Choppers

Fixed DC Supply Variable DC Output

?
A. K. Gautam
By: Aniruddha Kr. Gautam

A chopper is a static device which is used to obtain a variable

dc voltage from a constant dc voltage source.

Also known as dc to dc converter.

It offers greater efficiency, faster response, lower maintenance,

smaller size and smooth control.

Widely used in trolley cars, battery operated vehicles, traction

motor control, control of large number of dc motors, etc

Also used in regenerative braking of dc motors to return energy

back to supply and also as dc voltage regulators.
A. K. Gautam
Methods of control:
!he output dc voltage can be verified by the following methods.

"onstant #re$uency "ontrol or %ulse width modulation control

&ariable #re$uency "ontrol

PULSE WIDT M!DULATI!"
In %ulse width modulation the pulse width ton of the output waveform is varied keeping
chopping fre$uency 'f' and hence chopping period (!' constant. !herefore output voltage is
varied by varying the )* time, ton . #igure shows the output voltage waveform for
different )* times.
#aria$le %re&uenc' (ontrol
In this method of control, chopping fre$uency f is varied keeping either ton or toff
constant. !his method is also known as fre$uency modulation.
In fre$uency modulation to obtain full output voltage, range of fre$uency has to be
varied over a wide range. !his method produces harmonics in the output and for large toff
load current may be discontinuous.
A. K. Gautam
A. K. Gautam
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A. K. Gautam
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Basic DC to DC converters

Buck converter (Step-down converter)

Boost converter (Step-up converter)

Buck-Boost converter (Step-down/step-up converter)

and

Cuk converter
A. K. Gautam

Buck converter ,-tep.down converter/

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A. K. Gautam

0iode is reversed biased.

-witch conducts inductor
current

!his results in positive

inductor voltage, i.e.:
&12&d.&)

It causes linear increase in

the inductor current.
A. K. Gautam
Circuit operation when switch is turned on (closed)
peration when switch turned o!! (opened)

Because of inductive energy

storage, i1 continues to flow.

0iode is forward biased.

"urrent now flows through

the diode and,
A. K. Gautam
Anal"sis !or switch closed

!he inductor voltage

-ince the derivative if i1 is a

positive constant. !herefore
i1 must increase linearly.
A. K. Gautam
A. K. Gautam
Anal"sis !or switch opened
Stead"-state operation

-teady state operation

re$uires that i1

-teady state operation

re$uires that i1 at the end of
switching cycle is the same
at the beginning of the ne3t
cycle. !hat is change of i1
over one period is zero. i.e.
A. K. Gautam
Stead" State #ime Domain Anal"sis o! #"pe-A Chopper
A. K. Gautam
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Second level

#hird level

&ourth level

&i!th level
'%pressions &or (oad Current i &or Continuous Current
peration )hen Chopper is * (+ t t*)
A. K. Gautam
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Stead" State ,ipple
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!he ripple current given by the e$uation is seen to be independent of load
current emf 5 With !on2 :! and !.!on 2 ,9.:/! can be written as
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(imit o! Continuous Conduction

-n a chopper i! #on is reduced . #o!! increases !or a constant
choppin/ period #.
As #on /ets low and #o!! /oes hi/h so current - ma" !all to 0ero.

As in step down chopper current cannot /o reverse so !or limit

current can /o to onl" 0ero !rom -min ('1n. 2.2+)

)e can /et value o! 3 is o4tain 4" e1uatin/ the a4ove e1uation.

A. K. Gautam
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-o for =iven &alue of 5, &-, ! and !a> if duty cycle is :' then
current goes at ?ust continuous point.

If actual duty cycle is less than :' , load current will be

discontinuous.
A. K. Gautam
""@ and 0"@ of Buck "onverter
A. K. Gautam
-tep Ap ,Boost/"hopper
A. K. Gautam

A $oost con)erter ,ste*+u* con)erter/ is a 0".to.0"

power converter with an output voltage greater than its
input voltage.

It is a class of switched.mode power supply ,-@%-/

containing at least two semiconductor switches
,a diode and a transistor/ and at least one energy
storage element, a capacitor, inductor, or the two in
combination.

Boost converter is also used as the voltage increase

mechanism in the circuit known as the <Boule thief<.

#or a step.up chopper we can obtain an average output

voltage &+ greater than input voltage.
A. K. Gautam

-tep.up chopper is used to obtain a load voltage higher than the

input voltage &.

!he values of 1 and " are chosen depending upon the

re$uirement of output voltage and current.

When the chopper is )*, the inductor 1 is connected across the

supply.

!he inductor current (I' rises and the inductor stores energy
during the )* time of the chopper, t)*.

When the chopper is off, the inductor current I is forced to flow

through the diode 0 and load for a period, t)##.

!he current tends to decrease resulting in reversing the polarity

of induced 5@# in 1.

!herefore voltage across load is given by:

A. K. Gautam

A large capacitor ("' connected across the load, will provide a

continuous output voltage .

0iode D prevents any current flow from capacitor to the

source.
A. K. Gautam
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)perating %rinciple

!he key principle that drives the boost converter is the

tendency of an inductor to resist changes in current.
Mode 1 ,)n -tate/:
When the switch is closed, current flows through the inductor in
clockwise direction and the inductor stores the energy. %olarity of
the left side of the inductor is positive.
A. K. Gautam
Mode , ,)ff -tate/
When the switch is opened, current will be reduced as the
impedance is higher. !herefore, change or reduction in current
will be opposed by the inductor. !hus the polarity will be
reversed ,means left side of inductor will be negative now/. As a
result two sources will be in series causing a higher voltage to
charge the capacitor through the diode 0.
Cere the switch is open and the only path offered to inductor
current is through the flyback diode 0, the capacitor " and the
load 4.
A. K. Gautam
@ode of conduction
"ontinuous "onduction mode:
When a boost converter operates in continuous mode, the current through the inductor
,I1/ never falls to zero.
0uring the )n.state, the switch - is closed, which makes the input voltage ,&i/
appear across the inductor.
"hange in current ,I1/ flowing through the inductor during a time period ,t/ by the
formula:
At the end of the )n.state, the increase of I1 is therefore:
A. K. Gautam
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on

+
9

0 is the duty cycle. It represents the fraction of the

commutation period ! during which the switch is )n.

0 ranges between + ,- is never on/ and 9 ,- is always on/.

0uring the )ff.state, the switch - is open, so the inductor

current flows through the load. If we consider zero voltage
drop in the diode, and a capacitor large enough for its voltage
to remain constant, the evolution of I1 is:

!herefore, the variation of I1 during the )ff.period is:

A. K. Gautam
dt
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off

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considering that the converter operates in steady.state

conditions, so the amount of energy stored in each of its
components has to be the same at the beginning and at the end
of a commutation cycle. In particular, the energy stored in the
inductor is given by:

-o, the inductor current has to be the same at the start and end
of the commutation cycle. !his means the overall change in
the current ,the sum of the changes/ is zero:
A. K. Gautam
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off on

53pression shows that the output voltage is

always higher than the input voltage ,as the
duty cycle goes from + to 9/, and that it
increases with 0,
A. K. Gautam
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9
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A. K. Gautam
0iscontinuous "onduction mode:

If the ripple amplitude of the current is too high, the

inductor may be completely discharged before the
end of a whole commutation cycle.

)ccurs under light loads.

Cere the current through the inductor falls to zero

during part of the period.

As the inductor current at the beginning of the cycle

is zero, its ma3imum value:
A. K. Gautam
/ , DT t at
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Max

0uring the off.period, I1 falls to zero after :

!he load current Io is e$ual to the average diode current ,I0/.

Also the diode current is e$ual to the inductor current during
the off.state. !herefore the output current can be written as:
A. K. Gautam
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A. K. Gautam
,""@/ and ,0"@/ of boost
A. K. Gautam
!ypes of "hoppers

!ype A "hopper or #irstDEuadrant "hopper

!ype B "hopper or -econd.Euadrant "hopper

!ype." chopper or !wo.$uadrant type.A

"hopper

!ype.0 "hopper or !wo.Euadrant !ypeDB

"hopper

!ype.5 chopper or the #ourth.Euadrant

"hopper
A. K. Gautam
!ype A "hopper or #irstDEuadrant "hopper
A. K. Gautam

When chopper is )*, supply voltage & is connected across the

load.

When chopper is )##, v) 2 + and the load current continues to

flow in the same direction through the #W0.

!he average values of output voltage and current are always

positive.

"lass A "hopper is a step.down chopper in which power

always flows form source to load.

It is used to control the speed of dc motor.

!he output current e$uations obtained in step down chopper

with 4.1 load can be used to study the performance of "lass A

"hopper
A. K. Gautam
!ype B "hopper or -econd.Euadrant "hopper
A. K. Gautam
When chopper is )*, 5 drives a current through 1 and 4 in a direction
opposite to that shown in figure.
0uring the )* period of the chopper, the inductance 1 stores energy.
When "hopper is )##, diode 0 conducts, and part of the energy stored in
inductor 1 is returned to the supply.
Average output voltage is positive and average output current is negative.
In this chopper, power flows from load to source.
"lass B "hopper is used for regenerative braking of dc motor.
"lass B "hopper is a step.up chopper.
A. K. Gautam
!ype." chopper or !wo.$uadrant type.A "hopper
A. K. Gautam
"lass " "hopper is a combination of "lass A and "lass B "hoppers.

#or first $uadrant operation, "C9 is )* or 07 conducts.

#or second $uadrant operation, "C7 is )* or 09 conducts.
When "C9 is )*, the load current is positive.

!he output voltage is e$ual to (&' F the load receives power from the source.
When "C9 is turned )##, energy stored in inductance 1 forces current to flow
through the diode 07 and the output voltage is zero.

"urrent continues to flow in positive direction.

When "C7 is triggered, the voltage 5 forces current to flow in
opposite direction through 1 and "C7

!he output voltage is zero.

A. K. Gautam
)n turning )## "C7, the energy stored in the inductance drives
current through diode 09 and the supply )utput voltage is &, the
input current becomes negative and power flows from load to source.
Average output voltage is positive

Average output current can take both positive and negative values.

"hoppers "C9 F "C7 should not be turned )* simultaneously as it

would result in short circuiting the supply.

"lass " "hopper can be used both for dc motor control and
regenerative braking of dc motor.
"lass " "hopper can be used as a step.up or step.down chopper.
A. K. Gautam
!ype.0 "hopper or !wo.Euadrant !ype DB "hopper
A. K. Gautam

"lass 0 is a two $uadrant chopper.

When both "C9 and "C7 are triggered simultaneously, the output
voltage v) 2 & and output current flows through the load.

When "C9 and "C7 are turned )##, the load current continues to
flow in the same direction through load, 09 and 07, due to the
energy stored in the inductor 1.

)utput voltage v) 2 . &

Average load voltage is positive if chopper )* time is more than the

)## time

Average output voltage becomes negative if t)* G t)## .

Cence the direction of load current is always positive but load

voltage can be positive or negative.
A. K. Gautam
!ype.5 chopper or the #ourth.Euadrant "hopper
A. K. Gautam

"lass 5 is a four $uadrant chopper

When "C9 and "CH are triggered, output current

i) flows in positive direction through "C9 and
"CH , and with output voltage v) 2 &.

!his gives the first $uadrant operation.

When both "C9 and "CH are )##, the energy

stored in the inductor 1 drives i) through 07 and
0I in the same direction, but output voltage v) 2
.&.

!herefore the chopper operates in the fourth

$uadrant.
A. K. Gautam

When "C7 and "CI are triggered, the load current

i) flows in opposite direction F output voltage v) 2
.&.

-ince both i) and v) are negative, the chopper

operates in third $uadrant.

When both "C7 and "CI are )##, the load current
i) continues to flow in the same direction 09 and0H
and the output voltage v) 2 &.

!herefore the chopper operates in second $uadrant as

v) is positive but i) is negative.
A. K. Gautam