Advanced Power Conversion & Control 2021 - 2022 Advanced Power Conversion & Control 2021 - 2022

What is Power Electronics?

Advanced Power Conversion
and Control  Power electronics is a technology which applies solid-
state electronics/devices for the control and
conversion of electric power.
INTRODUCTION TO POWER
ELECTRONICS Power Power Power
input Converter output

Control input
Feedforward/Feedback Feedback/Feedforward
Controller
( measurements of input signals ) ( measurements of output signals )

Reference

Generic structure of power electronics

system

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Contents What is Power Electronics?

 What is power electronics?  A typical power electronics system connected to the
 Overview of power electronics Converters energy source (input) and to the load (output).
 Power electronics applications  Two main components:
Power stage  Power converter
Control stage  Controller

Power input Power Power output

Source Load
Converter
 Electric utility  Electric Motor
Feedback/  Light
 Battery Feed forward 
 Other electric energy Heating
source Controller  Power converter
 Power converter  Other electric or
electronic equipment
Reference
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What is Power Electronics? What is Power Electronics?

 The power converter, consisting of semiconductor  Example: Linear voltage/current regulation for DC-DC
devices and passive devices (inductor and capacitor), conversion. Step down voltage regulator -325 V in and -
100 V out with -10 A.
handles the power transfer from the input to the output
or vice-versa.
 The controller is responsible for operating the power
semiconductor devices according to a specific
algorithm (generally, Pulse-Width Modulation or PWM).
Power input Power Power output
Source Load
Converter
 Electric Motor 𝑃 = 325 𝑉 × 10 𝐴 = 3.25 𝑘𝑊
 Electric utility Feedback/ 
 Battery Light
Feed forward  Heating
 Other electric energy 𝑃 = 100 𝑉 × 10 𝐴 = 1 𝑘𝑊
source Controller  Power converter
 Power converter  Other electric or 𝜂= = = 0.3 ⇒ 30% (low efficiency)
electronic equipment .
Reference

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What is Power Electronics? What is Power Electronics?

 The power semiconductor devices function as  Example: Modern converters based on switching
switches. principle.

 Their time durations, as well as their turn ON and OFF

sequences are controlled in such a way that the input
voltage or current magnitude and/or frequency can be
changed into the form required by the load.
 Every type of semiconductor device operates in
switching mode. This is important for high efficient
power transfer from one type of electrical energy to
another. 𝑇 =switching period,
 Devices which operate in linear mode are not useful in 𝑓 = = switching frequency
high efficient power transfer because of their relatively 𝐷 =duty cycle
higher losses. 1
𝑉 = 𝑉 𝑡 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐷𝑉
𝑇

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Advanced Power Conversion & Control 2021 - 2022 Advanced Power Conversion & Control 2021 - 2022

What is Power Electronics? Power Electronics Converters

 A Power Electronic Converter is an electronic circuit
that converts voltage and current from one form to
another.
 The main task of the Power Electronic Converter is to
adapt the electrical power to the load by converting it
from one form to another.

POWER CONVERTER
Process and Control
ENERGY the Flow of Energy APPLICATION/
 Switch closed (ON): 𝑉 = 0 SOURCE by supplying voltages and LOADS
currents in the form that
 Switch open (OFF): 𝐼 = 0 is adapted to the loads
 In both states 𝑃 = 𝑉𝐼 = 0 (no losses in ideal switch!)
Control
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What is Power Electronics? Power Electronics Converters

 The switches can be connected:  Illustration with a generic power converter

 In series to increase voltage handling capability.
 In parallel to increase current handling.
 The power switches can also be connected into a
certain topology which can rectify or invert, regulate
and control the power flow through the system.

 Switches 𝑆 and 𝑆 provide direct connection between

the source terminals and the load terminals 𝑂 and 𝑂
while 𝑆 and 𝑆 allow cross-connection between these
terminals.

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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 The generic converter can assume the following 3  State 2: 𝑆 and 𝑆 are closed and the remaining
states only: switches are open. The output voltage and current
 State 0: 𝑆 through 𝑆 are open and switch 𝑆 is are reversed with respect to the input voltage and
closed. The output voltage is zero and the input input current.
current is zero.

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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 State 1: 𝑆 and 𝑆 are closed and the remaining  AC-to-DC operation
switches are open. The output voltage equals the  The input voltage is:
input voltage and the output current equals the
input current. 𝑣 = 𝑉 sin(𝜔𝑡)

 During the 1st half-cycle of 𝑣 , the converter is in

state 1 and during the 2nd in state 2, the output
waveform will be
𝑣 = 𝑣 =𝑉 sin(𝜔𝑡)

The output current is:

𝑑𝑖
𝐿 + 𝑅𝑖 = 𝑣
𝑑𝑡
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Advanced Power Conversion & Control 2021 - 2022 Advanced Power Conversion & Control 2021 - 2022

Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 DC-to-AC operation  Types of electric power conversion and
 The input voltage is: corresponding power converters can be classified
into four (4) categories:
𝑣 = 𝑉 = constant Chopper or Switch Mode

CONSTANT MAGNITUDE AND FREQUENCY

CHOPPERS Power Supply: converts a

ADJUSTABLE MAGNITUDE AND/OR

 The switches are operated in the same manner as DC DC DC voltage to another DC
before, i.e. state 1 and state 2 are interchanged, voltage
during each half-cycle. Rectifier: converts an AC

FREQUENCY
OUTPUT
INPUT
voltage to a DC voltage

 The output waveform is a Inverter: converts a DC

square-wave voltage to an AC voltage
Cycloconverter or AC
AC AC Chopper: converts an AC
CYCLOCONVERTERS voltage to another AC
MATRIX CONVERTERS voltage

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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 Note  AC to DC Conversion (Rectifiers)
 The converter can be supplied from either a voltage  Rectifiers can be classified as uncontrolled and
source or a current source. controlled rectifiers.
 Voltage Source Converters (VSC) usually have a  Uncontrolled rectifiers circuits are built with
large capacitor connected across the input diodes.
terminals to stabilise the input voltage.
 Controlled rectifiers can be further divided into
 Current Source Converters (CSI) have a large semi-controlled and fully-controlled rectifiers.
inductor connected in series with the input
Semi-controlled rectifier circuits are built with
terminals to prevent rapid changes of the input
current. both diodes and SCRs.
Fully-controlled rectifiers circuits are built with
SCRs (Silicon Controlled Rectifier).

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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 There are several rectifier circuits configurations. The  There are many applications for rectifiers:
popular ones are:
 Variable speed DC drives
 Single-phase semi-controlled bridge rectifier.
 Battery chargers
 Single-phase fully-controlled bridge rectifier.
 DC power supplies
 Three-phase three-pulse, star-connected rectifier.
 Double three-phase, three-pulse star-connected
rectifiers with interphase transformer (IPT).
 Three-phase semi-controlled bridge rectifier.
 Three-phase fully-controlled bridge rectifier.
 Double three-phase fully-controlled bridge
rectifiers with IPT.

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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 Besides the above configurations, there are series-  DC-to-AC Conversion (Inverters)
connected and 12-pulse rectifiers for delivering high  Earlier inverters were built with SCRs requiring
output power. complex circuitry to turn the SCR off.
 Power rating of a single-phase rectifier tends to be  With the advent of new power semi-conductors
lower than 10 kW. Three-phase bridge rectifiers devices such as the Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT),
are used for delivering higher power output, up to power Metal Oxyde Field-Effect Transistor
500 kW at 500 V DC or even more. (MOSFET), Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)
and MOS-Controlled Thyristor (MCT), the control
 For low-voltage high-current applications, a pair of
circuit are now less complex.
three-phase, three-pulse rectifiers interconnected by
an Inter-Phase Transformer (IPT) are used (due to  Currently, only inverters with high power rating ( 500
fluctuation in DC voltages). kW) are likely to be built with SCRs or GTO.
 There are many inverter circuits and the techniques for
 For high current output, rectifiers with IPT are
controlling an inverter vary in complexity.
preferred to connecting devices directly in parallel.
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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 Some of the applications of inverters are:  The typical applications for switch-mode power
 Emergency lighting systems supplies or choppers are:
 AC variable speed drives  DC drive
 Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS)  Battery charger
 Frequency converters  DC power supply

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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Converters

 DC-to-DC Conversion  AC-to-AC Conversion
 When the SCR was introduced, a DC-to-DC  A cycloconverter or a cycloinverter converts an
converter was called a chopper. AC voltage, (with a fixed amplitude and frequency,
 Nowadays, SCR is rarely used in a DC-to-DC such as the mains supply) to another AC voltage
converter. Rather a power BJT or a power (with variable amplitude and frequency).
MOSFET are normally used in such a converter  The circuit that converts an AC voltage to another
and this type of converter is called Switch-Mode AC voltage at the same frequency is called AC-
Power Supply (SMPS). chopper.
 A switch-mode power supply can be one of the  The cycloconverter is typically used for high
types: power applications (few megawatts) such as the
 Step-down switch-mode power supply control of AC motor for traction. SCRs are used in
 Step-up chopper these applications.
 Fly-back converter  Low power cycloconverters for low power AC
 Resonant converter motors use triacs instead of SCRs.
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Power Electronics Converters Power Electronics Applications

 Unlike the SCR which conducts in only one  Transportation

direction, triacs are capable of conducting in both  Trains & locomotives
direction. Like SCRs, triacs are also three terminals
 Magnetic levitation trains
devices.
 Electric vehicles
 Cycloconverters are not very commonly used as
inverters.  Automotive electronics
 Ship power systems
 Aircraft power systems

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Power Electronics Applications Power Electronics Applications

 Power electronics has become a key
technology and is now being used in  Utility Systems
many applications:  Flexible AC Transmission Systems (FACTS)
 Applications in a wide power (P) range:  High voltage DC transmission (HVDC)
 P W: battery‐based portable
equipment.
 10W < P < 1kW: computers & office
equipment
 1kW < P < 10MW: variable speed
drives (motors & generators).
 10MW < P < 1GW: high power
transmission systems (HVDC, UPFC,
etc.).

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Power Electronics Applications Power Electronics Applications

 Renewable and alternative energy conversion  Space technology

 Wind  Spacecraft power system
 Photovoltaic  Satellite power system
 Fuel cells

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Power Electronics Applications Power Electronics Applications

 Renewable and alternative energy conversion  Electric drives

 Microgrids

Electric hand drill

Tunnel drill

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