Coursework assessment

EE466/866/966

2019-20 session

Power electronics section

Introduction
The objective of this coursework exercise is to consolidate the lecture material that you have
received to date.
Another important objective is to assist you in the development of transferable skills, such as report
writing, presentation of technical material and examination technique.

The assessment
The assessment consists of six questions where the majority of the material has been covered to
greater or lesser degrees during lectures. Answer all six questions. Whilst some questions are
straightforward, others are designed to test your comprehension beyond what has been explicitly
covered in the class. This means that, in order to answer these questions, you may have to carry
out your own additional research and study.

Submission
 You may submit either word processed or hand-written solutions.
 Your submission should be suitably bound and must include a cover sheet.
 When including your name on the coversheet, it must be presented in the order:
First Name Family Name
 If your solutions require graph paper, then it is your responsibility to provide this.
 Your solutions should resemble “specimen solutions” i.e. the type of solution that you may
expect to see in a textbook. Solutions must be clearly presented, legible and concise. You
should show all your mathematical working. Diagrams and graphs must be clear and contain
all the relevant information.

Your completed assessment must be submitted to the Resource Centre by 4pm on Friday 6
December 2019.
Q1 The circuit in Figure Q1 is a single-switch flyback converter.

Vin D1

i1 i2 Vout

T1

TR1

0V

Figure Q1

Q1a Sketch the currents i1 and i2 when the converter is operating in both the
continuous conduction mode and in the discontinuous conduction mode.
8%

Q1b Ideally the maximum voltage voff(max) that TR1 in Figure Q1 has to support
when it is in the off-state would be:

Explain why, in practice, a transient voltage exceeding this value will

normally appear across the switch TR1 when it turns off. Sketch Figure Q1
again, and include in your sketch circuitry that can be used to limit the
transient voltage across TR1. Briefly explain how the circuitry operates.
8%

Q2 Figure Q2 shows an experimental buck converter that has been assembled in

the laboratory. The choke L1 is not shown in the photograph, and is located
remotely from TR1 and D1 which are mounted on the heatsink as shown.

Figure Q2
 It is normally desirable to determine power losses in an experimental circuit
to compare them with the predicted values calculated during the initial design
phase.

Apart from losses in the choke, the key losses of interest here are:

 Overall power converter losses

 Conduction losses in TR1
 Conduction losses in D1
 Total switching losses in TR1; and ideally these would be apportioned
between
o Turn-on losses
o Turn-off losses

Describe in detail, using sketches as appropriate, the techniques you would

use to determine these losses in the laboratory. In your answer, you should
discuss the equipment you would use and what the challenges and limitations
of the respective techniques are.
24%

Q3 Four power semiconductor devices forming a power converter are mounted

onto a heatsink. Each device dissipates 5 W when the converter is running.
The heatsink has a thermal resistance of 2.7°C/W and a thermal capacitance
of 240 J/°C. The ambient temperature is 40°C.

Sketch a clearly-labelled thermal circuit for this arrangement. If the power

converter has been running for a long time and is then de-energised, calculate
how long it will take after de-energisation for the heatsink’s temperature to
fall to 55°C.
15%

Q4 The buck converter in Figure Q4 has an input voltage Vin of 36 V and

supplies 25 W at an output voltage Vout of 12 V. The PWM frequency at
which TR1 switches is 120 kHz. The inductance of the choke L1 is to be set
such that the peak-to-peak ripple current in it is 20% of its average current.

Vin

TR1

L1

D1 Vout

0V
Figure Q4
 Q4a Calculate the required inductance of the choke if the ripple current is to meet
the specified value.
3%

Q4b A core configuration using ETD29 ferrite core halves in 3C90 material is
being considered as potentially suitable for the choke design. Data are given
in Table Q4.

Table Q4
Effective area of magnetic path Ae (mm2) 76
Effective length of magnetic path le (mm) 72
Winding area presented by coil former AN (mm2) 95
Winding fill factor kCu (-) 0.3
Maximum allowable flux density in core material
(This is estimated from manufacturer’s graphical Bmax (mT) 280
data with an appropriate overhead margin included.)

If the choke is to exhibit the required inductance, and the flux density in the
core material is not to exceed Bmax, calculate

 the number of turns required,

 the effective permeability that the magnetic circuit formed by the
gapped core-halves should present,
 the current density in the winding (in A/mm2 in the copper). For this
calculation the ripple current can be neglected and the rms value can
be assumed to be the same as the average value.
15%

Q5 Figure Q5 shows a power factor correction circuit formed with a diode

bridge rectifier and a boost converter. The input voltage vin is obtained from a
230-V single-phase mains supply.

iL1

L1 D5
D1 D3

vin +
Vout
Cout
D2 D4

TR1

Figure Q5

Q5a If the output voltage Vout is 400 V, then calculate the duty factor at which TR1
will be operating at the moment when vin is at the peak value in its cycle.
4%
 Q5b Describe a problem that might arise if the circuit shown in Figure Q5 is
simply plugged directly into a 230-V mains supply. Describe two techniques
using ancillary circuitry that are included in commercial power converters to
address this problem. Use sketches in your answer as appropriate.
8%

Q6 The machine in Figure Q6 Part 1 is acting as a motor and draws a current of

25 A. VSUPPLY is 300 V and the back emf E of the machine is 180 V. The
machine is driven by the power converter shown which uses IGBTs and fast-
recovery silicon diodes as the power devices. The converter’s switching
frequency is 10 kHz.

TR1
D1

VSUPPLY

TR2
Machine
D2

0V
Figure Q6 Part 1

Data for the IGBTs when in forward conduction are:

 Von = 2.1 V,
 Ron = 10 mΩ,
and Figure Q6 Part 2 shows idealised curves for the turn-on loss Eon and
turn-off loss Eoff of the IGBT plotted against the collector current when
switching a voltage of 400 V.

Eon and Eoff (both in mJ) plotted against

IGBT's collector current (A)
3.5
3
2.5
Eon
2
1.5
Eoff
1
0.5
0
0 10 20 30 40 50

Figure Q6 Part 2
Data for the diodes when in forward conduction are:
 Von = 1.2 V,
 Ron = 12 mΩ.

Calculate the total losses in the power converter. (Assume that the ripple
component in the current drawn by the machine is negligible.)
15%