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A monolithically integrated smart rectifier has been presented first in this work. The smart rectifier, which integrates a power MOSFET, gate driver and control circuitry, operates in a self-synchronized fashion based on its drain-source voltage, and does not need external control input. The analysis, simulation, and design considerations are described in detail. A 5V, 5-µm CMOS process was used to fabricate the prototype. Experimental results show that the proposed rectifier functions as expected in the design. Since no dead-time control needs to be used to switch the sync-FET and ctrl-FET, it is expected that the body diode losses can be reduced substantially, compared to the conventional synchronous rectifier. The proposed self-synchronized rectifier (SSR) can be operated at high frequencies and maintains high efficiency over a wide load range. As an example of the smart rectifier's application in isolated DC-DC converter, a synchronous flyback converter with SSR is analyzed, designed and tested. Experimental results show that the operating frequency could be as high as 4MHz and the efficiency could be improved by more than 10% compared to that when a hyper fast diode rectifier is used. Based on a new current-source gate driver scheme, an integrated gate driver for buck converter is also developed in this work by using a 0.35µm CMOS process with optional high voltage (50V) power MOSFET. The integrated gate driver consists both the current-source driver for high-side power MOSFET and low-power driver for low-side power iv MOSFET. Compared with the conventional gate driver circuit, the current-source gate driver can recovery some gate charging energy and reduce switching loss. So the current-source driver (CSD) can be used to improve the efficiency performance in high frequency power converters. This work also presents a new implementation of a power supply in package (PSiP) 5MHz buck converter, which is different from all the prior-of-art PSiP solutions by using a high-Q bondwire inductor. The high-Q bondwire inductor can be manufactured by applying ferrite epoxy to the common bondwire during standard IC packaging process, so the new implementation of PSiP is expected to be a cost-effective way of power supply integration.

A single-layer neural network-based voltage compensation technique which generates minimum-distortion sinusoidal output voltages from a three-phase PWM inverter used for uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) is described. The proposed compensation technique is implemented in a microprocessor-based controller constructed in the stationary d-q frame where the controller sampling rate is twice the inverter switching frequency. The structure of a feed-forward artificial neural network connects network inputs and outputs through multiple linear or nonlinear neuron models, and processes these input/output data associations in a parallel distributed manner. Network inputs in the form of UPS load voltage commands and load current feedback are propagated forward in the network each controller sampling period generating the inverter output voltage commands, the network outputs, which are converted to three phase inverter switching Signals using the space vector PWM waveform generation process. / Ph. D.

The emergence of silicon-carbide (SiC) devices has been a 'game changer' in the field of power electronics. With desirable material properties such as low-loss characteristics, high blocking voltage, and high junction temperature operation, they are expected to drastically increase the power density of power electronics systems. Recent state-of-the-art designs show the power density over 17 ; however, certain factors limit the power density to increase beyond this limit. In this dissertation, three key factors are selected to increase the power density of SiC-based grid-connected three-phase converters. Throughout this dissertation, the techniques and strategies to increase the power density of SiC three-phase converters were investigated. Firstly, a magnetic integration method was introduced for the coupled inductors in the interleaved three-phase converters. Due to limited current-capacity compared to the silicon insulated-gate bipolar transistors (Si-IGBTs), discrete SiC devices or SiC modules, operate in parallel to handle a large current. When three-phase inverters are paralleled, interleaving can be used, and coupled inductors are employed to limit the circulating current. In Chapter 2, the conventional integration method was extended to integrate three coupled inductors into two; one for differential-mode circulating current and the other for common-mode circulating current. By comparing with prior research work, a 20% reduction in size and weight is demonstrated. From Chapter 3 to Chapter 5, a full-SiC uninterruptible power supply (UPS) was investigated. With the high switching frequency and fast switching dynamics of SiC devices, strategies on electromagnetic inference become more important, compared to Si-IGBT based inverters. Chapter 3 focuses on a common-mode equivalent circuit model for a topology and pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme selection, to set a noise mitigation strategy in the design phase. A three terminal common-mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) model is proposed, which predicts the impact of the dc-dc stage and a large battery-rack on the output CM noise. Based on the model, severe deterioration of noise by the dc-dc stage and battery-rack can be predicted. Special attention was paid on the selection of the dc-dc stage's topology and the PWM scheme to minimize the impact. With the mitigation strategy, a maximum 16 dB reduction on CM EMI can be achieved for a wide frequency range. In Chapter 4, an active PWM scheme for a full-SiC three-level back-to-back converter was proposed. The PWM scheme targets the size reduction of two key components: dc-link capacitors and a common-mode EMI filter. The increase in switching frequency calls for a large common-mode EMI filter, and dc-link capacitors in the three-level topology may take a considerable portion in the total volume. To reduce the common-mode noise emission, different combinations of the voltage vectors are investigated to generate center-aligned single pulse common-mode voltage. By such an alignment of common-mode voltage with different vector combinations, noise cancellation between the rectifier and the inverter can be maximally utilized, while the balancing of neutral point voltage can be achieved by the transition between the combinations. Also, to reduce the size of the dc-link capacitor for the three-level back-to-back converter, a compensation algorithm for neutral point voltage unbalance was developed for both differential-mode voltage and the common-mode voltage of the ac-ac stage. The experimental results show a 4 dB reduction on CM EMI, which leads to a 30% reduction on the required CM inductance value. When a 10% variation of neutral point voltage can be handled, the dc-link capacitance can be reduced by 56%. In Chapter 5, a 20 kW full-SiC UPS prototype was built to demonstrate a possible size-reduction with the proposed PWM scheme, as well as a selection of topologies and PWM schemes based on the model. The power density and efficiency are compared with the state-of-the-art Si-IGBT based UPSs. Chapter 6 seeks to improve power density by a change in a modulation method. Triangular conduction mode (TCM) operation of the three-level full-SiC inverter was investigated. The switching loss of SiC devices is reported to be concentrated on the turn-on instant. With zero-voltage turn-on of all switches, the switching frequency of a three-level three-phase SiC inverter can be drastically increased, compared to the hard-switching operation. This contributes to the size-reduction of the filter inductors and EMI filters. Based on the design to achieve a 99% peak efficiency, a comparison was made with a full-SiC three-level inverter, operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM), to verify the benefit of the soft switching scheme on the power density. A design procedure for an LCL filter of paralleled TCM inverters was developed. With 3.5 times high switching frequency, the total weight of the filter stage of the TCM inverter can be reduced by 15%, compared to that of the CCM inverter. Throughout this dissertation, techniques for size reduction of key components are introduced, including coupled inductors in parallel inverters, an EMI filter, dc-link capacitors, and the main boost inductor. From Chapter 2 to 5, the physical size or required value of these key components could be reduced by 20% to 56% by different schemes such as magnetic integration, EMI mitigation strategy through modeling, and an active PWM scheme. An optimization result for a full-SiC UPS showed a 40% decrease in the total volume, compared to the state-of-the-art Si-IGBT solution. Soft-switching modulation for SiC-based three-phase inverters can bring a significant increase in the switching frequency and has the potential to enhance power-density notably. A three-level three-phase full-SiC 40 kW PV inverter with TCM operation contributed to a 15% reduction on the filter weight. / Doctor of Philosophy / The power density of a power electronics system is regarded as an indicator of technological advances. The higher the power density of the power supply, the more power it can generate with the given volume and weight. The size requirement on power electronics has been driven towards tighter limits, as the dependency on electric energy increases with the electrification of transportation and the emergence of grid-connected renewable energy sources. However, the efficiency of a power electronics system is an essential factor and is regarded as a trade-off with the power density. The size of power electronics systems is largely impacted by its magnetic components for filtering, as well as its cooling system, such as a heatsink. Once the switching frequency of power semiconductors is increased to lower the burden on filtering, more loss is generated from filters and semiconductors, thus enlarging the size of the cooling system. Therefore, considering the efficiency has to be maintained at a reasonable value, the power density of Si-based converters appears to be saturated. With the emergence of wide-bandgap devices such as silicon carbide (SiC) or gallium nitride (GaN), the switching frequency of power devices can be significantly increased. This is a result of superior material properties, compared to Si-based power semiconductors. For grid-connected applications, SiC devices are adopted, due to the limitations of voltage ratings in GaN devices. Before commercial SiC devices were available, the power density of SiC- based three-phase inverters was expected to go over 20 𝑘𝑊 𝑑𝑚3 ⁄ . However, the state-of-the art designs shows the power density around 3 ~ 4 𝑘𝑊 𝑑𝑚3 ⁄ , and at most 17 𝑘𝑊 𝑑𝑚3 ⁄ . The SiC devices could increase the power density, but they have not reached the level expected. The adoption of SiC devices with faster switching was not a panacea for power density improvement. This dissertation starts with an analysis of the factors that prevent power density improvement of SiC-based, grid-connected, three-phase inverters. Three factors were identified: a limited increase in the switching frequency, large high-frequency noise generation to be filtered, and smaller but still significant magnetic components. Using a generic design procedure for three-phase inverters, each chapter seeks to frame a strategy and develop techniques to enhance the power density. For smaller magnetic components, a magnetic integration scheme is proposed for paralleled ac-dc converters. To reduce the size of the noise filter, an accurate modeling approach was taken to predict the noise phenomena during the design phase. Also, a modulation scheme to minimize the noise generation of the ac-ac stage is proposed. The validity of the proposed technique was verified by a full-SiC three-phase uninterruptible power supply with optimized hardware design. Lastly, the benefit of soft-switching modulation, which leads to a significant increase in switching frequency, was analyzed. The hardware optimization procedure was developed and compared to hard-switched three-phase inverters.

This thesis deal with design of multi-quadrant power supply in linear and switching mode. In the case of the switching mode energy recuparation is also considered as well as optimalization of change of load response over time. Power supplies are designed as general purpose laboratory and process power supplies. Power supplies are designed so that they can be connected via galvanic insulated USB interface with a PC

This thesis was selected due to establishing of universal platform for USBTMC remote instrumentation and constructing a laboratory DC power supply for hobby use. This thesis is focused on design and realization of regulated linear DC power supply. At first thesis mentions kinds of DC power supplies and kinds of interfaces used for test and measurement instruments. Thesis continues by describing of blocks of a developed linear DC power supply with an USB interface following the USBTMC specification for remote control. Thesis ends by realization of the regulated linear DC power supply with USBTMC interface. It was achieved acceptable results. Communication between PC and Control module works well as same as communication between Control module and Power supply module. Maximum output ranges of voltage and current are 40V and 3A. Big interference on auxiliary supply rail decreases accuracy.

Fuel supply issues are a major concern in remote island communities and this is an engineering field that needs to be analyzed in detail for transition to sustainable energy systems. Power generation in remote communities such as the islands of the Maldives relies on power generation systems primarily dependent on diesel generators. As a consequence, power generation is easily disrupted by factors such as the delay in transportation of diesel or rises in fuel price, which limits shipment quantity. People living in remote communities experience power outages often, but find them just as disruptive as people who are connected to national power grids. The use of renewable energy sources could help to improve this situation, however, such systems require huge initial investments. Remote power systems often operate with the help of financial support from profit-making private agencies and government funding. Therefore, investing in such hybrid systems is uncommon. Current electrical power generation systems operating in remote communities adopt an open loop control system, where the power supplier generates power according to customer demand. In the event of generation constraints, the supplier has no choice but to limit the power supplied and this often results in power cuts. Most smart grids that are being established in developed grids adopt a closed loop feedback control system. The smart grids integrated with demand side management tools enable the power supplier to keep customers informed about their daily energy consumption. Electric utility companies use different demand response techniques to achieve peak energy demand reduction by eliciting behavior change. Their feedback information is commonly based on factors such as cost of energy, environmental concerns (carbon dioxide intensity) and the risk of black-outs due to peak loads. However, there is no information available on the significant link between the constraints in resources and the feedback to the customers. In resource-constrained power grids such as those in remote areas, there is a critical relationship between customer demand and the availability of power generation resources. This thesis develops a feedback control strategy that can be adopted by the electrical power suppliers to manage a resource-constrained remote electric power grid such that the most essential load requirements of the customers are always met. The control design introduces a new concept of demand response called participatory demand response (PDR). PDR technique involves cooperative behavior of the entire community to achieve quality of life objectives. It proposes the idea that if customers understand the level of constraint faced by the supplier, they will voluntarily participate in managing their loads, rather than just responding to a rise in the cost of energy. Implementation of the PDR design in a mini-grid consists of four main steps. First, the end-use loads have to be characterized using energy audits, and then they have to be classified further into three different levels of essentiality. Second, the utility records have to be obtained and the hourly variation factors for the appliances have to be calculated. Third, the reference demand curves have to be generated. Finally, the operator control system has to be designed and applied to train the utility operators. A PDR case study was conducted in the Maldives, on the island of Fenfushi. The results show that a significant reduction in energy use was achieved by implementing the PDR design on the island. The overall results from five different constraint scenarios practiced on the island showed that during medium constrained situations, load reductions varied between 4.5kW (5.8%) and 7.7kW (11.3%). A reduction of as much as 10.7kW (15%) was achieved from the community during a severely constrained situation.

The goal of this dissertation is to evaluate the effectiveness of model predictive control (MPC) for a magnetically suspended flywheel energy storage uninterruptible power supply (FlyUPS). The reason this research topic was selected was to determine if an advanced control technique such as MPC could perform better than a classical control approach such as decentralised Proportional-plus-Differential (PD) control. Based on a literature study of the FlyUPS system and the MPC strategies available, two MPC strategies were used to design two possible MPC controllers were designed for the FlyUPS, namely a classical MPC algorithm that incorporates optimisation techniques and the MPC algorithm used in the MATLAB® MPC toolbox™. In order to take the restrictions of the system into consideration, the model used to derive the controllers was reduced to an order of ten according to the Hankel singular value decomposition of the model. Simulation results indicated that the first controller based on a classical MPC algorithm and optimisation techniques was not verified as a viable control strategy to be implemented on the physical FlyUPS system due to difficulties obtaining the desired response. The second controller derived using the MATLAB® MPC toolbox™ was verified to be a viable control strategy for the FlyUPS by delivering good performance in simulation. The verified MPC controller was then implemented on the FlyUPS. This implementation was then analysed in order to validate that the controller operates as expected through a comparison of the simulation and implementation results. Further analysis was then done by comparing the performance of MPC with decentralised PD control in order to determine the advantages and limitations of using MPC on the FlyUPS. The advantages indicated by the evaluation include the simplicity of the design of the controller that follows directly from the specifications of the system and the dynamics of the system, and the good performance of the controller within the parameters of the controller design. The limitations identified during this evaluation include the high computational load that requires a relatively long execution time, and the inability of the MPC controller to adapt to unmodelled system dynamics. Based on this evaluation MPC can be seen as a viable control strategy for the FlyUPS, however more research is needed to optimise the MPC approach to yield significant advantages over other control techniques such as decentralised PD control. / Thesis (MIng (Computer and Electronic Engineering))--North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2013

This thesis presents the results of wind tunnel experiments performed for various model wind turbine arrays. The aim is to understand how siting affects power output. To optimize wind farm efficiency the experiments vary the parameters of the model wind turbines and the layout of the wind turbine array. The parameters include the alignment, height, spacing, and the rotational direction of the model wind turbines. These experiments employ mechanical torque sensors to simultaneously measure the torque and rotor angular velocity, which yields a direct measurement of the fluid mechanical power extracted by the turbine at multiple locations. For a 4 × 3 array, the power is calculated at the center turbine in each of the rows. Variations in wind farm efficiency ranging from 55% to 90% are observed between the 13 different layouts tested. Modifications to the layout of the wind turbine array clearly affects the power output of the wind turbines downstream. The results of such experiments highlight the importance of studying the relationship between wind farm layout and power output.