Modelling of Power Electronic Circuits and Control For Airborne Electrical System Analysis

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SAE TECHNICAL
PAPER SERIES 2004-01-3191
Modeling of Power Electronic Circuits and

Control for Airborne Electrical System Analysis
Jian Sun
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Power Systems Conference

Reno, Nevada
November 2-4, 2004
400 Commonwealth Drive, Warrendale, PA 15096-0001 U.S.A. Tel: (724) 776-4841 Fax: (724) 776-5760 Web: www.sae.org
Author:Gilligan-SID:4970-GUID:35197647-138.38.0.53
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2004-01-3191
Modeling of Power Electronic Circuits and Control for

Airborne Electrical System Analysis
Jian Sun
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Copyright © 2004 SAE International
ABSTRACT 1. Power budget

2. Steady-state power quality
This paper gives an overview of advanced power 3. Dynamic stability
electronic circuits and control modeling techniques for
4. Dynamic power quality
power quality and dynamic stability study of airborne
electrical systems. A unified modeling framework based
The run-time for each of these simulations depends on
on averaging is presented, and its applications to PWM
the type of models used. This is particularly true for
as well as resonant and soft-switching converters are
systems incorporating a large number of power
discussed in detail. Discontinuous conduction mode,
electronic circuits and control. Unlike in conventional
peak-current control, variable-frequency PWM, and ac-
electromechanical devices, events in a typical power
dc converters with active power factor correction are
electronic circuit occur in very different time scales,
among the specific topics discussed. Feasibility of
ranging from tens of nanoseconds caused by semicon-
automatic model generation by means of a symbolic
ductor switching and the associated parasitic ringing, to
analysis program package is also demonstrated.
hundreds of milliseconds or longer for a circuit or
Compatibility among models of converters operated at
subsystem transient. Obviously not all of these events
significantly different switching frequencies is identified
are important for system design. To capture those that
as a key issue for average-based analysis of large power
are most relevant for different system-level simulations,
electronic systems that requires future study.
three levels of power electronic circuits and control
models have been discussed in the aviation industry:
INTRODUCTION
1. Detailed switch-based models where the switching
characteristics of semiconductor power devices are
Recent advances in power electronics have enabled the
retained by either using ideal switch models or
development of new power conditioning and control
physics-based device models.
devices that can be used to significantly improve aircraft
electric power system performance in terms of efficiency, 2. Behavioral models that capture the dynamics of
energy density, cost, and reliability, as well as to realize major energy storage elements while the fast
new functions and capabilities such as reconfigurable switching transients are ignored.
system architectures, variable-frequency ac power, 3. Steady-state models that provide information about
more-electric aircraft, and flight by wire. The widespread steady-state operation under given input and load
applications of power electronics, on the other hand, conditions.
have also created new challenges for the design and
integration of airborne electrical systems. The complex Detailed switch-based models cannot be directly used
dynamics of controlled power converters greatly for system simulation due to their high complexity and
complicate system analysis, and interactions among excessive simulation run-time. The high-frequency
different converters can lead to new power quality and events captured by these models are usually contained
stability problems that are not encountered in conven- locally by proper circuit design and can hardly penetrate
tional systems involving primarily passive components into the rest of the system, hence are not of critical
and low-frequency electromechanical energy conversion importance for system analysis and design. However,
devices. As the result, full-scale electrical system these models provide a basis for the development and
modeling and simulation will be required for future validation of other, more simplified models.
commercial and military aircraft development programs
in order to ensure successful system integration. Behavioral models eliminate all time constants in
converter dynamics that are shorter than a switching
Numerical simulation of airborne electrical systems cycle, while retaining low-frequency characteristics of
serves different purposes. Reference [1] identified four individual converters that affect system behavior. They
different types of simulations for large passenger aircraft: are usually derived using averaging techniques, which is
the focus of this paper. Averaging is also the key to mismatch of models of converters operating at signifi-
removing the time dependency and discontinuity of cantly different switching frequencies, and small-signal
converter responses caused by switching, but the analysis of ac power systems involving rectifier loads
resulting models are nonlinear in almost all cases and and active power factor correction circuits. The objective
are still difficult to handle analytically. For converters with is to provide a point of reference for both practicing
a dc operation point, such as in the case of dc-dc engineers interested in applying the best methods and
converters, the nonlinear averaged models can be tools available to date, and for researchers looking for
linearized about given operation points to define small- opportunities to make contributions to this area.
signal characteristics, such as input and output
impedance, that can be used to determine system It shall be pointed out here that an averaged model can
stability without resorting to numerical simulation. Such be represented in two different forms: a set of mathe-
linearized models are sometimes called reduced-order matical equations (mathematical model), or an equiv-
models, although their orders are usually the same as alent circuit (circuit model). Mathematical models lend
that of the original behavioral models. themselves well to analytical handling such as small-
signal linearization and analytical stability assessment,
The behavioral models can be used for all four types of while circuit models can be directly incorporated into
simulations listed on the previous page. However, the circuit simulation programs for numerical simulation.
simulation run-time could still be excessively long for However, the two forms are mathematically equivalent
power budget and steady-state power quality analysis and can be easily converted from one to the other.
due to the need for the simulation to cover very long Hence no distinctions will be made between the two in
operation time over various phases of a fly cycle. To the following discussions, and each model or modeling
solve this problem, the behavioral models can be further method will be introduced in a form that is most conve-
simplified by retaining only their steady-state character- nient in the given context.
istics. Such steady-state models can be as simple as a
constant-power sinker for regulated dc-input converters, PWM CONVERTERS
or a controlled current source with harmonic components
for ac-input converters. Hence the key to the modeling of Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is by far the dominant
power electronic circuits and control for airborne regulation method for switching power converters.
electrical system analysis is the development of reliable, Averaged modeling of a voltage-mode controlled PWM
averaging-based behavioral models. dc-dc converter operating in the continuous conduction
mode (CCM) is as simple as summing the state-space
Averaged modeling of switching power converters has models of the converter in the on and off state of the
been an area of active research in power electronics for switch, weighted by their corresponding duty ratios [2].
more than two decades. Application of basic averaging Assume that the converter is described by a state-space
principles to a PWM voltage-mode dc-dc converter is model
straightforward and well understood, but not so when the
converter operates in the discontinuous conduction x' = A 1 x + b 1 v in
mode, or with current-mode control, and can be very
difficult when the converter incorporates resonant and when the switch is on, and
soft-switching techniques. There is also a lack of under-
standing of, and attention to some fundamental issues x' = A 2 x + b 2 v in
related to the use of average-based models for system
studies, such as model compatibility among converters when the switch is off, respectively. Averaging theory
operating at significantly different switching frequencies. states that the dynamics of such a converter can be
For the analysis of large passenger aircraft where the described by an averaged model
primary electrical power is 400 Hz or variable-frequency
ac, there is a critical need at this time for dynamic dx
------- = > dA 1 + 1 – d A 2 @x + > db 1 + 1 – d b 2 @v in , (1)
stability and power quality analysis methodologies, as dt
well as systematic modeling methods for ac-input
converters that interface with the ac bus. where d is the duty ratio of the switch. This model can be
readily used for voltage feedback control design, or
This paper has two main purposes. First, it attempts to combined with a model of the voltage controller to
provide a coherent overview of averaged modeling provide a complete converter model for use in higher-
techniques for different power electronic circuits and level system analysis and simulation. Theoretical basis
control. Various modeling methods and procedures will of this so-called state-space averaging has also been
be introduced under a unified framework to facilitate their examined [3].
applications. Mathematical tools that can be used to
reduce/eliminate the burden of manual model derivations DISCONTINUOUS CONDUCTION MODE - The discon-
will also be discussed. Second, it identifies some funda- tinuous conduction mode (DCM) usually refers to the
mental issues related to modeling and simulation of operation of a dc-dc converter when the inductor current
power systems involving a large number of power returns to and remains at zero in a certain time interval
electronic circuits and control, including validity domain over each switching cycle. The DCM operation is a result
of the combined effects of converter design (particularly

inductance value and the switching frequency) and load 2L i L ½
d 2 = max ® --------------------- 1 ¾ – d 1 (3)
conditions. v
¯ az 1 s ¿ d T
State-space averaging can be extended to model the This model has been implemented in SABER using the
DCM operation [4-6]. The extension involves essentially MAST programming language [9]. Its accuracy and
two elements: versatility have been proven by applications in numerous
1. State-space model of the converter for the additional circuit and system simulation.
interval where the inductor current is zero, and the
addition of this model into the state-space averaged PEAK-CURRENT CONTROL - Due to its robustness
model. and simple implementation, peak-current control is
2. Definition of the implicitly known duty ratio of the zero probably the most popular control method for dc-dc
inductor current interval as a function of other converters. A particular problem with this control method
variables such that it can be eliminated from the is the subharmonic instability that occurs when the
averaged model. switch duty ratio exceeds 50%. Adding a properly
designed compensation ramp to the reference current
Definition of the zero inductor current interval is the key can avoid the problem within certain input and output
to correct modeling of DCM and is also where the range, but may not ensure stability under extreme condi-
various models in the literature [4-7] differed. The model tions when the converter is used in a large system.
presented in [7] has proven to be most accurate among Therefore, it is important for the converter model to
existing models. This model is best represented in the capture the instability mechanism in order to be useful
form of an equivalent circuit for the three-terminal PWM for system analysis and simulation.
switch cell defined in Fig. 1a), which is a common
building block for PWM dc-dc converters. The resulting Compared to voltage-mode control discussed at the
average circuit model for the switch cell is given in Fig. beginning of this section, the difficulty in modeling peak-
1b) [8] where d1 is the duty ratio of the controlled switch current control lies in the fact that the duty ratio of the
(equivalent to d in (1) for the continuous conduction switch is determined by the peak reference current and
mode), and d2 is the duty ratio of the diode conduction is not explicitly known, see Fig. 2. Hence a duty ratio
interval and is defined by: constraint relating the switch on-time duty ratio to the
peak reference current and other average quantities is
2L i L required to complete the state-space averaged model
d 2 = --------------------
- – d1 (2)
v az d 1 T s (1). Several average models have been proposed for
peak-current control in the past [9-11], which differ from
each other mainly by the duty ratio constraints. Although
For numerical simulation, it is most desirable to use a
these models can capture the low-frequency character-
unified circuit model that is valid in both CCM and DCM.
istics, none of them was able to predict the subharmonic
The equivalent circuit model given in Fig. 1b) can meet
instability. A remedy proposed in [11] is to include an
this requirement if the duty ratio constraint (2) is modified
additional second-order transfer function representing
as follows to account for both CCM and DCM operation.
the so-called sample-and-hold effect. This, however,
(Note that d 2 = 1 – d 1 if the converter operates in the
works only with the linearized version of (1), hence is not
continuous conduction mode.)
suitable for system simulation.
ia c ip
a) S iL L
a S D p
+
+ V
_ in D vC R
iL _ C
z
d1vap+ (1-d1-d2)vzp ip
c mc
+
_
a p
b) d1iL m1 m2
d1 + d2 iL(t)
iL
z 0 dTs Ts t
Fig. 1. a) Three-terminal PWM switch cell and b) its aver- Fig. 2. A buck PWM dc-dc converter and its inductor cur-
age model for DCM operation. rent waveform under peak-current control.
A different approach was proposed in [12]. The method Compared to other peak-current control modeling
utilizes a systematic mathematical tool, called the KBM methods, the KBM-based method is conceptually
algorithm [13-14] to recover switching-frequency inductor simpler and mathematically rigorous. An additional
current ripple from the state-space averaged model (1). advantage of this method is that the resulting models are
The recovered ripple is in general a function of the capable of predicting the subharmonic instability. To
average inductor current and other variables, demonstrate this, consider the buck converter shown in
Fig. 2. With the inductor current ripple expression given
î t = <(t i t ) .
L L in Table 1, the general duty ratio constraint of (4)
becomes
The ripple function can be combined with the average
inductor current, i L t , to provide an estimate of the m c d d 1 – d v in
actual inductor current. Then, based on the principle of i p = i L + ----------
- + ---------------------------- (5)
fs 2Lf s
peak-current control as depicted in Fig. 2, the following
algebraic equation can be established for the duty ratio:
where f s = 1 e T s is the switching frequency. This, in
i p dT s – m c dT s = i L dT s + <(dT s i L dT s ) (4) combination with the state-space averaged model of the
buck converter power stage
This algebraic duty ratio constraint in combination with
(1) forms a complete averaged model. di dv in – v C
--------L = ----------------------
-
dt L
The KBM algorithm has been implemented in Mathe- (6)
dv C iL – vC e R
matica as part of the symbolic analysis program package - = -------------------------
--------- -
to be discussed later in this paper. The package enables dt C
automatic generation of ripple functions for different
PWM converters. Table 1 summarizes the linear inductor gives a complete averaged model of the converter with
ripple expressions generated by using the package for peak-current control. To determine the stability of the
six different PWM converter topologies. converter, the combined model can be linearized for a
given operation point. The system matrix of the
Table 1: Linear Inductor Current Ripple Calculated Using the linearized model is found to be
KBM Algorithm
–2 1
Converter Variable Ripple Function (S-On) --------------------------- – ---
T s 1 – 2d L
A = .
Buck î (t) V in 1-
--- 1
L – ---------
-------- d – 1 dT s – 2t C RC
2L
Boost î (t) vC It can be determined that one of the eigenvalues of this

L ------
- d – 1 dT s – 2t
2L matrix becomes positive if
1 ½
Buck- î (t)
L
V in + v C d ! --- ® 1 – 2RC
------------ ¾ . (7)
Boost -------------------- d – 1 dT s – 2t 2 ¯ Ts ¿
2L
Cuk î (t) v C1
L1 --------
- d – 1 dT s – 2t Since the time constant formed by the load resistance
2L 1 and the filter capacitance (RC) is usually much smaller
than a switching cycle (Ts), the right-hand side of (7) is
î (t) v C1 approximately equal to 0.5, which indicates that the
L2 --------
- d – 1 dT s – 2t converter becomes unstable for d ! 0.5 .
2L 2
The ability of the KBM-based averaged model to predict
Sepic î (t) V in – v C1
L1 ----------------------
- d – 1 dT s – 2t subharmonic instability makes the model most suitable
2L 1 for system analysis and simulation.
î (t) V in – v C1 AVERAGE-CURRENT CONTROL - Another switching

L2 ----------------------
- d – 1 dT s – 2t
2L 2 power converter control method that involves the
inductor current is the so-called average current control
Zeta î (t) depicted in Fig. 3a). In this method, the inductor current
L1
v C1 + v C2 is sensed (e.g. by a resistor Rs) and compared to a
------------------------- d – 1 dT s – 2t
2L 1 reference, denoted as vc in Fig. 3a). The error signal is
amplified by a current compensator, which is typically an
î (t) v C1 + v C2 integrator with a low-frequency zero and a high-
L2 ------------------------- d – 1 2t – dT s
2L 2 frequency pole [15]. The current compensator output is
fed to a pulse-width modulator to generate the gate
Cfp 2. Constant On-Time PWM

_ +
_ v z + vp sT
– T on off
------------
* 2(s) = ---------------------------------------2- K 2(s) e 2 (9)
Cfz Rf m s T on + T off
Rl R s iL
vd _
g(t) _ T on s T on + T off s T on + T off
vc - sin–1 -----------------------------------
K 2(s) = sin -------------- - -------------------------
+ 2 2 T on
+ vm
SOFT-SWITCHING CONVERTERS
a)
Soft-switching converters refer here to a large class of
converter circuits that utilize resonant techniques to
vg vC achieve zero-voltage and/or zero-current switching of
Power Stage
power semiconductor devices as a means to reduce
d Model iL switching losses. In these circuits, the resonance is
typically created by an LC resonant circuit around the
Km Rs switching elements. By proper timing and control of the
Compensator resonant circuit, the voltage across the switch or the
Modulator _ current through it can be made to vary in a resonant
vc fashion over a switching cycle or shortly before the
Hc(s)
switch is to be operated. The “soft” change of the switch
b) voltage and current creates an interval where the switch
can be operated under zero-voltage or zero-current
Fig. 3. Basic principle and averaged modeling of average- conditions, thereby eliminating the associated switching
current control.
losses. Quasi-resonant converters, soft-transition PWM
converters, and actively clamped PWM converters are
control signal for the switch. The reference current is among the various soft-switching converters developed
generated by the voltage controller which forms an outer in the last two decades. The soft-transition PWM and
control loop and is not shown in Fig. 3. actively clamped PWM converters are particularly inter-
esting and are also finding application in airborne
Average current control is mostly used in single-phase systems. Examples of such converters include the
ac-dc converters with active power factor correction. This phase-shifted full-bridge dc-dc converter, the actively
type of converters will be discussed in further details clamped forward dc-dc converter, and soft-transition
later in the paper. Fig. 3b) shows the basic structure of boost converter for power factor correction.
averaged models under this control. The model is
basically a combination of the power stage state-space State-space averaging is not directly applicable to soft-
averaged model with models of the controllers. Due to switching converters due to the presence of fast
the small ripple at the input to the pulse-width modulator resonant variables in these converters. The resonant
[15-16], the modulator can be simply modeled by a variables change by large amounts over every switching
constant gain, Km, as shown in Fig, 3b), as in the case of cycle, hence they don’t meet the “small-ripple”
voltage-mode control. assumption which is necessary for ensuring the validity
and accuracy of a state-space averaged model.
VARIABLE-FREQUENCY PWM - The assumption that
the pulse-width modulator in voltage-mode and average- A general modeling method applicable to different soft-
current control can be modeled as a constant gain can switching converters was presented in [18]. The method
be proven to be valid only if the switching frequency is is based on the observation that the state variables in a
constant. Under variable-frequency operation, the soft-switching converter can be classified into slow
modulator exhibits more complex characteristics variables that can essentially be considered constant
including nonlinear dc gain and variable phase shift. over a switching cycle, and fast (resonant) variables that
Using small-signal analysis, the following modulator gain change by large amounts over each switching cycle. The
expressions are calculated for the two commonly used fast variables affect the operation of the converter within
variable-frequency PWM schemes [17]: each switching cycle, but cycle-to-cycle dynamics of the
converter are essentially determined by the slow
1. Constant Off-Time PWM
variables. Hence, for the purpose of converter control
sT design and system dynamic analysis, it suffices to
T off on
-----------
-
* 1(s) = ---------------------------------------2- K 1(s) e 2 (8) develop a reduced-order model that captures the slow
m s T on + T off variable dynamics. The effects of the fast variables on
converter operation, however, cannot be simply ignored
T off s T on + T off s T on + T off in the modeling process. The modeling procedure
K 1(s) = sin --------------- sin–1 -----------------------------------
- ------------------------- presented in [18] for soft-switching converters can be
2 2 T off
described based on a generic mathematical model
dx AUTOMATED MODEL GENERATION - Application of

--------f = f i x f x s t the generalized averaging procedure outlined earlier in
dt
(10) this section for soft-switching converters require tedious
dx s mathematical calculations. The KBM ripple estimation
--------- = Hg i x f x s t i = 1 2 } k
dt method discussion in the previous section has a similar
problem. To facilitate the application of both methods, a
where xf and xs denote the fast and the slow variables as symbolic analysis program package called “SYMAP” [18]
defined above, respectively, k is the number of was developed by the author several years ago as an
subintervals that the converter goes through each add-on package of Mathematica [23]. The program is
switching cycle, and H in front of function gi is a small capable of automatically generating analytical average
parameter used to indicate that the slow variables don’t models for PWM as well as various soft-switching
change much over each switching cycle. With these, an converters to which the general modeling method
averaged model can be derived for the slow variables in outlined before is applicable. For PWM converters, it can
three steps: further generate analytical ripple functions by using the
KBM algorithm. The required inputs for the package to
1. Relaxation: The slow variables xs are first assumed
perform these functions include topological descriptions
constant over a switching cycle. This allows the first
of the converter circuit in the form of a net list, parti-
equation in (10) to be solved separately from the
tioning of state variables into slow and fast variables (as
second to give a periodic solution for the fast
a special case, PWM converters have no fast variables),
variables, denoted as x̃ f x s t . Note that this solution
as well as boundary conditions for the different switching
can be obtained analytically if the circuit is linear in
subintervals over a switching cycle.
each subinterval.
2. Decoupling: The fast variable xf in the second As an example, consider a boost zero-voltage-transition
equation in (10) is substituted by the calculated PWM converter depicted in Fig. 4. Based on the
response, x̃ f x s t . The result is a new slow-variable numbering of the circuit nodes, a net list, also given in
model that is decoupled from the fast variables: Fig. 4, can be defined. Note that the net list uses only
dx symbols and can include switching elements without
--------s- = Hg i x̃ f x s t x s t i = 1 2 } k (11) known conduction states. The current through the
dt resonant inductor, Lr, and the voltage across the
3. Averaging: The decoupled slow-variable model (11) resonant capacitor, Cr, are fast variables, while the boost
is time-varying, but meets the small-ripple inductor current and the output capacitor voltage are
requirement, hence can be averaged over a switching slow variables. The circuit operation over a switching
cycle to give a time-invariant averaged model: cycle consists of seven subintervals as detailed in [18].
With these and a few other inputs, SYMAP can automat-
Ts ically generate an averaged model for the converter.
dx
--------s- = H ³ g i x̃ f x s t x s t dt (12)
dt The linear ripple functions given in Table 1 were also
0
generated using this package. A copy of the program
can be downloaded from the author’s personal web page
An example will be given after the next subsection to given at the end of the paper.
demonstrate the application of this method.
FULL-RESONANT COVERTERS - also called load

resonant converters, or simply resonant converters [20], 22 33 D 55
are a class of resonant converters in which all variables
except the dc output voltage undergo almost a complete rL
cycle of resonance over each switching cycle. From the 11 L
Cr Lr
modeling standpoint, a difference between them and
soft-switching converters is that the fast resonant
+
_ vg S Dr R
variables in full-resonant converters have slow dynamics 44 C
such that reduced-order models excluding these 00 Sr
variables are insufficient in describing converter dynamic
behavior. The modeling method presented in [21] and
[22] uses a sinusoidal transformation with slowly varying NetList
NetList VoltageSource,
VoltageSource, 1, 1, 00,, vg
vg,,
amplitude and phase for the resonant variables. Applying Resistor,
Resistor, 1,
1, 22,, rL
rL,, Inductor,
Inductor, 2, 2, 33,, LL,,
the transformation to the state-space model of the Switch,
Switch, 3,
3, 00,, S0
S0,, Capacitor,
Capacitor, 3, 3, 00,, Cr
Cr,,
converter enables the fast resonant variables to be Inductor,
Inductor, 3,
3, 44,, Lr
Lr,, Switch,
Switch, 3, 3, 55,, D0
D0,,
replaced by the slowly varying amplitude and phase Switch,
Switch, 4,
4, 55,, Dr
Dr,, Switch,
Switch, 4, 4, 00,, Sr
Sr,,
variables. The transformed model is then averaged over Capacitor,
Capacitor, 5,5, 00,, CC,, Resistor,
Resistor, 5, 5, 00,, RR
;;
a switching cycle to eliminate its time dependency and to InputVars
InputVars vgvg;;
give an continuous model for the slow variables including
the magnitude and phase of the resonant variables. Fig. 4. Boost zero-voltage-transition PWM converter and
Details of the method is omitted here due to space limit. its net list as an input for SYMAP.
AC-DC CONVERTERS iL
+ +
D1 D2 L D
Commercial jet airplanes use 400 Hz or variable- |vin| S +
frequency ac power. In the past, nonlinear loads such as
Load
vs V0
rectifiers consumed only a small percentage of system C _
d(t)
power, such that system power quality was not too much D3 D4 _ _
a concern, and system stability could be assessed using iin
conventional power system analysis techniques. Rs
However, this will not be the case in the future, particu- +_
larly with the transition to variable-frequency ac systems. vin
As system trade-studies have revealed, a large number
of motor controllers will be needed for driving various Fig. 5. A boost single-phase PFC converter.
loads that cannot work directly with the variable-
frequency ac bus. Most of these motor drives will use a applied in order to meet airborne requirements for input
diode rectifier as the front-end converter to generate an current quality [27-29]. The most critical issue is the
internal dc bus. The capacity of conventional trans- crossover distortion of the input current at high line
former-rectifier units (TRU) as a percentage of total frequencies, which increases significantly with the input
system capacity would also go up in the future consid- line frequency [27].
ering the ever-increasing electronic functions that need
to be powered from the dc bus. Furthermore, in-flight To illustrate the potential instability problem involving
entertainment (IFE) and some avionics and communica- single-phase PFC converters and the consequence of
tions functions will be powered directly from the ac bus such instability on converter performance, Fig. 6 shows
through ac-dc converters with active power factor the measurement of a 100-W boost PFC converter
correction (PFC). The large number of rectification loads supplied from a variable-frequency ac power source. The
will greatly increase the complexity of the ac power high-frequency harmonics in the input current was found
system on future commercial jet airplanes, making power to be caused by interactions between the input
quality and dynamic stability analysis for such systems a impedance of the converter and the output impedance of
challenging but also an urgent problem. the ac power source [30]. Appropriate models of the
converter are needed for the prediction and resolution of
Previous work on rectifier modeling has mostly focused such interaction-induced system instability problems.
on uncontrolled diode rectification circuits fed by
dedicated synchronous machines, with a purpose to The average switch model introduced in Fig. 1 can be
determine their output characteristics for stability used to model the boost single-phase PFC converter of
analysis of the dc system powered by these rectification Fig. 5. The resulting average model can be used for
circuits [25-26]. For power quality and dynamic stability numerical simulation, but doesn’t lend itself well to
analysis of the ac power system on future commercial control design and system stability analysis due to the
airplanes, input characteristics of such rectifiers need to nonlinearity of the model and the time-varying (rectified
be studied. sinusoidal) input to the circuit. To solve this problem,
linear input impedance models have been developed for
Ac-dc converters with active power factor correction boost single-phase PFC converters with average current
(PFC) is a relatively new topic in airborne systems. The control. At frequencies above the crossover frequency of
purpose of requiring this type of converters is to limit the the voltage loop, the input impedance is given by [31]
harmonic currents generated by various electronic loads
in order to maintain system power quality. At the present,
use of PFC converters is dominated by IFE applications,
followed by avionics and other functions. Proper models
of these converters are also necessary for power quality
and stability analysis of the ac power system, which is iin
the focus for the remaining of this section.
Many different converter topologies have been vin

developed for single-phase PFC applications. However,
due to the high-performance requirements for airborne
systems, the boost converter with average current
control, depicted in Fig. 5, is the only circuit that is
currently in practical use. Detailed design guidelines for
terrestrial 50/60 Hz applications of this converter are
available in the literature, and the performance is usually
considered more than sufficient as far as meeting
regulatory requirements such as IEC61000-3-2 is Fig. 6. Input current and voltage waveform of a single-
concerned. However, special techniques such as phase phase PFC converter. The high harmonic current is the result
shift control and duty ratio feedforward have to be of converter interactions with the ac power supply.
s s2 frequency is essentially time-varying, which cannot be

1 + ------ + ------- captured by time-invariant averaged models. The time-
V in(s) Rs Z z Z n2
- = --------- ----------------------------------------------------
Z pfc(s) = -------------- (13) varying characteristics can be understood simply by
I in(s) gR l 1 Rs · examining the response of a constant-frequency pulse-
1 + s § ------ + ------------------- -
©Z 2¹ width modulator. Assume the modulator operates with a
z gR l LZ n
50% duty ratio in steady state and that the reference
signal has a perturbation at half the switching frequency.
Typical frequency responses of the input impedance is
Fig. 8. shows two different phase relationship between
shown in Fig. 7 where the model predictions are also
the perturbation and the sawtooth carrier signal:
compared to experimental measurements from a
prototype converter. As illustrated in [30], this model can 1. The perturbation in the first case is a sine function
be used to predict the interactions with the ac source with zero initial phase. As can be seen, the duty ratio
impedance, as well as to guide the design of the is modulated at half the switching frequency in this
converter including the input filter and its damping to case.
avoid potential system instability. 2. The perturbation in the second case is phase shifted
from that in the first case by 90o. The duty ratio is not
For small-signal response analysis of the boost single- affected at all in this case, no matter how large the
phase PFC converter below the voltage loop crossover perturbation is.
frequency, a modeling approach based on line-
frequency averaging and linearization was presented in The mismatch of validity domain of averaged models
[32]. This low-frequency model is currently evaluated for poses a major problem for system studies. An airborne
prediction of the converter input impedance and the use power system would have hundreds of switching power
of it to study interactions with the ac source below the converters. The switching frequency of these converters
line frequency. can range from the line frequency for uncontrolled TRUs,
to tens of kHz for high-power converter such as motor
MODEL COMPATIBILITY drives using IGBTs, and to multi-hundred kHz or even
MHz for low-power switching power supplies using
Properly developed averaged models such as those power MOSFETs. The limited validity domain of
discussed thus far have been proven to be valid up to averaged models implies that they can only be used to
one third of the switching frequency. Responses of a predict system responses to perturbations at up to half
switching power converter to perturbations beyond this the lowest switching frequency among all converters,
and that the interactions among high-frequency
converters as well as those between them and the rest of
the system cannot be predicted based on these models.
65
60 The foregoing discussions of model mismatch problem
Magnitude (dB-:)
55 have been in the frequency domain. In the time domain,

the problem will lead to failure of averaged-model based
50
45
40 vc(t)
35
vm(t)
100 1000 10000 100000.
Frequency (Hz)
75
50
vc(t)
Phase (DEG)
25
0
vm(t)
25
50
75
100 1000 10000 100000.
Frequency (Hz) Fig. 8. Time-varying response of a constant-frequency

Fig. 7. Input impedance of a boost single-phase PFC con- pulse-width modulator to a perturbation at half the carrier fre-
verter. The dashed lines represent experimental measure- quency. In the second case where the perturbation is phase
ment results, while the solid lines are predicted by using the shifted from that in the first case by 90o, the duty ratio is not
model (13). affected at all.
simulation in accurately representing actual system CONCLUSION

responses when converters with significantly different
switching frequencies operate in a same power system. Successful development of future airborne electric power
To demonstrate this, Fig. 9 compares the responses of systems would require full-scale system analysis and
the inductor current of a buck dc-dc converter in parallel simulation in order to reliably assess power quality and
(at the output) with a boost converter. Two sets of system stability. Existing models of power electronic
simulation results were shown: one obtained using circuits and control need to be carefully evaluated for this
averaged models (without switching ripple) and the other purpose in terms of model fidelity and compatibility. A
obtained from switching model simulation. The large body of knowledge already exists for the modeling
simulation results show that the averaged models can and analysis of dc-dc converters, but model incompati-
accurately replicate both steady-state and transient bility is an issue for large systems involving converters
responses of the switching models when both converters with significantly different switching frequencies. On the
are operated at the same frequency (1 MHz). But signif- other hand, limited work has been done on the modeling
icant deviations occur, both in steady state and during of both controlled and uncontrolled ac-dc converters for
transient, when one converter (buck) is switched at a ac power system analysis, particularly those using
much lower frequency (100 kHz). variable frequencies. There is also a critical need for
systematic analysis methodologies applicable to ac
power systems, using both numerical and analytical
40 techniques.
35 REFERENCES
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23. http://www.wolfram.com URL: http://www.ecse.rpi.edu/~jsun

Modelling of Power Electronic Circuits and Control For Airborne Electrical System Analysis

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Modeling of Power Electronic Circuits and Control for

ABSTRACT 1. Power budget

of the combined effects of converter design (particularly

Boost ˆi (t) vC It can be determined that one of the eigenvalues of this

ˆi (t) V in – v C1 AVERAGE-CURRENT CONTROL - Another switching

Cfp 2. Constant On-Time PWM

dx AUTOMATED MODEL GENERATION - Application of

FULL-RESONANT COVERTERS - also called load

Many different converter topologies have been vin

s s2 frequency is essentially time-varying, which cannot be

55 have been in the frequency domain. In the time domain,

Frequency (Hz) Fig. 8. Time-varying response of a constant-frequency

simulation in accurately representing actual system CONCLUSION

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