Power Electronics Step-by-Step

Design, Modeling, Simulation, and Control

Introduction

© 2021 Weidong Xiao

Outline

1 Introduction to power electronics

2 Common research and development subjects of power electronics
3 Fundamental of DC and AC
4 Galvanic Isolation
5 Examples of system architecture of power electronics
6 Software tools for simulation and computer aided design
7 Experiment and Test Plan
8 Design Case and Linear Power Conversion
Series voltage regulator
Shunt regulator diode
9 Ideal Power Conversion and Free of Power Loss
10 Evolution into switching mode converter
11 Summary

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 Section 1

Introduction to power electronics

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Section 1 Introduction to power electronics

Power electronics use solid-state technology to produce power conversion from one
form to another in terms of voltage and current .

Commonly considered as the interface and bridge between Power Engineering and
Electronics Engineering.

Rapid growth resulted from:

Advance in power semiconductor devices to achieve high-efficient, reliable, and
flexible power conversion;
Trend towards modernized electrical systems ⇐⇒ ‘smart’ + ‘green’;
Distributed and renewable power generation + more and more energy storage;
Advance and maturity in control technologies makes power electronics more
practical to be integrated with power systems;
Demand for high-efficient power supply systems to reduce loss and pollution.

“Converter” is a general term referred to power electronic devices.

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Section 1 Introduction to power electronics

The “battle of the currents” refers to the significant debate and competition of
electric power transmission systems in the USA, either AC or DC, in the
1880s.

Thanks to the early development of power transformers, AC was more

cost-effective and efficient than DC to be transmitted, and won the battle.

Lack of power electronics contributed to the loss of DC in the past.

With the latest power electronics, DC will come back:

high voltage DC (HVDC) - long-distance power transmission;

more DC-based power generation, transmission, distribution, and applications;
more sources and loads based on DC;
simple without headache regarding frequency stability, power factor,
synchronization, and interconnection.

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Section 1 Introduction to power electronics

Conversion for power systems is based on centralized generation.

Modernized power systems increase with distributed generation and prosumers

Power electronics and control engineering eventually play a critical role for the
transition from the traditional into modern electrification.

Knowledge of power electronics essential to all power engineers!

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Section 1 Classification

Classified by the form of input and output: Classification by active power flow:
Unidirectional
Bidirectional - rechargeable battery
AC/DC conversion (rectifier)

DC/DC conversion By voltage level of applications:

Extra low voltage (ELV): < 50V
Low voltage (LV): 50-1000 V
DC/AC conversion (inverter)
Medium voltage (MV): 1-35 kV
High voltage (HV): 35-230 kV
AC/AC conversion Extra high voltage (EHV): > 230 kV

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Section 1 Examples of power electronics and applications

Telecommunication ELV power supplies for ICT devices of:

Uninterrupted power supply Computers, e.g. laptops or desktops;

DC power supply Cell phone and tablet

Residential apps Transportation - electric vehicles and ships

Modern appliances, e.g. Drive and power management systems;

microwave, induction cooker; Battery management
High efficient lighting, LED;
Utility - electric power grid
Residential PV systems
Power conditioning for renewable, PV and wind;
Aerospace Power conversion of AC/DC/AC for high-voltage
Power supply for space direct current (HVDC);
shuttles, stations, and Solid-state transformers in medium voltage level;
satellites;
Utilization of energy storage, e.g. rechargeable
Modern aircraft power system batteries.

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Section 1 Interdisciplinary nature of power electronics

The subject covers many technologies more than power and electronics!

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 Section 2

Common research and development subjects of power electronics

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Section 2 Common research and development subjects of power electronics

System architecture study: transition from AC to DC or both?

Advance in control engineering to improve performance, e.g. power quality and

efficiency, for power conversion.

High performance material technology to improve performance in power conversion,

e.g. wide-bandgap.

Advanced simulation technique for balancing the speed and accuracy.

Software for Electronic Computer Aided design (ECAD), e.g. Altium Designer.

Improvement of power converter topologies should show the balance of:

Power conversion efficiency (η = Pout /Pin );
Power quality in both input and output port;
Cost effectiveness, reliability, and robustness;
Size and weight - power density.

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 Section 3

Fundamental of DC and AC

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Section 3 Characteristics of DC and AC

Direct current (DC): current flows one direction only, no zero crossing!

Perfect DC is constant in value or a straight line shown by waveform.

Alternating current (AC), is an electric current in which the flow of electric change
periodically reverses direction in both [+] and [-].

Nominal AC mainly refers to the sinusoidal waveform, periodical zero-crossing.

AC
or
DC?

RMS

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Section 3 Characteristics of DC and AC

Power quality of DC based on the weight of the fundamental frequency, 0 Hz.

Power quality of AC based on the weight of the sine wave with the fundamental
frequency component, which is not 0 Hz.

Using pure sinusoidal waveform as the norm or ideal, other AC forms or components
described by the harmonic distortion.

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Section 3 More terms to describe AC voltage and current

The common frequency of the AC electrical system varies by countries, but

most refer to either 50 or 60 hertz, called as line frequency (LF) or low
frequency (LF).

In off-grid systems, the AC frequency is unnecessarily bound to the LF, e.g.

commercial airplanes, 400 Hz is available for better utilization.

1
RT 1
RT
VAVG = T 0 v(t)dt IAVG = T 0 i(t)dt Average for AC?

Due to the complication of DC, AC, and various periodic waveforms for
voltage and current, Root mean square (RMS) is defined as:
q R q R
1 T 1 T
VRMS = T 0 v2 (t)dt IRMS = T 0 i2 (t)dt.

RMS values create equivalence among various voltage and current signals.

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 Section 4

Galvanic Isolation

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Section 4 Galvanic Isolation

Galvanic isolation refers to the power conversion that provides full dielectric isolation -
does not electrically contact!

For safety to prevent electric shock!

For functional grounding to achieve safety and reliability!

through magnetic field through the light path

capacitive isolation

Converters are separated by the galvanic isolation: non-isolated and isolated

topology.

Magnetic field is the most common path for power converters!

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 Section 5

Examples of system architecture of power electronics

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Section 5 Diagrams of DC/DC, DC/AC, AC/AC, and AC/DC

Power conversion is needed to match electric power among different sources,

transmission, and loads, in term of voltage, current and frequency.

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 Section 6

Software tools for simulation and computer aided design

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Section 6 Software tools for simulation and computer aided design

Electronic design automation (EDA) is also referred to as electronic computer-aided

design (ECAD).

SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) is a general-purpose,

open source analog electronic circuit simulator, which was released by University of
California in 1970s. The original version was coded in FORTRAN and used nodal
analysis to construct the circuit equations.

For simulation
OrCAD EE PSpice and PSIM by Powersim
LTspice by Linear Technology and PLECS by Plexim GmbH (Switzerland);
Simscape Power Systems - MATLAB / Simulink - MathWorks and Quebec Hydro

Designing printed circuit board (PCB)

EAGLE by CadSoft Computer(Students can get free software for 3 years)
Circuit maker and Altium Designer (former Protel), Altium Limited of Australia
OrCAD PCB Designer by Cadence

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Section 6 Printed circuit boards and component mounting

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are usually required by power electronics, which
connect all electronic components together and provide mechanical support.
Most PCB is based on non-conductive substrate, e.g. glass epoxy.

Surface-mount technology (SMT)

Metal backed PCBs can be manufactured with aluminum or copper metal.
Aluminium PCB shows good thermal conductivity, required by LED lighting.

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Section 6 Computer-aided design for PCB

Schematic symbol library

Schematic design

Component selection

PCB library

Schemeatics ≡ footprints

Component placement

PCB trace routing

Review + revise!

Fabrication

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 Section 7

Experiment and Test Plan

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Section 7 Other information

Where to buy components:

Online electronic stores, such as digikey and Mouser.

Typical equipments for practising power electronics:

Desktop or portable multimeters
Oscilloscope with various probes for
voltage and current measurement Programmable load for AC and DC
Computer with ECAD and simulation Soldering machine and repair station
software
Impedance analyzer or LCR meter
DC and AC programmable power supply
Function generators
Data logger for long-term measurement
Thermal imager or thermal meter

For measurement, it is important to understand the terms of resolution,

accuracy, range, and bandwidth.

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Section 7 Experiment and Test Plan

Different from power engineering research, most power electronic developments

need prototyping and experimental test.

Different from electronics, power electronics deal with significant voltage and current
⇐⇒ danger.

When circuit voltage is higher than 50 V, special attention should be given.

A careful test plan and step-by-step checklist should be always developed and
followed, which can save time, money, and even life.

A good practice during development and prototyping is to decouple the circuit that
allows to test each unit separately before final assembly test.

Test points for sensing voltage, current, and temperature should be reserved in the
prototyping stage.

Dedicated printed circuit board (PCB) with proper layout should be used for
high-performance converter design.

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Section 7 Safety

Power electronics deal with significant voltage and current.

Electrical shock may take a life!

Even working with extra low voltage circuit, e.g. < 50 V, exploding
components and arcing circuits can cause blindness and severe burns;

Burning components and arcing lead to fire;

Battery can result in serious danger, e.g., Samsung Note 7 and Boeing 787;

Battery + fuse!

Repairing damaged circuits is difficult, so make it right in one shot!

A test plan or checklist before you turn on switches!

Be calm, relaxed and prepared, while working with power electronics.

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 Section 8

Design Case and Linear Power Conversion

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Section 8 Extra low voltage example - USB car charger

Input voltage: 12 V nominal from a power plug from your car;

Output voltage: 5 V constant at USB terminal

Output current: up to 500 mA to slowly charge a cell phone.

USB chargers used in old cars

DC/DC voltage converter needed;

Design the circuit with common

ground

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Section 8 Design Case and Linear Power Conversion - Series voltage regulator

=⇒
=⇒

78M05 is also called as series pass regulator or linear regulator, which can
automatically maintain the output voltage to the constant level of 5 V.

The operation of series voltage regulator, 78M05, can be equivalent to

automatically adjusted resistor to fix the output voltage.

Specification of 78M05:
Output 5 V ±2%; Internal thermal overload protection;
Rated output current: 500 mA; Internal short circuit current limiting.

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Section 8 Series voltage regulator for USB car charger

Voltage drop across the 78M05 changes to maintain the constant output
voltage of 5 V at the output terminal, which is equivalent to an adaptive
resistance in series.

Ohm Law:
The transistor is operated in the linear region for voltage dividing, 12 - 5 = 7 V.
In case of variation of the input, the output voltage is sensed and fed back to
controller for adjustment.
Fast dynamic response; simple circuit and low noise;
Minimal filtering requirements; low efficiency only good for extremely
The conversion efficiency? low power applications.

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Section 8 Shunt regulator diode

Opposite to the series voltage regulator, shunt regulator is another way to

maintain constant output voltage.

Shunt regulator diode, TL431 series, is a popular chip and commonly used for
programmable voltage references in many modern applications.

The 2.5 V reference port makes it programmable to obtain variable voltage

level across anode and cathode.

Rating of TL431:
Current limit: 100-150 mA;

Voltage limit: 36 V

It is flexible and precise that is widely used to replace conventional Zener

diode for voltage reference.

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Section 8 Linear power conversion - Shunt regulator diode

VO is programmable by resistance ratio between R1 and R2 .

Output current should be limited by R0 to be under 100 mA, which determines

the resistance of R0 .

R0 forms the voltage dividing

network between the input and
output.

Significant power loss can be

expected on R0 .

Forming a 2.5 V reference is

simple!

High loss is expected for linear

regulators!

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 Section 9

Ideal Power Conversion and Free of Power Loss

when we need power, turn on the switch, otherwise turn off to save energy!

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Section 9 Ideal Power Conversion

Stable and robust operation regardless of any disturbance or any non-ideal

environment;

Conversion efficiency to be close to 100%;

High power quality appearing at all converter terminals referred to the nominal
form of DC or AC;

Accurate and fast command following regarding the regulation of voltage,

current, and power;

A fast and robust response to reject all sorts of disturbance;

High power density to forge a small size and efficient operation;

Low cost without compromising the lifespan;

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Section 9 Application of on/off cycle control - concept of equivalent energy transfer

“When electric power is needed, turn on the switch, otherwise, turn off!”
Old cooktop or oven toaster with temperature setting:
Using single pole double throw (SPDT) relay.
‘AC’ =⇒ Temperature ⇑; ‘BC’ =⇒ Temperature ⇓
www.amazon.com/ Simple timer for on/off switch of burner -“click” sound!
Equivalent circuit: »Energy consumption determined by the duty cycle of “ON” time.
Temperature sensed and regulated by the timer operation.
Burner with adjustable temperature control (timer for ON/OFF).
Simple but meets basic cooking requirement.
Discontinuous ON/OFF waveform of VO ; Thermal inertia

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 Section 10

Evolution into switching mode converter

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Section 10 Evolution into switching mode converter

ON/OFF switching produces pulsed voltage waveform controling power flow from
source to load.
However, most electrical loads prefer to be supplied by constant voltage.
A low pass filter or smoothing circuit, formed by LC, can be added, to stop
high-frequency pulsed signal and output smooth voltage.

The circuit becomes the schematic of non-isolated buck converter.

Switching frequency is used to size the LC parameters for effective filtering.
Ideally, the switch, L and Co cause no power loss!
100% efficiency in theory =⇒ modern power electronics!

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 Section 11

Summary

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Section 11 Summary

The course was develop in a way to bridge textbook information and practical
applications.

Some materials are unavailable in textbooks since they are based on practical
experience as an electrical engineer.

The concept of modern power electronics will be emphasized, which is

unavailable in other textbooks.

The beginning of this presentation introduces the basics of power electronics.

Several system architectures are demonstrated to show different applications.

Based on a design example, the series voltage regulator is introduced and

designed.

Shunt voltage regulator is also briefly discussed, e.g. the popular chip, LT431.

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Section 11 Summary

Due to the significant loss of series voltage regulator and shunt voltage
regulator, the switching mode converter is demanded.

High-efficiency conversion requirement leads to the on/off switching

technology.

Passive components, resistor, inductor, capacitor, and transformer are

reviewed.

Typical LCR circuit is a smoothing circuit, dynamically analyzed as the

2nd-order low-pass filter and demonstrated for simulation.

di
Never try to stop inductor current since the “kick back” voltage by vL = L
dt
can go significantly high and cause immediate damage.

Always think to create a fast route to evacuate inductor current in any

switching circuit.

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Section 11 Summary

Shortage of charged capacitor can result in significant current and damage

dv
due to ic = C .
dt
Special protection should be always given when battery is used in circuit
design.

Accidents have been reported for Boeing 787 and Samsung Note 7 due to the
lithium-ion battery problem and poor power electronic design.

All experimental work should be properly planned and tested by formal

procedure.

Rating for voltage and power of each component used in power electronics
should be respected.

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