1

CHAPTER FIVE

DC to DC CONVERTER
(Choppers)
DESIGNED
BY
Prof. SAMEER KHADER
PPU
2019-2020
 2

Introduction and Classifications

Part I : Step-down Chopper ( Buck Converter )

Part II: Step-up Chopper (Boost Converter)

Part III :Step-down/up Chopper ( Buck-Boost..)

Other types
 3
Introduction & Classifications
Definition:
DC Choppers, are DC to DC converters used to convert the input unregulated dc
voltage to a controlled output voltage with average value less or greater than the
input voltage as mentioned in the following general block diagram.

Classifications:
Based on the output regulated voltage, dc choppers can be classified as :

1 Applications:
Vinp=constant 0≤ Vout ≤
Pinp=Vs.Is BUCK Vinp
•Voltage regulators
Pout ≤ Pinp •Switched-mode power supply
Control (SMPS) or so called Switching
2 Regulators…..
Vinp=constant Vinp ≤ Vout ≤  •DC motor control,
Pinp=Vs.Is BOOST Pout ≤ Pinp •battery chargers
Control
•Light & heat control
 4
Introduction & Classifications…
3
Vinp=constant 0≤ Vout ≤  Applications:
Pinp=Vs.Is BUCK-BOOST Pout ≤ Pinp •Photovoltaic Sources
•Fuel Cells
Control
•Switching Regulators
Why DC Choppers ?
These are lossless modules where all ( all) drawn
power is transferred to the load when operating as
Switching regulators:
• Transistor is operated in switched-mode:
– Switch closed: Fully on (saturated)
– Switch opened: Fully off (cut-off)

• When switch is open, no current flow in it

• When switch is closed no voltage drop across it.

• Since P=V.I, no losses occurs in the switch.

– Power is 100% transferred from source to load.
– Power loss is zero (for ideal switch):

• Switching regulator is the basis of all DC-DC

converters
 5
Introduction & Classifications…
Switching Devices?
The switching devices used in DC choppers are operating in switching mode, which
means negligible voltage drop across the switch during on-state and zero leakage
current during off-state.
These devices ( switches) are mainly:
• They can be used for Low chopping frequency up to 1kHz
• SCR Thyristors • Allow high current to flow and large power to be converted
• Have huge losses due to high voltage drop across the device
• They have complicated turning-off procedure

• • They can be used for moderate chopping frequency up to (5-10)kHz

BJT Transistors
• Allow moderate current to flow and moderate power to be converted
• Have negligible losses when operating in saturation mode
• They are current control devices, which is the main disadvantage….

• • They can be used for high chopping frequency up to (10-20) kHz

MOSFET Transistors
• Allow moderate current to flow and moderate power to be converted
• Have negligible losses when operating in saturation mode
• They are voltage control devices, which allow them to operate
in fast switching systems….

• IGBT Transistors • They can be used for high chopping frequency up to (30-50) kHz
• Allow high current to flow and large power to be converted
• Have negligible losses when operating in saturation mode
• They are voltage control devices, which allow them to operate
in fast switching systems….
 6
Part I: Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)- General Model
Circuit & Operation Mode:
The principle electrical circuit is displayed on
the figures, where the transistor is represented
as switch with voltage drop across it called
Vch .

Analysis: The most important parameters are,

average and RMS voltage, current, and power as
follow:
- The average output voltage : VDC

Operation: with the switch S =ON, the

load is connected to the source for a time t1,
and when the switch is opened S=OFF the - The output RMS voltage: Vo
load is disconnected for a time t2. Therefore,
varying t1 causes VO to changed as well.
∴ t1 = ton is On time, t2 = toff is OFF time.
 7
Part I: Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)- General Model
- The DC ( average) output power is PDC Rin

- The AC ( effective) output power is PO =PAC

D
- The converter efficiency Pulse Generation :
The required duty cycle D can be obtained by
comparing two signal, reference signal Vr,
- The system efficiency and carrier signal having sawtooth character
Vcr with frequency fch=1/T .

- The input DC power( source) PS is

- The normalized effective input resistance R in is

AS shown on the figure when D→0, Rinp→ 

which means open circuit with zero current, and
when D→1, Rinp→ R, means the load is
directedly connected to the full source.
 8
Part I: Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)- General Model
Example :
Given a Buck chopper with 220V source voltage, 20 resistance, 1kHz chopping frequency, and
voltage drop across the transistor of 1.5V. The reference voltage is adjusted at 8V, while the
magnitude of the carrier sawtooth signal is 10V.
Determine: - the DC & RMS voltage and power; - The input power and resistance; -The chopping
and system efficiency, and the transistor losses. Build the simulation circuit .
Solution: Given : Vs=220V, R=20 , fch=1kHz, Vch=1.5V, Vr=8V, Vcr=10V.
Procedure : Vr, Vcr → D →Vdc, Vrms, →Pdc, Po, →Is, Ps → c …
- The duty cycle D,
- The converter and system efficiency

- The dc and rms voltage and current

- The transistor losses

- The dc and rms power

- The input source power and resistance

 9
Part I: Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)- Real Model

Circuit & Operation Mode:

The conventional electrical circuit is displayed on the
figure with two operation modes :
Mode#1: Switch S is closed (activated, S=ON)
•Diode is reversed biased.
• Switch conducts inductor current
•This results in positive inductor voltage, i.e:
 10
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…

Mode#1: Switch S is turned off (opened, S=OFF)

•Because of inductive energy storage, iL continues to flow
•Diode is forward biased.
• Current now flows (freewheeling) through the diode D.
•The inductor voltage can be derived as:
 11
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Analysis
• When the switch is closed (on) :

• When the switch is opened (off) :

 12
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Analysis…
• Based on the selected parameters, choppers my operates in three operation modes
( conditions):
- Unstable operation
- Decaying operation
- Steady-state (Stable) operation
 13
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Analysis…
Determining the values of chopper inductance L and capacitance C
To determine the mentioned parameters, it is necessary to find the average, maximum and minimum
Inductor current , in addition to capacitance storage charge.

Way out from the chopper stable operation as shown on the figure, where the inductor average current IL
= to the load average current IR as:

The maximum current is:

The Inductor current ripple is :

The minimum current is:

Conditions for continuous and discontinuous current
mode CCM & DCM.
These modes depends on the inductor value, chopping
frequency and duty cycle as going to be described in the
next paragraph……
 14
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Analysis…
Continuous Current Mode
To determine the condition of CCM it is necessary to determine the critical values ( L min=Lcr) of the
inductance that causes Imin=0 as follow :

 The current ripples can be reduces by increasing

 the inductor size
 the chopping (switching) frequency
 the chopper duty cycle…
Therefore, using high switching devices realized minimum current ripples at small inductance
values.
 15
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Analysis…
Output Voltage Ripples
The connected across the load Capacitor is used to reduce the voltage fluctuations during the chopper
operation modes, therefore it is required to determine the value of C that allows minimum voltage
ripples :
• Refer to the equivalent circuit and KCL yields:

• The capacitor charge

• Using triangle area formula according to the plot,

yields:

• The voltage ripples in volt is :

• The voltage ripples is :

T/2

Therefore, increasing the capacitor size, inductor size and frequency reduces the voltage ripples……
 16
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Basic design procedures

1. Taking into account the presented chopper circuit,

based on the given supply source and the energized
load having voltage and power :

1. Calculate D to obtain required output voltage.

2. Select a particular switching frequency (f) and device
– preferably f >20KHz for negligible acoustic noise
– higher fs results in smaller L and C. But results in higher losses , reduced efficiency, and larger heat sink.
– Possible devices: MOSFET, IGBT and BJT. Low power MOSFET can reach MHz range.
3. Calculate Lmin. Choose L> (1.25 - 5) Lmin
4. Calculate C for ripple factor requirement.
– Capacitor ratings:
- must withstand peak output voltage
- must carry required RMS current. Note RMS current for triangular w/f is Ip/3, where Ip is the peak capacitor
current given by iL/2.
5. Wire size consideration:
– Normally rated in RMS. But iL is known as peak. RMS value for iL is given as :
 17
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Design Example
Example :
Design a Buck converter capable to produce an output voltage of 18V across a 10  load resistance .
The output voltage ripples must not exceed 0.5%. The dc supply voltage is 48V.
Design a continuous current mode converter . Find L, C, D, capacitor current, inductance voltage.
Assume f=40kHz
Solution: Given Vo=18 V, Vd=48 V; Vo=0.5% .
1. Duty cycle D:

2. For CCM, the minimum inductance Lmin=?:

3. The average inductor current IL=?:

 18
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Design Example….

3. The RMS current of the inductor ILRMS=?:

4. The capacitor value C=?:

5. The peak capacitor current Icmax=?:

6. The capacitor rms current Icrms=?:

7. Withstanding voltage:
 19
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Simulation….
- The simulation program is built in PSIM platform for the same example data as follow :
 20
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Simulation….
- Waveforms
 21
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…

Conclusion:
1- Buck dc chopper are use in voltage regulation within the range of 0  Vout  Vinp
2- The current and voltage ripples iL and Vo can be limited by :
- increasing the inductor size ( L )
- increasing the chopping frequency ( f  )
- increasing the capacitor size ( C )
- increasing the output voltage , through limited regulation of duty cycle
so as Dmin  D  1
3- In order to realize CCM , there is a need to determine the critical inductance , and to
allocate the actual inductance to be L  Lmin .
4- In order to select moderate size of inductance and moderate switching frequency usually
the set of (L.f) is determined so as:

5- The same procedure for sizing the capacitance as

6- The design procedure starts with finding : Idc, Irms, Transistor data, switching
frequency f, inductance , capacitance , then size the elements with respect to conductor
area, withstanding voltage, …etc.
 22
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
Related Problems:
1- A buck converter is supplied from a 50V battery source.
Given : L=400uH, C=100uF, R=20 Ohm, f=20KHz and D=0.4 ,
Calculate: (a) output voltage
(b) maximum and minimum inductor current,
(c) output voltage ripple.

2- A buck converter has an input voltage of 50V and output of 25V. The switching
frequency is 10KHz. The power output is 125W.
(a) Determine the duty cycle,
(b) value of L to limit the peak inductor current to 6.25A,
(c) value of capacitance to limit the output voltage ripple factor to 0.5%.
3- Design a buck converter such that the output voltage is 28V when the input is 48V. The
load is 8Ohm.
(a)Design the converter such that it will be in continuous current mode.
(b)The output voltage ripple must not be more than 0.5%.
(c )Specify the frequency and the values of each component.
(d) Select the appropriate power switch also.

https://zoom.us/j/2319428336
 23
Step-down Chopper ( BUCK)…
References:
1- Power Electronics, circuits, devices & applications, by Muhammed H. Rashid, 4 th
edition, 2014 .

2- Power Electronics by Daniel W. Hart, 1st edition, ISBN978-0-07-338067-4, 2010.

3- PPT, Power Electronics and Drives (Version 3-2003), Dr. Zainal Salam, UTM-
JB
4- PPT, Ch. 5, Power Electronics, circuits, devices & applications, by Muhammed
H. Rashid, 4th edition, 2014.

5- Modeling and Simulation of Closed Loop Controlled Parallel Cascaded Buck Boost
Converter Inverter Based Solar System . T. Sundar , & S. Sankar. International Journal
of Power Electronics and Drive System (IJPEDS) Vol. 6, No. 3, September 2015, pp.
648~656, ISSN: 2088-8694
 24

THANK YOU FOR LISTENING

End of Part I

QUESTIONS…..?
PLEASE DON’T HESTATE TO
CONTACT ME
BY EMAIL ON
[email protected]