REGULATING TRANSFORMER RECTIFIER UNIT FOR DC POWER APPLICATIONS
20170366093 · 2017-12-21
Assignee
Inventors
Cpc classification
H02M3/33573
ELECTRICITY
H02M1/0009
ELECTRICITY
H02M1/32
ELECTRICITY
H02M1/44
ELECTRICITY
B64D2221/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
H02M1/0058
ELECTRICITY
H02M1/08
ELECTRICITY
H02M3/33546
ELECTRICITY
B64D47/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
Y02B70/10
GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
International classification
H02M1/42
ELECTRICITY
B64D47/00
PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
H02M1/44
ELECTRICITY
Abstract
A power supply system and related method for providing a regulated DC output from an unregulated AC input includes a Vienna rectifier having power factor correction circuitry and a series resonant DC to DC converter to provide a regulated DC output. The power supply system further includes one or more compensator circuits coupled in feedback configuration to control the Vienna rectifier and/or the DC to DC converter and avoid a potentially dangerous over-voltage condition at the regulated DC output.
Claims
1. A power supply system for providing a regulated DC output from an AC input comprising: a rectifier for converting said AC input into a rectified DC output, a DC to DC converter coupled to said rectifier for providing a regulated DC output, a first compensator circuit coupled to monitor the output of said DC to DC converter, a second compensator circuit coupled to monitor the output of the rectifier, said first and second compensator circuits each coupled to provide feedback control of said rectifier to prevent an over-voltage at the regulated DC output.
2. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein said DC to DC converter is a series resonant DC to DC converter.
3. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein the rectifier includes power factor correction circuitry for increasing a power factor of the rectifier.
4. The power supply system of claim 3, wherein the rectifier is a three phase Vienna rectifier.
5. (canceled)
6. (canceled)
7. The power supply system of claim 1, further including a reference voltage generator for providing a voltage ramp to soft start the DC to DC Converter.
8. The power supply system of claim 1 further including a reference voltage generator for providing a voltage ramp to soft start the rectifier.
9. The power supply system of claim 1, further comprising an output voltage monitor coupled to disable the DC/DC converter in case said output voltage monitor detects an over-voltage condition.
10. The power supply system of claim 1, further comprising a current overload monitor coupled to disable the DC to DC converter in case of an over-current or short circuit condition.
11. The power supply system of claim 1, further comprising an over-voltage monitor to disable the rectifier in case of an over-voltage condition.
12. (canceled)
13. (canceled)
14. (canceled)
15. A power supply system for providing a regulated DC output from an AC input comprising: a Vienna rectifier, a series resonant DC to DC converter coupled to said Vienna rectifier for providing a regulated DC output, a first compensator circuit coupled to monitor the output of said DC to DC converter, a second compensator circuit coupled to monitor the output of the Vienna rectifier, said first and second compensator circuits coupled to provide feedback control of the Vienna rectifier and prevent an over-voltage at the regulated DC output.
16. The power supply system of claim 15, further comprising a third compensator circuit coupled to said series resonant DC to DC converter and configured to control the series resonant DC to DC converter to prevent an over-voltage at the regulated DC output.
17. The power supply system of claim 15, wherein the series resonant DC to DC converter is controlled by phase shift modulation.
18. (canceled)
19. (canceled)
20. (canceled)
21. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein said second compensator circuit limits the output of the rectifier when a fault occurs in said first compensator circuit.
22. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein said first compensator circuit limits the output of the rectifier when a fault occurs in said second compensator circuit.
23. The power supply system of claim 1 further including a third compensator circuit to provide feedback control of the DC to DC converter to prevent an over voltage at the regulated DC output.
24. The power supply system of claim 23, wherein said third compensator circuit limits the regulated DC output in case a fault in the first and second compensator circuits would produce an over voltage at the regulated DC output.
25. The power supply system of claim 1 wherein one of said first, second or third compensator circuits controls the DC output voltage to prevent an over voltage in case a fault in one or more of the other compensator circuits would produce an over voltage at the regulated DC output.
26. The power supply system of claim 1, wherein said second compensator circuit limits the output of the rectifier when a fault occurs in said first compensator circuit.
27. The power supply system of claim 15, wherein said first compensator circuit limits the output of the rectifier when a fault occurs in said second compensator circuit.
28. The power supply system of claim 15 further including a third compensator circuit to provide feedback control of the DC to DC converter to prevent an over voltage condition at the regulated DC output.
29. The power supply system of claim 28, wherein said third compensator circuit limits the regulated DC output in case a fault in the first and second compensator circuits would produce an over voltage at the regulated DC output.
30. The power supply system of claim 15 wherein one said first, second or third compensator circuits controls the DC output voltage an over voltage in case a fault in one or more of the other compensator circuits would produce an over voltage at the regulated DC output.
Description
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] The foregoing aspects, and other advantages and benefits of the embodiments and circuit arrangements disclosed herein will become apparent from the following more detailed description, which may be understood with reference to the attached drawings, in which like designations refer to like elements, and wherein:
[0016]
[0017]
[0018]
[0019]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF AN EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENT
[0020] An exemplary embodiment is described herein with reference to the system block diagram depicted in
[0021] Referring to
[0022] In the exemplary embodiment of
[0023] While a Vienna Rectifier 2 is used in the
[0024] As shown, the Vienna Rectifier 2 in the exemplary embodiment of
[0025] In
[0026] For aircraft applications, the DC output voltage may typically be +28V DC, +/−135V DC, or +270V DC. The Resonant DC/DC Converter 5 has limited regulation capability, per se. The Resonant DC/DC Converter voltage gain may be in the range of 0V/V to Ns/Np V/V, where Ns is the number of secondary turns in the DC/DC transformer and Np is the number of primary turns in the DC/DC transformer.
[0027] In operation, the voltage gain of the Resonant DC/DC Converter 5 is purposely limited in order to provide maximum efficiency and to prevent it from being capable of causing an over-voltage condition in the case of a failure.
[0028] In the exemplary
[0029] There are numerous advantages gained by using this type of DC/DC Converter architecture in an R-TRU. First, by using a phase shift modulated full-bridge series resonant converter (SRC), one has the ability to very precisely limit the output voltage rise time as well as the inrush current demanded by load equipment, providing good “soft start” characteristics.
[0030] Other topologies, such as a frequency modulated LLC converter known in the art, do not provide good control of output voltage rise and output current during soft start. For example, if a highly capacitive load were to be connected to the output of other converter designs, e.g., a frequency-modulated LLC converter, the resulting large in-rush current may produce excessive current stress in its switching power FETs, as well as voltage stress on the resonant capacitor, making a full-bridge series resonant converter better suited for the power distribution systems described herein.
[0031] Other topologies, such as a frequency-modulated, half-bridge LLC converter, are also not capable of precisely regulating the output current during a short circuit. If a short circuit occurs on the output, the switching frequency may be increased within the capabilities of the power FETs, but the output current can still reach levels high enough to create significant, and potentially damaging current stress in the power FETs and voltage stress on the resonant capacitor.
[0032] Further, for power distribution equipment, such as an R-TRU, the output must regulate elevated short circuit current into a faulted load long enough to trip a circuit breaker, which may take up to 5 seconds, or longer, to occur. This makes other converter topologies, such as a half-bridge LLC converter, unsuitable for such power distribution applications.
[0033] On the other hand, a phase shift-modulated full bridge SRC topology, as used herein, permits precise regulation of current during overload conditions to prevent damage to the R-TRU electronics, but still trip individual breakers within the power distribution network so that the other load equipment may continue to operate.
[0034] Still further, other topologies, depending on loading conditions, may produce very high output voltages if the control is faulted. This characteristic of, for example, a half-bridge LLC resonant converter, makes it possible for such other topologies to create a damaging failure condition, which could create a hazardous condition due to excessively high voltage on the aircraft power distribution bus. On the other hand, the series resonant converter topology used herein is not capable of creating an elevated output voltage, but rather can only reduce the output voltage in the event of a fault condition.
[0035] Yet another advantage of using a series resonant converter is reduced switching losses, since such resonant converters are able to switch at zero-current and zero-voltage conditions.
[0036] It should be noted however, that while a phase shift-modulated full bridge series resonant DC-DC converter having the foregoing advantages is used in the exemplary embodiment of
[0037] As shown in
[0038]
e.g., at 120 KHz. At the output side of the transformer 60, the high frequency AC voltage is rectified by four diodes 70, 80, 90, 100, as shown in
[0039]
[0040] A further advantage of using a series resonant DC-DC Converter is that this topology is inherently limited in gain. It cannot create a higher voltage output than determined by the turns ratio Ns/Np of the transformer and its input DC voltage. However, it can be easily regulated to reduce its output voltage to a desired value by controlling the duty cycle of the switching power FETs.
[0041] This is in contrast to prior art system that may use a half-bridge LLC converter in a non-regulating mode, without any feedback loop to control the DC/DC converter output voltage. In such prior art, the output voltage may be controlled open loop, by first starting the DC/DC converter at a high frequency, and then reducing the frequency down to the resonant frequency. While this may allow rough soft start, it does not provide a system that can tightly regulate the output voltage or current.
[0042] As further detailed herein, in the
[0043] As also shown in
[0044] This three feedback loop architecture prevents the output voltage from rising too high under various fault scenarios and offers fault tolerance to prevent damaging over-voltage conditions from appearing on the DC output.
[0045] As described further herein, the Compensator A circuit 12 nominally regulates the output voltage of the Vienna Rectifier 2 during normal operating conditions. As a consequence, Compensator B circuit 7 is not required to regulate the output of the Resonant DC/DC converter 5 for the majority of the time. This allows the Resonant DC/DC Converter 5 to operate in a fully on state. In this configuration, it will provide the highest power conversion efficiency and can be optimized for small size. A highly optimized series resonant converter operates at, or very near, the resonant tank frequency so that all power FETs are operated in a soft switching mode.
[0046] Reverting to
[0047] As mentioned above, during normal operation, the Compensator B circuit 7 operates in a saturated mode. However, the Compensator B circuit 7 will provide output voltage and output current control of the Resonant DC/DC Converter 5 for purposes of soft start and when fault conditions occur as a result of input voltage transients, output overload and output short circuit.
[0048] In particular, as shown in
[0049] In an exemplary embodiment, such duty cycle control may be achieved by modulating the relative phase between the signals driving the switching FETs, which in turn will change the duty cycle of the voltage applied to the transformer 60 within the Resonant DC/DC Converter 5. The feedback loop including Compensator B circuit 7 thus acts to prevent a dangerous over-voltage condition at the DC output 26.
[0050] As further shown in
[0051] Additionally, a DC/DC Overload Monitor 9 may also be optionally provided that detects the output current being provided to an external load. If the output load current exceeds a maximum value, the DC/DC Overload Monitor 9 will send a signal to the DC/DC Converter Control 6 to shut down and protect the Resonant DC/DC Converter 5 from excessive current draw that may damage its circuitry in the event of an overload or short circuit.
[0052] Additional features shown in the exemplary
[0053] As shown in
[0054] Referring again to
[0055] Significantly, the
[0056] Compensator A circuit 12 is the primary feedback loop that regulates the DC output voltage of the Vienna Rectifier 2. As shown in
[0057] The Compensator C circuit 14 also provides feedback control over the output of the Vienna Rectifier 2 under appropriate conditions. In practice, the voltage regulation point for this Compensator C is set slightly higher than what is required to regulate the DC output. Thus, under normal conditions, it will not regulate the output of the Vienna Rectifier 2. However, Compensator C circuit 14 will be active during failure of the other feedback loops or during startup to regulate the output voltage to Vienna Rectifier 2.
[0058] With further reference to
[0059] In the
[0060] In particular, as shown in
[0061] In addition, the exemplary embodiment of
[0062] Further, in the exemplary embodiment of
[0063] Further, and as noted above, should Compensator B circuit 7 fail, thereby causing the DC/DC Converter Control 6 to push for more voltage at the output of the Resonant DC/DC Converter 5, the turns ratio of its resonant transformer will inherently prevent this from happening.
[0064] As disclosed herein, multiple levels of protection are built into the
[0065] The Table below shows various potential fault scenarios that may occur in the disclosed system by describing potential single and double fault conditions and the resulting outcome (mitigation). As summarized by this Table, the disclosed embodiment provides over-voltage protection for up to two simultaneous failures without the need for any monitoring circuitry. If an optional DC/DC Output Voltage Monitor 8 and optional PFC Over Voltage Monitor 13 are added (see,
TABLE-US-00001 Scenario Number Failure #1 Failure #2 Mitigation 1 Compensator A Compensator C takes faults and attempts control of the Vienna to cause an over Rectifier and prevents voltage of the an output over voltage. Vienna Rectifier output. 2 Compensator C Compensator A takes faults and attempts control of the Vienna to cause an over Rectifier and prevents voltage of the an output over voltage. Vienna Rectifier output. 3 Compensator B Compensator A takes faults and attempts control of the Vienna to cause an over Rectifier and prevents voltage of the an output over voltage. Resonant DC/DC Also, Compensator B Converter output. can only reduce the output voltage of the Resonant DC/DC Converter, and cannot increase the DC output voltage to a damaging level. 4 Compensator A Compensator C faults Compensator B controls faults and attempts and attempts to cause the Resonant DC/DC to cause an over an over voltage of the converter to reduce the voltage of the Vienna Rectifier output voltage and Vienna Rectifier output prevent an over voltage. output. 5 Compensator A Compensator B faults Compensator B cannot faults and attempts and attempts to cause increase the output to cause an over an over voltage of the voltage of the Resonant voltage of the Resonant DC/DC DC/DC converter since Vienna Rectifier Converter output. a series resonant output. converter cannot increase its output voltage above the transformer turns ratio times the input voltage. The output voltage can only be reduced. In this scenario, Compensator C takes control of the Vienna Rectifier output voltage and prevents an over voltage on the output. 6 Compensator B Compensator C faults Compensator A takes faults and attempts and attempts to cause control of the Vienna to cause an over an over voltage of the Rectifier and prevents voltage of the Vienna Rectifier an output over voltage. Resonant DC/DC output. Converter output.
[0066] Although the disclosed subject matter has been described and illustrated with respect to the exemplary embodiments provided herein, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various additions and modifications may be made to these disclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of the innovations disclosed herein, which are set forth in the following claims.