EE4532, Part II

Tutorial 1, Introduction & DC-DC Buck Converters

1. Name the following converter. Describe the functionalities of the highlighted blocks.
Describe the disadvantages of this converter.

From left to right, a line frequency transformer for stepping down the input AC voltage, a
diode rectifier for AC-DC power conversion, and a transistor for linear voltage regulation.
Disadvantages are 1) the line frequency transformer is bulky and costly, 2) the conversion
efficiency is low due to the power losses of the transistor, 3) there is no output voltage boost
function.
2. A DC-DC buck converter with an input voltage of 100V supplies power to a DC motor,
whose back-emf is 70V. The armature resistance of the DC motor is 0.1 and its armature
inductance is large enough to guarantee the continuous conduction mode (CCM) operation
of the buck converter. The average current supplied to the DC motor is 100A, and the buck
converter is switching at 1kHz. Determine the required ON time of the buck converter and
the system conversion efficiency. [0.8ms, 87.5%]
1) Since the armature inductance is very lager, the buck converter is working under CCM,
2) calculate the voltage drop across the armature resistance, 3) calculate the output voltage
of the buck converter, 4) calculate the duty ratio and the required ON time, 5) calculate the
efficiency according to = (Pin Ploss) / Pin .
3. A DC-DC buck converter is designed with the following specifications: input voltage 10V
to 40V, filter inductance 40H, filter capacitance 330F, switching frequency 50kHz.
Assuming CCM operation for parts (a) to (e).
a. Derive expressions for the voltage across the inductor and use them to derive expressions
for the input-to-output voltage and current ratios.
Refer to page 31. Input-to-output voltage ratio can be found by the volt-second balance
of the inductor. Current ratio is found by IdVd = IoVo.
b. Find the range of variation of the converter duty ratio when the converter output is kept
constant at 5V. [0.125 to 0.5]
Simply D = Vo/Vd

c. Find the maximum output voltage that can continuously be supplied by the converter,
and the corresponding range of duty ratio variation. [10V, 0.25 to 1]
The input voltage may change between 10V to 40V. Since it is a buck converter, we need
to consider the worst case scenario (Vd = 10V), and the maximum output voltage that can
continuously be supplied by the converter is simply 10V.
d. Sketch over two switching periods the voltage and current waveforms across the
inductor, capacitor, switch, and diode.
Refer to page 35 and page 36. Whats more important is to sketch the equivalent circuits
under two switching states!
e. With the output voltage kept at 5V and the output power maintained at 50W, calculate
the average input current and peak-to-peak current ripple flowing through the inductor
when the input voltage dips to 10V. [5A, 1.25A]
The average input current is simply Id = Pd/Vd = 50/10 = 5A.
It is assumed that the buck converter is under BCM, the critical load resistance Rb can be
found out from page 40, which is 8. The real load resistance is R = Vo2/Po = 0.5. Since
R < Rb, it is confirmed that the buck converter is under CCM. Then, you can refer to page
39 to find IL.
f. With the output voltage and input voltage kept at 5V and 10V respectively, determine
the load power/resistance/current that will guarantee the boundary conduction mode
(BCM) operation of the converter. [3.125W, 8, 0.625A]
Under BCM, the load current is half of the inductor peak-to-peak current (see the top
figure on page 40). IL is already obtained from the above question, and it is easy to
derive IoB = 0.5IL = 0.625A. RoB = 5/0.625 = 8, and PoB = IoB2RoB = 3.125A.
The two lectures (DCM of buck converter and DC-DC boost converter) in this week are
combined into a single video. If you have any questions regarding the lectures and this tutorial,
you are welcome to come to my office (S2-B2a-07) on Thursday afternoon for discussion.
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