Line and load regulation

Lecture 2. Distortion, regulation and filters

Iline Iload
In this lecture:
• Regulation • Filters fight distortion Vline Power Vload
o Line and load regulation o RC filters supply
o Total harmonic distortion o RL filters
o Phase distortion & power factor o Example: Design a RC
o Other measures of regulation Low-pass filter o All power supplies are themselves supplied with line power
• An Ideal supply looks like o : e.g. a power supply in a P.C. is powered by 230VAC from the
o An absolutely flat DC level, or electricity company.
o A pure sinusoid
o Sometimes the line voltage can dip (brownout) or fail (blackout). In
• Real supplies are usually distorted by response to these fluctuations a power supply’s output voltage (Vload) might
dip a little, or dip a lot!
o unwanted signals: harmonic distortion from the power supply itself,
perhaps o For example, a P.C. with an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) can
often withstand line voltage fluctuations, keeping the supply to the
o the quality of the supply supplying the source P.C. constant.
o in A.C. supplies: the nature of the load, pulling the current out of
phase with the voltage (phase distortion)

• Regulation measures how close a real power supply is to the ideal.

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o Line regulation is a measure of how well a power supply can withstand Total harmonic distortion
fluctuations in the line voltage, to provide voltage to the load. Total harmonic distortion is a measure of how distorted an A.C. signal with
harmonic distortion is. It compares the powers at higher-order harmonics to
where the power at the fundamental frequency.
Vload max − Vload min o Vload max = Vload for maximum Vline
Line regulation = ∞ ∞

∑P ∑V Pk is the power in harmonic k

2
Vload nominal o Vload min = Vload for minimum Vline k k
o Vload nominal = Vload for nominal Vline k =1 k =1 where Vk is the voltage magnitude in
THD = =
P0 V0
2 harmonic k

o Load regulation is a measure of how well a power supply can withstand

fluctuations in the load power drawn. In the examples of lecture 1:

o For example a D.C. machine draws much more current when it’s Pure sinusoid: only one harmonic present (the zeroth), so that there are no
starting up than when it’s operating at full speed. A good supply can higher harmonics:
deliver close to nominal voltage under both conditions. 0
THD = 2
=0
Vm
Vload (max line ) − Vload (min line ) Vload (max line) = Vload for maximum Vline
Load regulation =
Vload ( no min al Vload (min line) = Vload for minimum Vline
line ) Two sinusoids: two harmonics:
Vload (nominal line) = Vload for nominal Vline 2
⎛1 ⎞
⎜ Vm ⎟
THD =
P1
= ⎝2 ⎠ = 1
2
P0 Vm 2

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Rectified sinusoid: Consider just the first four (even) harmonics, with Phase Distortion in A.C. supplies
amplitudes as shown below.
o An inductive load causes iload(t) to lag vload(t)
Harmonic 0 1 2 3 4
o A capacitive load causes iload(t) to lead vload(t)
Amplitude Vm 0.13Vm 0.08Vm 0.05Vm 0.04Vm
o In both cases some of the energy delivered to the load in each cycle flows
back to the source!
o So the total power delivered is less than V×I. This is a kind of distortion,
called phase distortion. How much less?
Question: calculate the total harmonic distortion of the rectified Consider an A.C. power supply driving a load, with
sinusoid.
v load (t ) = Vm sin ωt
P1 + P2 + P3 + P4
THD = drawing a current that is out of phase with the voltage (could be lagging or
P0 leading the voltage) by a phase angle φ radians, corresponding to a lag or
(0.13Vm )2 + (0.08Vm )2 + (0.05Vm )2 + (0.04Vm )2 lead in time of φ /ω: sec:
=
i load (t ) = I m sin(ωt + φ )
2
Vm
= 16.5%.
(Figure 2.1a). The instantaneous power drawn is

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p(t ) = v load (t ) × i load (t ) = Vm I m sin ωt sin(ωt + φ ) So the power also flows in a sinusoidal shape (see Figure 2.1b):

A little trigonometry gives o twice the frequency of the supply voltage

o not centred on 0, but offset by a constant amount.

p(t ) =
Vm I m
[cos(2ωt + φ ) + cos φ ]
2
So what’s the average power drawn by the load over a cycle? It’s a little less
than VmIm.
v(t)=Vmsinωt
Area under curve in one cycle
i(t)=Imsin(ωt-φ)
P=
length of one cycle
t =T ωt = 2π
1 1 Vm I m
[cos(2ωt + φ ) + cos φ ] dωt
T t =∫0 ∫
π 2π 3π ωt = p(t ) dt =
2π ω t =0
2
φ
A little maths eventually gives
p(t)=v(t)i(t)
Vm I m
P= cos φ = Vrms I rms cos φ [Where did I get this?]
2
P=½VmImcosφ

ωt

Figure 2.1. (a) Load voltage and current out of phase. (b) some of the energy flowing into
the load flows out again in each cycle.
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o So the average load power (sometimes called the active power) is smaller
than the apparent power S=VrmsIrms by a factor cosφ. This factor is called
the power factor, and is always less than or equal to 1.
o P=V.I.cosφ is called the active power
2. Temperature Variation is a measure of the output voltage variation
due to temperature, as components heat up or cool down.
• Important: circuits heat up as power is dissipated; this can change
the performance of the circuit itself

o Q=V.I.sinφ is called the reactive power. This is the power that is bounced • For example: resistors decrease in value with rising temperature
out of the load back to the supply.

o The electricity company usually objects if your power factor is too low
Filters fight distortion
• for instance, if your load is a large machine (looks like an inductor!)
Two common solutions to the harmonic problem:
• too much reactive power bouncing back at their power stations!
1. Produce less distortion! Design better supplies that minimize switching
• So sometimes power factor correction is built into your power supply. harmonics – use specialised components

2. Filter the rest: Eradicate unwanted harmonics and noise using filters

Other measures of regulation The two simplest filter types:

1. Long-Term drift is a useful measure of the variation in the supply 1. RC filters – resistors + capacitors
output over long periods, such as hours, days or even weeks.
2. RL filters – resistors + inductors

More sophisticated filters use combinations of these.

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How do inductors and capacitors smooth things out? Low-pass RC filter

1. Capacitors resist voltage change Recall: a low-pass RC filter looks like

• VC changes slowly, stiffening the supply voltage. R R

• Connect in parallel with the load

vin(t) vout(t) Vin(jω) 1 Vout(jω)
C jωC
2. Inductors resist current change

• IL changes slowly, smoothing out current supplies.

• Connect in series with the load Using phasor analysis, the transfer function turns out to be
These effects are extremely useful in filters. Vout ( jω ) 1
T ( jω ) = =
Vin ( jω ) ω
1+ j
ωp

1
where ω p = is called
RC

• pole frequency, or

• 3dB frequency, or

• cutoff frequency.
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To filter out unwanted high-frequency signals using an RC filter, simply Low-pass RL filter
choose R and C such that the cutoff frequency is comfortably below the
lowest harmonic frequency. Recall: a low-pass RL filter looks like

L jω L

But look out! The lower the cutoff frequency we want, the larger R and C
have to be! vin(t) R vout(t) Vin(jω) R Vout(jω)

• A larger R causes larger power (I R) losses in the filter

2

• A larger C is pretty expensive!

Using phasor analysis, the transfer function turns out to be
• The best solution is usually a tradeoff between
Vout ( jω ) 1
o Cost and T ( jω ) = =
Vin ( jω ) ω
1+ j
o effectiveness. ωp

where this time the cutoff frequency is given by

R
ωp = rad/s
L

Inductors are rather expensive and bulky compared to capacitors, so RL

filters are not used nearly as often as RC filters.
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Example: Design a RC Low-pass filter At this frequency, the magnitude of the output voltage looks like

Design a low-pass RC filter to attenuate an unwanted 100Hz harmonic from a Vout ( jω h ) 1 1 1

T ( jω h ) = = = = = 0.45.
DC voltage source. Vin ( jω h ) ⎛ω ⎞
2
⎛ 200π ⎞
2
5
1+ ⎜ h ⎟ 1+ ⎜ ⎟
The unwanted component is at fh=100 Hz. This corresponds to an ⎜ω
⎝ p
⎟
⎠ ⎝ 100π ⎠
angular frequency ωh=2π×100=200π.
So if we put ωp at 50 Hz, then the 100 Hz harmonic will be attenuated to
Where to put ωp? Let’s try a few possibilities. about 45% of its original amplitude. A little better.

1. Try ωp= ωh = 200π. Now we have decided ωp = 100π rad/s, How to choose R and C?
At this frequency, the magnitude of the output voltage can be got from 1
• We must choose R and C so that ω p = , so we have a little freedom.
the transfer function: RC
But remember, a good supply does not itself dissipate much power!
V ( jω h ) 1 1 1
T ( jω h ) = out = = = = 0.707.
Vin ( jω h ) 2 2
2 • A large series R dissipates large i2R power – bad idea!
⎛ω ⎞ ⎛ωp ⎞
1+ ⎜ h ⎟ 1+ ⎜ ⎟
⎜ω ⎟ ⎜ω ⎟ • So increase C – better idea.
⎝ p ⎠ ⎝ p ⎠

So if we put ωp equal to ωh, then the harmonic at ωh will only be • Choose R=10 Ω
attenuated to 0.707 of its original amplitude. Not very good!
• Then C turns out to be about 318 µF. (Work it out yourself, then hit the
2. Try ωp=½ωh = =2π×50=100π.rad/s. forum.)

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Questions
1. By how much will the 100Hz harmonic be attenuated if we choose the
pole frequency to be 10Hz?

2. If we wanted an attenuation of at least 90% (the 100Hz harmonic

attenuated to 10% or less) what pole frequency would we choose?

• Can’t figure it out? Check the forum for tips.

END OF LECTURE

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