Power Electronics in Industry Applications

A special issue of Electronics (ISSN 2079-9292). This special issue belongs to the section "Power Electronics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 34819

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Electrical Engineering, National Yunlin University of Science and Technology, Douliou City, Yunlin 640, Taiwan
Interests: power electronics; resonant converters; high-efficiency power converters; renewable energy conversion; electric vehicle applications; soft switching techniques; ZVS PWM converters; bidirectional power converters; high-efficiency battery chargers
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In recent years, power electronic converters have played an important role in industry products for different applications such as plug-in electric vehicles, electric vehicles, renewable energy systems, bidirectional power flow for battery chargers, high-efficiency power supplies, and industry applications. High-efficiency demands in power converters are becoming essential for commercial and industrial power units in various ways. This Special Issue focuses on the development of novel circuit topologies in power electronics.

The particular topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • New trends and technologies for power converters;
  • Multilevel converter topologies;
  • Energy storage technologies;
  • Renewable energy conversion;
  • Integration of renewable energy technologies into the DC or AC grid;
  • Review of power converter technologies;
  • Electric vehicle applications;
  • High-efficiency power converters for switching mode power supplies;
  • Modulation techniques for power converters;
  • Bidirectional power converters;
  • Power converters for industry applications.

Prof. Dr. Bor-Ren Lin
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • resonant converters
  • bidirectional converters
  • battery chargers
  • electric vehicle
  • switching mode power supplies
  • renewable energy conversion
  • DC/AC inverters
  • DC/DC converters
  • AC/DC converters

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Published Papers (7 papers)

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Research

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19 pages, 41248 KiB  
Article
Applying FPGA Control with ADC-Free Sampling to Multi-Output Forward Converter
by Yeu-Torng Yau, Kuo-Ing Hwu and Jenn-Jong Shieh
Electronics 2021, 10(9), 1010; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10091010 - 23 Apr 2021
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 2330
Abstract
In this paper, a forward converter with multiple outputs is employed to build up a circuit system with full-digital control without any analog-to-digital (ADC) converter adopted. In this circuit, all the output voltages can be regulated by individual feedback control loops. As transient [...] Read more.
In this paper, a forward converter with multiple outputs is employed to build up a circuit system with full-digital control without any analog-to-digital (ADC) converter adopted. In this circuit, all the output voltages can be regulated by individual feedback control loops. As transient load variations due to the main output happens, the secondary outputs are affected quite slightly. Furthermore, the output voltage with the largest output current adopts not only the voltage mode control but also the interleaved control and current sharing control. Therefore, if this circuit system adopts full-digital control, the number of ADCs employed is relatively large, and the corresponding cost is expensive. Accordingly, the sampling of multiple output voltages and two-phase currents without any ADCs is used herein. Moreover, a nonlinear control strategy is proposed and applied to the traditional proportional-integral-derivative (PID) controller to accelerate the load transient response. In addition, the field programmable gate array (FPGA) is used as a control kernel. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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18 pages, 3191 KiB  
Article
Analysis of a Wide Voltage Hybrid Soft Switching Converter
by Bor-Ren Lin and Yen-Chun Liu
Electronics 2021, 10(4), 473; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10040473 - 16 Feb 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2470
Abstract
A hybrid PWM converter is proposed and investigated to realize the benefits of wide zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation, wide voltage input operation, and low circulating current for direct current (DC) wind power conversion and solar PV power conversion applications. Compared to the drawbacks [...] Read more.
A hybrid PWM converter is proposed and investigated to realize the benefits of wide zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation, wide voltage input operation, and low circulating current for direct current (DC) wind power conversion and solar PV power conversion applications. Compared to the drawbacks of high freewheeling current and hard switching operation of active devices at the lagging-leg of conventional full bridge PWM converter, a three-leg PWM converter is studied to have wide input-voltage operation (120–600 V). For low input-voltage condition (120–270 V), two-leg full bridge converter with lower transformer turns ratio is activated to control load voltage. For high input-voltage case (270–600 V), PWM converter with higher transformer turns ratio is operated to regulate load voltage. The LLC resonant converter is connecting to the lagging-leg switches in order to achieve wide load range of soft switching turn-on operation. The high conduction losses at the freewheeling state on conventional full bridge converter are overcome by connecting the output voltage of resonant converter to the output rectified terminal of full bridge converter. Hence, a 5:1 (600–120 V) hybrid converter is realized to have less circulating current loss, wide input-voltage operation and wide soft switching characteristics. An 800 W prototype is set up and tested to validate the converter effectiveness. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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24 pages, 12329 KiB  
Article
Light-Load Efficiency Improvement for Ultrahigh Step-Down Converter Based on Skip Mode
by Yeu-Torng Yau, Chao-Wei Wang and Kuo-Ing Hwu
Electronics 2021, 10(3), 355; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10030355 - 2 Feb 2021
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2150
Abstract
In this paper, two light-load efficiency improvement methods are presented and applied to the ultrahigh step-down converter. The two methods are both based on skip mode control. Skip Mode 1 only needs one half-bridge driver integrated circuit (IC) to drive three switches, so [...] Read more.
In this paper, two light-load efficiency improvement methods are presented and applied to the ultrahigh step-down converter. The two methods are both based on skip mode control. Skip Mode 1 only needs one half-bridge driver integrated circuit (IC) to drive three switches, so it has the advantages of easy signal control and lower cost, whereas Skip Mode 2 requires one half-bridge driver integrated circuit IC, one common ground driver IC, and three independent timing pulse-width-modulated (PWM) signals to control three switches, so the cost is higher and the control signals are more complicated, but Skip Mode 2 can obtain slightly higher light-load efficiency than Skip Mode 1. Although the switching frequency used in these methods are reduced, the transferred energy is unchanged, but the output voltage ripple is influenced to some extent. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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26 pages, 14993 KiB  
Article
A Novel Zero Dead-Time PWM Method to Improve the Current Distortion of a Three-Level NPC Inverter
by Jin-Wook Kang, Seung-Wook Hyun, Yong Kan, Hoon Lee and Jung-Hyo Lee
Electronics 2020, 9(12), 2195; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9122195 - 19 Dec 2020
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 6396
Abstract
This paper proposes a novel pulse width modulation (PWM) for a three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI). When the conventional PWM method is used in three-level NPC VSI, dead time is required to prevent a short circuit caused by the [...] Read more.
This paper proposes a novel pulse width modulation (PWM) for a three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI). When the conventional PWM method is used in three-level NPC VSI, dead time is required to prevent a short circuit caused by the operation of complementary devices on the upper and lower arms. However, current distortion is increased because of the dead time and it can also cause a voltage unbalance in the dc-link. To solve this problem, we propose a zero dead-time width modulation (ZDPWM) which does not require dead time used in complementary operation. The proposed technique applies the offset voltage to the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) reference voltage for the same modulation index (MI) as the conventional SVPWM, but any complementary switching operation needs dead time. In addition, the proposed method is divided into four operation sections using the reference voltage and phase current to operate switching devices which flow the current depending on the section. This ZDPWM method is simply implemented by carrier and reference voltage that reduce the current distortion, because complementary operation that needs dead time is not implemented. However, the operation section is delayed due to the sampling delay that occurs during the experiment. Therefore, in this paper, we conduct a modeling of sampling delay to improve the delay of operation section. To verify the principle and feasibility of the proposed ZDPWM method, a simulation and experiment are implemented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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24 pages, 18094 KiB  
Article
Optimally Tuned Interleaved Luo Converter for PV Array Fed BLDC Motor Driven Centrifugal Pumps Using Whale Optimization Algorithm—A Resilient Solution for Powering Agricultural Loads
by A. Darcy Gnana Jegha, M.S.P. Subathra, Nallapaneni Manoj Kumar and Aritra Ghosh
Electronics 2020, 9(9), 1445; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9091445 - 4 Sep 2020
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3298
Abstract
The use of brushless direct current (BLDC) motors are gaining much prominence in water pumping systems (WPS), especially for agricultural purposes. In most cases, the BLDC based WPS is powered using electricity from the grid, which is vulnerable to disruptive events causing a [...] Read more.
The use of brushless direct current (BLDC) motors are gaining much prominence in water pumping systems (WPS), especially for agricultural purposes. In most cases, the BLDC based WPS is powered using electricity from the grid, which is vulnerable to disruptive events causing a resilience problem. However, to avoid the resilience issue, grid-interactive solar photovoltaics (PV) are being used, and this is due to the increased penetration of distributed generation sources into the grid. In these systems, based on the inherent nature of solar PV, power converters are preferred, and as a result, problems like switching losses and maintaining steady-state voltages are commonly seen. In this paper, a framework of PV powered WPS with scope for optimizing controller parameters is proposed to avoid the above-raised issues. Based on the proposed framework, the overall structure of the PV powered WPS is modeled, designed, and analyzed. In the proposed system, the power output from solar PV is fed to the BLDC motor and the grid. If any problem arises in obtaining the power from solar PV, grid-interaction helps to run the motor at required speeds making the WPS resilient to unexpected disruptions and vice versa. For retrieving the generated power from PV array, a positive interleaved Luo converter (I-Luo) is used, which boosts the output with minimum switching losses. To maintain the steady-state voltage at the output of the I-Luo converter, a proportional-integral (PI) controller whose parameters are tuned by whale optimization algorithm (WOA) is used. This voltage is fetched to the BLDC motor via a 3-phase (3-Ф) inverter and then to the grid via a single-phase (1-Ф) inverter. The overall system is simulated and experimentally validated, with a detailed analysis of the observed results. The results include the various performance characteristics of the solar PV, converter, and BLDC motor. Besides, by using the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) based SPARTAN6E controller, the performance of the I-Luo is examined experimentally. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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20 pages, 4255 KiB  
Article
Phase-Shift PWM Converter with Wide Voltage Operation Capability
by Bor-Ren Lin
Electronics 2020, 9(1), 47; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9010047 - 28 Dec 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 7350
Abstract
A soft switching three-level pulse-width modulation (PWM) converter is presented for industrial electronics with wide voltage range operation, such as solar power or fuel cell applications. Phase shift PWM scheme is used on the input-side to accomplish the zero voltage turn-on on power [...] Read more.
A soft switching three-level pulse-width modulation (PWM) converter is presented for industrial electronics with wide voltage range operation, such as solar power or fuel cell applications. Phase shift PWM scheme is used on the input-side to accomplish the zero voltage turn-on on power switches and improve the converter efficiency. Three-level diode-clamp circuit topology is adopted in the presented circuit to lessen the voltage ratings on active devices for high voltage applications. Three sub-circuits with the different turns-ratio of transformers can be selected in the presented converter in order to achieve 10:1 (Vin,max = 10Vin,min) wide input voltage operation when compared to the conventional multilevel converter. The proposed circuit is a single-stage converter instead of two-stage converter to realize wide voltage operation. Therefore, the presented converter has less component counts. Finally, the design procedure and experiments with a 300W laboratory circuit are presented and discussed to confirm the circuit analysis and converter performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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Review

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37 pages, 5300 KiB  
Review
Review of Electric Vehicle Converter Configurations, Control Schemes and Optimizations: Challenges and Suggestions
by Molla S. Hossain Lipu, Mohammad Faisal, Shaheer Ansari, Mahammad A. Hannan, Tahia F. Karim, Afida Ayob, Aini Hussain, Md. Sazal Miah and Mohamad Hanif Md Saad
Electronics 2021, 10(4), 477; https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics10040477 - 17 Feb 2021
Cited by 72 | Viewed by 9599
Abstract
Electric vehicles are receiving widespread attention around the world due to their improved performance and zero carbon emissions. The effectiveness of electric vehicles depends on proper interfacing between energy storage systems and power electronics converters. However, the power delivered by energy storage systems [...] Read more.
Electric vehicles are receiving widespread attention around the world due to their improved performance and zero carbon emissions. The effectiveness of electric vehicles depends on proper interfacing between energy storage systems and power electronics converters. However, the power delivered by energy storage systems illustrates unstable, unregulated and substantial voltage drops. To overcome these limitations, electric vehicle converters, controllers and modulation schemes are necessary to achieve a secured and reliable power transfer from energy storage systems to the electric motor. Nonetheless, electric vehicle converters and controllers have shortcomings including a large number of components, high current stress, high switching loss, slow dynamic response and computational complexity. Therefore, this review presents a detailed investigation of different electric vehicle converters highlighting topology, features, components, operation, strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, this review explores the various types of electric vehicle converter controllers and modulation techniques concerning functional capabilities, operation, benefits and drawbacks. Besides, the significance of optimization algorithms in electric vehicle converters is illustrated along with their objective functions, executions and various factors. Furthermore, this review explores the key issues and challenges of electric vehicle converters, controllers and optimizations to identify future research gaps. Finally, important and specific suggestions are delivered toward the development of an efficient converter for future sustainable electric vehicle applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Power Electronics in Industry Applications)
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