N E C A M S I D

DC/ACPureSineWave
Inverter
JimDoucet
DanEggleston
JeremyShaw
MQPTermsABC20062007
Advisor:ProfessorStephenJ.Bitar
Sponsor:NECAMSID

TableofContents
Introduction......................................................................
.......1
ProblemStatement..................................................................2
Background................................................................
.............3
InvertersandApplications.................................................5
PulseWidthModulation....................................................7
BubbaOscillator................................................................9
HBridgeConfiguration...................................................12
MOSFETDrivers.............................................................14
CircuitProtectionandSnubbers......................................15
Filtering..................................................................
..........16
Methodology.........................................................................17
SineWaveGenerator.......................................................18
CarrierWaveGenerator...................................................20
PulseWidthModulation..................................................24
HBridge..........................................................................27
Filter..................................................................
...............30
ImplementingtheDesign......................................................32
Difficulties.......................................................................33
SineWaveGenerator..................................................33
FilterDesign...............................................................
.35
PuttingtheDesigntoWork.............................................37
Results..........................................................................
.........38
Recommendations...............................................................
..40
Conclusion............................................................................42
References......................................................................
.......44
AppendixA:SwitchingFrequencyCharts..........................46
AppendixB:CircuitDiagram..............................................47
AppendixC:Flowchart........................................................49
AppendixD:PCBBoardDiagrams.....................................50
AppendixE:PartsList..........................................................52

IndexofFigures
Commercial200WattInverter...........................................................5
Square,Modified,andPureSineWave..............................................6
PulseWidthModulation.....................................................................7

BubbaOscillatorSchematic................................................................9
RCFilterSchematic..........................................................................10
SignalatP1......................................................................................
..11
HBridgeConfigurationusingNChannelMOSFETs.....................12
NChannelMOSFET........................................................................14
InductiveLoadCircuit......................................................................15
InductiveLoadCircuitwithSnubber...............................................15
InductiveLoadCircuitwithSnubberandZenerDiode...................15
BlockDiagram..................................................................................17
BubbaOscillatorCircuit...................................................................18
OscillatorSignalatP2.....................................................................
..19
OscillatorSignalatP5.....................................................................
..19
TriangleWaveGenerator..................................................................20
SquareWaveOutput.........................................................................21
GeneratedTriangleWave.................................................................22
SquareandTriangleWaves..............................................................22
PWMSignal....................................................................
..................24
SineReference,TriangleWave,andsquarewavereference...........25
Modifiedtrianglewave,overlaidwithsinereference......................25
PWMsignalandreferencesine........................................................26
TrilevelPWMsignal.........................................................................26
HBridgewithMOSFETDrivers.....................................................27
TypicalConnectionforIR2110MOSFETDriver............................28
Frequencyplotoflosses................................................................
....30
NewSineWaveOscillatorCircuitDiagram....................................34
TwoPoleOutputFilter.....................................................................35
ProjectonPCBBoard.......................................................................36
ClosedLoopFlowChart...................................................................37
NonInvertingAmplifierBlock........................................................38
FrequencyplotofMOSFETlosses...................................................41
Frequencyplotofinductorlosses(resistive)....................................41

Introduction
ThisreportfocusesonDCtoACpowerinverters,whichaimtoefficientlytransformaDCpower
sourcetoahighvoltageACsource,similartopowerthatwouldbeavailableatanelectricalwalloutlet.
Invertersareusedformanyapplications,asinsituationswherelowvoltageDCsourcessuchasbatteries,
solarpanelsorfuelcellsmustbeconvertedsothatdevicescanrunoffofACpower.Oneexampleof
suchasituationwouldbeconvertingelectricalpowerfromacarbatterytorunalaptop,TVorcell
phone.
ThemethodinwhichthelowvoltageDCpowerisinverted,iscompletedintwosteps.Thefirst
beingtheconversionofthelowvoltageDCpowertoahighvoltageDCsource,andthesecondstep
beingtheconversionofthehighDCsourcetoanACwaveformusingpulsewidthmodulation.Another
methodtocompletethedesiredoutcomewouldbetofirstconvertthelowvoltageDCpowertoAC,and
thenuseatransformertoboostthevoltageto120volts.Thisprojectfocusedonthefirstmethod
describedandspecificallythetransformationofahighvoltageDCsourceintoanACoutput.
OfthedifferentDCACinvertersonthemarkettodaythereareessentiallytwodifferentformsofAC
1

outputgenerated:modifiedsinewave,andpuresinewave .Amodifiedsinewavecanbeseenasmore
ofasquarewavethanasinewave;itpassesthehighDCvoltageforspecifiedamountsoftimesothatthe
averagepowerandrmsvoltagearethesameasifitwereasinewave.Thesetypesofinvertersaremuch
cheaperthanpuresinewaveinvertersandthereforeareattractivealternatives.
Puresinewaveinverters,ontheotherhand,produceasinewaveoutputidenticaltothepower
comingoutofanelectricaloutlet.Thesedevicesareabletorunmoresensitivedevicesthatamodified
sinewavemaycausedamagetosuchas:laserprinters,laptopcomputers,powertools,digitalclocksand
medicalequipment.ThisformofACpoweralsoreducesaudiblenoiseindevicessuchasfluorescent
lightsandrunsinductiveloads,likemotors,fasterandquieterduetothelowharmonicdistortion.

1 ABSAlaskan

ProblemStatement
Inthemarketofpowerinverters,therearemanychoices.Theyrangefromtheveryexpensiveto
theveryinexpensive,withvaryingdegreesofquality,efficiency,andpoweroutputcapabilityalongthe
way.Highqualitycombinedwithhighefficiencyexists,thoughitisoftenatahighmonetarycost.For
2

example,SamlexAmericamanufacturesa600W,puresinewaveinverter;thecostis$289 .Meanwhile
GoPowermanufacturesa600Winverterwithamodifiedsinewaveoutput(closertoasquarewave);this
3

modelonlyfetches$69 .Thehighendpuresinewaveinverterstendtoincorporateveryexpensive,high
powercapabledigitalcomponents.Themodifiedsinewaveunitscanbeveryefficient,asthereisnot
muchprocessingbeingperformedontheoutputwaveform,butthisresultsinawaveformwithahigh
numberofharmonics,whichcanaffectsensitiveequipmentsuchasmedicalmonitors.Manyofthevery
cheapdevicesoutputasquarewave,perhapsaslightlymodifiedsquarewave,withtheproperRMS
voltage,andclosetotherightfrequency.
Ourgoalistofillanichewhichseemstobelackinginthepowerinvertersmarket,oneforafairly
efficient,inexpensiveinverterwithapuresinewaveoutput.UtilizingPWMandanalogcomponents,the
outputwillbeacleansinusoid,withverylittleswitchingnoise,combinedwiththeinexpensive
manufacturingthatcomeswithananalogapproach.

2 600WattPureSineWaveInverter.Donrowe.com.
3 GoPower600WattModifiedWaveInverter

Background
DCandACCurrent
Intheworldtodaytherearecurrentlytwoformsofelectricaltransmission,DirectCurrent(DC)and
AlternatingCurrent(AC),eachwithitsownadvantagesanddisadvantages.DCpowerissimplythe
applicationofasteadyconstantvoltageacrossacircuitresultinginaconstantcurrent.Abatteryisthe
mostcommonsourceofDCtransmissionascurrentflowsfromoneendofacircuittotheother.Most
digitalcircuitrytodayisrunoffofDCpowerasitcarriestheabilitytoprovideeitheraconstanthighor
constantlowvoltage,enablingdigitallogictoprocesscodeexecutions.Historically,electricitywasfirst
commerciallytransmittedbyThomasEdison,andwasaDCpowerline.However,thiselectricitywas
lowvoltage,duetotheinabilitytostepupDCvoltageatthetime,andthusitwasnotcapableof
4

transmittingpoweroverlongdistances .

V =IR
P=IV = I 2 R

(1)

Ascanbeseenintheequationsabove,powerlosscanbederivedfromtheelectricalcurrent

squaredandtheresistanceofatransmissionline.Whenthevoltageisincreased,thecurrentdecreases
andconcurrentlythepowerlossdecreasesexponentially;thereforehighvoltagetransmissionreduces
powerloss.Forthisreasoningelectricitywasgeneratedatpowerstationsanddeliveredtohomesand
businessesthroughACpower.Alternatingcurrent,unlikeDC,oscillatesbetweentwovoltagevaluesata
specifiedfrequency,anditseverchangingcurrentandvoltagemakesiteasytostepupordownthe
voltage.Forhighvoltageandlongdistancetransmissionsituationsallthatisneededtostepupordown
thevoltageisatransformer.Developedin1886byWilliamStanleyJr.,thetransformermadelong
5

distanceelectricaltransmissionusingACpowerpossible .

4 Charpentier
5 Bellis

ElectricaltransmissionhasthereforebeenmainlybaseduponACpower,supplyingmost
Americanhomeswitha120voltACsource.Itshouldbenotedthatsince1954therehavebeenmany
highvoltageDCtransmissionsystemsimplementedaroundtheglobewiththeadventofDC/DC
6

converters,allowingtheeasysteppingupanddownofDCvoltages .
LikeDCpower,thereexistmanydevicessuchaspowertools,radiosandTVsthatrunoffofAC
power.Itisthereforecrucialthatbothformsofelectricitytransmissionexist;theworldcannotbe
poweredwithonesimpleform.Itthenbecomesavitalmatterfortheretoexisteasywaystotransform
DCtoACpowerandviceversainanefficientmanner.Withoutthisabilitypeoplewillberestrictedto
whatelectronicdevicestheyusedependingontheelectricitysourceavailable.ElectricalAC/DC
convertersandDC/ACinvertersallowpeoplethisfreedomintransferringelectricalpowerbetweenthe
two.

6 Charpentier

InvertersandApplications
PowerinvertersaredeviceswhichcanconvertelectricalenergyofDCformintothatofAC.They
comeinallshapesandsizes,fromlowpowerfunctionssuchaspoweringacarradiotothatofbacking
upabuildingincaseofpoweroutage.Inverterscancomeinmanydifferentvarieties,differinginprice,
power,efficiencyandpurpose.ThepurposeofaDC/ACpowerinverteristypicallytotakeDCpower
suppliedbyabattery,suchasa12voltcarbattery,andtransformitintoa120voltACpowersource
operatingat60Hz,emulatingthepoweravailableatanordinaryhouseholdelectricaloutlet.

Figure1:Commercial200Watt
7
Inverter
Figure1providesaideaofwhatasmallpowerinverterlookslike.Powerinvertersareusedtoday
formanytaskslikepoweringappliancesinacarsuchascellphones,radiosandtelevisions.Theyalso
comeinhandyforconsumerswhoowncampingvehicles,boatsandatconstructionsiteswherean
electricgridmaynotbeasaccessibletohookinto.InvertersallowtheusertoprovideACpowerin
areaswhereonlybatteriescanbemadeavailable,allowingportabilityandfreeingtheuseroflongpower
cords.
Onthemarkettodayaretwodifferenttypesofpowerinverters,modifiedsinewaveandpuresine
wavegenerators.Theseinvertersdifferintheiroutputs,providingvaryinglevelsofefficiencyand
distortionthatcanaffectelectronicdevicesindifferentways.
7 Walmart.com

Amodifiedsinewaveissimilartoasquarewavebutinsteadhasasteppinglooktoitthatrelates
moreinshapetoasinewave.ThiscanbeseeninFigure2,whichdisplayshowamodifiedsinewave
triestoemulatethesinewaveitself.Thewaveformiseasytoproducebecauseitisjusttheproductof
switchingbetween3valuesatsetfrequencies,therebyleavingoutthemorecomplicatedcircuitryneeded
forapuresinewave.Themodifiedsinewaveinverterprovidesacheapandeasysolutiontopowering
devicesthatneedACpower.Itdoeshavesomedrawbacksasnotalldevicesworkproperlyona
modifiedsinewave,productssuchascomputersandmedicalequipmentarenotresistanttothedistortion
ofthesignalandmustberunoffofapuresinewavepowersource.

Figure2:Square,Modified,andPureSineWave

PuresinewaveinvertersareabletosimulatepreciselytheACpowerthatisdeliveredbyawall
outlet.Usuallysinewaveinvertersaremoreexpensivethenmodifiedsinewavegeneratorsduetothe
addedcircuitry.Thiscost,however,ismadeupforinitsabilitytoprovidepowertoallACelectronic
devices,allowinductiveloadstorunfasterandquieter,andreducetheaudibleandelectricnoiseinaudio
9

equipment,TVsandfluorescentlights .

8 TraceEngineering
9 Donrowe.com

PulseWidthModulation
Inelectronicpowerconvertersandmotors,PWMisusedextensivelyasameansofpowering
alternatingcurrent(AC)deviceswithanavailabledirectcurrent(DC)sourceorforadvancedDC/AC
conversion.VariationofdutycycleinthePWMsignaltoprovideaDCvoltageacrosstheloadina
specificpatternwillappeartotheloadasanACsignal,orcancontrolthespeedofmotorsthatwould
otherwiserunonlyatfullspeedoroff.Thisisfurtherexplainedinthissection.Thepatternatwhichthe
dutycycleofaPWMsignalvariescanbecreatedthroughsimpleanalogcomponents,adigital
microcontroller,orspecificPWMintegratedcircuits.
AnalogPWMcontrolrequiresthegenerationofbothreferenceandcarriersignalsthatfeedintoa
10

comparatorwhichcreatesoutputsignalsbasedonthedifferencebetweenthesignals .Thereference
signalissinusoidalandatthefrequencyofthedesiredoutputsignal,whilethecarriersignalisoften
eitherasawtoothortriangularwaveatafrequencysignificantlygreaterthanthereference.Whenthe
carriersignalexceedsthereference,thecomparatoroutputsignalisatonestate,andwhenthereference
isatahighervoltage,theoutputisatitssecondstate.ThisprocessisshowninFigure3withthe
triangularcarrierwaveinred,sinusoidalreferencewaveinblue,andmodulatedandunmodulatedsine
11

pulses .

10 Hart,pg.308312
11 Ledwich

Figure3:PulseWidthModulation
InordertosourceanoutputwithaPWMsignal,transistororotherswitchingtechnologiesareusedto
connectthesourcetotheloadwhenthesignalishighorlow.Fullorhalfbridgeconfigurationsare
commonswitchingschemesusedinpowerelectronics.Fullbridgeconfigurationsrequiretheuseoffour
switchingdevicesandareoftenreferredtoasHBridgesduetotheirorientationwithrespecttoaload.

BubbaOscillator
TheBubbaOscillatorisacircuitthatprovidesafilteredsinewaveofanyfrequencytheuserdesires
basedupontheconfigurationofresistorsandcapacitorsinthecircuit.Thecircuitcompletesthistask
withfouroperationalamplifiersthateitherbufferoramplifythesignal.Thisoscillatorisaphaseshift
oscillator,butunlikeotherphaseshiftvarietiesthatrequirephaseshiftsof90degreesormore,thebubba
oscillatoronlyrequiresa45degreeshiftinordertofunction.Thisisbecauseofthefouropamps,that
whenplacedinseries,produceatotal180shift.
Thebubbaoscillatoroffersafewfeaturesthatotheroscillatorscannot,thebiggestfactoristhatthe
frequencystabilityholdswhilestillgivingalowdistortionoutput.Thereasonforthisinvolvesthefour
filtersthatthesignalpassesthrough,providingaclearandstablesignalatpointP5,asshowninFigure4.

Figure4:BubbaOscillatorSchematic
FouridenticalRCfiltersphaseshiftthesignal45degreeseach.Thiscausesa180degreephaseshift
whichisthenreturnedtoazerodegreephaseshiftwiththeinvertingamplifierplacedacrossthefirst
operationalamplifier.ThemathbehindthephaseshiftofthefilterinFigure5isshowninequation
group(2):

Figure5:RCFilter
Schematic
1
jC
V out =V in
=
1
R
jC

V in
j R C1

1
RC
V
1
A= out =
V in j1
0

A=
=45
45
When =

(2)

Anothersideeffectofthefiltering,however,isthatthesignalbecomesattenuated,enoughsothatthe
signalmustbeamplifiedsothattheoscillatorworks.Itonlywillworkifthesignalbeingpassedback
intothesystemisthesameastheoneitstartedoutas.
1
j1
= 12

A=

1
1
ATotal=
=
2 4

(3)

Astheequationsaboveshowthetotalattenuationofthesystemisoftheoriginalsignal,therefore
theamplificationoftheinvertingamplifiermustbeofmagnitude4.Whenthisknowledgeiscoupled
withthe180degreephaseshiftofthefiltersitcanbedeterminedthattheamplifierhaveavalueof4in
orderforthecircuittopassbacktheoriginalsignalandtherebyoscillate.

10

Aproblemthatexistsinalloscillatorsisthatitisnearlyimpossibletogetanexactamplificationof
thesignal.Iftheamplificationistoosmallthentheoscillatorsignalwilldecaytonothing,howeverifit
istoolargethesignalwillkeeponamplifyinguntilithitstherailsoftheopamps.Thismeansthatsome
sortofnonlinearfeedbackmustbeimplementedwiththeseoscillatorssothatthesignalprovidedwill
actuallybeastablesinewave.
Thebubbaoscillator(aswellasotherphaseshiftoscillators)solvesthisproblembytheverynature
oftheopamps,whenthesignalisamplifiedbackintothecircuitthesignalgetsclippedatthepeaksof
thesinewave.Thisisbecausetheamplitudeisreachingtherailsoftheopampallowingthesignalto
stabilizeandprovidingthenonlinearfeedbackneeded.

Figure6:SignalatP1
Figure6showshowthesignallookswhenitpassesthroughthispoint,whichisthepointP1in
Figure4.Itisacceptableforthisincomingsignaltobeclippedatthepeaksbecausethroughthe4filters
providedbythecircuitalldistortionassociatedwiththesignalforthemostpartiseliminated,providinga
cleansinewave.

11

HBridgeConfiguration
AnHBridgeorfullbridgeconverterisaswitchingconfigurationcomposedoffourswitchesinan
arrangementthatresemblesanH.Bycontrollingdifferentswitchesinthebridge,apositive,negative,or
zeropotentialvoltagecanbeplacedacrossaload.Whenthisloadisamotor,thesestatescorrespondto
forward,reverse,andoff.TheuseofanHBridgeconfigurationtodriveamotorisshowninFigure7.

Figure7:HBridgeConfigurationusing
NChannelMOSFETs
AsshowninFigure7theHBridgecircuitconsistsoffourswitchescorrespondingtohighsideleft,
highsideright,lowsideleft,andlowsideright.Therearefourpossibleswitchpositionsthatcanbeused
toobtainvoltagesacrosstheload.ThesepositionsareoutlinedinTable1.Notethatallother
possibilitiesareomitted,astheywouldshortcircuitpowertoground,potentiallycausingdamagetothe
deviceorrapidlydepletingthepowersupply.
HighSideLeft
On
Off
On
Off

Table1:ValidHBridgeSwitchStates
HighSideRight
LowSideLeft LowSideRight
Off
Off
On
On
On
Off
On
Off
Off
Off
On
On

12

VoltageAcrossLoad
Positive
Negative
ZeroPotential
ZeroPotential

TheswitchesusedtoimplementanHBridgecanbemechanicalorbuiltfromsolidstatetransistors.
Selectionoftheproperswitchesvariesgreatly.TheuseofPChannelMOSFETsonthehighsideandN
ChannelMOSFETsonthelowsideiseasier,butusingallNChannelMOSFETsandaFETdriver,lower
onresistancecanbeobtainedresultinginreducedpowerloss.TheuseofallNChannelMOSFETs
requiresadriver,sinceinordertoturnonahighsideNChannelMOSFET,theremustbeavoltage
higherthantheswitchingvoltage(inthecaseofapowerinverter,170V).Thisdifficultyisoften
overcomebydrivercircuitscapableofcharginganexternalcapacitortocreateadditionalpotential.
MOSFETdriversanddiscussionofhowtheyachievethishigherpotentialarediscussedinthefollowing
section.

13

MOSFETDrivers
WhenutilizingNChannelMOSFETstoswitchaDCvoltageacrossaload,thedrainterminalsofthe
highsideMOSFETsareoftenconnectedtothehighestvoltageinthesystem.Thiscreatesadifficulty,as
thegateterminalmustbeapproximately10VhigherthanthedrainterminalfortheMOSFETtoconduct.
Often,integratedcircuitdevicesknownasMOSFETdriversareutilizedtoachievethisdifference
throughchargepumpsorbootstrappingtechniques.Thesechipsarecapableofquicklychargingtheinput
capacitanceoftheMOSFET(Cgiss)quicklybeforethepotentialdifferenceisreached,causingthegate
tosourcevoltagetobethehighestsystemvoltageplusthecapacitorvoltage,allowingittoconduct.A
diagramofanNChannelMOSFETwithgate,drain,andsourceterminalsisshowninFigure8.

Figure8:NChannel
MOSFET
TherearemanyMOSFETdriversavailabletopowerNChannelMOSFETsthroughleveltranslation
oflowvoltagecontrolsignalsintovoltagescapableofsupplyingsufficientgatevoltage.Advanced
driverscontaincircuitryforpoweringhighandlowsidedevicesaswellasNandPChannelMOSFETs.
Inthisdesign,allMOSFETsareNChannelduetotheirincreasedcurrenthandlingcapabilities.To
overcomethedifficultiesofdrivinghighsideNChannelMOSFETs,thedriverdevicesuseanexternal
12

sourcetochargeabootstrappingcapacitorconnectedbetweenVccandsourceterminals .Thebootstrap
capacitorprovidesgatechargetothehighsideMOSFET.Astheswitchbeginstoconduct,thecapacitor
maintainsapotentialdifference,rapidlycausingtheMOSFETtofurtherconduct,untilitisfullyon.The
namebootstrapcomponentreferstothisprocessandhowtheMOSFETactsasifitispullingitselfup
13

byitsownbootstrap .
12 InternationalRectifier,AN978
13 ProfessorStephenJ.Bitar,PersonalCommunication

14

CircuitProtectionandSnubbers
Oneofthemajorfactorsinanyelectronicdeviceisitsabilitytoprotectitselffromsurgesthatcould
damagethecircuitry.Inthecaseoftheinverter,inductiveloadscancausespecialproblemsbecausean
inductorcannotinstantlystopconductingcurrent,itmustbedampenedordivertedsothatthecurrent
doesnottrytoflowthroughtheopenswitch.Ifnotdampenedthesurgescancausetroubleinthe
MOSFETsusedtoproducetheoutputsinewave;whenaMOSFETisturnedofftheinductiveloadstill
wantstopushcurrentthroughtheswitch,asithasnowhereelsetogo.Thisactioncancausetheswitch
tobeputunderconsiderablestress,thehighdV/dt,dI/dt,VandIassociatedwiththisproblemcancause
theMOSFETstomalfunctionandbreak.
Tocombatthisproblemsnubbercircuitscanreduceoreliminateanyseverevoltagesandcurrents.
Composedofsimplyaresistorandcapacitorplacedacrosseachswitchitallowsanycurrentorvoltage
spikestobesuppressedbycriticallydampeningthesurgeandprotectingtheswitchfromdamage.The
snubbercanbecomemoreeffectivebytheadditionofazenerdiodesothatanylargecurrentsurgethe
resistorcapacitorsnubbercannothandlegetspassedthroughtogroundbythezenerdiode.Thediagram
inFigure9showsasimplerepresentationofaninductiveload(L)overaswitchrepresentation,Figure
10andFigure11showhowsnubberscanbeimplementedsothatasurgewillbesuppressed.

Figure10:InductiveLoadCircuitwithSnubber

Figure9:InductiveLoadCircuit

Figure11:InductiveLoadCircuitwithSnubberandZenerDiode
15

Filtering
Filterscomeinmanydifferentpackages,withmanydifferentadvantagesanddisadvantages.For
example,adigitalfilteriseasilyreconfigurableandcanhavealmostanyfrequencyresponsedesired.If
theresponseissimplylowpass/highpass/bandpassbehaviorwithasetfrequency,anactivefiltercanbe
madetohaveaverysharpedgeatthecutoff,resultinginenormousreductionsinnoiseandverylittle
attenuationofthesignal.These,however,requireopamps.Opampscapableoffilteringa120VRMS
sinewaveexist,butareexpensiveandlossy,sincetheopampmustbeabletosourcehundredsofwatts,
andmustbeverylargetodosowithoutburning.Digitalfiltershaveasimilardrawbackand,designed
withTTLandCMOStechnology,canonlyworkwithsmallsignals.Lastlywecometoapassivefilter.
Generallylargeinsizeandveryresistiveatlowfrequencies,thesefiltersoftenseemtohavemoreofa
prototypingapplication,orperhapsuseinadevicewherelowcostisimportant,andefficiencyisnot.
Giventhesechoices,anapplicationsuchasahighpowersineinverterisleftwithonlyoneviable
option:thepassivefilter.Thismakesthedesignslightlymoredifficulttoaccomplish.Notingthat
passivefiltersintroducehigherresistanceatlowerfrequencies(duetothelargerinductances,which
requirelongerwires),theobviouschoiceistoswitchatthehighestpossiblefrequency.Theproblem
withthischoice,however,isthattheswitchingMOSFETsintroducemoreswitchinglossesathigher
frequencies.Thiswouldimplythatweshouldswitchslowertoimproveourswitchingefficiency,which
contradictsthefilter'sneedforahigherfrequency.

16

Methodology
Theconstructionofthepuresinewaveinvertercanbecomplexwhenthoughtofasawholebut
whenbrokenupintosmallerprojectsanddivisionsitbecomesamucheasiertomanageproject.The
followingsectionsdetaileachspecificpartoftheprojectaswellashoweachsectionisconstructedand
interactswithotherblockstoresultintheproductionofa120voltpuresinewavepowerinverter.

BlockDiagram
Analogcircuitry,aswellasdiscretecomponents,aMOSFETdriveintegratedcircuitandalowpass
filterareallthatisnecessarytogeneratea60Hz,120VACsinewaveacrossaload.Theblockdiagram
showninFigure12showsthevaryingpartsoftheprojectthatwillbeaddressed.Thecontrolcircuitis
comprisedofthreebasicblocks,thesixvoltreference,sinewavegeneratorandtrianglewavegenerator;
whentheseblocksareimplementedwithcomparatorsandothersmallanalogcircuitrytheycontrolthe
PWMsignalsthatthetwoMOSFETdriverswillsend.ThePWMsignalsarefedintotheseMOSFET
driversthatperformleveltranslationtodrivefourNChannelMOSFETsinanHBridgeconfiguration.
FromherethesignalissentthroughalowpassLCfiltersothattheoutputdeliversapuresinewave.
Thespecificoperation,construction,andresultingoutputwaveformsforeachblockwillbediscussedin
detailinthefollowingsections.

Figure12:BlockDiagram
17

SineWaveGenerator
Thefirststeptocreatinganaccuratepulsewidthmodulationsignalusinganalogcircuitryisto
constructanaccuraterepresentationofthesignalyouwishtoduplicate.Inthecaseofapuresinewave
invertertheteamwantedtoconstructa60Hzsinewaveoutput.Thereforeanoscillatorwasneededto
produceastable60Hzsinewavethathadlittledistortionsothattheoutputcouldbeasaccurateas
possible.ABubbaoscillatorwaschosenasthemeanstoproducethissignalbecauseofitsabilityto
produceastablesinewavethatcontainsverylittledistortion.Thecircuitryandvalueschosenareshown
inFigure13andtheopampchipchosentocompletethetaskwasanLM348asitisaninexpensivepart
andmeetsalltherequirementsofcreatingthissinewave.

Figure13:BubbaOscillatorCircuit
Thebubbaoscillatorhas4differentoutputpoints(P25)wherethesignalcanbetakenfrom.P2has
thelargestamplitude,howeveritisalsothemostdistorted;P5istheleastdistorted,howeverithasthe
smallestamplitude.Figure14andFigure15comparethetwosignalsbelow.

18

Figure14:OscillatorSignalatP2

Figure15:OscillatorSignalatP5
TakingthesignalfromP5isthebestwaytogettheleastdistortedsignal,theamplitudeofthewave
isnotafactorasmuchbecausethereisanoninvertingamplifierthatthissignalwillrunthroughbefore
beingusedinanyofthecontrolcircuitry.

19

CarrierWaveGenerator
Generatingasinewaveat60Hzrequiresboththereferencesinewaveandacarrierwaveatthe
switchingspeedofthepowersupply.Carrierwavescanbeeithersawtoothortriangularsignals;inthis
case,atriangularwavewillbeused.Thiswavewillbeat50KHzasdeterminedinoptimalpowerloss
simulations.Thegenerationofthetriangularcarrierwavewillbedonewithanalogcomponents.The
circuitfortheconstructionofthetrianglewavegeneratorconsistsofasquarewavegeneratorand
integrator,asshowninFigure16.

Figure16:TriangleWaveGenerator

14

Theabovecircuitwilloscillateatafrequencyof1/4RtC,andtheamplitudecanbecontrolledbythe
amplitudeofR1andR2.Thefrequenciesthatcanbegeneratedbythiscircuitdependgreatlyontheslew
rateoftheoperationalamplifiers.UsingaTL084,outputwaveswithfrequenciesofupto40KHzcanbe
generated.Speedsof50KHzrequireanopampwithafasterslewrate.UsingtheTL084opamp,with
Rt=1K,R1=R2=10K,andC=.1uF,thiscircuitgeneratessquareandtrianglewavesoscillatingat5Khz.
Theslewrateofthisoperationalamplifieris12V/uSandwillallowswitchingspeedsupto43KHz.With
anopampwithahigherslewrate,thecapacitorwillbereplacedwitha.01uFcapacitor,increasingthe
frequenciesto50KHz.

14 Bigelow,pg.1

20

TheoperationofthisdeviceisbasedonbasicSchmittTriggerandIntegratorcircuits.Thesquare
wavegeneratorusespositivefeedback,andasthecapacitor,C,charges,theSchmitttriggersaturatesto
thepositiverail.Thefeedbackeventuallycausesthetriggertochangestates,andasthecapacitor
discharges,theoutputisattheoppositerail.Theamplitudeofthesquarewaveisdeterminedbytherail
voltagepoweringtheMOSFET,aswellastheratioofR2/R1.The5KHzsquarewavegeneratedinthis
circuitisshowninFigure17.

Figure17:SquareWaveOutput
Thesecondpartofthecircuitconsistsofanintegratorcircuit.WhentheoutputoftheSchmitttrigger
ispositive,thecapacitorischargingandtheoutputvoltagerampsdown.Theinversionofthetriangle
wavewithrespecttothesquarewaveisduetothenegativefeedbacktothesecondopamp.The
generatedtrianglewaveat5KHzisshowninFigure18.

21

Figure18:GeneratedTriangleWave
Asstatedabove,thetrianglewavewillbeinvertedwithrespecttothesquarewaveduetothe
negativefeedback.ThisisshowninFigure19.

Figure19:SquareandTriangleWaves

22

Difficultieswiththiscircuitarecausedmainlybytheoperationalamplifierselectedinitsdesign.The
squareandtrianglewavesmaybeskewedduetotheopampsinabilitytoreachoutputrails.Also,ifthe
frequencyistoohighfortheopamptohandle,thesquarewavewillbeskewedandthetrianglewave
willbenoticeablyclippedordistorted.Currently,theopampsarepoweredbyseparatepositiveand
negativesuppliesadjustedtoobtainaproportionaloutput,butinthefinaldesign,asinglesourceand
offsetwillbeused.Thiscanbeachievedbysettingthehighrailtotheavailable12Vandsettingadc
offsetbyinputtingtheinvertingterminaloftheSchmitttriggeropampandthenoninvertingterminalof
theintegratoropampwitha6Vreferencesignal.Thiswillresultinthesamewaveforms,withaDC
offsetof6Voscillatingbetween0Vand12V.

23

PulseWidthModulation
Bilevelpulsewidthmodulationisasimpleconcept,andnotdifficulttoimplement.TrilevelPWMis
notafarstretchfrombilevel,butissignificantlymoredifficulttoimplement.Belowisshownasample
trilevelPWMwave.

Figure20:PWMSignal
Thetoppictureshowstheinputreferencewaveform,andthegeneratedPWMsignaloverlaid.The
bottompictureshowsthesignalswhicharepassedintoacomparatortoachievethePWMwaveform.
Thetriangularwaveissimpletocreate,utilizinganopampdriver.Itmustthenbemodifiedsuchthatit
switchesbetweenamidtohightriangularwave,toamidtolowtriangularwave.Thisisaccomplished
bygeneratingatriangularwaveatroughlyhalftheamplitudeofthereferencesine,centeredatthesame
voltage.Thiswaveisthenpassedintoavoltagesummerwithasquarewave(madefromthesine
reference,tocreateonewithidenticalfrequency),whichcreatesthemodifiedtrianglewaveshown.
Thetriangularandsinereferencegeneratorsarediscussedseparatelyinthedocument,thissection
willassumethosewavesalreadyexist,andwillmodifythemforthepurposesoftrilevelPWM.First,a
pictureofthesinereference,theabovestatedsquarewave,andthetriangularwave:

24

Figure21:SineReference,TriangleWave,andsquarewave
reference
Now,applyingthetriangularwaveandsquarewavetoavoltagesummer(thesquarewaveis
attenuatedbyafactorof12),weobtain:

Figure22:Modifiedtrianglewave,overlaidwithsinereference
Thesinereferenceisincludedtoshowtheresultofmodifyingthetrianglewave.Ifthesewaveforms
arepassedintoacomparator,wewillobtain:

25

Figure23:PWMcontrolsignal
ThissignalwillbeusedtocontrolMOSFETs.Asyoucanseebycloseinspection,thedutycycle
approaches1(orzero)atthepeaksand,thoughitmaynotbeentirelyvisible,atthezerocrossingofthe
sinewave,thedutycyclefirstapproacheszero,thenswitchestoone(asthesquarereferencechanges
polarity).Now,usinganHBridgeMOSFETconfiguration,andutilizingboththeabovePWMsignal
andthesquarewavegenerated,wecanobtain:

Figure24:TrilevelPWMsignal
Thisisthefinalsignal.Iffiltered,wewillarriveatasinewave(albeita12Vsinewave).Ifwe
replacedthe12Vsourceofthesewaveformswitha170Vsource,wewouldhavea170Vpeak
26

HBridge
Generatingasinewavecenteredonzerovoltsrequiresbothapositiveandnegativevoltageacrossthe
load,forthepositiveandnegativepartsofthewave,respectively.Thiscanbeachievedfromasingle
sourcethroughtheuseoffourMOSFETswitchesarrangedinanHBridgeconfiguration.Tominimize
powerlossandutilizehigherswitchingspeeds,NChannelMOSFETswerechosenasswitchesinthe
bridge.LeveltranslationbetweenPWMsignalsandvoltagesrequiredtoforwardbiashighsideN
ChannelMOSFETS,theIR2110MOSFETdriverintegratedcircuitwaschosen.AdiagramoftheH
BridgecircuitwithMOSFETSanddriversisshowninFigure25.

Figure25:HBridgewithMOSFETDrivers
TheIR2110HighandLowSideDrivedeviceexceedsallrequirementsfordrivingtheMOSFETsin
thebridge.Itiscapableofupto500Vatacurrentratingof2Aatfastswitchingspeeds.Thisdeviceis
requiredtodrivethehighsideMOSFETSinthecircuitdesignatedHO,duetothefactthatthegateto
sourcevoltagemustbehigherthanthedraintosourcevoltage,whichisthehighestvoltageinthesystem.
Thisdeviceutilizesabootstrappingcapacitortomaintainavoltagedifferenceofapproximately10V
abovethedraintosourcevoltage.Withafullbridgeconfiguration,twoofthesedevicesareutilized,as
shownintheabovefigure.AtypicalconnectionofasingleIR2110deviceisshowninFigure26.

27

Figure26:TypicalConnectionforIR2110MOSFETDriver

15

OperationoftheIR2110devicewillbecontrolledthroughgeneratedPWMsignals.ThePWMsignal
willbefedtotheHINandLINpinssimultaneously.Iftheinternallogicdetectsalogichigh,theHOpin
willbedriven;ifalogiclowisdetected,theLOpinwillbedriven.TheSDpincontrolsshutdownofthe
deviceandwillbeunusedandtiedtoground.Additionalpinsthatrequireexternalconnectionsarethe
Vsspinwhichwillbetiedtoground,theVccpinwhichwillbetiedto12V,pinsrequiringconnectionsto
bootstrappingcomponentsandoutputstotheMOSFETS.
Bootstrappingcapacitorsanddiodeswillbeconnectedasdesignated.Thevaluesforthese
componentsarecalculatedfromInternationalRectifiersAN978applicationnote,HVFloatingMOS
GateDriverICs.Theformulaforminimumbootstrapcapacitorvalueobtainedfromthisdocumentis
shownbelow.

I qbs max
I
Q Is Cbsleak
f
f
V cc V f V LSV Min

2 2Qg
C

16

(4)

Minimumcapacitorvalueswerecalculatedtobe2uFforthe60Hzsideofthebridgeand51nFforthe
50KHzsideofthebridge.Theelementsoftheequationaboveweredeterminedfromdatasheetsas
follows:
15 InternationalRectifier,IR2110
16 InternationalRectifier,AN978

28

Qg=GateChargeofHighSideFET=110nC
Iqbs=Quiescentcurrentforhighsidedrivercircuitry=230uA
Qls=Levelshiftchargerequiredpercycle=5nC(giveninapplicationnote)
Icbs(leak)=Bootstrapcapacitorleakagecurrent=250uA
f=Frequency=60Hzforleftsideofbridge,50Khzforrightsideofbridge
Vcc=SupplyVoltage=12V
Vf=Forwardvoltagedropacrossbootstrapdiode=1.3V
Vls=VoltagedropacrosslowsideFET=1.5V
Componentstobeusedaccordingtothecalculationsabovearethe2.2uF+/20%,50VKemet
C330C225M5U5TAcapacitorandthe.056uF+/10%,200VKemetC330C563K2R5CAcapacitor.The
diodetobeusedistheInternationalRectifier8ETu04ND8Amp400VUltrafastRectifier.
DrivingfourMOSFETsinanHBridgeconfigurationallows+170,170,or0voltsacrosstheloadat
anytime.ToutilizePWMsignalsandthistechnology,theleftandrightsidesofthebridgewillbedriven
bydifferentsignals.TheMOSFETdriverontheleftsideofthebridgewillreceiveasquarewaveat
60Hz,andtherightsidewillreceivethe50KHzPWMsignal.The60Hzsquarewavewillcontrolthe
polarityoftheoutputsinewave,whilethePWMsignalwillcontroltheamplitude.TheMOSFETstobe
usedinthedesignaretheIRFB20N50KPbFHexfetPowerMOSFET,ratedfor500Vat20AwithaRds
of.21ohm.

29

Filter
Inordertooptimizetheefficiency,aswitchingfrequencymustbechosenwhichislowenoughto
keeptheswitchesinline,buthighenoughtomakesurethefilterinductorisnotunnecessarilylarge.
Manyengineeringtoolswillassistwiththisdecision,butherewechosetoutilizeMatLab.Usingthisit
ispossibletomodeltheswitchinglossesintheMOSFETs,basedontheircapacitanceandswitchingrise
times(whichdependsonthefrequency),aswellastheirresistivelosses(independentoffrequency).
Alsoincludedinthissimulationshouldbetheresistivelossesinthefilterinductor(dependentonthe
inductorvalue/size,therequirementforwhichisdependentonfrequency).

Figure27:Frequencyplotoflosses

30

Theaboveplotshowsthefrequencylossesof3differentMOSFETsand2differentinductors.The
IRFb20nisanInternationalRectifierMOSFETwithlowerresistancethanitssiblings,theIRC740and
theIRC630,buthasahighercapacitance.Thisiswhythelossesforthisswitchstartoutsignificantly
lower,butrisedramaticallyathigherfrequencies.Thecurvewiththe'notch'around40kHzshowsthe
losscurveusingtheIRFb20n(theMOSFETofchoice),addedtotheresistivelossesinthefilter
inductors.Thenotchoccursatthefrequencywheretherequiredinductancevaluedropped.Basedon
thiscurve,50kHzswitchingintroduceslittleextralossover20kHz,butwillhaveadramatically
improvedoutputaccuracy(lessvoltageripple).Allplotsinthischartmaybeviewedseparatelyinthe
appendix.Thiscurveresultedinadecisiontoswitchat50kHz,witha2mHinductor(coupledwitha
1uFcapacitortocreatealowpassfilter).

31

ImplementingtheDesign
ToactuallyimplementthedesignofthisDCACpowerinverter,certainstepshadtobetakento
ensurethateveryblockoftheprojectfunctionscorrectly.Inordertodothistheentireprojectwasfirst
placedonabreadboardtoensurefunctionalityandwhereanyglitchesorinaccuraciesduetosmall
uncalculatedlossescouldbeaccountedfor.Theprojecthadtobeplacedonthebreadboardinaspecific
ordersothateachblockcouldbetestedtoseeifthedesiredoutputoccurredbeforemovingontothenext
step.
Thefirstfunctionblockstobeconstructedwerethesixvoltreference,sinewaveandcarrierwave
generators.Thesineandcarrierwavegeneratorsworkindependentlyofeachotherandthereforewere
abletobeconstructedatthesametime.Sometimewasspentonthesetwosectionsoftheproject
becausetheirfunctionalityattheprecisefrequency,shapeandamplitudeswillaffecttheoutcomeofthe
PWMsignal.Someproblemsalsoarouseoutoftheoriginaldesignofthesefunctionblocksthatwillbe
discussedbelowinthedifficultiessection.FollowingthesuccessfuloperationoftheseblocksthePWM
signalcouldthenbeconstructed,byroutingthesinesignalthroughanamplifier(forensuringthecorrect
amplitude)andbyroutingboththesinewaveandcarrierwavethroughthecorrectcomparatorstotheH
BridgedriversthePWMsignalwassuccessfullyimplemented.
TheHBridgedriverchipswerethenexttobebreadboarded,followedbytheHBridgewhice
consistedoffournchannelMOSFETs.Thefinalportionofourprojecttobeconstructedwasourfilter
tobeplacedacrosstheloadoftheHBridge.Theteamhadnodifficultieswithfindingorimplementing
thedesignforouroriginalfilterwithlowvoltage,lowcurrentcomponents.Howeverwhenitcameto
findingpartsthatcouldhandletheamountofvoltageandcurrentthatthisdeviceneedednomatches
arousewhichledtoanotherdifficultyinthetotalimplementationofourdesign.

32

Difficulties
Aswasstatedtheteamranintoquiteafewproblemswhileactuallypiecingtogetherthecircuit,the
twomaindifficultiesinvolvedtheconstructionofthesinewaveoscillatorandfilter.Theteamworked
togethertosolvethesedifficultiesastheyarose,inbothcaseswhereitsetoffthescheduleofourproject
duetothehugeparteachblcckplaysintheoverallfunctionalityofthepowerinverter.

SineWaveGenerator
Whentheoscillatorwasfirstpiecedtogether,allthatwasbeingoutputwasa6voltsignal,allofthe
calculationswerecorrectlymadeandallofthecomponentswerecorrectintheirchoosing,thereforethe
teamhadtounderstandwhythecircuitwasntrunning.Inordertounderstandifthecircuitwas
operatingatall,thepowertothecircuitwasturnedonandoffwhileattachedtoanoscilloscope.While
doingthistheteamnoticedthattherewassomeoscillationpresentbutitwouldattenuatetothe6volt
signalinunderasecond.
Thephaseshiftoscillatorworksinsuchawaythatiftheamplitudeoftheinvertingamplifierisnot
highenoughthesystemwillcontinuallyattenuatethesignaluntiltheamplitudeiszero,itwastherefore
decidedtochangetheamplificationpoweroftheinvertingamplifier.Byincreasingtheamplification
valuethecircuiteventuallyoscillated,inaperfecttothenakedeye,sinewave,uponmeasuringitwas
seenthatthefrequencywasnotascalculatedeither,lookingfora60Hzsinewave,theoscillatorwas
producinga57Hzsinewave.
Thenexttaskthereforewastoreturnthisvalueto60Hz,thefrequencyoftheoscillatoriscontrolled
bythe4filterscomprisedofaresistorandcapacitor.Theteamfoundthatbycontrollingthesizeofthe
resistorinoneofthefourfiltersthefrequencycouldbeadjusted.Thereforetogetthecorrectsizesignal,
apotentiometerwasputinplaceofoneoftheresistorsandadjustedwhilemeasuringtheoutputonan
oscilloscopetodeterminewhatsizeresistorshouldbeusedtooscillateat60Hz.

33

Figure28:NewSineWaveOscillatorCircuitDiagram
Thereasonsfortroublewithbothoftheseaspectsofthesinewaveoscillatorcanmostlikelybe
attributedtolossesinthecircuitthroughcomponents.Thechangeinresistanceneededtofixthe
frequencyproblemwastoincreaseoneofthefourfilterresistorsfrom27.5kto31k , notalarge
difference.Anotherspotthatcouldhavecausedproblems,specificallywherealargeramplificationwas
neededcouldbeattributedtotheLM348opampchip.Theopamphaspropertieswithinitselfthat
mighthavecausedthecircuitnottooscillate,suchastherailtorailoperatingvoltagesorresistances
withinitself.

34

FilterDesign
Theothermajorobstacleintheimplementationofthisprojectwasthedesignofthefilter,theoriginal
designwasasimpleonepoleinductorcapacitorlowpassfilterdesignedforpassingallsignalsunder
50kHz.Whenfirstbreadboardingthecircuittheteamusedlowvoltage,lowpowercapacitorsand
inductorsthatwereavailableintheWPIECEshop.Usingthismethodthefilterworkedasitwas
designedandtheonlyhurdlewastoorderpartsdesignedforthevoltageandcurrentneeded.The
problemarousewhensearchingfortheseparts,becausethefiltercomponentsneededtobecapableof
handlingatleast400voltsand4amps(forreliabilityreasons)thesepartswereverylargeandbulky.The
inductoralonewastoweighfivepoundsandhavealengthofsixinches,forourapplicationthiswould
notdo.

Figure29:TwoPoleOutputFilter
Thereforeinordertorectifythisproblemtheteamwentbacktoscratchindesigningthelowpass
filter,insteadofasimplefirstorderlowpassfilter,atwopolelowpassfilterwouldbeused.Usingthis
approachtherewouldbetwiceasmanycomponentsinthefilterbutthesizeofthesecomponentswould
beconsiderablysmaller,lighterandcostless.Afterfirstverifyingthatthisfilterwouldworkwithlow
voltage/currentpartsfromtheshop,theteamboughtcomponentsthatcouldhandlethecurrentand
voltagedemandedofthefilterandtestsonthenewfilterwereconducted.Thesimulatedfrequency
responseofthefilterisshownbelowinFigure30.

35

Figure30:FilterFrequency
Response
Whenwetestedthisnewfilterwiththehighvoltage/currentcomponentswenoticedthatitwasnot
actingaswethoughwhensmallloadswereappliedacrossit.Wethendecidedtodoublecheckallofthe
componentvalueswithacapacitorinductoranalyzer,uponmeasuringtheinductorsitwasdetermined
thattheirvaluesweremuchgreaterthenwhatwehadwanted.Inordertogetinductancesof1.2mHand
4mHwedecidedtounwindportionsofthetoroidsandthencomparethemwiththeanalyzertodetermine
thecorrectnumberofwindings.Althoughthisallowedustoeffectivelycreateaprecisefilter,which
functionedproperly,theoutputstilldistortedsignificantlywhenunderload.Weinvestigatedthe
distortionanddiscovereda50kHzfrequency,whichmeantthatthefilterwasnotfiltering.
Theinductorsweselected,itturnsout,havelowqualitycores,whichsaturatedaround0.75A.This
isobviouslyfarlessthanourrated2Aoutput,andwouldnotdoforafinishedproduct.Ifwebuybetter
inductors,orifwereplacethecapacitanceswithhighervalues(inordertoallowforlowerinductances),
orraisetheswitchingfrequency(alsointendingtolowertheinductances),thesaturationcurrentwill
increasesignificantly,andoursystemwillagainbehaveproperly.

36

PuttingtheDesigntoWork
Afterthesuccessfuldebuggingofthebreadboardedcircuitryitwastimetotransferthisworktoa
PCBboard.UsingthefullschematicinAppendixBandEaglePCBprogramtheteamwasableto
constructthecircuitryforaPCBboardandhaveitmadesothattheteamcouldpiecetogethertheentire
circuitonaneatboard.ThefullplansforthePCBboardarelocatedinAppendixD.Puttingthecircuit
ontoaboardofthiskindwillgetridofalltheextrawiresandthepossibilityofanyextranoisethatcan
beattributedtothelengthorcrossingofwirestypicalonabreadboard,thusallowinganeater,more
presentableandlessnoisycircuit.
ThefirstrevisionofourPCBboard,andtheboardourcircuitwasmountedon,isshowninthe
picturebelow.Thisrevisionhadafewtracesthatwerenotdrawncorrectlyandsowireshadtobeadded
andsometracescut.Theotherdetailwiththisrevisionwasthattraceswerenotmadeforthefinalfilter
designandinsteadspacewasleftforthisaddition.Withthesefewchangestobemade,theteamwent
backandredesignedthePCBboard,asseeninAppendixD,howevertimewasnotavailabletoconstruct
thisboardagain.

Figure31:ProjectonPCBBoard

37

Results
Throughcarefulhandlingofcontrolsignalsinthecircuit,theMOSFETsintheHbridgewere
correctlyswitched,resultingina60Hzsinewaveoutput,asshowninFigureX.

Figure32:60HzSineoutput
Theoutputshownabovewasforaninputvoltageof12Vanda300 loadafterthefilter.The
amplitudeoftheoutputwavewasonly14Vpkpk,adiscrepancyeasilyexplainedbythelowratioofsine
wavetotrianglewavecontrolsignals.Oncetunedforhighvoltageoperation,thegainonthe
noninvertingamplifierforthereferencesinewillbeincreasedtooutputa340Vpkpksignalwhenthe
inputis200V.Ifnecessary,thefrequencyofthesignalcanbeadjustedbychangingresistorvaluesinthe
sinewavegenerator(Bubba)circuit.
Whiletheoperationoftheinverterworksunderlightormediumloads(above50 with12V
input),itsoutputwasaffectedbyhighfrequencyoscillationswhenheavierloadswereconnected.This
occurrencewascausedbythecomponentsinourfilterdesign.Useofchokesasinductorsresultedin
coresaturationwhenthecurrentinthecircuitwasaboveapproximately.5A.Chokesareintendedfor
ACfilteringapplications,butareintendedtobeconnectedinadifferentmannertopreventhigh
frequencynoisefromcorruptingacleansource.Coresaturationresultedinourfilteractingmorelikea
resistanceandthusallowedoscillationsatthecarrierfrequencythroughtothesource.
38

Evenwiththefilterproblemsexperienced,thethreelevelPWMsignalsweregeneratedcorrectly
andcouldbeusedtopowerresistiveloadsbeforethefilter.Althoughthisistrue,weavoidedthecore
saturationproblembydoublingtheswitchingfrequencyandreducingtheinductancevaluesinthefilter.
Throughpropercomponentselectioninanotherrevision,theswitchingfrequencycouldbereturnedto
50Khz.Thiswouldinvolvetheuseofahighercapacitance/voltagenonpolarizedcapacitorandasmaller
inductortoavoidcoresaturation.Whilecomponentscapableofmeetingtheserequirementsexist,there
wasinsufficienttimetoorderthemandtesttheiroperationinthecircuit.
Withtheexceptionofthefilterproblemsmentionedabove,thecircuitisfunctioningasdesigned
andcorrectlyinvertsaDCvoltagetoanACvoltage.TheefficiencyandTHDoftheinverterwasnot
calculatedduetotheamountoftimespentindesignverificationandtesting,aproblemaddressedinthe
Recommendationssection.

39

Recommendations
Althoughallgoalsinthisprojectweremettherearemanywaysinwhichthisprojectcanbe
improvedupon.Theprojectcalledforproducinga120voltRMSpuresinewaveoutput,thereinliesa
problemhowever,inthewaythatthisprojectisdesigned,differingloadswillallowtheoutputofthis
projecttovaryfromthe120voltRMSoutput.Onewayinwhichthisproblemcouldbecombatedwould
betointroduceaclosedloopmonitoringsystem.Thissystemwouldlookattheoutputoftheinverter
andchecktoensurethatthisisthecorrectoutput,ifthisoutputisnotwhatitshouldbethenthissystem
hasthepowertogobackandadjustthesettingsinthecontrolcircuitsothattheoutputisthedesired120
voltRMSsinewave.Asimplediagramshownbelowdemonstratesthebasicideaofaclosedloop
controlsystem.

Figure33:ClosedLoopFlowChart

Theoutputwouldbescaledandcomparedtoanidealoutputreference,perhapsthesinewave
reference(BubbaOscillator)inthecontrolcircuit(itssizeandshapedonotchange),sothatthechangein
voltageoutputcanbeaccountedfor.Whenthischangeisdetectedtheamplificationfactorofthenon

40

invertingamplifierforthesinewavereference(showninFigure34)couldbeadjustedtherebychanging
thePWMsignalandeffectivelyadjustingtheoutput.

Figure34:NonInvertingAmplifierBlock
Theclosedloopcontrolsystemwouldallowthesystemtooutputthecorrectvoltageandpower
nomatterwhattheload.Sometimescertainloadscancausefluctuationsandvoltagespikeswithinthe
drivingportionofthecircuit,specificallyaroundtheMOSFETs.Thisprojectintendedtotakeinto
accountthesevoltageandcurrentspikesandprotecttheMOSFETswiththeadditionsofRCsnubbers
andzenerdiodesacrosseachoftheMOSFETs.Informationonthesetypesofdevicescanbefoundin
thebackgroundsectionofthisreportunder:CircuitProtectionandSnubbers.Theteamcompletedmore
researchanddiscoveredthisproblemcaneasilybesolvedwiththeintroductionofTransientVoltage
Suppression(TVS)diodes.
Thesediodesarezenerdiodeswithspecialcharacteristics(suchassuppressionofhightransient
voltages)thatmakethemidealforthesetypesofpowerapplications.Theteamevenwentsofarasto
orderthesediodes,howevertimewasnotavailabletoapplythemtothecircuit.TVSdiodesarespecial
inthattheyareabletowithstandthequickvoltageandcurrentspikesthatcanoccurintheMOSFET
switchingaswellasbeingacheapalternativetoRCsnubbers.ForthisapplicationaTVSdiodeofrating
170voltswouldbeused,andtoensurethattheywouldlasta1500Wattratingwaschosen.Thisteam
recommendsthatinanyfutureprojectsthatthesediodesoranyothercircuitprotectionbeappliedacross
eachofthe4MOSFETsusedintheHBridgetoprotectthemfromsurgesthatcanoccurinbasic
switchingorbyinductiveloads.
41

Conclusion
ThegoalsforthisprojectweretoproduceapuresinewaveDCACinverterthatwouldoutputat60
Hz,120voltsRMSwith250wattoutput,wouldbecheaptomanufacture,andfairlyefficientinthe
methodinwhichitproducesit.Takingalookatthesegoalsandtheendresultitcanbesaidthatthey
weremet,thecircuitryandtotalcostofallthecomponentsusedintheconstructionofthecircuitwas
around$65(AppendixE)ascomparedtothe$300600puresinewaveinvertersonthemarketnow.
Thiscosthowever,iswhenbuyingpartsoneatatime,ifmanufacturedthispricetagwoulddropgreatly
duetothequantitiesofpartsthatwouldbebought.
Thesecondgoal,toproducea120voltRMSsinewavewiththecapabilityofproviding250wattsof
powerwasnotactuallytested,buttheteamisconfidentinitsabilitytoproducethiswaveform.Using
partsinthedriverportionofthecircuitthatareratedforatleasttwicetheoperatingparameters,170volts
and2amps,theteamcanbeassuredthatthesedeviceswillworkwiththesamefunctionalityastheydo
at12volts.At12voltspowering,theHBridgeoutputisaclean60Hzsinewavethatcaneasilybe
controlledinsizebythesizeofthesinereferenceinthecontrolcircuit.Itisinthiscapabilitythatthe
optionofaclosedloopcontrolcircuitcouldbeimplemented.
Inlookingathowefficientthisprojectis,thereisnoharddatathatcanbereferredtoasnotenough
timewasavailabletocollectit.Inlookingatthecomponentsselectedandthesimulationscreatedbefore
theactualconstructionoftheinverter,everythingwasbuiltinmindforthepurposeofefficiencyand
keepingpowerlossestoaminimum.Oneofthemajorfactorsinthepowersavingsistheuseofathree
levelPWMsignalinsteadofatwolevel,thisallowsamuchloweraveragepoweroutputtoproducethe
sinewaveneededandassistingintheefficiencyofthedevice.

42

Thisprojectisasteppingstonetoacheaperandefficientpuresinewaveinverter,byusingthedata
collectedinthisreportaswellastheschematicsandrecommendationstheproductproducedherecanbe
improvedupon.Simpleadditionssuchascircuitprotectionandaclosedloopcontrolsystemcould
greatlyimprovetheperformanceofthisproject.Theproject,initspresentcondition,doesworkinthe
mannertheteamwishedandhasmeteverygoalsetatthecommencementofthisventure.

43

References
600WattPureSineWaveInverter.Donrowe.com.RetrievedDecember14,2006,from
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/puresine_600.html.
ABSAlaskan.(2006).DCtoACPowerInverters.RetrievedDecember4,2006,from
http://www.absak.com/basic/inverters.html.
Bellis,Mary.WilliamStanleyJr.RetrievedDecember16,2006,from
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blstanley.htm.
Bigelow,Ken.(2006).GeneratingTriangleWaves.RetrievedNovember26,2006,from
http://www.playhookey.com/analog/triangle_waveform_generator.html.
Charpentier,J.P.;Rudervall,RobertoSharma,Raghuveer.TheWorldBank.HighVoltageDirect
CurrentTransmissionSystemsTechnicalReviewPaper.RetrievedDecember15,2006from
http://www.worldbank.org/html/fpd/em/transmission/technology_abb.pdf.
Donrowe.com.(2005).FrequentlyAskedInverterQuestions.RetrievedNovember12,2006,from
http://www.donrowe.com/inverters/inverter_faq.html#modified.
GoPower600WattModifiedWaveInverter.4Lots.com.RetrievedDecember14,2006,from
http://www.4lots.com/browseproducts/GoPower600WattInverter.html.
Hart,D.(1997).IntroductiontoPowerElectronics.UpperSaddleRiver,NJ:PrenticeHall.
InternationalRectifier.(2006).AN978HVFloatingMOS_GateDriverICs.RetrievedNovember10,
2006,fromhttp://www.irf.com/technicalinfo/appnotes/an978.pdf.
InternationalRectifier.(2006).IR2110HighandLowSideDriver.RetrievedNovember10,2006,from
http://www.irf.com/productinfo/datasheets/data/ir2110.pdf.
Ledwich,G.(1998).PulseWidthModulation(PWM)Basics.RetrievedDecember.1,2006,from
http://www.powerdesigners.com/InfoWeb/design_center/articles/PWM/pwm.shtm.
TraceEngineering.(April9,1999).ModifiedSinewaveandSinewaveWaveforms.RetrievedDecember
6,2006fromhttp://www.wholesalesolar.com/pdf.folder/Download%20folder/sine_modsine.pdf.
Walmart.com.PowerInverterListings.RetrievedDecember6,2006from
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4965458.

44

45

AppendixA:SwitchingFrequencyCharts

Figure35:FrequencyplotofMOSFETlosses

Figure36:Frequencyplotofinductorlosses(resistive)
46

AppendixB:CircuitDiagram

47

48

AppendixC:Flowchart

49

AppendixD:PCBBoardDiagrams

50

51

AppendixE:PartsList
Inductors

Quantity

DigikeyCatalogNumber

4mHHighCurrentInductor

2371231ND

$4.78

1.2mHHighCurrentInductor

M9850ND

$12.54

1%Resistors

Quantity

10Ohm

$0.40

2.2MOhm

$0.10

475kOhm

$0.10

27.5kOhm

$0.30

31kOhm

$0.10

300kOhm

$0.10

1kOhm

$0.90

10kOhm

$0.10

7.5kOhm

$0.10

510Ohm

$0.10

1.5kOhm

$0.10

26.7kOhm

$0.20

2kOhm

$0.10

200kOhm

$0.10

510kOhm

$0.10

Capacitors

Quantity

.1uF

$2.40

2uF

$0.80

51nF

$0.80

1nF

$0.40

.01nF

$0.40

.1nF

$0.40

680pF

$0.40

Diodes

Quantity

1n4148Diode

$0.10

IR150FDiode

8ETu04ND

$4.46

ChipsandSemiconductors

Quantity

LM348

52

COST

$0.55

TL084

$1.80

MC3302

$0.55

IR2110

IR2110PBFND

$11.70

IR549PMosfet

IRFB20N50KPbFND

$22.56

TOTAL

$67.54

53