Learning objectives
1) Knowledge and understanding
Attending classes and individual study will allow students to acquire knowledge and understanding of:
- circuit topologies of the most relevant circuits for static energy conversion
- principles of operation of the most relevant circuits for static energy conversion
- need for protection circuits (snubbers), their structure, operation and design
- examples of driver circuits
2) Capacità di applicare conoscenza e comprensione
Attending classes and individual study will allow students to acquire the capability of:
- analyzing the operation of power connetter circuits for static energy conversion
- analyzing voltage and current waveforms and evaluating the main power converter figures of merit
- solving simple design exercises involvoing the hand calculation of required active and passive components specifications.
Prerequisites
Electrical circuits (Principi ed applicazioni dell'ingegneria elettrica). Basic electron devices and digital electronics (Elettronica 1). Basic analog electronics (Elettronica 2).
Course unit content
1) Introduction to power electronics
2) AC/DC converters (rectifiers)
3) Dissipative regulators and switching DC/DC converters
4) DC/AC converters (inverters)
5) Snubber circuits for power switches
6) Drivers for BJTs e MOSFETs
Full programme
1) Introduction to power electronics
Basics of semiconductor power switches. Power converter classification. Figures of merit: input and output distortion, efficiency, regulation.
2) AC/DC converters (rectifiers)
Single-phase half-wave rectifier. Single-phase full-wave rectifier with center-tapped transformer. Single-phase full-wave bridge rectifier. Low-pass filters. Single-phase full-wave bridge rectifier with RLE load. Three-phase full-wave bridge rectifier.
3) Dissipative regulators and switching DC/DC converters
Dissipative regulators. Switching DC/DC converters: Buck; Boost; Buck-Boost; Cuk converter; H-bridge. PWM modulation.
4) DC/AC converters (inverters)
Single-phase half-bridge inverter. Single-phase full-bridge inverter. Three-phase full-bridge inverter: 180° and 120° operation. Full-bridge inverter modulation: single-pulse PWM, multiple-pulse PWM, sinusoidal PWM; space vector modulation.
5) Snubber circuits for power switches
Turn-off, overvoltage, and turn-on snubbers.
6) Drivers for BJTs e MOSFETs
Examples of driver circuits for BJTs and MOSFETs. Driver isolation.
Bibliography
M. Rashid, "Power electronics", 3rd ed., Prentice-Hall, ISBN 0-13-122815-
3 .
Teaching methods
Classroom lectures. The instructor will use slides available to the students for downloading. Classroom exercises solved by the instructor.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam. There is a single oral exam for the three modules making up the integrated course.
Students will have to show that they know the structure of the circuits analyzed in the lectures, and that they can describe their operation.
Students will also have to demonstrate that they can evaluate the performance of power converters by calculating their main figures of merit based on the voltage and current waveforms. It is also expected that students will be able to solve simple design exercises involving the determination of active and passive component specifications.
Other information
A copy of the lecture slides is available for downloading at lea.unipr.it.
