Power Electronics

Lecture-10
D.C to D.C Converters (Choppers)
Dr. Imtiaz Hussain
Assistant Professor

email: imtiaz.hussain@faculty.muet.edu.pk
URL :http://imtiazhussainkalwar.weebly.com/

Power Electronic Interface

Power Electronics is an enabling technology
providing the needed interface between the
electrical source and electrical load.

The source and load often do differ in frequency,

voltage amplitudes and number of phases.
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Powering the information Technology

Most of the consumer electronics equipment supplied
from the mains, internally needed very load dc voltages.
Figure shows the distributed
architecture typically used in
computers.
In which incoming voltage from
the utility is converted into dc
voltage (24V).
This semi regulated voltage is
distributed within the computer
where on-board power supplies
convert this 24V into tightly
regulated lower voltage.

Powering the information Technology

Many devices such as cell phones operates from
low battery voltages.
However, the electronic circuitry requires higher
voltages.
Thus necessitating a circuit to boost input dc to
higher dc voltages

Introduction to D.C to D.C Converters

(Choppers)
DC to DC converters are important in portable electronic
devices such ascellular phonesandlaptop computers,
which are supplied with power frombatteriesprimarily.

Such electronic devices often contain several subcircuits, each with its own voltage level requirement
different from that supplied by the battery or an external
supply.

They are also widely used in dc-motor drive applications.

Often input to these converters is an unregulated dc
voltage, which is obtained by rectifying the line voltage.

Introduction

Battery
AC Line
Voltage

1-Phase
or
3-Phase

DC
Unregulat
ed

Uncontrolle
d
Diode
Rectifier

Filter
DC
Unregulat
ed

DC
Unregulat
ed

DC
D.C to
Regulated
D.C
Converte
r

vc

D.C to D.C Converter

System

Load

Efficiency & Power Losses

High efficiency is essential
processing application.

The efficiency of a converter is

Pout

Pin

The power lost in converter is

Ploss

1
Pin Pout Pout ( 1)

in

any

power

Efficiency & Power Losses

Efficiency is a good measure of the success of a
given converter technology.
With very small amount of power lost, the
converter elements can be packaged with high
density, leading to a converter of small size and
weight, and of low temperature rise.

How can we build a circuit that changes the

voltage, yet dissipates negligible power?

Efficiency & Power Losses

The various conventional circuit elements are
illustrated in Following figure.

The available circuit elements fall broadly into the

classes of resistive elements, capacitive elements,
magnetic
devices
including
inductors
and
transformers, semiconductor devices operated in the
linear mode and semiconductor devices operated in

Types of dc-dc Converters

Types of D.C to D.C converters
AC Link Choppers
Linear Converters
Switch Mode
Magnetic
E.t.c

AC Link Choppers
First dc is converted to ac with the help of an
inverter.

After that, AC is stepped-up or stepped-down by a

transformer, which is then converted back to dc by
a diode rectifier.
Ac link chopper is costly, bulky and less efficient as
the conversion is done in two stages.

Simple dc-dc Converters

Let us now construct a simple dc-dc
converter. The input voltage vg is 100
V. It is desired to supply 50 V to an
effective 5 load, such that the dc
load current is 10 A.

Resistive dc-dc Converters

Using Voltage divided rule.

Linear dc-dc Converters

Linear Mode dc-dc converter

Switch Mode dc-dc

Converters

Conclusion
Capacitors and magnetic devices are important
elements of switching converters, because ideally
they do not consume power.
It is the resistive element, as well as the linearmode semiconductor device, that is avoided.
Semiconductor in switch mode however dissipate
comparatively low power in either states (ON and
OFF).
So capacitive and inductive elements, as well as
switched-mode
semiconductor
devices,
are
available for synthesis of high-efficiency converters.

Switch Mode D.C to D.C

Converters

Switch-mode DC to DC converters convert one

DC voltage level to another, by storing the
input energy temporarily and then releasing
that energy to the output at a different voltage.
This conversion method is more power efficient
(often 75% to 98%) than linear voltage
regulation (which dissipates unwanted power
as heat).
This efficiency is beneficial to increasing the
running time of battery operated devices.

Switch Mode D.C to D.C

Converters

PWM or PFM regulates the output dc voltage.

The power flow through these converters is only in

one direction thus their voltages and currents
remain unipolar.

Switch Mode D.C to D.C

Converters

A Chopper is a high speed on/off semiconductor

switch.
It connects source to load and disconnects
source from load at very high speed.
In this manner a chopped dc voltage is obtained
from a constant dc supply Vs is obtained.

Switch Mode D.C to D.C

Converters
During the period T , the chopper is on
on

and

load voltage Vo is equal to source voltage Vs.

During the period Toff, the chopper is off and
load current io flows through the freewheeling
diode.

Switch Mode D.C to D.C

Converters
The load voltage is given by

Thus the load voltage can be varied by varying

the switching duty ratio D.

Control of D.C to D.C Converters

Average value of output voltage Vo can be
controlled
by
opening
and
closing
the
semiconductor switch periodically.
The control strategies for varying duty ratio D
are
1. Constant frequency system
2. Variable frequency system

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Constant frequency system

In this scheme Ton is varied but frequency is

kept constant.
Variation of Ton means adjustment of pulse
width. Therefore, this scheme is called PWM

scheme.

Constant frequency system (PWM)

Vo (desired)

+
ampli
fier

Vo (actual)

Vcontrol
Comparato
r

Switch
Control
Signal

Sawtooth Wave
vst
vcontrol
t

Switch
Control
Signal

Ton
Toff
Ts

t on Vcontrol
D

Ts
Vst

Variable frequency system

In this scheme Ton is kept constant but the
frequency is varied.

Variable frequency system

Or Toff is kept constant but the frequency is
varied.

Switch Mode D.C to D.C

Converters

Types of Switch Mode D.C to D.C Converters

Step-Down (Buck) converter
Step-up (Boost) converter
Step Down/Up (Buck-Boost) converter

Step-Down Converter (Buck Converter)

As name implies a step-down converter
produces a lower average output voltage than
the dc input voltage Vd.
Its main application is in regulated dc power
supplies and dc-motor speed control.

Step-Down Converter (Buck Converter)

operation when S is ON (closed)
Circuit

Diode is reversed biased. Switch conducts inductor

current .

This results in positive inductor voltage, i.e:

It causes linear increase in inductor current

Step-Down Converter (Buck Converter)

operation when S is OFF (open)
Circuit

Because of inductive energy storage,

continues to flow.

Diode is reversed
biased. Therefore current

flows through the diode.

Step-Down Converter (Buck Converter)

Ts

1
Vo vo (t )dt
Ts 0
t on

t off

1
Vo Vd (t ) dt 0 dt
Ts 0
t on

ton
Vo Vd
Ts
Vo DVd

Step-Down Converter (Buck Converter)

Continuous conduction mode
A buck converter operates in continuous mode if
the current through the inductor (IL) never falls to
zero during the commutation cycle.

Design procedure for Buck Converter

Calculate D to obtain required output voltage.
Select a particular switching frequency:
preferably >20KHz for negligible acoustic noise

Higher fs results in smaller L, but higher device

losses.
Thus lowering efficiency and larger heat sink.

Design procedure for Buck Converter

Inductor requirement
C Calculation

Possible switching devices: MOSFET, IGBT and BJT.

Low power MOSFET can reach MHz range.

Example-1
A buck converter is supplied from a 50V
battery source. Given L=400uH, C=100uF,
R=20 Ohm, f=20KHz and D=0.4. Calculate: (a)
output voltage (b) output voltage ripple.
Solution
(a) output voltage

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Example-1
(b) Output Ripple

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Example-2
A buck converter has an input voltage of 50V and
output of 25V. The switching frequency is 10KHz.
The power output is 125W. (a) Determine the duty
ratio, (b) value of L to ensure continuous current, (c)
value of capacitance to limit the output voltage
ripple factor to 0.5%.
Solution
(a) output voltage

(b) Value of L

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Example-2
Resistance is calculated as

L must at least be 10 times greater than Lmin.

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(c) Value of C

Example-2

Value of capacitance to limit the output voltage

ripple factor to 0.5% can be calculated using
following equation.

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Example-3
Design a buck converter such that the output
voltage is 28V when the input is 48V. The load is
8Ohm. Design the converter such that it will be in
continuous current mode. The output voltage ripple
must not be more than 0.5%. Specify the frequency
and the values of each component. Suggest the
Solution:
power switch also.

irst of all determine the switching frequency.

Then calculate the switching duty ratio

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Example-3

alue of inductor can be chosen to ensure continuous conduction

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Example-3
Value of capacitance to limit the output voltage
ripple factor to 0.5% can be calculated using
following equation.

42

Example-3
Selection of Power semiconductor switch

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Step-Up Converter (Boost Converter)

Aboost converter(step-up converter) is aDCto-DC power converterwith an output voltage
greater than its input voltage.

Step-Up Converter (Boost Converter)

When the switch is closed, current

flows through the inductor in clockwise
direction and the inductor stores the
energy.
Polarity of the left side of the inductor
is positive.

Step-Up Converter (Boost Converter)

When switch is opened, the output receives
energy from the input as well as from the
inductor.
Hence output is large.

Step-Up Converter (Boost Converter)

S Closed

S Open

Step-Up Converter (Boost Converter)

Step-Up Converter (Boost Converter)

Boost Converter Design
Minimum inductor value

Capacitor Value

Example-4
The boost converter has the following
parameters:
Vd=20V,
D=0.6,
R=12.5ohm,
L=65uH,
C=200uF,
fs=40KHz.
Determine
(a)
output
voltage, (b) output voltage ripple.
Solution

(b) output voltage ripple

(a) output voltage

50

Example-5
Design a boost converter to provide an output
voltage of 36V from a 24V source. The load is
50W. The voltage ripple factor must be less
than 0.5%. Specify the duty cycle ratio,
switching frequency, inductor and capacitor
size, and power device.
Solution

irst of all determine the switching frequency.

Then calculate the switching duty ratio

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Example-5
Calculate the load resistance

alculate inductor value to ensure continuous current

Inductance must be greeter than or equal to Lmin

52

Example-5

n calculate the Capacitor Value for ripple factor less than 0.5%

e selecting the power device we must take into account the switching fr

53

Example-5
Selection of Power semiconductor switch

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Buck-Boost Converter
Thebuckboost converteris a type ofDC-to-DC
converterthat has an output voltage magnitude
that is either greater than or less than the input
voltage magnitude.

If D>0.5, output is higher

If D<0.5, output is lower
Output voltage is always negative

Buck-Boost Converter
while in the On-state, the input voltage
source is directly connected to the inductor
(L). This results in accumulating energy in L.
In this stage, the capacitor supplies energy
to the output load.

Buck-Boost Converter
In Off-state, the inductor is connected to the
output load and capacitor, so energy is
transferred from L to C and R.

Buck-Boost Converter
In ON-state (Switch Closed)

Buck-Boost Converter
In OFF-state (Switch Opened)

Buck-Boost Converter
Steady state operation

Buck-Boost Converter

Example-6
Determine the switching duty ratio of a buck-boost
converter such that the output voltage is -28V when
the input is 100V. The load is 1Ohm. Design the
converter such that it will be in continuous current
mode. The output voltage ripple must not be more
than 0.5%. Specify the frequency and the values of
Solution:
each component. Suggest the power switch also.

irst of all determine the switching frequency.

Then calculate the switching duty ratio

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Example-6

n calculate the Capacitor Value for ripple factor less than 0.5%

Value of inductor can be calculated as

63

Example-6

electing the power device we must take into account the switching freq

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Switch mode vs Linear Power Supplies

One of the major applications of switch
mode dc-dc converters is in switch mode
power supplies (SMPs).
SMPs offer several advantages over linear
mode power supplies.
Efficient (70-95%)
Weight and size reduction

They also have some disadvantages

Complex design
EMI problems
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Linear Mode Power Supply

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Switch Mode Power Supply

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END OF LECTURE-10

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