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POWER ELECTRONICS

INTRODUCTION

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WHAT IS POWER ELECTRONICS?

CONVERSION AND CONTROL OF ELECTRICAL POWER

BY
POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES

MODES OF CONVERSION

• RECTIFICATION: AC – to – DC

• INVERSION: DC – to – AC

• CYCLOCONVERSION: AC – to – AC (Frequency Changer)

• AC CONTROL: AC – to – AC (Same frequency)

• DC CONTROL: DC – to - DC

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WHY POWER ELECTRONICS IS IMPORTANT?

•Electrical Power Conversion and Control at high efficiency

• Apparatus at Low Cost, Small Size, High Reliability and Long Life

• Very important element in Modern Electrical Power Processing and Industrial

Process Control

• Enabling Technology for Renewable Energy (Wind, Photovoltaic And Fuel Cells)
and Transportation Electrification (Electric and hybrid vehicles)

• Increasing Emphasis Of Energy Saving And Pollution Control By Power Electronics

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ROLE OF POWER ELECTRONICS

Power electronics interface between the source and the load

The power electronics interface facilitates the transfer of power from the
source to the load by converting voltages and currents from one form to
another, in which it is possible for the source and load to reverse roles. The
controller shown in the above figure allows management of the power
transfer process in which the conversion of voltages and currents should be
achieved with as high energy-efficiency and high power density as possible.

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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Applications of Power Electronics

• TRANSPORTATION – EV/HV, SUBWAY, LOCOMOTIVES, ELEVATORS

• HOME APPLIANCES – BLENDER, MIXER, DRILL, WASHING MACHINE

• PAPER AND TEXTILE MILLS

• WIND POWER GENERATION

• AIR CONDITIONERS AND HEAT PUMPS

• ROLLING AND CEMENT MILLS

• MACHINE TOOLS AND ROBOTICS

• PUMPS AND COMPRESSORS

• SHIP PROPULSION

• COMPUTERS AND PERIPHERALS

• SOLID STATE STARTER FOR MACHINES

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POWER ELECTRONICS IN ENERGY SAVING

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• CONTROL OF POWER BY ELECTRONIC SWITCHING IS MORE EFFICIENT

THAN OLD RHEOSTATIC CONTROL

• ROUGHLY 60% - 65% OF GENERATED ENERGY IS CONSUMED IN

ELECTRICAL MACHINES – MAINLY PUMPS AND FANS

• VARIABLE SPEED FULL THROTTLE FLOW CONTROL CAN IMPROVE

EFFICIENCY BY 30% AT LIGHT LOAD

• LIGHT LOAD REDUCED FLUX MACHINE OPERATION CAN FURTHER

IMPROVE EFFICIENCY

• VARIABLE SPEED AIR-CONDITIONER/HEAT PUMP CAN SAVE ENERGY BY

30%

• 20% OF GENERATED ENERGY IS USED IN LIGHTING

• HIGH FREQUENCY FLUORESCENT LAMPS ARE 2-3 TIMES MORE

EFFICIENT THAN INCANDESCENT LAMPS

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ENERGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT: THE PERCENTAGE ENERGY
CONSUMPTION

Percentage use of electricity in various sectors in the U.S.

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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ROLE OF ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVES IN PUMP-DRIVEN
SYSTEMS

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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TRANSPORTATION

Hybrid electric vehicles with much higher gas mileage

• Hybrid electric vehicles with much higher gas mileage

• Light rail, fly-by-wire planes

• All-electric ships

• Drive-by-wire automobiles
©Ned Mohan, 2005

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WIND-ELECTRIC SYSTEMS

Wind-electric systems

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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©Ned Mohan, 2005

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UNINTERRUPTIBLE POWER SUPPLIES

Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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INDUCTION HEATING

Power electronics interface required for induction heating

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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COMPACT FLUORESCENT LAMPS

Power electronics interface required for CFL

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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POWERING THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Regulated low-voltage dc power supplies

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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 BOOST CONVERTER 17

Boost dc-dc converter needed in the cell operated equipment

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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ADJUSTABLE SPEED DRIVES

Block diagram of adjustable speed drives

©Ned Mohan, 2005

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SUMMARIZING THE ROLE OF POWER ELECTRONICS

Block diagram of power electronic interface

©Ned Mohan, 2005

The University of Texas at Dallas www.utdallas.edu

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POWER CONVERTER SYSTEM

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SMART POWER SYSTEMS

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FIVE GENERATIONS OF SOLID STATE POWER ELECTRONICS
• FIRST GENERATION (1958 ~ 1975) (Thyristor Era)
• Diode
• Thyristor
• Triac
• SECOND GENERATION (1975 ~ 1985)
• Power BJT
• Power MOSFET
• GTO
• Microprocessor
• ASIC
• PIC
• Advanced Control
• THIRD GENERATION (1985 ~ 1995)
• IGBT
• Intelligent Power Modules (IPM)
• DSPs
• Advanced Control
• FOURTH GENERATION (1995 ~ 2006 )
• IGCT
• Cool MOS
• PEBB
• Sensorless Control
• AI Techniques
• Fuzzy Logic, Neural Network, Genetic Algorithm
• FIFTH GENERATION (2006 ~ )
• SIC and GAN based devices
• FPGA Control
• High density packaging

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RECENT AND POTENTIAL ADVANCEMENTS

• Devices that can handle voltages in kVs and currents in kAs

•ASICs

•DSPs

•Micro-controllers

•FPGA

•Integrated and intelligent power modules

•Packaging

•SiC-based solid-state devices

•High energy density capacitors

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Power Converters

Power Module

A small Drive unit

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 Tesla Electric Roadster

1. Electric Motor
2. Transmission
3. Power Electronics Unit
4. Battery Pack
5. Body and Frame

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Chevrolet VOLT Concept (PHEV)
• Global Compact Vehicle Based
• Electric Drive Motor
– 120 kW peak power
– 320 Nm peak torque
(236 lb‐ft)
• Li‐ion Battery Pack
– 136 kW peak power
– 16 kWh energy content
– Home plug‐in charging
• Generator
– 53 kW
• Internal Combustion Engine
– 1.0L 3‐cylinder turbo

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 • Several control strategies are studied to obtain high efficiency
• Low inductance packaging, EMI mitigation, thermal design are
very critical
•Stability of the system, dynamic response, and avoiding
torsional resonance are key part of the system design
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N3‐X Concept Description NASA
• TeDP-HWB: Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion– Hybrid Wing Body
• Decoupled propulsive producing device from power producing device
• Two wingtip mounted turboshaft engines driving superconducting generators
• Two large engine cores and multiple motor-driven fans give very high effective BPR
• Superconducting electrical transmissions
• Fifteen superconducting motor driven propulsors embedded in fuselage
• Two cooling schemes, cryo-cooled and LH2-cooled
• Large electrical power off-take for in-flight and ground use
• Easy to add other electric power source such as fuel cell, battery, etc

Wing-tip mounted
superconducting
turbogenerators

Superconducting-motor-driven
fans in a continuous nacelle

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 Electric Taxiing and  DARPA Transformer Vehicle

Electric Taxiing

Integrated electric motors in the

aircraft nose wheels offer full
mobility without the use of
turbines or tugs.
Allows safer, cost-effective,
more efficient operations
Enables the redesign of airport
airside operation

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Bombardier ZEFIRO Very High Speed Trains 34

The ZEFIRO is the latest class of

very high speed (VHS) trains from
Bombardier. It is one of the fastest
sleeper trains in the world and is
currently being operated in China.
Operating speed of 250kmph to
380kmph

• The ZEFIRO features sustainable technologies and an aerodynamic design that

generates 20% energy savings. It requires the lowest energy consumption per
seat in its segment. It also offers the highest service speed among the ZEFIRO
class of trains
• Power:
– . Voltage/frequency nom.: 25 kV-50 Hz; min. 17.5 kV; Max 30 kV,
– Asynchronous motors, forced cooling
– Distributed drives
– 20 MW (16 cars, 380 kph)
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 A Notional System for All Electric Ship
Motor Propulsion
LV AC
Gen. AC/AC
Distribution
SMES
EMALS AESS
SMES AC/AC
PCS

AC/DC
DC Distribution
DC/AC

Gen. ASD ASD

MV AC Active
Active
Filter
Distribution Filter

• Most (all) sources and loads interfaced through power

electronics converters
• Architecture and control for high density and efficiency
• System controllability and stability
• Reliability and availability
• Other performance requirements (PQ, EMI,…)
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Power Electronics is the enabling Technology for 
Transportation Electrification
POWER GENERATION /
UTILIZATION
POWER
ELECTRONICS
(Si, SiC, FUTURE)
Motor technologies
Semiconductor PM
switches SR
Capacitors Induction
Circuitry Starter/
• Other Generators
Components Fuel cells
Electric
ENERGY STORAGE actuation
•Batteries
Maintainance
Free POWER DISTRIBUTION /
Lithium ion SYSTEM INTEGRATION

Ultracaps AC or DC Dist.
Voltage levels,
frequency
Stability
THERMAL EMI
MANAGEMENT
Modeling
Natural or liquid Controllers
Spray cooling Hardware
Heat sinks

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SUMMARY

• POWER ELECTRONICS USES LOW POWER ELECTRONICS (IC’s),

CONTROL AND SWITCHING POWER DEVICES FOR POWER CONVERTER
AND/OR PROCESSING FROM ONE FORM TO ANOTHER.

• THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE POWER DEVICES PLAY A MAJOR

ROLE IN THE SPEED AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE POWER
CONVERSION.

• POWER ELECTRONICS ENABLES THE ENERGY EFFICIENCY IN ALL

POWER CONVERSION SYSTEMS.

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BOOKS IN POWER ELECTRONICS

•Rashid, Muhammad H., Power Electronics, Circuits, Devices and Applications, 3rd ed,
Pearson Education, 2003. (also Prentice Hall lists under same ISBN)

•B.K. Bose, “ Power Electronics and Motor Drives,” Elsevier, 2006

•N. Mohan, T. Undeland, and W. Robbins, “Power Electronics: Converters, Applications,

and Design,” John Wiley & Sons, 2003

• Robert Erickson, “ Fundamentals of power electronics,” Springer Science, 2001

The University of Texas at Dallas www.utdallas.edu