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DC to DC Converters

DC to DC Converters are used to interface two systems working at two different DC voltage
levels. Hence both input voltage and output voltage of the converter is DC.

These converters can be used to generate a constant DC output voltage from a continuously
varying input voltage.

Hence, these converters can be used to connect a solar PV panel to the load. Here the solar
PV output voltage varies based on the weather conditions, such as, temperature and solar
irradiation. The DC to DC converter takes this weather depended PV voltage as input and
generates a constant DC output voltage.

Similarly, the DC to DC converters can also generate a continuously varying DC output

voltage from a constant DC input voltage.

Hence these converters can be used for speed control of DC motors. They can generate a
continuously varying armature voltage or Field winding input voltage, so that the speed of
DC motor can be regulated.

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Notation:

Symbol Description Units

Instantaneous and Average Input voltage
Instantaneous and Average Input current
Instantaneous and Average Output voltage
Instantaneous and Average Inductor current
Instantaneous and Average Capacitor current
Voltage across switch
Voltage across diode
Peak to peak ripple in
Peak to peak ripple in
Instantaneous and Average duty ratio
Gate signal to the switch
Load Resistance
Switching Frequency and Switching Time Period
Power consumed by

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In Buck converter, the output voltage is always less than input voltage. So it is also
called step-down dc-dc converter.

In Boost converter, the output voltage is always greater than the input voltage. It is
also called step-up dc-dc converter.

Circuit Diagram:

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In interval, switch is on and diode is reverse biased. The voltage across diode
in this interval is .

The voltage across inductor in this interval is positive and equal to the source
voltage. So the energy stored in the inductor increases in this interval.

In interval, the capacitor supplies energy to the load. The energy stored in the
capacitor decreases in this interval.

In interval, switch is turned off. The diode turns on to provide path for
the inductor current. The voltage across inductor is , which is negative. So,
the energy stored in the inductor decreases in this interval.

In interval, energy stored in the inductor is transferred to the Capacitor

and load. The energy stored in the capacitor increases in this interval.

Note that the inductor current should be greater than zero so that the diode remains
ON during the entire interval of . This is also called the continuous
conduction mode (CCM) operation.

Equivalent circuits

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By applying KVL and KCL we get,

Using small ripple approximation, the equations are rewritten as:

Using inductor volt-sec balance,

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Using capacitor charge balance,

Peak-Peak ripple in inductor current,

Peak-Peak ripple in capacitor voltage,

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In Buck converter, the output voltage is always less than input voltage. In Boost
converter, the output voltage is always greater than the input voltage.

In Buck-Boost converter, the output voltage can be either less than or greater than the
input voltage.

Circuit Diagram:

Note that in buck-boost converter, the output voltage is positive with respect to the
ground of voltage source.

In interval, switch is on and diode is reverse biased. The voltage across diode
in this interval is .

The voltage across inductor in this interval is positive and equal to the source
voltage. So the energy stored in the inductor increases in this interval.

In interval, the capacitor supplies energy to the load. The energy stored in the
capacitor decreases in this interval.

In interval, switch is turned off. The diode turns on to provide path for
the inductor current. The voltage across inductor is , which is negative. So, the
energy stored in the inductor decreases in this interval.

In interval, energy stored in the inductor is transferred to the Capacitor

and load. The energy stored in the capacitor increases in this interval.

Note that the inductor current should be greater than zero so that the diode remains
ON during the entire interval of . This is also called the continuous
conduction mode (CCM) operation.

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Equivalent Circuits:

interval: Switch is ON and diode is OFF

interval: Switch is OFF and diode is ON

By applying KVL and KCL we get,

Using small ripple approximation, the equations are rewritten as:

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Using inductor volt-sec balance,

Using capacitor charge balance,

Peak-Peak ripple in inductor current,

Peak-Peak ripple in capacitor voltage,

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Effect of non-idealities on conversion ratio of dc-dc converters:

In the previous derivations, we assumed that all the components in the converter are
ideal. But in practical circuits, each components has its own non-idealities. For
example, inductor and capacitor have series resistance as non-ideality. Similarly,
switch has on-state resistance and diode has forward voltage drop. It is important to
analyze the effect of these non-idealities on the conversion ratio of dc-dc converters.

Here, we consider only inductor series resistance and re-derive the expression for
output votlage of buck converter.

Circuit diagram:

Equivalent circuits:
interval:
interval:
Switch is OFF and diode is ON
Switch is ON and diode is OFF

By applying KVL and KCL, we get:

After small ripple approximation, the above equations can be re-written as:

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Using same procedure, we can derive the output voltage expression for boost and
buck-boost converters considering , series resistance of inductor into account.
These expressions are given below:

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Condition for Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) operation:

In all the previous derivations, it was assumed that the diode is ON during the entire
duration of interval. In buck, boost, and buck-boost converters, this is
possible only if the inductor current is always greater than zero. This is because in
interval, inductor current flows through the diode. Thus if inductor
current is always positive, the diode remains ON during the entire duration of
interval.

Therefore, the condition for CCM operation of all the three converters is:

This can be ensured if minimum value of inductor current in a switching cycle, i.e.,
is greater than zero.

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Similarly, we can derive condition for CCM for boost converter and buck-boost
converter. The for these converters is given by:

Expression for output voltage in Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM)

operation
If , then the inductor current reaches zero before the end of switching
cycle and the diode turns off. Hence the inductor current strats from zero in each
switching cycle. The output voltage expressions dervived before assume CCM
operation of converter. We need to re-derive the output voltage expression if the
converter is operating in DCM. Below, we derive the expression for output voltage of
buck converter operating in DCM.

Note that in DCM, we cannot use small ripple approximation for inductor current,
because the peak-peak ripple is not negligible compared to the average value.
However, we can still use the small ripple approximation for capacitor voltage
waveform.

The procedure for deriving the output voltage expression is same as before, draw the
equivalent circuits, write KVL and KCL, apply small ripple approximation, then use
inductor volt-sec balance and capacitor charge balance.

Note that in DCM operation, there are three intervals in each switching cycle:
1. interval which is same as interval. Here switch is ON and diode is OFF.
2. interval in which switch is OFF and diode is ON.
3. interval in which both switch and diode are OFF.

Here,

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Buck converter's inductor current waveform in DCM operation:

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DC to AC Converters : Inverters

DC to AC converters are used to generate ac voltage from a dc voltage source.

The ac voltage is generally a sinusoidal voltage waveform.

Based on the topology and switch control scheme used, both rms value of
frequency of the ac output voltage can be varied as per requirement.

These converters are also known as "Inverters". Please note that "Converter" is
a general term used for all types of Power electronic converters, whereas
"Rectifier" and "Inverter" are specific terms used for AC to DC converters and
DC to AC converters, respectively.

Inverters are used for several applications which include speed control of ac
motors (adjustable speed drives), uninterruptible power supply (UPS),
Renewable energy conversion systems, etc.

Inverters are generally of two types: Voltage source inverters and Current
source inverters. In voltage source inverters, the output voltage polarity is
independent of the direction of load current. In current source inverters, the
output current direction is independent of the polarity of load voltage. In this
course, our discussion is limited to voltage source inverters only.

We will discuss the following inverter topologies in this section:

1. Single-phase half-bridge inverter

2. Single-phase full-bridge (H-bridge) inverter
3. Three-phase three-leg inverter

We will discuss the following switching schemes in this section

1. Square-wave switching scheme

2. Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)

Note that the switching frequency of PWM inverters is generally in the order of
few kHz. Based on the application and power rating, we can use either IGBTs or
MOSFETs as switches in the PWM inverters.

Also in voltage source inverters, each IGBT will have an anti-parallel diode. These
diodes facilitate the control of output voltage polarity independent of the load
current. Overall, the voltage source inverters can operate in all the four quadrants
of i-v plane.

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Single-phase half-bridge inverter: Square-wave switching scheme

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So the output voltage has a fundamental component and other odd harmonics. We
need to use a low pass filter to filter out the undesired harmonics.

Although square wave switching scheme is very simple and has very low switching
loss, the output voltage has so many harmonics and they are closely situated to the
fundamental frequency. So it becomes difficult to design a filter in this scheme.

Also, in square-wave switching scheme, the magnitude of output voltage cannot be

controlled.

Output voltage waveform:

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Single-phase full-bridge (H-bridge) inverter:

In half-bridge inverter, there are only two switches. In full-bridge inverter, there
are four switches .

The control signals for switches and are complementary. Similarly, the
control signals for switches and are complementary.

The switches and are turned on together. The switches and are turned
on together.

In half-bridge inverter, output voltage varies from to . In full-bridge

inverter, output voltage varies from to .

In square-wave switching scheme, Let is the desired frequency of the

output voltage. Then switches and are turned on for a duration of and the
output voltage becomes equal to . Then the switches and are turned
on for a duration and the output voltage becomes equal to .

Output voltage waveform:

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Switch voltage rating: For both single-phase half-bridge and full-bridge inverters,
the switch voltage rating is equal to the input dc voltage.

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Switching scheme

In square-wave switching scheme, the output voltage is a square wave. We cannot

control the RMS value of the output voltage. Also the square wave output voltage
consists of all odd harmonics, i.e., 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th,… in addition to fundamental.
So the frequency of undesired harmonics is very close to the fundamental
frequency. In such situation, it is not possible to design a low-pass filter which will
filter out all the harmonics without affecting the fundamental component. Also the
size of such filter will be large due to very low cut-off frequency.

In PWM switching scheme, the switches of the inverter are controlled using high-
frequency pulses. The resulting output voltage will have fundamental component
and harmonics at very high frequency. The frequency of the dominant harmonic
component depends on the switching frequency of the inverter.

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As the frequency of the undesired harmonics is very high compared to the

fundamental component, it is easier to design a low-pass filter without affecting the
fundamental component. In addition, the size of the filter is reduced due to higher cut-
off frequency.

Another advantage of PWM switching scheme is that the RMS value of the output
voltage can be regulated unlike the square-wave switching scheme.

Sine-triangle PWM with bipolar voltage switching

This scheme can be applied for both single-phase half-bridge and full-bridge inverters.
The generation of switching pulses using this scheme for a single-phase half-bridge
and full-bridge inverters is shown in the figure below.

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As seen in the figure, a sinusoidal modulation signal is compared with a triangular
carrier signal, and the switching pulses are generated as:

Some important definitions related to this scheme are:

Harmonic spectrum of output voltage:

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It can be seen that the dominant harmonics occur at , which depends on the
switching frequency of the inverter, i.e., . If switching frequency is chosen high, the
low-pass filter size can be decreased. The maximum switching frequency depends on
the power level and the power semiconductor device.

Also, the RMS value of the fundamental component can be varied by varying the
modulation index, M (0 < M < 1).

Sine-triangle PWM with unipolar voltage switching

This scheme can only be applied for full-bridge inverters.

The generation of switching pulses using this scheme for a single-phase full-bridge
inverters is shown in the figure below.

As seen in the figure, two sinusoidal modulation signals and are compared
with a triangular carrier signal, and the switching pulses are generated as:

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All the definitions related to bipolar PWM are applicable for this scheme also except
that is a even number here.

Harmonic spectrum of output voltage:

Note that the dominant harmonic component occurs at twice the switching frequency.
So filter size is further reduced compared to the bipolar switching scheme.

In bipolar scheme, is either or .

In unipolar scheme,
if , is either 0 or ; if , is either 0 or ;

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