Vinnie Project Thesis

DC Bus for Photovoltaic Power Supplying Computing Loads
Final Year Project Vincent Flaherty Supervisor: Dr. Maeve Duffy March 2009
Electronic Engineering Department National University of Ireland, Galway
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 Declaration of Originality
I hereby declare that this thesis is my original work except where stated.
Signed: _______________________________________
Date: ________________
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Final Year Project April 1, 2009
Abstract
In modern society most renewable sources of electrical energy feed onto an AC grid before being applied to supply different electrical loads. For example, DC power produced by domestic photovoltaic (PV) panels or wind turbines feeds into the grid through an AC inverter. For several loads, the power is then converted from AC back into DC in order to supply digital circuit loads, such as personal computers, flat screen TVs, LED lighting and computer gaming equipment.
The aim of this project is to investigate if the efficiency of power delivered from a domestic PV installation can be improved by supplying such DC loads through a DC bus instead of through an AC grid connection. A DC bus connection between a typical domestic PV installation will be developed for a range of DC loads.
The work will involve circuit modeling of the source and load components through an AC grid connection, where the main focus will be on determining the efficiency of the system. As a first step, the source energy will be assumed to be coincident with the load demand. The design of DC/DC converter stages to replace a grid inverter will then be investigated, where significant consideration will be given to the choice of DC voltage level (safety issues vs. battery levels vs. efficiency). Again, the main objective will be to improve the efficiency of the system. The issue of energy storage to ensure that loads can be supplied when the source is not available will be considered if time permits.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my supervisor Dr. Maeve Duffy for the time and effort she put into helping me with all aspects of my project throughout the year.
I would also like to thank the lab technicians at Nuns Island Myles, Martin and Aodh for all their help during my four years in NUI Galway.
I would like to give a special thank you to my family and friends for all their help, guidance and support throughout time in college.
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Table of Contents
Declaration of Originality ........................................................................................................... ii Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements................................................................................................................... iv Table of Figures ........................................................................................................................ vii Chapter 1.................................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Project Aim ............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Flow of System ....................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Proposals for Tackling the Project .......................................................................... 4 1.5 Layout of Thesis ...................................................................................................... 5 Chapter 2 Project Overview .................................................................................................... 6 2.1 Photovoltaics .......................................................................................................... 6 2.2 Solar Inverters ........................................................................................................ 9 2.3 Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) ............................................................. 11 2.4 Domestic Power Usage......................................................................................... 12 2.5 Switching Mode Power Supplies .......................................................................... 14 2.5.1 Boost Converter .......................................................................... 15 2.5.2 Buck Converter ........................................................................... 17 2.5.3 Synchronous Buck Converter...................................................... 19 2.5.4 Buck-Boost Converter ................................................................. 20 2.5.5 Flyback Converter ....................................................................... 22 Chapter 3 Simulation and Testing of Efficiency of AC/DC adapter.......................................... 25 3.1 OrCad .................................................................................................................... 25 3.2 Circuit Simulation ................................................................................................. 26
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 3.2.1 Full Wave Rectifier ......................................................................... 26 3.2.2 Choice of DC Bus Level .................................................................. 28 3.2.3 Specifications of DC to DC Converter Voltage Level ..................... 29 3.2.4 Flyback Converter .......................................................................... 29 3.2.5 Buck Converter .............................................................................. 32 3.2.6 Efficiency of Buck Converter ......................................................... 39 Chapter 4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 41 References ............................................................................................................................... 43 Appendix A ............................................................................................................................... 45 Appendix B ............................................................................................................................... 47 Appendix C ............................................................................................................................... 59
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Table of Figures
Figure 1.1 - Flow of Domestic PV Installation Figure 1.2 - Flow of Proposed System Figure 2.1 - Ideal Solar Cell Figure 2.2 - Real Solar Cell Model Figure 2.3 - I-V Characteristic of PV Panel Figure 2.4 - Table of Inverter Efficiency Figure 2.5 - MPPT Characteristic Curve Figure 2.6 - Power Usage of Appliances Figure 2.7 - Boost Converter Figure 2.8 - Continuous Operation Figure 2.9 - Discontinuous Operation Figure 2.10 - Buck Converter Figure 2.11 - Continuous Operation Figure 2.12 - Discontinuous Operation Figure 2.13 - Synchronous Buck Figure 2.14 - Buck-Boost Converter Figure 2.15 - Continuous Operation Figure 2.16 - Discontinuous Operation Figure 2.17 - Flyback Converter Figure 2.18 - Continuous Operation Figure 2.19 - Discontinuous Operation Figure 3.1 - PSPICE Schematic of Full Wave Rectifier Figure 3.2 - Voltage Waveforms of Full Wave Rectifier Figure 3.3 - Input Current Waveform Figure 3.4 - Output Current Waveform Figure 3.5 - Flyback PSPICE Model Figure 3.6 - Full Load Efficiency for IRISMPS5 Figure 3.7 - Efficiency vs Output Power for IRISIMPS5 Figure 3.8 - Basic Buck PSPICE Circuit vii 3 3 7 7 8 10 11 12 16 16 16 18 18 18 19 21 21 21 23 24 24 26 27 28 28 30 31 32 33
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 Figure 3.9 - Buck Using Schottky Diode Figure 3.10 - Synchronous Buck PSPICE Model Figure 3.11 - Input and Output Voltage Waveforms Figure 3.12 - Average Values of Input and Output Current Figure 3.13 - Current across Switch 1 Figure 3.14 - Voltage across Switch 1 Figure 3.15 - Gate Voltage on Switch 2 Figure 3.16 - Voltage across Switch 2 Figure 3.17 - Current across Switch 2 Figure 3.18 - Efficiency vs Output Power of Buck Converter Figure 3.19 - Efficiency vs Output Power For Varying Frequency Figure A.1 - Values used to Calculate Basic Buck Efficiency Figure A.2 - Values used to Calculate Buck Efficiency with Inductor Resistance Figure A.3 - Values used to Calculate Buck Efficiency with Frequency = 100K Figure A.3 - Values used to Calculate Buck Efficiency with Frequency = 25K Figure B.1 - Datasheet of MOSFET Used in Buck Converter Figure B.2 - Manual of IRISMPS5 34 34 35 36 37 37 38 38 38 39 40 45 45 46 46 47 48
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Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction

In todays ever changing world the use of domestic renewable energy sources is becoming more and more popular. This is largely due to the fact that in recent times it has become more apparent that global supplies of fossil fuels are running out at an alarming rate and this has caused a sharp increase in the costs of the fossil fuels along with electricity etc.
There has been a large increase in the amount of research being done in the field of renewable energy; much of this research is being done with the aim to improve the efficiency of existing renewable energy sources. The use of photovoltaic arrays for energy generation has risen greatly in recent years. At this present the small scale use of photovoltaics (PV) is not very viable due to the high cost of installation and upkeep of PV modules. This results in it taking several years for PV modules to return the costs involved with installing and using them.
At the moment more and more domestic dwellings are being built to incorporate the use of PV modules as a principal or secondary source of electricity, typically as a secondary source. The modules are usually fitted into the roof of the building by using special roof tiles with integrated PV cells . As time passes more and more advances are being made in the field of PV this means that we are coming closer and closer to a stage where PV modules become a truly viable option for everyone.
1.2 Project Aim

At present renewable sources of electrical energy are generally fed onto the national grid before being applied to supply different electrical loads. For example, direct current (DC) power produced by domestic PV arrays or wind turbines is fed onto the grid through an alternating current (AC) inverter. For several loads, the power is then converted from AC back into DC in order to supply digital circuit loads, such as personal computers, flat screen TVs, LED lighting and computer games consoles. The aim of this project is to investigate if the efficiency of power delivered from a domestic PV installation can be improved by supplying such DC loads through a DC bus instead of through an AC grid connection.
1.3 Flow of System

Figure 1.1 shows the flow of how the energy from a PV array is currently supplied to the DC loads in domestic dwelling, while Figure 1.2 shows the flow of the system proposed.
Solar panel absorbs energy from the suns rays
Solar panel absorbs energy from the suns rays
Solar panel generates DC electricity
Solar panel generates DC electricity
Inverters used to convert DC to AC electricity
MPPT used to convert the DC electricity to DC at the Bus voltage
The AC electricity is sold onto the grid
DC/DC converter used to convert to level suitable for the load to be driven
Electricity enters the house and is converted back to DC to feed certain loads
Power is fed into the load
Figure 1.1 - Flow of domestic PV installation
Figure 1.2 - Flow of proposed system
1.4 Proposals for Tackling the Project

The procedure used to carry out the project is as follows:
a. Review of domestic PV systems Panel characteristics and circuit models Commercial inverter circuits: efficiency vs. power levels
b. Determine the power consumption of a range of DC loads Review range of loads: TVs, computers, gaming equipment, lighting, etc. Determine details of power stages of one application where the device is configured to operate with AC or DC; e.g. laptop PC, outdoor LED
c. Determine the efficiency of power conversion from the AC grid to a typical load Desktop / laptop PC or lighting Determine operating voltage and current levels for different conditions SPICE model of AC/DC conversion stages Analysis of conversion losses; switches vs. magnetic
d. Investigate standard DC/DC topologies for the chosen load Consider different bus voltage levels, including common battery voltages Apply SPICE modeling to compare the efficiency of different circuits with that achieved with AC/DC conversion Consider the implications for higher power levels than proposed for testing
e. Build and test a DC/DC solution to illustrate the highest level of efficiency possible Demonstrate for one load device (e.g. laptop / lighting) Bench design with power supply input and DC load output Test efficiency over a range of power levels typical for the demonstrator device operation
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 f. Design of DC/DC converter for solar panel to DC bus conversion Assume load power levels match those of a typical solar installation Apply solutions proposed to provide MPPT SPICE modeling of different solutions with accurate component models Analysis of losses vs. grid inverter losses
g. Build and test DC/DC stage for load DC bus conversion Demonstration of complete system with source load connection Analysis of efficiency and losses for different power levels, and comparison with losses in grid connected systems
1.5 Layout of Thesis

This thesis consists of four chapters. They are organized as follows: Chapter 1: This chapter gives a brief introduction to the project and also outlines the aims of the project. The flow of the system is also outlined as well as the proposals for tackling the project. Chapter 2: This gives a brief background on Photovoltaics, solar inverters and also of maximum power point tracking. There is also an overview of several DC to DC converter topologies. Chapter 3: Deals with the various simulations and testing that were carried out over the course of the project. These tests were carried out using PSIPCE. Simulation results will be compared and discussed. Chapter 4: Contains a summary of the work carried out over the course of the project and proposes ideas for further development.
Chapter 2 Project Overview 2.1 Photovoltaics

Photovoltaics is the name given to the field of technology and research related to the application of solar cells for the generation of solar energy. Photovoltaic production has been doubling every year in recent times. On average photovoltaic production is increasing by an average of 48% each year since 2002 [1]. This has made photovoltaics the worlds fastest growing renewable energy technology. At the end of 2008 the total power generated by global installations reached 15,200 megawatts. Around 90% of this generating capacity consists of grid-tied systems [2]. In many countries net metering and financial incentives are available to people who install PV arrays.
Solar cells produce direct current from lights; this can be used to supply loads. The first practical use of photovoltaics was to power orbiting satellites and other spacecraft. Today the majority of modules are used for grid connected power generation [3]. In this case an inverter is requires to convert the DC produced by the solar panel to AC which is compatible with the grid. There is however a smaller market for off grid power for remote dwellings and roadside emergency phones etc.
As PV installations are quite expensive it is important to protect the cells from the environment in order to ensure a longer life cycle for the array. In order to provide this protection the cells are normally packaged tightly behind a glass sheet.
Photovoltaic cells are made from semiconductors, most commonly polycrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon. These semiconductors consist of p-n junction diodes capable of generating electricity from light sources and they usually have an efficiency of between 6% and 20% [4].
When the light strikes the cell a certain portion is absorbed by the semiconductor. This means the energy of the light is transferred to the semiconductor, this energy knocks electrons loose and due to electric fields in the photovoltaic cells the freed electrons are 6
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 forced to flow in a certain direction. This flow of electrons is a current. By placing metal contacts on top and bottom of the photovoltaic cell this current can be drawn off and used externally.
An ideal solar cell can be modelled using a current source in parallel with a diode; a schematic of this simple model is shown in figure 2.1.
Figure 2.1 - Ideal Solar Cell [5]
As with most electronic components however no solar cell is ideal, so a parallel resistance and a series resistance are added to the model circuit. The true model circuit is shown in figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2 - Real Solar Cell Model [5]
The current generated in the solar cell by the current source (
) is proportional to the almost all of
amount of light falling on it. When there is no load connected to the output the generated current flows through diode D. The resistors and
represent small losses
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 due to the connections and leakage respectively. There is very little change in for most
instances of load current. However, if a load is connected to the output then the load current draws current away from the diode, D. As the load current increases more and more current is diverted away from the diode, D. So, as the output load varies so too does the output current, while the output voltage remains largely constant. That is until so much
current is being drawn by the load that diode D becomes insufficiently biased and the voltage across it diminishes with increasing load. This results in an I-V characteristic as shown in Figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3 I-V Characteristic of PV Panel [6]
Some advantages of PV systems are:
Solar power is pollution free during use. PV installations can operate with little maintenance after initial setup. Solar electric generation is economically superior where grid connection or fuel transport is difficult, costly or impossible. After the initial cost of the array has been paid, operating costs are extremely low compared to existing technologies. Compared to fossil and nuclear energy sources, very little research-money has been invested in the development of solar cells, so there is much room for improvement.
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 The disadvantages of PV systems are: Depending on the cost of the installation and local electric rates the payback can be 1420 years. Solar electricity is more expensive based on current rates. (As fossil fuels stores decline this will change.) Solar cells produce DC which must be converted to AC in order to be fed onto the grid.
2.2 Solar Inverters

A solar inverter is an electrical inverter that is used to transform the DC electricity from a PV array to AC electricity suitable for the utility grid or domestic appliances. There are three main types of inverters.
Stand alone inverters: These are used in isolated systems where the inverter draws its DC energy from batteries charged by PV arrays. These inverters normally dont interface with the grid. Grid-tie inverter (GTI): These match the phase of the utility grid supplied sine wave. Grid-tie inverters are designed to shut down automatically upon loss of the utility supply, for safety reasons. They do not provide backup power during utility outages. These are the type of inverters which this section will deal with. Battery backup inverters: These are special inverters which are designed to draw energy from a battery, manage the battery charge via an onboard charger, and export excess energy to the utility grid. These inverters can provide backup power during a utility outage by supplying AC energy to selected loads.
Grid-tie inverters work by regulating the amount of voltage and current that is received from the solar panels in the form of DC energy and converting it into AC. This is done by taking the DC energy created by the PV module and chopping it by turning it on and off at
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 the grid supply frequency using a local oscillator and a power transistor. The chopped circuit is then filtered to make it a sine wave then applying a transformer to it to make to up the voltage to on grid levels.
The main difference between a GTI and a standard inverter is that GTIs match the phase of the AC produced with that of the grid. GTIs have an in built feature where they disconnect from the grid if the grid voltage is turned off. As the power output of a PV module varies as a function of the voltage in a way that power generation can be optimized by varying the system voltage to find the 'maximum power point'. Most inverters therefore incorporate 'maximum power point tracking'.
GTIs are very useful as owners of PV installations which are producing surplus power can sell this excess power back onto the grid. This is often called turning the meter backwards due to the fact that for each unit sold onto the grid the individuals meter turns back a unit.
Figure 2.4 below shows the efficiency levels of some commonly used solar inverters from a company called Fronius International.
Fronius IG IG 15 IG 20 IG 30
Max Efficiency 94.2% 94.3% 94.3%

Figure 2.4 - Table of Inverter Efficiency [7]
Euro Efficiency 91.4% 92.3% 92.7%
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2.3 Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

A maximum power point tracker is a high efficiency DC to DC converter which works as an optimal electrical load for a photovoltaic cell, the function of the maximum power point tracker is to convert the power produced by the PV cell to a voltage or current level to a level that is suitable for whatever load the cell is intended to drive. Due to the I-V characteristic of a solar panel as explained above, connecting a system load directly to a solar panel can prove inefficient. The desired objective is to obtain the maximum output power achievable from the solar panel. Since power is the product of output current and voltage it is necessary to determine the ideal operating region of the solar panel in order to achieve maximum power. One way to do this is to use Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT). Referring back to Figure 2.3 it can be seen that when the voltage is at Voc the current is zero, therefore the output power is at zero. The same can be said when the current is at Isc, the voltage is zero and so the resulting output power is zero. The ideal operating region, or the Maximum Power Point (MPP), must be between these two regions. It can be seen in Figure 2.5 that the MPP is somewhere in the knee of the solar cells output characteristic.
Figure 2.5 - MPPT characteristic curve [8]
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2.4 Domestic Power Usage

It was important before progressing too far with the project to determine the power consumption for a range of DC loads. Figure 2.6 shows a table of the power consumption for some common domestic loads which use DC power.
LCD TV Plasma TV Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Average PC Nintendo Wii Wireless Router
213 Watts 339 Watts 197 Watts 187 Watts 78 Watts 19 Watts 7 Watts
Figure 2.6 - Power Usage of Appliances
These were the type of loads which would be fed by the DC bus. It can be seen that perhaps the most common of all household appliances the television is the highest user of power in the list given. In order to find the average power usage of a TV one hundred and thirty nine TVs of different technology types were tested.
These TVs were tested by simulating the conditions they would be under in actual use. This was done by connecting the TVs to a DVD player and playing a specific ten minute clip from a DVD six times and taking the average of the power consumption over the three tests. All TCs were set to approximately the same picture settings to give a good comparison between TVs. The TVs were then put into standby mode to observe their power consumption.
The main factors of TV power consumption are screen size, technology type and picture settings. Due to the fact that the size of the TV affects its power usage is divided by its screen area to give a watts per square inch reading. One feature of TVs which varies widely the amount of power they use when in standby mode; this can vary between a few watts to anything over ten watts.
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As games consoles and PCs can carry out several different functions several different aspects of them had to be tested. Most games consoles can now play movies, browse the web and download news etc. Four different tests were carried out in order to test each aspect of the consoles operation. These tests were as follows: Power consumption when playing games - several games were played, and a sampling of 30 minutes of gameplay was used to determine the average, peak, and minimum power usage of each console. Power consumption during movie playback - The same 3 chapters of a selected DVD were played on each console. The data sample is taken from approximately the middle 30 minutes of that. Power consumption in the console menu - To test how much power these consoles use when at idle, each machine was left in its console mode, with no games or videos being played. Power consumption used by console in standby - The consoles were left in standby mode, and power consumption was tested.
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2.5 Switching Mode Power Supplies

A switched-mode power supply (SMPS) is a type of electronic power supply unit (PSU) that incorporates a switching regulator. SMPS can be classified into different categories depending on the input and output waveforms. There are four main categories of SMPS. AC input, DC output (rectifier) DC input, DC output (DC to DC converter) AC input, AC output (Frequency changer) DC input, AC output (Inverter)
While a linear regulator maintains the desired output voltage by dissipating excess power in a pass power transistor, the switched-mode power supply switches a power transistor between saturation (full on) and cutoff (completely off) with a variable duty cycle whose average is the desired output voltage. It switches at a much-higher frequency (tens to hundreds of kHz) than that of the AC line, which means that the transformer that it feeds can be much smaller than one connected directly to the mains.
The main advantage of this method is greater efficiency because the switching transistor dissipates little power in the saturated state and the off state compared to the semiconducting state (active region). Other advantages include smaller size and lighter weight and lower heat generation due to higher efficiency.
Some disadvantages include greater complexity and the generation of high amplitude, high frequency energy that the low-pass filter must block to avoid electromagnetic interference (EMI).
This section of the report will outline the different switching mode topologies which were investigated as part of the project.
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2.5.1 Boost Converter

The Boost converter is a DC to DC converter; it is also sometimes called the step-up converter as it is a DC to DC converter with an output voltage greater than the source voltage. It is a type of SMPS containing usually two or sometimes more semiconductor switches (a diode and a transistor) and at least one energy storage element. There is usually a filter made from capacitors added to the output of the converter to reduce the ripple on the output voltage.
The step up Boost converter can be seen in Figure 2.1. It consists of a DC voltage source Vi, input inductor L, a controlled switch S, diode D, filter capacitor C and a load Resistance R. The Boost converter has two distinct states an on- state and an off-state. In the on-state, the switch S is closed, resulting in an increase in the inductor current, in the off-state, the switch S is open and the only path offered to the inductor current is to flow through the diode D, the capacitor C and the load resistance R. This results in the energy accumulated during the On-state being transferred into the capacitor.
The input current is discontinuous, varying between a very high inductor current and zero. This large ripple usually requires a large input bypass capacitor to reduce the source impedance. (This capacitor is not shown in the basic circuit).
Battery powered systems often stack cells in series to achieve a higher voltage. In many high voltage applications due to a lack of space it is not possible to stack a sufficient number of cells. In applications such as this a Boost converter is used to increase the voltage and reduce the number of cells needed. One application which uses the Boost converter is portable lamps. An LED typically takes 3.3 volts to emit light, and a boost converter can be used to step up the voltage from a single 1.5 volt battery to power the lamp.
The boost converter could be used as part of the project in applications where the DC voltage required to drive the load was higher than the voltage level of the DC bus being implemented.
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Figure 2.7 - Boost Converter [9]
Figure 2.8 - Continuous Operation [9]
Figure 2.9 - Discontinuous operation [9]
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2.5.2 Buck Converter

The buck converter is a step-down converter which is similar in design to the boost converter and is another example of a SMPS that uses two switches an inductor and a capacitor. The buck converter is a DC to DC converter which produces a lower average output voltage than the DC input voltage. The simplest way to reduce a DC voltage is to use a voltage divider but they waste energy where as converters can be very efficient (up to 95%) Its main application is in regulated DC power supplies.
The step-down buck converter can be seen in Figure 4. It consists of a DC input voltage source Vi, controlled switch S, diode D, filter inductor, filter capacitor C and resistance R. When the switch S is in the ON state the diode D is reverse biased. When the switch S is in the OFF state the diode conducts to support an uninterrupted current in the inductor. The Buck converter can operate in two distinct modes with respect to the inductor current iL. These modes are Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) seen in Figure 5 in which the inductor current is always greater than zero and Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM) seen in Figure 6 in which the inductors current is zero during a portion of the switching period. The CCM is preferred for high efficiency and good utilization of the semiconductor switches. The DCM may be used in applications with special control requirements. The energy stored in the inductor is zero at the beginning and at the end of each switching period. In the buck converter, it is the value of the filter inductance which determines the boundary between the CCM and the DCM.
The input and output DC voltages (the duty cycle) and a range of load resistances are usually determined by preliminary specifications. The designer will have to determine the values of the inductance, the capacitance and of the switching frequency.
As will be discussed later in chapter 3 the DC bus level chosen was 42 volts. As many DC driven applications operate on lower voltage levels than this, the buck converter will form an important part of the system being developed.
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Figure 2.10 - Buck Converter [10]
Figure 2.11 - Buck Continuous [10]
Figure 2.12 - Buck Discontinuous [10]
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2.5.3 Synchronous Buck Converter

Considering that one of the main aims of this project was to improve the efficiency of the system, it was important to make sure each component of the system was as efficient as possible. It was for this reason that the synchronous buck was investigated, as it has lower internal losses and hence is more efficient.
The forward voltage drop of a diode, VD, (usually about 0.7 volts for a normal diode) contributes to a decrease in efficiency in the buck converter. This contribution is especially significant in low output voltage power supplies e.g. 3.3 volt power supplies for microprocessors. Even with a Schottky diode, which has a lower VD (about 0.4 volts) the power lost in the diode can exceed 10% of the total power delivered to the load. To reduce conduction losses in the diode, a low on resistance switch can be added in parallel for a buck converter as shown in Figure 2.13
Figure 2.13 Synchronous Buck [10]
The input switch and the switch parallel to the diode must be turned ON and OFF alternately. The arrangement in Figure 2.13 is called a synchronous converter or synchronous rectifier. Modern low voltage MOSFETs have an on resistance of only several milliohms. A synchronous converter may exhibit higher efficiency than a conventional one at output currents as large as tens of amperes. This increase in efficiency however comes at a price as more complicated circuitry for the switches are required. Special care must be taken to avoid having both switches on simultaneously as this would short the input voltage source. As power semiconductor devices usually have longer turn off times than turn on times, a dead time must be introduced in PWM (pulse width modulation) driving signals.
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2.5.4 Buck-Boost Converter

The buck boost converter is a SMPS with a topology similar to that of the buck and boost converters. It is a DC to DC converter, the output of which is of the same polarity as the input, the magnitude of the output voltage can be higher or lower than that of the input voltage. The output voltage is adjusted based on the duty cycle of the switching transistor. One possible drawback of the buck boost converter is that the switch does not have a terminal at ground; this means more complicated driver circuitry is required. This is overcome by isolating the power supply from the load.
The buck-boost converter shown in Figure 2.14 consists of a DC input voltage
, a
controlled switch S, an inductor L, a diode D, a capacitor C and a load resistance R. The basic operation of the buck-boost converter is similar to the buck and boost converters. While in the on state the input voltage source is directly connected to the inductor L. this results in energy accumulating in the inductor. In this stage, the capacitor supplies energy to the output load. While the buck-boost is on the off state, the inductor is connected to the capacitor and output load, so energy is transferred from the inductor to the capacitor and the resistor. Compared to the buck and boost converters the main characteristic of the buck-boost converter is that the output voltage can vary continuously from 0 to ideal converter). The output voltage ranges for a buck converter is 0 to converter it is to . (for an
and for a boost
It was necessary to investigate the buck-boost converter in order to gain a greater understanding of the flyback converter, which is explained later in this chapter. The flyback converter is basically a buck-boost converter which has electrical isolation between the input and output. This is supplied by means of a transformer.
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Figure 2.14 - Buck-Boost Converter [11]
Figure 2.15 Buck-Boost Continuous Operation [11]
Figure 2.16 - Buck-Boost Discontinuous Operation [11]
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2.5.5 Flyback Converter

The flyback converter is another type of DC to DC converter; it is different from the other SMPS mentioned above in that it provides a galvanic isolation between the input and the output of the circuit. The fact that the circuit has the transformer in it has the effect that the voltage ratios are multiplied while the circuit also has the advantage of isolation.
The circuit schematic of the flyback converter can be seen in Figure 13. It is the equivalent of a buck-boost circuit, with the inductor split to form a transformer. As a result the operating principle of the flyback is very similar to that of the buck-boost. When the switch S is on, the primary side of the transformer is directly connected to the input source voltage. This increases the magnetic flux in the transformer. The voltage across the secondary winding is negative, so the diode is reverse biased and the output capacitor supplies energy to the load on the output. When the switch is off, the energy stored in the transformer is transferred to the output.
As the flyback is an isolated power converter, isolation of the control circuitry is also needed. There are two control methods commonly used with the flyback these are current mode control and voltage mode control. Both methods require a signal related to the output voltage. There are two ways to generate this voltage; the first is to use an optocoupler on the secondary circuit to send a signal to the controller. The second is to wind a separate winding on the coil and rely on cross regulation of the circuit.
As with the other SMPS the flyback operates in two modes, continuous mode conduction and discontinuous mode conduction. Both of these modes have certain disadvantages. When using a flyback in DCM the main disadvantages is that the design has high RMS( )
and peak current values. This limits the efficiency of the converter. When the converter is operating in CCM the disadvantages are as follows: The current feedback loop used in current mode control needs slope compensation in many cases. The power switches are switching on with positive current flow.
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Final Year Project April 1, 2009 These problems result in the control of the converter becoming more complicated.
The flyback converter has many applications some of which are listed below: Low power SMPS such as mobile phone chargers and standby power supplies on a PC. Low cost multiple output power supplies. (e.g. main PC power supplies for power levels of below 250W) High voltage supply in cathode ray tube (CRT) televisions. Isolated gate drivers.
The flyback is often used in AC/DC adapters due to the fact that the input on the converter can span from 90 to 250 VAC. As a result of the flexibility of the flyback converter it was chosen to be used as part of the system.
Figure 2.17 Flyback Converter [12]
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Figure 2.18 Flyback converter in CMC [12]
Figure 2.19 Flyback converter in DCM [12]
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Chapter 3 Simulation and Testing of Efficiency of AC/DC adapter 3.1 OrCad

PSPICE is a software package that runs on PCs for SPICE analogue circuit simulation. It was developed by Microsim and is used in electronic design simulation. PSPICE is a member of the SPICE family of circuit simulators, which are very powerful program package tools.
SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) is a general purpose analogue circuit simulator that is used in IC and board level design to check circuit design integrity and predict circuit behaviour. SPICE was developed over thirty years ago in the Electronics Research Laboratory of the University of California, Berkeley in 1975 by Larry Nagle and Donald Pederson.
Orcad, called after the company that produced it, is another software package used in the production of electronic systems ranging from printed circuit boards (PCBs) to integrated circuits, from which it creates electronic prints for manufacturing of PCBs and also to manufacture electronic schematics and diagrams. The Orcad product line is fully owned by Cadence Design Systems, San Jose, California.
All of the software simulation carried out over the course of the project was done in Orcad using the Capture CIS tool. This tool can be used to build and simulate circuit design, in order to test expected results before the circuit is implemented in hardware so that you can see what results you can expect when you build your circuit in hardware. A PSPICE model for many specific components can be downloaded from the manufacturer.
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3.2 Circuit Simulation

This section will document the design and implementation of several different circuits using PSPICE.
3.2.1 Full Wave Rectifier

The full wave rectifier is probably the simplest method of AC/DC conversion. This rectifier functions by taking in an AC source, this AC waveform is fed into a bridge rectifier consisting of four diodes the purpose of these diodes is to ensure that both the negative and positive cycles of the AC waveform are converted to a positive polarity i.e. the negative cycle of the AC waveform is inverted to a positive polarity. The resulting all positive waveform is now a form of DC waveform although not a constant voltage DC waveform. This is where the capacitor C comes into effect, the function of this capacitor is to discharge as the rectified waveform falls towards zero. This has the effect of smoothing the output of the circuit meaning the output of the circuit is now much closer to a constant value although there is a small ripple still present. The full wave rectifier is often used as a component of power supplies and has a typical efficiency of about 81%.
Figure 3.1 shows the circuit diagram for a full wave rectifier.
D6 D1N4002
D7 D1N4002
V1 VOFF = 0 VAMPL = 100 FREQ = 50 C1 200uF R2 1k
D5 D1N4002
D8 D1N4002
Figure 3.1 PSPICE Schematic of Full Wave Rectifier
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It can be seen from Figure 3.1 that the diodes used were model D1N4002 while the smoothing capacitor had a value of 200 . Choosing the size of the output capacitor
represents a tradeoff. For a given load, a larger capacitor will reduce ripple but will cost more and will create higher peak currents in the supply feeding it. The resister R2 with a value of 1 k represents an output load.
Figure 3.2 shows the input and output voltage waveforms for the rectifier. The yellow waveform represents the input voltage while the blue waveform represents the output voltage, due to the high capacitor value it can be seen that the ripple on the output is quite small. Figure 3.3 shows the input current waveform for the rectifier. It can be seen that the peak current is coincident with the positive and negative peaks of the input voltage. Figure 3.4 shows the output current waveform, it can again be seen that the peaks in the current are coincident with the other waveforms.
Figure 3.2 Voltage waveforms for Full Wave Rectifier
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Figure 3.3 Input Current Waveform
Figure 3.4 Output Current Waveform
3.2.2 Choice of DC Bus Level

Before designing the DC to DC converter stages of the project it was important to choose a suitable voltage level for the proposed DC bus. It was decided to investigate hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) in order to see what level of voltage there buses were carrying. It was discovered that these vehicles in the last couple of years had moved from a 24 volt to a 42 volt bus and that this change in bus level had greatly increased the efficiency of these automobiles. It was then decided to use this voltage level of 42 volts for the proposed DC bus.
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3.2.3 Specifications of DC to DC Converter Voltage Level

After the bus voltage level had been chosen it was necessary to determine the other specs of the DC to DC converter. It was decided that the DC to DC converter would be designed to deliver the voltage level of a laptop power supply. The supply chosen had a voltage out of 19V. The laptop PSU was chosen as they are a common appliance in many households and also due to the fact that the specs for the adapter were readily available (via the internet or laptops user manual).
3.2.4 Flyback Converter

The flyback converter as described in detail in chapter 2 was the next circuit to be modelled. Before building the circuit itself in PSPICE several calculations had to be carried out in order to build a circuit that would work to the specifications.
The first calculation which had to be done was to choose the duty cycle of the controlled switch. This was done using the following equation:
Where, for the specifications of the project. = Voltage out = 19V = Number of windings on secondary side = 1 = Number of windings on the primary side = 2 = Duty cycle of switches = 0.6 = Voltage in = 42 From this equation D worked out to be approximately 0.6.
Other important parameters which had to be calculated were the minimum value of the flux on the primary side of the transformer to ensure continuous flux which is given by the equation below:
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And also a value for the capacitance, this was given by:
While the circuit for the flyback converter was being investigated and tested it was discovered that there was a pre-existing power supply whose circuit consisted of a fullwave rectifier followed by a flyback converter. As the simulation of the flyback was proving very difficult the decision was taken to use the existing circuit as a basis for further design of different topologies and there efficiency. Below is the PSPICE schematic of the flyback converter which was being designed.
M2 IRF151
D1
TX3 V1 42Vdc C1 V1 = 0 V2 = 7v 1n TD = 4ms TR = 500ns TF = 500ns PW = 5ms PER = 10ms V4 kbreak
D10D2
C2 1n
R2 1k
0
Figure 3.5 Flyback Spice Model
The power supply (PSU) which was used was the IRISMPS5 which is manufactured by International Rectifier Ltd. The main specifications of the PSU are as follows: 1. AC Input: V = 90-265V, f=50-60Hz 2. Typical efficiency = 83% 3. 4. (14.55 15.45)
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Final Year Project April 1, 2009 The efficiency graphs for the IRISMPS5 are shown below:
Figure 3.6 Fulload efficiency of IRISMPS5 [14]
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Figure 3.7 Efficiency vs Output Power of IRISMPS5 [14]
These graphs are taken from the user guide of the IRISMPS5 PSU which is included in the appendices at the end of this thesis.
3.2.5 Buck Converter

As with the flyback converter the background of the Buck has already been covered in chapter 2. Again before simulation could be carried out some calculations were necessary. Firstly the duty cycle had to be calculated which would convert the 42 volt bus down to the 19 volts needed for the laptop adapter. This was done using the following equation:
This equation gave the value of D required to be 0.45.
The next value calculated was the minimum value of inductance to ensure continuous conductance. This was given by the equation: 32
Where: Voltage out Current out Switching frequency = Duty cycle of switches
Originally it was decided to build a buck converter where one of the switches was an n channel MOSFET while the other switch was a normal diode. The resulting circuit is shown below.
M1 IRF151
L1 200u
V1 42Vdc V2 D19 D1N3493 V1 = 0 V2 = 7 TD = 0 TR = 10n TF = 10n PW = 9ms PER = 20ms C1 200u
R1 1k
Figure 3.8 Basic Buck Circuit
After further investigation into switches and diodes it was decided that in order to increase the efficiency of the system it may be useful to try and simulate the system using a Schottky diode instead of the normal diode previously used. This was due to the fact that the voltage drop across a diode is normally somewhere between 0.7 and 1.7 volts while the voltage drop across a Schottky diode is between 0.15 and 0.45 volts. Schottky diodes can also switch faster than conventional diodes. The resulting schematic can be seen below:
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M1 IRF151 L1 200u
V1 42Vdc
D17 C1 BZ-085 V2 V1 = 0 V2 = 7 TD = 0 TR = 10n TF = 10n PW = {duty cy cle/f switch} PER = {1/f switch} 200u
R1 1k
Figure 3.9 Buck Using Schottky
This change improves the circuits efficiency but as further research had previously led to the inclusion of the Schottky diode, once again further investigation into buck converters revealed what proved to be the final variation on the circuit. This was the concept of a synchronous buck converter which used two MOSFETs as the switches. This method was chosen as the voltage drop across the MOSFETs was very small which would improve efficiency yet again and also the fact that the switches could withstand a high reverse current which would provide additional safety to the circuit. The resulting circuit is shown below. R2 in the circuit represents the DC resistance of a real inductor of value 200 H.
M2 IRF151 L 200uH R2 out .05 V2 V1 42 TD = 0 TF = 100n PW = 18.6us PER = 40us V1 = 0 TR = 100n V2 = 7 M3 IRF151 C 200u R1 4
V3
TD = 0 TF = 100n PW = 21.4us PER = 40us V1 = 7 TR = 100n V2 = 0
Figure 3.10 Synchronous Buck
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The figure seen below shows the input and output voltages of the buck converter. It can be seen that the bus remains constant at 42 volts while after an initial unsteady state the output levels out to a steady 19 volts.
Figure 3.11 Input and Output Voltages
Figure 3.12 below shows the average values for the input and output currents of the converter. It can be seen that the output current is significantly higher than the input current. This is important when working out the systems efficiency as due to the output voltage being lower than the input voltage it was important for the output current to be higher in order to keep the efficiency high.
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Figure 3.12 Average Value of Input and Output Current
The choice of the switches to be used was an important factor to be considered. It was eventually decided to use the IRF151 MOSFET. This switch was chosen as it could comfortably withstand the voltage and current levels present in the circuit and was capable of very fast switching. As the threshold voltage of the switch was 2-4 volts, a voltage of 7 volts was chosen to drive the gate. Before adding the switches to the circuit some additional design had to be done.
It was very important that both switches were not to be switched on at the same time as this would cause the converter to operate outside its specifications and probably eventually fail. This was done by inverting the drive voltages on the MOSFETs, in other words where the drive voltage for switch 1 is initialised at zero volts where as the gate voltage for switch 2 is initialised at 7 volts. This ensures that the two switches are never turned on simultaneously.
The voltage and current waveforms for switch 1 are shown below. It can be seen that when the switch is closed the 42 volts are applied across it and also that while the switch is closed that the current rises linearly.
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Figure 3.13 - Current across switch 1
Figure 3.14 - Voltage across switch one
The current and voltage waveforms for switch 2 are shown below. Figure 3.15 shows the gate voltage this voltage is necessary to drive the MOSFET. When this voltage is high the MOSFET is on, when low the MOSFET is off. It can be seen in Figure 3.16 that the voltage across switch 2 is also 42 volts when the switch is on. Figure 3.17 shows the current across the switch, it can be seen that when the switch is closer the current spikes initially then falls until the switch is opened again.
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Figure 3.15 - Gate voltage on switch 2
Figure 3.16 - Voltage Across switch 2
Figure 3.17 - Current Across Switch 2
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3.2.6 Efficiency of Buck Converter

Using the above input and output current and voltage waveforms it was possible to then calculate the efficiency of the converter under different load conditions. It was decided to test the efficiency of the converter under the same conditions as the flyback converter. This meant finding the efficiency of the converter for a range of power out from 0 90 watts. The first test was done to give a basic efficiency of the system. This meant testing the system without including the DC resistance of the inductor. The figure below shows the results of these tests.
Efficiency vs Power Out

1.05
0.95
True efficiency Basic Efficiency
0.9
0.85
0.8
20
40
60
80
100
Figure 3.18 - Efficiency Versus Output Power of Buck
It can be seen from the chart that without including the DC resistance of the inductor the efficiency of the system was higher. Even though the resistance value was only 0.5 it still caused quite a drop in efficiency, although the system is still very efficient overall. This is mainly due to the small losses incurred in the switches as opposed to if a diode had been used.
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Final Year Project April 1, 2009 It was then necessary to investigate the effect of varying the switching frequency of the circuit. This was done first by halving the switching frequency to 25 KHz and then by doubling the frequency to 100 KHz. The results of these comparisons are shown below.
Efficiency vs Output Power

0.98 0.96 0.94 0.92 0.9 0.88 0.86 0.84 0.82 0.8 0 20 40 60 80 100 F = 100K f = 25K f = 50K
Figure 3.19 - Efficiency vs Output Power for varying f
It can be seen that the efficiency was better when the switching frequency was at 25 KHz as opposed to 100 KHz. It was seen however that the efficiency was at its highest when the switching frequency was at its original frequency of 50 KHz and the power out was between 60 and 90 watts. However at lower outputs the switching frequency of 25 KHz was the best option.
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Chapter 4 Conclusion
The official aim of this project was to investigate if the efficiency of power delivered from a domestic PV installation can be improved by supplying such DC loads through a DC bus instead of through an AC grid connection.
The first part of this years project was spent on researching photovoltaics and there characteristics and circuit models, the efficiency and power levels of solar inverters and concepts such as MPPT were also investigated. After this background research was carried out it was important to gain some understanding of what levels of power everyday domestic appliances actually use, the results of this research were shown in chapter 2. The AC/DC conversion stages of appliances were also investigated
The next part of the project was to learn about DC-DC switch mode power converters and how they can operate in two modes: 1. Continuous conduction mode 2. Discontinuous conduction mode
Several different types of these converters were researched and different equations for calculating specific parameters such as inductance and capacitance were also found. The converters which were researched were: Boost converter Buck Converter Buck Boost converter Flyback converter
The next step of the project was to begin the SPICE simulation of circuits. The first circuit to be modeled was the full wave rectifier. This was useful in many ways, as the full wave rectifier is a relatively simple circuit this was useful to give an initial understanding of using the many tools and functions available in PSPICE. The next circuit modeled was the flyback converter. This was a far more complicated circuit as it had a transformer and also a 41
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 switching MOSFET. This circuit took a long time to simulate as the correct components had to be chosen and implemented correctly. Once the flyback was implemented the next circuit modeled was that of the basic buck converter, using a switch and normal diode. The buck was then modeled using the same switch but with a schottky diode instead of the previous diode. The final buck converter simulated was a synchronous buck incorporating two separate MOSFETs.
The efficiency of the buck converter was tested under different conditions. These included using different components to those already used, testing the efficiency of the circuit while varying its output power and testing the efficiency of the buck while varying its switching frequency.
The circuit was now ready to be built and tested in hardware but unfortunately although the parts were ordered there was insufficient time for the circuit to be built.
This project has been of valuable experience to me as it had shown me how a project should be organised and carried out. It also shown how important it is to keep all the information and test results gathered throughout the project so they can be referred to after the project has been finished.
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References
1. http://www.socialfunds.com/news/article.cgi/2639.html 2. http://www.prlog.org/10198293-global-solar-photovoltaic-market-analysisand-forecasts-to-2020.html 3. http://www.huliq.com/18313/ge-invests-delivers-one-of-worlds-largestsolar-power-plants 4. http://www.renewableenergyworld.com/rea/partner/sunpowercorporation-1887/news/article/2005/12/sunpower-announces-330-millionglobal-solar-supply-agreement-with-powerlight-corp-40618 5. http://org.ntnu.no/solarcells/pics/intro/circuit.png&imgrefurl=http://org.ntn u.no/solarcells/pages/introduction.php%3Fpart%3D2&usg=__Dy8dmtWu4hZ iXlMvh1OzO2jP31A=&h=218&w=380&sz=9&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=6 WHThXROfIozIM:&tbnh=71&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dideal%2Bsol ar%2Bcell%2Bcircuit%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefoxa%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1 6. http://chuck-wright.com/SolarSprintPV/Image4.gif&imgrefurl=http://chuckwright.com/SolarSprintPV/SolarSprintPV.html&usg=__5ELq1r0mqyysYB1ZkL Hu3Gxt6dI=&h=353&w=533&sz=8&hl=en&start=6&um=1&tbnid=U2AKtm8P 2i7t9M:&tbnh=87&tbnw=132&prev=/images%3Fq%3Di%2Bv%2Bcharacterist ic%2Bof%2Bpv%2Bpanel%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dfirefoxa%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1 7. http://www.fronius.com/cps/rde/xchg/SID-2C5EAA88F135F8D9/fronius_international/hs.xsl/83_362_ENG_HTML.htm 8. http://www.scielo.br/scielo.php?pid=S010317592008000400009&script=sci_arttext 9. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Boost_conventions.svg 10. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buck_conventions.svg 11. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Buckboost_conventions.svg 12. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:flyback_conventions.svg 13. http://www.irf.com/technical-info/refdesigns/irismps5.pdf 43
Final Year Project April 1, 2009 14. http://www.onsemi.com 15. http://radionics.ie 16. http://howstuffworks.com 17. http://powerdesigners.com 18. http://www.coilcraft.com 19. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/dynhome.jsp
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Appendix A
Voltage In Voltage Out Current In Current Out Power In Power Out Efficiency 42 19.591 0.309 0.544 12.978 10.6575 0.821198 42 19.526 0.551 1.08 23.142 21.08808 0.911247 42 19.45 0.789 1.62 33.138 31.509 0.950842 42 19.41 1.025 2.15 43.05 41.7315 0.969373 42 19.35 1.291 2.76 54.222 53.406 0.984951 42 19.29 1.487 3.21 62.454 61.9209 0.991464 42 19.223 1.76 3.84 73.92 73.81632 0.998597 42 19.185 1.938 4.26 81.396 81.7281 0.998635 42 19.153 2.16 4.78 90.72 91.55134 0.999352
Figure A.1 - values used to calculate basic buck efficiency.
Voltage In Voltage Out Current In Current Out Power In Power Out Efficiency 42 19.2 0.309 0.556 12.978 10.6752 0.822561 42 19.15 0.551 1 23.142 19.15 0.8275 42 19.07 0.789 1.6 33.138 30.512 0.920756 42 18.975 1.025 2.11 43.05 40.03725 0.930017 42 18.91 1.291 2.7 54.222 51.057 0.941629 42 18.86 1.487 3.15 62.454 59.409 0.951244 42 18.77 1.76 3.75 73.92 70.3875 0.952212 42 18.725 1.938 4.16 81.396 77.896 0.957 42 18.63 2.16 4.65 90.72 86.6295 0.954911
Figure A.2 - values used to calculate buck efficiency including inductor resistance.
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Voltage In Voltage Out Current In Current Out Power In Power Out Efficiency 42 19.88 0.31 0.553 13.02 10.99364 0.844366 42 19.7 0.57 1.09 23.94 21.473 0.896951 42 19.59 0.829 1.63 34.818 31.9317 0.917103 42 19.48 1.08 2.16 45.36 42.0768 0.927619 42 19.37 1.37 2.76 57.54 53.4612 0.929114 42 19.28 1.59 3.2 66.78 61.696 0.923869 42 19.171 1.88 3.83 78.96 73.42493 0.9299 42 19.092 2.08 4.23 87.36 80.75916 0.924441 42 18.995 2.322 4.74 97.524 90.0363 0.923222
Figure A.3 - values used to calculate buck efficiency with f = 100KHz
Voltage In Voltage Out Current In Current Out Power In Power Out Efficiency 42 19.48 0.29 0.543 12.18 10.57764 0.868443 42 19.423 0.543 1.08 22.806 20.97684 0.919795 42 19.37 0.795 1.61 33.39 31.1857 0.933983 42 19.248 1.04 2.14 43.68 41.19072 0.943011 42 19.17 1.32 2.74 55.44 52.5258 0.947435 42 19.11 1.53 3.18 64.26 60.7698 0.945686 42 19.065 1.82 3.8 76.44 72.447 0.947763 42 19 2.015 4.215 84.63 80.085 0.946296 42 18.88 2.25 4.723 94.5 89.17024 0.9436
Figure A.4 - values used to calculate buck efficiency with f = 25KHz
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Appendix B
Figure B.1 - Datasheet of MOSFET Used in Buck Converter
47
Figure 3 - Manual of IRISMPS5
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
Appendix C
Fullwave Rectifier with R-C load
.PARAM CLOAD = 30mF .PARAM RLoad = 2
VAC 2 1 SIN(0 {162.63*SQRT(2)} 50Hz) X1 2 1 3 0 fullbridge Rd 3 4 0.5m CL 4 0 {CLOAD} (IC=300) RL 4 0 {RLoad}
.subckt fullbridge sp sn lp ln D1 sp lp dmod D2 sn lp dmod D3 ln sp dmod D4 ln sn dmod .model dmod D .ends
.TRAN .005ms 500ms 0s .005ms UIC .PROBE .FOUR 50 I(VAC) .END
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Final Year Project April 1, 2009 Buck Converter
.PARAM INPUT = 10 .PARAM DUTY = 0.5 .PARAM RLOAD=3.3 .PARAM L=.625mH .PARAM C=41.7uF .PARAM FREQUENCY=20K ;Switching Frequency
VS 1 0 DC {INPUT} SW 1 3 2 0 SMOD ;Ideal Switch D1 0 3 DMOD L 3 4 {L} IC=0 C 4 0 {C} IC=0 R 4 0 {RLOAD}
*Control for switch VPULSE 2 0 PULSE (-1 1 0 1nS 1nS {DUTY/FREQUENCY} {1/FREQUENCY}) .MODEL SMOD VSWITCH (RON= 0.001 VON=0.1 VOFF=-0.1 .MODEL DMOD D(N=0.001) .OPTIONS NOPAGE ITL5=0
.TRAN 10uS 8000uS 0 2uS UIC .PROBE .END
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Final Year Project April 1, 2009 Flyback Converter
.PARAM VS=24 ; Source Voltage .PARAM D=0.4 ; Duty Ratio .PARAM R=5 .PARAM C=80UF .PARAM F=30K .PARAM Lm=1000UH .PARAM N1N2=2 ;Load Resistance ;Output Filter Capacitance ;Switching Frequency ;Primary Magnetizing Inductance ;n1/n2 of Transformer
*Initial conditions assuming continuous current. .PARAM VO={VS*(D/(1-D))/N1N2} .PARAM IAVG={VO*VO/(VS*R*D)} .PARAM DELTAILM={VS*D/(Lm*F)}ICLM={IAVG-DELTAILM/2} .PARAM DELTAVO={VO*D/(R*C*F)} .PARAM ICCAP={VO+DELTAVO/2} VS 1 0 DC {VS} LP 1 2 {Lm} IC={ICLM} LS 0 3 {Lm/(N1N2*N1N2)} K LP LS {1-1p} S 2 0 20 0 SMOD D 3 4 DMOD C 4 0 {C{ IC={ICCAP} R 4 0 {R} VPULSE 20 0 PULSE (-1 1 0 {0.01/F} {0.01/F} {D/F} {1/F}) .MODEL SMOD VSWITCH (RON=0.001 VON=0.1 VOFF=-0.1) .MODEL DMOD D(N=0.001) .TRAN 0.1US 1000US UIC .OPTIONS NOPAGE ITL5=0 .PROBE .END ;Transformer Primary ;Transformer Secondary ;Coupling between Primary and Secondary
61

Vinnie Project Thesis

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DC Bus for Photovoltaic Power Supplying Computing Loads

Electronic Engineering Department National University of Ireland, Galway

Final Year Project April 1, 2009 Declaration of Originality

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Chapter 1 1.1 Introduction

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1.2 Project Aim

1.3 Flow of System

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Solar panel absorbs energy from the suns rays

Solar panel absorbs energy from the suns rays

Solar panel generates DC electricity

Solar panel generates DC electricity

Inverters used to convert DC to AC electricity

MPPT used to convert the DC electricity to DC at the Bus voltage

The AC electricity is sold onto the grid

Power is fed into the load

Figure 1.1 - Flow of domestic PV installation

Figure 1.2 - Flow of proposed system

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

1.4 Proposals for Tackling the Project

1.5 Layout of Thesis

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Chapter 2 Project Overview 2.1 Photovoltaics

Figure 2.1 - Ideal Solar Cell [5]

Figure 2.2 - Real Solar Cell Model [5]

The current generated in the solar cell by the current source (

) is proportional to the almost all of

represent small losses

Figure 2.3 I-V Characteristic of PV Panel [6]

Some advantages of PV systems are:

2.2 Solar Inverters

Max Efficiency 94.2% 94.3% 94.3%

Euro Efficiency 91.4% 92.3% 92.7%

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

2.3 Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT)

Figure 2.5 - MPPT characteristic curve [8]

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2.4 Domestic Power Usage

Figure 2.6 - Power Usage of Appliances

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2.5 Switching Mode Power Supplies

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2.5.1 Boost Converter

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Figure 2.7 - Boost Converter [9]

Figure 2.8 - Continuous Operation [9]

Figure 2.9 - Discontinuous operation [9]

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2.5.2 Buck Converter

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

Figure 2.10 - Buck Converter [10]

Figure 2.11 - Buck Continuous [10]

Figure 2.12 - Buck Discontinuous [10]

Final Year Project April 1, 2009

2.5.3 Synchronous Buck Converter

Figure 2.13 Synchronous Buck [10]