Thesis (MScEng (Electrical and Electronic Engineering))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The purpose of a solid state transformer (SST) is to use power electronic converters to mimic the operation of the conventional distribution transformer. These power electronic converters are proposed to overcome the disadvantages of the conventional distribution transformer. The advantages of a SST include near perfect voltage regulation and harmonic isolation between the primary and secondary windings of the transformer. This thesis discusses the design and development of the different converters in a solid state transformer (SST). A prototype modular back-to-back converter is developed for the input and isolation stage of the SST. The isolation stage consists of a high voltage DC-DC converter, which transfers power across the isolation barrier of the SST. This stage is evaluated in the laboratory with special attention being paid to the efficiency of the converter. The second aspect that this thesis addresses is the output stage of the SST, namely a three phase inverter. The discussion of the output stage focuses on the losses occurring in the inverter. The switching device losses are calculated by means of an adapted numerical method as opposed to using conventional analytical methods. The presented numerical method is compared to the existing analytical method and the findings are discussed. A double loop control strategy is implemented for the output stage inverter. The inner current loop utilizes a predictive control strategy. The control analysis of the double loop controller is discussed and evaluated in the laboratory. All the converters that are discussed in this thesis are evaluated in the laboratory and the relevant measurements are included. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die doel van ’n drywingselektroniese transformator (DET) is om drywingselektroniese omsetters te gebruik om die werking van die konvensionele distribusietransformator na te boots. Hierdie drywingselektroniese omsetters word voorgestel ten einde die nadele van die konvensionele distribusietransformator te bowe te kom. Die voordele van ’n DET sluit in: feitlik perfekte regulering van spanning en harmoniese isolasie tussen die primˆere en sekondˆere windings van die transformator. Hierdie tesis bespreek die ontwerp en ontwikkeling van die verskillende omsetters in ’n drywingselektroniese transformator (DET). ’n Prototipe modulˆere rug-aan-rug-omsetter word ontwikkel vir die intree- en isolasiefase van die DET. Die isolasiefase bestaan uit ’n hoogspanning- GS-GS omsetter, wat drywing oor die isolasiegrens van die DET heen oordra. Hierdie omsetter word in die laboratorium ge¨evalueer met besondere aandag aan die doeltreffendheid van die omsetter. Die tweede aspek waarna in hierdie tesis gekyk word, is die uittreefase van die DET, naamlik ’n driefaseomsetter. Die bespreking van die uittreefase fokus egter op die verliese wat in die omsetter voorkom. Die verliese van die skakelaars word bereken deur middel van ’n aangepaste numeriese metode teenoor die gebruik van konvensionele analitiese metodes. Die numeriese metode wat aangebied word, word vergelyk met die bestaande analitiese metode en die bevindings word bespreek. ’n Dubbellus-beheerstrategie word vir die uittreefase-omsetter ge¨ımplementeer. Die binneste stroomlus word ge¨ımplementeer deur van ’n voorspelbare beheerstrategie gebruik te maak. Die beheeranalise van die dubbellusbeheerder word bespreek en in die laboratorium ge¨evalueer. Al die omsetters wat in hierdie tesis bespreek word, word in die laboratorium ge¨evalueer en die relevante metings word ingesluit.

Power dissipation of integrated circuits is the most demanding issue for very large scale integration (VLSI) design engineers, especially for portable and mobile applications. Use of multiple supply voltages systems, which employs level converter between two voltage islands is one of the most effective ways to reduce power consumption. In this thesis work, a unique level converter known as universal level converter (ULC), capable of four distinct level converting operations, is proposed. The schematic and layout of ULC are built and simulated using CADENCE. The ULC is characterized by performing three analysis such as parametric, power, and load analysis which prove that the design has an average power consumption reduction of about 85-97% and capable of producing stable output at low voltages like 0.45V even under varying load conditions.

M. Tech. (Engineering: Electrical, Department Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology), Vaal University of Technology / The global trends towards energy efficiency have facilitated the need for technological advancements in the design and control of power electronic converters for energy processing. The proposed design is intended to make the practical implementation of converters easier. The development of a universal bidirectional galvanic isolated switch module will be used to drive any MOSFET or IGBT in any position in any topology whether the load is AC or DC. Semiconductor switches are required and are also integrated for fast switching times in power converter applications The structure of the power switch module consists of an opto-coupler which will provide an isolation barrier for maximum galvanic isolation between the control circuitry and power stage. It also consists of a high performance gate drive circuit for high speed switching applications with a floating supply. / Telkom South Africa Ltd, TFMC Pty Ltd, M-TEC, THRIP

This work presents a new energy saving technique for modern digital designs. We propose Time Interleaved Multi-Rail (TIMR) - a method for providing two dynamic supply rails to a circuit. This technique uses the first supply rail to mask the transition delay while changing the voltage of the second rail. We examine the design of TIMR as well as the implementation and considerations. We propose a number of control schemes that range from traditional DVFS to "race to sleep". This thesis also shows simulations of the technique using a existing voltage regulator in order to find the time and energy overhead of implementing the design. We find a 100μs switching time delay and 118μJ energy overhead associated with changing the voltage rail. This work concludes with comparisons to current energy saving techniques. / Graduation date: 2012

The objective of the proposed research is to investigate feasible approaches to dynamic control of the power grid. Growth in the demand for electric power, and an increase in the penetration of renewable energy resources are causing congestion on an already aging power grid. Conventional grid control involves the use of static assets that operate on long time scales. These assets provide no dynamic control on the grid, and are typically used for scheduled support. Existing solutions (FACTS devices) to dynamic grid control have seen minimal market penetration because of high cost and low reliability. The proposed research provides a solution for dynamic control of the power grid that augments existing grid assets with a thin AC converter (TACC) to realize enhanced dynamic control. The TACC is a direct AC converter with filter elements and no bulk energy storage that dynamically reflects the asset value on the grid. The converter has a fail-normal mode of operation that returns the asset to its initial operating state, thereby not degrading system reliability. Some applications of TACCs include Inverter-Less STATCOMs and Controllable Network Transformers, which are realized by augmenting shunt VAR capacitors and load tap changers respectively. The principle of virtual quadrature sources is proposed to enable conditioning of AC voltages and currents. The concept is a novel method to realize control of phase angle and, or harmonics in single-phase AC converters, with no bulk energy storage. This concept is used to control the TACC and provides the asset with significantly enhanced control capabilities. Scaling of the TACC to utility voltage and power levels has been addressed by proposing a novel multilevel direct AC converter. The concept proposes the use of commercially available low cost semiconductor devices to realize high power converters. The specific application chosen to validate the concept of TACCs, through a medium voltage design, is the Inverter-less STATCOM.

M. Tech. Electrical Engineering. / Aims to develop these railways applications for a better use of the electrical power to reduce pollution and consumption. The specification of this project is to improve the conversion of the electrical energy. This also involves improving the connection between the train and the electrical networks using the pantograph. In this research, I will propose a new architecture for the converters and a structure to provide to the grid the electricity generated through braking. Another point regards the command of the converters, which is directly involved in the system behaviour. In order to obtain the best behaviour possible, a different control as usual will be described and modelled to reduce the total harmonics distortion rate and reach a better efficiency.

The objective of the research is to develop a cost-effective high-power bi-directional dc/dc converter with low total-device ratings, reduced system parasitic effects, and a wide input/output range. Additional objectives of the research are to develop a small-signal model and control methods, and to present performance characterizations. Device stresses in the proposed topology are controlled to maintain minimal levels by varying the duty ratio and phase-shift angle between the primary and the secondary bridges, which results in a low total-device rating, when compared to conventional bi-directional dc/dc topologies. In the proposed topology, soft switching, which reduces power loss, can be realized under specific operating conditions. When the condition that causes minimal device stress is satisfied, zero-voltage switching (ZVS) can be obtained. In the research, ZVS capability is explored for a wide range of voltage conditions as well as for the minimal device-stress condition. The performance characterization includes verifying the soft-switching regions and power-loss estimation. Another part of the thesis is the controller design of the converter. Small-signal models and feedback controllers are developed, and the controllers are experimentally validated. Because in the isolated high-frequency converters, transformer saturation is an important issue, a method to prevent transformer saturation is proposed and experimentally validated.

[Truncated abstract] This thesis studies current sensing techniques that are designed to meet the requirements for the next generation of power converters. Power converters are often standardised, so that they can be replaced with a model from another manufacturer without an expensive system redesign. For this reason, the power converter market is highly competitive and relies on cutting-edge technology, which increases power conversion efficiency and power density. High power density and conversion efficiency reduce the system cost, and thus make the power converter more attractive to the customer. Current sensing is a vital task in power converters, where the current information is required for monitoring and control purposes. In order to achieve the above-mentioned goals, existing current sensing techniques have to be improved in terms of cost, power loss and size. Simultaneously, current information needs to be increasingly available in digital form to enable digital control, and to allow the digital transmission of the current information to a centralised monitoring and control unit. All this requires the output signal of a particular current sensing technique to be acquired by an analogue-to-digital converter, and thus the output voltage of the current sensor has to be sufficiently large. This thesis thoroughly reviews contemporary current sensing techniques and identifies suitable techniques that have the potential to meet the performance requirements of the next-generation of power converters. After the review chapter, three novel current sensing techniques are proposed and investigated: 1) The usefulness of the resistive voltage drop across a copper trace, which carries the current to be measured, to detect electrical current is evaluated. Simulations and experiments confirm that this inherently lossless technique can measure high currents at reasonable measurement bandwidth, good accuracy and low cost if the sense wires are connected properly. 2) Based on the mutual inductance theory found during the investigation of the copper trace current sense method, a modification of the well-known lossless inductor current sense method is proposed and analysed. This modification involves the use of a coupled sense winding that significantly improves the frequency response. Hence, it becomes possible to accurately monitor the output current of a power converter with the benefits of being lossless, exhibiting good sensitivity and having small size. 3) A transformer based DC current sense method is developed especially for digitally controlled power converters. This method provides high accuracy, large bandwidth, electrical isolation and very low thermal drift. Overall, it achieves better performance than many contemporary available Hall Effect sensors. At the same time, the cost of this current sensor is significantly lower than that of Hall Effect current sensors. A patent application has been submitted. .... The current sensing techniques have been studied by theory, hardware experiments and simulations. In addition, the suitability of the detection techniques for mass production has been considered in order to access the ability to provide systems at low-cost.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2005. / Title from first page of PDF file. Document formatted into pages; contains xvi, 209 p.; also includes graphics. Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-209). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center

Thesis (MEng)--Stellenbosch University, 2014. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The development of fast and efficient processors, programmable devices and high power semiconductors has led to the increased use of semiconductors directly in the power supply path in order to achieve strict power quality standards. New and advanced algorithms are used in the process and calculated on-line to bring about the required fast response to voltage variations. Losses in high voltage semiconductors increase with increased operating frequencies. A balance between semiconductor power losses and power quality is achieved through control of power semiconductor switching frequencies. A predictive control algorithm to achieve high power quality and limit the power losses in the high power semiconductor switches through switching frequency control is discussed for a tap switched voltage regulator. The quality of power, voltage regulator topology and the control algorithm are discussed. Simulation results of output voltage and current are shown when the control algorithm is used to control the regulator. These results are verified by practical measurements on a synchronous buck converter. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Die ontwikkeling van vinnige en doeltreffende verwerkers, programmeerbare toestelle en hoëdrywings halfgeleiers het gelei tot 'n groter gebruik van halfgeleiers direk in die kragtoevoer pad om streng elektriese toevoer kwaliteit standaarde te bereik. Nuwe en gevorderde algoritmes word gebruik in die proses en word aan-lyn bereken om die nodige vinnige reaksie tot spanningswisselinge te gee. Verliese in hoë-spannings halfgeleiers verhoog met hoër skakel frekwensies. 'n Balans tussen die halfgeleier drywingsverliese en spanningskwalteit is behaal deur die skakel frekwensie in ag te neem in die beheer. 'n Voorspellinde-beheer algoritme om ‘n hoë toevoerkwaliteit te bereik en die drywingsverliese in die hoëdrywingshalfgeleier te beperk, deur skakel frekwensie te beheer, is bespreek vir 'n tap-geskakelde spanning reguleerder. Die toevoerkwaliteit, spanningsreguleerder topologie en die beheer algoritme word bespreek. Simulasie resultate van die uittree-spanning en stroom word getoon wanneer die beheer algoritme gebruik word om die omsetter te beheer. Hierdie resultate is deur praktiese metings op 'n sinkrone afkapper.