ELC4345, Spring 2016

Overview

 Question: What are power electronic devices?

Answer: Fast switches that can handle high
voltages and currents

Question: Why do we need these fast switches?

Answer: To efficiently convert AC to DC, DC to DC,
or DC to AC, or to efficiently control average power
flow. (Efficiently usually means greater than 80%
90%)
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A switch

Rugged, reliable, efficient, long lived, but not very fast

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The ideal power electronic device is a perfect

switch that
is fast can open and close instantly (thus no
switching losses), and at a high rate (i.e., operating
frequency)
when closed, can conduct any amount of current with
no internal voltage drop (thus no conduction losses)
when open, will conduct no current and can withstand
any voltage without breakdown
will be unidirectional or asymmetric (that is an inherent
property of power electronic devices, and we can
always place two switches in antiparallel and use
blocking diodes to prevent backward conduction)
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An everyday example a light dimmer

Method 1 to dim the light insert a series resistor between the

120Vac source and the bulb. This method has high insertion
loss and low efficiency.
Rseries
+
120Vac

Rbulb

Efficiency = Rbulb (Rbulb + Rseries)

Efficiency = 50% when light power is half

Method 2 to dim the light switch the voltage to the bulb onand-off, faster than the eye can detect, to reduce the rms
voltage at the bulb. This is lossless dimming.
+
120Vac

Rbulb

?
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Another example convert 39Vdc to 13Vdc

Stereo
voltage

Switch closed
Switch open

39

+
39Vdc

Rstereo
0

Switch state, Stereo voltage

Closed, 39Vdc

DT
T

Open, 0Vdc

If the duty cycle D of the switch is 1/3, then the average voltage
to the expensive car stereo is 39 3 = 13Vdc. This is lossless
conversion. However, is this acceptable?
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Convert 39Vdc to 13Vdc, cont.

+
39Vdc

Try adding a large C in parallel with the

load to control ripple. But if the C has
13Vdc, then when the switch closes, the
source current spikes to a huge value

Rstereo

L
+
39Vdc

Rstereo

Try adding an L to prevent the huge

current spike. But now, if the L has
current when the switch attempts to
open, the inductors current
momentum and resulting Ldi/dt will
burn out the switch.

Rstereo

By adding a free wheeling diode,

the switch can open and the
inductor current can continue to
flow. With high-frequency
switching, the load voltage ripple
can be reduced to a small value.

lossless
L
+
39Vdc

A DC-DC Buck Converter

Another example - H-bridge inverter converts DC to AC

Vdc

Vdc

closed

closed

A+

A+

B+

+ Vload

+ Vload

closed
A

B+

closed
A

A+,B closed; A,B+ open

A+,B open; A,B+ closed

Vload = Vdc

Vload = Vdc
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Power labs are unlike other ECE labs they can

be hazardous and require considerable caution
Unlike 5V digital labs, power experiments can burn,
go bang, blow fuses, melt components, and scare
or hurt you.
Never test a power circuit by lets power it up and
see if it works!
It is important that you and your partner triple-check
your wiring before energizing a circuit for the first
time. For the first few experiments, let a TA or me
check it with you.
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Power labs are unlike other ECE labs, cont.

Never dangle wires or oscilloscope leads over an
energized circuit
You will have several different grounds so be
careful when taking measurements. Never attach
two oscilloscope ground clips to nodes with
different potentials.

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This is a course where you will

Learn how to convert AC to AC, AC to DC, DC to DC,
and DC to AC (i.e., the AC DC AC round trip)
Learn the theory related to the circuits, and be tested
over it 3 times and at the final exam
Read the lab document before starting to build!
Compare theory to actual circuit performance

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This is a course where you will, cont.

Sometimes work with voltages over 100V, and where
short circuit currents are high, so be careful! Remove
hand jewelry and dangling neckchains.
Use safety glasses 1. when soldering to avoid
accidental hot solder splashback in your eyes, or 2.
when getting up close and personal to observe an
energized power circuit.
Wash your hands after soldering (because solder
contains lead)
Use knowledge of circuit operation, plus your senses
of sight, sound, smell, and touch (carefully), to
observe and debug your circuits
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Each student gets a

pair of safety
glasses and keeps
them
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Lab Equipment (other than the usual oscopes,

meters, soldering irons, etc.)

120/25 Vac Transformer

120 Vac Variac
Ground Fault Interrupter
(GFI)

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