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Session No. 3232

Web-Oriented Power Electronics Learning Aid Badrul H. Chowdhury Madhu Gourineni bchow@ece.umr.edu. madhu@umr.edu

Electrical & Computer Engineering Dept. University of Missouri-Rolla Rolla, MO 65409-0040 Tel: 573-341-6230; Fax: 573-341-6671

Abstract A web-based approach to learning about the features of power electronic converters and other important concepts is discussed. The behavior of various types of available converter topologies is not always easy to grasp from a textbook. Practical converters contain non-ideal characteristics, filters, voltage or current limiters, etc. Often, it becomes difficult to see the differences among converters without the aid of computer simulations. The rationale of producing this website is to give students a more intuitive approach whereby they can learn the material by interacting with a computer. All major types of converters are dealt with as well as specific topics such as electromagnetic interference (EMI), heatsink specifications, snubbers, and magnetics. Performance characteristics such as converter efficiency, ripple, and total harmonic distortion (THD) are also discussed.

1. Introduction Power electronics deals with the conditioning of electrical power to a form that is more economical, more efficient, and more reliable for driving a load. For example, it would not be possible to get the same level of performance in machine tool and robotic drives, or in pulp and paper mill drives, or various vehicle propulsion systems without the use of a proper power electronic converter. The discipline is now becoming vital to industry and its application is spreading by leaps and bounds with the development of new and more powerful devices. Widespread applications of Power electronic devices can be seen in industrial, commercial, residential, utility, military and aerospace environments. Power electronics will play a critical role in energy savings and global industrial automation in the next century. The power electronics discipline is challenging since we need knowledge in such diverse fields as circuits, control, magnetics, and integration. It also involves signal and power processing using electronic circuits. Traditionally, power processing circuits have been based on linear circuit technology. Therefore, they were low in efficiency and bulky in size. For example an audio power amplifier has efficiency less than 50%. Therefore, bulky heatsinks are required to dissipate the power. In recent years, high frequency switching technology has gained rapid development. Switching circuits use pulse width modulation (PWM) to carry signals and deliver power. The efficiency of a switching circuit can be near 100%. Therefore, power processing with switching circuits is much smaller in size, and lower in weight. This paper describes a web-based approach to learning some of the important concepts of power electronics. By this webpage, we are not proposing to eliminate the need for a textbook. Rather, the webpage is meant to supplement the material a student learns from a conventional textbook. There are a number of excellent power electronics textbooks [1-4] in the market and

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Gourineni, M., & Chowdhury, B. H. (2000, June), Web Oriented Power Electronics Learning Aid Paper presented at 2000 Annual Conference, St. Louis, Missouri. 10.18260/1-2--8847