Unit 4

CONVERTERS FOR UPS

SYSTEM
What is UPS?

• An Uninterruptible Power Supply(UPS) is a device that has an alternate

source of energy that can provide power when the primary power source is
temporarily disabled.

• The switchover time must be small enough to not cause a disruption in the
operation of the loads.

• In a UPS, the energy is generally stored in flywheels,

batteries, or super capacitors.
Need of UPS

• Protects against multiple types of power disturbances

• Only device that protects against an outage

• Offers protection against

1. Equipment not operating properly

2. Computer and equipment damage

3. Data loss

4. Time and expense to recover back to where you were, if even possible.
UPS Components
1. Rectifier AC/DC

• SPD-Protects against spikes

and transients

2. Battery

• Stored energy device-

protects against General Structure of UPs
interruptions
3. Inverter DC/AC

• Waveform synthesis – Protects against

DC offset and interharmonics

• Filter – Protects against harmonics,

notching and noise

• Voltage regulator – Protects against sags,

surges and fluctuations
UPS Waveform
4. Monitor and control
Hardware/Software
Types of UPS

1. Standby UPS/ Passive UPS/ Offline UPS

• This configuration of UPS system is also known as “off-line UPS” or “line-

preferred UPS”

• It consists of an AC/DC converter, a battery bank, a DC/AC inverter, and a

static switch.

• A passive low pass filter may also be used at the output of the UPS or inverter
to remove the switching frequency from the output voltage.
• The static switch is on during the
normal mode of operation.

• Therefore, load is supplied from the

AC line directly without any power
conditioning.

• At the same time, the AC/DC rectifier

charges the battery set.

• This converter is rated at a much lower

Typical Standby UPS System
power rating than the power demand of
the load.
• When a power outage occurs or the primary power is out of a given preset tolerance,
the static switch is opened and the DC/AC inverter provides power to the load from
the battery set for the duration of the preset backup time or till the AC line is back
again.

• This inverter is rated at 100% of the load power demand.

• It is connected in parallel to the load and stays standby during the normal mode of
operation.

• The transition time from the AC line to DC/AC inverter is usually about one quarter
of the line cycle, which is enough for most of the applications such as personal
computers.
• Different configurations of AC/DC rectifiers such as linear or switching
may be used in this system.

• To reduce the cost, a simple diode-bridge rectifier with a capacitor at the

front end is used. A full-bridge or half-bridge full controlled converter is
also used to charge the battery bank.

• The purpose of the DC/AC inverter is to provide high quality AC power to

the load when the static switch is opened. A full- or half-bridge topology is
used for this inverter.
• In some topologies of standby UPS systems, an isolating transformer is used at the
output stage of the UPS.

• This topology is called ferroresonant standby UPS system.

• The transformer also acts as a low pass filter that cancels out switching frequency
from the output voltage of the DC/AC inverter.

• On the other hand, the transformer stores electromagnetic energy in the core and
acts as a buffer when a power outage occurs.
• For a short time, the transformer
provides power to the load and
protects sensitive equipment from
being affected during the transfer
time from the input AC to the
UPS.

• Since the transformer is bulky and

expensive, this configuration is Typical configuration of ferroresonant
standby UPS
more appropriate for high power
applications.
Advantages Disadvantages

• simple design • lack of real isolation of the load from

• low cost the AC line

• small size. • no output voltage regulation

• long switching time

• poor performance with non-linear

loads

• no line conditioning
2. Online UPS/Double conversion UPS

• Similar to standby UPS systems, on-line UPS systems also consist of a

rectifier/charger, a battery set, an inverter, and a static switch (bypass).

• Other names for this configuration are “true UPS,” “inverter preferred UPS,” and
“double-conversion UPS”

• The rectifier/charger continuously supplies power to the DC bus.

• The power rating of this converter must be designed appropriately to supply power
to the load and charge the battery bank at the same time.
• The batteries are rated in order to supply full power to the load during the backup time. The

duration of this time varies in different applications.

• The inverter is rated at 100% of the load power since it must supply the load during the normal

mode of operation as well as during the backup time.

• It is connected in series with the load; hence, there is no transfer time associated with the

transition from normal mode to stored energy mode. This is the main advantage of on-line UPS

systems.

• The static switch provides redundancy of the power source in the case of UPS malfunction or

overloading. The AC line and load voltages must be in phase in order to use the static switch.

This can be achieved easily by a phase-locked loop control.

• During the normal mode of
operation, the power to the load is
continuously supplied via the
rectifier/charger and inverter.

• In fact, a double conversion from

AC to DC and then from DC to AC
takes place.
Typical configuration of online UPS
• This configuration of the UPS
allows good power conditioning.
• The AC/DC converter charges the battery set and also supplies power to the load via
the inverter.

• Therefore, it has the highest power rating in this topology, thereby increasing the cost.
When the AC input voltage is outside the preset tolerance, the inverter and battery
maintain continuity of power to the load.

• The duration of this mode is the duration of preset UPS backup time or till the AC line
returns within the preset tolerance.

• As mentioned for the standby UPS system, different topologies are employed for the
AC/DC rectifier and DC/AC inverter.
• Unlike standby UPS system, in this system, these converters provide power to the
load continuously. Therefore, more care should be given to the quality of the input
current and output voltage as well as the efficiency of the system.

• The proper switching method such as PWM is employed for the AC/DC rectifier
to minimize the input current harmonics and provide regulated DC bus voltage.

• A low pass filter at the output of the system removes the switching frequency
from the output voltage.
Advantages
Disadvantages

• very wide tolerance to the input voltage low power factor

variation
high THD at the input
• very precise regulations of output voltage
low efficiency
• there is no transfer time during the
transition from normal to stored energy The input current is distorted by
modes the rectifier unless an extra PFC
• possible to regulate or change the output circuit is added; but, this adds to
frequency
the cost of the UPS system
3. Line-interactive UPS

• Line-interactive UPS systems consist of a static switch, a series inductor,

a bi-directional converter, and a battery bank.

• An optional passive filter can be added at the output of the bi-directional

converter or at the input side of the load.

• A line-interactive UPS can operate either as an on-line UPS or as an off-

line UPS.

• For an off-line line-interactive UPS, the series inductor is not required.

• However, most of the line-interactive UPS systems operate on-line in order
to either improve the power factor of the load or regulate the output voltage
for the load.

• When the AC line is within the preset tolerance, it feeds the load directly.

• The AC/DC converter is connected in parallel with the load and charges the
battery.

• This converter may also be used to improve the power factor of the system
and compensate the load current harmonics.
• When a power outage occurs or input voltage falls outside the preset tolerance,
the system goes to bypass mode.

• In this mode, the bi-directional converter operates as a DC/AC inverter and

supplies power to the load from the battery set.

• The static switch disconnects the AC line in order to prevent back feed from the
inverter.

• Employing a transformer in the output can eliminate the lack of effective

isolation of the load from the AC line but, it will add to the cost, size, and weight
of the UPS system.
• Furthermore, the output voltage
conditioning is not good because
the inverter is not connected in
series with the load.

• In addition, since the AC line

supplies the load directly during
the normal mode of operation,
there is no possibility for Typical configuration of line-interactive
UPS
regulation of the output
frequency.
Advantages
Disadvantage
• simple design

• high reliability
• lack of effective isolation of the

• lower cost compared to the on-line UPS load from the AC line.
systems

• have good harmonic suppression for the

input current

• Since this is a single stage conversion

topology, the efficiency is higher than on-
line UPS system.
 Rotary UPS
• Rotary UPS systems use the stored kinetic energy
in the electrical machines to provide power to the
load when a power outage occurs.

• There are different configurations for rotary UPS

systems.

• The simplest topology consists of an AC motor and

an AC generator, which are mechanically coupled. Motor-generator set
• A flywheel is also used on the shaft of the
machines to store more kinetic energy in the
system.
 Rotary UPS with battery backup

Rotary UPS with standby diesel/natural gas engine

• In normal operation, the input AC line provides power to the AC motor and this
AC motor drives the AC generator.

• In backup mode, the kinetic energy stored in the motor, flywheel, and generator
is converted to electric power and supplies the load.

• This simple topology is designed to provide short time backup power to the
load (typically less than 2 s) in case of power interruption.

• In another configuration of rotary UPS system which is shown in Fig. 2, an AC

motor, a DC machine, an AC generator, and a battery bank are used.
• During the normal mode of operation, the AC line supplies the AC motor, which drives

the DC machine.

• The DC machine drives the AC generator, which supplies the load.

• During the backup mode of operation, the battery bank supplies the DC machine,

which, in turn, drives the AC generator and the AC generator supplies the load.

• This system can provide long time backup power to the load depending on the capacity

of the battery set.

• These two rotary UPS systems are much more reliable than the static UPS systems and

provide complete electrical isolation between the load and input AC line.
• Yet, they require more maintenance and have much bigger size and weight.
Therefore, they are usually used for high power applications.

• The configuration of a standby rotary UPS system is shown in Fig.

• This system does not provide electrical isolation between the load and input
AC.

• There is also a transition delay for switching from main AC to backup AC

generator.

• However, it can provide power to the load as long as needed

Hybrid static/rotary UPS

• Hybrid static/rotary UPS systems combine the main features of both static and
rotary UPS systems.

• They have low output impedance, high reliability, excellent frequency stability,
and low maintenance requirements.

• They are usually used in high power applications.

• During normal operation, the input AC power feeds the AC motor. The power is
provided to the load from the AC generator, which is driven by the AC motor.
• In case of low input power quality
or power interruption, the
bidirectional AC/DC converter
acts as an inverter and feeds the
AC motor from battery pack.

• This system has three operation

modes. In normal operation, the
load is directly supplied by the Motor-generator set with
main AC input and the AC motor battery backup

is rotated at noload.
Motor-generator set with power conditioning at input side

Battery-less hybrid UPS system

• In the case of short power interruption, main breaker and generator breaker are opened and the
inverter breaker is closed.

• The DC/AC inverter provides power to the load from the kinetic energy stored in the AC
machine.

• If power is not restored in the short-term, the diesel engine is turned on, which provides power to
the load through the AC generator.

• In this mode, the main breaker and inverter breaker remain open.

• One of the advantages of this topology is operation without a battery set to minimize cost, space,
and required maintenance.

• The second advantage is avoiding double power conversion in long-term power interruption.