POWER CIRCUITS AND SYSTEMS
Learning outcomes of the course unit
1) Knowledge and understanding
Attending classes and through individual study, students are to acquire basic knowledge of:
- basic concepts and problems of the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity in power systems
- power, frequency and voltage control techniques
2) Applying knowledge and understanding
- A goal of this course is providing students with the ability of applying their knowledge of power electronics, energetics and controls to power systems
- importance is also given to the ability of solving quantitative problems and exercises.
Prerequisites
Students should be familiar with the notions of mathematics, physics, electrical engineering and power electronics typically acquired in first-level degrees in Information engineering (class L-8). For the University of Parma graduates in "Ingegneria informatica, elettronica e delle telecomunicazioni" important preliminary notions can be found in the course of "Generazione e conversione da fonti rinnovabili". The part on semiconductor power switches relies on the topics treated in the course of "Dispositivi a semiconduttore".
Course contents summary
- Part 1: power circuits
1) Controlled rectifiers
2) AC/AC converters
3) Resonant DC/DC converters
4) Switching power supplies and UPSs
- Part 2: power systems
5) The generation of electric energy
6) Introduction to power systems
7) The transmission of electric energy
8) The utilization of electric energy
9) Power system control
10) Semiconductor power switches
Course contents
- Part 1: power circuits
1) Controlled rectifiers - 4 hrs
Single-phase controlled rectifiers: half-wave rectifier; semi-converter; full converter; dual converter. Three-phase semi-converter and full converter.
2) AC/AC converters - 4 hrs
On-off power control. Half-wave and full-wave controllers. Common-cathode switch. Single-SCR full-wave converter. Transformer tap changer. Single-phase and three-phase cycloconverter.
3) Resonant DC/DC converters - 2 hrs
L-type ZCS converter. ZVS converter. Half-wave ZCS converter.
4) Switching power supplies and UPSs - 6 hrs
Linear vs. switching power supplies. Flyback converter. Forward converter. Switching power supply design.
- Part 2: power systems
5) The generation of electric energy – 4 hrs
6) Introduction to power systems – 4 hrs
7) The transmission of electric energy – 4 hrs
8) The utilization of electric energy – 2 hrs
9) Power system control – 8 hrs
10) Semiconductor power switches - 4 hrs
11) Seminars - 6 hrs
Recommended readings
- Part 1: power circuits
M. H. Rashid, Power Electronics: Circuits, Devices, and Applications, 2nd Edition, Prentice-Hall, 1993.
- Part 2: power systems
P. Schavemaker, L. van der Sluis, "Electrical Power System Essentials," 2nd Edition, Wiley, 2017, ISBN-13: 978-1118803479.
* Further readings
N. Mohan, T. M. Undeland, W. P. Robbins, Power electronics: converters, applications and design, 2nd ed., Wiley, 1995
J. D. Glover, T. J. Overbye, M. S. Sarma, Power System Analysis and Design, 6th ed., Cengage Learning, 2016
Teaching methods
Classroom lectures, featuring exercises and numerical examples solved by the instructor.
For the academic year 2020/21 the course will be taught on-line, with streaming on the Teams platform, and recorded lectures available (at least for 3 days) on the Elly platform.
Assessment methods and criteria
Oral exam. The exams will be held in the classroom and/or on-line depending on the regulations and indications in place at the time of the exam.
Students will have to show good understanding of the theoretical aspects treated in the lectures, and the ability to solve simple quantitative exercises by hand calculations.
The student is typically required to answer to two questions, one on the topics of part 1 (1-5), one on those of part 2 (6-12).
Students can choose to speak either Italian or English at the exam. Students who are not native English speakers and show sufficient fluency with technical English are awarded up to 2 extra points (out of 30).
Other informations
The course web site can be found on the Elly platform.
