Online Monitoring of Capacitors in Power Converters

Gustavo M. Buiatti; Juan A. Martín-Ramos; Juan A. Martínez; A. M. R. Amaral; A. J. Marques Cardoso

doi:10.18618/REP.2011.2.177186

Authors

Gustavo M. Buiatti Alstom Transport, Tarbes, France. He is currently with Mitsubishi Electric, France
Juan A. Martín-Ramos Universidad de Oviedo, D.I.E.E.C.S., Campus de Gijón, Spain
Juan A. Martínez Universidad de Oviedo, D.I.E.E.C.S., Campus de Gijón, Spain
A. M. R. Amaral University of Coimbra / Instituto de Telecomunicações, Coimbra, Portugal
A. J. Marques Cardoso University of Coimbra / Instituto de Telecomunicações, Coimbra, Portugal

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18618/REP.2011.2.177186

Keywords:

Capacitance, Diagnosis, Electrolytic Capacitors, Equivalent Series Resistance, power converters, Predictive Maintenance

Abstract

In power converters, the filtering or DC link capacitors are usually the component with shorter lifetime. With the aging, both, electrolytic and film capacitors, do often burst out, causing serious damages or even the destruction of the whole power stage. In this paper, a technique for diagnostic purposes is presented to estimate online, and even in real time, the aging of capacitors in different converters. The technique is based on the estimation of the capacitors equivalent series resistance (ESR) and capacitance. In this way, predictive maintenance can be carried out, and it is possible to alarm for the capacitor replacement before failure. In order to demonstrate and validate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed technique, several power topologies are discussed, showing experimental results. An embedded prototype with the real- time estimation through a Digital Signal Processor (DSP) is constructed and presented.

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Author Biographies

Gustavo M. Buiatti, Alstom Transport, Tarbes, France. He is currently with Mitsubishi Electric, France

was born in Uberlândia, Brazil, in 1976. He received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the Federal University of Uberlândia in 2002, and the Ph.D. degree from the Politecnico di Torino, Turin, Italy, in 2006. In 2006, he was with International Rectifier, Borgaro, Italy, and from 2006 to 2008 he was with Alstom Transport, Séméac, France. He is currently with Mitsubishi Electric, Rennes, France, where he is Project Leader of research activities on Sustainable Energy Systems. His research interests are focused on modeling of power semiconductor devices, design of DC/DC power converters and condition monitoring of passive components used in power applications. Juan A. Martín-Ramos was born in Oviedo, Spain, in 1969. He received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the “Universidad de Oviedo” (Spain) in 1996 and 2001 respectively. In 1997, he joined the Electronic Technology Area of the “Universidad de Oviedo” where he is currently an Assistant Professor. During this period, he has been involved in several industrial projects regarding microprocessor based systems and power electronics. His research activity has been mainly related to the AC-DC power conversion where he has worked in the integration of magnetic power devices, the inclusion of piezoelectric transformers and the conception of new topologies and transformers for high voltage applications.

Juan A. Martín-Ramos, Universidad de Oviedo, D.I.E.E.C.S., Campus de Gijón, Spain

was born in Oviedo, Spain, in 1969. He received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in Industrial Engineering from the “Universidad de Oviedo” (Spain) in 1996 and 2001 respectively. In 1997, he joined the Electronic Technology Area of the “Universidad de Oviedo” where he is currently an Assistant Professor. During this period, he has been involved in several industrial projects regarding microprocessor based systems and power electronics. His research activity has been mainly related to the AC-DC power conversion where he has worked in the integration of magnetic power devices, the inclusion of piezoelectric transformers and the conception of new topologies and transformers for high voltage applications.

Juan A. Martínez, Universidad de Oviedo, D.I.E.E.C.S., Campus de Gijón, Spain

was born in Gijón, Spain, in 1962. He received the M.Sc. degree and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering, from the University of Oviedo, (Spain) in 1987 and 1991 respectively. In 1987, he joined the University of Oviedo where he is currently Head of the Electrical Engineering Department. He has been involved in more than 50 academia-industry research projects and is the author of several technical papers and patents. His main research interests include switch-mode power supplies and microcontroller-based industrial systems.

A. M. R. Amaral, University of Coimbra / Instituto de Telecomunicações, Coimbra, Portugal

was born in Luso, Angola, in 1974. He received the Licentiate, M.S. and PhD degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal, in 1998, 2005 and 2011 respectively. Since 1998, he has been with the Polytechnic Institute of Coimbra, where he is currently an Assistant Reader in the Department of Informatics and Systems. He is also in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Coimbra. He is a Researcher with the Portuguese Telecommunication Institute. His research activities include fault diagnosis and design of switch-mode power supplies, with emphasis on the consequences of aging of electrolytic capacitors, as well as the development of solutions to this problem. His teaching interests cover digital systems, programming, signal processing, instrumentation, and electronics. He has authored more than 20 papers published in conference proceedings. Prof. Amaral is a Student Member of the IEEE Instrumentation and Measurement Society, the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, the IEEE Industry Applications Society, and the IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society. He has been listed in Who’s Who in the World.

A. J. Marques Cardoso, University of Coimbra / Instituto de Telecomunicações, Coimbra, Portugal

was born in Coimbra, Portugal, in 1962. He received the E.E. and Dr.Eng. degrees from the University of Coimbra, Coimbra, in 1985 and 1995, respectively. Since 1985, he has been with the University of Coimbra, where he is currently an Associate Professor with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Instituto de Telecomunicações, and the Director of the Electrical Machines Laboratory. He is currently a member of the Editorial Board of the International Journal of Condition Monitoring and Diagnostic Engineering Management. He is the author of a book entitled Fault Diagnosis in Three-Phase Induction Motors (Coimbra, Portugal: Coimbra Editora, 1991) and more than 250 published papers. His teaching interests cover electrical rotating machines, transformers, and maintenance of electromechatronic systems. His research interests are condition monitoring and diagnostics of electrical machines and drives. Dr. Cardoso is a member of the New York Academy of Sciences, the European Power Electronics and Drives Association, the Electrical Machines and the Industrial Drives Committees of the IEEE Industry Applications Society, the Electrical Machines and the Power Electronics Committees of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society, the Technical Committee on Diagnostics of the IEEE Power Electronics Society, and the Portuguese Federation of Industrial Maintenance. He is also a Senior Member of the Portuguese Engineers Association. He was a member of the Overseas Advisory Panel of C.M.D. Technology. He is currently an Honorary Member of the International Biographical Centre Advisory Council, Cambridge, U.K., and an Honorary Professor of the Albert Schweitzer International University, Geneva, Switzerland. He is actively involved in the field of standardization on condition monitoring and diagnostics (C.M.D.), where he has been acting as a Convenor of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)/TC 108/SC 5 Advisory Group D (C.M.D. of power transformers) and the ISO/TC 108/SC 5 Working Group 10 (C.M.D. of electrical equipment), and is also a member of several working groups/balloting committees of the ISO, the IEEE, and the Comité Européen de Normalisation. He has been listed in Who‟s Who in the World, Who‟s Who in Science and Engineering and BEST Europe, among others.

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