A Sepic-Buck Topology for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems Battery Charger

Rafael H. Eckstein; Eduardo V. de Souza; Maikel F. Menke; Telles B. Lazzarin

doi:10.18618/REP.2022.1.0039

Authors

Rafael H. Eckstein Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil
Eduardo V. de Souza Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil
Maikel F. Menke Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil
Telles B. Lazzarin Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.2022.1.0039

Keywords:

Battery Charger, dc-dc Buck converter, Drone, RPAS, SEPIC PFC rectifier

Abstract

The use of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) is already a reality in applications such as geographic mapping, surveillance, digital marketing, delivery, agriculture, infrastructure inspection, and others. Most of these aircraft are purely electric, being the only source of energy, packs of ion-lithium or lithium polymer batteries. These battery packs are conceived by the association of a different number of cells, usually ranging from three cells (3S) to twelve cells (12S). However, universal battery chargers for this range are not consolidated yet due to the recent emergence of the use of RPAS for different applications. To overcome this drawback, this paper introduces a topology to charge a wide range of low voltage battery packs (3S-12S) for RPAS. The circuit is composed of two power converters, one of them is a DCM SEPIC PFC rectifi er and another is a dc-dc Buck converter. The system is design for 400 W of rated power and the proposed solution is suggested to charge battery packs from 3S to 12S.

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Author Biographies

Rafael H. Eckstein, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil

born in Marechal Cândido Rondon, Paraná, Brazil, in 1990, received the B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in electrical engineering from Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Brazil, in 2012, 2014, respectively. Currently, he is a doctoral student at the Power Electronics Institute (INEP), UFSC. His interests include battery charges and RPAS (Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems) power systems.

Eduardo V. de Souza, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil

was born in Florianópolis, Brazil, in 1982. He received B.S., M.S. and Doctor degrees in electrical engineering from the Federal Usiversity of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Brazil, in 2007, 2010 and 2015, respectively.

Maikel F. Menke, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil

born in 1989, in Três de Maio - RS. He received the B.S., M.Sc., and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Santa Maria (UFSM), Santa Maria, Brazil, in 2015, 2016, and 2021, respectively. His research interests include lighting applications, resonant converters, and self-oscillating converters. Dr. Menke is member of the SOBRAEP, and IEEE.

Telles B. Lazzarin, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis-SC, Brazil

was born in Criciúma, Santa Catarina State, Brazil, in 1979. He received the B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC), Florianópolis, Brazil, in 2004, 2006 and 2010, respectively. He is currently an Adjunct Professor at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering (EEL) from the UFSC,and he also works as a Researcher at the Power Electronics Institute (INEP), UFSC. His interests include switched-capacitor converters, inverters, parallel operation of inverters, high-voltage dc-dc converters, ac-ac power converters and conversion systems for small wind turbines. Dr Lazzarin is a member of the Brazilian Power Electronic Society (SOBRAEP), IEEE Power Electronics Society (PELS) and IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IES).

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