POWER ELECTRONICS- AN EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

Himal K. Hose*
Condra Chair in Power Electronics
Department of Electrical Engineering
T h e University o f T e n n e s s e e
Knoxville,?” 37996-2100

A HY‘I’KACT COMPUTER-AIDED

POWER
The technology of power electronics and drives h a s gone through SEMICONDUCTOR
intense technological evolution during the last thirty years, although its DEVICES
history dates back for nearly a century. Many inventions in devices,
components, circuits, controls and systems have caused t h e power
electronicrto emerge as a major technology in the recent years. T h e CONVERTER
CIRCUITS
tempo of these inventions w i l l continue, a n d t h e r e f o r e t h e power
electronics technology will be more enriched in future. The surge of
applications of power electronics and drives is very visible now, and as
cost decreases and performance improves, power electronics will be 1 CONTROL
THEORY
commonplace everywhere - in industrial, commercial, r e s i d e n t i a l ,
municipal and aerospace environments.

The paper gives a brief and broad spectrum tutorial review of t h e

present power electronics a n d d r i v e s technology. T h e review i s Fig. 1 Power Electronics - a n lntedisciplinary Technology
particularlry focussed on power semiconductor devices, c o n v e r t e r
circuits, ac machines control and microcomputer applications in power supplies lbr electronics, computers, instrumentation a n d aerospace
electronics systems applications. The demand for compact and cost-effective power supplies
a t the low end is bringing resonant conversion technology (at several
IN1”OI)UCTION M l l z ) in this area. A bulk of power electronics i s routinely used i n
electrochemical processes, such as metal refining, e l e c t r o p l a l i n g ,
Power electronics deals wilh conversion and control of electrical anodizing and production of chemical gases. Electrical heating a n d
power in various industrial, commercial, residential, municipal a n d lighting control using phase control method has been used for a long
aerospace applications The motivation for using solid state switching time. More recently, high frequency fluorescent lamp baliast is showing
mode power electronics compared lo the conventional techniques is cost promise for energy saving and dimming. Electronic welding a r e a uses
a n d space saving, e l i m i n a t i o n of l a r g e a u d i o noise, reduction of thyristor ac switch for fast and precision control of electrical power. Solid
maintenance, improvement of reliability and high quality performance. state active power filters a r e used for harmonics filtering a n d VAR
compensation on utility lines High vollage dc iHVDC) transmission and
An important aspect of power electronics applications is energy saving.
The history of power electronics started with the invention of mercury- asymmetrical frequency inter-tie systems use thyristor converters at
arc rectifier ill the beginning or this century. Then, gradually, o t h e r both the ends. Photo-voltaic and fuel cell generators produce DC power
types of gas tubes, such a s phanotrons, thyratrons and ignitrons were which is then converted to ac by solid state inverters. In aircraft power
introduced in the 1930s Much of today’s converter technology, i.e., supply, VSCF (variable speed constant frequency) system converts
variable frequency power from the engine alternator to the fixed 400 Hz
phase-controlled rectifiers, inverters and cycloconvertcrs originated in
that era. ‘I’hen ciinie the e r a of saturable reactor magnetic amplifiers, power supply. Solid state dc and ac circuit breakers have been used i n
which essentially started during World War 11. The real revolution in low to medium power capacity. Heating, melting and heat treatment of
power electronics started when thyristor or silicon-controlled rectifier metals use induction heating method using solid state inverter. Motor
was invented by Bell Laboratory in 1956, a n d t h e n commercially drives is the largest application a r e a of power electronics. At one end of
inlroduced b y General Electric Company in 1958. Modern power the spectrum, fractional horse power drives a r e used in instruments a n d
computer peripheral type applications. Then, covering t h e r a n g e of
electronics uses various power semiconductor devices in switching mode
machine tools and robot drive applications, it goes to paper mill, textile
for rectification i AC DC), inversion (DC - A C ) , cycloconversion
~

mill, pump and blower type applications in the medium power range. In
(frequency changing), I)C-I)C conversion and AC power control ( a t same
t h e high power range, i t covers multi-megawtt power for g a s l i n e
frequency)
compressor, boiler ID/FD fans and feed pumps, s h i p propulsion a n d
The evolulion in power electronics over the years h a s occurred by cement mill applications.
DC AND AC REGULATED POWER SUPPLIES
the synthesis of multiple technological disciplines. Today, a t r u e
specialist in this area I > supposed to have expertise, not only in power ELECTROCHEMICAL PROCESSES

semiconductor devices, converter c i r c u i t s , e l e c t r i c a l m a c h i n e s , HEATINGAND UGmNG CONTROL

analog/digital electroni nd control theory, but i n computer-aided 0 ELECTRONICWELDING
design, microconipuLers, and the newly emerging VISIIUISI eleclronics
POWER UNE VAR AND HARMONIC COMPENSATION
also (Fig. 1 ). Each of these component disciplines is moving rapidly, and
ELECTRONICS 0 HIGH VOLTAGE DC SYSTEM
is therefore offering a tremendous challenge to the expertise of a power
electronics specialisl PHOTOVOLTAIC AND N E L CELL COWERS~ON
VARIABLE SPEED CONSTAM FREQUENCY .SWTEM
‘ h e applications of‘ power electronics have grown tremendously
0 SOU0 STATE CIRCUIT IREbKER
and i t is almost impossible to review these independently, ~ i 2 ~ ,
summarizes the principal application areas of power elecLronics. At one INDUETlON HE&TINQ
end of the spectrum, these a r e switching mode regulated dc and acpower 0 MOTOR DRNES

*The a u t h o r i:, albo t h e Chief S c i e n t i s t of t h e I’ower I4:lectronics

Applicalions Center, Knoxville, 1”. Fig. 2 Power Electronics Systems - Applications

IECON ’88I501
 sequential current-fed inverter (ASCI) which is
POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES loped by the Russians in 1 9 3 0 s using thyratron
ing power semiconductor devices can generally
Power semiconductor devices that operate in switching mode a r e
the heart of modern power electronics. Although large semiconductor
diode was predecessor to thyristors, the modern power electronics e r a Phase-cuntrolled converters and cycloconverters
truly began by the advent of thyristors. Since its birth, thyristor reigned
supreme for two entire decades i n the history of power electronics. Voltage-fed inverters
Starting orginally with phase-control type thyristor, gradually o t h e r
, such as triac, gate turn-off thyristor (G'VO), inverter Current-fed inverters
, silicon -controlled switch (SCS), light-activated SCR
(LASCK), diac, asymetrical t h y r i s t o r ( A S C R ) , reverse-conducting Phase-conttmlled rectifiers, inverters, cycloconverters a n d ac voltage
thyristor (IICT) etc. were introduced. Fortunately, in parallel with power controllers using simple line commutation principle have dominated over
semiconductors evolution, a revolution of solid state signal electronics half a cenlury T h i s class of converters normally uses s y m m e t r i c
was going on after the invention of transistor. The microelectronics was blocking thyristors, and have the advantages of simple control principle
not only useful for control of power electronics, b u t helped t h e and high efficiency. IIowever, phase control causes deterioration of line
development of power devices also. The improvement of semiconductor power factor and burdens the line with harmonics. The growth of these
processing technology a l o n g with m a n u f a c t u r i n g a n d p a c k a g i n g nonlinear power electronics loads on utility system is worrying the
techniques pcrmitted power semiconductor development not only for utility companies about the quality deterioration of power supply due L o
high voltage and current ratings, but for high dvidt and di/dt ratings, and harmonic loading.
fast turn-on and turn-off characteristics. Recently, high power light
triggered thyristors (upto 6 KV, 2500 A) have been developed mainly for A phase-controlled three-phase ac power supply for controlling the
HVDC a n d SVC ( s t a t i c VAR compensator) applications. In t h e s e speed of induction motor is given in F'ig. 3, and Pig. 1 shows its operation
applications, a large number of devices a r e connected in series, and light on the torque-speed curves 'I'he reduction of stator voltage a t constant
triggering permits gate circuit isolation and simultaneous firing of all frequency causes low airgup Ilux, and this r e s u l k excessive distorted
thyristors in a string. Although GTO was introduced.as early as in 1958, stator current reducing the drive efficiency. Single-phase low power
appliance type drives frequently use this type of control, where siinplicltv
and cost consideration are more important t h a n efficiency. Another
application area is solid state starter of induction motor. F u l l speed lighl
introduced as signal devices, but in late 1970, their power rating a d load operation of induction motor at reduced flux (Nola control) has some
performance st.arted improving dramatically. Today, I3JT equipment.a r e advantages of efficiency and power factor, but the scheme did not find
available upto a few hundred K W s rating, a n d in this range, these much favour due to additional converter cost and loss pena1t.v d u e to
remain competitive over thyristor and GTO equipmcnt. T h e power harmonics This converter topology can also be used for ac line circuit
MOSFET conduction loss is high but switching loss is low, and for this breaker applications A phase-controlled cycloconverter converts ac Ime
reason, it is normally used i n high frequency switching converters upto power from one frequency to that of another frequency through a one step
few KWs. Several years ago, a new type of MOS-bipolar hybrid device, 'ion pri)cess The principle is in contrast to dc link conversion,
called insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGHT) was introduced, which where lint. power is h s t converted lo dc and then to variable frequency 'IC
combines the advanlages of M O S F W and bipolar devices. The IGU'I' through an inverter. An 18-thyristor variable voltage variable frequcncy
with "smart power" IIVIC (high voltage integrated circuit) controller is cycloconverter drive for a machine is shown in Fig. 5. A cycloconverter
showing good promise for economical ac drives. Recent Iy, J a p a n h a s drive is normally used in very large power applications, such a s steel
commercially introduced SIT ( s t a t i c induction t r a n s i s t o r ) a n d SIT11 rolling mill, cenient mill and ship propulsion. Another general area of
(static induction thyristor) devices. The SIT is essentially a large power a p p l i c a t i o n is V S C P s y s t e m which w a s m e n t i o n e d b e f o r e . A
junction IWV (JI.'E'I') and h a s vacuum triode-like characteristics. Its cycloconverter can also be used in the rotor circuit of a wound rotor
conduclioii drop is very large, but switching frequency is very high. It
shows proniise for induction heating and broadcasting transmitter type
applicatiuns 'I'he device is available in either normally on or normally
off condition. 'I'he SIT€I is a symmetrically blocking normally on device,
a n d h a s G'I'O-like c o n d u c t i o n d r o p , g a t e t u r n - o n a n d t u r n - o f f
characteristics Of course, the switching speed is clalmed to be much
3 PHASE
higher than G'I'O A t SUPPLY

Power semiconductor engineers have the dream that. one day !.hey INOUCTION MOTOR
should be able to have devices with ideal characteristics, i.e , high
0
voltage and current ratings with zero conduction drop and no leakage
current, high temperature capability, and instantaneous turri-on a n d
turn-off characteristics. Possibly, this dream will never materialize
However, recently General Electric Research and Development Center in Fig 3 Induction Motor Speed Control w ~ t hI'hase-cont1olIed A C
Schenectady has announced a device, called MOS-controlled thyristor Power Supply
( M C T ) which fulfills this dream tn some extent. The MCT appears to be a
revolutionary device for next generation power electronics. As the name
indicates, it is a thyristor-like device with MOS-gated turn-on and turn-
off characteristics. An expected 900 V,150 A symmetric bloching device
can operate a t junction temperature of250 C and conduction drop of less
t h a n a volt Typical turn-on time of the devicc is 0.15 ps and turn-off
time is 1 0 ps. f k a u s e of MOS gating capability, "smart" drive can he
fabricated on the same chip. Commercial MCT devices a r e expecteti to be
available f'roin I X A by late 1988

CON VE K?'E K S

It was mentioned before t h a t the history of power electronic

converters s t a r k d with the invention of mercury-arc rectifier, and since
olution of converter technology essentially followed t.he device
evolution. An excellent historical perspective of power electronics
SPEED @la
evolution is given in reference 1151. It is interesting to note t h a t
historically t h e f i r s t a c d r i v e used t h y r a t r o n p h a s e - c o n t r o l l e d
cycloconvcrter It was a 400 hp synchronous machine drive which w a s I:lg 4 'I'oique Speed Curves 01 Inductlon Motor with Variable Stator
installed i n I.c,gan power station (USA) by 12. F. W . Alexanderson in Voltage

IECON '88 I 5 0 2
 ~

induction machine for controlling the slip power flow in either direction
(Scherbius drive). This type of drive is used where speed does not deviate I 1 I I I I I I I I 1 I 1
much from the synchronous speed of the machine.

The voltage-fed inverter drives a r e by far the most popular in low

to niediuni power applications. Fig. 6 shows a diode rectifier - I'WM
transistor inverter driving a n ac machine which may be a n induction
machine or permanent magnet synchronous machine. Since both vollage
and frequency a r e controlled by the inverter, t h e front end rectifier
permits unity displacement factor on the line. If simple six-step inverter
operation is desired, then the front end must use a controlled rectifier.
The dc link filter can be simple capacitance if poor form factor of line
3 PHASE
BoACH I

Fig. 7
I I
PWM RECTIFIER
It
I

PWM Rectifier PWM Inverter I h i v e ofAC Machine

~
PWM l N Y E l T E l

current can be tolerated. The circuit in Fig. 6 can use simple dynamic
braking i n the dc link. Since a I'WM i n v e r t e r c a n also o p e r a t e in
rectification mode, a dual I'WM converter scheme, a s shown in Pig. 7, can
nM
be used. Although this converter scheme is expensive, the advantages
a r e that the regeneration is straightforward, line side harmonic problem J PMSE
is minimal, and the displacement factor can be programmed to be unity. 60 HZ
AC
Of course, the dc link voltage should be high so that both the converters
can operate i n buck-PWM mode without saturation.
..
(INTEGWIL PULSE) (INlE6.W PULSE)
Switching mode dc-dc converters (choppers) were introduced
initially hy using force-commutated thyristors. The switching frequency I ZERO VOLTRGE SYITCHING - NO SWITCHING LOSS
of this class of converters could be raised when UJT's became available, I SNUBBERLESS
and then to very high frequency by the advent of power MOSIWIk For s SIIALL FILTER CWACITOR
low end power supply applications, high frequency switching regulators
found acceptance over the conventional linear regulators mainly due to Fig 8 Itesonant Link Converter 1)rive of AC Machine
efficiency. In the middle and late I96O's, thyristor resonant inverters
to switch a t zero voltage. The shunt switch across the capacitor permits
deadbeat operation of the resonant circuit with controllable peak voltage
and zero-crossing interval. Other performance features of the converter
a r e similar to those of Fig. 7. Because of zero voltage switching, the
devices can operate without snubbers, and very little heat s i n k i n g is
required. Besides, converter reliability is improved due to less stress on
devices. An alternate converter configuration which works on series
resonance and zero current switching is also possible.

A current-fed inverter likes to see a stiff dc c u r r e n t source in

contrast to that of a voltage-fed inverter. Fig. 9 shows a current-fed
inverter induction motor drive. The phase-controlled rectifier with a
c u r r e n t control loop in the h n t end generates the adjustable dc current
source, and a six-step inverter generates the variable frequency current
wave for the machine. T h e front end converter o p e r a t e s with line
Fig. 5 Phase-Controlled Cycloconverter Drive of AC Machine commutation because it can easily absorb lagging V A R load from the
source However, the machine end converter can not absorb lagging VAK
from the induction machine, and therefore, it must be operated with
forced commutation. The capacitors along with the diodes of the inverter
help commutation of the thyristors, a n d this p a r t i c u l a r Converter is
called auto-sequential commutated inverter (ASCI). Several alternate
forced commutation principles a r e also possible 11 I. The component
converters in Fig. 9 can easily exchange their roles and permit power
flow in opposite direction. Torque pulsation and harmonic heating of
machine a t low speed a r e problems, but these can be overcome by limited
I l l I I I I I'WM switching of the inverter. This class of drives is used in medium
power (several hundred hp) level, where high performance is not desired.
lnspite of several good feaLures, this type of inverter is not generally
Fig.6 Diode Rectifier ~ PWM Transistor I n v e r t e r Drive of AC favoured because of expensive a n d bulky passive components. T h e
Machine advent of large self-commutated GTO device is permitting the current-
fed inverter in P W M mode operation as indicated in Fig. 10. A capacitive
(both series a n d parallel) were developed for applications, such a s
induction heating, sonar transmitters, welding and mixing. N. Mapham,
a pioneer in resonant inverter indicated in a paper 1161 that "dc to dc
converters where the advantages of light weight, small size, low cost, and
fast response time due to the high frequency link a r e very apparent".
This prediction is gradually becoming true due to the advent of high
frequency switching power devices. In a conventional switching mode dc-
dc converter, the switching loss is very dominant a t high frequency,
whereas in a resonant link converter the devices switch a t zero voltage 3.+
(or zeiw current), thereby eliminating the switching loss. Low loss and AC
60 w2

small size permit convenient integration of the converter. Although

resonant converter technology has been primarily emphasized for dc to dc
conversion, very recently, attempt is being made to extend it to variable
frequency power supply for motor drives. Of course, resonant link phase-
controllod cycloconverters were introduced in the middle of 1970's 1191for
motor drives and V A K compensation. Fig. 8 shows a resonant link dual
I'WM converters for induction motor drive. Unlihe a conventional dc
l i n h converter, the link voltage here resonates a t a high frequency and
t'orces the voltage to cross zero line as shown. Both the input and output Fig. 9 Auto-Sequential Current-Fed Inverter (ASCI) Drive of AC
converters operate in integral PWM mode, where the devices are forced Machine

IECON '88 I 5 0 3
 m I“

Fig IO
Y
Current-Fed I’WM Inverter Drive of Induction Motor
load converts the machine Lerniinal as voltage sink (or source) t h a t i s
needed f o r I’WM current wave generation. T h e capacitor bank also acts
as d filter and converts the current source into voltage source for the
machine. T h e front end can also be installed th a similar converter
permitting harmonic-free unity displacement factor operation of the line
A current-fed inverter with synchronous machine load can be easily
commutat.ed hecause the machine now can supply lagging V A R to the
inverter. Fig. 1 1 shows this type of drive which is popularly used in very
large power applications. llere, the higher niachine cost can be justified

3 - PAC
HASE +--mTFiE SYNCHRONOUS

MACHINE
PHASE-CONTROLLED PHASE-CONTROLLED
RECTIFIER INVERTER
I’ig 1 1 C u r r e n t - E ’ r d 1 . 1 ~ d d~ u n i m u t a t e d i n v e r t e r L12CI) D r i v e of Z‘.
Synchronous Machine
because of very economical converter However, the machine is required
to r u n a t a certain minimum speed for successful load comniutation of t h e
inverter

A new type of seIF-ei)n~~nulated PWM Frequency c h a n g e r (I+’C)

(often named after Venturini) that is showing promise is given in Fig. 12.
Basically, the converter topology is identical t o t h e 1 8 - t h y r i s t o r tinbalance compensation d i i d Ieniporary standby power supply for t h
cycloconverter shown in Pig. 5, where anti-parallel MC‘I’ devices (instead load if the capacitor is tlesiyncti with adequate energy storage ‘I’he L I ’
of thyristors) a r e integrated to form ac switches t h a t operate in PWM system is generally u h e d litr .i critical load which is affected by utility line
mode. It can be shown lhdl I’WM control is only possible if the supply or harmonics, transients, 0 1 teinporary outage Pig. 11 illustrates L( large
load side is a voltage source, which therefore necds a bank of capacitors capacity UPS system u s i n g p a i a l l e l redundant PWM trdnsistor
(see Fig. 10). Analytical and simulation studies have indicated t h a t the inverters In case of‘utilily ~ i l t ~ i gthe
c , bdltery W i l l supply pOwCr a t the
FC c a n have wide range of output frequency and the voltage can be as input of Lhe inverters ’I’hc iribertcrs have isolating t r a i d o r n i e r s with
high as 95% of the input l’rogrammable input displacement factor a n d harmonic voltage neutralization d t the o u t p u t ‘I’he booster c h a r g e r
easy harmonic filtering a r e the added useful features. F o r high power
<I series boost vollage with the d c link to c o n l w l the hattcrv
appl icat ions, c i rc u i 1 si i n i la r t o 3 6-t h y r i J to r charge in iiornial condition
switches) can he used
C O N ’ I ’ t ( 0 l d 0 FAc, 1)KIVES
After reviewing the husic converter types particularly with t h e
emphasis For drivee, w e now discuss a Few more nondrive applications of A l i l ~ u u g hdc niachine di.ivcs ‘ire cotnn~onl,yused, in this sectlon wc
converters. T w o important categories in this a r e a are active power Iinc ,,,ill p r i m a r i l y rex,iew a c d r i ~ , . o +A d c d r i v e U S C ~a n c x p o n s ; v e dc ni-ichinc
compensators (AIJI.Ci and uninlerruptible power supply ( U P S ) systems. with a phase-controlled e o n v e r t f r , or a tic-dc converter with a diode
Anti-parallel thyristor-switched capacitors have been used on the utility rectifier in ihe I‘ront end. b’or a long time, it was the belief that dc
s y s t e m for l a g g i n g V A R c o m p e n s a t i o n A m o r e i m p r o v e d V A K machines a r e r i n l y suitable for ad,iustahle speed drives, whereas iic
compensator consists til‘ istor-controlled reactor (‘I’CKi in parallel machines (induction and synchronous) d I e primarily meant for constant
with a capacitor. A TCli ntially behaves as variable inductance, and speed drives The evolution of iic drives during the 1,lst three decades has
this in parallel with a n ~rcoinpensatedcapacitance behaves as a altered this lielief Besides eliniinatioii uf commutai.ors and brushes, dc
variable capacitive load. The harmonics generated in ‘I‘CR is generally d r i v e s a r e proving economically conipctitlve t o dc d r ~ v e sin man.v
absorbed by tuned passive lilters Static VAK generation is also possible
dpplicatims i n addition 1.0 pei.lurniance advantages ‘I’he present trend
by seli‘-commutated curr d rectifier (with inductive load), voltage- indicates t h a t dc drives will he obsolete in not too distant future T h e
fed rectifier (with capac iiadi m d cycloconverter (with capacitive control a n d I10 signals prucessing of ac drives a r e definitely more
load) techniques. A l l the cines have limited applications because of complex t h a n dc drives A t present, t w o control techniques of dc drives
excessive converter cobt The circiiits with appropriate control can also a r e showing clear indications of .irccptance: one is the simple Volt/llz
a c t as active line harmonics filters. I.’ig. 13 illustrates a static VAR a n d control f o r ordinary applications, and the other is vector or field-oriented
harmonic coinpensator using J I’WM voltage-fed rectifier T h e term control for high performance applications Fig 15 shows the open loop
rectifier is somewhat t n l s l c ~ d i n ghecause although the ac side may carry V o l t J l I ~control of induction inotoi‘, where the inachine is susceptible to
large current, the dc side current I S practically zero and there is no active speed and flux drifts. The voltage V,, compensates the stator resistancc
power consumption. The s c h e m e has the additional capabilities oI‘ l o ~ d

IECON ’88I 5 0 4
 ~

COORDINATE 2 PHI3 PH

Flg 1 6 Indirect Vector ( F ~ e l dOrlented) Control of Inductlon Motor

(Hasse’s)

‘ P W

-YE?+-
!_ _ _ _ _ _ _ __,

F i g 14 I.arge Capacity UPS S y s t e m U s i n g Parallel ltedundairt

Invol tcrs

“0

:cra8~ + V,
..................... 141

:t
r , ” & ,-... .................. (51
V,

b’ig 17 1)irecl Vector I I i ~ l c Oriented)

l Control of Induction Motor
4 (13laschbe’sl
Speed command
prograrnniahle a t light load for efficiency improvement, a n d the torque is
controlled by the c u r r e n t 11. which i b aligned orthogonal to the stator flux.
The overlay current loops and flux loop permil vector control in quasi-
I’WM region and smooth transition to square-wave mode in constant
power region. The synchronous machine controls as discussed above are
valid for sinusoidally wound machine where the self-control principle
makes the machine behave a s a brushless dc machine. It is economical to
have a small PM machine with trapezoidal winding where position
Fig 15 information is provided t)y I tall-cl‘fect sensors. Pig. 19 shows a speed
Open l,oop V o l t s / l l ~Control of Induction i2lotu1
c o n t r o l scheme using thi:, t y p e of’ machine Ilere, a six-step line current
wave is generated hy a I’WV vvltage-fed inverler and it is aligned to he
drop at low speed. The speed comrnand can only be ramped so t h a t the in pha5e with the respecti\? p h a x induced voltage
actual speed tracks it within the niaximum slip. ‘The vector control,
unlike the scalar control as cluzcrilJed above, tends to orient the stator
‘I’liere has been a tre~ricndoiisintei’est in applying the modern
flux and torque components of current to the direction of rotor llur a n d optiinal a n d adaptive control Itieories to ac drives. I’articularly, t h e
peiyeridicular to it, respectively. The indirect or feedforward vector a d a p t i v e control principles a r c s h o w i n g good promise for d r i v e
control method developed by llassc is illustrated for a position s e r v o
applicatiirns ‘I’his type of coiiti.iil IS extremely useful for robotics a n d
system i n Vig. 16. The flux component of stator current (Ids*) is kept
machine tool drives, where the system has lo be robust, or insensitive to
constant, whereas the torque component of current (Iqs’) is controlled
pilI’dInt:tCr variations and load disturhance. In a self-tuning adaptive
from the u u t p u t of the speed loop ‘The slip signal (CO*,,)which is a
conti-ol, the controller parameters are tuned to adapt to plant parameter
function of Iqs* is added with the rolor speed, and the unit vectors a r e
variations In nrotlcl referencing adaptive control (MRAC), the plant
generated from the resulting signal. T h e feedforward control permits the
rotor field pole> to be established a t a n y arbitrary points The direct or
feedback vector control method developed by Hlaschke is shown in Fig.
17 Ilerc t h e o n l y difference is that the unit vectors tire generated from
t h e stator currents and the speed If the machine speed is not very IOW,
the stator voltages and currcnts can be processed to generate the unit
vectors I’rc~cision implc~irr~nt,rtion of vector control is difficult primarily
because hotti the methods a r e liedvily depcndcnt o n machine parameters
I he vector c i ~ i r t r ( i techniqiic
I ,
I i.i applicahle to synchronous machine also.
Ilowcver, i n il synchronoua nidchine, the rotor pole position is absolute,
and thcrelorc: .ihsolutc position encoder is mandatory For a conventional
surtace mounted I’M s y n c h i ~ r ~ r i ~ niachine,
riis the vector control is similar

1 1-‘ - 1
to that of Fig. 16, except tlie parameters o)*bl and Ids* are zero and cos 0 ,
*TOROUE AHOLE (&I ESTIMATION
a n d siii U, ,ire generated dii-cctly from the absolute position signal. The *STATOR FLUX (r.1 ESTiMATiON
.TEMPERATURE COMPENSATION +T,
control niabes thc stdtor curi’ent lqs alignment orthogonal to the magnet OF MAGNET FLUX 1 r,l STATOR
*VECTOR ROTATION OF I
field 1 ’ 1 ~‘t’,
~ Fig 18 shows ‘I nroi’e sophisticated v e c t o i . control IEMPERATURE

implcmcnt~ition[ I 1 I for ‘I Nel;el< interior p e r m a n e n t magnet (It’M) PROCESSIN0

machine In an 11’M machine, the m m a t u r e reaction effect is dominant
(unlike surlkce I’hl nrachine), and therefore the stator flux (Ys)direction
Fig. 18 Control Schcmc oj S~iiusoidalP M (interior) Machine
is used hi.alignment of the machine reactive current. ‘The flux is nrade

IECON ’88I 5 0 5
 PH
SYNCHRONOUS
MACHINE

i HALL.EFFECT
OR
OPTICAL
. ._
LIC

TACHOMETER

Fig. 19 Control Scheme ofTrapezoidal I’M (surface) Machine

response is forced to track the response of d reference model irrespective
of plant parameter variation A sliding mode or variable s t r u c t u r e
control technique h a s been successfully applied to both induction a n d
YEAR
synchronous machines. Fig 20 shows a s l i d i n g mode c o n t r o l l e d
induction motor drive system, arid Fig. 21 gives the sliding trajectory in
the phase plane. Basically, i t is a MRAC technique where the model is Fig. 22 Microcomputer Evolution
embedded in the sliding trajectory. The servo drive system is heed to digital control a r e additional reatures of microcomputer control. Since
follow or “slide” along the predetermined tra,jectory by a “bang-bang” or the introduction of microcomputer by Intel Corporation in 1971, t h e
switching control algorithm. A vector controlled induction motor is technology h a s gone t h r o u g h intense evolution. Fig. 22 shows a n
selected in the inner loop because its dynamics are simple and is given by overview of Intel microcomputer evolution, although microcomputers
a second order state space equation. The sliding mode control is easy to have been available from many other vendors A very dominant member
implement compared to o t h e r a d a p t i v e c o n t r o l m e t h o d s , b u t t h e in this family for real time applications is the 16-bit, single-chip 8096
disadvantage is the chattering machine current even in steady s t a t e microcontroller. The key features of 8096 a r e summarized in Table 1. It
operation. h a s a built-in All) converter that can accept unipolar signals and a PWM
output that can be used for I)/A conversion.
- - - - _ -- - _ - _- - _ _
SLIDING MODE CONTROLLER

1
--
The age or inicrocomputer-like digital signal processors ( I X P )
A b I% A Z o o I essentially began by the introduction of ‘I‘MS32010 by Texas Instruments
in 1982. Since then the TMS 320 family has dominated the I)SP market.
A very recent member in this family is ’I’MS320C25,and its key features
a r c summarized in Table 2. This chip has 100 ns instruction execution
time w i t h 40 MHz clock, and multiplication instruction is completed in
one cycle time. More recently, TI has introduced the 32-bit floating point
DSP type 3ZOC30 which executes instructions in 60 ns. The 700,000
transistors on the 400 mil side chip is fabricated in 1.0 pin CMOS and
packaged with 144 pins. The capability of I)SP’s is improving a t such a
fast rate and it is expected that the control or power electronic systems
will be centered around these in future

CAI) A N 0 AI

User-friendly computer-aided design and simulation tools a r e

1 finding increasing importance for t h e design of power e l e c t r o n i c s
systems A newly developed power electronics system should preferably
Pig 20 Sliding Mode Control of Induction Motor be designed and simulated on computer before building lhe breadboard.
CAI) techniques help optimum system design with a reduced engineering
-+-?I 3
?
labor cost compared to trial-dnd-error design proceedure with t.he help of
breadboard. Various CAD programs, such a s SPICE ( U n i v e r s i t y of
California, B e r k e l e y ) , MATRIX,: ( I n t e g r a t e d S y s t e m s I n c . ) , ACSL
(Systems Control Technology), C T R I X (Systems Control Technology),
EASY-5 (Hoeing Co.) etc. are being used in power electronics systems.
The availability of economical personal computer is one reason tilr wide
populurity Cor CAI) tools. As microcomputer speed improves and memory
becomes cheaper, the CAI) tools will continue to be s m a r t e r day by day
In f u ~ u r e we
, expect to see the control simulation software in high level
language LO be efficient in speed a n d code such that it can be directly used
for real time microcomputer control

The control and CAI, techniques arc expected to make significant

DRIFT BAND advancement in future with the help of artificial intelligence ( A I ) or
expert system. AI helps progritmming a computer so that it can mimic
Flg 21 Phase P ~ a n e ‘ ~ r a J e c t o 1for
v Sliding Mode Contiol human thinking. A human expert has knowledge or experience base and
the power of reasoning, ,judgment, and intuition. In addition to Boolean
logic, f u u y logic and set theories h a v e been developed for computers to
MICKOCOM I’U‘L‘EK CONTROL quantily and objectively evaludte the subjective ambiguity of h u m a n
thinking. Although AI techniques itre now being applied (or attempts
The advent of powerful microcomputers in t h e recent y e a r s is a r e being made to apply) t u many different areas, these a r e essentially
creating revolution in t h e control of power electronics a n d drives. new to power electronics systems What expert system can do to PE
Microcomputers permit simplification or control hardware (thus reduce systems is summarized i n Fig. 23 It can help automate system modeling,
size and cost), improve reliability, and eliminate drift and EM1 problems. control design, simulation study, real time control, tests and diagnostics.
Universal control hardware with flexible software control algorithms is All these steps will in fact gear up for next generation computer-aided
easily possible. Besides, complex control a n d decision m a k i n g laws, manufacturing of PE systems using AI-based robots. A more challenging
monitoring and diagnostics, and easy compatibility with hierarchical a r e a is the real time expert systeni based control as shown in Fig. 24.

IECON ’88 I 506

 ‘I’dhle 1 Ke, I.‘eaturesof Intel-8096 Microcontroller
IUNKNOWN
PLANT MODEL) I
.
16 B I T CPU
8K ROM VERSIONS

* 232 B Y T E RAM (REGISTER

(MASK ONLY) 1-7- SENSOR DATA

-
FILE)

HAROWAREMUL (16*16) I DIV ( 3 2 1 1 6 ) IN 6.5 USEC

* 6 h v v R E s s I N G Moves
-.
P
KNOWLEDOE
* 3‘0PERAND INSTRUCTIONS MONITOR
* DlAGNOSE
RECOGNEE PAVERNS
HIGH SPEED IIO UNIT METACONTROL
SELECTSTRATEGY

* 10
SERIAL
BIT AID
PORT
CONVERTER
FIND SET POINTS
r” .*
~~~ktiSATORS
Erc
1 OPERATOR
COMMANDS

- PROGRAMMABLE8 SOURCE PRIORITY SYSTEM

INTERRUPT I
.
.
PWM
HLL
OUTPUT

SUPPORT (PLIM)
1L-l
Key Features of‘l’l ‘I’MS320C25 Digitdl Signal Processor
~

I i
1OO.ns instrucfion cycle time Fig. 24 Typicdl Config-uration of Real l’ime Fixpert Control System
544 Words of on-chip data RAM
4K words of on-chip masked ROM
128K words of datalprogram space
before that device is the heart of power electronics, and therefore any new
Single-cycle multiplylaccumulateinstructions invention in device creates a spurt in circuits and systems development
Object code-compatible with the TMS32020 activities. The invention of modern high frequency high power SIT,
16-bit instrudion and data words
32-bit ALU and eccumulator SI’I’fI and M C T devices will open the door for next generation high
16. bit parallel shifter performance and economical PE systems. Along with the invention of
Block moves for efficient datalprogram management new devices, the area of “smart power” where the power a n d control
Unsigned multiply instruction for exlended-precision arithmetic
Carry bit with associated add and subtract instructions circuits a r e integrated on a same chip is getting a lot of momentum. Such
Instructions fc floaiing-point operations and adaptive filtering a circuit not only permits cost and size reduction with eliniination of EM1
Eight auxiliary regislen and a dedicated arithmeiic unit
Bit-reversed indexed addressing mode for radix-2 FFTs
and interface problems, but additional functions, such as temperature
Wait slates for communication to slow off -chip memorieslpertpherals control, and overvoltage and overcurrent protections a r e also possible.
Double-buffered static serial pon for direct codec interface The complete power IC’s a r e already appearing in the low power motion
Three enernal. maskable user interruptS
Synchronization capability between multiple processors control applications, such as stepping mot.or dnd brushless dc motor
On-chip clock generator drives. The popularity and potential of resonant link converters for
1 &micron CMOS technology, single 5-voll supply power supply and motor drives were mentioned before. Although, a t
68-pin plastic leaded chip carrier (PLCC)
TWO versions available. prcscnt, induction machines a r e popularly used in m e d i u m power
40-MHz clock industrial drives, whereas I’M synchronous machines (in brushless dc
32-MHZ clock
Commercial and military versions supported.
form) a r c confined in low power area, this scenario will change in future.
The f’hl machines, especially with high energy Neb’eH magnet, a r e small
in siLe, m o r e efficient due to I ’ O I O ~loss elimination and near-unity power
,+I MODELING
I
factor operiition. and therefore shows promise for lower life cycle cost in
inedium power applications Of course, in high speed light load field-
wc:ikening reginio of operation, this class of machines gives poor
efficiency. hlicrocomputers have found universal acceptance in PE
systems, although in high volume low end applications dedicated V I S I
chip contr,il ia finding popularily A reasonably large size PE system
should noriirdlly hove . ral microelectronic chips consisting of d

Table 3 ’I‘rcnds i n Power I’:leclronics and Drives

9 Advent 01 high frequency high power semiconduotors

SIT - SlTH MCT-
9 Power and COntmi Circuit inlegration
EvoIulion 01 high lrequency resonant link
COWMiWS
* Popularity 01 P M (NeFeB) machine in medium
power drives

\b
* MiCroCOmpUlel/VLSI control 01 PE systems
Sensor El~mlnalion

DlAGNOSTICS

Optimal and adaptive Oontrol 01 PE

1?1g.23 Whdt fixpert Systcni C ~ t 111)
i ~n I’ower I:Iectyonics systems
* lmpacl 01 high temperature superconductor
Iiccausc 1’12 system computation is vcry time-critical The “plant”
’T’tiisI S an power electronics appllcat~ons

under contriil may have unknown or ill-defined model. A set of sensors

measures thc variables that characterize the state of the process, and central control microcomputc~~, a fi:w IISP’s and several dedicated V1,SI
pattern recognizers extract the features to detect important e v e n b , ‘l’he chips stratc(i‘ie~l1ydi tributed with predefined control And diagnostic
knowledge h a w contains the knowledge of e x p e r t oper:iti)rs and t h e functions ‘The avail hility o f powerful microcomputers is promising
~ ( i i i t r obtrategy
l for all the regimes The “ i i i e t ~control” cart select t h e sophisticated real time estimation of parameters and system states which
control strategy m d define the control paranleter> could not hc posbible hefore The examples a r e speed and rotor resistance
estimation of induction mot0r Lor vector control and absolute position
‘IKK N 1)s I N 1’0 W E It E 1.k: CTR 0 N I C S A N I) 1) H I V ES estimation or I’M synchronoiin niucltine. Although AI is practically new
i n 1’1’ .ip,plications, it shows a tremendous promise for s m a r t a n d
After re\-iewing the general status and trends of power electronics automated design, tests and diagnostics, as mentioned before. The
and drives technrilogy, it is ‘3ppvopriate LO summarize our nbservations microcomputers a r e also permitting the application of modern optimal
herc. A sumindry of these trends is given i n Table 3. It was mentioned a n d adaptive c o n t 1.01 theories to PE systems Model referencing adaptive

IECON ’88I 5 0 7
 ~

control, sliding mode cont.rol, self-tuning adaptive control a r e examples

12. 1%. K , Uose, “Sliding M(,dc Control of Induction Motor”, I 1
of these applications State estimation by observer and Kaliiian filter
Annual Meeting C d Itcc , pp 479-486, 1985.
Lechniques a r e being attempt.etl seriously. Although high temperature
superconductivity is yet in the embryonic stage, its impact to power
13 I ) M Ilivan, T h e tksonant I)C k Converter - A New Concept
electronics area is being envisioned now. The utility system off-peak
in Static Power Con\ / I A S Annual Meeting Conf
energy storage will be tremendously benefitted by t h i s technology.
Itec., pp 618-656, 1980
Batteryless electric vehicle with coil energy storage i s a l s o b e i n g
contemplated. Japanese have proposed ship propulsion by the thrust of
14 hl Venturini e t al “‘l’lrc ticnerdlized Transfornicr rZ N e w
superconducting magnet ‘l’hc linear levitated vehicle propulsion is also
~

Bidirectional Sinusoidal M’dvelurm Frequency C,)nverter with

expected to have a comehuch Novel electrical machine designs a r e also
Continuously Adjustable Input Power Factor”, I
being c o n t e m p l a t e d l.ow, l o s s a n d e c o n o m i c a l i n d u c t o r s a n d
ltec , pp 242-252, 1980
transformers will proliiundl) dffect I’E systems design T h e power
semiconductor and control electronics technologies a r e also expected to
15 .J I) Vanwyk e t i l l , “ P o w e r K l e c t r o n i c s , C o n t r o l o f t h e
be seriously influenced by high temperalure superconductivity.
1;. I e c t ro mec h a n i ea 1 1:. ne r gy Con v e r b ion P r o c e s s a n d So m e
Applications”, Proc IEEE, vol. 133, 1’1. 13, pp. 369-399, Nov 1986.
(!ON C L U S ION
16 N Mapham, “An SCli Inverter with Good Iiegulation and Sine-
T h e paper p r e s e n i s a n advanced t u t o r i a l review of power
Wave Oulput”, I E E E T r a n s I G A , v o l . 1 G A - 3 , pp. 176-187,
electronics and drives area where the present status of the technology
Mar./Apr. 1967
a n d i t s possible t r e n d s have been discussed. T h e discussion i s
particularly focussed on power semiconduelor devices, converters, control
of ac drives, microcomputer control, and CAD and AI lechniques The
17 It 1 1 . Cushman, “ U P - l i k e I)SI’Chips”, ISDN, pp. 155-186, Sept 3,
1987
final section gives a summary of the technology trends. It appears t h a t
the technology will continue t u grow with increasing momentum as the
18 I3 K Bose, “Adjustable Speed A C Ihives - A l‘echno1og.y Status
component technologies indicated in Fig. 1 continue to g r o w . Power
Review”, Proc. IEEE, vol. 70, pp. 1 I(;-135, Feb. 1982.
electronics should now be considered as full-fledged a n d independent
technological discipline lihe computer science, communications a n d
19 1’. M Espelage and 1% K. Dose, “ l l i g h - l h q u e n c y l i n k P o w e r
electronics, and therefore be placed with full dignity in all the university
Conversion”, IEEE ‘I’rans. Ind Appl , vol I A - 1 3 , pp 387.394,
curricula. Unfortunately, education and research in power electronics
Sept /Oct. 1977.
a r e falling behind (particularly in U S universities) primarily because of
inadequate funding support and lack of qualified teachers. Again,
inspile of tremendous technology development in the recent years, there 1)imaI K. Hose (S’S9-M’W1-SM’7X) rcccivcd thc
B.E. dcgrcc friim Calcutta University. Calcutta.
seems to be a large gap in industrial applications of power electronics India. in 1956, the M.S. dcgrcc from the University
T h e industries, particularly in USA, a r e hesitant to m a k e c a p i t a l of Wi,sconsin-Madison. in 1960, and the Ph.D.
investment for modernization using power electronics, and t h u s gain dcgrcc from Calcutta University in 1966.
advantages in productivity and efficiency improvements. The industries, He was a Mcinber of the Faculty at Calcutta
Univcrsity (Bcngal Engineering College). wherc he
universities and Government agencies need to work closely lo solve the was awarded the Prcnichand Roychmd Scholarship
above problems and use t h i s vital technology for t h e benefit of t h e and the Mouat Gold Medal for outstanding rc.warch
society contrihulions. In 1971 hc joinc Rcnssclacr Polytech-
nic Institutc. Troy. NY. as a nicmher of faculty in
Electrical Engineering Dcpanment. where hc was respnsihlc for organizing
H E F E K E NC ES the undergraduatc and graduate programs in powcr clcclronics for fivc years.
He rerved as a Consultant fnr scvcral industries. which includcd the General
Electric Research and Devclopmcnt Ccntcr. thc Bcndin Corporation. Lumn
1 13 K ] h e , I’ower l3lectronics and AC D t ~ v e s ,Englewood CIIffs, Elcctronics, and PCI Ozonc Corporation. From 1976 to 1987 hc was with thc
N J , l’rcntice Hall, 1986 General Electric Rcscarch and Dcvclopmcnt Ccntcr. Schcncctady. NY. In
1987 he joined Ihe University of Tennessee. Knoxville, as Proicssor o i
I3 K Bose(Ed ), Microcotnputer Contiol of h w e r Electronics and Electrical Engineering (Condra Chair of Excellence in Powcr Eleclronics). He
2 is also Chief Scientist of thc Power Electronics Applications Ccntcr.
Drives, IEEE Press, NY 1987 Knoxville. which was rcccntly initiated hy EPRI. His rcscarch intcrcsis arc
power conveners. drive systems, and microcomputer-hascd optimization of
3 I) Y Chen, “Power SemicimduLtors Fdst, Tough, dnd Compdct”, p w e r elcctronicssystcms. He has published over 70papers and holds 15 U.S.
palenrs. He is the authorleditor of three books: Power Wcrronics and A C
IEEE Spectrum, pp 30 95, Sept 1987 Drives (1986. Prcnticc-Hall). Adju.sfable Speed A C Drive Sysrenis (cditor)
(1981. IEEE Prcss). and Microcomupfer Confrolof Power Elecrron~sand
4 V A K T e m p l e , “ P o w e r Uevice Evolution d n d t h e MOS- Drive (editor) (1987, IEEE Press). He also conlrihuicd A C Drives in
Sysrems and Confrol Encyclopedia (1987. Pcrgamon Prcss).
Controlled Thyrlstor”, I’CIM Journal, pp 23 29, Vo\ 1987 Dr. Bose was Chairman of the IEEE TRANSACTIONS Revicw of SVdliC
Power Convener Committee for cight ycars and is now Vice Chairman of the
5 B K I3ose(Ed 1, Adjttsidble Speed AC I h v e Sqsteni,, 11 same committee. Hc is Associate Editor for the IEEE Industrial Electronics
N Y 1981 Society TRANSACTIONS and Technical Commiltce Chairman of the Power
Elccrronics group in thc IEEE Industrial Electronics (IE) Society. Hc IS a
rncmber of a numher or nstional and intcrnvtional prnfcssional comniittcca.
6 B. K . Bose, “‘I’echnoli~g.~Trends in Microcomputer Control 01’ which include !he Power Elcctronics and Microcomputcr Control Commitlccs
Electrical Machines”, I E K K Trans. Ind. Elec., vol. 35, pp. 160-177, of the 1E Sccicty. the Scientific Committcc of the Intcmational Confcrcnce on
Numerical Control o i Elcctrical Machine%. the Program Coininiitccs of the
Fell 1988 IEEE Inlernnlional S t ~ i cPowcr Convcr~crConicrence, the Tokyo Intcrna-
tional Powcr Eloclrnnic~Conlcrswc, ths lnlornaiinnol Conlcrcncc on
7 I t Gabriel el dl , “ M icr-tipi-ocessoi’ Control o l Induction Motor”, MicrGcomputer Cnntrol o i Machincs. and Ihc IntcrnallOndl Conicrcncc o n
IEEEIIAS Int’l. Sem l’ower Conv. Conf.. Kec , pp. 385-396, 1982. Evolution and Modern Aspects of Induction Machincs. He is a meinher of the
editorial board or the inlcrnalional journal Elecrrosoff. He is listcd in Wlio’s
Who in Technology. Inrernorionol Who’s Who in Engineering, Perso,ioli-
8 W . I.eonhard, “Control of A C Machines w i t h t h e I l e l p o f lies in America, Biograpliy Inlernofionol, Direclory of World Research-
Microelectronics”, PrtJc of IFAC Symp. on Control i n Power Elec ers, and Leading Consullonrs in Technology. Thc lnrtitulc of Elcctronics
and Telecommunication Enginccrs, India. has establishcd the B i n d Bose
and IClec Ilrives, 1983 Award in Powcr Elcctronics. which is awarded annuilly in an Indian cnginccr
for outstanding contribution to powcr elcclronics. Hc is 3 rccipicnl of Ihc G E
9 B. K Hose, “What I saw i n Japan” (Guest Feature), IEEI.: ‘I’rans. Publication Award and the Silver Patent Mcdsl.
tnd Appl , v o l . IA-24, JulyiAug 1988

10 b3. K. Bow, “Motion Control Technology Present and I~’uture”

~

(Guest Feature), IEEK ‘I’rans Ind. Appl. vol. 1A-21, pp 1337~1312,

Nov./l)ec 1985

11 13. K 13ose, “A lligh I’ci+’ornunce Inverter-Fed I)rive System 01‘un

Interior Permanent Magnet Synchronous Machine”, I
Annual Meeting Conf Itec , pp. 269-276, 1987.

IECON ’88 I508