CONVERTERS IN ELECTRIC DRIVE SYSTEMS (Part B)

MODELING OF SWITCH-MODE CONVERTERS FOR ELECTRIC DRIVE SYSTEMS Introduction Modeling is a simplified representation of a physical system. In electrical engineering, physical systems are normally modeled using mathematical equations. In this module, the models for the DC-DC converters applied to electrical drives are developed and these will be used for two reasons: (i) to increase our understanding on the dynamic behaviour of the converters (through simulation) and, (ii) to use them in the controller design of the closed loop control system The complexity of the developed model of power electronic converters will depend on the applications of the model. For instance, a model of a switching device used to analyze its switching characteristic or switching behaviour is different from a model of the switching device used to study the fundamental behavior of a converter containing that particular switching device. The former will include the detailed characteristics of the devices while the latter normally adopts the ideal characteristic of the models. This module will discuss on how to obtain the averaged and linearised model of the converter intended to be used in the linear controller design. Our goal is to establish a linearised relationship between the control input signals of the converters and the averaged output voltage of the converters. Switch-mode converters used in DC drives can be classified as 1-quadrant, 2-quadrant or 4-quadrant. The quadrants of the converters are defined based on the capability of these converters to synthesize positive or negative average voltages and also on their capability to conduct either positive or negative currents. The quadrants of operations of these converters are typically depicted using the V-I graphs as shown in Figure 2. 1-quadrant converter A single-quadrant converter is only capable of producing positive average output voltage and positive current, as shown in Figure 2(a). When the transistor is on, the output voltage va equals Vdc and current ia builds up. When the switch is turned off, because of the inductance in the armature, the current has to be continuous therefore will flow through the diode (see Figure 1). When the diode conducts, ideally va = 0. The duty cycle of the power transistor determines the average output voltage of the converter, Va, which is fed to the armature of the DC motor. If the current reaches zero before the next turn on cycle of the transistor, then the current is said to be discontinuous. This typically happens when the back EMF of motor is large, the turn off period is too long (small duty cycle) or the inductance of the armature circuit is too low. Assuming a continuous current, the average output voltage is given by

Va =

1 T

V dt = dV
dc 0

dTs

dc

(1)

Where d = ton/T, and ton is the time when the switch is on within the period T. We will not go into details of the 1quadrant converter this is discussed in many textbooks on power electronics and drives.

Va ton T

va

ia

id

Figure 1 1-quadrant converter : va, ia, id

ia + Vdc id + va -

Q2 Q1 Q3 Q4

(a) Single-quadrant I

+
V

Vdc

ia + va Q2 Q1 Q3 Q4
I

(b) Two-quadrant

+ + ia Vdc va Q2 Q3

Q1 Q4
I

(c) Four-quadrant

Figure 2 2-quadrant and 4 quadrant DC-DC converter

2-quadrant converter A 2-quadrant converter operates in two quadrants, normally in positive average voltage with either directions of the current. Figure 2(b) shows a typical 2-quadrant converter used in DC drives. As in all other converters, the status of the upper and lower switches in a leg, must always complement, i.e. if the upper switch is on, the lower switch must be off or vice versa. The instantaneous output voltage, va, can be either Vdc or zero; if the upper switch is on, the output voltage va equals Vdc and if the lower switch is on va = 0. The average value of the output voltage over a cycle of the waveform depends on how long the upper (or lower) switch is on, i.e. the duty cycle of the output voltage waveform. Modeling of the 2-quadrant converter There are several ways in which this duty cycle can be varied. In this module, we will assume a method which is based on a comparison between the control signal and a triangular wave, as illustrated in Figures 3 and 4. Referring to Figure 3, the output of the comparator is obtained as follows:

1 when vc > vtri, upper switch on, va = Vdc q= 0 when v < v , lower switch on, v = 0 c tri a

(2)

+ Vdc Vdc +

va

vtri q vc
Figure 3 Control signal for 2-quadrant converter

Ttri
Vtri

vc
-Vtri

Vdc va 0
Figure 4 Controlling the output voltage based on triangular wave comparison

Obviously, the instantaneous waveform of va will follow that of q and it is given by: va = q(Vdc) The average value of va will depend on upper switch is turn on and this in turn depends on the control signal vc. Let us define the average value of q over a cycle (Ttri) as d, known as the duty ratio given by (3):

d=

1 Ttri

t + Ttri

q dt =

1 Ttri

1 dt = T
0

t on

t on
tri

(3)

where ton is the duration in which q remains as 1 (i.e. upper switch is on) We can obtain the relation between the average voltage, Va and the duty ratio, d, by calculating the average value of va in terms of d,

Va =

1 Ttri

V dt = dV
dc 0

dTtri

dc

(4)

If the triangular frequency is assumed very high as compared to the variations of the control signal vc, d in this case, can be assumed continuous. However, when selecting the bandwidth of the closed-loop system containing this element, the discrete values of d must be taken into account; that is, the bandwidth must be limited to one or two order lower than the triangular frequency. This is to ensure that the control signal does not vary faster than the capability in which the average voltage can change. The relation between d and vc is obtained as follows: When vc = Vtri,p , d = 1 and when vc = -Vtri,p, d = 0. Assuming d is continuous, the relation between d and vc as can be seen from Figure 5,: is obtained as
d = 0 .5 + vc 2 V tri,p

(5)

d 1 0.5 0 Vtri,p Vtri,p vc

Figure 5 Relationship between d and vc

Consequently, the relation between vc and Va can be obtained by substituting (5) into (4),
V dc vc 2 V tri,p

V a = 0.5 V dc +

(6)

Equation (6) is the average value of the output voltage of the converter within the switching frequency, i.e. the triangular frequency. In other words, the switching waveforms have been removed. To illustrate this, a SIMULINK model is developed containing the switching as well as the average models of the 2-quadrant converter as shown in Figure 6(a). The average model uses (6), whereas the switching model is developed using the converter model from SimPowerSystem toolbox. The control signal vc is a square wave with amplitude of 10 unit which is compared with the triangular waveform with an amplitudeof 15 unit. The DC voltage, Vdc, is set to 200V. According to (6), the average value of the output voltage within the switching frequency will have an offset of 100V that swings between 33.33V to 166.67V. A simple load consisting of R = 10 and L=10mH are used. The simulation results in Figure 6(b) clearly show the waveform of the switching current following its average waveform.

C ontinuous powergui

Signal Generator iau T o Workspace1

Out1

Relay

Subsystem

Relay1 + g Scope1

DC Voltage Source
-

i + -

Universal Bridge

C urrent Series RLC Branch Measurement

-KGain3

1 0.01s+10 T ransfer Fcn1

iave T o Workspace5

100 Constant

Average model

(a)
200 150

Va

100 50 0

Averaged current

Switching current

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0.45

Averaged and switching current

15

10

5 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45

(b) Figure 6 Simulation of 2-quadrant converter: (a) SIMULINK blocks, (b) Average voltageVa , switching and average current waveforms

In order to systematically design the linear controller for a closed loop system containing this converter using classical control system design methodology such as Bode plot, the small signal model of the converter needs to be developed. The small signal model will be extracted from (6) through linearization. This can be achieved by introducing small perturbations in Va and vc, separating the ac component and finally taking the Laplace transform of it as follows:

(V
Separating the dc and ac components,

+ ~ a ) = 0.5 V dc + v

V dc (v c + ~ c ) v 2 V tri,p

(7)

DC

Va = 0.5Vdc +

Vdc vc 2 Vtri , p

(8)

AC

~ = Vdc ~ va vc 2 Vtri, p

(9)

By taking Laplace transform of equation (9), the small signal transfer function between vc and Va can be obtained as shown in Figure 7

vc(s)

Vdc 2 Vtri, p

va(s)

Figure 7 Small signal transfer function of the 2-quadrant converter

4-quadrant converter The model developed for the 2-quadrant converter can be used as a building block in developing the model for the 4-quadrant converter. As illustrated in the Figure 8, the 4-quadrant converter is composed of two legs, with each leg similar to that of the 2-quadrant converter. We will consider two switching schemes normally employed: (i) Bipolar switching scheme, and (ii) unipolar switching scheme.

leg A

leg B

Q1

D1

D3

+
ia

va

Q3

Figure 8 4-quadrant converter

D2

Q4

D4

Q2

Modeling of a 4-quadrant converter The instantaneous voltage va of the 4-quadrant converter can be made either equals Vdc , -Vdc or 0.
Va = Vdc when Q1 and Q2 are ON va = -Vdc when Q3 and Q4 are ON va = 0 when current freewheels through Q and D The fact that the instantaneous output voltage can become negative (i.e. Vdc), makes it possible for the converter rd th to operate in the 3 and 4 quadrants. There are two possible methods of synthesizing the desired average output voltage: the output voltage that swings between Vdc and Vdc or the output voltage that swings between Vdc and 0 (or Vdc and 0). These two options give rise to two possibilities of switching schemes known as the bipolar and unipolar switching schemes.

Bipolar switching Leg A and Leg B obtained the switching signals from the same control signal as shown in Figure 9. This implies that switching of Leg A and Leg B are always complements. The upper switch of leg A is turned on at the same time with the lower switch of leg B. Similarly, the lower switch of leg A is turned on at the same time with the upper switch of leg B.

Vdc -Vdc

Leg B
+

vtri q vc

Vdc

+
vAO

+
vBO

O Leg A

q
Figure 9 4-quadrant converter with bipolar switching scheme

In a forward braking mode where the average voltage Va is positive and smaller than the back emf of the armature, current will flow through D1 and D2 when va = Vdc and will flow through Q3 and Q4 when va = -Vdc Figure 10 shows the key waveforms for the bipolar switching scheme. From previous analysis, the average voltage for Leg A and Leg B is given by: VAO = dA(Vdc) and VBO = dB(Vdc)=(1-dA)(Vdc) Similarly relation between vc and dA and dB can be written as: For Leg A d A = 0.5 + vc 2 Vtri , p vc 2 Vtri, p (11) (10)

For Leg B

d B = 0 .5

(12)

2Vtri

vc

q average value, dA

Vdc

vAO

q average value, 1-dA

Vdc

vBO

Vdc

vAB = vAO - vBO

Vdc

Figure 10 Key waveforms of 4-quadrant converter with bipolar scheme

We are interested in the voltage across the armature circuit, VAB. Therefore, VAB = VAO VBO = (dA (1-dA))Vdc = (2dA -1)Vdc Substituting dA from (11) into (13) gives, Vdc vc Vtri,p (14) (13)

VAB =

Equation (14) gives the average value of the output voltage within the switching frequency. Figure 12(a) shows the SIMULINK blocks of the 4-quadrant converter with bipolar switching scheme. The simulation result as shown in Figure 12(b) indicates that the switching output current exactly following its averaged value. The relationship between the output voltage averaged value and the control signal (14) is linear since there is no DC offset present. By taking the Laplace transform of (14), the transfer function between vAB(s) and vc(s) is obtained:

v AB ( s ) =

Vdc v c (s) Vtri,p

(15)

The DC gain for 4-quadrant converter transfer function is therefore twice that of the 2-quadrant converter.

vc(s)

Vdc Vtri , p

va(s)

Figure 11 Small signal model of the 4-quadrant converter (bipolar)

Continuous powergui

Signal Generator iau To Workspace1

Out1

Relay

+ v Relay1 g +

vau

Scope1

Subsystem

Voltage Measurement To Workspace2

DC Voltage Source
A B

+ i -

C urrent Series RLC Branch Measurement

Universal Bridge

-KGain3

1 0.01s+10 Transfer Fcn1

iave To Workspace5

150 100 50 0

Va

-50 -100 -150

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0.45

15 10

Averaged and switching current

5 0 -5 -10 -15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45

Figure 12

4-quadrant converter: (a) SIMULINK blocks, (b) simulation results: va, switching and averaged currents

Unipolar switching The switching signals for Leg B is obtained from the inverse of control signal for Leg A as illustrated in Figure 13. Figure 14 shows the key waveforms of the unipolar switching scheme. According to our previous analysis, the continuous duty ratio for Leg A, dA, is given by: d A = 0 .5 + vc 2 Vtri,p (16)

Since Leg B uses the inverse control signal, the continuous duty ratio for Leg B is therefore given by: dB = 0.5 This gives and average armature voltage as, VAB = (dA dB)Vdc = Vdc vc Vtri,p (18) vc 2 Vtri,p

(17)

The transfer function obtained for unipolar switching scheme is therefore the same as the bipolar switching scheme. The instantaneous output voltage waveforms of the two schemes are however different. For the same triangular frequency, the switching frequency of the output voltage using the unipolar scheme is doubled when compared to the bipolar scheme thus effectively reducing the output current ripple. The instantaneous output voltage, which only swings between Vdc and zero, also contributes to the reduction in the output current ripple.

Vdc

Leg B
+

vtri qa vc

Vdc

+
vAO

+
vBO

Leg A

vtri -vc qb

Figure 13 4-quadrant converter with unipolar switching scheme

10

vc 2vtri -vc

qA

Vdc

vAO

qB

Vdc

vBO

Vdc

vAB

Figure 14 Key waveforms of 4-quadrant converter with unipolar scheme

References: N. Mohan, Power Electronics: Converters, applications and design John Wiley and Sons, 1995. N. Mohan, Electric Drives an integrative approach MNPERE, 2000. W. Leonhard, Control of electrical drives, Springer-Verlag, 1984.

11