CompactDC/ACPowerInverter

InspiredbytheGoogle/IEEELittleBoxChallenge

ECE480TeamSeven

PhilipBeard
JacobBrettrager
JackGrundemann
StanleyKaras
TravisMeade

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ExecutiveSummary:

Astheworldcontinuesfurtherintothe21stcentury,aneedforcleanandrenewable
energyismakingitselfapparenttheglobalenergyportfolioiscallingformoreenergyandfrom
sourcesthatemitfewergreenhousegasemissions.Withtheimplementationofsolarpanels,
formidabledirectcurrent(DC)voltagescanbecreatedwithlittlenegativeimpactonthe
environment.Thevoltagefromthesepanelscanbeusedtochargebatteries,buttheirusefulness
greatlyexpandswheninvertedtoalternatingcurrent(AC).Fromhere,itcanbeusedtopowera
largenumberofdevicesorputbackontothegridtobeusedbyothers.

GroupSevenhasbeentaskedwithcreatingacompactpowerinvertertodojustthat.The
projectisinspiredbyTheLittleBoxChallenge,acontestcreatedbyGoogleandIEEE.The
grouphasmodifiedthedesignconstraintsslightlyduetolimitedtimeandresources,yetmuchof
thetheoryandchallengeremain.

Theteamhasbeensuccessfulindesigningthecircuitarchitecture,controlling
mechanism,printedcircuitboarddesignandlayout,enclosure,filteringtechniques,andheat
dissipation.Anindustrystandard60Hz,120Vrmssinewavehasbeenproducedandusedto
powerdevices,andalargeamountoftestinghasbeenperformedallpartsfitintoanenclosure
onlyslightlylargerthanthecontestoutlined40cubicinches.

Acknowledgments:

Thisprojecthasbeenatremendousundertakingthathaschallengedeachgroupmember.
Teamsevenwouldliketothankthefollowingindividualsfortheircontributionstotheprogress
ofthecompactpowerinverterproject:

ProfessorAviyente-ProfessorSelinAviyente,groupfacilitator,hasassistedthegroupin
presentationpreparation,documentationpreparation,andtimelinemanagement.She
madevaluablesuggestionsthathelpedkeepthegrouponschedule.
ProfessorGrotjohn-ProfessorTimothyGrotjohnservedasthegroupsponsor.In
addition,hehelpedtokeepthegroupfocusedontheirgoalswithweeklymeetingsand
suggestions.
ProfessorWierzba-ProfessorGregoryWierzbaloanedthegrouptheinfrared
thermometerandoneofthepowersuppliesusedforcircuittesting.
TomLarter-Tom,anelectricalengineeringgraduatestudent,hasbeeninvaluabletothe
groupsunderstandingofimportantconceptsoverthesemester.Hewasespeciallyhelpful
inexplainingArduinoprogramminglogic.

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TableofContents

Chapter1:IntroductionandBackground
Section1.1:Purpose..4
Section1.2:Problem.4
Section1.3:Objectives..5
Section1.4:CurrentTechnologies7
Section1.5:Impact8
Chapter2:SolutionExplorationandSelection
Section2.1:FASTDiagram..9
Section2.2:CriticalCustomerRequirements.10
Section2.3:Budget.11
Section2.4:Schedule..12
Section2.5:SuccessfulApproach...13
Chapter3:TechnicalWork
Section3.1:HardwareDesign.....14
Subsection3.1.1:H-BridgeandGateDriverDesign..14
Subsection3.1.2:PSPICEModeling..17
Subsection3.1.3:MicrocontrollerProgramming...22
Subsection3.1.4:DC/DCConversion....25
Section3.2:HardwareImplementationandPhotoDocumentation....26
Subsection3.2.1:PCBDesignandEnclosureLayout....26
Subsection3.2.2:HeatTransferDesign.28
Chapter4:TestingandProofofDesign
Section4.1:HardwareTesting....31
Section4.2:SoftwareTesting.........35
Chapter5:Conclusions
Section5.1:FinalDesign....36
Section5.2:Cost.36
Section5.3:TimelineandSetbacks36
Section5.4:Findings...37
Section5.5:FutureWork.38
Appendix1:IndividualTechnicalRolesandAccomplishments.....39
Appendix2:References......44
Appendix3:DetailedTechnicalAttachments....45

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Chapter1:IntroductionandBackground

Section1.1:Purpose

Themaingoalofdesignteamsevenwastoresearch,design,andbuildacompactpower
inverter.TheinverterwasoutlinedinacontestcalledTheLittleBoxChallenge,whichwas
createdjointlybyGoogleandIEEE.ThemainuseofthisinverteristoacceptDCfromeithera
singlesolarcelloranarrayofthemandconvertittoAC.Groupsevenisattemptingtomakea
compactpowerinverterratedat1000W.ThedeviceistoacceptDCfromahighpoweredsupply
andinvertittoanindustrystandardof120Vrms,60Hzsinewave.Thiswillbeabletoeither
powermanyhouseholddevicesorsupplementthepowergrid.

Inordertobuildahighpower,compactinverter,thegroupwillputtheirengineering
educationskillsacquiredoverthepast4-5yearstouse.Theywilllearnagreatdealaboutboth
newtechnologiesandworkingprofessionallyasateam.Thiswillbeanimportantexperienceto
havepriortograduationbecauseallofthemwillbeworkingonmultidisciplinaryteamsforthe
restoftheirlives.Theteamwillworkcloselywithasponsorandafacilitatortoensuregoalsare
metpreciselyandontime.

Buildinganinverterisalsoimportanttogainexperienceperformingindependent
research.LifelonglearningisoneoftheskillsstressedatMichiganStateUniversityandlearning
outsideofthescopeofclassesimmediatelybeforegraduationwillbehelpfulinformingthe
habit.

Section1.2:Problem

Putshortly,thesolutionteamsevenistryingtocreateisapracticalpowerinverterforthe
masses.Astheneedforclean,renewableenergysourcesgrowsandthepriceperwattofsolar
cellscontinuestofall,energyfromthesunismakingitselfknownasaviablesolution.Powerful
DC/ACinvertershaveexistedformanyyears,buttheirlargesize(figure1)makesthem
impracticalforalargenumberofresidentialuses,particularlywithroof-mountedcellsthat
cannotdevotethespacetoacooler-sizeddevice.

Bymakingapowerinverterthatisbothcompactandpowerful,solarcellsbecomemore
viabletothemassmarket.Insteadofhavingtheinverterspeciallydelivered,mounted,andtaking
upseveralcubicfeet,adevicesmallerthanaboxoftissuescouldbepurchasedinastore,
mountedtothewallofagarageorshed,andbeavailablewhereverneeded.

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 Teamsevenbelievesthatatthecorrectprice,size,andpowerrating,itspowerinverter
couldenablemanypeoplewhowereonthefenceaboutimplementingapersonalsolararrayto
taketheleap.

Figure1.StandardSolarPowerInverterAlongsideSolarArray
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/M%C3%BCllberg_Speyer_-_2.JPG

Section1.3:Objectives

GroupsevenhaschosentobasetheirprojectoffoftheLittleBoxChallenge,whosefull
detailscanbefoundhere:https://www.littleboxchallenge.com/themajorrequirementsare
presentedintable1.

Thechallengeisopentothepublicbutisstronglyfocusedonauniversityatmosphere
andtobeworkedonbydoctoratestudentsandresearchers.Thecontestorganizershavepaired
withanumberofpartsmanufacturers,includingCREE,GaNSystems,andGeneSiCthatare
showcasingthecapabilitiesoftheirnewesttransistors.Theexistenceofthesenewtechnologies
couldhelptousherinaneweraofcompact,butverypowerfulinvertersystems.

Figure2.LittleBoxChallengeLogo
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qV0Cazd_QF8/U82mucXsHFI/AAAAAAAAATY/fzkr4mnJZJg/s1600/HiResLBCGoogleIEEELogo-UR.jpg

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GoogleandIEEEhaveoutlinedtheexactparametersrequiredtoenterthechallenge
(shownintable1).Itwasdecidedthatthesedesignparameters,whichhavea$1millionreward
forsuccess,weredoablebutnotwiththelimitedamountoftimeandresourcesavailableforthe
15weeksemesterproject.

Parameter Requirement(Nominal)

MaximumLoad 2kVA

PowerDensity >50W/in3

Volume <40in3

VoltageInput 450VDC

VoltageOutput 240VAC(RMS)

FrequencyOutput 60Hz

MaximumOuterTemperature <60C

ElectromagneticCompliance FCCPart15B

Table1.LittleBoxChallengeDesignParameters

Instead,thegrouphadanumberofmeetingswiththeirsponsorandfacilitatorwhich
decidedthatmodifyingtherequirementsslightlywouldallowthemtobothlearnagreatdeal
aboutpowerinverters,workingasateam,andalsohaveafinishedproductattheendofthe
semester.Thesemodificationsincludedcuttingthepowerratinginhalf,usingalowerinput
voltageandoutputtingalowervoltage,andareoutlinedintable2below.Theserequirementsare
largelyself-imposedgoalsbythegroupasexplainedlaterinsection2.2.

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Parameter Requirement(Nominal)

MaximumLoad 1kVA

PowerDensity >25W/in3

Volume <40in3

VoltageInput 200VDC

VoltageOutput 120VAC(RMS)

FrequencyOutput 60Hz

MaximumOuterTemperature <60C

ElectromagneticCompliance FCCPart15B

Table2.ChosenDesignParameters(ModificationsinRed)

Asshown,theobjectivesfortheprojectincludeapowerratingof1kVA,anenclosure
dimensionoflessthan40cubicinches,a200VDCinput,FCCpart15Belectromagnetic
compliance,asurfacetemperatureofnomorethan60degreescelsius(140degreesfahrenheit),
andanindustrystandard120Vrms,60Hzoutput.

Section1.4:CurrentTechnologies

Asstatedearlier,powerinvertershaveexistedformanyyears,buttheyarelargeinsize.
Inputtransformersforsteppingvoltagesupordown,DC/DCconvertersforpowering
peripherals,largeinductorsandcapacitorsforoutputfilters,andisolation/outputtransformersall
takeupasignificantamountofspace,whichispartofthereasontheyaresolarge.

Obviouslimitationstothispracticeincludewheretheycanbeused.Bymakingan
invertersmallenoughtobemountedonthewallofagaragebysomeonewithlimited
experience,itbecomesmorepracticaltousebyamuchlargeraudienceandwidermarket.
Anotherlargelimitationofthecurrentpracticeisprice.Afairlystandardpowerinverterusedin
solarapplicationstodayistheMagnumMagnaSineMS-4448PAE.Thisunitiscapableof
outputtingupto4kWofpower,butalsoweighs55pounds,is1400cubicinchesinsize,and
costs$2100.

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Figure3.MagnaSineMS-4448PAEPowerInverter
http://www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/inverter-folder/magnum-ms-4448PAE.html

Dependinguponthesize,features,andpowerratingsofinvertersonthecurrently
available,thepricecanfluctuategreatly.Someinverterscostupwardsof$5000.Thehighprice
ofinvertersisanotherreasonwhy,despitefallingpricesofsolarpanelsthemselves,widespread
useofpersonalsolararraysisnotcommonplace.

Section1.5:Impact

Thebiggestdifferencethatsuccessfullycreatingacompactpowerinverterwouldmakeis
increasingthefeasibilityofresidentialsolarpower.Panels,inverters,andotherrequired
technologyalreadyexistandareavailabletothepublic,butthepriceandlargesizeofmany
solutionsareadeterrent.Governmenttaxincentiveshaveaidedconsumersinthepastto
purchasemoreenergyefficienttechnology,butthecreationofaproductwithouttheneedof
governmentassistancewillbemoresuccessfulinthemarket.Thecreationofacompactand
inexpensiveinvertercouldkickoffatrendofsimilarlysizedandpricedsolarperipherals.If
adoptedbyamajorityofhouseholds,greatersolargenerationwouldmakealargeimpactontheir
carbonfootprint.Theairwouldbelesspollutedandcontroversialenergyharvestingtechniques
couldbereduced.

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Chapter2:SolutionExploration&Selection

Section2.1:FASTDiagram

TheFunctionAnalysisSystemTechnique(FAST)diagramisanimportanttoolto
provideavisualaideforaproduct'sfunctions.Thebasicfunctiononthefarleftissupportedby
thesecondaryfunctionstotheright.TeamsevensFASTdiagramisshowninfigure4below:

Figure4.DC/ACInverterFASTDiagram

ThebasicfunctionofthedesignistoinverttheDCinputintoanACoutput.Secondary
functionsincludesteppingtheDC,deliveringAC,andmaintainingefficiency.ToinvertDC,the
systemmustfirststeptheDCtotheACpeakamplitude.DCcanbesteppeddownwiththeuseof
aDC/DCconverter.CurrentisalternatedbyswitchingMOSFETsonandoffusingpulsewidth
modulation(PWM)deliveredfromamicrocontroller,throughagatedriver,andtothegateofthe
transistor.Highefficiencywillensurelesspowerisdissipatedasheat.Thisisimportantbecause
theenclosurewillnotcontainalargeexcessoffreespace,somaintaininganacceptablylow
temperaturewillbemoredifficultwithacompactheatsink.

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Section2.2:CriticalCustomerRequirements

Asapartofqualityfunctiondeploymentitwasnecessarytodevelopthebestsolutionof
howtoinvertDC/ACbyidentifyingthecriticalcustomerrequirements(CCRs).Forthisproject
thecustomerwasteamsevenssponsor,Dr.Grotjohn.Heindicatedthatthemainprioritiesfor
theinverterwereitspowerdensityandefficiencyoftheDC/AC,DC/DCforthemicrocontroller
andgaterdriverlossesweredeemedacceptable.AllotherLittleBoxChallengerequirements
weresecondaryandcouldbeadjustedbythegrouptomeetthe15weekdeadline.The
requirementssetintable2ofsection1.3werethereforesetasgoalsbytheteam.After
discussionwithDr.Grotjohn,heagreedthattherequirementssetbytheteamwerean
appropriatechallengeforthesemester.

Thebestsolutionwaslargelybasedupontheinputandoutputvoltageaswellasthe
topology.Formaximumefficiencyprovidedthegivenbudget,anH-bridgetopologywould
provethemosteffective.Standardsiliconcomponentswereimmediatelyfoundtobeinadequate
forthepowerdemandsandwerereplacedwithsiliconcarbide.WithanACoutputof120Vrms
and60Hz,testinganddemonstrationcouldbecompletedwithstandarddevicesfoundarounda
houseorapartment.Thevoltagepeakfortheoutputof170Vwasnecessitateastheinputtothe
railoftheH-bridge.The200VinputwassettoallowforresearchofDC/DCconversion,but
wasnotfeasibleduetotimeconstraintsasdiscussedlaterinsection5.3.

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Section2.3:Budget

Eachdesignteamwasprovidedwithastandardbudgetof$500thatcouldbeexceeded
onlywithsponsorapproval.Ascheap,lowpoweredinvertersarereadilyavailableonthemarket,
teamsevenworkedtoavoidexceedingitsbudgetevenwhenotherhighpowerinvertersarevery
expensive.Thebudgetforthefinalinverterisdetailedintable3:

Item Price Quantity Total Description

SiliconCarbide
C2M0025120D $71.99 4 $287.96 MOSFETs
600VGate
FAN7382 $3.75 2 $7.50 Driver
DC/DC SupplyRailfor
Converters $2.02 2 $4.04 MicroController

LM2940 $1.65 1 $1.65 5Vregulator

Aluminum
Enclosure $24.37 1 $24.37 Enclosure

Arduino
Microcontroller $4.95 1 $4.95 ATMega328
PrintedCircuit
Boardfromthe
PCB $0 1 $0 ECEshop

TOTAL: $330.47

Table3.SiliconCarbide,highpowerinverterbudget

TheSiliconCarbideMOSFETsforthefinalinverterwerebyfarthelargestcostitemsof
theprojectandrequiredthatallfurtherpurchasesbescrutinized.Foraprofessionalappeal,but
moreimportantlyefficiency,analuminumenclosurewasselected.Allothercomponentswere
necessaryforthesecondaryfunctionsnecessarytoinvertpower.Themajorityofsmall
componentswereavailablefreelythroughtheECEshopandwouldbeinsignificanttothefinal
costifpurchasedinbulk.

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Section2.4:Schedule

DevelopedbyHenryGanttinthe1910s,aGanttchartisusedtoillustrateaproject
timeline.Undoubtedly,thereweresetbacksandissuesduringthesemesterthatmeantthatthe
originaltimelinewastobepushedback.However,thegroupwasdiligenttosticktotheoriginal
timelineascloselyaspossible.Table6inappendix1wasusedtodeveloptheGanttchartseen
belowinfigure5:

Figure5.GanttChart

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Section2.5:SuccessfulApproach

Thereareanumberofdifferencesbetweenteamsevensapproachandthecurrent
practice,includingthetriggeringmethod,materialtype,absenceoftransformers,andthe
aluminumenclosureitself.

First,itwasdecidedthattheuseofafully-rectifiedH-bridgewastobethebasisofthe
design.Fourtransistorswouldbearrangedinsuchawaythatwhenaloadisplacedbetweenthe
tworailsoftheHBridgecurrentwillchangedirections120timespersecond,essentially
emulatinga60Hzsinewavewhosevoltageiscapableofswingingpositiveandnegative.This
wayonlyapositivepowerrailisneeded,ratherthanrequiringanegativepowerrailaswell.
Second,thegroupdecidedthattheuseofPWMwasthebestwaytotriggerthetransistorsinthe
H-bridge.PWM,asitsnamesuggests,istheadjustmentofthewidthofsignalswithidentical
amplitudes.Whenatimeaverageistaken,theactualpowerdeliveredwillbesomewhere
between0and100percentoftheinput,dependinguponthewidthofthepulse.UsingPWM
enablesthetransistorstoactasswitchesthatareeitheronoroffthetimingismodifiedsuchthat
asinewaveisapparentafterfiltering.Third,teamsevendecidedthatusingalternativetransistors
wasnecessarytomeetthepowerrequirement.Silicon
metal-oxide-semiconductor-field-effect-transistors(MOSFETs)werestandardmaterialused
throughouttheteamsundergraduateexperience,butwouldnotbeabletowithstandthehigh
powerneededforthisdesign.Instead,bothsilicon-carbideandgallium-nitridetechnologieswere
researched.Althoughgallium-nitridetransistorsaregenerallyacceptedashavingabetter
frequencyresponseandpowerhandling,silicon-carbidewaschosenforitseaseoffindingparts
andslightlylowercost.

Thenextthingthegroupdiddifferentlywasmakethedecisionnottousetraditional
transformersintheirdesign.Thisdecisionwasanobviousoneinthatthegrouphadtochoose
eitheraveryexpensivetransformertechnologythatdidnotfitintothebudgetoralarge,more
traditionaltransformerthatwouldnotphysicallyfitwithinthespaceconstraint.Instead,itwas
decidedthatDC/DCconverterswouldbethecorrecttradeoffofspaceoccupiedandprice.These
broughttheirowncomplicationsthough,aswillbedescribedlater.Thefinallargedifference
betweenwhatcurrentlyexistsonthemarketandthedesignofteamsevenwascostandweight
savings.Althoughamorepowerfulinverterwouldrequireextracomponentsandheat
considerations,itisunlikelythatdoublingorevenquadruplingthepowerratingoftheteams
inverterwouldcausethesizeandweighttocomeclosetosomeoftheoptionsonthemarket
today,particularlytheinvertermentionedinchapter1,section4.Inadditiontobeingsmallerand
lighter,thegroupsinverterissignificantlylessexpensive,albeitwithasmallerpowerrating.The
prototypecostslessthan$500tobuild.

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Chapter3:TechnicalWork

Section3.1:HardwareDesign

Subsection3.1.1:H-BridgeandGateDriverDesign

AnH-bridgeisasetoffourswitchesthatareassembledinsuchawaythatanarbitrary
loadimpedanceisdecoupledfromaDCpowerrailandground.ForaDC/ACinverterthiscircuit
architectureisutilizedtocontrolthedirectionofcurrentacrossanarbitraryloadbymanipulating
thefourswitchesinthebridge.EachofthefourswitchesintheH-bridgeareindependently
controlledandworktodivertcurrentacrosstheloadatafrequencyof60Hz.Anexampleofa
simpleH-bridgewithfourswitchesandsingleloadimpedanceisshowninfigure6:

Figure6.ExampleH-bridge

Eachoftheswitchesshowninfigure6havedifferentrolesfortypicaloperationofan
H-bridge.Thefirstimportantdistinctionbetweenthedifferentswitcheswithinthecircuitisthat
thetoptwoswitchesarereferredtoasthehighsideandthebottomtwoswitchesarereferredto
asthelowside.ThehighsideswitchesareresponsibleforcontrollingtheavailabilityoftheDC
railvoltageacrosstheloadimpedancewhilethelowsideswitchesareresponsibleforcontrolling
theconnectionbetweentheloadimpedanceandground.

Oncethisbasicarchitecturewasdecidedupon,thenextstepwasforthegrouptostart
selectingwhatparttypewouldactaseachofthefourswitcheswithintheH-bridge.After
reviewingseveraloptionsthegroupdecidedonusingfourN-channelsiliconcarbideMOSFETs
(figure7)ineachoftheswitchpositions.Siliconcarbidehasaveryhighheattolerancewhich
makesitanidealcandidateforahighpowerinvertingapplication.Thesepartsalsocanoperate
upto1200Vfromthesourcetothedrainthusallowingalargeamountofflexibilityinchanging
therailvoltagethatisavailabletotheinverter.

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Figure7.SiCMOSFETs

AfterselectingthefinalMOSFETtouseinthedesign,thenextstepwastotesttheinitial
inverterdesignusingcheapersiliconpartsthatcouldbeburntoutwithlessworryfromthegroup
ifreplacementofaburntouttransistorwasnecessary.Fortheseinitialtests,theIRF530
N-channelMOSFETwasusedinplaceofthesiliconcarbideMOSFETs.TheIRF530islimited
to100Vfromitssourcetodrain,sotheseinitialtestsweredoneatlowervoltagesthanthefinal
designwouldbeoperatingat.ThefirstthingthegrouprealizedinprototypingtheH-bridge
designwastheobstaclethathighsideswitchingdevicespresenttothecontrolinterface.Inthe
caseoftheinverterdesignedbygroupseven,thehighsideMOSFETsareconnectedwiththe
sourcetiedtotheDCrailandthedraintiedtothehighsideoftheloadimpedance.Forthecase
oftheIRF530thegate-to-sourcethresholdvoltageisonaverage5V,ormoresimplyputthe
averagevoltagethatmustbeappliedtothegateoftheMOSFETinorderforittoconduct
betweenthesourceanddrainis5Vabovethesourcevoltage.Aftermakingthisrealizationthe
groupquicklydeterminedtheproperfixtothisproblemwastoutilizegatedriversthatcould
momentarilyapplyavoltagehighenoughtoproperlyactivatetheMOSFETs.

Thegatedriversworkbyusingabootstrapcapacitorthatchargeseachtimethelowside
MOSFETisconductingtoground.Thebootstrapcapacitoristiedtothegatedriversupply
voltage(furtherreferredtoasVCC)throughadiodesothatthevoltagefromtheDCrailofthe
H-bridgecannotbleedbackintoVCC.Whenthelowsidesignalisconductingtogroundthe
capacitorisconnectedtogroundandthediodeallowsthevoltageatVCCtochargeupthe
capacitor.Whenthehighsidesignalfromthemicrocontrollerispresentatthehighsideinputof
thegatedriverthebootstrapcapacitorisnowchargedtoVCC.ThisvoltageisaddedtotheDC
railpresentattheinputofthegatedriversothesuppliedhighsidegatevoltageisnowtheDC
railplusVCC.Thisisenoughtoexceedthethresholdvoltageofthetransistorandmakeitbegin
conductingfromthesource-to-drain.

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Figure8.InverterSchematic

AsidefromproperlyswitchingthehighsidedriversintheH-bridgeconfiguration,the
groupalsoneededtoconsidersomeofthemorepressingdesignconsiderationsoftheMOSFETs
selectedforthecircuit.Oneoftheimportantpiecesofinformationgatheredbythegroupin
selectingpartswastherelationbetweenthegate-to-sourcevoltagerequiredtoactivatethepart
andthecurrentrunningthroughthedrainofthedevice.AswithmostMOSFETs,asthecurrent
throughthedrainisincreasedthethresholdvoltagealsobeginstoincrease.Toaccountforthis
increasethegroupchosealargeenoughVCCvaluesuchthatthegatedrivervoltagewouldbe
operatingatahighenoughvaluetoalwaysmeetthisthresholdbasedontheratedcurrentvalue
oftheinverter.Anexampleofthisrelationshipcanbeseeninfigure9below.

Figure9.Gate-to-SourceVoltagevs.DrainCurrent

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 Anotherimportantconsiderationinselectingpartsfortheinverteristhesourcetodrain
voltageoftheMOSFETchosen.TheaverageONresistanceofanIRF530MOSFETis
approximately160mbetweenthesourceanddrain.Anyloadthatisattachedtotheoutputof
theinverterwillresultinavaryingamountofcurrenttobepulledthroughtheterminalsofthe
MOSFETs.Themaximumamountofcurrentthedeviceisratedforisapproximately6A,sothe
maximumpowerdissipationthroughtheMOSFETatthiscurrentratingis:

(.16*6A)*6A=5.76W

ThismeansthatatmaximumcurrentdrawtheMOSFETswillhavetodissipateis5.76W.
AccordingtothedatasheetfortheIRF530thedevicecanhandleupto88Wdissipatedacrossit,
sothe5.76Wofpredictedpowerdissipationshouldbewellwithintherangeofwhatthepartis
ratedfor.ThesiliconcarbideMOSFETsselectedbythegrouphaveamuchhigherpowerrating
andamuchlowerONresistance,meaningthegroupwillbewellwithintherangeofoperation
forthesesetofpartsaswell.

Afteralloftheseconsiderationshavetakenplacethefinalrelevantpieceofdesign
informationneededinapplyinganH-bridgetotheinverterdesignwasthepulldownresistance
betweenthegatedriveroutputandthegatesofeachresistor.Theseresistorsareincludedtogive
thechargeappliedbythegatedriverapathtogroundoncethegatedriverhasstoppedsupplying
asignaltotheMOSFETs.Thesepulldownresistorsmustbeincludedinordertodissipatethe
chargefromthegateoftheMOSFETandstopthedevicefromconductingbetweenitsdrainand
sourcewhenthegatedriverisnotsendingahighsignal.

Subsection3.1.2:PSPICEModeling

AfterthegrouphaddecidedontheH-bridgearchitecturethenextsteptobringingthis
designintorealitywastomodelthecircuitinPSpiceatlowerprototypingvoltages.Thegroup
startedbycreatingasimpleH-bridgeinPSpiceusingIRF530sandsimplePulsefunctionstoact
asthecontrolsignalscomingfromthegatedriver.Theresultsofthesetestsillustratedtheidea
behindcreatinganinvertingcurrentusinganH-bridgesothewentforwardwiththedesignand
beganconstructingaprototypetothedesigncreatedinthefirstinitialPSpicetests.ThePWM
resultscanbeviewedinfigure10onthefollowingpage.

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Figure10.PWMPSPICEModeling

Oncethegrouphadaworkingprototype,thenextstepwastostartcomparingthedata
gatheredinlabtothedatainPSpice.PriortomodeltheLCfilterthatwouldbefittedtothe
outputoftheinverter,thegroupworkedtorecreateasmuchofthelabdataaspossiblewithin
PSpice.Thisdatawaslaterusedasareferenceaidforthegroupinordertoensuretheresultsthat
wereseeninlab.WiththislabrecreationinPSpice,thegroupalsowasabletovisualizeseveral
problemswiththecircuitpriortobuildingandtestinginlab.Oneofthemorevaluabledesign
solutionsthatcamefromcontinuousPSpicetestingwasachangeinthePWMthatwasbeing
senttothegatedrivers.Initiallythegroupthoughttoonlyhaveonesideofthebridgeswitching
atanygiventime,meaningeitherthehighsideorlowsidewouldbeactingduringeach60Hz
cycle.AfterthiswastestedinPSpicethegrouprealizedthatthequalityofthePulseWidth
Modulatedsignalobservedattheoutputoftheinverterwasnotverygoodasaresultofthis
continuoushighsideswitching.Asolutionwasfoundbythegroupandentailedalternatingthe
highandlowsideswitchesoneithersideofthebridgeinordertocreateagroundreferencein
thetimeswherethehighsidedriverswerenotactivated.Thischangemadealargedifferencein
thequalityoftheoutputsignalandallowedthegrouptoreducethesizeofmanyofthepartsthat
wereinitiallyselectedforthemuchlongerhightime.

AfterthegrouphadcreatedareliablemodeloftheprototypedH-bridgeandgatedrivers
inPSpicethenextstepwastobegindesigninganLCfiltertodemodulatethe60Hzsinewave
encasedinthePWMasseeninfigure11.Severalinitialdesignswereproposedandtestedwithin
thePSpiceenvironment.ThemainadvantagetothegroupintestingtheLCfilterthiswaywas
theeasewithwhichthegroupcouldchangecomponentvalueswithouthavingtowindan
inductororsearchforaproperlyratedcapacitor.WitheachLCfiltermodeledbythegroup,
differentloadsweretestedontheoutputandpowerabsorptionratingsweregatheredto
determinewhichfilterwouldbestfitthedesiredapplication.

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Figure11.PSPICESineWaveOutput

OncethefinalLCFilterdesignhadbeenchosenthegrouptestedtheentirecircuitin
PSpiceandusedresultsfromthesetestsasbenchmarksforthefinaldesignoftheinverter.
UtilizingPSpiceasadesignaidtotestthefullcircuitpriortoconstructionsavedthegroupa
significantamountoftimethatotherwisewouldhavebeenspentonfindingpartstoperformtime
consuming,livetests.

OncethefinalinductorandcapacitorvalueswerechosenfortheresonantLCfilterand
thedesiredsinewavewasdemodulatedfromthePWMsignal,theentirefilterwascharacterised
inPSpicebysweepinga340Vpeak-to-peaksinewavefrom10Hzto10kHzfromtheinput
throughdifferentloads.Thefirstpointofinterestthatwasimmediatelynoticedbythegroupwas
theresonantfrequencypeakthatgrewsignificantlyastheloadimpedancewasincreased.Figure
12showsthatastheloadwasincreasedtheresonantfrequencyoftheLCfiltercausedavery
noticeablespikeintheoutputvoltagesuppliedtotheload.Thegroupalsomeasuredthe
maximumpowertransferredtotheloadateachofthesedifferentloadimpedances,whichisthe
firstgraphineachtest.Thesecondgraphineachtestsdisplaysthevoltageacrosstheload
impedance.Allofthetestsdoneinfigure12wereperformedwiththesameACsweepinputand
samemagnitudevoltagesupply.

19


Figure12.PSPICESimulationofchangingloads

Usingthedataillustratedinfigure12,thegroupbeganresearchingdifferentwaysto
mitigatetheundesiredresonantpeakfromtheLCfilterscornerfrequency.Oneofthefirst
designsthatwassuggestedfordissipatingtheenergyspikeattheresonantfrequencywastoadd
aseriesdampingresistancebetweenthecapacitorbankandground.Severaldifferentvalues
weretestedtounderstandhowtheresonantpeakcouldbedampenedatdifferentresistancesand
thefinalvaluechosenwas101k.Thisvaluewaschosenbecauseitallowsthegrouptoeasily
mitigatetherequiredresonantvoltageatareasonablepowerratingthatcouldberealizedwith
twoquarterwattresistors.

20

 Thegraphsshowninfigure13arethetestresultsofthepowerandvoltagedeliveredto
theloadimpedanceusinganACsinusoidalsweepfrom10Hzto10kHzat340Vpeak-to-peak.
Theresultingdatafromthesetestsshowthatthedampingresistorhascompletelyabsorbedthe
resultingresonantpeakfromtheLCfilteranddeliveredaconstantlevelofpowertotheload.
Performingthesetestsalsoexemplifiedtheimpedancerangetheinvertercanbeusedbeforethe
cornerfrequencyistoolargefornormaldemodulationofthePWM.Thelasttestshowninfigure
13wasdoneusingaloadimpedanceof1000.

Figure13.ChangingLoadwithDampingResistor

21

 UsingthePSpicedataasabenchmarkfortheactualdesignofthefinalcircuitthegroup
hasspedupalotoftroubleshootingbecausetheynowhavetheabilitytoreferenceaworking
designandcomparethedesiredsignaltothelabsignalbeingrecreated.Thishashelpedthe
groupovercomeanyobstaclesmuchfasterthanwhattheywouldhavebeencapableofifthere
wasonlythedataavailablefromthelabtestsandtheoreticalsituations.UtilizingPSpiceasatool
forbothdesignissuesandfortestingthefinalcircuithelpedthegroupvisualizealloftheother
possibleissuesthattheymayencounterwhileworkingwiththecircuitinanactuallabsetting.

Subsection3.1.3:MicrocontrollerProgramming

ForcontrollingthegatedriverandH-bridge,theteamknewthattheywouldneeda
microcontroller.TheArduinoUnowaschosenduetoits5Voperatingvoltageandbecauseitis
afairlyeasymicrocontrollertolearnandprogram.TheH-bridgedesignrequiresaPWMsignal
inordertovarytheoutputandeventuallyachieveasinewave.Thereareafewpossibilitiesto
createaPWMsignalusingtheArduino.

BeforediscussingthemethodsuseditisimportanttounderstandhowtousetheArduino
interactivedevelopmentenvironment(IDE).Thecodeiscomposedofthreemainareas.These
codeareascanbeseeninfigure14below.Thefirstarea,locatedatthetopoftheprogram,is
wherethevariablesareinitialized.Thisallowsthevariablestobeidentifiedandusedlaterinthe
program.Thesecondareaisthevoidsetup.ThisiswhereArduinopinsaredeclaredaseitheran
inputoranoutput.ThisindicatestotheArduinowhetherornotitneedstobestoringthe
informationgivenfromthepinoroutputtingasignal.Thevariablesinitializedabovethissection
areabletobeplacedinplaceofaspecificpinnumber.Thisallowsfortheprogramtobecoded
andfollowedeasier.Thevoidsetupmayalsohavecodethatneedstoberunonce.Thelastarea
isthevoidloop.Thisiswherethemajorityofthecoderesides.TheArduinocontinuallyrunsthis
loopuntilitisnolongerpowered.

22


Figure14.ExampleArduinoCode

ThefirstmethodtheteamutilizedwasapremadefunctionwithintheArduinocalled
analogWrite.Examplecodeofthismethodisshownaboveinfigure14.TheanalogWrite
functiongeneratesasquarewavethatisvariedinthevoidloop.Thetwothingsthefunction
needstorunareapinvariableandavaluetosetthedutycycle.Thevaluesforthisfunctionmust
bebetween0and255.Adutycycleof100percentoccursifthevalueissetat255andavalueof
0givesadutycycleof0percent.Toobtainaspecificdutycycle,avalueforanalogWriteneeds
tobecalculatedas:

dutycycle*255=analogWritevalue

Theexamplecodeinfigure14linesthatchangethedutycycleeachtimeitcompletesoneloop.
Theoutputofthiscodeisshowninfigure15below.Eachsquarepictureshowsadifferenttime.
Thepicturesfromlefttorightprovethefunctionalityofthecodechangingthepulsewidth.

Figure15.ChangingPulseWidths

23


TheproblemwiththeanalogWritefunctionisthatthefrequencyisatafixed490Hz
output.Thecompactpowerinverterneedstooutputat60Hz.AnotherproblemwithanalogWrite
isthatwhenmultiplesignalsarebeingoutputatonce,thetimingisoffthesignalsendup
overlapping.ThiscausesashorttogroundontheH-bridge.Thismethodwasnotusedintheend,
butwasanimportantstepinbetterunderstandingprogrammingtheArduino.

ThenextmethodthatwasusedwasdigitalWrite.Thisisanotherpremadefunctionwithin
theArduino.UnliketheanalogWritefunction,thedigitalWritefunctionisonlyabletosetapin
asahighoralow.ThismeansthatthedigitalWritealsoneededtousethedelayfunction.Sample
codeshowingthisisprovidedinfigure16below.

Figure16.digitalWriteArduinoCode

Theabovecodewouldoutputaset50percentsquarewave.Toobtainadesireddutycycle,the
twodelayswouldhavetobecalculatedas:

delaytimeHIGH/(delaytimeHIGH+delaytimeLOW)=desireddutycycle

Thismakessettingthepulsewidthmoredifficultandwheretheproblemwith
digitalWriteisidentified.ThedelaysforboththeHIGHandLOWsidesneedtobecalculated.
Takingtheinverseofthethesumofthesetwotimesresultsinthefrequency.Withachanging
pulse,thefrequencystillneedstoremainthesame.Thisisthemethodthattheteamusedforthe
majorityofthedesignprocess.ThedownsidetousingdigitalWriteisthatallofthedelayshadto
becalculatedandtheneachofthepulsesneededtobeimplementedindividually.Duetothe
numberofpulsesneededtocreateacleanersignal,thecodewasquitelong.

UsingthedigitalWritecodetheteamlearnedasignificantamountaboutthegatedrivers.
Whiletesting,thegrouplearnedaboutafewchangesthathadtobemadetothecodeinorderto
achievetheoutputthatwasdesired.Thefirstproblemthatwasdiscoveredwasthatthe
digitalWritefunctiontakestimetorun.Therewasafourmicroseconddelaythatoccurredeach

24

timethefunctionran.Addingadelayeachtimethefunctionisruncausestheeffectiveoutput
frequencytochange.Fortunately,thisdelaywaslinearinnatureandwaseasilycorrectedby
recalculatingthedelayvaluesforthepulses.Thenextproblemfacedbytheteamcameasa
resultofsolvingthefirstproblem.Tocorrectthefrequency,theteamhadtoreduceallofthe
delaytimes.Bydoingthis,someofthedelayshadbecometoosmall.ThedigitalWritecommand
hadthefourmicroseconddelayandwiththesmallerdelaythedigitalWritefunctionswere
overlapping.Thisoverlappingcausedsomethingcalledshootthrough,wherebythehighside
andlowsideMOSFETsarebothintheonpositionatthesametime.Theresultofthisisadirect
pathforcurrenttotravelfromthepowerrail,throughtheMOSFETs,andtoground,whichburns
uptheHBridge.Addingdeadtimewasthewaytocorrectthisproblem.Deadtimeisasmall
amountsoftimebetweeneachpulsecomingfromtheArduino.Addingasmallamountoftime
betweenchangingsignalshelpsensurethatevenwhenadelayisrequiredtoturnoff,itwillnot
beonatthesametimeasanotherpin.Thisunfortunatelychangedthetimingagain,whichhadto
befixed.

Thelastproblemencounteredbythegroupwasanissuerelatedtothegatedrivers.Upon
testingtheinitialprototypeitwasfoundthatthebootstrapcapacitorintendedtochargeuptothe
VCCvoltageandthenbeusedforswitchingonthehighsideMOSFETwasnotabletostore
enoughcharge.DuetothequicklychangingPWMsignaldrivingthehighsideMOSFETthe
bootstrapcapacitorneedstobedischargedquiteoften.Thisbootstrapcapacitorwaslosingits
chargebeforeallofthePWMsignalshadactuallydroppedtothelowvoltage.Itturnedoutthat
whenthehighsidesignalgoeslow,thelowsidesignalneededtoturnontorechargethe
capacitor.BymanuallyswitchingallofthehighandlowsidesignalswithdigitalWrite,thecode
wouldnotbequickenoughtohavetheextralowsideswitchingaddedin.ThusdigitalWritewas
notgoingtoworkforthecompactpowerinverter.

Thefinalprogrammingmethodpursuedwasalsothemostcomputationallyefficient.Port
manipulationisveryfastandallowsformultiplepinstochangeinthesameinstruction.By
assigningvaluesinanarrayforthedelayanddeadtimeaswellasanarraytocontrolthepin
outputs,thelengthandsizeofcodecanbegreatlyreduced.Thisfinalcodingschemecanbe
viewedatthebeginningofappendix3.

Subsection3.1.4:DC/DCConversion

InordertopowertheArduinoandthegatedrivers,DCvoltagefromthe170Vsupply
neededtobesteppeddowntoamorewidelyacceptedDCvoltageof15Vtopowerthegate
driversandadifferent5VtopowertheArduino.Thiswascompletedbyusingtwolinear
voltageregulatorstheadjustableTL783andthestatic5VoltLM2940.Thesedeviceswereused
tostepthe170Vinputto15Vand5V,respectively.TheTL783isabletoadapttoseveral

25

differentvoltagesofregulationbyusingafeedbackresistornetworkbetweentheoutputand
adjustpinsoftheregulator.Thisfeedbacksystemallowstheregulatortoworkwithinalarge
rangeofvoltagesthatareverycustomizableforaspecificapplication.Thegroupchosetouse
twoofthesedevicesbecausethemaximumvoltageamountthatcanbedroppedregulated
betweentheoutputandinputpinsoftheregulatoris125V.Inorderforthegrouptogetfrom
170Vto15V,theregulatorsneededtoshed155Vwhichexceedstheminimaldropratingfor
anysinglepart.Becauseofthisthegroupchosetousetworegulatorsinseries,thefirstregulator
dropsthe170Vinputtoa100Voutputandthisisthenroutedintothesecondregulatorthat
dropsthe100Vto15V.Droppingthislargevoltageacrosstheregulatorscausesthedeviceto
switchquitequicklyandinturncausesittogetveryhotveryquickly.Tomitigatethis,heatsinks
combinedwiththermalgreasewereappliedtotheTL783regulators.AschematicofbothTL783
regulatorsandtheLM2940canbeseeninfigure17below.

Figure17.DC/DCConversionSchematic

Section3.2:HardwareImplementationandPhotoDocumentation

Subsection3.2.1:PCBDesignandEnclosureLayout

TheenclosurewassetupinawaytooptimizetheplacementoftheMOSFETs,filter
inductor,andDC/DCconvertersforheattransferandtoensurethatinputsandoutputscould
easilyconnecttocircuitryinsidethroughtheenclosure.Thealuminumenclosureusedbythe
groupwas4.75inx4.75inx2.33in.WorkingwithasquarebasemadefittingthePCBinside
thecasesignificantlyeasier.Uponsearchingvendorwebsitesandcatalogs,itwasfoundthat

26

therewerefewenclosuresavailablethatmetthe40in3designconstraint.Thisistheprimary
reasonthattheenclosureusedinthefinaldesignwas53in3.

Figure18.PreliminaryEnclosure3DModel

Thebottomlayeroftheenclosureheldthesecondarycircuitry.Theseweretheoutput
filter,madeupofalargeinductorandacapacitorbankandtheArduinocontrollingthepulse
widthmodulation.ThissecondarycircuitrywasplacedunderneaththePCBwhichsatdirectlyon
top.A3Dmodelwasconstructedtohelpinoptimizingcomponentplacement(figure18).After
addingtheDC/DCcircuitryitwasnecessarytoremovetheArduinoUnodevelopmentboardand
usejustthemicrocontrolleranditsoscillatorforanaccurateclock.Thefinallayoutcanbeseen
infigure19below.

Figure19.FinalEnclosureLayout

27

Subsection3.2.2:HeatTransferDesign

Duetothehighvoltageandhighpowerrequirementssetinthedesignconstraints,large
amountsofheataregeneratedduringinverteroperation.Toincreaseefficiencyandsafety,the
teamsetouttodesignasystemtodissipatetheheatgeneratedbythecircuit.Thelargest
generatorsofheatinthepowerinvertercircuitaretheMOSFETsoftheH-bridge,theDC/DC
converter,andthefilterinductor.Todissipatethisheat,aluminumheatsinksandanaluminum
enclosureareusedtoconductheatawayfromthecircuitry.Boththeheatsinksandaluminum
enclosuresareexamplesofpassiveheattransfer.Thesearesystemsthatdonotuseforced
convectiontomovefluidstotransferheat.Inthefinaldesign,passiveheatsinkswerechosenfor
threereasons:price,size,andpracticality.

Thepriceofanactiveheatremovalsystemcanrangeanywherefromaroundfivedollars
forsmallfanscommonlyseenincomputers(figure20)tojustunderahundreddollarsforsome
liquidcooledsystems.Comparedtothepriceofasmallheatsinkofaroundtwodollars,most
activesystemsareatbestslightlymoreexpensive.Anotherreasonthattheseactivesystemswere
notimplementedinthedesignwerethesizeconstraintsofthedesign.Theheatsinksthatwould
beplacedonthetransistorsaresignificantlysmallerthananyactivesystemthatcouldbeplaced
insidetheenclosure.Ifactivesystemswereaddedtothedesign,alargerenclosurewouldbe
neededtoenclosethecircuit.Thelastelementforchoosingthepassiveheatdissipationdevices
overtheactiveheatdissipationsystemswasthepracticalityofdesign.Theeventualintentofthis
powerinverteristobeusedforsolararrays,butthethetechnologycanappliedtoother
applicationsaswell.Ifusingthisdesigninpowergenerationitmakessensetonotuseanyactive
systemsthatwouldbeparasiticanduseelectricitysuchasfansorpumps.Thesearecommonon
manyactivesystems.Forthesethreereasonsdiscussed,passiveheatdissipationelementswere
usedinthedesignofthepowerinverter.

Figure20.ComputerHeatSink

28

 Thealuminumenclosuresurroundstheentirecircuitanditscontrolcomponents.The
MOSFETsusedforH-bridgearemountedtotheinterioroftheenclosure.Heatgeneratedbythe
MOSFETsispassedthroughthetransistorfinandconductedthroughtheenclosure.Toincrease
thermalconductivity,thesmallgapbetweenthetransistorfinandenclosurewillbefilledwith
thermalgreasebeforemounting.Finnedheatsinkswillbeplacedinsidetheenclosureforthe
DC/DCconverters.Thesewillconductheatfromthecircuittothesurroundingair.Toremove
thisheatfromtheenclosure,severalventsweredrilledthroughtwooftheenclosurewalls(figure
21).Thiscreatedaconvectionflowbringinginambienttemperatureairintotheenclosurewhile
removingheatedair.

Figure21.ConvectionVentsasViewedfromtheOutput

Discoveredintesting,theinductorintheoutputfiltergeneratesalotofexcessheatwhen
heavilyloaded.Todissipatethisheat,theinductorwasplacedinsideaseparatealuminum
enclosurelocatedinthebottomcorneroftheprimaryaluminumenclosureasseeninfigure22
below.Thisenclosurewasconstructedusingavailablescrapaluminum.

29


Figure22.InductorinSeparateAluminumEnclosure

Thereareseveralfutureimprovementsfortheheatdesignusedinthecompactpower
inverter.Thetwoprimaryareasforimprovementarethematerialsthatareusedandthe
enclosuredesign.

Aluminumwasusedfortheenclosureusedforthedesignandinthepassiveheatsinks
insideoftheenclosure.Whilealuminumhasathermalconductivityof205W/(mK)atroom25
degreescelsius,copperisabetterthermalconductor.Havingathermalconductivityof401
W/(mK)at25degreescelsius,coppersuseinthedesignofheatdissipationdeviceswillhelp
dissipateheatmorequickly.

Passivecircuitcomponentscanalsousedifferentmaterials.TheMOSFETsforexample
areprimarilymadewithsiliconcarbidetoincreasethetemperatureoperationthreshold.These
MOSFETscanalsouseamoreefficientmaterialsintheirfinsuchasagoldthermalinterface
betweenthesiliconcarbideinthetransistorandthealuminumfin.Thiswillincreasetheamount
oftheheattheisconductedfromthetransistor.Theproblemwiththeadditionofcopperorgold
isthatitismoreexpensivethantheconventionaloptionsinplacenow.

Thesecondareaforheatdissipationimprovementsisinthedesignoftheenclosure.The
aluminumenclosureusedinthefinalpowerinverterdesignisonlyabox.Tohavetheenclosure
actasamoreeffectiveheatsink,ithastobedesignedlikeaheatsink.Fortheproject,thegroup
hadadifficulttimelocatinganenclosurethatwasextrudedandhadfinsdesignedintothe
outsideoftheenclosure.

30

Chapter4:TestingandProofofDesign

Section4.1:HardwareTesting

Therewereseveraltypesofhardwareteststhatweredonetoprovethecorrectoperation
ofthedesign.Thesetestswereforthegatedrivers,outputfilters,silicontransistors,andsilicon
carbidetransistors.Oneoftheinitialtestscompletedwaswiththegatedrivers.Thefirstmajor
issuefacedbytheteamwasoutputtingthesignalsthatweresentinfromtheArduino.Onthe
initialprototype,thegatedriverswouldonlyoutputhalfofthePWMsignalsthatweresenttoit.
Thiswasbecausethecapacitorscouldnotstoreenoughchargepercycletosupplythetransistor
gateforeachside,andcanbeseenbelowinfigure23.

Figure23.BootstrapCapacitorIssues

Thisissuewasfirstremediedbyaddingalargerbootstrapcapacitor,whichwasonlya
temporaryfix.ThisproblemoccurredwhiletheteamusedthedigitalWriteprogramthatwas
mentionedinsection3.1.3.Afterswitchingtoaportmanipulationprogrammingscheme,the
groupdidnotexperienceanymoreproblemswiththegatedriversandwereevenabletoreduce
thecapacitorbacktotheoriginalvalueused.Becauseportmanipulationwasusedinstead,the
lowsideMOSFETscouldbeturnedon,whichrechargedthebootstrapcapacitor.

Inordertomeettheinvertersoutputdesignspecifications,thegrouphadtoextensively
designandtesttheiroutputfilters.ThefilterhadsignalscomingfromtheArduinoandpassing
throughtheH-bridgetoyieldanoutputseenbelowinfigure24.Totestthisfilter,siliconcarbide
transistorswereputinplacethiswasimportantbecausethetwotransistorsreacteddifferently
whenusedwiththefilter.

Figure24.OutputBeforeFiltering

31

 Thedistortedsignalseeninfigure24iswhattheoutputfromtheH-bridgelookslike
priortofiltering.Severalresonancecalculationswereperformedtochooseinductorand
capacitorvaluesforthefilter.Aseriesofcalculations,PSpicemodeling,prototypingandtesting
wereperformedtoensurecorrectoperationofthefilter.Aclean,60Hzsinewavewasapparent
afterthefilterwasinstalled,asshowninfigure25below.

Figure25.FinalFilteredOutput

Toensurethattheinitialprototypesdidnotdamagethesiliconcarbidecomponents,the
groupusedstandardsiliconmosfetsformostoftheirtesting.Thefirstsiliconloadtestwasdone
at30V,withfouravailable10Wloadbanks.This40Wtestwasrunfor60minutesto
determinehowthecircuitstemperaturerespondedtoasustainedload.Thistest,seeninfigure
26below,wasdonewithoutheatdissipationcomponents.Usingahandheldinfrared
thermometer,thetemperatureoftheloadandsiliconmosfetscouldbemeasured.Table4
containsasummaryofthesetestsresults.

Figure26.TestSet-upwithStableResistorLoad

Time(Min) LoadTemperature(F) SiMOSFETTemperature(F)

32

 5 112.0 77.6

20 143.0 78.8

35 144.6 78.8

50 142.6 78.6

60 144.6 79.0

Table4.FirstLoadTestResults

Fromthisfirstloadtest,thegrouplearnedthatcircuitoperationtemperaturereachesa
steadystateaftertwentyminutes.Fromthisinitialknowledge,thegroupwasabletomoveonto
siliconcarbidetestsinsidetheenclosure.

Duringthefirsttestofthiscircuit,thepowersupplywassettooutput170Vand2.25A
for382Wofpower.Theloadusedinthisfirstsiliconcarbidetestwasatoaster.Duringthistest,
thesiliconcarbidetransistorsreached96degreesfahrenheitonamediumbrowningsetting.
Fromseveralindependenttests,itwasdeterminedthatatthemediumbrowningsettingtheload
wasonfor92seconds.Whilethetransistorsdidnotheatuptoomuch,itwasdiscoveredthatthe
inductorintheoutputfilterseverelyincreasedintemperature.Knowingthisearlyonallowedthe
grouptoredesignpartoftheheatdissipationsystemtobetteraccommodatethisunforeseen
operationeffect.

DuringinitialtestingoftheDC/DCconverterstostepvoltagedownforboththegate
driversandArduino,anumberofobservationsweremade.Thereareatotalofthreelinear
regulatorsusedinthiscircuit.Theystepdown170Vto100V,100Vto15V,and15Vto5V.
Allthreeoftheselinearregulatorsrapidlyincreasedintemperature.Afterfiveminutesoftesting
thelinearregulators,thehighvoltagelinearregulatorshadatemperatureof170fahrenheit(See
table5).Tomitigatethis,heatsinkswereaddedtotheselinearregulators(figure26below).

Time(Min) 170100VTemp.(F) 10015VTemp.(F) 155VTemp.(F)

5 170 174 96

10 185 186 98

Table5.FirstLinearRegulatorTest

33



Figure27.LinearRegulatorswithHeatSinksAttached

Aswithallhardwaretests,therewasavarietyoftroubleshootingthattookplace.The
firsttroubleshootingthatoccurredwaswiththebootstrapcapacitors.Theoutputfromthegate
driversusedforPWMwasbeingclipped.Thiswasaresultofthecapacitorbeingtoosmalland
thecapacitornotbeingabletofullycharge.Tosolvethisproblem,thevalueofthebootstrap
capacitorwasincreased.ThisallowedtheH-bridgetoreceivethecorrectsizesignalitneeded.

Thenextproblemsthatoccurredintestingwaswiththetransistors.Thetwoprimary
issuesthatpresentedthemselvesintestingwereshortingleadsandthetransistorbecomingstuck
inahigh/onposition.ThefirstproblemwasfirstsolvedbyexaminingthePCB.Itwas
discoveredthataspecifictracehadbeendamagedwhensolderingandthisshortedtwopins
together.Whentesting,thisresultedinthetransistorbecominghotveryquicklyandfasterthan
theothertransistors.ThesecondproblemoccurredasaresultoftheArduinosprogrambeing
interruptedwhensendingahighsignaltoaparticulartransistor.Thishighsignalleftthegate
insidethetransistorstuckinthehighpositionsoitneededtobereset.Changesintheoperation
oftheArduinosolvedthisproblem.Athirdproblemoccurredwiththeoutputfilter.Thefirst
iterationoftheoutputfilterwastoolargetoimplementinsideanenclosure,sothefilterdesign
wasinvestigatedagain.Anewdesignwasmadewithasmallersizeandonceitwastested,the
outputwasverydistorted.Soathirdfinalfilterwasdesignedtobetterhandlethetypesofload
thatwouldbeconnectedtothepowerinverter.

Thelastmajorissuesthatcommonlyoccurredinhardwaretestingwereproblemswith
thePCB.Attheinitialstartoftesting,theholesinthePCBusedformountingtransistorswere
fartoosmallfortheleadwidth.ThesePCBportswereenlargedusingadrillpress.Thenext

34

problemthatoccurredwiththePCBwerethetracesonthecoppersurface.Duringprinting,the
placementofthesetracesonsomepartsoftheboardweretooclose.Thismadesolderingvery
difficultandsomeleadsendedupsolderedtogetherforthefirstseveraltestsuntiltheywere
troubleshootedandtheshortswereremoved.

Section4.2:SoftwareTesting

Partofthedangerassociatedwithearlyversionsofprototypesistheiraffinityforerror.
Becauseofthis,IRF530N(silicon)transistorswereusedinplaceofthefinalsiliconcarbide
transistors.ThefirsttestoftheArduinocodefunctionalitywasdonebyoutputtingsignalsto
lightemittingdiodes(LEDs).Thisprovidedasimple,visualrepresentationofthesignals
destinedforthegatedrivers.Adiagramofthelayoutcanbeseeninfigure28below:

Figure28.LEDtest

TheLEDstotheoutputsoftheArduinowereconnectedtoshowthatthecorrectcode
wasinplace.Thegroupslowedthefrequencytoshowthatthesignalswereperceivablebythe
humaneyethishelpedtoensurepropertimingofpinsrelativetooneanother.Thisalsoallowed
forprecisetimingoftheoutputs.ThetwoLEDsthatcorrespondedwiththelowsidesignalswere
tobealternatesofeachother.Theywereeitherentirelyonoroff.Theothertwosignalswerefor
highsidesignals.ThesebothvariedinbrightnessaccordingtothePWMscheme.Thegroupwas
abletotunethetimingbydoingusingthismethodandthencontinuedwiththerestofthecircuit.

Chapter5:Conclusions

35


Section5.1:FinalDesign

ThefinaldesignchoiceconsistedofanH-bridgearchitecturethatwasbuiltfrom4high
powerMOSFETs.Thesetransistorsactasswitchesthatruncurrentfroma170Vpowerrail
backandforththroughafilterandattachedloadthissimulatesapositiveandnegativevoltage
swing.Thetransistorsareswitchedonandoffat5.4kHzinaccordancewithapulsewidth
modulationscheme.Oncefilteringiscompleted,a60Hzsinewavecanbeseenattheoutput.
ThesepulsesarecreatedusinganATMega328chipcontainedwithintheenclosure.Before
reachingthetransistors,thesepulsesareamplifiedandisolatedatthegatedriverthisprevents
turningon2seriestransistorsatonceandmeltingpartsofthecircuit.Circuitcomponentsare
mountedtoadouble-sidedprintedcircuitboardwhichwasmilledoutbytheECEshop.Its
dimensionsweredeterminedbyenclosureandcomponentsizes.

Section5.2:Cost

Fromthebudgetprovidedinchapter2(table3)itisevidentthatareductioninsize
comeswithacost.TransitioningfromsiliconfromsiliconcarbideMOSFETsresultsinalarger
price.Siliconcarbidecomponentsarerelativelynewtothemarket,andifcompact,highpower
amplifiersandotherhighpowerusesbecomecommonplace,theircostwillgreatlydecrease
massproductionalsoallowsforthebulkpurchasingpowerofallnecessarycircuitcomponents.
Intheassemblyoftheinvertercomponentsthereweresomepiecesofwireandsmallcomponent
wastedinprototyping,butnothingwaswastedinthefinalassembly.Theinverterwasbuilttobe
greeninitsassembly,friendlyforanindividualperformingmaintenance,andthemajorityofthe
componentscapableofrecyclingatendoftheirlife.Movingforwardthemonetarycostwill
decrease,humaninvolvementtimewilldecrease,andtheenvironmentalimpactwillbe
minimized.

Section5.3:TimelineandSetbacks

Theallotted15weeksoftimetoresearch,design,prototype,test,andperformafinal
buildmeantthattimingwasoftheutmostimportance.Theoriginalplanforthefourphasesof
theprojectwaselongatedduetounforeseenissues.Theinitialgoalwastohavethefinalbuild
completedinearlyNovember,butabufferwasincludedsothatissuescouldappropriatelybe
dealtwith.Aftereachsetback,theGANTTchart(chapter2,figure5)wasupdatedfor
appropriatetimeresourceallotment.Thefinalbuildwascompletedstillinthemonthof
Novembersothatthoroughfinaltestingcouldbecompleted.Inadditiontoaninabilitytoobtain
a200VDCsupply,therewasnotimetobuildaswitchingDC/DC200Vto170Vconverter

36

however,theconverterwasdesignedandmodeledforfutureimplementationasshowninfigure
29below.Thefundamentalcircuitryandtestingwasthepriorityandwascompleted.

Figure29.200Volt-170VoltDC-DCConverterOutput

Section5.4:Findings

Overthecourseofthissemester,theteamlearnedagreatdealaboutthedesignprocess,
workingprofessionallyasateam,whatittakestomakeaworkingconsumerproduct,and
invertersingeneral.Thegroupalsolearnedanumberofvaluablelessonspertainingtotime
management,theinterconnectednatureofprojects,awhatmakesforagoodpresentation.

Thegrouphadanumberoffailuresthatareviewedbythegroupaslessonsinandof
themselves.Thelargestofthesewashavingdifficultyinpredictinghowmuchtimecertainparts
oftheprojectwouldtake.Towardstheendoftheitwasrealizedthattherewasnotgoingtobe
enoughtimetobuildandtestDC/DCconverters.Similarly,FCCregulationswerenot
thoroughlylookedinto,andtheinverterselectromagneticeffectsonoutsidedeviceswasnot
extensivelytested.Thefinallargefailurewasnotbeingabletoachievethegoalenclosuresizeof
40cubicinchesinstead,53cubicincheswasused.Theteamfeltpressedfortimeforthe
durationofthesemester,butbetterplanningtowardsthebeginningcouldpotentiallyhave
allowedforamaturePCBlayoutandsmallerenclosure.

Manysuccesseswerealsohad,whichincludedthecompletionoftheprojectbydesign
day,beingabletopoweradevicewiththeinverter,andhavingasafeproductintheend.In
addition,thelargeamountoflearningthatoccurredalongsidetheextensiveprofessionalwriting
andpresentationpracticecanbeviewedasasuccess.

37

Section5.5:FutureWork

Severalimprovementscouldbemadetothispowerinverterintermsofheatdesign.As
discussedindetailinheatdesign,theuseofdifferentmaterialswithhigherthermalconductivity
wouldgreatlyhelpdissipateheat.Alsodiscussedinheatdesignishavinganenclosuremilledfor
ourcircuit.Thiswouldallowthecircuittobetterfitintoanenclosureandmoreeffectively
dissipateheat.

Otherimprovementscouldbemadetothepartschosenfortheprintedcircuitboardthat
wouldallowforasmallerandmorecompactfootprintofthefinalcircuitry.Amajorityofthe
partschosenforthisinitialprototypewerecompletedusingDIPpackagedevicesorotherlarger
andmoreuserfriendlyparts.Ifapropercopper-milledcircuitboardweretobeprintedafull
boardcouldbepopulatedusingmuchsmallersurfacemountpartsthatcouldchangethecurrent
sizequitesignificantly.Usingsurfacemountpartsforthegatedriversthatalsoincludedinternal
bootstrappinglogicwouldallowforasignificantlysmallerfootprintthatwouldutilizemoreof
whatthecurrentstate-of-the-arthastoofferforHBridgegatedriving.

Theinvertercouldbesignificantlyimprovedbyusingmoreefficienttechniquesfor
filteringthePWMoutputoftheH-bridge.Theresonantfilterdesignedbythegroupisintended
tomeetthecurrentspecsetinplaceformaximumpowertransferattheoutputoftheinverter.
Whilethecurrentfilterisawelldesigneddevicetherecouldbeabettermatchofasinglelarge
capacitortoasmaller,highwirediameterinductorthantheonecurrentlybeingimplementedin
theinverteroutputstage.Withtheoutputfilter,theadditionofanisolationtransformeracross
theoutputleadsoftheinverterleadingtotheloadtiescouldbeconsideredforfuturework.

38

Appendix1:IndividualTechnicalRolesandAccomplishments

PhilipBeard

Philipstechnicalroleforthisprojectstartedwiththeinitialdesign
phaseoftheinverter.Asthegroupwasbeginningtoresearch
differentinverterarchitecturesPhilipaidedinthePSpicetestingand
modelingofdifferentindustrystandards.Aftertheinitialtestingwas
completedhethenprovidedthegroupwithrelevantdatatothe
designoftheinverterandhelpedguidethegroupinselecting
appropriatepartsthatwouldmeettheneedsoftheproposed
H-bridgedesign.Asthegroupbeganprototypingdifferentdesigns
fortheinverterPhilipplayedakeyroleinkeepingthePSpice
modelsforthegroupsdesignuptodatesothataworkingreferencecouldbeusedasa
benchmarkfortheprototypedmodels.ThroughouttheprototypingstagePhilipaidedthegroup
byproposingdifferentsolutionstodesignproblemsandhelpingthegroupproblemsolve
together.

OncethefirstprototypehadbeencompletedPhilipworkedwiththegrouptocomeup
withfeasiblesolutionstoutilizinggatedriversinthefinaldesign.Afterthegroupdetermined
thatgatedriverswouldsolvesomeoftheproblemspresentedbythefirstprototypePhilip
selectedthebestpartforthisapplicationandorderedthemforthegroup.Oncethegrouphad
completedthefirstworkingprototypedH-bridgethedesignprocessbeganforthedistributionof
powertothearduinoandgatedriverswithinthecircuit.Philipaidedinselectingtheproperparts
forthelinearregulatorsthatcouldhandlecreatingthedesiredlinevoltagetopowerallofthe
logicchipsandcreateddesignsforallofthepowerdistributionwithintheinverter.Usingthe
finalPSpicemodelPhilipalsoaidedindesigningandprototypingthefinalLCfilterthatwas
implementedinthefinaldesign.AmongstthedifferentdesignresponsibilitiesinthegroupPhilip
wasalsopresentatgroupprototypingsessionstohelpcontributetotroubleshootingany
problemsthatmayarisethroughtheinitialtestingstages.

JacobBrettrager
Jacobstechnicalrolewasinitiallyidentifiedasinterfacingthe
digitalandanalogsystemcomponents.However,hebeganhis
technicalroleintheprojectwithhelpingtoidentifywhich
architecturetoselectthroughassistancewithPSpicemodelingofthe
quantized-stepsystem.Afterthegroupdiscussedandidentifiedthe
H-bridgeasthepreferedmethodforinversion,heassistedwith
identifyingandobtainingthenecessarycomponents.Thisincluded

39

obtainingtheDCpowersuppliesandinfraredthermometerfortestingaswellasthesilicon
carbideMOSFETs.Oncecircuitelementswerereceived,hehelpedintheirassemblyfor
prototypingandforthefinalbuildwhichincludedthecombinationofthemicrocontroller,gate
drivers,andbridge.Amajorpartafterassemblywasconfirmingeachgroupmembersworkafter
placingcomponentsonabreadboardorsolderingtoaprotoboardorprintedcircuitboard.
Doublecheckingeachother'sworkwasveryimportantastopreventshortsandpotentialsafety
issues.

Jacobhelpedwithaportionofthemicrocontrollerprogramming.Thepulsewidth
modulationsettingsneedtobechangedtoassurea60Hzoutputafteraddingthelargeinductor
oftheLCfiltertothesystem.Hewasoneofthetwofacilitatorsofthesiliconprototypeand
siliconcarbidebuildtestingandworkedtoassuretheintegrityofthesystemwhenloaded.
Assuringthatthepowersuppliesweresetattheappropriatevoltagesandwerenevercurrent
limitingwasimportantforhighpowertestinganduse.Thiswaswhatledtotheneedtoacquirea
second,largerDCsupplyforitshighercurrentoutput.AfterthePCBandenclosurewere
received,hehelpedtoidentifytheoptimallayoutofthespacedemandingcomponents-PCB,
ArduinoUno,capacitorback,andinductor.By3DmodelingtheMOSFETs,gatedrivers,
microcontroller,andfilteringcomponents,Jacobidentifiedthebestcomponentarrangementfor
theenclosure.Hekeptheatconstraintsinmindwhenlayingoutthemodeledcomponents.

JackGrundemann

Jackstechnicalroleinthegroupasheattransferdesignerbeganin
theinitialproposalphase.Heassistedindiscussingthefeasibilityof
eachproposeddesigninregardstoefficiency,physicalsize,andheat
dissipation.Toproperlyimplementaheatdissipationdesign,testing
oftheteamsprototypeneededtotakeplace.Beforethecircuitry
wascompleted,Jackworkedtobringthemicrocontrollerto
completionbyassistinginthecreationandimplementationofthe
program.Primarily,theassistancewasinthestratifyingofarrays
anddelaystocreateasignalofproperfrequency.Uponcompletion
ofthecircuitryandprogramusedforpulsewidthmodulation,Jackworkedextensivelywith
testing.Jackdesignedtestsspecificallyforexaminehowsiliconandsiliconcarbidetransistors
heatedwhenplacedundervaryingloadsatvaryingvoltages.Fromtheseexperiments,itwas
determinedwhattypesofheatdissipationcouldbeimplementedinlinewithdesignconstraints.

Indesigningtheheatdissipationsystems,Jackworkedtodesigncostefficientsystems.
Forthisreason,boththecircuitenclosureandtheheatsinksweremadeofaluminum.After
workingwithPCBdesignforthephysicaldimensionsoftheboard,theenclosurewasordered

40

fromsupplierswithparametersreflectingdesignconstraints.Transistorsthencouldbemounted
tothewalltotransferheatthroughconduction.Jackworkedtodesigntwosecondaryheat
dissipationssystemsaluminumtransistorfinnedheatsinksandpassiveconvectionvents.The
layoutofcircuitrywascarefuldeterminedusingJacksknowledgefromresearchingfluid
dynamicsandheattransfer.Jackworkedwithdesigningthelayoutinsidetheenclosurewhile
workingwithteammodelingtooptimallyplacecomponents.Lastly,Jackworkedincircuit
diagnostics.Throughthetestingphases,setbacksoccurredwiththegroupspowersupply,PCB
components,andloads.Toproperlyruntests,Jackworkedwiththegroupsmaincircuit
designerstoquicklyaddressanyfaultsinsystemtesting.

StanleyKaras

Stanstechnicalrolebeganbyworkingwiththegroupto
brainstorm,atahighlevel,whichsystemarchitecturewastobe
implemented.Thiswasdonebylookingatbothexistinginverter
designsanddrawinginspirationfrompastprojects.Oncethebasic
designwaschosen,Stanassistedintheformationofprogramming
logictocontrolthedevice,particularlythearrayswhichdetermined
timingandlevels.Next,troubleshootingwasperformedtohelpfind
minorissuesinthecircuitthiswasanimportantstepbeforemoving
on.Thecreationofaprintedcircuitboardfollowedcloselyafter,
withcloseattentionpaidtoboarddimensionstofitintotheenclosureandtracewidthstohandle
highamperage.Afterprinting,Stancheckedeachtraceandconnectiontoensureproper
translationfromtheprinterminutechanges,suchasthediameterofsomevias,weremade.The
assemblyandverificationoftheboardwithitscomponentscamenextuntil,finally,itwas
operatingsuccessfully.

AnimportantpartofStanstechnicalrolewasensuringthatallpartsoftheprojectwould
fittogether.Thiswasespeciallycrucialinlookingatthephysicaldimensionsoftheenclosure,
printedcircuitboard,andheatsinkdesign.Theprocessofchoosingenclosuredimensionswas
complicatedbythefactthatfinalcircuitdesignwasnotdecideduponuntilsoonbeforethe
printedcircuitboardneededtobeprinted.Stanassistedinchoosinganappropriatelysized
enclosurethatwouldallowforminoradjustmentstotheoverallproject.Placementofthe
heatsinkswasalsocloselyconnectedwithhowthePCBwastobelaidout.

Finally,Stanassistedtheteaminassemblingandtestingthefinalproject.Duetothe
natureoftheproject,safetywasofutmostconcernintestingthefinaldesign.Highvoltagesand
veryhotsurfacesmeantthateachmemberhadtolookoutforoneanothertoensurenoonewas

41

shocked,burned,orinjuredinsomeotherway.Generalbestpractices,suchasnottouchingthe
circuitduringoperationandwearingcertifiedsafetyglasses,weresomeofthethingsStan
stressedmostduringtesting.

TravisMeade

Travisstechnicalrolethroughoutthedurationoftheprojectwas
extensive.Tobegin,hewasinvolvedinbrainstorminginitialcircuit
architecture.Travisassistedinbuildinganumberorprototypesit
wasimportanttoperformthistaskiniterationssothattestingcould
becompletedandunknownissuescouldbediscoveredbefore
delvingtoodeepintoanyparticulardesign.Theconstructionof
thesegoeshandinhandwiththetroubleshootingofsaidprototypes,
whichisanothertechnicalcontributionmadebyhim.Asacircuit
growsincomplexity,theleveloftroubleshootingrequiredalso
increasesTraviswasoneofthemaintroubleshootersofthegroup
andwasabletosolveissueswiththepowersupplies,connections,andthecircuitingeneral.
Twoofthemajorcircuitcomponentsthatrequiredtroubleshootingweretheimplementationsof
thegatedriverandtheprintedcircuitboard.Thegatedriverrequiredafairamountof
experimentationwithregardstocapacitorandresistorsizes,whichissomethingTravisassisted
with.Fortheprintedcircuitboard,itwasimportanttocheckeachconnectionwithscrutinyto
preventashortcircuitwhenmountingcomponents,particularlyforthegatedriversand
transistors.Thishelpedtopreventsetbacks.

ThenextmajoritemTravisassistedwithwastesting,whichtheLittleBoxChallenge
calledfor100+hoursof.Hewasoneofthegroupmembersthatrepeatedlysetupthepower
supplies,microcontroller,andoscilloscopetoensurethedevicewasrunningproperly.Arguably
thelargesttechnicalitemTravisassistedwithwasprogrammingtheArduinotoperformpulse
widthmodulation.Thisincludedbrainstormingthelogicastohowthemicrocontrollerwoulddo
this,creatingpseudocodetohelpbreakdownthetaskintopieces,andphysicallywritingseveral
iterationsofthecodeandloadingthemontotheArduino.Withthiscametroubleshootingthe
codetoensurepulseswerethecorrectwidth,thefrequencywasaperfect60Hz,anditinterfaced
properlywiththegatedrivers.

Asnecessitatedinprojectplanning,roleassignmentswereprovidedfordevelopmentof
theGanttChart.Table6onthefollowingpagedetailsthedesignphases,theirstartandend
dates,aswellasrolesassignedforeachtask.

42



Table6.GanttChartDatesandRoleAssignments

43

Appendix2:References

[1]Paul,ClaytonR.IntroductiontoElectromagneticCompatibility.2nded.N.p.:Wiley,2006.
Print.
[2]http://www.cree.com/~/media/Files/Cree/Power/Data%20Sheets/C2M0025120D.pdf
[3]http://www.atmel.com/Images/doc8161.pdf
[4]http://arduino.cc/en/uploads/Main/Arduino_Uno_Rev3-schematic.pdf
[5]https://www.fairchildsemi.com/datasheets/FA/FAN7382.pdf
[6]http://www.wholesalesolar.com/products.folder/inverter-folder/magnum-ms-4448PAE.html
[7]http://www.circuitstune.com/2011/07/3000w-power-inverter-12v-dc-to-230v-ac.html
[8]http://www.entegronik.com/inverter/12v_240v_dc_inverter/2144542959-0.jpg
[9]https://www.littleboxchallenge.com/pdf/LBC-InverterRequirements.pdf
[10]http://www.qsl.net/dg5sga/inverter.htm
[11]https://www.littleboxchallenge.com/
[12]http://www.wpi.edu/Pubs/E-project/Available/E-project-042507-092653/unrestricted/MQP_
D_1_2.pdf
[13]http://arduino.cc/en/Tutorial/PWM
[14]http://ewh.ieee.org/r5/dallas/sscs/slides/DCDC_Design_Slides_Ver2.pdf
[15]http://www.underservice.org/index.php?topic=241.0
[16]http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php/topic,117425.0.html
[17]https://www.fairchildsemi.com/application-notes/AN/AN-9052.pdf
[18]https://www.fairchildsemi.com/application-notes/AN/AN-6076.pdf
[19]Eastman,LesterF.,andUmeshK.Michra."TheToughest."IEEEXPlore.IEEE,May2002.
Web.29Nov.2014.
<http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=999791&tag=1>.

44

Appendix3:DetailedTechnicalAttachments

PSpiceHBridgeModelCode

ECE480HBridgeSecondRevision(NewPWMController)

VDCRAIL1030
VPDC116040

**GlobalPulseController
VG1280PULSE(1908.3333M008.3333M16.6667M)
**GlobalPulseControllerComplement
VG1C290PULSE(1900008.3333M16.6667M)

**PWMforHighSideDriver1
VAC1150SIN(0.9960000)
VSAW1140PULSE(-110136.612U136.612U0273.224U)
R116113k
X1151416011LM139

**PWMforHighSideDriver1COMPLEMENT
R316253k
X3291116025LM139

**PWMforHighSideDriver2
VAC2200SIN(0.996000180)
VSAW2210PULSE(-110136.612U136.612U0273.224U)
R216223k
X2202116022LM139

**PWMforHighSideDriver2COMPLEMENT
R416273k
X4282216027LM139

45

**LowSidesignalforLowSideDriver3
VLO3190PULSE(0108.3333M008.3333M16.6667M)
**LowSidesignalforLowSideDriver4
VLO4180PULSE(0100008.3333M16.6667M)

M1112800IRF530
M2222900IRF530

RGD13511500
RGD23622500
RGD33725500
RGD43827500

MH1135300IRF530
MH2136310IRF530
ML1303700IRF530
ML2313800IRF530

LFILTER313210.67M
CBANK32333U
RDAMPLOW330101000

RLOAD323020

.LIBECE402.LIB
.TRAN1U4s0M010uUIC
.OP
.PROBE
.END

PSpiceLCFilterCharacterizing

LCFilterCharacterisation

46

VAC110AC170
LFILTER1210.67M
CBANK233U
RDAMPLOW30101000
RLOAD20200

.LIBECE402.LIB
.ACDEC10010Hz80kHz
.OP
.PROBE
.END

PSpiceDC-DCBuckConverter

BuckConverterBasicOutline

VDCIN10200
VPDC116020
VSAW140PULSE(021000011.166u13.272U)

CIN10850U
RBUFF14610K
MHIGH1620IRF530
L123212.5U
COUT30356.57U
D102D1N967A
RLOAD30100k

.LIBECE402.LIB
.TRAN1U80m01uUIC
.OP
.PROBE
.END

47

FinalMicrocontrollerCode

//Group7CompactPowerInverter
//FinalCode

//ThisisthearrayofdelayvaluesneededforoneperiodofthePWM.
intDARRAY[]={189,1,11,1,175,1,25,1,161,1,39,1,147,1,52,1,134,1,66,1,120,1,
78,1,107,1,91,1,95,1,103,1,83,1,114,1,72,1,125,1,61,1,135,1,51,1,144,1,41,1,
153,1,33,1,161,1,25,1,168,1,18,1,174,1,12,1,179,1,7,1,183,1,3,1,186,1,3,1,188,
1,1,1,189,1,1,1,188,1,3,1,186,1,3,1,183,1,7,1,179,1,12,1,174,1,18,1,168,1,25,
1,161,1,33,1,153,1,41,1,144,1,51,1,135,1,61,1,125,1,72,1,114,1,83,1,103,1,95,
1,91,1,107,1,78,1,120,1,66,1,134,1,52,1,147,1,39,1,161,1,25,1,175,1,11,1,189,
1,189,1,11,1,175,1,25,1,161,1,39,1,147,1,52,1,134,1,66,1,120,1,78,1,107,1,91,
1,95,1,103,1,83,1,114,1,72,1,125,1,61,1,135,1,51,1,145,1,41,1,153,1,33,1,161,
1,25,1,168,1,18,1,174,1,12,1,179,1,7,1,183,1,3,1,186,1,3,1,188,1,1,1,189,1,1,
1,188,1,3,1,186,1,3,1,183,1,7,1,179,1,12,1,174,1,18,1,168,1,25,1,161,1,33,1,
153,1,41,1,144,1,51,1,135,1,61,1,125,1,72,1,114,1,83,1,103,1,95,1,91,1,107,1,
78,1,120,1,66,1,134,1,52,1,147,1,39,1,161,1,25,1,175,1,11,1,189,1}

//ThisisthearrayofthebitsettingcodeforoneperiodofPWM.
bytePARRAY[]={B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,
B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,
B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,
B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,
B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,
B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,
B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,
B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,
B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,
B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,
B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,
B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,
B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,
B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,
B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,
B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,
B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,
B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,
B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,
B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,
B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,
B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,

48

B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,
B00001010,B00001000,B00001001,B00001000,B00001010,B00000000,B00001010,
B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,
B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,
B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,
B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,
B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,
B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,
B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,
B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,
B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,
B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,
B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,
B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,
B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,
B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,
B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,
B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,
B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,
B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,
B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,
B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,
B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,
B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,
B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000010,
B00000110,B00000010,B00001010,B00000000}

inti=0//Thisisusedforacountertopullthecorrectvaluesatthecorrecttime.

voidsetup(){
//putyoursetupcodehere,torunonce:

DDRB=B00001111//Thissetspins8,9,10,and11onthearduinoasanoutput.

voidloop(){
//putyourmaincodehere,torunrepeatedly:

49


i=0//Eachloopneedstoresetthecountervariable.

do//Werunado-whilecommandtorunthroughallofthevaluesforoneperiodofouroutput.
Thenitgetsloopedbackanddoesitagain.
{

PORTB=PARRAY[i]//ThissetsthepinseitherHIGHorLOWbasedonwhatwaspulled
fromthebitsettingarray.

delayMicroseconds(DARRAY[i])//ThisdelaystheHIGHorLOWpulsebasedonthevalues
pulledfromourdelayarray.

i=i+1//Thisincrementsthecountersothatthenextpassinthedo-whileloopwillpullthe
correctvaluesfromthearrays.

}while(i<332)//Eacharrayhas332elements.Soassoonaswegetabove332,itwillbreakout
ofthedo-whileloopandthenloopbacktothebeginningofthemainloop.

50



Figure30.FinalPCBLayout,3x3.3

51



Figure31.InitialPCBLayout

52



Figure32.InitialPCBSchematic

53