Solar Thermal Cogeneration
[
Overview]
[
Program] [
System]
[
Collector] [
Turbine]
[
Generator] [
Controller] [
Battery]
Charge Controller
Introduction
The battery charge controller converts the multi-phase
sinusoidal
power output from the STC's electric generator into
regulated DC power for charging the
batteries. The generator's output levels vary
during the day and the year. The optimum charging rate at any
interval during the charging process depends
on the battery state-of-charge and
the end-use loads during the interval. The load on the
turbine/generator
must be regulated to achieve maximum power when needed, and maximum
economy otherwise. The charge controller design should
minimize embedded costs, maximize energy transfer, and minimize
losses. The basic design should also work in reverse, driving the
generator from the
batteries to aid startup of the low-torque turbine. It should
also be reusable in other system components including
variable-frequency motor drives, DC steppers and AC inverters for
end-use appliances, and even in fluorescent light ballasts and audio
speaker amplifiers, maximizing energy efficiency.
Battery
Charging Cycle
The
charge controller is wired to the battery
and the battery is
wired to the end-user load. The controller measures controller
voltage, battery voltage and load
voltage and calculates the currents using cable
resistance constants that have been measured and stored in the
controller.
When the controller is started each morning it begins
monitoring the
battery voltage and the end-user load
current. If the battery is discharged (its voltage is lower than
that at max-rated charge) the controller adjusts the charge voltage to
supply up to the battery's max-rated charge current, plus the steady
end-user
load
current. When the battery's max-rated charge voltage is reached,
the
controller
holds it until the battery reaches its
max-rated charge (the charge current decreases to a value known to
indicate max-rated charge at the max-rated charge voltage). Then
the controller
continues supplying the steady end-user load current and
maintains the battery max-rated charge, until the end of the day's
charging interval.
The battery's max-rated charge voltage, max-rated charge current,
voltage at
max/min-rated charge, and current at max-rated voltage and charge are
constants measured or chosen and
stored in the controller. If the battery room temperature
fluctuates more
than about
10°F across the year then temperature compensation for
the stored constants are necessary. A half hour rest period is
needed to accurately measure the battery voltage at max/min-rated
charge.
Commercial battery max-rated charge current is typically
one eighth of the battery's amp-hour rating. Too high a charge
current creates excessive heat which wastes power and weakens the
battery plates, and excessive gassing which causes plate shedding, all
of which
reduce battery life. Too high a charge voltage creates the same
problems. A battery's
max-rated charge voltage is typically 2.3 to 2.4 V per cell, depending
on materials and temperature. Too
low a charge
voltage results in less than full charge which, over time, allows the
plate
sulfate to harden, reducing battery life. The battery's
max-rated
charge is reached when the charge current levels off to a quiescent
value while the charge voltage is held at max-rated value. An
occasional
overcharge may be beneficial to the battery by dissolving hardened
sulfate.
See also:
Lead-Acid
Battery: Charging Strategy
Switch-Mode Voltage
Conversion
The charge controller
utilizes switch-mode voltage conversion which can convert variable
and wide-ranging input voltages into variable and wide-ranging
output voltages, with up to 95% efficiency. A
switch-mode converter operates a high-speed, high-power
solid-state
switch at a high frequency and uses a relatively small inductor and
capacitor to store energy during the voltage conversion. The
switch is operated by a high-frequency
rectangular wave signal with its pulse width determining the
input/output voltage
ratio. The inductor and capacitor values and switch
frequency determine the output ripple. The
switch pulse width and frequency may be changed to compensate for
changes in the source or load parameters.
Like a transformer, the
switch-mode converter
's
input/output voltage ratio is the inverse of its input/output
current ratio, preserving power minus losses. Both can be
designed to transfer a
specific power to the
load by supplying a specific voltage. But unlike a transformer, a converter is capable of dynamically
changing the
voltage ratio so
the
converter can
thereby dynamically
change the power transfer. Like a linear voltage regulator, a
converter can supply DC output and can maintain a
specific output
voltage during changes in source and load parameters.
Linear regulators are very inefficient
because they do not preserve power but dissipate the input/output power
difference as waste heat. Given the switch-mode converter's ability to preserve
power at low cost, it is widely used to supply DC voltages in computer
equipment, replacing both the transformer and the linear
regulator. The switch-mode method is flexible enough to
efficiently convert most any shape input power waveform to most any
shape
output power waveform.
Switch-mode converters can
dynamically change the load as seen by
the
source, a useful capability for stabilizing a solar-thermal
system during intermittent cloud cover. There are two
basic configurations:
Boost Configuration:
A
lower voltage is converted to a higher
voltage. An
inductor is connected in series between the voltage source and the
resistive load, and a switch is connected in parallel with the
load. When the switch is closed, current flows through the
inductor and
charges it. When the switch is opened, the inductor
maintains continuity of current flow through the load and the load
voltage becomes the current times the load resistance. A
capacitor
in parallel with the load maintains this voltage after the
switch closes to start a new cycle. A diode between the switch
and the capacitor prevents the capacitor's discharge. The
input-to-output voltage ratio equals the
ratio of the switching period to the switch off-time.
Buck Configuration: A
higher voltage is converted to
a lower voltage. A
switch and
inductor are connected in series
between the voltage source and the resistive load. When the
switch is
closed, a current charges the inductor, limited by the load
resistance. When
the switch is opened, the inductor maintains
continuity of current flow through a diode
connected
to ground, and the load voltage becomes the load
resistance times the current. A
capacitor in parallel with the load smooths out the
load
voltage. The input-to-output voltage
ratio equals the
ratio of switch on-time to the switching period.
A third configuration, known as buck-boost, shares the same
components but
arrange them in yet another way and allows either voltage step-up or
step
down. There are limitations for each configuration which should
be accounted for in finalizing a design.
Integration Into The Controller
The STC's generator supplies multi-phase power sinusoids and the
charge
controller actively
rectifies
them into DC and then converts/regulates the DC to voltage/current
levels needed by the battery. The sun's energy varies
widely over
the course of the day, all of which is needed in the winter, resulting
in a wide voltage range at the generator output. Use of
a single converter, either buck or boost,
requires that this voltage range be held completely above or completely
below the
battery voltage, which hovers in a relatively small
range.
The generator coils may be connected in series to generate
a range of high voltage while the battery cells are connected in
parallel to
accept a
low voltage, and a buck converter employed. Or the generator
coils may be connected
in
parallel to generate a range
of low voltage while the battery cells are connected in series to
accept a high voltage, and a boost converter employed.
Efficient DC power distribution favors a high battery voltage.
But the
turbine/
generator are most suited to high speed
and voltage, so
a careful analysis should determine this configuration.
The turbine/generator delivers maximum power along a certain current
profile as a function of voltage. The converter may locate the
input
current that gives maximum power transfer
by periodically
adjusting the voltage conversion ratio while measuring
the power. This periodic adjustment is required as the generator
voltage and resistance, and battery voltage and resistance,
change. This
adjustment is subject to
the battery's charge voltage/current requirements and the generator's
and battery's rated limits. If the turbine/generator is producing
more
power than the battery can safely sink, then the system can
intervene to throttle the turbine.
Rectifier and Power
Factor Correction
The generator's multi-phase AC output is fed into a bridge
rectifier,
traditionally composed of a diode pair per phase with
similar outputs connected together to form a pair of terminals.
The
result is a DC voltage plus a ripple that is
traditionally filtered with a large
capacitor. The capacitor charges only when the ripple peaks
above the capacitor voltage so the
current from the generator is pulsed at the ripple frequency.
This high amplitude pulsed-current waveform has many high-frequency
harmonics
that reflect back to the generator and dissipate power by a.) increased
skin effect
resistance in wires, b.) increased eddy
currents in coil wires and cores and c.) increased leakage across
insulation. To eliminate these current harmonics the
current waveform must be conformed to match the shape and phase of the
voltage waveform. This creates a purely resistive
load (zero reactance) in which all generator power is sunk, and is
referred to as power factor correction (PFC) with a
power factor of
unity.
A
conventional means of achieving PFC for single-phase AC is
to employ a
boost converter between
the single-phase bridge rectifier diodes and the rectifier
capacitor.
The converter monitors the
input voltage waveform and adjusts
the conversion ratio to match the input current waveform shape/phase to
the input voltage waveform shape/phase. The converter raises its
output
voltage to a point greater than the capacitor's voltage such that for
each switching period the capacitor plus load draw a level of power at
the converter output that presents
that period's target current to the converter input.
The
converter also monitors the output voltage and/or current and
adjusts the input current waveform's
envelope
(profile of waveform
peaks) to deliver the average power demand of the load, which in the
case of battery charging corresponds to specific voltage and current
profiles maintained within rated bounds across the charging
period.
The
switching frequency is set to be much higher than the input voltage
frequency to minimize quantization error in the input current
waveform. The
switching signal is derived from the product of the various monitor
signals.
If a given application requires a lower output voltage than the input
voltage peak, a second switch-mode stage in a buck configuration may be
needed to lower the output voltage or it may be possible to employ a
buck-boost configuration in the PFC stage.

In the single-phase
case, it might be more economical to
integrate the rectifier and converter, i.e. the rectifier diode
bridge and capacitor replacing the converter's diode/capacitor.
The converter's inductor
and switch are placed in front of the bridge and the rectifier
bridge/capacitor serve as the
converter's diode/capacitor. In the
multi-phase case, integrating the rectifier and converter is required
because the
phase currents become discontinuous, or pulsed, as
the phase voltages reverse-bias each-other's diodes.
In the figure, it might be possible to remove the switches (S) and
replace the rectifier diodes (D) with switches. This reduces the
parts count and also enables the design to be used in motor, generator
or motor/generator configurations. It's also possible that the
inductors (L) may be eliminated and the generator coils used in their
place by the PFC circuit.
Switch
Signal Generation
Electronic circuits are needed to generate the power switch
signals. These are fixed-frequency square-wave signals with a
variable duty cycle. It may be necessary to control both the
pulse start and
the
pulse
width of
each signal to optimize the power switch performance. With
control of both
parameters by the
control/monitor
subsystem, timing optimization may be performed
in
software, reducing components and increasing reliability.
Discrete transistors can minimize power draw.
A master
sawtooth oscillator drives a set of replicated power switch drive
circuits (see
figure).
This oscillator is an
astable
multivibrator. The time constant of the RC network on its
output side is much longer than the other side's time constant so its
ramp will
occupy the
majority of the signal period. Each drive circuit is a
series of stages: The first stage, a
differential
amplifier, or comparator, changes the input sawtooth into a
rectangle with
a DC-controlled duty
cycle. This is a
classic pulse width modulator but in this context its
function is to produce a unique DC-controlled start offset for
its power switch drive signal relative to the other drive
signals. The start offset is manifest in the rising edge of the
stage's
rectangle output. The rectangle is then converted to a pulse,
then
to a sawtooth which drives a second pulse-width modulator
which changes the sawtooth into a rectangle of width controlled by
a second DC voltage. This start-controlled and width-controlled
rectangle drives the
power
switch.
The oscillator should run at a fixed frequency that minimize switching
losses and maximizes the power factor. A lower frequency
minimizes
switching losses by reducing the number of switching transitions.
A higher frequency enables better power factor correction by reducing
the quantization error. Switching losses might be
further reduced with snubbers across the switch sources/drains.
Small Signal
Transistors
Monitor
/ Control
Circuits
The converter input and output voltages/currents must be
measured and the power switches controlled by the control/monitor
subsystem
through electronic interfaces. The control/monitor subsystem has
an
analog-digital
converter (
ADC)
and digital-analog
converter (
DAC)
with several input and output signal channels.
Voltages to
be measured are stepped down appropriately with resistor voltage
dividers. Currents are measured using a
differential
amplifier
wired to the two ends of a power cable. Resulting voltages
are sampled by the ADC. The DAC provides DC
voltage levels that control the relative phases and pulse widths of the
switch
signals. The charge controller function
is integrated into the control/monitor subsystem, and the ADC/DAC
perform system-wide signal
conversion. A single multi-tasking control/monitor subsystem
reduces
costs and provides
opportunities to increase overall system performance and reduce
development costs.
Components
Power component characteristics are critical to the design strategy,
the
circuit layout, and the reliability, efficiency and economy
of the charge controller.
Capacitors have a
working voltage rating which should be significantly
higher than the peak voltage applied. The same is true of the
ripple current rating. These must be derated at higher
ambient temperatures. Strict observance of temperature, voltage
and current ratings is required. Manufacturers should be asked
directly about the lifespan of their capacitors.
Capacitors have small series and
parallel resistances and inductances that may affect the efficiency of
the system, especially at higher frequency and higher current
operation.
More on Capacitors
Inductors have DC
winding loss and AC winding and
core losses
which should
be minimized. Core
saturation
and stray
flux
should also be
considered. DC winding loss is a function of current and winding
resistance. AC winding loss is like DC winding loss
but increases with frequency due to the skin effect. AC core
losses (
eddy
currents and
hysteresis)
also increase with frequency and
also depend on core
characteristics. Core saturation
depends on current and
core characteristics. Stray flux depends on the inductor
geometry.
More on Inductors
MOSFET switches
should have as low on-resistance as possible.
The voltage drop is current times on-resistance and the power loss is
voltage drop times current. Since on-resistance increases with
temperature,
MOSFET efficiency improves with heatsinking and cooler ambient
temperatures. The gate
levels that set the on and off states are
important for minimizing on-resistance and maximizing
off-resistance. A shorter switching transition improves
efficiency by
reducing lossy conduction in the linear range. A higher switching
rate decreases efficiency by
increasing the percentage of time spent in transitions. Switching
transients (spikes, ringing) may add to these power losses and stress
the MOSFETs.
IGBT switches are an
alternative to MOSFET switches. IGBTs have lower on-resistance
than MOSFETs and may be more economical. The IGBT's on-resistance
changes little with current and temperature. IGBTs have a small
tail current when switched off which may affect efficiency at higher
speeds. Generally, MOSFETs are better for higher speeds
(>100kHz) and IGBTs
are better for higher power (>1kW) .
Power
diodes should
generally have low
forward voltage drop, low reverse leakage current, high reverse
breakdown voltage, fast switching time, and low switching
transients. Diode switching transients may exceed the breakdown
voltage of connected devices or damage the diode itself and create
other losses and stresses, especially when amplified by inductor
resonances. Forward voltage drop results in a conduction
loss. Reverse leakage current usually creates inefficiencies in
the circuit. For converter output voltages greater than 12 volts,
ultra-fast recovery diodes are usually specified, and schottky
otherwise. Switched MOSFETs might perform the diode function
more efficiently by providing a lower forward voltage drop.
Diodes
Basics
More
on Power Semiconductors
More
on Capacitors
There are three basic types of capacitors in mass production.
Film capacitors
are usually rolled
cylinders of plastic dielectric film
and aluminum foil. Or the film is metalized, eliminating the
foil.
Often the film is polypropylene. Film/foil capacitors
are particularly reliable
and
stable in capacitance and electrical properties over time, temperature
and voltage/current ranges but are bulky due to low
dielectric
constants and are sensitive to soldering heat.
Ceramic
capacitors have
much higher dielectric constants and are popular for their compactness
but have poor electrical properties with higher capacitance and lose
capacitance with time.
Electrolytic
capacitors can have very high
dielectric constants and serve high capacitance applications with low
cost and compact size. The aluminum types are much lower cost
than the tantalum types.
They are typically used in relatively low-voltage DC applications and
require protection from voltage reversal. Electrolytic
capacitors sometimes have marginal electrical properties or poor
reliability/longevity. Some manufacturing
problems have been
documented.
The polypropylene film + aluminum
foil rolled cylinder appears to be the most robust and reliable
capacitor for high voltage, high current, high temperature
applications where physical size isn't an issue. Heat
primarily
determines a capacitor's lifespan. Heat is generated by
electrical
resistance
in the foil, and resistance to voltage change in the film.
Voltage-handling capability is related to film thickness.
Power-handling capability is related to voltage squared and foil area,
and inversely with film thickness.
Film/foil capacitors are relatively
easy to construct. At least two layers
of polypropylene film dielectric should be layered to prevent
problems with
pinholes. In a rolled cylinder, several
terminal connections to the foil are necessary to minimize
resistance and inductance. Narrow aluminum strips (2 or 3 x foil
thickness) should be
soldered
to the
foil with lead-free, flux-free solder after removing the oxide using a
suitable abrasive. The strips should
be soldered to the foil side that makes the solder berm curvature
consistent with the cylinder's after rolling up.
Capacitance (farad = coulomb/volt, ampere = coulomb/second) equals the
dielectric constant (2.0
for polypropylene) * 8.854 x 10
-12 F/m * area (m) /
thickness (m) of the dielectric. For a given capacitance, a capacitor
constructed with a larger
container
surface area dissipates more heat, thus a parallel set of small
capacitors
dissipate more heat than
one large capacitor. But a larger number of
smaller capacitors has a greater risk of fabrication defects.
(see
Thermal
/
Layout)
To
prevent moisture/dust from being rolled up in the capacitor, it should
be
constructed in a dry, dustless, moisture-controlled environment.
Dust and particulate control is achieved with an air purifier.
Moisture control is achieved by warming the table and materials to keep
them warmer than the air. The materials
should
be kept as
clean as possible and should not be touched. A foil, film, foil,
film stack
is formed for rolling. The
film should extend past the foil edge on all four sides of the foil to
prevent edge arcs. Extra strips of film might be placed
over the terminal strips to alleviate the
extra mechanical stress on nearby materials after the capacitor is
rolled up. The terminal strips for the two foil layers should
extend at opposing ends of the cylinder, making what is called an
axial-lead capacitor. This makes the terminals easier to
manage. Rolling tension should be consistent. After the
capacitor is rolled up the ends should get some
epoxy to
mechanically
fix the terminals to prevent their bending at the foil/film. Then
the terminals are soldered together using the absolute minimum heat to
form the capacitor leads. Then the capacitor is
fully sealed with epoxy to prevent moisture from entering.
For energy storage, a rough calculation based on a commercial
polypropylene film capacitor of capacitance 2.2uF, operating voltage
75V, and volume 7e-6 m^3, revealed its volumetric energy density to be
about 75000 wh/m^3, roughly three times that of lead-acid
batteries. Foil capacitors (as opposed to film) may be roughly
equal to the lead-acid battery's. The capacitor has some very
significant advantages in material toxicity, weight, maintenance and
charge/discharge rates. Its disadvantages probably include
fabrication costs for the plate/dielectric sheets, and leakage rate.
More still on Capacitors
Capacitor
Construction
Capacitor ESR Ratings
Why Capacitors
Fail
CapSite 2007
More
on Inductors
The inductor's purpose in a switch-mode converter is to transfer energy
during the switching period by storage and release. In the STC,
this involves levels of current and voltage that traverse a large range
of values during the generator rotational period so both the peaks and
the averages should be considered. Smaller value components may
be ganged to
share the voltage and current loads.
The energy stored in an inductor's
magnetic
field is proportional to the component's
inductance times
the current
squared. Inductance equals roughly the number of coil turns
squared
times
the loop area times the core
permeability
divided by the coil length. In switch-mode converters, a higher
switching frequency lowers the voltage across the inductor enabling the
use of a smaller component for a given energy transfer, reducing
losses,
space and cost. Higher core
permeability further reduces these.
The core is the volume bounded by the loop area and coil
length. The
simplest inductor has an air core but a ferrous (soft magnetic, easily
magnetized) core has greatly
increased
permeability and inductance. The ferrous core is magnetized by
the coil and its
magnetization
adds
to the coil's field strength in proportion to the core's
permeability (see
magnetic
domains). The added inductance peaks and tapers as
the ferrous core nears full magnetization (
saturation)
beyond a certain coil current.
Laminated iron cores are suitable for
low-frequency applications, e.g. line frequencies. For higher
frequencies
powdered iron
cores are more effective. Dielectric
between the iron
granules provides gaps that block eddy
current loops.
Iron permeability/inductance is up to ninety times that of air.
But switch-mode power supplies create
rectangular pulses with much high-frequency energy and the eddy current
loss in iron is
substantial, even for the finest granularity powder. A hundred
times higher permeability/inductance and
a hundred times lower resistive loss to eddy currents are
achieved with
ferrite
cores. One ferrite that might be easily obtained is a nickel-zinc
alloy.
Many common core shapes leave gaps in the magnetic circuit for easier
fabrication and winding. But if the core
makes
a closed magnetic circuit, e.g. a toroid, then maximum
permeability/inductance and also minimum emissions are
achieved. Ferrite toroid performance is so high that a
switch-mode design may require only a small number of coil
turns allowing wide spacing between them. This spacing
reduces
wire
losses, reduces wire capacitance, and increases reliability.
But core gaps are needed in nearly all applications to
linearize the
magnetization such that the
energy stored
is proportional to the field applied, below the saturation
current. The closed toroid relies on the distributed gaps of the
powder and ferrous-type core materials for linearity. The optimum
distributed gap density matches the core's
saturation
current with the application's maximum operating current.
A lower permeability core material is effective when the switching
frequency is lower and the current requirement is higher. Energy
storage increases with a larger volume core which provides more flux
capacity for the same permeability and enables more loop area and turns.
The
core cross-section should be circular instead of square to
minimize wire stress. To minimize
skin
effect loss, the wire size may be reduced, and
multiple strands used in parallel to achieve the
necessary
current handling. To minimize
proximity
effect
loss, the wire should be separated by approximately one wire
diameter. This
may be accomplished by coating bare wire with a
suitable insulation.
More
on magnet wire.
Ferrite Cores
Design
of Powder Core Inductors (pdf)
Practical Construction Tips For Coils Using Iron
Powder Cores (pdf)
Magnetic Cores for
Switching Power Supplies (pdf)
Thermal /
Layout
In high frequency, high power application,
residual capacitance, inductance and resistance become factors to
consider and component layout becomes important.
High-current wires should be short and fat. Current loop areas
should be minimized. Ground wires should not be shared but
connected separately to a single point. Replicated components
intended to share
loads should have symmetric layout. Mechanical stress on
component leads and thermal stress from soldering
should be minimized.
High temperatures degrade component efficiency and function and reduce
longevity
through thermal stress. The
first step is to minimize resistive losses in
the design. Next is proper heatsinking of semiconductors, and
load sharing, with capacitors in parallel and inductors in
series. And third, the controller should
be mounted in a
moderate temperature environment, e.g., in the battery room with proper
ventilation.
Charging
Ripple
Ripple in the charging voltage/current can create a periodic
over-voltage/current, causing excess heating and
gassing, and/or a periodic under-voltage and discharging. These
effects are likely to be diminished at higher ripple frequencies due to
electrochemical response inertia. A certain amount of ripple may
increase
battery performance by mixing electrolyte components thereby
improving the electrochemical process rate.
Battery
Capacity Monitoring
The
control/monitor
subsystem can be programmed to
monitor the battery capacity and performance.
Recording the battery's voltages and currents allows monitoring its
internal DC resistance over time to develop a profile that can help
diagnose battery problems and predict battery lifespan.
Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy (EIS) is a method of analyzing
the
battery by injecting small amplitude sinusoidal
charging voltages over a range of
frequencies and recording the charging current to obtain internal
battery impedance versus frequency. This may provide additional
information over DC resistance.
Cabling
/ Breakers
Circuit breakers are inserted between the batteries and the end-user
loads to prevent short
circuits and resulting fire hazard and battery damage. But the
breakers should also be tripped when the
battery discharges below its rated
minimum-charge limit. A single set of
breakers may be tripped by the controller on either low charge or short
circuit, because it is capable of detecting either condition. If
the condition was low charge, the
breakers would be reset by the controller after the battery is
re-charged. If the condition was
a short circuit, the breakers would be manually reset
through the control/monitor subsystem's
user-interface. These breakers should be
mechanically sprung such that no
quiescent power is
needed to maintain them either on or off.
DC
Residential Circuits
To economically transmit power over
very long distances it is necessary to minimize both the wire thickness
and resistance losses which requires using very high voltages that have
to be stepped down
for end-use. In the past it wasn't feasible to step DC voltage up
and down, while transformers were used to step AC voltage.
Besides, even moderate voltage DC
arcs
across mechanical switches, inflicting severe contact
wear while AC does not create this problem. However,
transformers are inefficient and expensive and now that solid-state
electronic
steppers are
cost-effective, high voltage DC
can be more effectively distributed with step-down power electronics at
points of use. Step-down
also provides a variety of DC voltages needed by
various appliances.
Variable Frequency Drive
/ Inverter
A solid-state variable
frequency drive (VFD)
provides a sinusoidal AC power signal to a
synchronous
AC motor,
enabling dynamic control over the motor's speed/torque, and allowing
smooth starts/stops that can
greatly extend the life of the motor. In variable load
applications, such as
centrifugal
pumps and
fans, a VFD may be connected in a control loop to maintain the
max-efficiency point on the load/speed curve and sometimes greatly
reduce the motor's overall power consumption compared with fixed
frequency drive. The VFDs ability to respond quickly in control
loops is utilized in driving the STC's boiler
feedpump. VFDs also
eliminate motor soft starters and pump throttle
valves.
The simplest type of VFD
is a
linear amplifier driven by an oscillator, but linear amplifiers are
inherently
inefficient. A more efficient type of VFD is a
switch-mode
voltage converter configured to convert DC power input into AC
power output with
power
factor
correction. The VFD should maintain a constant ratio of
voltage to
frequency, as is produced when the motor is driven as a
generator. The VFD must measure the back-EMF of the motor to
maintain synchronization of the motor with the drive signal.
The
full
costs of the VFD,
which can be substantial, have to be weighed against
the benefits. Typically the benefits are greater for heavier duty
motors/applications. Extended periods of low operating
speed may allow heat buildup in the motor but this is less of a problem
when driving centrifugal devices because of their variable torque
character.
An AC inverter converts DC supplied by batteries to conventional
AC power for end-use AC appliances. It shares the basic design
of
the VFD, except that its frequency and amplitude are fixed at standard
values allowing for optimizations. A related device is electronic
ballast for fluorescent lighting.
A high quality AC inverter design with good power factor correction may
be adapted to function more efficiently than commercial electronic
ballasts. Power factor correction in the inverter design protects
sensitive digital end-use appliances.
More on
VFDs
Variable
Frequency Drives Introduction
More on/References:
Switch
Mode Power Supplies
SWITCHMODE™
Reference manual (pdf)
Power Supply- Switching Mode (SMPS)
Circuit Design, Tutorials, Software
Circuits
For Power Factor Correction With Regards To Mains Filtering (pdf)
Analysis
and design of direct power control (DPC) for a three phase synchronous
rectifier (pdf)
Switch Signal Generation
Circuit
Updated: FILEDATE
Copyright (c) 2005-2009
Robert Drury
Permission is granted to
copy, distribute and/or modify this document
under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2
or any later version published by the Free Software Foundation;
with no Invariant Sections, no Front-Cover Texts, and no Back-Cover
Texts.
See "GNU
Free Documentation License".
Disclaimer: This information may contain inaccuracies and is
provided
without warranty. Safety first when working with high
temperatures,
pressures, potentials, speeds, energies, various
tools and materials.