Educational Experiments in Power Electronics and Control Theory: D.C. Switched Power Supplies

In this paper, the design of a d.c. switched power supply is proposed as a hands-on educational tool in power electronics and classical control theory. The project's importance rests primarily in its position as part of the curricula of a Bachelors programme in electronics engineering. The core of the d.c. power supply is a d.c./d.c. switched converter, where a feedforward-feedback control loop is in charge of adjusting the switching pattern to compensate disturbances and voltage drops in the circuit. The project is structured in four major steps: d.c./d.c. converter analysis, controller design, d.c./d.c. converter construction and closed-loop implementation. All these steps are detailed in the paper, and the mathematical derivations needed by the students are clearly explained. In addition, the paper includes a full description of the electronics circuits employed in the project, with synthesis expressions that help the students to select the implementation elements.