POWER ELECTRONICS

(EE 502)
5 T H S E M E S TE R
 SYLLABUS
Module 3: DC-DC buck and boost converter (12 Hours)
Elementary chopper with an active switch and diode, concepts of duty ratio and average voltage,
classification of choppers, Power circuit of a buck converter, analysis and waveforms at steady
state, duty ratio control of output voltage. Power circuit of a boost converter, analysis and
waveforms at steady state, relation between duty ratio and average output voltage.
Text/References:
1. M. H. Rashid, “Power electronics: circuits, devices, and applications”, Pearson Education India, 2009.

2. N. Mohan and T. M. Undeland, “Power Electronics: Converters, Applications and Design”, John Wiley & Sons, 2007.

3. R. W. Erickson and D. Maksimovic, “Fundamentals of Power Electronics”, Springer Science & Business Media, 2007.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 INTRODUCTION TO DC-DC
CONVERTER
❑A dc–dc converter converts directly from dc to dc and is simply known as a dc
converter.
❑A dc converter can be considered as dc equivalent to an ac transformer with a
continuously variable turns ratio.
❑It can be used to step down or step up a dc voltage source.
❑It can produce a fixed or variable dc output voltage from a fixed or variable dc
voltage.
❑The output voltage and the input current should ideally be a pure dc, but the
output voltage and the input current of a practical dc–dc converter contain
harmonics or ripples

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 LINEAR VERSUS SWITCHING DC-DC
CONVERSION
▪A linear DC/DC converter uses a resistive voltage drop to create and regulate a
given output voltage.
▪ A switched-mode DC/DC converts by storing the input energy periodically and
then releasing that energy to the output at a different voltage.
LINEAR DC-DC CONVERTER SWITCHING DC-DC CONVERTER
• Simple circuit configuration • High efficiency
• Few external parts • Low heat generation
• Low noise • Boost/buck/negative voltage
operation possible

• Relatively poor efficiency • More external parts required

• Considerable heat generation • Complicated design
• Only step-down (buck) operation • Increased noise

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 DC-DC CONVERTER
A chopper switch uses high speed to connect and disconnect a source from load.
A fixed DC voltage is applied intermittently to the load by continuously
triggering the power switch ON/OFF. The period of time for which the power
switch stays ON or OFF is referred to as the chopper’s ON and OFF state times,
respectively.

Step up/Boost Step down/Buck

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

PRINCIPLE OF BOOST CONVERTER OPERATION
is + vL - i L iD iO PWM signal
L ich D t
+ +
vO
vs C - RL iL
Ch - DiL
t
ich
i L + vL -

Ch on, D off, t
L
during dT vs iD
t
i L + vL - iO dT
Ch off, D on, L C + T
during (1-d)T RL vO
-

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

PRINCIPLE OF BUCK CONVERTER OPERATION
vS iL + vL - iO PWM signal
+ -
+ L C + t
Ch vD vO
vs RL iL
D - - DiL
iL_avg
t
vL
iL + vL - iO vs-vO
Ch on, t
L C +
D off, vO
vs RL - vO
dT -
dT
T
iL + vL - iO
Ch off,
D on, L C +
RL vO
(1-d)T -

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 IMPORTANT PERFORMANCE
PARAMETERS
❖ Efficiency
❖Voltage rating
❖Current rating
❖Ripple voltage
❖Regulation
❖Temperature rating
❖Transient response
❖Size and weight

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

❖Both the input and output voltages of a dc–dc converter
are dc.
❖Produce a fixed or variable dc output voltage from a fixed
or variable dc voltage .
❖The output voltage and the input current should ideally be
a pure dc.
❖The output voltage and the input current of a practical dc–
dc converter contain harmonics or ripples.
❖ The converter draws current from the dc source only INPUT POWER = OUTPUT POWER
when the converter connects the load to the supply source
❖The input current is may be continuous or discontinuous.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)
▪The power efficiency, which is the ratio of the output power to the input power,
▪It depend on the switching losses, which in turn depend on the switching frequency of
the converter.
▪The switching frequency f should be high to reduce the values and sizes of capacitances
and inductances.
▪The power semiconductor devices require a minimum time to turn on and turn off.
▪The switching frequency of the converter is also limited.
▪The frequency should be as high as possible to reduce the load ripple current and to
minimize the size of any additional series inductor in the load circuit.
▪The designer has to compromise on these conflicting requirements.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CONVERTER APPLICATIONS
❑Traction motor control in electric automobiles, trolley cars, marine hoists,
forklift trucks, and mine haulers. They provide smooth acceleration control, high
efficiency, and fast dynamic response.
❑Dc converters can be used in regenerative braking of dc motors to return energy
back into the supply, and this feature results in energy savings for transportation
systems with frequent stops.
❑Dc converters are used in dc voltage regulators; and also are used in
conjunction with an inductor, to generate a dc current source, especially for the
current source inverter.
❑The dc–dc converters are integral parts of energy conversion in the evolving
area of renewable energy technology.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CONVERTER APPLICATIONS
✓DC power supplies (Switch Mode Power Supply)
✓Uninterruptable Power Supply (UPS)
✓Battery chargers
✓Power factor correction converters (PFCC)
✓Electric brakes
✓HVDC Transmission

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 COMPONENTS
❑Basic circuit components:
• Active component (SCR/BJT/MOSFET/Diode etc.)
• Passive (resistor /inductor /capacitor)
• Load (resistive/motor load/battery etc.)
❑Control circuit for duty control:
• Op-amp
• Timer
• microcontroller etc.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CLASSIFICATION OF DC-DC CONVERTER

❑Depending on the voltage output, choppers are classified as -

1. Step Up chopper (boost converter)
2. Step Down Chopper(Buck converter)
3. Step Up/Down Chopper (Buck-boost converter)
❑Depending upon the direction of the output current and voltage, the converters can be classified
into five classes namely
1. Class A [One-quadrant Operation]
2. Class B [One-quadrant Operation]
3. Class C [Two-quadrant Operation]
4. Class D Chopper [Two-quadrant Operation]
5. Class E Chopper [Four-quadrant Operation]

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CONTROL STRATEGIES

❑In DC-DC converters, the average output voltage is controlled by varying the turn on time. This
is achieved by varying the Duty Cycle of the switching pulses.
❑Duty cycle can be varied usually in 2 ways:
1. Time Ratio Control
2. Current Limit Control
❑Duty Cycle is the ratio of ‘On Time’ to ‘Time Period of a pulse’.
❑Time Ratio Control:
• Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
• Frequency Modulation Control (FMC)

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 TIME RATIO CONTROL
❑ Pulse Width Modulation (PWM):
In this technique, the time period is kept constant, but
the ‘On Time’ or the ‘OFF Time’ is varied. Using this,
the duty cycle ratio can be varied. Since the ON time or
the ‘pulse width’ is getting changed in this method, so it
is popularly known as Pulse width modulation.
❑ Frequency Modulation Control (FMC):
In this control method, the ‘Time Period’ is varied while
keeping either of ‘On Time’ or ‘OFF time’ as constant.
In this method, since the time period gets changed, so
the frequency also changes accordingly, so this method
is known as frequency modulation control.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CURRENT LIMIT CONTROL
❑Current is allowed to fluctuate or change
only between 2 values i.e. maximum current
(Imax) and minimum current (I min).
❑When the current is at minimum value, the
chopper is switched ON and the current
starts increasing,
❑The chopper is switched off as reaches up
to maximum value and allow the current to
fall back to minimum value.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 The frequency limiting parameters of the step-up
and step-down converters are as follows:
▪Ripple current of the inductor, ∆IL.
▪Maximum switching frequency, fmax.
▪Condition for continuous or discontinuous inductor current.
▪Minimum value of inductor to maintain continuous inductor current.
▪Ripple content of the output voltage and output current, also known as the total
harmonic content ,THD.
▪Ripple content of the input current.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

FIRST QUADRANT OR TYPE A CHOPPER.

The power flow in type-A chopper is always from source to load. This chopper is
also called step-down chopper as average output voltage Vo is always less than
the input dc voltage Vs.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CLASS A CHOPPER OPERATION
▪When chopper is ON, supply voltage Vs is connected across the load.
▪When chopper is OFF, Vo = 0 and the load current continues to flow in the
same direction through the FWD.
▪The average values of output voltage and current are always positive. Class A
Chopper is a first quadrant chopper
▪When chopper is ON, supply voltage V is connected across the load.
▪When chopper is OFF, VO = 0 and the load current continues to flow in the
same direction through the FWD.
▪The average values of output voltage and current are always positive.
▪Class A Chopper is a step-down chopper in which power always flows form
source to load.
▪It can be used to control the speed of a dc motor.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 DESIGN PARAMETER
➢Rating of the Converter
➢Switch Selection
➢Inductance
➢Output Capacitor
➢Current Ripple
➢Voltage Ripple

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 DESIGN EQUATIONS (Step Down)
▪The output voltage= Input Voltage * duty ratio

▪The peak-to-peak ripple current as,

▪The peak-to-peak ripple voltage of the capacitor is

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

STEADY STATE TIME DOMAIN ANALYSIS OF
TYPE·A CHOPPER
The object of this is to study the type-A chopper with RLE load for current variation over T, current
ripple and also for the Fourier analysis of output voltage. For RLE type load, E is the load voltage
which may be a DC motor or a battery.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CONTINUOUS CONDUCTION MODE
During Chopper Switch ON

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 During Chopper Switch OFF

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)
26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)
 MAXIMUM AND MINIMUM
INDUCTOR CURRENT

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

STEADY STATE RIPPLE

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 SECOND-QUADRANT OR TYPE-B CHOPPER

▪Class B Chopper is a step-up chopper.

▪When chopper is ON, E drives a current through L and R in a
direction opposite.
▪During the ON period of the chopper, the inductance L stores
energy.
▪When Chopper is OFF, diode D conducts, and part of the
energy stored in inductor L is returned to the supply.
▪Average output voltage is positive. Average output current is
negative.
▪Therefore Class B Chopper operates in second quadrant.
▪In this chopper, power flows from load to source.
▪Class B Chopper is used for regenerative braking of dc motor.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 VOLTAGE COMMUTATED CHOPPER

One of the earliest chopper circuits which has been

in wide use is the voltage-commutated chopper. This
chopper is generally used in high-power circuits
where load fluctuation is not very large. This
chopper is also known as parallel-capacitor turn-off
chopper, impulse-commutated chopper or classical
chopper.

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

Modes of Operation

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 CURRENT COMMUTATED
CHOPPER

26 October 2021 POWER ELECTRONICS (EE 502)

 Thank
Contact Details:
Dipak Kumar Mandal

You
Assistant Professor
Department Of Applied Physics,
University Of Calcutta,
9 2 , A . P. C R o a d , k o l k a t a - 7 0 0 0 0 9
We s t B e n g a l , I n d i a .
EMAIL:
d k m a p h y @ c a l u n i v. a c . i n