A BUCK AND BOOST DIDACTIC PLANT WITH ELECTRO-MECHANICAL SELECTION OF THE OPERATION MODE

Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence, Power Electronics Federal University of Mato Grosso do Sul. 2 Laboratory of Power Electronics COPPE Federal University of Rio de Janerio. 3 Power Electronics Group Electric & Electronic Research Center of Per. yuri.ajala@hotmail.com, raissacafure@hotmail.com, rcorderog@gmail.com, jpinto@ieee.org, walter@coe.ufrj.br Abstract This paper presents the design of a simple and useful prototype plant to do experimental tests about DC-DC buck and boost converters for educative purposes, without needing manual reconnections, reducing considerably the implementation of the didactic setup and risks of electrical accidents. The circuit controls uses DPDT relays which makes an internal reconnection of the prototypes components, changing from buck to boost operation mode and vice versa. The relays have been connected in order to use one MOSFET for buck or boost configuration, reducing the cost of the power circuits, by the reduction of power transistors and opto-drivers. Simulation and experimental results shows the simplicity and utility of this didactic prototype. Keywords Boost converter, Buck converter, didactic plant, education in power electronics. I. INTRODUCTION Power electronics play an important role in our world: AC generation, transmission, distribution, variable frequency drives, etc. Therefore, it is important to create practical, flexible and interactive tools in order to arouse undergraduate students interest and a complete understanding in these subjects. Computer-based systems are an efficient and very important tool in the learning of power electronics, but not always they can by alone provide students the opportunity to operate a real-time system and acquire practical knowledge [1]. On the other hand, it is important to point out that the practical activities without an extensive training may lead the students to electrical accidents in lab and damages in the equipments due to misuse [2]. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the computer simulation experience with a safe and careful practice in order to get a complete learning. The importance of efficient power supplies such as switching regulators is undeniable, once modern electronic systems require reliability, smallness and high speed response. That is why DC-DC converters are a major topic in a power electronics course [3]. However, building a switching converter in lab classes takes too long, is laborious and can be expensive. Then, it is very common that students use a simulation tool like MATLAB/SIMULINK to create and operate a switching system [4]. Professors who want to go further sometimes use a didactic plant consisting of an inductor, a capacitor, a diode, a switch (e.g. MOSFET), a resistive load a set of wires. With that, students can combine the elements in order to design a boost or a buck. This is the opportunity for students to compare the simulation with the experiment, learning the measurements, controlling the plant and acquiring practical experience. Nevertheless, using wires can be confusing: students may misconnect elements, causing accidents or damaging the system. Also, small vibrations on the wires may cause ripples and noise when measuring. This paper proposes the use of a printed circuit board containing the necessary elements to build a buck or a boost converter. Unlike a buck-boost converter, this system does not cause an output voltage inversion. Besides, a full-range duty cycle can be used for a boost and for a buck. The elements are connected in a manner that, with a commutating signal, the system parts are organized to operate either as boost or as buck. This project will allow the student to learn how to operate and control the features of a buck and a boost plants. It is also a low-cost plant because both buck and boost converters can be done using the same electrical elements. II. THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS A. DPDT Relay A DPDT (double-pole double-throw) relay has two sets of normally-open and normally-closed contacts (An and Bn respectively) with a common terminal (Cn), as illustrated in Fig. 1.When the internal coil of the relay is excited, both sets of ports changes its states at the same time [5].
1

Y. A. da Costa1, R. G. Cafure1, R. C. Garca2,3, J. O. P. Pinto1, W. I. Suemitsu2

Fig. 1. Schematic of a DPDT relay.

B. MOSFET with Anti-Parallel Diode MOSFET (metaloxidesemiconductor field-effect transistor) is a well-known power switch used in DC-DC converters because it can operate in high frequencies (up to 100 kHz) [6]. In many practical applications, a MOSFET has a reverse-biased diode, as shown in Fig. 2, to avoid a current flow from the source to the gate terminal of the MOSFET.

Fig. 2. Symbol of a MOSFET with a reverse-biased diode.

C. Buck Converter A buck converter is a DC to DC step-down switching converter. It consists of a switch, an inductor, a diode, and a capacitor in parallel to the load (Fig. 3). In contrast to a linear regulator, which bleeds the excess power in form of heat, the buck converter stores the excess energy into an inductor and then discharges it over the load. This charge-discharge cycle, working at high frequencies (about kHz), provides a high efficiency step-down process, because it reuses the stored energy instead of dissipating it [3]. In steady-state condition, the output voltage depends on the input voltage and the fraction of the switching period when the power transistor is switched on (duty cycle D): Vout =D (1) Vin

necessary to rearrange the MOSFET, the inductor and the diode. This paper proposes a didactic plant which can operate either as a buck converter or a boost converter, according to a control signal. The circuit consists of an inductor (L), one MOSFET (T1), two DPDT relays (R1 to R4) and two R-C circuits, as illustrated in Fig. 5. For didactic reasons, the relays are represented as 4 single-pole relays in Fig 5, Fig. 6 and Fig. 7. The R-C circuits (with C1-Rboost and C2-Rbuck) allow, in general, the use of different values of resistors and capacitor in buck or boost mode. A HCPL3180 is an opto-driver used to control the switching state of the MOSFET. A npn bjt transistor is also used as a digital buffer to the control signals. Connectors are located in series to the inductance and in parallel to the resistors, in order to connect current and voltage sensors.

Fig. 3. Schematic of a buck converter.

D. Boost Converter A boost converter is a DC to DC step-up switching converter. It has the same components of a buck converter, as shown in Figure 4. As soon as stacking batteries in series to achieve a specific voltage can be expensive and may demand a large storage space, a boost converter can elevate an input voltage conserving the power, what means that the output current must be lower than the source one [3].
Fig. 5. Schematic of the proposed circuit.

B. Buck Operation Mode Fig. 6 shows the proposed circuit in buck configuration. Cn is connected to An (normally-closed port), connecting the voltage source (Vin) to the drain of T1. Its source is connected to D2 and the inductance.
Fig. 4. Schematic of a boost converter.

During the on-state, the voltage source charges the inductor and the current through it rises linearly. Meanwhile, the capacitor is partially discharged over the load (the diode prevents a short circuit to happen), maintaining a level of voltage and reducing the ripple. In steady-state conditions, the output voltage can be estimated using (2): Vout 1 = (2) Vin 1 D

III. PROPOSED CIRCUIT A. General Scheme According to Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the main difference between a buck converter and a boost converter is the connection between its components. As the capacitor is always connected in parallel with the load, it is only

Fig. 6. Circuit connections when operating in buck mode.

C. Boost Operation Mode When the DPDT relays are activated, each one of the common terminals Cn are connected to Bn (normally open), and the prototype becomes a boost converter, as shown in Fig. 7. The inductance is connected to the voltage source and to the drain of T1. The diode D1, a capacitance C1 and the load Rboost completes the circuit In this case, Rbuck is isolated (of) from the circuit. (, due to) Otherwise, its low value would demand a high current to the DC voltage source.

Fig. 8. Output voltage level in buck mode.

Fig. 7. Circuit connections when operating in boost mode.

IV. SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS Simulation tests were done in MATLAB/SIMULINK. During the simulation, the following parameters were considered: VDC = 9 V L = 600H C1 = C2 = 100F Rc = 1,3 k Rb = 3,3 k Rbuck = 25 Rboost = 270 Rg = 47 Switching frequency: 20 kHz Fig. 8, Fig. 9, Fig. 10, Fig. 11, and Table II show the simulation results for the two operation modes. In all cases, the induction current is greater than zero. As result, the proposed circuit always operates in continuous mode, and it can be used for didactic experimental tests of buck and boost converters.
Fig. 10. Output voltage level in boost mode.

Fig. 9. Current through the inductor in buck mode.

In the experimental tests, the input voltage was 12 V. The tests were done using as a load fixed resistors of Rboost= 270 and Rbuck= 15 . These resistors could assure the operation in continuous mode for duty cycles between 20% and 80%. The power switch used was a MOSFET APT5010B2VR, the diodes were the type 1N4007, the capacitors were of 100F and an inductor of 0.8mH. The switching frequency was 20 KHz. Fig. 12 to Fig. 18 expose the experimental results.

Fig. 11. Current through the inductor in boost mode.

According to (1) and (2) the theoretical output voltages for buck and boost operation modes are 4.5 V an 18 V respectively. On the other hand, the average output voltages of the simulation test are 4.196 V and 17,323 V. These differences are generated principally by the forward drop voltage of the diodes.
TABLE II Simulation Statistics
Buck Mode Output Inductor Voltage Current (V) (A) 7.713 1.838 0.0500 4.200 4.196 4.191 0.03 0.260 0.168 0.061 Boost Mode Output Inductor Voltage Current (V) (A) 29.735 7.532 0.0500 17.404 17.323 17.231 0.03 1.572 1.383 1.202

Fig. 13. Boost operation mode behavior at 50% duty cycle.

Transient highest value Settling Time (approx.) Highest value Steady Average State value Lowest value

Fig. 13 shows the behavior of the output voltage and inductor current in Boost operation mode with a duty cycle of 50%. The expected output was 24V and the results brought an average of 23.75V. It is important to notice that the voltage peaks due to the switching were only around 150mV. This way, the system did not require a snubber capacitance.

Fig. 12 shows the didactic Buck-or-Boost prototype circuit.

Fig. 14. Continuous mode is kept in Boost operation.

Fig. 12. Didactic prototype.

Experimental test was done using the passive components, the power switches and the drivers for boost mode. The duty cycle was generated by DSP DSPACE DS1104.

Fig. 14 above shows the output voltage and the inductor current in Boost mode with a duty cycle of 20% and 80%. This graph shows that the system never goes to discontinuous conduction mode, i.e. the inductor current never falls to zero.

Fig. 17 above shows the output voltage and the inductor current in Buck mode with a duty cycle of 20% and 80%. This graph shows that, as well as the Boost system, this one never goes to discontinuous conduction mode.

Fig. 15. Experimental results and expected results.

Expected results shown in Fig. 15 were calculated using equation (2). In comparison, the circuits curve practically followed the expectations in its totality. The average error was around 0.43 V, which is close to the drop voltage of the switch and diodes (around 0.6V)

Fig. 18. Experimental results and expected results.

Expected results shown in Fig. 15 were calculated using equation (1). In comparison, the circuits curve practically followed the expectations in its totality. The average error was around 0.59 V, which is close to the drop voltage of the switch and diodes (around 0.6V). In Fig. 15 the scale is smaller, what makes the error is more evident. V. CONCLUSION The importance of this work is to provide the students a practical experience about DC-DC converters. Moreover, it provides a controlled experiment that will not demand the time needed to build a converter nor the risk of accidents that a plant with movable parts may bring. A set of different experiments based on controlling and measuring can be easily developed with a didactic plant. On the other hand, building one multi-propose system is also less expensive than developing many only-propose different systems. Future works are proposed to develop a closed loop control with an adjustable controller to assure a safe operation in continuous and discontinuous conduction mode and allowing the analysis of dynamic situations, changing the resistance load in steps. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Authors want to thank BATLAB Laboratory-UFMS for the technical support to this research. REFERENCES [1] S. Tuncer, Y. Tatar, H., Gldemir, Design and implementation of an integrated environment for realtime control of power electronic systems, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, pp. 119130, 2009.

Fig. 16. Buck operation mode behavior at 50% duty cycle.

Fig. 16 shows the behavior of the output voltage and inductor current in Boost operation mode with a duty cycle of 50%. The expected output was 6V and the results brought an average of 5.46V. It is important to notice that the voltage peaks due to the switching were only around 100mV.

Fig. 17. Continuous mode is kept in Boost operation.

[2] C. Elmas, Y. Snmez, An educational tool for power electronics circuits, Computer Applications in Engineering Education, pp. 157165, 2010. [3] M. H. Rashid, Power Electronics Handbook, Academic Press, San Diego, California, 2001, pp. 211-224. [4] R.A. Kordkheili, M. Yazdani-Asrami, A.M. Sayidi, Making DC-DC converters easy to understand for undergraduate students, 2010 IEEE Conference on Open Systems (ICOS), pp. 28-33, 2010. [5] V. Gurevich, Electric relays: principles and applications, Taylor & Francis Group - LLC, 2005, pp. 21-42, 2005. [6] A. Ahmed, Eletrnica de Potncia, Prentice Hall, pp. 71-82, So Paulo, 2000. [7] P. Midya, K. Haddad, M. Miller, "Buck or boost tracking power converter," Power Electronics Letters, IEEE, vol.2, no.4, pp. 131- 134, 2004.