Power Electronic Tips

Simulation tool simplifies product selection at early stages of development cycle

Redding Traiger — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 02:07:00 +0000

onsemi announced a breakthrough in simulation tools for onsemi’s EliteSiC Silicon Carbide (SiC) product family and its applications. The company launched the online Elite Power Simulator and Self-Service PLECS Model Generator, which provide meaningful insights for complex power electronic applications through system-level simulations at an early stage of the development cycle. The tools save power electronic engineers time by providing state-of-the-art accurate simulation data enabling EliteSiC product selection tailored to customer applications, instead of costly and time-consuming hardware fabrication and testing.

Users have ultimate power and flexibility to create high-fidelity system-level PLECS models when the Elite Power Simulator is deployed in conjunction with the Self-Service PLECS Model Generator. Whether uploaded to onsemi’s Elite Power Simulator or downloaded for direct use, the self-service PLECS models deliver the optimization and accuracy required for demanding power electronic simulations. The models are generated based on typical or worst-case conditions to let the customer design within the technology boundaries. The capability to define application-specific parasitics ensures that the generated PLECS models provide highly accurate results for the customer’s system-level simulations.

To date, system-level simulators and their associated PLECS models have only been valid for hard switching topologies, with simulation results for soft switching applications such as LLC (inductor-inductor-capacitor) or CLLC (capacitor-inductor-inductor-capacitor) being highly inaccurate. onsemi’s industry-first PLECS models break this trend and solve this problem for customers.

See onsemi’s Elite Power Simulator and Self-Service PLECS Model Generator at booth 1032 at APEC 2023, the leading conference for practicing power electronics professionals, in Orlando.

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PXI, multi-cell battery simulator modules target automotive and aerospace applications

Redding Traiger — Sat, 16 Oct 2021 01:23:54 +0000

Pickering Interfaces launched a new family of battery simulator modules, ideal for Electric Vehicle (EV) battery stack emulation in Battery Management Systems (BMS) test applications. The 41-752A (PXI) and 43-752A (PXIe) modules enable direct voltage and current readback either programmatically or using Pickering’s soft panel control. Each cell simulator is highly accurate, specified at ±5 mV from 1 V to 7 V.

Targeting EV, automotive, aerospace, energy storage, and electric aircraft applications, the new battery simulator modules occupy a single PXI slot. They are available with two, four, or six battery cell simulators per module that are fully isolated from the ground and from each other facilitating series connections to simulate batteries in a stacked architecture. The 750 V isolation barrier allows the modules to be used to simulate lower power battery stacks that are commonly used for vehicle propulsion. Battery charging emulation is available up to 100 mA.

Each cell provides independent power and sense connections, allowing the simulator to sense a remote load and correct for wiring losses. The battery simulator is designed to respond to dynamic loads, minimizing the need for local decoupling capacitors at the load. The module can also independently read the voltage at the load (via sense lines) and output current for each cell. When supplied with I/V readback, the driver can automatically adjust the module’s output voltage through a feedback system, allowing higher accuracy.

Pickering provides extensive software support for all its products. This support allows users to design their applications with the operating system and programming languages (C/C++, .NET, Python, LabVIEW/LabWindows, MATLAB, etc.) of their choice, making integration to their existing or new system seamless. Users can choose between all Microsoft-supported Windows versions, all popular varieties of Linux, and other hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) operating systems such as VeriStand, LabVIEW RT, and QNX.

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3D EM simulation software handles TVS diodes, spark gaps

Redding Traiger — Thu, 10 Jun 2021 00:48:56 +0000

Remcom announces an update to XFdtd 3D EM Simulation Software, with transient EM/circuit co-simulation for electrostatic discharge (ESD) testing and support for transient voltage suppressor (TVS) diodes and spark gaps. XFdtd contains a number of features for simulating the ESD testing process, allowing engineers to pinpoint components susceptible to ESD damage and optimize ESD mitigation prior to trial-and-error testing on a physical prototype. Building on these capabilities, the new release supports the import of TVS diode netlist files and the inclusion of their nonlinear behavior in a finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulation.

TVS components are critical to the protection of sensitive PC board components, and the ideal simulation method combines a transient nonlinear circuit solver with a full-wave electromagnetic solver. XFdtd simulates non-destructive testing using a virtual prototype that includes the physical layout of the TVS components to enhance accuracy, simultaneously capturing all electromagnetic phenomena from the 3D CAD geometry as well as the complex nonlinear behavior of the circuit model in a single time-domain simulation. Various diode placements can be simulated to determine a successful circuit layout and strengthen the ESD protection of the final device.

Transient EM/circuit co-simulation overcomes the limitations of using specialized solvers in isolation, enabling engineers to analyze device protection measures and more effectively eliminate ESD events. By resolving ESD vulnerabilities earlier in the design process, certification setbacks can be avoided.

For more information on the latest release of XFdtd, please visit Remcom’s website. XFdtd users without an active Remcom Professional Support contract can upgrade to the latest version by contacting sales.

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