Design of an Integrated Silicon Carbide Nonlinear-carrier PWM Controller for Boost Converter Applications

Power electronics consisting of a switch mode power supply with feedback control have a great number of applications, including many that require extreme environment capability, such as the aerospace and automotive industries. Silicon carbide (SiC) is a common material in which power devices are created for use in switch mode power supplies, such as boost converters, giving those power supplies extremely high temperature capabilities. To truly realize the temperature capabilities of SiC in power supplies, an integrated SiC converter has been designed that is also high-temperature capable. Herein, the properties of SiC integrate circuit (IC) processes are discussed and nonlinear-carrier (NLC) control is proposed as a controller topology that can work within the design challenges presented by SiC. A boost converter with an NLC controller is demonstrated in simulation with circuit blocks built entirely from SiC IC models

Stirling Convertor Control for a Lunar Concept Rover

NASA Glenn Research Center is developing various circuits for a lunar concept rover powered by both a stirling convertor and lithium ion batteries. To begin, a survey of six analog, non-power factor correcting controllers was done for an Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) design one was selected to control the stirling convertor. Next, a constant power circuit and lithium ion battery charger was designed, built and tested based on simulation in PSpice. The constant power circuit enables the stirling convertor to maintain a constant power when additional power is required from the batterie

PWM Techniques: A Pure Sine Wave Inverter

The ever-increasing reliance on electronic devices which utilize AC power highlights the problems associated with the unexpected loss of power from the electrical grid. In places where the electrical infrastructure is not well-developed, brown-outs can prove fatal when electronic medical instruments become unusable. Therefore, there is a need for inexpensive and reliable pure-sine wave inverters for use with medical devices in the underdeveloped world. This report documents the development of one component of an uninterruptible power supply, the DC-to-AC inverter. The three-level PWM system within this report is created with the possibility of a feedback-regulated system to be implemented in the future

I MHz PWM Generation Using Intersective Method

This project serves as a basis to investigate the performance of a PWM generator circuit. This is due to available PWM generation method cannot cover a wide operation frequency and wide duty cycle range. PWM signal had been used in various application including power system, communication and control systems. Pulse-width modulation (PWM) is a very efficient way of providing intermediate amounts of electrical power between fully on and fully off

Multi-kw dc power distribution system study program

The first phase of the Multi-kw dc Power Distribution Technology Program is reported and involves the test and evaluation of a technology breadboard in a specifically designed test facility according to design concepts developed in a previous study on space vehicle electrical power processing, distribution, and control. The static and dynamic performance, fault isolation, reliability, electromagnetic interference characterisitics, and operability factors of high distribution systems were studied in order to gain a technology base for the use of high voltage dc systems in future aerospace vehicles. Detailed technical descriptions are presented and include data for the following: (1) dynamic interactions due to operation of solid state and electromechanical switchgear; (2) multiplexed and computer controlled supervision and checkout methods; (3) pulse width modulator design; and (4) cable design factors

Multi-kilowatt modularized spacecraft power processing system development

A review of existing information pertaining to spacecraft power processing systems and equipment was accomplished with a view towards applicability to the modularization of multi-kilowatt power processors. Power requirements for future spacecraft were determined from the NASA mission model-shuttle systems payload data study which provided the limits for modular power equipment capabilities. Three power processing systems were compared to evaluation criteria to select the system best suited for modularity. The shunt regulated direct energy transfer system was selected by this analysis for a conceptual design effort which produced equipment specifications, schematics, envelope drawings, and power module configurations

Development of multiple source - multiple low voltage converter-regulator power supply with automatic failure sensing and redundant switching Final report, 30 Jun. 1966 - 30 Jul. 1967

Development of failure sensing switching circuitry for electrical power system reliability during extended space mission

Development of a Low-cost Hybrid Music Synthesizer

Until recently, affordable music equipment has always been seen as “budget”, providing a poor user experience. Inexpensive equipment was plagued with audible noise, signal integrity issues, and convoluted user interfaces. Companies like Teenage Engineering have proven that this does not have to be the case, in 2019 introducing their Pocket Operator” series for $89. Due to the modern availability of low cost, high quality, consumer off the shelf [COTS] analog and digital components as well as creative engineering, the quality of inexpensive audio equipment has increased significantly. Despite these industry advances, the market is relatively small and shows a great potential for growth. This senior project capitalizes on this market possibility, providing a low-cost analog/ digital hybrid synthesizer architecture without the aforementioned caveats of poor signal integrity, user interface and sound quality. The synthesizer provides a low latency, simple to use, visual interface to the user. This visual interface allows intuitive and simple-to-learn access to the synthesizer’s parameters. The value of these parameters can also be loaded or saved from non-volatile memory. The power will be provided locally by a battery. Therefore, the synthesizer’s power draw will be low enough to ensure a significant on-time. Physically, the synthesizer provides industry standard audio connectivity to be interfaced with the end user’s existing equipment

Digitally Controlled Zero-Voltage-Switching Quasi-Resonant Buck Converter

ABSTRACT Digitally-Controlled Two-Phase Zero-Voltage-Switching Quasi-Resonant Buck Converter Brian Luc This thesis entails the design, construction, and performance analysis of a digitally-controlled two-phase Zero-Voltage Switching Quasi-Resonant (ZVS-QR) buck converter. The converter is aimed to address the issues associated with powering CPUs operating at lower voltage and high current. To evaluate its performance, the Two-Phase ZVS-QR buck converter is compared against a traditional Two-Phase buck converter. The design procedure required to implement both converters through utilizing the characterization curve and formulas derived from their circuit configurations will be presented. Computer simulation of the Two-Phase ZVS-QR buck converter is provided to exhibit its operation and potential for use in low voltage and high current applications. In addition, hardware prototypes for both ZVS-QR and traditional buck converters are constructed utilizing a Programmable Interface Controller (PIC). Results from hardware tests demonstrate the success of using digital controller for the 60W 12VDC to 1.5VDC ZVS-QR buck converter. Merits and drawbacks based on the operation and performance of both converters will also be assessed and described. Further work to improve the performance of ZVS-QR will also be presented. Keywords: Buck Converter; Zero-Voltage-Switching; Multi-Phase; Efficiency; Switching Los