High Frequency Electronic Ballast Research Articles

Fluorescent Lamp Modelling and Electronic Ballast Design by the Support of Root Placement

It is presented that high frequency electronic ballast for fluorescent lamps is designed with root placement method using natural frequency and damping ratio. Also, a fluorescent lamp is designed as to have dynamic resistant. The method proposes simple mathematical calculations instead of complex mathematical calculations and the approaches based one of the component of resonant tank, which arbitrary chosen value. Also it is capable to provide accurate values, which can be employed in new types to ballasts. Natural frequency and damping ratio, which are parameters of the method, are chosen switching frequency, 0.707, respectively. Transfer function of electronic ballast circuit is calculated by means of proposed method. After that, components of the circuit are find out. 220 V(rms) voltage was achieved at ignition and obtained 30 W lamp power in state space operation. Electronic ballast design and a fluorescent lamp are made of using Matlab/Simulink interface and the results are presented.

System and method for preventing acoustic arc resonance in a HID lamp

A method of preventing acoustic arc resonance (AAR) in a high frequency electronic ballast for a High-Intensity-Discharge (HID) lamp, includes the step of providing a phase modulated signal to the HID lamp, the phase modulated signal being provided by a pulse source working at a Pulse-Phase-Modulation (PPM) mode with a fixed frequency.

Use of Auxiliary Resonant Tank to Ensure Soft-Switching in High Frequency Electronic Ballasts for Metal Halide Lamps

An auxiliary resonant tank-protected high-frequency electronic ballast and a pseudo-inductive soft-switching concept are proposed in this paper. Based on the steady state analysis of the series resonant converter, the operational characteristics of the ballast circuit for metal-halide (MH) lamps under different conditions are examined, and then potential hazards to the ballast circuit are addressed. To avoid those dangers, an auxiliary resonant tank is used for protecting the ballast circuit under all operations. With this auxiliary resonant tank operating in either inductive or pseudo-inductive modes, soft-switching can be ensured in the electronic ballasts. Feasibility of the proposal for the ballast circuit is verified by analytical and experimental results obtained from the 150-W prototype ballast for a MH lamp

케이블 길이에 따른 HID 램프용 안정기의 특성분석

본 논문은 선로의 성질에 의한 HID 램프용 안정기의 특성에 대하여 측정 및 분석하였다. 이그니션 전압과 정상 상태의 전압과 전류는 선로의 길이 및 특성에 따라 다르다. 따라서 본 논문에서는 저주파 구동방식 전자식 안정기, 고주파 구동방식 전자식 안정기, 자기식 안정기를 케이블 25[m], 100[m] 거리에서 측정 및 분석 하였다. 여러 종류의 안정기 및 케이블에 대하여 측정 및 분석한 결과에 의해 측정된 안정기들 중 저주파수로 구동되는 전자식 안정기가 가장 적합하고 선간의 캐패시턴스 성분이 중요하다는 결론을 얻었다.

New control strategy in a square-wave inverter for low wattage metal halide lamp supply to avoid acoustic resonances

High intensity discharge (HID) lamps are the most suitable when both high light power levels and good color rendering are researched. Some remarkable theoretical advantages would be obtained if these kinds of lamps were driven with high frequency (HF) electronic ballasts. Nevertheless, at these frequencies, acoustic resonances (AR) phenomenon appears. Low wattage metal halide (MH) lamps are, among all HID lamps, the most affected by this phenomenon. To obtain lack of AR in HID lamps, lamp power frequency harmonics must have a lower amplitude than a certain threshold value, related to activation energy. An electronic ballast may be designed to guarantee power harmonics levels lower than this threshold level at nominal operation. Nevertheless, the equivalent resistance of HID lamps varies highly in starting and warm-up stages, as well as in the aging process. Therefore, the system must be designed to be adequate for the necessary supplying conditions for these load variations. In this paper, a new control strategy for a HF square-wave inverter is presented. This ballast keeps lamp power harmonics at low levels, regardless of the lamp equivalent load. The proposed ballast, along with the control strategy, is presented, as well as the built prototypes and experimental results carried out. From these experiments, it can be concluded that the proposed method supplies low wattage MH lamps with lack of acoustic resonances.

Minimization of Acoustic Resonances in HID Lamps: Analysis and Comparison of Power Harmonics Content in High Frequency Non-Resonant Inverters

Currently, the main drawback in high-intensity discharge lamps supplied by means of high-frequency (HF) electronic ballasts are the so-called acoustic resonances. In this paper, two HF nonresonant inverters for low wattage metal halide (MH) lamps are analyzed, from the point of view of its behavior regarding the acoustic resonances' phenomenon. Thus, a HF electronic ballast, operating with a lack of acoustic resonances, is proposed. From a dc voltage bus, the inverters provide an ac waveform to the lamp. The power stage operation of the inverters is first analyzed. Then, the characteristics of these waveforms are analyzed, from the point of view of minimizing the acoustic resonances' appearance. Then, upon these theoretical results, a comparison between inverters is done, selecting the most appropriate for lighting purposes. After that, a built prototype of the chosen inverter topology is presented, and the experimental results are shown. These experiments were carried out on several 70-W MH lamps. Finally, some conclusions are presented.

Potential energy saving for a side-lit room using daylight-linked fluorescent lamp installations

The high frequency (HF) electronic ballast has been replacing the conventional magnetic ballast for operating fluorescent lamps. It has the advantage of low energy consumption, running the lamps free from stroboscopic effects, low noise production, being light weight and allowing the lamps to be dimmed. This study shows that for a cellular office at the perimeter of a building lit by a dimmable HF electronic ballast lighting, about 40% of the lighting energy could be saved under Hong Kong’s daylight conditions. A saving of 40% at the perimeter amounts to an overall lighting energy saving of about 10% if the perimeter area is about one quarter of the total floor area. Lighting energy normally accounts for about 30% of the total energy consumption for office buildings. For a shallow plan office building, the amount of saving using a daylight linked system could be significant.

Cataphoresis Phenomenon of Fluorescent Lamps with HF Electronic Ballasts.

Recently, the T8-4ft. fluorescent lamp systems with high frequency (HF) electronic ballasts have been promoted as a strategic energy-saving product even into the outdoor lighting fields. In such a situation, the troublesome pinkish-colored cataphoresis phenomenon of these lamps is observed especially in the outdoor fields of winter seasons. The cataphoresis phenomenon of FLs is currently considered to occur only in the DC operation and hardly in the AC operation. Nevertheless, conventional HF electronic ballasts keep inherently the superimposed DC voltage component VDC, attributed mostly to the duty unbalance in the HF inverter circuit. This paper shows that the cataphoresis phenomenon of T8-4ft. fluorescent lamp systems with HF electronic ballasts is analyzed in relation to definitive parameters of the coldest tube wall temperature Tc and the superimposed DC voltage component VDC. This has clarified the critical cataphoresis phenomenon outbreak conditions, given by the equation VDC=0.56 Tc-4.3. In addition, through the experiments on the lamp burming hours to the cataphoresis phenomenon outbreak, the ballast design requirement of VDC less than 2V is proposed as an actual suppression measure against the cataphoresis phenomenon.

High frequency electronic ballast provides line frequency lamp current

Most electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps provide a sinusoidal lamp current at the switching frequency. The high-frequency current flowing through the lamp can generate significant radiated noise, which is unacceptable in noise-sensitive applications, such as fluorescent lights in airplanes. Using shielded enclosures for the lamps may solve the problem, but it is expensive. A discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) electronic ballast topology is presented which drives the lamp with line frequency current, just like a magnetic ballast. However, compared to a magnetic ballast, its weight is substantially reduced due to operation at 40 kHz switching frequency. The topology also ensures unity power factor at the input and stable lamp operation at the output.

高周波点灯蛍光ランプのカタホレシス現象

Recently, the T8-4ft. fluorescent lamp systems with high frequency (HF) electronic ballasts have been promoted as a strategic energy-saving product even into the outdoor lighting fields. In such a situation, the troublesome pinkish-colored cataphoresis phenomenon of these lamps is observed especially in the outdoor fields of winter seasons. The cataphoresis phenomenon of FLs is currently considered to occur only in the DC operation and hardly in the AC operation. Nevertheless, conventional HF electronic ballasts keep inherently the superimposed DC voltage component VDC, attributed mostly to the duty unbalance in the HF inverter circuit. This paper shows that the cataphoresis phenomenon of T8-4ft. fluorescent lamp systems with HF electronic ballasts is analyzed in relation to definitive parameters of the coldest tube wall temperature Tc and the superimposed DC voltage component VDC. This has clarified the critical cataphoresis phenomenon outbreak conditions, given by the equation VDC=0.56 Tc-4.3. In addition, through the experiments on the lamp burming hours to the cataphoresis phenomenon outbreak, the ballast design requirement of VDC less than 2V is proposed as an actual suppression measure against the cataphoresis phenomenon.

A Study of High Frequency Electronic Ballast for HID Lamps Based on Immittance Conversion Theory with A Hot Restarting Circuit

This paper proposes high frequency electronic ballast for HID lamps with a hot restarting circuit. The proposed circuit is composed of voltage source half bridge inverter, immittance conversion circuit, parallel LC resonant circuit, HID lamp, and igniter. The voltage source is converted into current source and vice versa by the effect of immittance conversion circuit. The ballast supplies not only high cold start voltage to the lamp, but also stable current during lamp operation. The igniter is also capable of the supplying the high voltages required to discharge a hot lamp.

High-frequency Electronic Ballast for HID Lamps Using λ/4-long Distributed Constant Line

A novel solid state ballast, which operates in the MHz-range frequency, is presented in this paper. A circuit composed of a voltage-source half-bridge inverter, a distributed constant line, and a parallel LC resonant circuit has been developed for this purpose. The HID (High Intensity Discharge) lamp is connected to the output terminal of the inverter through the distributed constant line. Here, since the length of the line is adjusted to 1/4 of the propagation wavelength λ(λ/4 condition), the output voltage of the voltage-source inverter can be converted to a current source on the load side. Therefore, the ballast can supply not only high voltage to the HID lamp for initiating discharge but also stable current to it during discharge condition. The modification of the proposed circuit is also presented in order to expand the operating frequency without increasing the undesirable harmonic current. The experimental results from a prototype system verify the theoretical procedure.

Characteristics of Various F40 Fluorescent Systems at 60 Hz and High Frequency

Recent improvements in both lamp and ballast technologies have resulted in substantial performance gains for fluorescent lighting systems. High-frequency electronic ballasts as well as high-efficiency 60-Hz electromagnetic ballasts have been designed to provide both better starting and operating conditions for the lamps under their control. At the same time, smaller diameter lamps and more efficient lamp phosphors have been developed to improve system performance further. How these improvements can be utilized in practical lighting systems is reviewed. Comparison characteristics, luminaire performance information, and application data are discussed.

Measurement of Power Delivered to Rapid Start Fluorescent Lamps and other Multi-Port Devices

The standard method used to measure total power delivered to a rapid start fluorescent lamp requires separate sources for arc and cathode power. While this method is suitable for reference photometry, it cannot be applied to lamps operated by a commercial ballast. With the increased emphasis on energy efficient lamp and ballast systems, a method is needed to measure ballast loss and lamp power in commercial systems using both 60 Hz core-and-coil ballasts and high frequency electronic ballasts. In this report, a method is developed for measuring the power delivered to rapid start fluorescent lamps or other multiport loads. It is shown that the power delivered to any N terminal device may be determined by summing N-1 two terminal power measurements. For each measurement, the current channel of the wattmeter is connected to measure the current flowing into the nth terminal (n = 1 to N-1) while the voltage channel is connected to read Vn – VN where N is the designated common terminal.