Teaching Power Electronics Research Articles

Simulation to Implementation as Good Practices for Teaching Power Electronics to Undergraduate Students: Fuzzy Sliding Mode Control for DC Motors

How can students be given experience in the confused realities of engineering processes? How can undergraduate students be convinced that processes can be analyzed and improved? Computer simulations properly designed and applied could answer these challenges revolutionizing education in Power Electronics. In recent years, computer simulation has been commonly used in education to motivate students in their learning and help teachers to improve their teaching level. The present paper focuses on developing a speed controller for DC motors starting from theoretical aspects, passing through simulations, and finally reaching a control prototype. The control theory is based on a nonlinear technique known as Sliding Mode Control (SMC) involving artificial intelligence for optimization such as Fuzzy Logic (FL), Adaptive Neurofuzzy Inference Systems (ANFIS), and Genetic Algorithms (GAs).

Educational Applications of Interactive Tools to Analyze, Design, and Simulate D.C.-D.C. Power Converters

Currently, interactivity is playing a fundamental role in engineering education because of the development of communications and systems. An important challenge is the effective use of computer tools that allow associating teaching methods with the new ways students learn. In the area of power electronics, recognizing different concepts of switching converters is simplified, given simulation and experimentation tools. Nevertheless, general-purpose tools applied in the analysis and simulation of power electronics systems do not make use of the full interactivity that computer applications can offer. Consequently, it is necessary to develop modern tools with specific capacities to complement teaching and research experiences in power electronics. This article describes the Power Electronics Interactive Laboratory implemented in LabVIEW as a tool to introduce interactivity in power electronics education and presents results of its application in research and teaching activities.

Power Semiconductor Device, Course Contents Revisited

The skills needed to build the next-generation of power semiconductor devices and to integrate them into power electronic systems require proper education and training of engineering students, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To assess the current state of power electronics education, a study of curricular offering in power electronics in the U.S. universities is conducted. The study shows that there is a lack of course offering in semiconductor power devices and almost nonexistence of critical topics in the curriculum, especially thermal management, temperature effects, reliability, power packaging, modeling, systems integration, and failure analysis. To remedy these deficiencies, new power electronics tracks/concentrations for undergraduate and graduate programs are proposed. The proposed curricular modifications are designed to be rigorous to meet the future needs of the power electronic industry, but they remained flexible enough to be easily adopted by many institutions.

Understanding Power Electronics and Electrical Machines in Multidisciplinary Wind Energy Conversion System Courses

Wind energy conversion systems (WECS) nowadays offer an extremely wide range of topologies, including various different types of electrical generators and power converters. Wind energy is also an application of great interest to students and with a huge potential for engineering employment. Making WECS the main center of interest when teaching power electronics and electrical machines can therefore be highly advantageous. This paper describes a novel teaching experience using wind energy as the starting point for understanding power electronics and electrical machines. The results point out the wide variety of concepts involved in the course, the numerous competences that it can enhance, and its positive reception by learners.

Cyber Physical Systems Approach to Power Electronics Education

This paper proposes a Cyber Physical Approach (CPS) to power electronics (PE) education where all aspects of PE technology from circuit topology to the implementation of real time control code on a microprocessor are dealt with as an inseparable whole, and only the system complexity is increased during the course of instruction. This approach is now made practical thanks to the affordable and unrestricted access to high-power PE laboratory infrastructure (PE laboratory in a box) in the form of high-fidelity digital PE emulators with 1us calculation time step and latency.

LabVIEW를 이용한 전력전자 컨버터 교육 프로그램

This paper deals with power electronic converter education program using LabVIEW. LabVIEW is a graphic based programming language with easy debugging, which is suitable for education program that can be used to study and figure out the operation of power electronic converters. When LabVIEW is employed as a simulation program of the operation of power electronic converters, the resulting program has the advantage such that the effects of the change of control variables and circuit parameters on the various variables such as the output voltage and the inductor current etc can be directly displayed without any separate compiling procedure. This paper shows the design procedure and the characteristics of the power electronics education program implemented by LabVIEW focusing on DC-DC converter among power electronic converters.

An Original Method Based on Simulink to Model and Simulate A.C.-D.C. Converters Taking into Account the Overlap Phenomenon

This paper presents a simple and original method to simulate the behaviour of a.c.-d.c. converters with Matlab-Simulink. This approach takes into account the overlap phenomenon with continuous and discontinuous conduction modes. The a.c. to d.c. converter is presented as a block (voltage input and voltage output) which can be inserted in a complex structure. The simplicity of the method makes it easy to understand and its short computing time makes it an interesting alternative to the Matlab SimPower Systems toolbox and PSIM software for teaching power electronics simulation. The method is designed in order to be user-friendly and easy to implement for students. In this paper, it is used for a six-pulse rectifier and extended to a twelve-pulse rectifier with delta/wye-delta transformer. Experimental results are provided to validate the proposed modelling method.

The Application of PSIM & Matlab/ Simulink in Teaching of Power Electronics Courses

This paper presents a comparison analysis between two engineering software platforms, Matlab/Simulink & PSIM, which are used as major educational tools in teaching of power electronics and electrical drive courses, in additional to conducted research in these fields. The comparison analysis is based on studying the design simplicity of the module, time consumed in building of the module, accuracy, functionality, simulation time, and the acceptability of obtained results. Various power electronic simulation circuits are illustrated and the results are processed and displayed. 
 The simulation results states that Matlab/Simulink is a suitable platform for control and regulation of simulation processes, in additional to its dominant role in conducting research tasks. Conversely, PSIM is dedicated to power electronic circuits and machine simulation tasks with fast and robust algorithms and suitable for educational purposes. It is recommended that both packages can be used in teaching power electronics courses.

A new developed educational approach to improve conventional teaching methodology of the power electronics laboratory

AbstractThis paper proposes a new computerized educational approach to teach the power electronics laboratory. It describes PSpice implementation of the core power electronic circuits that depend on thyristor circuits to identify behaviors with load variations. It uses the developed simulation models to support and enhance power electronics education at the undergraduate level. These simulations successfully integrate the contents of the power electronic laboratory course. A study of the impact of these simulations on the results of the students showed that it helped them to master the course contents and to gain better grades. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 19: 193–200, 2011

Ensino e orientação para projeto de conversores CC-CC através de aplicativos em java

Este trabalho apresenta um novo conjunto de ferramentas de simulação interativas abordando a operação idealizada de conversores CC-CC não isolados, visando o auxílio e aprimoramento do ensino em Eletrônica de Potência. Estas novas ferramentas de simulação utilizam uma metodologia consolidada de desenvolvimento, empregando recursos modernos da linguagem Java, para propiciar um ambiente dinâmico e interativo de visualização de simulações em regime permanente. Adicionalmente, este trabalho apresenta as principais características operacionais das ferramentas educacionais propostas, e, aborda sua utilização como ferramenta de projeto orientado para as aulas de laboratórios no curso de Eletrônica de Potência. Neste sentido, com o objetivo de validar as ferramentas desenvolvidas e mostrar a sua utilidade, alguns exemplos considerando o conversor Buck são apresentados, onde são efetuadas comparações com ambientes de simulação conhecidos, e com resultados experimentais obtidos nos laboratórios didáticos.

A novel educational approach to enhance the conventional teaching methodology of power electronics using MATLAB/Simulink

This paper discusses the concept, principles and potential benefits of computer simulations when used in power electronics education. As an alternative method of coursework delivery, a working prototype of a software package is designed. The paper presents an interactive method for teaching a final-year power electronics undergraduate course. Simulink is used here to implement the circuits as if the students are working in the laboratory. The effect of the instructional software on the achievement of students is compared to the conventional teaching method. The results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed teaching method over the conventional teaching method.

Diode, Thyristor and Triac Tests Using PSpice and Their Integration into Undergraduate Power Electronics Courses

This paper describes PSpice implementation of three power electronic devices: diode, thyristor, and triac, performed to identify characteristic curve parameters. Development of these simulation models is used to support and enhance power electronics education at the undergraduate level. The proposed tests have been successfully integrated into power electronics courses.

Design and Implementation of a Reconfigurable Remote Laboratory, Using Oscilloscope/PLC Network for WWW Access

The objective of this paper is to present a remote laboratory in the context of power electronics education. New technologies and developments are compelling educators to deeply reflect on the traditional means of teaching. Modern curricula require new ways of conception and implementation of innovative pedagogical approaches. Often, these new pedagogical approaches require novel technological realizations. Although e-learning facilities are increasingly being used in engineering education, often, they are based on simulations and/or emulations of virtual laboratories. This paper presents a remote laboratory facility that allows the students to conduct real power electronics reconfigurable experiments through the Internet, promoting a more efficient learning through online industrial automation operation using the Internet and WWW services.

Teaching Power Electronics From The Control Point Of View

This paper presents a methodology to teach Power Electronics from the Control point of view, to be used in a laboratory course in the Undergraduate Program of Control and Automation Engineering at Federal University of Minas Gerais, Brazil. In this case, the ideal representation of the power switch is applied, not being necessary to take into consideration the switching ripple, but the averaged signals. In laboratory classes, a Microchip development module is used, permitting to study four non-isolated chopper configurations. The program covers static experimental observation and measuring, chopper modeling by equivalent averaged circuit, open-loop static calculation and validation, linearization about an operating point and dynamic non-linear and linear simulations. Due to uncertainties in the model, a suitable analog PI controller is designed and implemented from a black-box chopper model, giving a good performance to the converter under closed-loop operation. The “Motivation-by-Challenge” methodology is applied in the Power Electronics laboratory, permitting an effective participation of the students in the learning process: the closed-loop control problem of a chopper is proposed as a challenge, only finishing when a good solution is found.

Plataforma De Ensino De Eletrônica De Potência Versátil E De Baixo Custo

A despeito da importância da Eletrônica de Potência e do crescente número de aplicações no mercado, existe uma carência de dispositivos de uso prático de baixo custo que auxiliem o ensino de Eletrônica de Potência. Este artigo descreve uma plataforma de ensino, que foi desenvolvida na Unicamp e é atualmente utilizada como parte de uma disciplina de Laboratório de Eletrônica de Potência. É descrito um experimento envolvendo o controle, em malha aberta, de um motor de indução trifásico, bem como outros experimentos possíveis de serem realizados. Graças ao projeto versátil, o sistema pode ser facilmente modificado para experimentos envolvendo outros sistemas, por exemplo, fontes chaveadas.

The use of Simulink and PSpice as educational tools in the teaching of power electronics

Simulation of power electronics circuits is a useful educational tool as it ensures the feasibility and reliability of design, and at the same time it is cost effective and time saving. Simulation at educational level helps to grip concepts and gives a good understanding of inside the circuit. It's very useful as a diagnostic tool as well. This paper presents the simulation as an educational tool using different packages. Results obtained from simulation packages are found to be satisfactory with respect to practical evolution of the design. Simulations enhance students' capabilities of learning and griping concepts, with increased aptitude of analysis and design. Independent thinking, learning, self assessment towards design analysis and diagnosing is achieved by software tools that provide a student focused approach.

Teaching Power Electronics with the Aid of Spreadsheets

The subject of power electronics forms the basis for the conversion of electric power from one form to the other using electronic devices. Traditionally, students encountering this subject for the first time have been frustrated by the level of mathematics required to perform harmonic analysis, solve differential equations and obtain power-related quantities. In recent times, computer simulation software, such as PSpice, has been used as an instructional tool for introductory power electronic courses. Although PSpice can increase the student's ability to comprehend the operation of several power electronic circuits by inspecting voltage and current waveforms, its use for the analysis of these waveforms may leave students unaware of the pertinent mathematical procedures and their limitations. This paper shows that using a spreadsheet program, the student can comprehend the fundamental principles required for analysing voltage and current waveforms in nonlinear circuits without getting bogged down by complicated mathematics.

A New Approach for Teaching Power Electronics Converter Experiments

This paper presents a new methodological approach to teaching power electronics converter experiments. This approach is based on a reconfigurable hardware-software platform for use in converter experiments in a basic power electronics course. This course is an optional subject, and, therefore, the experiments need to motivate the students. The platform is controlled by software (made in a LabVIEW environment) run on a PC. The student can control the fundamental parameters of the selected converter topology through the user interface and, with a little work, can compare the results with a real circuit. An example of use of the methodology in an inverter experiment is included.

Automated PSpice Simulation as an Effective Design Tool in Teaching Power Electronics

In this paper, PSpice is used to deepen the student understanding of power electronics and to serve as a design tool for power converter circuits. A library that includes automated versions of dc/dc converters and rectifiers is built in PSpice using ideal switches. The automated version permits students to design converter circuits that meet a set of design criteria. The performance of various designs are tested by plotting the current and voltage waveforms using the graphics postprocessor Probe. The library was introduced to students in a power electronics course, and they have been asked to augment its contents through mini-design projects. The response was positive, which will encourage the extension of the approach to other subjects.

Teaching Power Electronics in the 21st Century

Advances in power electronics and changing demands do make necessary changes in education of power electronics. This concerns the theoretical (lectures) as well as the practical part of the education. The use of the new media (interactive e-learning), problem-based and project-organized learning are possible ways to improve the quality of the education. In this paper a web-based learning tool for Power Electronics and two project-oriented practical for power electronics education are introduced: problem-based learning in the first year of study (theme project) and the design-oriented practical for the fourth year of study as a supplement to lectures on power electronics.