Appendix A

RMS Values of Commonly Observed Converter Waveforms

A.1 A.2

Results for some common waveforms

See text for results

General piecewise waveform

How to compute the rms value of a waveform that can be broken into smaller piecewise segments Example: transistor current waveform, including effects of short turn-on current spike

Fundamentals of Power Electronics

Appendix A: RMS Values

A.2

General piecewise waveform

1 T
T 0

Basic expression for rms value of waveform v(t) having period T: Suppose the waveform can be represented as a series of segments, with the kth segment having length DkTs and with Ts equal to the switching period:
Triangular segment

(rms value) =

v 2(t)dt

Constant segment

i(t)

Trapezoidal segment

etc.

D1Ts

D2Ts D3Ts

Ts

Then the rms value can be expressed as:

rms =

k=1

Dk u k

where uk is the contribution of the kth segment see following slides

2

Fundamentals of Power Electronics

Appendix A: RMS Values

Some basic segment shapes

i(t) I1

Constant segment
uk = I 2 1
t

i(t) Ipk

Sinusoidal segment (half or full period)

uk = 1 I 2 2 pk
t

i(t) I1

Triangular segment
uk = 1 I 2 3 1
i(t) Ipk

0 t i(t) I1 I2

Sinusoidal segment (partial period)

Trapezoidal segment
uk = 1 I 2 + I 1 I 2 + I 2 2 3 1
t

1 2

sin 2 1 cos 2 + 1 uk = 1 I 2 1 pk 2 2 1

Fundamentals of Power Electronics

Appendix A: RMS Values

Example
Transistor current waveform, including turn-on current spike induced by diode reverse recovery The turn-on current spike is short but of high magnitude. Does it signicantly increase the rms current? The observed current waveform is approximated by piecewise linear segments as shown below Six segments:
i(t)
1

I1 = 20 A
2 3 4 5 6

1-3 are from diode reverse recovery 4 is transistor on time

I2 = 2 A
0.2 s 0.2 s 0.1 s 5 s 0.2 s

0A

Ts t
10 s
4

5 is transistor turn-off transition 6 is transistor off time

Appendix A: RMS Values

Fundamentals of Power Electronics

Calculation
i(t)
1

I1 = 20 A
2 3 4 5 6

I2 = 2 A
0.2 s 0.2 s 0.1 s 5 s 0.2 s

0A

Ts t
10 s

Result:

rms =

k=1

Dk u k

= 3.76 A

Without the current spike, the rms value is approximately 1.4 A. So in this example, the diode reverse recovery signicantly increases the transistor rms current.
Fundamentals of Power Electronics
5

Appendix A: RMS Values