Power Conversion Systems for Embedded Applications

Electric power plays a pivotal role in the development of transportation sectors such as, for example, the aerospace and automotive industries. The significant environmental and economic constraints in these fields make it imperative to design and develop power converters with high power density and a high reliability rate.

This course unit will:

• To provide students with the key concepts for the design, sizing, analysis, and simulation of power converters used in embedded systems as well as other applications, such as electrical energy management in systems for the generation, transmission, and control of renewable and non-renewable energy.
• Discuss the benefits of converters for embedded systems, which are continually evolving toward all-electric designs, and draw a connection to the challenges posed by the current reliability rates of power electronics.
• Introduce concepts for calculating a carbon footprint and applying eco-design principles. These design elements are now essential for creating high-performance products and contributing to the success of the energy transition.
• Equipping students with knowledge of current power electronics systems will enable them to better understand emerging converter architectures.
• Describe the limitations associated with the use of passive components—and, more specifically, magnetic components operating at high frequencies—which are absolutely essential to the operation of these converters.

Students must be able to carry out a complete project based on specific project requirements, which will require them to study a regulated conversion structure in its entirety.

The hands-on exercises associated with the course will provide a better understanding of the technological challenges involved in designing high-performance power electronics structures.

This course will serve as a foundation for Master's 2 projects.

The ultimate goal of this course for students, upon completion of the lectures and lab work, is to be able to meet a set of specifications by designing, developing, and implementing a power converter for an embedded application. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to join a company’s research and development department or a research laboratory to design innovative high-power-density converter architectures.

Students will understand the environmental impact of a converter and its components and will be aware of the issues related to their reliability.

He will be able to easily use circuit simulation software. He will be able to model a converter and implement its closed-loop control; to this end, he will know how to analyze and size conventional structures such as sinusoidal current absorption converters (PFC, PWM rectifiers, etc.), whether isolated or not.

Students will be able to size the magnetic components used in power electronics converters, taking into account the intrinsic limitations of the materials from which they are made and accounting for their imperfections (losses, limitations) as determined using charts or finite element software.

Finally, students will gain a basic understanding of the implementation of digital control systems used to develop and enhance the performance of power converters.

Master’s 1 degree in Environmental, Energy, and Agricultural Sciences (EEA) or in science and technology, or a five-year post-high-school degree in applied physics or electrical engineering, including coursework on the basic principles of power electronics and power converters.

Understand the inherent limitations of high-frequency magnetic components.

Recommended prerequisites*:

Have completed the UE HAE706E course, “Energy Conversion Systems,” as part of the EEA Master’s 1 program

Course Unit with Continuous Assessment

1. Introduction to converters for embedded systems. Examples. Reliability issues associated with power electronics (service life of power components, environmental impact of failures). Carbon footprint and eco-design of a converter
2. Simulation in Power Electronics. Simulation Software and Applications (Analog, Digital).
3. Modeling and Control of a Static Converter.
4. Single-phase and three-phase "Power Factor Corrector" (PFC) function. MLI rectifiers.
5. Non-isolated switching converters used to power complex digital circuits (VRMs, interleaving). Isolated switching converters—whether reversible or not—used in onboard power systems
6. Magnetic Couplers in Power Converters: Definitions, Characteristics, and Applications
7. HF Phenomena in Magnetic Components. Joule Losses, Iron Losses, Component Sizing. Intrinsic Operating Limits. Characterization of an HF Magnetic Component
8. Design of a digital control circuit. Selection and integration with the converter. Overview of programmable components.

CM: 31 hours and 30 minutes

Practical Training: 27 hours