Chapter 1

Introduction

Text: Power Electronics by Daniel W. Hart

McGraw Hill

EEE 146 Power Electronics

Instructor: Russ Tatro
Chapter 1 – Sections covered:

Section 1.1 Power Electronics

Section 1.2 Converter Classification
Section 1.3 Power Electronics Concepts
Section 1.4 Electronic Switches
Section 1.5 Switch Selection
Section 1.6 Spice, PSpice, and Capture
Section 1.7 Switches in PSpice
Preview

Pre-requisites for this course include:

EEE 108. Electronics I. Introduction to electronics, ideal OP-AMPS, BJTs, FETs, DC
biasing, VI characteristics, single stage amplifiers, low frequency small signal models,
power supplies and voltage regulation.

EEE 130. Electromechanical Conversion. Magnetic circuits and principles of

electromechanical energy conversion, 3-Phase, DC machines, state equations,
terminal characteristics, transformers, AC machines, terminal characteristics of
synchronous machines, stability considerations. Induction machine theory.
Introduction to energy sources including conventional and nuclear power plants.
Section 1.1 Power Electronics

Power electronics circuits convert electric power from one form to

another using electronic devices.

ac to dc

dc to ac

Unregulated dc voltage to regulated dc voltage

ac power from one amplitude and frequency

to another amplitude and frequency
Section 1.2 Converter Classification

Converter - match the voltage and current requirements of the load to

those of the source.

Figure 1-1
Section 1.2 Converter Classification

Average power is transferred from the defined source to the load.

ac input/ dc output - average power is transferred from an ac source to

a dc load - Rectifier

dc input/ac output - Inverter

dc input/dc output

ac input/ac output
Section 1.2 Converter Classification

The direction of power flow determines converter classification.

Figure 1-2
Section 1.3 Power Electronics Concepts

Power electronic circuits attempt to provide power at the desired

voltage and current even when the load is unknown or may change over
time.
Consider a basic (and inherently inefficient – why?) dc-dc converter in
the form of a voltage divider.

Figure 1-4
In circuit of Figure 1-4, only ⅓ of the input power is delivered to the
load.
Section 1.3 Power Electronics Concepts

A slightly more sophisticated approach is to use a switch and create the

average voltage of a repeating input.

Figure 1-5 A dc-dc switch converter

Pulse voltage waveform

T T/3 T
1 1 1 9 T 
avg  v x  = Vx  v x (t)dt =  9dt +  0dt =   0  = 3 V
T0 T 0
T T/3 T3 
Section 1.3 Power Electronics Concepts

The switch is assumed ideal and absorbs no

power.

When the switch is open, power absorbed by the load = zero.

When the switch is closed, all power is delivered to the load.

This circuit is 100% efficient.

Problems:
Switching is impulsive – large number of Fourier terms
Continuous voltage is not the same as the average voltage.
Can the load survive the instantaneous power?
Section 1.3 Power Electronics Concepts

We can filter the output and pass only the dc

term of the Fourier series.

Figure 1-6 Add a low-pass filter

The low-pass filter will not be lossless but can be low loss.
Filter components can be made smaller by higher frequency switching.
Control feedback usually used to regulated the output even with
variations in the input.
Section 1.4 Electronic Switches

Ideal switch – two states on and off.

On = short circuit with zero impedance = zero voltage drop.

Off = open circuit with infinite impedance = zero current flow.

This course emphasizes device behavior rather than optimizing

performance.

Thus the semiconductor switches will be assumed to:

have a low voltage drop when in the on state
have a low current flow when in the off state
switch transitions will usually be considered as instantaneous.
Section 1.4 Diodes

Diode – simplest electronic switch.

On and off conditions are controlled by circuit voltages and currents.

Section 1.4 Thyristors

Thyristors – family of three terminal devices where control of switch

turn on is desired.

SCR – silicon-controlled rectifier

Ideal SCR i-v characteristics

Turn on – apply gate current during positive anode-to-cathode voltage.

SCR will conduct as long as anode current is positive and above a
minimum hold level.
Section 1.4 Thyristors

GTO – gate turnoff thyristor

Turn on – apply gate current during positive anode-to-cathode voltage.

Turn off – apply negative gate current – short duration but large
magnitude relative to turn on current.
Section 1.4 Thyristors

Triac – Triode for alternating current

Triac can conduct current in either direction.

Functionally equivalent to two antiparallel SCRs.

Section 1.4 Thyristors

MCT – MOS-controlled thyristor

MCT has an SCR and two MOSFETs – one to turn on and another to
turn off.

MCT turn on/off by establishing proper voltage from gate to cathode

(rather than by current signal).

MCT devices avoids the high magnitude turn off current as in the GTO.
Section 1.4 Transistors

Transistor power electronics drive circuits are designed to have the

transistor either fully on or fully off.

Transistor turn-on and turnoff are controllable unlike the diode.

Figure 1-10 MOSFET (N-channel)

Power MOSFETs are of the enhancement type. A sufficiently large

gate-to-source voltage will turn on the MOSFET.
Section 1.4 Bipolar Junction Transistor (BJT)

BJTs are base current controlled.

Low forward beta (hFE) in the BJT means large base currents!

Darlington configuration reduces the

need for large base currents.
Section 1.4 Insulated-Gate Bipolar Junction Transistor (IGBT)

The IGBT is an integrated connection

of a MOSFET and a BJT.

Circuit symbols
Section 1.5 Switch Selection

Switch criteria:

Required voltage and current levels;

Switching characteristics;
MOSFETs and GTOs – control turn-on and turnoff
GTO – gate turnoff thyristor
SCRs – control turn-on but not turnoff
Diodes – no control
Switching speeds:
BJT – minority carrier device – often slow (or very expensive)
MOSFETs generally quicker with less power draw
Example 1-1 Switch Selection
Configure two switches and operate the switching at 200 kHz.

Vs  24 V I0  2 A

Determine the type of device required for each switch and the maximum voltage and
current requirements of each.

Steady state operating points for switch 1:

S1 (v1,i1) → closed = (0, I0) and open = (VS, 0)

S1 must turn off when i1 = I0 > 0

and S1 must turn off when v1 = Vs where Vs > 0

Switch requires control of both turn-on and turnoff.

A MOSFET seems to fit at the 200 kHz switching frequency.

Example 1-1 Switch Selection
Configure two switches and operate the switching at 200 kHz.

Vs  24 V I0  2 A

For switch S2:

Steady state operating points for switch 2:

S2 (v2,i2) → closed (0, I0) and open (-VS, 0)

Positive current (forward bias) to turn-on, negative voltage (reverse bias) to turn off.

A diode fits this characteristic.

Example 1-1 Switch Selection

S1 is most likely a MOSFET and S2 can be a diode.

With synchronous switching S2 can be replaced by a MOSFET to improve efficiency

and reduce power losses at the expense of more complex switching circuits.
Section 1.6 Spice, Pspice, and Capture

Ingenuity in simulation setup is required to perform the switching

operations necessary in power electronics.

But a word of caution, know the expected response before performing

the simulation.

Simulation is only as good as the question you ask.

Section 1.7 Switches in PSpice

Sbreak is the Spice voltage-controlled switch.

Switch model parameters are:

RON – “on” resistance – set to 0.01 or 0.001 Ω
ROFF – “off” resistance – default 106 Ω
VON – “on” voltage – default 1.0 V
VOFF – “off” voltage - default 0 V
Section 1.7 Transistors in Pspice

Modify the Sbreak model: Ron = 0.001 Ω

Section 1.7 Transistors in Pspice

Idealized MOSFET can be created with Sbreak.

Models for a large number of MOSFETs are available.

Section 1.7 Diodes in PSpice

id =I S  e  1
 Vd

The diode equation is: nVT

 

Where the emission coefficient n is usually defaulted to 1.

To create an ideal diode, let n = “a small number” so that the

exponential goes to infinity.
Section 1.7 Thyristor in PSpice

An SCR is in the Spice library but a simple part count version can be a
diode with a switch.
Section 1.7 Convergence Problems in PSpice

If convergences arise:

increase the iteration limit ITL4 from 10 to “large”

change the relative tolerance RELTOL
make the devices “less ideal”

Add an RC “snubber” circuit

Section 1.7 Convergence Problems in PSpice

Setting ITL4 to 100 and RELTOL to 0.01 in “Options”

often solves convergence problems.
Section 1.7 Convergence Problems in PSpice

Adding an RC “snubber” circuit can solve convergence problems.

e.g., R = 1kΩ, C = 1nF
 End of Chapter 1

Introduction

EEE 146 Power Electronics

Instructor: Russ Tatro