name of the waveform in green, while holding down the Ctrl key, it will show the average dissipation.
The sum of the conventional dissipation and the Rac dissipation is the total winding loss in the primary.
You will probably see the total dissipation predicted by LTspice® is higher than that predicted by RidleyWorks®. The LTspice® number will be more accurate since it
includes the dissipation in the resistors at higher harmonic frequencies. Depending on the topology and operating point, the difference may be considerable. In the
example above, the conventional losses are 0.481 W. The additional proximity losses produce an extra 2.7 W of dissipation!
Once you have mastered this technique, you will be doing proximity loss calculations that are more advanced that just about anyone in the industry. Attempting to do
this work without the aid of RidleyWorks® is extremely time-consuming and difficult – you now have a powerful tool that gives you a huge design advantage.
7.4 Advanced Core Losses with LTspice® Circuit Modeling
With the selected core shape and material, RidleyWorks® will automatically calculate
parameters for core loss simulation in LTspice® .
The component elements of the core loss model define how the core will behave with
different drive frequencies and amplitudes. This is a unique feature of RidleyWorks®.
Fig. 7.8: Selecting a core material will produce a matching LTspice® circuit model
You can plot the instantaneous core losses of the block to the left of the transformer primary by holding down
the Alt key and clicking on the block. The instantaneous core loss can be averaged by holding down the Ctrl key
and clicking on the name of the waveform shown in red below. You will observe that for the same flux swing in
a transformer, the losses increase with a shorter duty cycle, as is observed empirically. You will also see that the
losses of a transformer decrease with switching frequency if the turns are left unchanged on the core.
Fig. 7.9: Core loss model parameters are automatically loaded into your LTspice® schematic. Instantaneous core losses are shown, together with the average value.
8 Using RidleyWorks® with the AP310 Analyzer
8.1 Connecting RidleyWorks® to the AP

RidleyWorks® has a powerful and user-friendly interface to the
AP310 frequency response analyzer. This enables you to control
complex analyzer functions and settings with a single button click
inside RidleyWorks®.
Open RidleyWorks® on your computer. You will then see the
opening screen shown here. Click on the AP310 analyzer picture to
start controlling your instrument. (You can also click on the AP
analyzer on any page that you see it within RidleyWorks®.
RidleyWorks® will connect to the AP300 Measurements page shown
below.
AP Analyzer
Fig. 8.1: RidleyWorks Opening page with AP310 and RidleyBox® Icons
This page provides a powerful interface for driving
the AP300 and collecting multiple data sweeps. There
are 8 preset settings on this page for magnetics
measurements, control measurements, impedance
measurements, and PSRR measurements.
First, turn on the power switch of the AP analyzer
that you have, and click on the Connect button to
automatically launch the APfra software.
Launch APfra
Fig. 8.2: AP Instruments Analyzer Interface Page
Once you see the screen to the left, Click on File>Open Setup and
select AP300Setup.nac to load new default settings. Notice that the
sweep is now logarithmic, and the stop frequency is 30 MHz with a
drive signal of 1 V.
Fig. 8.3: APfra default opening screen and screen after loading AP300Setup file.
8.2 Measuring Transfer Functions
There are multiple setups for automating the settings on the AP310.
This includes measuring the power stage plant, loop gains, magnetic
impedances, PSRR and output impedance.
Select Each of these setups will adjust the source, bandwidth, and frequency
range for the AP analyzer. You can still adjust these quantities
individually within the APfra software as needed.
Full details of these measurement setups are provided in the AP310
analyzer user manual.
RidleyWorks
Fig. 8.4: Magnetics impedance measurement setup and test results
9 Using RidleyWorks® with the RidleyBox®
9.1 Connecting RidleyWorks® to
the RidleyBox®
RidleyWorks® has a powerful and user-friendly interface
to the RidleyBox®. This enables you to control complex
analyzer functions and settings with a single button click
inside RidleyWorks®.
Open RidleyWorks® on your computer. You will then see
the opening screen shown here. Click on the RidleyBox®
picture to start controlling your instrument. (You can also
click on the RidleyBox® on any page that you see it within
RidleyWorks®.)
RidleyBox
RidleyWorks® will connect to the RidleyBox®
measurements page shown below.
Fig. 9.1: RidleyWorks® Opening page with AP310 and RidleyBox® Icons
9.2 RidleyBox® Interface
This page provides a powerful interface
for driving the RidleyBox® and collecting
multiple data sweeps. There are 8 preset
settings on this page for magnetics
measurements, control measurements,
impedance measurements, and PSRR
measurements.
The first step is to turn on the RidleyBox®
from within the software. No physical
power button is needed. When you click
on the button, you will soon hear a
message that the connection is complete,
and the power indicator will turn green.
You can then select the measurement that
you want to make. Parameters will be
taken from RidleyWorks® to set up each
individual measurement properly. Please
refer to the RidleyBox® manual for more
details.
RidleyBox® Power
Fig. 9.2: RidleyBox® Interface Page
10 Designing LLC Converters with RidleyWorks®
10.1 Why LLC?

The half-bridge converter has always held a place in the world of practical
power conversion. Now imagine a technology that:
1) Eliminates the output inductor

2) Reduces the AC coupling cap by an order of magnitude
3) Achieves zero-voltage (lossless) switching in the primary
4) Achieves zero-current switching in the secondary
That is what the LLC (Inductor-Inductor-Capacitor) converter achieves. It has

been around for decades, but only really became widespread after regulations
mandated power factor correction at the input of the power converter.
The LLC is not a panacea for all applications. Drawbacks include:
1) Poorly-understood circuit design process (solved by RidleyWorks®)

2) Higher peak and RMS currents
3) Complex and widely-varying control characteristics
4) Light-load regulation challenges
5) Complex magnetics design process
6) Unsuitable for wide input ranges
Figure 10.1: Comparison of Half-Bridge and LLC Circuits
10.2 RidleyWorks® LLC Design Overview
RidleyWorks® has a fully automated power stage design algorithm built into the
Enter Specifications program. The design process is based upon the superb work of Sanjaya Maniktala,
Choose LLC Topology and the follow-on work by Nicola Rosano. Their basic philosophy is that you only
need one design optimized for an LLC converter, and every other converter
specification will take this optimized design and scale it according to voltage and
current specifications. There is no need to reinvent the wheel every time you
Design Power Components Verify Circuit Waveforms design an LLC converter.
The overview of the design flow is shown in Figure 10.2. Once you have designed
Power Component Losses Save .txt File the power components you can then run a circuit simulation in LTspice® to verify
CLICK
the circuit waveforms under different operating conditions. These waveforms can
then be brought back into RidleyWorks® for more detailed component design
Design Power Transformer work.
Detailed Simulations Less experienced designers may want to let their preferred magnetics vendor
Design Power Inductor design the custom parts needed for your converter. You just need to provide the
the specified component values and simulated waveforms.
Experienced designers usually like to have full control over the magnetics design
Build Hardware
and parts specification. RidleyWorks® will help you with this process. It can work
at a basic level, or deep into issues of magnetics proximity core losses if you
prefer.
Figure 10.2: RidleyWorks® LLC Design Process Overview
10.3 Entering Specifications
The first step of the design is to enter the input line range and the output load
specifications. A narrow range of input voltage will lead to a more optimal
design for the LLC converter. The best application of LLC is when you have a
pre-regulated rail, as would be provided by a power factor correction circuit on
the input to the converter.
When you click OK, you will see the form on the next page allowing you to
specify the switching frequency for your design.
Fig. 10.3: RidleyWorks® Specification Form
10.4 LLC Frequency Selection
1 This form should appear automatically after entering the power specifications.
You can also pull up the form by clicking on the Frequency button.
For the LLC converter, the switching frequency entered on this form is the
target frequency for full-load, low-line operation. At higher line input, or lighter
load, the regulated frequency of operation will be higher than this target
frequency. This is a natural characteristic of the LLC converter.
Fig. 10.4: Frequency Selection for the LLC Converter
10.5 LLC Topology Choices
The first step is to click on the Topology button and
select either the full-bridge or half-bridge converter.
There is a check box to select either full or half-wave

rectification, and to enable the LLC selection. This is
shown above.
(Please note that the small thumbnail schematic will

always show just a half-wave rectifier, even when
the full-wave is selected.)
Fig. 10.5: LLC Circuit Variation Available in RidleyWorks®
10.6 LLC Circuit Optimization
Once you have selected the desired LLC topology, you
will see the appropriate schematic appear, along with the
design button for choosing the LLC circuit component
1 values. Click on this button to pull up the LLC Power Stage
Designer form.
The design process is initiated by clicking on the text

highlighted with the second arrow.
Once you do this, you will see RidleyWorks® search for the
optimum design point, changing the component values and
frequencies at the same time.
You will then see the message that the design is complete,
2 and simulation files with all the component values will
automatically be created, ready to run in LTspice® . A total
of 5 simulation files will be created and placed in a folder on
your computer desktop called RidleyWorks LTspice® .
Fig. 10.6: LLC Power Stage Design Form

150 kHz
10.7 LLC Circuit Simulation
Before you can view waveforms and proceed further with
the design in RidleyWorks®, a simulation of the LLC
converter in steady state should be run. The file created
for this simulation is:
The default operating condition for the LLC design is with

the minimum input voltage and full load. At this operating
point, the converter should be close to the specified
output voltage at the desired switching frequency
selected in RidleyWorks.
If you see that the output voltage is too high, you can
increase the value of Vss. That will increase the switching
frequency and decrease the output voltage. If the output
voltage is too high, decrease the value of Vss to lower the
switching frequency.
You can look at the waveforms inside LTspice® to verify

proper operation. Important waveforms are listed in the
.save lines of LTspice®, and these can be imported into
RidleyWorks®.
Fig. 10.7: LLC Power Stage Steady-State Simulation Circuit
10.8 High Line Operation
It is a good idea to run the steady-state
simulation again with high-line input to the
converter. When you do this, you will see the
output voltage will be higher than the desired
value. This can be reduced by raising the
switching frequency of the converter by
increasing Vss.
The parameter Vss controls the switching

frequency. A value of 5 V will set it to the
maximum value, and a value of 0 V will set it to
the minimum value.
When the output is regulated to the desired

value, you should see that both secondary
currents complete a full half-cycle and zero-
current switching is maintained. This indicates
proper design of the power stage components.
When you are finished verifying the

waveforms in LTspice®, you can proceed with
the component design in RidleyWorks®.
Fig. 10.8: LLC Secondary Currents at High-Line Condition. Zero -Current Switching is Maintained
1
10.9 Exporting Waveforms from LTspice®
In the waveform window of LTspice®, click on File and
Export data as text. Highlight all of the listed waveforms and click
OK to save the simulation results as a .txt file. RidleyWorks® has an
automated reader to import all of these values.
Note: this text file will be quite large due to the long simulation
time of the steady-state circuit. You can reduce the final simulation
time in the following statement if you see that steady state is
reached well before the end of the simulation.
By default, the waveform data will be stored in the file named:
1 LLC STEADY STATE.TXT
Do not change this file name as RidleyWorks® will search for this file
name when trying to import the data.
Fig. 10.9: Exporting Data from LTspice® Simulation

10.10 Importing LLC Waveforms
The waveform data that has been saved to the file
1 LLC STEADY STATE.TXT can now be imported into
RidleyWorks®.
2 Click on the button to import the LTspice® data. You will

then see a form with two options. The first option will
import the large data file saved by LTspice® . You can
bring in up to 1 million lines of data, but these will be
truncated to the first 500 k lines. It will typically take a
minute or so to import the large data set.
You also have the option to truncate the imported date

to just the first 50 k lines in order to minimize the file
size of RidleyWorks®. This step will always be automated
when you exit RidleyWorks® and select the option to
save the file.
The main purpose of importing the waveforms into

RidleyWorks® is to be able to design the components of
the power stage. In general, you will find it more useful
to work on the waveform viewing inside LTspice® .
Fig. 10.10: Importing Data from LTspice® Simulation into RidleyWorks®

10.11 Viewing LLC Waveforms
Click on the of the green probes on the circuit
schematic to see current or voltage waveforms. You
can zoom in on the waveforms inside RidleyWorks® in
the normal way using the timebase controls on the
screen.
Once you have imported the waveforms, you can begin

the transformer design. For the experienced designer,
this process is straightforward, especially when
assisted with the magnetics design capability of
RidleyWorks®.
If you don’t have magnetics design experience, you can

learn more by coming to our workshops or you can
work with your magnetics vendor to help you. Please
note that LLC design is not familiar to many magnetics
companies, and it may be better to learn the process
yourself.
Fig. 10.11: Viewing Waveforms in RidleyWorks®
10.12 LLC Transformer Design
RidleyWorks® treats the LLC transformer like an inductor design
for the selection of the turns needed on the transformer core. It is
important to simulate the converter with LTspice to see the
needed energy storage in the transformer. The peak current and
the magnetizing inductance value are used to make sure that the
maximum flux level of the core is not exceeded.
Notice that there is an additional constraint on the turns count on

the primary since there cannot be less than one turn on the
secondary. The number of primary turns must be at least equal to
the turns ratio of the transformer.
As frequencies are raised above 150 kHz, you may find that you
increase the minimum turns count to reduce the observed core
loss in the transformer. This is usually an interative design process
to trade off core and copper losses. For example, with three turns
on the primary, using a PC95 material, there are 3 W of core loss.
With 6 turns on the primary, the losses in the core are reduced
This is a better design choice.
Fig. 10.12: LLC Transformer Parameters
10.13 LLC Transformer Winding Design
Once the turns count is established for a specific core and turns ratio, we turn our attention to the detailed
winding layout in the transformer. For this design, six turns are used on the primary of the transformer. If
you try to use solid wire, the proximity losses are significant due to the high ac content of the primary
transformer waveform. Switching to Litz wire reduces the losses substantially.
As with standard transformers, RidleyWorks estimates the loss of the winding including proximity effects.
For experienced designers, you can go deeper and ask RidleyWorks to sweep the AC resistance versus
frequency in order to build an LTspice model. This step is extremely powerful when estimating the losses in
the transformer at different operating points.
You could also choose to use a foil for the primary. The disadvantage of this approach is that it will increase
the capacitance of the transformer and affect the operation of the LLC converter. As with any design, it is
crucial to measure the actual performance on prototype hardware (and later on production hardware) to
ensure that the parameters of the transformer are close to the specified values. Engineers with either the
AP300 or the RidleyBox will be aware of how to easily do this.
Fig. 10.13a: LLC Transformer Primary
After you have designed both the primary and secondary windings, you can use the leakage inductance
estimation of the primary winding to begin the design of the resonant inductor of the LLC.
Fig. 10.13b: LLC Transformer Secondary

10.14 LLC Inductor Core and Turns Design
Lr
The first step in designing the LLC series inductor is to determine the value of the discrete inductor to be
added. The transformer leakage inductance will provide a portion of the resonant inductor value. You can
account for this contribution by clicking on the schematic of the converter. Enter the value of the leakage
inductance (make sure you measure this with your AP300 or RidleyBox to confirm the value at the
switching frequency) on the primary side of the transformer. You will see the required amount of extra
inductance needed changing as this leakage number is changed.
Some LLC transformers are deliberately designed with very high leakage so that an additional inductance is
not needed. In our experience with industry LLC converters, the high-efficiency products add a discrete
external inductor in most cases.
As with the transformer design, you may see that the minimum number of turns suggested (2 in this case)
results in high core loss. Increasing the number of turns to 3 will produce a more optimal design.
Fig. 10.14: Resonant Inductor Core Selection
10.15 LLC Inductor Winding Design
For this design, we only need three turns on the inductor. The losses are minimized by using a foil
structure with a 15 mil thickness foil. Notice that it is possible to use a thicker foil, but the high AC
currents would result in higher proximity losses in the winding.
Fig. 10.15: Resonant Inductor Winding
10.16 LLC Gain Curves Schematic
RidleyWorks® generates a second LTspice simulation
file for the LLC converter named:
When you run this file in LTspice, the frequency will be

increased from the minimum value to the maximum
value over the duration of the simulation.
The minimum and maximum values from RidleyWorks

should cover the entire range of operation of the
converter from high line down to low line.
Please note that the accuracy of the curves will be

impacted by the total simulation time. If the time is
too short, there will be portions of the curve that have
sharp changes in them. If you increase the time, and
the curves do not change, then you can be confident
the curves are accurate. In this example, the default
simulation time of about 6 ms is increased to 40 ms for
optimal results.
Fig. 10.16: Schematic for Generating LLC Gain Curves
10.17 LLC Gain Curves
The LLC gain curves show the output
voltage for your specific converter design
at different load levels. For the lowest
curve in red, the load is set at twice the
specified value. In this case, output
voltage cannot reach the specified value
of 12 V and the converter cannot
regulate.
At full load, the curve shown in blue

shows that the output voltage reaches
the desired regulation value just above
the resonant peak.
The curves generated are the actual

curves including all the losses of your
particular circuit. This is much more
useful than working with theoretical
curves created by first harmonic analysis
methods.
You can spend a lot of time working with

these curves to understand how your
converter is working. For example, you
will want to redraw them for high-line
input to determine the actual limit to the
switching frequency needed.
Fig. 10.17: LLC Gain Curves for a 12-V 10-A Output with a 36-V Input
Appendix A Error Messages
Error Message Page Number
Installer Error 1721 101

Cannot find RIDLEYWORKS.DLL 101
Protection Error 717 Incorrect Passkey Entered 102
Protection Error 758 License Expired 102
Protection Error 923 102
Trouble Closing RidleyWorks® 103
Run-Time Error 1004 104
Data Entry Format Error – Run-Time Error 13 105
Microsoft Excel Stopped Working (EMET problem) 105
Object Doesn’t Support Property or Method 106
Installer Error 1721
This message indicates that the CMInstall program must be run with Administrator privileges on your
computer, and you will have to manually finish the installation. In this case, right click CMInstall.exe,
and select Run As Administrator. Answer OK to any questions, and at the end of the process, the
needed files will be created. More details of files are on Page 8 of this manual.
Cannot find RIDLEYWORKS.DLL
Some operating environments looks in the SysWOW64 or the System32 directory for the proper .dll
permission files. If you get this message, please do the following:
Copy all 6 of the .dll files from C:\users\username\documents\RIDLEYWORKS\config

to: C:\Windows\SysWOW64
Copy all 6 of the .dll files from C:\users\username\documents\RIDLEYWORKS\config

to: C:\Windows\System32
Protection Error 717 Incorrect Passkey Entered
You will see this message if you enter an invalid passkey for the program. Check for the proper number, and contact Ridley
Engineering if you cannot find it.
Protection Error 758 License Expired
You will receive this error when your license has reached its expiration date. Contact us to verify the date or to renew your
registration.
Protection Error 923 Installation Incomplete
You may receive this error if the software installation did not finish generating all of the necessary files. Please go to Section 1.4,
item number 2 of this manual to learn how to complete the installation.
Trouble Closing RidleyWorks®
Very rarely, you may see this screen pop up when you try to close the program. Clicking OK or Cancel will not get
rid of it. If this happens, type ctl-alt-delete and select Start Task Manager. Select Processes, highlight
EXCEL.EXE*32, and click on End Process. This should close the program.
Run-Time Error 1004
This error will occur if you have an old version of Excel prior to 2013. Please upgrade to the latest version.
In some cases, the error will occur if you do not have the decimal separator character set to a period “.”
You can change the setting of the decimal separator in your Windows system as described below.
Click on Control Panel, Region and Language. Under the Format tab, click on Additional Settings, and you
will be able to change the character to a period as shown.
Data Entry Format Error – Run-Time Error 13
Most mistakes in data entry will be flagged by RidleyWorks® and will give you an error message. However, if you see
the message here, you may have the decimal separator set incorrectly in your system. This is changed as described
in the above section. Or, you may have used some other invalid numerical character. If you see this happen, please
try to describe the sequence of events to us or send us the file. We are always working to improve and update the
program.
Microsoft Excel Stopped Working (EMET problem)
If you get the message that Excel has stopped working while verifying the license, it may be because
your IT department has installed Microsoft EMET (Enhanced Mitigation Experience Toolkit). This will
block access to the required website to verify the license code.
It is necessary to disable the following EMET options for RidleyWorks® to register itself properly
without triggering EMET to shut down the program.
Export Address Table Filtering

Simulate the execution flow
There is no security risk in implementing these changes.
Object Doesn’t Support Property or Method
You may see messages such as this when you click on one of the buttons. Microsoft did some security updates recently, and it causes problems in excel. You can find it
discussed at:
https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/exchange/en-US/3f29c84b-97ad-46f7-9bc0-8648d69336ce/kb2553154-breaks-our-excel-
macros?forum=officeitproprevious
fix is to simply delete the file MSForms.exd from any Temp subfolder in the user's profile. For instance:
C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\Excel8.0\MSForms.exd
C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\VBE\MSForms.exd
C:\Users\[user.name]\AppData\Local\Temp\Word8.0\MSForms.exd
You can search for any files ending in .exd and delete them while excel is closed. Then start excel again and it should work properly. Microsoft are aware of this issue
and are trying to fix it, apparently.
More information is at http://stackoverflow.com/questions/27411399/microsoft-excel-activex-controls-disabled
Appendix B License Agreement
Ridley Engineering, Inc.
Software License and Limited Warranty Statement
SOFTWARE LICENSE
1. License Grant. Ridley Engineering, Inc. or Ridley Engineering Europe UK Ltd. (referred to as "Ridley") grants to the registered purchaser (referred to as "you" and
"your") a nonexclusive right to use one copy of the enclosed computer programs ("the PROGRAMS") on a single computer in accordance with the terms of this
Software License. Ridley reserves all rights not expressly granted to you in this software license. This license is effective until terminated. Ridley may terminate this
license if you fail to comply with this Software License. In the event of such termination, you agree to destroy the original and all copies of the PROGRAMS.
2. Copyright. The PROGRAMS are licensed, not sold, to you. Ownership of the PROGRAMS, and their associated proprietary rights are retained by Ridley and its
assignees. The PROGRAMS are protected by the copyright laws of the United States and other countries, and by international treaties. Therefore you must comply
with such laws and treaties in your use of the PROGRAMS and, among other things, you may not copy the PROGRAMS except that you may load them into the random
access memory of your computer, install the PROGRAMS on a hard disk or other storage device of a single computer, copy versions of the PROGRAMS as you modify
their data contents onto a single computer, and make a single copy for archival purposes. Any copies of the PROGRAMS, either in their original forms, or modified by
you, are subject to this Software License. You may not copy the written material accompanying the PROGRAMS without the prior written consent of Ridley.
3. Transfer and Use Restrictions. You may not sell, lend, or otherwise transfer or lease the PROGRAMS or this license to others without written permission from Ridley
LIMITED WARRANTY STATEMENT
90-Day Limited Warranty. Ridley warrants that the PROGRAMS will perform substantially as provided in the accompanying written materials for a period of ninety (90)
days from the date of receipt from Ridley.
This Limited Warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights which vary from state to state and from country to country.
Remedies. Ridley's entire liability, and your exclusive remedy for any failure of the PROGRAMS to comply with the Limited Warranty shall be, at Ridley's option: (a)
repair or replacement of the PROGRAMS, or (b) return of the price you paid for the PROGRAMS. You must return all copies of the PROGRAMS and written material to
Ridley or Ridley's dealer with a written explanation of the noncompliance and a copy of your receipt within 90 days of the date you received the PROGRAMS to receive
this remedy. Any replacement PROGRAMS will be warranted for the remainder of the original 90-day warranty period, or 30 days from the date you received the
replacements, whichever is longer.
DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. Ridley does not warrant that the programs are free from all bugs, errors, and omissions. Except for the 90-Day Limited Warranty
described above, Ridley makes no other warranties, express or implied, with respect to the PROGRAMS and any accompanying material; RIDLEY DISCLAIMS ANY
IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, AND RIDLEY DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF FITNESS.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
DAMAGES LIMITATION. Except for the remedies set forth in the Limited Warranty statement, Ridley shall have no liability or obligation for any other damages or
remedies, including, without limitation, the cost of substitute goods and any direct, incidental, special or consequential damages, arising out of this Software License
and Limited Warranty statement or the use or inability to use the PROGRAMS. Some states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential
damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. In no event shall Ridley's liability (whether in contract, warranty, tort (including negligence), product liability or other theory) with regard to
the PROGRAMS, the accompanying written materials, or this Software License and Limited Warranty Statement exceed the compensation you paid to Ridley for the
PROGRAMS.
If you wish to contact Ridley Engineering for any reason, including warranty service, please write to: Ridley Engineering, Inc., Ridley Engineering, Inc., 601 E. Daily
Drive, Suite 112, Camarillo, CA 93010
EMail: [email protected]

RidleyWorks15 02

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

RidleyWorks15 02

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

RidleyWorks15 02

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

USER GUIDE

Copyright ©1991-2022 Ridley Engineering, Incorporated®

E-Mail: [email protected] http://www.ridleyengineering.com

2 Design and Waveform Simulation 14

9 Using RidleyWorks® with the RidleyBox® 75

10 Designing LLC Converters with RidleyWorks® 77

Level 2: Intermediate Design

Level 3: Advanced Design

1.2 Computer System Requirements (MAC-Based)

1.3 RidleyWorks® Software Download

1.5 RidleyWorks® Software Upgrades

1.6 Loading Workbooks

Fig. 1.1: RidleyWorks® Guide Page

1.8 Saving Data Only and Transferring Data to New Version

Fig. 1.2: RidleyWorks® Version Number and Recent Updates.

1.10 Help Notes

Phone: (US) 805 504 2212 E-Mail: [email protected]

1.12 Facebook Support Group

POWER SUPPLY DESIGN CENTER

Fig. 2.1: RidleyWorks® Guide Page with Start Menu

Schematic components in red are clickable, and you

Fig. 2.2: RidleyWorks® Schematic Page

Fig. 2.3: RidleyWorks® Specifications Entry Form

Fig. 2.4: RidleyWorks® Topology Choices

Figure 2.5 shows the selection of voltages and currents

To begin doing this click on the blue button labeled

Fig. 2.5: RidleyWorks® Waveform Choices

Fig. 2.8: RidleyWorks® Start Up Simulation Voltage Waveform

LINE AND LOAD

Fig. 2.11: RidleyWorks® Step-Load Transient Simulation

After clicking OK, click on the rectifier at the

Fig. 2.14: AC Input Waveforms for a 27 W Flyback Converter

3.1 Turning On Control Options

Fig. 3.1: Control Design Options in RidleyWorks®

Fig. 3.2: Current-Mode Control Transfer Function Bode Plots in RidleyWorks®

Fig. 3.3: Voltage-Mode Control Transfer Function Bode Plots in RidleyWorks®

It is possible to look at the control

It is possible to implement voltage-mode control with

Fig. 3.5: Selecting Voltage-Mode with Feedforward

On the Power Stage design page, clicking on the Features

Click on either of these to start your magnetics design

If you click on the Select Core

Fig. 4.3: Inductor Core and Turns Selection

If you are using a different core material to those

Fig. 4.4: Inductor Core Material Selection

Details of the sophisticated techniques used to calculate

Fig. 4.5: Inductor Winding Design

Fig. 4.6: Transformer Design Page

Fig. 5.1: Running SPICELaunchTM

LTspice®, like all versions of spice, may sometimes

Fig. 5.2: Setting Up LTspice® Hacks!

Gear Integration We also find that the Gear

Fig. 5.3: Setting Up LTspice® simulation parameters parameters

When you click on the running man icon,

You will find that the combination of

Fig. 5.3: Running LTspice® Transient Simulations

Fig. 5.4: LTspice® Sweep Schematic for Bode Plots

1. Automatic generation of a loop compensation that is ruggedly stable

3. Proper setup of simulation times for steady-state solution.