Topologies for Uninterruptible Power Supplies

R Krishnan and S. Sriniwan

Ahtract
The Bradley Department of Electrical Engineering
Va.Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA.
e- mail : KRAMU@vtvml.vt.cc.edu
Ph: (703 - 231 - 4311 ) Fax : ( 703 - 231 - 3362)
Tbip paper reviews the development of
Uninterruptible Power Supply (hereafter referred
to PI UP8 ) over the years from one with a E R
front end charger with isolation at h e frequency
to one with a sinuaoidd current input c-r
with isolation at high frequenay (h.f.). Thip paper is
concerned with the developments in the single
phase low power (less than 1 kVA) UPS topologies.
Each scheme hi analyzed briefly and its principal
merits and demerits are identified.
1. Introduction
UPS systems are intended to improve the quality of
ac power in order to provide continuos operation of
ac powered equipments[l]. To accomplish these
functions a UPS takes in utility ac input and
improves the power quality through power
processing. It also provides a redundant (Back-up)
power source so that the load will beinterfaced to
the utility directly in the case of failure of any
subsystem. Power quality defects which may be
improved by the UPS include surges, noise, sags and
harmonics. A block diagram of the general UPS is
shown in Figure 1.
t
Figure 1 : Block Diagram of a general UPS
The most recent developments having a profound
effect on the configuration of UPS topologies include
High frequency switching to minimize filter size.
New semiconductor power devices resulting
in a dramatic increase in the UPS power
output.
* Digital techniques with microprocessors and
DSPs to implement complex control algorithms.
Some of the desirable features of an UPS are :
Sinusoidal input current drawn fi" the utility
mrrine.
Sinusoidal output voltage regardless of the load.
Isolation at low weight and cost.
High efficiency and hence minimum power
conversion stages.
High reliability.
Acceptance of wide variation of the input voltage
with no variation of output voltage.
No single topology satisfies al l these requirements
simultaneously. Every topology tries to optimize one
or many of the desirable features giving ri se to a
wide variety of UPS configurations. The choice of a
particular topology depends on the application and
selective optimization of the desired features. This
paper discusses the various UPS topologies from thi s
view-point.
The UPS is classified depending on the power flow
path chosen. If the primary power flow is through
the surge suppressor and filter to the load when the
ac input is healthy, and through the battery and
inverter to the load when the ac input fails, then it is
a standby UPS system. If the primary power flow is
through the charger, battery, inverter and load
when the ac input is healthy then it is an on-line
UPS system. The path through surge suppressor,
filter and transfer switch is resorted to, when the
other path is out-of-operation due to failure or for
maintenance. The classification of UPS topologies is
shown in Figure 2.
The paper is organized as follows. Section 2 contains
standby off-line topologies. Section 3 contains on-
line UPS topologies. Line-interactive UPS topologies
are described in Section 4. Conclusions are
summarized inSection5.
2. Standby UPS characteristics
A block diagram of this configuration is shown in
Figure 1. In the standby mode the charger size is
@7803-1227-9/93/$3.M)@ 1993 IEEE
1 22
a
small since it has to meet the power requirement of
charging the battery alone. Standby mode has a
transfer time associated with it during power
failure.
Ups Topologies
t I Standbyoffline
Offline
Online
r
- Onlinewithbackup
~ Online without backup
Online with Low Frequency
Isolation
Online with High Frequency
Isolation
t
Standby Online Hybrid Topology
-
Line Interactive
Figure 2 : Classification of UPS Topologies
2.1 Triport UPS
A block diagram of this configuration is shown in
Figure 3 with a special transformer arrangement
with three windings known as triport UPS. Triport
UPS is an example of standby ferro topology, which
furnishes power directly to the load from the
commercial ac line through the triport transformer
in the n o d condition. When the ac input fails
power is furnished by the battery through the
inverter. Triport topology uses the ferro resonant
technique, where the transformer is used as a
voltage regulator.
Figure 3 : Block Diagram of a Standby F em UPS
Advantages
Line conditioning is passive and the technique
is very robust.
During normal power conditions the converter
can be used in the rectifier mode to recharge t he
battery. This essentially gives rise to a
chargerless topology.
This technique has high efficiency and
reliability, as well as moderate cost.
. The transformer has a special capability @em
Resonant capability) which provides limited
regulation and output wave-form shaping.
Isolation is provided from the ac power
transients.
Disadvantages
The ferroresonant transformer tends to be fairly
heavy and of low efficiency.
A conventional triport topology tends to be off-
line and transition from ac to inverter can be a
problem under certain low line or high line
conditions.
Tbe quality of output wave form under non-
linear loads is generally poor.
2.2 Improvements in Triport Technology
The instability problem of almost periodic oscillation
in triport systems using the constant voltage
transformer (CVT) [2] has been addressed. A
stability problem exista at light load condition
requiring the use of a dummy load. Such a solution
tends to deteriorate the efficiency and result in a
temperature rise of the system. A stability
improvement technique by utilizing the active filter
as a feedback element is proposed. An improved
version of the triport is presented[3]. A tetra port
topology has been derived to correct ac output
distortion when the inverter fails. It uses two
parallel reversible inverters. This has the advantage
of redundancy in supplying energy to the load in
case of a network's failure. Another advantage is
the better waveform given by the inverters, which
allows no saturation in the transformer magnetic
core, and obtaining a high stability in the output
voltage.
3. On-Line UPS characteristics
A block diagram of this configuration is shown in
Figure 4. Thepower flow in an Ups of this type has
been explained in the introduction. The other
features of t hi s configuration are :
In case of power failure, there is no transfer
time associated with this configuration.
= The charger is much larger and of much higher
rating than a standby UPS, since it has to be
designed to meet the load requirements during
normal operation. This will ensure that the
battery will not be discharged when t he input
power is normal.
. The flow of power through the charger and
inverter during normal operation causes
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additional power loss and poorer efficiency
compamdtostandby UPS.
Power conditioning can be provided during
normal operation.
Schemes 1 to 10 diecussed below u88 a diode
rectifier bridge, most of themwithout i dati on at
line hquency. The manner in which the rectified
voltage is pmceecred to charge the battery and
maintain the input to the inverter leads to diffemnt
topologies.
3.3.1 Scheme 1
Scheme 1, &own in Figure 6, has the step down
chopper reducing the mctiied ac voltage to the level
of the batfay. Note that larger the difPerence
between them voltages, d e r will be the duty
cycle of the chopper which impoms a large output
filter requirement. The scheme has minimum
number of switches, lende itself to compact
packaging and has a 3 etage power proceasing with
the consequent advantage of high efficiency.
1mdOInWr
Figure6:Schemel
3.3.2 Scheme 2
Figure 4 : Block Diagram of a On-Line UPS
Scheme 2, shown in Figure 7, has an SCR chopper.
To reduce the filter size, the chopper is preceded by
a step down lransformer at the ac input. But this
ad& to the weight, vol- and coat of the s y h
input transformer fi .amenhanced harmonic 1-8.
3.1 On-line up8 with Bypass
This is an on-line UPS hawa transfer switch or
me~haniem amwciated with it 80 that the l ad Will
be fed by the a~ input diredly in the event of the
and redb in a low power-hdty packaging.
is poor due to the additional 1-8 in the
inverter/ charger failure.
3.2 On-Line UPS Without Bypass
A block diagram of this configuration is shown in
Figure 6.
.
In this topology, the general UPS is set to
operate in the on-line mode, but the entire back-
up path is removed.
Since there is no back-up power source or by-
paee, the UPS does not provide Back-up power
in the case of failure of any subsystem.
Redundancy, one of the most important
charactmistics of UPS is not achieved in this
typeof UPS.
.
Mnf RT
a4l l ERY H OC/K t----rI
C W R IMRl fR
Figure 6 : On-Line UPS wi tbut b y p a
3.3 On-line Ups with Low F'requency
Transformer Isolation
Tlk input power factor is also poor.
Figum7:Scheme2
3.3.3Scheme 3
A block diagram of this configuration is given in
Figure 8. The use of multi-phaae chopper reduces
the ripple and hence the capacitor rating. The input
p.f. is poor due to the use of a buck chopper to scale
down the rectified dc voltage.
Figure8:Scheme3
The topologies under thi s configuration have a 3.3.4sckme4
transformer isolation at the output which ia at low
and large in Size, -- the Weight and
volume of the UPS.
frequency* This haS the baWback Of
m e scheme, shown in F&ure 9, a boost chopper
in the hnt-end which is modulated to proGds a cine
input ac current and unity power factor. S i the
boost output voltage ie greater than the peak input
1 24
voltage , the inverter operates with this high voltage
with high efficiency and thus removes the drawback
of al l previous schemes. The low voltage battery is
charged through a buck converter. The boost
converter charges the dc link when the ac input
f ds. The buck converter requires a very small
rating whereas the boost requires a 1 p.u. rating.
Due to hf operation, the front-end converters lend
themselves to compact packaging. Isolation is
provided only at the output.
Figure 9 : Scheme 4
3.3.5 On-line UPS With a Reduced Number of
Switches
A new UPS topology is proposed [5] with single
stage power conversion and a reduction in the
number of active switches. A block diagram of the
topology is shown in Figure 10. When the input line
current is positive diode D5 conducts. During this
period turning on switches S1,S2 results in V,=O
and turning on S3,M cams Vx=Vb . The inductor
current thus keeps increasing and decreasing for
this switching sequence. Current feed-back helps to
keep the input current profile sinusoidal. The diodes
D5 and D6 cause the power flow from the supply to
be unidirectional. The circuit thus functions Like a
semi-controlled converter. The inverter is of a single
phase full bridge type. Turning on S1,S2 or S3, a
causes Vy=O. When S2$3 are on V -Vb and when
SI,= are on vy'-vb. Switches d& thus form
single phase inverter to supply the load. A current
regulator with load feed-forward is used to obtain
output voltage regulation in the presence of
nonlinear loads. The transformer tap is selected
such that under low-line conditions the inverter can
fully supply the load. The static switches bypass the
inverter and connect the load directly to the supply
in the bypass mode. The topology has many
desirable features like a common neutral between
input and output, sinusoidal input current
irrespective of the load current and battery
chargddischarge control without any additional
devices. However the main draw-back of t hi s
approach is that the battery has to be rated for the
peak input voltage V . Any effort to decrease the
battery voltage resurts in the necessity for an
additional device negating the advantage of a
reduced number of switches.
1
I 1 ... I I 1 I
Figure 10 : Circuit Schematic of the new converter
3.4 On-line Ups with High Frequency
Transformer Isolation
The topologies under this category have a high
frequency transformer link. The use of high
frequency transformer reduces the weight and
volume of the Ups significantly. The use of high
frequency FWM techniques reduces the size of the
filter required in the UPS additionally. Most of the
modern static UPS are in this category. The
following topologies use the above technology.
3.4.1 Scheme 6
The acheme 5, shown in Figure 11, has a high
frequency link for isolation, replacing the line
frequency isolation in Schemes 1 to 4. The battery ia
of low voltage type. The differential voltage between
the battery and boost output voltage is handled
through a buck converter stage, the rating of which
needs to be very 4.
Figure 11: Scheme 5
The boost chopper provides sine input current and
unity power factor as in Scheme 4. The same boost
chopper is used to charge the dc link from the
battery when the input fails. The efficiency of the
systam may not be high during this mode. But
during normal operation, it will be high since only
four power processing stages are involved and that
too at high voltages. The hf transformer reduces
the packaging size and cost.
3.4.2 Scheme 6
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A UPS wing a variation dt$e above topohgy, is
shown m 12 [4]. "he charger cont&da of a
isolated dc-dc awitch mode converter using a full
bridge transislm circuit and a hf transformer. By
SUitaMe ccmtrol of t he gata signals to the bridge
circuit, the input mnmnt is forced to maintain a
This impmystha input p o w factor of the circuit
to near e. The output dc link voltage is
mainhind constant by voltage feedback thereby
charsingtbe bathry.
Ei nddal protite m phee wi t h the input voltage.
Figure12: schsme6
Theinverter is of high voltage full bridge type with a
Lx: output tilter. Output voltage feedback keeps the
wad- di ddl al * b e even for non-linear loads.
The UPS baamany deejrable &aracbWcs such as
high input p"-factor, high efPiciency, small size
and good trcl l rrri rwt reep~nfre. The draw-back of this
lacheme is that ths battery I6 ofhigh voltage type.
3.4.3 Scheme 7
The Scheme 7, shown in Figure 13 has a chopper at
the input to match the required output voltage to
tbe battery volttaget. The battery voltage is then
stepped up to high voltage through a high frequency
inverterand--.
FA-
F'igure 13 : Scheme 7
Thehf link ia the stage of bolation. The output
inverter operaters with a high input voltage and high
efficiency. The disadvantage of this scheme is that it
requires 5 stages of power processing.
3.4.4 Scheme8
T6e Scheme 8 shown in Figure 14, has isolation at
boththe bathery input and output, at high and line
kquency, respectively. Thie is achieved by
removing the chopper and comb- the buck and
hf link function in the hf i ndr stage with the hf
tr" er. The dieadvantage of thi s scheme is that
the output inverter has a low voltage input and
hence t he aystem efficiency is not high.
Figure14:Scheme8
3.4.6 Scheme9
The Scheme 9, shown in Figure 16, has aboost and
buck converter with hf isolation stage. The booet
stage provides a eine input current at unity power
factor. The buck stage matches the syetam voltage to
that of the battery. This Still has the drawback of
the output inverter operating at low battery voltage.
Figure 15 : scheme 9
3.4.6 Scheme10
The scheme 10 shown in Figure 16, d i s the
desirable features of Scheme 8 and Scheme 4. Here
sine input current, unity power factar and operation
of output inverter at high voltage are obtained.
Figure 16 : Scheme 10
The battery is interfaced wi t h a buck and booet
converter for charging and discharging reqmctively.
The isolation is at hf lea- to compact. packaging.
3.5. Standby On-Line Hybrid Topology
A block diagram of this configuration is shown in
Figure 17. The load is fed by the filte#iiverhr
combination when the power is normal.
Consequently the size and rating of the battery
charger is small. I t thus has the advantage of
standby UPS topologies. In case of ac power
failure, the load is fed by the battery. The standby
Wdc converter is switched on during the power
failure. I t is used to d e the battery voltage. This
topology does not exhibit a transfer time during
power failure. I t thus has the advantage of on-line
UPS topoloees also. There is no backup power
provided in the cane of the failure of any subsystem.
126
Figure 17 : Hybrid Standby On-line Topology
4 . Line Interactive UPS
A block diagram of this configuration is shown in
Figure 18a. Configuration of the cycloconverter is
shown in Figure 18b [SI. In this hybrid design the
battery and bidirectional cycloconverter are always
connected to the output of the UPS.
tine hl errupkr
J
l npl l Ac 7
Bi - Di ec t i i ol
Cyrkmverln
V b =
Figure 18a: Block Diagram of a Line
Interactive UPS
Figure 18b : Configuration of Bidirectional
c ycloconverter
Battery charging is provided by operating the
converter in the rectification mode during times of
normal ac input power. In this mode no power
conditioning is provided since the load is connected
to the ac input directly. When power fails, the
transfer switch opens and power flows from the
battery to the load. The fact that the inverter is
always operational provides better control of
switching transients compared to a stand-by UPS.
Battery isolation is provided with a hf transformer
in the bidirectional cycloconverter.
impact on the perfo"e,size,cost, isolation, and
other aspects. Further research and emerging power
devices will result in better topologies thus enriching
the UPS system practice.
6. References
American Power Conversion Technical notes,
1991American Power Conversion Corp,J an 20
1992.
Harada.K.; Ji, Y.; Katayama.Y.; Chen.C. J.;
Nakamizo.T.,"Stability improvement of
constant voltage transformer for Triport UPS
Murata.K., Harada.K., "An improved AC
Triport without transients in the output
voltage",INTELEC'83, p 558-562, Oct.,1983.
Hirachi.K.; Ya"0to.H.; Sakane.M.;
T0mokuni.Y. ; Nagai.Y.," A novel 3-kVA Ups
using a switch mode rectiier",
Divan,D.M.,"New topology for single phase
Ups systems", IEEE Industry Applicatiod
24th IAS Annual Meeting, part-1, p931-936,
Oct., 1989.
Tadahito Aoki, Katauichi Yotaunoto, Seichi
Mmyama, Yoshitaka Kemnochi,"A new UPS
with a bi-directional cycloconverter",
systems", INTELEC'88, p536-!341., Oct., 1988.
INTELEC'90,p392-399,Oct., 1990.
INTELEC'W,&24-429,Oct., 1990.
7. Acknowledgment
Prof.RKrishnan thanks Mr.RChellapan, Chief
Executive Officer, Numeric Engineers, Mylapore,
Madras-4, India, for introducing to hi mthe basics,
practice and challenges of UPS systems, both small
and large.
8 . Intellectual Property
Some schemes, particularly 4, 5 and 10 with
modifications are under disclosure.
5 . Conclusions
The UPS technology trend is tracked in this paper
with respect to topological developments and their
127