Sneak Circuits of Power Electronic Converters

Chapter 9Application of Sneak Circuits in Power Electronic Converters

9.1 Introduction

This book has mainly focused on the sneak circuit phenomena in different kinds of power electronics converters, analyzed the undesired effects of sneak circuits on converter performance, then introduced some methods to search for and eliminate sneak circuits. In fact, the existing circuit paths may have a positive effect in a power electronic converter, if they can be taken advantage of, such as those in the synchronous DC-DC converters described in Chapter 5. This chapter will discuss how to improve converter performance, reconstruct converter topology, and design new functions of the converter without increasing the hardware cost, by making use of the sneak circuit. In addition, the sneak circuit path analysis method will be applied to diagnosis faults in the power electronic converter.

9.2 Improvement of Power Electronic Converter Based on Sneak Circuits

In order to improve the converter performance by taking advantage of sneak circuit paths, the main idea is to insert some sneak circuit paths into the normal operating process. Therefore, it is important to choose a useful sneak circuit path and to combine it with the normal operating paths. This section will attempt to improve the soft-switching characteristic of the Boost zero-current-transition (ZCT) pulse width modulation (PWM) converter, by inserting some sneak circuit paths into the operating process of the converter.

9.2.1 Operating ...