• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.5
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• pp.1137-1149
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• 2017

In order to reduce the cost, improve the efficiency and simplify the complicated control of existing isolated LED drivers, an improved boundary conduction mode (BCM) Buck ac-dc light emitting diode (LED) driver with extended output voltage and low total harmonic distortion is proposed. With a coupled inductor winding and a stacked output, its output voltage can be elevated to a much higher value when compared to that of the conventional Buck ac-dc converter, without sacrificing the input harmonics and power factor. Therefore, the proposed Buck LED driver can meet the IEC61000-3-2 (Class C) limitation and has a low THD. The operating principle of the topology and the design methodology of the ac-dc LED driver are presented. A 150 W ac-dc prototype was built in the laboratory and it shows that the input current harmonics meet the lighting standard. In addition, the THD is less than 16% at a typical ac input. The peak efficiency is higher than 96.5% at a full load and a normal input.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2001.04a
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• pp.301-303
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• 2001

This paper proposes the boost input type active clamp DC-DC converter featuring the high efficiency and improved EMI characteristics. The main characteristic of the converter is to operate with the non-pulsating input and output currents. Besides, it has the zero-voltage switching (ZVS) and low voltage stress characteristics. For the proposed converter, the detailed operation principles and the simulation results are presented.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.8 no.2
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• pp.109-120
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• 2008

In this paper, a novel delta/double-fork transformer based 18-pulse full-wave AC-DC converter is designed, modeled, simulated and developed to feed isolated DC varying loads. The proposed AC-DC converter is used for low voltage and large current DC loads in applications such as electrowinning, where isolation is required mainly for stepping down the supply voltage. The proposed converter improves power quality at AC mains and meets IEEE-519 standard requirements at varying loads.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.61 no.10
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• pp.1432-1441
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• 2012

In this study, an improved LCCT(Inductor-Capacitor-Capacitor-Trans) Z-source inverter(Improved LCCT ZSI) with characteristics of Quasi Z-source inverter(QZSI) and LCCT Z-source inverter(LCCT ZSI) is proposed. The proposed inverter can also reduce the voltage stress and input current/capacitor voltage ripples compared with conventional LCCT ZSI and Quasi ZSI. A two winding trans in Z-impedance network of the conventional LCCT ZSI is replaced by a three winding trans in the proposed inverter. To verify the validity of the proposed inverter, a DSP controlled hardware was made and PSIM simulation was executed for each method. Comparing the current and voltage ripples of each method under the condition of input DC voltage 70[V] and output AC voltage 76[Vrms], the input current and capacitor voltage ripple factors of the proposed inverter were low as 11[%] and 1.4[%] respectively. And, for generation of the same output AC voltage of each method, voltage stress of the proposed inverter was low as 175[V] under the condition of duty ratio D=0.15. As mentioned above, we could know that the proposed inverter have the characteristics of low voltage stress, low ripple factor and low operation duty ratio compared with the conventional methods. Finally, the efficiency according to load change/duty ratio and the transient state characteristics were discussed.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.946-956
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• 2014

Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) converters can be directly connected to medium-voltage grids without using transformers and they possess the advantages of large capacity and low harmonics. They are significant tools for providing grid connections in large-capacity renewable energy systems. However, the reliability of a grid-connected CHB converter can be seriously influenced by the number of power switching devices that exist in the structure. This paper proposes a fault-tolerant control strategy based on double zero-sequence voltage injection and DC voltage optimization to improve the reliability of star-connected CHB converters after one or more power units have been bypassed. By injecting double zero-sequence voltages into each phase cluster, the DC voltages of the healthy units can be rapidly balanced after the faulty units are bypassed. In addition, optimizing the DC voltage increases the number of faulty units that can be tolerated and improves the reliability of the converter. Simulations and experimental results are shown for a seven-level three-phase CHB converter to validate the efficiency and feasibility of this strategy.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.6
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• pp.911-917
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• 2016

DC-based power system is paid attention as interests in energy efficiency and power quality are increased. However, standardization and researches for commercializing Low Voltage DC(LVDC) distribution system are still insufficient. Protection system, which is closely related with reliability, power quality, safety, and life expectancy of components in power system, is also included. This paper therefore analyzes fault response characteristics in LVDC distribution system as a preliminary study on protection schemes. A stepwise analysis on fault current from both AC/DC converter and DC/DC converter is performed and related expressions are derived. And then, modeling and simulation with various conditions are conducted by using ElectroMagnetic Transients Program (EMTP) to verify analysis results. Based on research results in the paper, direction for development of protection schemes for LVDC distribution system is suggested.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1459-1473
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• 2018

This paper focuses on voltage control schemes for multi-terminal low-voltage direct current (LVDC) distribution systems. In a multi-terminal LVDC distribution system, there can be multiple AC/DC converters that connect the LVDC distribution system to the AC grids. This configuration can provide enhanced reliability, grid-supporting functionality, and higher efficiency. The main applications of multi-terminal LVDC distribution systems include flexible power exchange between multiple power grids and integration of distributed energy resources (DERs) using DC voltages such as photovoltaics (PVs) and battery energy storage systems (BESSs). In multi-terminal LVDC distribution systems, voltage regulation is one of the most important issues for maintaining the electric power balance between demand and supply and providing high power quality to end customers. This paper focuses on a voltage control method for multi-terminal LVDC distribution system that can efficiently coordinate multiple control units, such as AC/DC converters, PVs and BESSs. In this paper, a control hierarchy is defined for undervoltage (UV) and overvoltage (OV) problems in LVDC distribution systems based on the control priority between the control units. This paper also proposes methods to determine accurate control commands for AC/DC converters and DERs. By using the proposed method, we can effectively maintain the line voltages in multi-terminal LVDC distribution systems in the normal range. The performance of the proposed voltage control method is evaluated by case studies.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.240-249
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• 2018

Individual DC voltage balance problem is an inherent issue for cascaded H-bridge (CHB) based converter. When the CHB-based static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is operating at zero current mode, the software-based individual DC voltage balancing control techniques may not work because of the infinitesimal output current. However, the different power losses of each cell would lead to the individual DC voltages unbalance. The uneven power losses on the local supplied cell-controllers (including the control circuit and drive circuit) would especially cause the divergence of individual DC voltages, due to their characteristic as constant power loads. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive voltage balancing module which is designed in the cell-controller board with small size and low cost circuits. It is controlled to make the power loss of the cell a constant resistance load, thus the DC voltages are balanced in zero current mode. Field test in a 10kV STATCOM confirms the performance of the proposed method.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Illuminating and Electrical Installation Engineers
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• v.29 no.3
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• pp.81-87
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• 2015

In order to effectively protect electrical and electronic circuits which are extremely susceptible to lightning surges, multi-stage surge protection circuits are required. This paper presents the operational characteristics of the two-stage hybrid surge protection circuit in extra-low voltage DC power lines. The hybrid surge protective device consists of the gas discharge tube, transient voltage suppressor, and series inductor. The response characteristics of the proposed hybrid surge protective device to combination waves were investigated. As a result, the proposed two-stage surge protective device to combination wave provides the tight clamping level of less than 50V. The firing of the gas discharge tube to lightning surges depends on the de-coupling inductance and the rate-of-change of the current flowing through the transient voltage suppressor. The coordination between the upstream and downstream components of the hybrid surge protective device was satisfactorily achieved. The inductance of a de-coupler in surge protective circuits for low-voltage DC power lines, relative to a resistance, is sufficiently effective. The voltage drop and power loss due to the proposed surge protective device are ignored during normal operation of the systems.

• Proceedings of the KIEE Conference
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• 2006.07b
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• pp.1207-1208
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• 2006

Recently, a fuel cell with low voltage and high current output characteristics is remarkable for new generation system. It needs both a DC-DC step-up converter and DC-AC inverter to be used in fuel cell generation system. Therefor, this paper, consists of an isolated DC-DC converter to boost the fuel cell voltage 380[VDC] and a PWM inverter with LC filter to convent the DC voltage to single-phase 220[VAC]. Expressly, a tapped inductor filter with freewheeling diode is newly implemented in the output filter of the proposed high frequency isolated ZVZCS PWM DC-DC converter to suppress circulating current under the wide output voltage regulation range, thus to eliminate the switching and transformer turn-on/off over-short voltage or transient phenomena. Besides the efficiency of 93-97[%] is obtained over the wide output voltage regulation ranges and load variations.