A step-up converter with large voltage gain and low voltage rating on capacitors

Step-up converters are widely used in many applications, such as renewable energy generation with photovoltaic panels and fuel cell stacks. In many cases, the required voltage gain is larger for those applications than a traditional boost converter can achieve. Several large-voltage gain converters have been recently studied. This paper introduces a converter topology in which the voltage gain is larger than a traditional boost converter. The main advantages of the proposed topology are: (i) it provides a large voltage gain without the use of an extreme duty cycle; (ii) its capacitors require a smaller voltage to be sustained compared with other, similar state-of-the-art converters; (iii) the voltage among the ground input and output is not pulsating; and (iv) it can be synthesized with commercial, off-the-shelf half-bridge packed transistors. The proposed converter can be employed in different applications, such as distributed generation and microgrids. This paper presents the steady-state analysis of the proposed converter in the continuous conduction mode, a short comparison with similar topologies, and their voltage on capacitors. Computer-based simulation results are provided to verify the principle of the proposed converter in different operating conditions

A Real-Time SOSM Super-Twisting Technique for a Compound DC Motor Velocity Controller

In this paper, a real-time robust closed-loop control scheme for controlling the velocity of a Direct Current (DC) motor in a compound connection is proposed. This scheme is based on the state-feedback linearization technique combined with a second-order sliding mode algorithm, named super-twisting, for stabilizing the system and achieving control goals. The control law is designed to track a periodic square reference signal, being one of the most severe tests applied to closed-loop systems. The DC motor drives a squirrel-cage induction generator which represents the load; this generator must work above the synchronous velocity to deliver the generated power towards the grid. A classical proportional-integral (PI) controller is designed for comparison purposes of the time-domain responses with the proposed second-order sliding mode (SOSM) super-twisting controller. This robust controller uses only a velocity sensor, as is the case of the PI controller, as the time derivative of the velocity tracking variable is estimated via a robust differentiator. Therefore, the measurements of field current and stator current, the signal from a load torque observer, and machine parameters are not necessary for the controller design. The validation and robustness test of the proposed controller is carried out experimentally in a laboratory, where the closed-loop system is subject to an external disturbance and a time-varying tracking signal. This test is performed in real time using a workbench consisting of a DC motor—Alternating Current (AC) generator group, a DC/AC electronic drive, and a dSPACE 1103 controller board

Single-Phase Five-Level Multilevel Inverter Based on a Transistors Six-Pack Module

This article introduces a single-phase five-level multilevel inverter based on six switches and two transformers. The proposed converter requires a single dc input source with low voltage. The disposition of switches makes it possible to build the converter with a transistors six-pack module off-the-shelves, traditionally used to build three-phase inverters, which simplifies the manufacturing process. The converter increases the voltage with two transformers; for that reason, it does not require an auxiliary step-up converter. The use of transformers (with the transformer’s turns ratio) allows for using the same topology for several input voltage levels. To verify the operation of the proposed multilevel inverter, a computer-based simulation was performed with PSIM, a software that considers parasitic components. The results show that the proposed converter can work properly

Single-Phase Five-Level Multilevel Inverter Based on a Transistors Six-Pack Module

This article introduces a single-phase five-level multilevel inverter based on six switches and two transformers. The proposed converter requires a single dc input source with low voltage. The disposition of switches makes it possible to build the converter with a transistors six-pack module off-the-shelves, traditionally used to build three-phase inverters, which simplifies the manufacturing process. The converter increases the voltage with two transformers; for that reason, it does not require an auxiliary step-up converter. The use of transformers (with the transformer’s turns ratio) allows for using the same topology for several input voltage levels. To verify the operation of the proposed multilevel inverter, a computer-based simulation was performed with PSIM, a software that considers parasitic components. The results show that the proposed converter can work properly

Food limitation increases aggression in juvenile meerkats

Both the rate and severity of sibling aggression are predicted to be higher when food availability is low. Although there is now good evidence that food availability influences sibling aggression in facultatively siblicidal species, where aggression commonly results in the death of a competitor, little is known about the proximate causes of aggression in nonsiblicidal species, where aggression rarely results in serious injury. Here, we investigated patterns of aggression between juvenile meerkats (Suricata suricatta), a species where littermate aggression is common, but never lethal. We show that the frequency of aggression between littermates increased when rainfall and helper number, both predictors of the amount of food available to pups, were low. Short-term feeding experiments demonstrated that reducing pup hunger by provisioning them before a foraging session significantly reduced their frequency of aggression in comparison to unfed controls. There was no evidence that offspring sex or weight influenced either the rate at which pups were aggressive, or which littermates they were aggressive to. These results suggest that food availability is an important factor affecting the severity of aggressive competition between offspring, even in the absence of lethal aggressive attacks. Copyright 2009, Oxford University Press.