M. Sanz

New Power Factor Correction AC-DC Converter With Reduced Storage Capacitor Voltage

Most of single-stage power factor correction (PFC) ac-dc converters usually present a high voltage swing on the storage capacitor. That means, high size and cost of the storage capacitor is obtained. The Series Inductance Interval (SII) PFC converters allow reducing cost and size of the storage capacitor since the capacitor voltage is lower than the output voltage and, therefore, the voltage swing is significantly reduced. In this paper, the novel single-stage SII-B-2D PFC converter is presented. In addition, this topology provides input current harmonics under EN61000-3-2 Class D limits and advantageous component count

Mixed analytical and numerical design method for piezoelectric transformers

Analytical models are widely used for piezoelectric transformers (PTs) design. In this paper, the additional usefulness of finite element analysis (FEA) for PT design will be shown. With FEA it is possible to optimize the PT design not only by maximizing the energy transference, but cleaning the working frequency range of spurious modes (geometrical 2D/3D effects). Besides, FEA tools allow studying other interesting aspects of the PT design such as the manufacturing tolerances or the influence of the fixing layer on the PT performance (which is a critical design point). A mixed analytical and numerical design method for PT is proposed.

Impedance Identification Procedure of Three-Phase Balanced Voltage Source Inverters Based on Transient Response Measurements

Impedance-based models are commonly used to perform system-level stability analysis of distributed power systems. In this paper, a new impedance identification procedure for three-phase balanced voltage source inverters voltage source inverters (VSIs) is proposed. This procedure is based on the transient response of the inverter to simple passive load step tests. Transfer function models are obtained from the transient response by means of a well-established and easy to use identification algorithm. The performance of the proposal is validated through both simulation and experimental results obtained on VSIs for aircraft applications.

Protection devices for aircraft electrical power distribution systems: a survey

The development of all electric aircraft has provided new opportunities in the area of electronic devices and power electronics. One of the most interesting fields is related to the protection devices area and the loads management by means of the Solid State Power Controllers (SSPC). This is mainly due to the noticeable increase of these devices in the architectures of electrical power distribution system used in the new airplanes such as A380 and B787. This paper presents a survey of conventional and future trends of protections in on-board platforms. In addition, a virtual test bench is developed in order to analyze the potential problems that could appear by using SSPC technology in the new onboard platforms.

Protection Devices for Aircraft Electrical Power Distribution Systems: State of the Art

The development of all electric aircraft (AEC) has provided new opportunities in the field of electronic devices and power electronics. One of the most interesting areas is focused on the protection devices field and the management of the loads by means of the solid state power controllers (SSPC). This is mainly due to the great increase of these devices in the electrical power distribution system architectures used in the new airplanes such as A380 and B787. This paper presents a survey of conventional and future trends of protection devices in onboard platforms. Moreover a virtual test bench is developed in order to analyze the potential problems that could appear by using SSPC in new onboard platforms. In addition an experimental validation with commercial SSPC and its model are presented.

Comparison of different alternatives to drive piezoelectric transformers

Usually, the performance of piezoelectric transformers (PTs) is optimum when they are sinusoidally driven. The PT can also be driven with a quasi-square voltage waveform. Although PT performance is not optimized with a squared driving, corresponding topologies can be simpler and the whole converter can be improved. Those alternatives that keep an interesting trade-off between complexity and PT efficiency are compared, helping to select the best approach for different applications. All the analyzed alternatives are based on the half bridge topology plus an input matching network.

Black-Box Modeling of Three-Phase Voltage Source Inverters for System-Level Analysis

Modeling and simulation are powerful tools to design power distribution systems made up of multiple converters and loads, such as the system of the more-electric aircraft (MEA). However, a system designer usually has no access to detailed data of the power converters, due to confidentiality of manufacturers. Therefore, a black-box modeling approach is necessary. This paper proposes a large-signal black-box modeling technique of three-phase voltage source inverters. The resulting model is oriented to perform system-level analysis and is fully parameterized from the transient response of the converter, which is obtained through simple experimental tests based on low-cost equipment. Moreover, it does not represent the internal data of the converter, thus keeping the confidentiality of the manufacturer. The proposed method has been experimentally validated on a 5-kW actual inverter, which has been applied on the test bench of an MEA power distribution system.

Design of Piezoelectric Transformers for Power Converters by Means of Analytical and Numerical Methods

Piezoelectric transformers (PTs) provide several advantages compared to magnetic components, which are higher power density, lower radiated noise, and higher voltage isolation capability. PT must be properly designed to benefit the power converter with the aforementioned advantages. Analytical models are widely used for PT design in order to validate it before constructing the prototype. In this paper, the additional usefulness of finite element analysis (FEA) for PT design is shown. With FEA, it is possible to optimize the PT design not only by maximizing the energy transference but also by cleaning the working frequency range of spurious modes (geometrical 2D/3D effects). Moreover, FEA tools allow the study of other main aspects of the PT design such as manufacturing tolerances or the influence of the fixing layer on PT performance (which is a critical design point). A method for modeling and designing PTs is proposed, combining analytical 1D models and FEA results. The proposed method is validated with measurements of a PT design for a 10-W ac/dc converter prototype for mobile phone battery charger.

Behavioural Modeling of Solid State Power Controllers (SSPC) for Distributed Power Systems

The development of new aircrafts, such as A380 and B787, has provided new opportunities in the field of electronic devices and power electronics. One of the most interesting areas is focused on the protection devices field and the management of the loads by means of the Solid State Power Controllers (SSPC). This fact is mainly due to the great increase of these devices in the architectures of the electrical power distribution systems used in the new airplanes. In this paper, the areas of interest for research groups regarding SSPC in onboard platforms are presented. Also, behavioural SSPC model has been developed according with different manufacturers datasheets. Moreover, experimental validation with commercial SSPC are presented.

Experimental Validation of the Advantages provided by Linear - Non - Linear Control in Multi-phase VRM

The power supplies that feed the recent microprocessors, known as Voltage Regulator Modules (VRM), should provided a low and well regulated voltage (0.8-1.5V) under very exigent conditions, since the microprocessor can demand high currents in a very short period of time. There are two solutions in order to design the VRM to meet these specifications: modifying either the topology or the control strategy. Nowadays, to modify the control strategy becomes a more attractive solution. The linear-non-linear (LnL) control strategy allows reducing the switching frequency and the number of phases compared with using a classical linear control. In this paper, the advantages of LnL control are validated by means of experimental measurements in VRM prototypes with four and eight phases, and with switching frequencies of 300 kHz and 600 kHz. The system configuration can be easily adapted since the control has been implemented in a FPGA.