Power Electronics

The Buck (Step-Down)

Converter

Dr. Firas Obeidat

1
 Table of contents

• Introduction
1

• Step Down Chopper with Resistive Load

2

• Step Down Chopper with RL Load

3

• Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter

4

2
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 Introduction
DC-DC converters are power electronic circuits that convert a DC voltage to
a different DC voltage level, often providing a regulated output.

DC supply
(from rectifier- DC output LOAD
filter, battery,
fuel cell etc.)

Vcontrol
(derived from
feedback circuit)

General block diagram

Applications:
– Switched-mode power supply (SMPS), DC motor control,
battery chargers, subway cars, trolley buses, vehicles, etc.
3
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 Introduction
Main Types of Choppers

1- Step-down DC-DC converter.

In step down chopper output voltage is less than input
voltage.
2- Step-up DC-DC converter.
In step up chopper output voltage is more than input
voltage.
3- Buck-Boost converter (Step-down/step-up converter).
4- Cuk converter.

4
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
 Step down chopper as Buck
converted is used to reduce the input
voltage level at the output side.
Circuit diagram of a step down
chopper is shown in the figure.

 When CH is turned ON, Vs directly

appears across the load as shown in
figure. So VO=VS.

 When CH is turned OFF, Vs is

disconnected from the load. So output
voltage VO = 0.

 The voltage waveform of step down

chopper

5
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
 TON → It is the interval in which chopper is in ON state.
 TOFF → It is the interval in which chopper is in OFF state.
 VS → Source or input voltage.
 VO → Output or load voltage.
 T → Chopping period = TON + TOFF
 F=1/T is the frequency of chopper switching or chopping frequency

Operation of Step Down Chopper with Resistive Load

 When CH is ON, VO = VS When CH is OFF, VO = 0

The Average output voltage is

𝑇𝑂𝑁
1 𝑉𝑠 𝑇𝑂𝑁
𝑉𝑑𝑐 = 𝑉𝑜 = 𝑉𝑠 𝑑𝑡 = = 𝐷𝑉𝑠
𝑇 𝑇
0

𝑉𝑑𝑐 𝐷𝑉𝑠
𝐼𝑑𝑐 = =
𝑅 𝑅

6
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Resistive Load
𝑇𝑂𝑁
𝐷= 𝑇 = 𝑇𝑂𝑁 + 𝑇𝑂𝐹𝐹
𝑇
 Where,
 D is duty cycle = TON/T. TON can be varied from 0 to T, so 0 ≤ D ≤ 1.
 The output voltage VO can be varied from 0 to VS.

The rms output voltage is

𝑇𝑂𝑁
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝐷𝑉𝑠
𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 = =
1 𝑇𝑂𝑁 𝑅 𝑅
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝑉𝑠 2 𝑑𝑡 = 𝑉𝑠 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠
𝑇 𝑇
0

𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 2 𝑉𝑠 2
𝑃𝑜 = 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝐼𝑟𝑚𝑠 = =𝐷
𝑅 𝑅
The output voltage is always less than the
input voltage and hence the name step
down chopper is justified.
7
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Resistive Load
Ripple factor (RF) can be found from
2
𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 𝐷𝑉𝑠 2 1 1−𝐷
𝑅𝐹 = −1= 2−1= −1=
𝑉𝑑𝑐 𝐷 2 𝑉𝑠 𝐷 𝐷
Pulse Width Modulation Method
V0

V
Methods of Control tON tOFF

1- Pulse Width Modulation T

t

V0
• tON is varied keeping chopping frequency ‘f’ & chopping
V
period ‘T’ constant.
• Output voltage is varied by varying the ON time tON t
tON tOFF

2- Variable Frequency Control Variable Frequency Control Method

v0
• Chopping frequency ‘f’ is varied keeping either tON or tOFF V
constant.
tON tOFF
• To obtain full output voltage range, frequency has to be t
T
varied over a wide range. v0

V
• This method produces harmonics in the output and for large
tOFF load current may become discontinuous tON tOFF
t
T
8
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Resistive Load
Examlpe: A transistor dc chopper circuit (Buck converter) is supplied with
power form an ideal battery of 100 V. The load voltage waveform consists
of rectangular pulses of duration 1 ms in an overall cycle time of 2.5 ms.
Calculate, for resistive load of 10 Ω.
(a) The duty cycle D.
(b) The average value of the output voltage Vdc.
(c) The rms value of the output voltage Vrms.
(d) The ripple factor RF.
(e) The output dc power.
(a) 𝑡𝑂𝑁 1𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝐷= = = 0.4
𝑇 2.5𝑚𝑠𝑒𝑐
(b) 𝑉𝑑𝑐 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠 = 0.4 × 100 = 40 V
(c) 𝑉𝑟𝑚𝑠 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠 = 0.4 × 100 = 63.2 V
1−𝐷 1−0.4
(d) 𝑅𝐹 = = = 1.225
𝐷 0.4

(e) 𝑉𝑑𝑐 2 402

𝑃𝑜 = = = 160 W
𝑅 10 9
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
 When chopper is ON, supply is connected
across load. Current flows from supply to
load.
 When chopper is OFF, load current
continues to flow in the same direction
through FWD due to energy stored in
inductor ‘L’.
 Load current can be continuous or v0 Output
voltage
discontinuous depending on the values of V

‘L’ and duty cycle ‘D’ tON tOFF

t
T
i0 Output
 For a continuous current operation, load Imax current
current varies between two limits Imax and
Continuous
Imin. Imin current
t
i0 Output
 When current becomes equal to Imax the current
chopper is turned-off and it is turned-on Discontinuous
current
when current reduces to Imin. t
10
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
Continuous Current Operation When Chopper Is ON (0 ≤t ≤
t buck
 When the switch is closed in theON
)
converter, the circuit will be as shown in
the figure, the diode is reverse-biased. v0 Output
The voltage across the inductor is voltage
V
𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑅 + 𝑉𝐿
tON tOFF
𝑑𝑖 𝑑𝑖 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅 t
𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉𝑅 + 𝐿 → = i0
T
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝐿 Output
𝐷𝑇 Imax current
𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅
∆𝑖 = 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐷𝑇 = 𝑡𝑂𝑁 (1)
𝐿 𝐿 𝐿 Imin
Continuous
0 current
𝑑𝑖 ∆𝑖 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅 t
= = = i0 Output
𝑑𝑡 𝑡𝑂𝑁 𝑡𝑂𝑁 𝐿 current
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅Discontinuous
From straight 𝑖𝑜1 = 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 + 𝑡 = 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 + 𝑡 = 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 + 𝑡 (2)
line equation 𝑡𝑂𝑁 𝐷𝑇 𝐿 current
t
11
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
Continuous Current Operation When Chopper Is OFF (tON ≤t ≤ T)

0 = 𝑉𝑅 + 𝑉𝐿
𝑑𝑖 𝑑𝑖 𝑉𝑅
0 = 𝑉𝑅 + 𝐿 → =−
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝐿 v0 Output
voltage
𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 V
𝑉𝑅 𝑉𝑅
∆𝑖 = − 𝑑𝑡 = − 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 (3) tON tOFF
𝐿 𝐿 t
0 T
i0 Output
𝑑𝑖 ∆𝑖 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 − 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 𝑉𝑅 Imax current
= = =− =−
𝑑𝑡 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 𝐿
Continuous
Imin current
From straight line equation t
i0 Output
𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 − 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑉𝑅 current
𝑖𝑜2 = 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 + 𝑡 − 𝑡𝑂𝑁 = 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − (𝑡 − 𝑡𝑂𝑁 ) (4)
𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 𝐿 Discontinuous
current
t
12
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
Steady-state operation requires that the inductor current at the end of the
switching cycle be the same as that at the beginning, meaning that the net change
in inductor current over one period is zero. This requires

𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅 𝑉𝑅 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑅 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹
𝑡𝑂𝑁 − 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 = 0 =
𝐿 𝐿 𝑉𝑅 𝑡𝑂𝑁
𝑉𝑠 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 𝑉𝑠 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹
−1= = +1
𝑉𝑅 𝑡𝑂𝑁 𝑉𝑅 𝑡𝑂𝑁
𝑉𝑠 𝑡𝑂𝐹𝐹 + 𝑡𝑂𝑁 𝑇
= = 𝑉𝑅 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠
𝑉𝑅 𝑡𝑂𝑁 𝑡𝑂𝑁

From equation (1)

𝑡𝑂𝑁
since 𝐷=
𝑇
𝑉𝑠 − 𝐷𝑉𝑠 𝑉𝑠 1 − 𝐷 𝐷
∆𝑖 = 𝐷𝑇 = 1
𝐿 𝐿𝑓 𝑓=
𝑇 13
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
At steady state operation, the average inductor current must be the same as
the average current in the load resistor.
𝑉𝑅
𝐼𝐿 = 𝐼𝑅 =
𝑅
The maximum and minimum values of the inductor current are computed as
∆𝑖
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝐿 +
2
𝑉𝑠 1 − 𝐷 𝐷 𝑉𝑅 1 − 𝐷
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 = 𝐼𝐿 + = 𝐼𝐿 +
2𝐿𝑓 2𝐿𝑓
∆𝑖
𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐼𝐿 −
2
𝑉𝑠 1 − 𝐷 𝐷 𝑉𝑅 1 − 𝐷
𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛 = 𝐼𝐿 − = 𝐼𝐿 −
2𝐿𝑓 2𝐿𝑓
The average dc output voltage and current can found as
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 − 𝐼𝑚𝑖𝑛
𝑉𝑑𝑐 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠 𝐼𝑑𝑐 ≅
2 14
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
Examlpe: A dc chopper has a resistive load of 20Ω and input voltage
VS=220V. When chopper is ON, its voltage drop is 1.5 volts and chopping
frequency is 10 kHz. If the duty cycle is 80%, determine the average output
voltage and the chopper on time.

𝑉𝑠 = 220V
𝑡𝑂𝑁
𝐷= = 0.8
𝑇
𝑡𝑂𝑁
𝑉𝑑𝑐 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉 − 𝑉𝐶𝐻 = 0.8 220 − 1.5 = 174.8 V
𝑇 𝑠

1 1
𝑇= = = 0.1m 𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑓 10 × 10−3

𝑡𝑂𝑁 = 𝐷𝑇 = 0.8 × 0.1 × 10−3 = 80μ 𝑠𝑒𝑐

15
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with RL Load
Examlpe: A Chopper circuit is operating at a frequency of 2 kHz on a 460
V supply. If the load voltage is 350 volts, calculate the conduction period of
the thyristor in each cycle.

𝑉𝑠 = 460V
Chopping period
1 1
𝑇= = = 0.5m 𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑓 2 × 10−3
𝑡𝑂𝑁
𝑉𝑑𝑐 = 𝐷𝑉𝑠 = 𝑉
𝑇 𝑠
𝑇𝑉𝑑𝑐 0.5 × 10−3 × 350
𝑡𝑂𝑁 = = = 0.38m 𝑠𝑒𝑐
𝑉𝑠 460

16
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
 This converter is used if the
objective is to produce an output
that is purely DC.
 If the low-pass filter is ideal, the
output voltage is the average of the
input voltage to the filter.

Analysis for the Switch Closed

When the switch is closed in the buck
converter circuit of fig. a, the diode is
reverse-biased and fig. b is an
equivalent circuit. The voltage across
the inductor is

17
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
Analysis for the Switch Closed

Since the derivative of the current

is a positive constant, the current
increases linearly. The change in
current while the switch is closed is
computed by modifying the
preceding equation.

𝐷𝑇
𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑜 𝑉𝑠 − 𝑉𝑜
(∆𝑖𝐿 )𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑒𝑑 = 𝑑𝑡 = 𝐷𝑇
𝐿 𝐿
0
or
(1)

18
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
Analysis for the Switch Opened

When the switch is open, the diode

becomes forward-biased to carry the
inductor current and the equivalent
circuit of fig. c applies. The voltage
across the inductor when the switch
is open is

The derivative of current in the inductor is a negative constant, and the

current decreases linearly. The change in inductor current when the switch is
open is
(1−𝐷)𝑇
−𝑉𝑜 −𝑉𝑜
(∆𝑖𝐿 )𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑑 = 𝑑𝑡 = (1 − 𝐷)𝑇 or
𝐿 𝐿 (2)
0
19
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
vbe Ts
Steady-state operation requires that the
inductor current at the end of the switching Ton Toff
t
cycle be the same as that at the beginning,
iL
meaning that the net change in inductor
current over one period is zero. This Io
t

requires iS

Using equations 1&2 iD

Vl

Vin  Vo t
The average inductor current must be the Vo

Ic
same as the average current in the load
Q
resistor, since the average capacitor current t

must be zero for steady-state operation:

Vo

Vo
t
0

20
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
The maximum and minimum values of the inductor current are computed as

Since Imin=0 is the boundary between continuous and discontinuous current,

The minimum combination of inductance and switching frequency for

continuous current in the buck converter is

21
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
where Lmin is the minimum inductance required for continuous current. In
practice, a value of inductance greater than Lmin is desirable to ensure
continuous current.
Since the converter components are assumed to be ideal, the power supplied by
the source must be the same as the power absorbed by the load resistor.

This relationship is similar to the voltage-current relationship

for a transformer in AC applications. Therefore, the buck
converter circuit is equivalent to a DC transformer.

In the preceding analysis, the capacitor was assumed to be very large to keep
the output voltage constant. In practice, the output voltage cannot be kept
perfectly constant with a finite capacitance. The variation in output voltage, or
ripple, is computed from the voltage-current relationship of the capacitor. The
current in the capacitor is

22
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
While the capacitor current is positive, the
capacitor is charging. From the definition of
capacitance,

The change in charge ∆Q is the area of the

triangle above the time axis

Substitute (∆iL)open in the above equation yields

∆Vo is the peak-to-peak ripple voltage at the output

The required capacitance in terms of specified voltage ripple:

23
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
 The Buck (Step-Down) Converter
Step Down Chopper with Low Pass Filter
Examlpe: buck dc-dc converter with Low Pass Filter has the following
parameters:

Assuming ideal components, calculate (a) the output voltage Vo, (b) the
maximum and minimum inductor current, and (c) the output voltage
ripple.
(a)
(b)

The average inductor current is 1 A, and ∆iL=1.5 A.

(c)

24
Dr. Firas Obeidat Faculty of Engineering Philadelphia University
25