ynamics of a

Converter with a Constant Power Load

Vlad Grigore " 2, Jari Hatonen 2, Jorma Kyyra 2 , Teuvo Suntio 3

Electronics and Telecommunications Faculty, "Politehnica" University of Bucharest, Romania Institute of Intelligent Power Electronics, Helsinki University of Technology, Otakaari 5A, 02 150 Espoo, Finland Tel. +358 9 4514968, Fax. +358 9 460224, Email: gvlad@cc.hut.fi, jhatonen@cc.hut.fi, Jorma.Kyyra@hut.fi, Efore Oy, Finland Email: teuvos@efore.fi

Abstract - The dynamic properties of the Buck converter with a Constant Power Load are studied in this paper. The line-to-output and control-to-output transfer functions are derived, for Voltage Mode Control and Current Mode Control, in Continuous Conduction Mode and Discontinuous Conduction Mode. A comparison with the case of a resistive load is made in each case.

I. INTRODUCTION In most of the papers dealing with control properties of switch mode power supplies (SMPS), the load is assumed to be purely resistive. In some cases also inductance is added. This is, of course, very often true in real cases, or at least this is an accurate enough approximation of the load characteristics. However, during the recent years distributed power supply applications have increased, [ 11, [2]. A distributed system consists of a first stage feeding a DC bus, to which a second stage is connected. Although the first stage can be only one converter, in many cases it consists of more parallel connected converters. This is mainly because the redundancy of the system is increased when a single conversion stage is divided into smaller units, and because in some cases the desired power level is achieved using more parallel connected converters. The secondary side consists of converters fed from the DC bus. Loads having different physical location and needing various voltage and power levels are fed by converters connected to the same DC bus. The distributed system is represented by the simplified system in Fig. 1, which consists of two dcldc SMPS, SMPSl and SMPS2, connected i n series. The authors are aware that this is a very simplified model of the distributed system, but it provides a basis for analyzing the dynamic properties.

Suppose SMPSl is a Buck converter. If the output voltage of SMPS1, i.e. input of SMPS2, for some reason increases, the voltage loop of the SMPS2 reduces the duty cycle in order to regulate its output voltage to the reference value. However, this reduced duty cycle also reduces the input current of SMPS2. Therefore, an increase in the input voltage of SMPS2 results into a current decrease and vice versa. This means that a DCIDC converter can be modeled as a constant power load in frequencies well below the switching frequency. Thus, SMPS1 is a converter feeding a Constant Power Load. It is interesting to study the dynamic properties in such a situation. While this problem can be investigated also from the point of view of SMPS2, this paper analyzes the problem from a different perspective. The dynamic properties of the converter feeding a DC bus (SMPSl) are investigated. It is sensible to think at such an approach, from the point of view of the manufacturer of rectifiers, for example. In many cases the rectifier feeds a DC bus, and often it is the part of the distributed system on which the manufacturer has control. A Buck converter feeding a Constant Power Load (CPL) is analyzed in this paper. The purpose is to derive its line-to-output and control-to-output transfer functions, in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) and Discontinuous Conduction Mode (DCM), with Voltage Mode Control and with Current Mode Control. The dynamic properties of the converter with CPL are compared with those of the converter with resistive load. In Section 1 1 of the paper various possible analysis
methods are shortly reviewed and their applioability

Fig. 1. Simplified system.

discussed. After that, the model of the CPL, the averaged model of the Buck converter and the model of the Current Mode Controller are presented. In Section UI, time-domain simulations using the averaged model and the device-level (switched) model of the Buck converter with CPL are compared, in order to validate the averaged model. The same comparison is done also for the resistive load case. After that, the

0-7803-4489-8/98/$10.00 0 1998 IEEE

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transfer functions of the converter with Voltage Mode Control are presented, for both CCM and DCM. Also, the Bode plots of the transfer functions, obtained by SPICE simulation using the averaged model, are included. In Section IV, the model of the Current Mode Controller is added to the model of the converter presented in Section 1 1 . The transfer functions are calculated and the Bode plots, obtained by simulation using the averaged model, are included. Finally, Section V presents some conclusions. 11. MODELING APPROACHES
A. Method of Analysis

B. The Model of a Constant Power Load (CPL) A pure resistive load can be modeled with a constant resistance if temperature effects are neglected. However, as previously explained, this approach is not valid in many cases, for example when the load takes a constant power. The load characteristic of a CPL is shown in Fig. 2.

The modeling approach should allow us to model the DC/DC converter, which is a time-variant circuit, by a time-invariant circuit. This is necessary in order to be able to derive the transfer functions of the converter. Also, it would be very useful if the model could be used for time-domain SPICE analysis, to determine the transient behavior of the converter, and for small-signal analysis to determine the Bode plots of the transfer functions. Such a model could also be used to derive analytically the transfer functions. A well known method to analyze dynamic properties of SMPS is the state-space averaging method proposed in [3]. The idea of this method is that the converter is described with two separate differential equation groups when the active switch in the converter is turned ON or OFF. These two state-space equations are then averaged so that duty cycle d and 1 - d are used as weights respectively. Such approach leads to a small-signal model, which cannot be used for timedomain simulations. Moreover, in this approach also the load is included. If this method is used in the CPL application, the result would be state-space equations where one of the state variables would be seen as an inverse value. Therefore, the model is not anymore linear. A well suited method for our purpose is the PWM switch averaging method [4, 51. The great merit of this method is that the model is developed independent of the load. Averaging is applied to the PWM switch (or changeover switch), which is the only time-variant part of the circuit. The obtained time-invariant averaged model can be linearized and included in the invariant part of the converter for deriving the transfer functions. This model is also well suited for SPICE analysis. It can be used for time-domain analysis and, by AC small-signal analysis, the Bode plots of the transfer functions can be obtained. A third analysis method could be the injectedabsorbed-current method, where the model is also developed independent of the type of the load [lo], but it is not applied in this paper.

e,

V"

Fig. 2. Voltage and current characteristics of a constant power load (CPL) and a resistive load.

This characteristic can be easily implemented in SPICE, as a current source controlled by the voltage across it, described as: io = P/vo. (1) We use this model in SPICE simulations of the Buck converter with CPL. For small-signal analysis, we need to linearize the characteristics at point M, where the power is P = V o l o = Re/:. If we assume that there is a small perturbation in the output current, io = I , + then the equivalent resistance of the constant power load is also modified as re = Re + 5 . Therefore, the resistance is:

has been neglected because it is small where compared to other terms. The denominator is equal to the DC value of the resistance R e , at the operating point M, and in the nominator it can be assumed that io / I , + 0 . Using the first two terms of the Taylor series we obtain: (3) In Fig. 3 the DC model and the small-signal model of the CPL are presented.

c2

b)

Fig. 3. Constant Power Load: a) DC model; b) small-signal model.

73

The DC model is used to calculate the operating point, while the small-signal model is used to analytically determine the transfer functions of the Buck converter with CPL. In this paper, the notation R is used to define a resistive load, while Re is used to defme the equivalent resistance of the CPL.

C. The Averaged Model o f the Buck Converter

The schematic diagram of the Buck converter is shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. 4. The Buck converter. The PWM switch is identified in the dashed box. It is the only time-variant part of the circuit. Its terminals are defined as: a- active, p - passive, c - common. The converter can operate in Continuous Conduction Mode or Discontinuous Conduction Mode. The PWM switch is replaced with its averaged model. The resulting circuit is shown in Fig. 5 . The averaged model is described in detail in [4, 51, so here it will be presented only briefly.
i

the Buck converter for SPICE simulation. It allows time-domain analysis, and Bode plots of the transfer functions can be generated. The validation of this model will be presented in Section III. The transient response of the device level (switched) converter and the transient response of the averaged model will be compared. Simulations show very good correspondence between the two models, both in CCM and in DCM. However, the averaged model of the PWM switch is a nonlinear model. A small-signal linearized model must be obtained to analytically calculate the transfer functions of the converter. Naturally, the linearized model is a function of the operating point, so two different models are obtained, for CCM and DCM. The linearization is done by considering small perturbations around the operating point for all the variable quantities in the circuit. The procedure is similar to the one previously described to obtain the small-signal model of the Constant Power Load. The equations of the circuit are written and the variables are replaced by their DC values plus small perturbations (e.g. d = D + d ) . The DC terms are separated in a set of equations describing the DC operating point. Neglecting the second order terms, the remaining first order terms are separated into a set of equations describing the small-signal model of the circuit. The small-signal model of the PWM switch in CCM is presented in [ 4 ] .By replacing in Fig. 5 the small-signal model of the PWM switch in CCM, and the small-signal model of the CPL, the small-signal model of the Buck converter in CCM with CPL is obtained. The model is presented in Fig. 6.

la=p

jc

!
Fig. 5. Averaged model of the Buck converter.
,u=in DCM, d+d;!

vo

The gain of the controlled voltage and current sources is defined as:

(4)
Fig. 6. Small-signal model of the Buck converter in CCM, with CPL. The small-signal model of the PWM switch in DCM is presented in [SI. By replacing it in the Buck converter, the small-signal model of the Buck converter in DCM with CPL, presented in Fig. 7, is obtained.

and
, u = d in CCM, (5) where d is the averaged value of the duty-cycle over one switching period T, and d2 is the averaged value of the interval when the free-wheeling diode D is conducting. It is given by:

(6) dT vcp Naturally, d + d 2 = 1 in CCM. The model in Fig. 5 , with the gain of the controlled sources defined 4 ) , can describe both CCM and DCM, if the by ( denominator is limited: 0 5 d + d2 5 1 . This limitation can be easily implemented in SPICE. We use this model to obtain the averaged model of

2 L i, d2 =--.

p*+ l : ;
g1

"1

gfvac

go

-Re

k , d ^

CO

Fig. 7. Small-signal model of the Buck converter in DCM

with CPL.

74

The parameters of the PWM switch model in DCM, for this particular situation, are:
gi =--

1 D2 R, I - D

I go = - ( I - D ) ,
Re
1- D

g f =-

20 R E ?

ki = 2 I ,

k , =2-1

(7)
dT

>

d2T

D. The Model of the Current Mode Controller

To analyze the Buck converter with Current Mode Control, also the model of the Current Mode controller must be obtained. Such model calculates the value of the duty cycle d, based on the current reference and on the average values of inductor current and on the input and output voltages. Like in the case of the PWM switch, it is desirable to have a model, which describes both CCM and DCM. The principle of Current Mode Control in CCM is shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 9. Current mode control in DCM.

is limited to unity. Equation (9) can be implemented in SPICE, and the SPICE model of the Current Mode Controller is thus obtained. It has as an input the input and output voltages, the reference current, the average inductor current and d 2 , and as an output the duty cycle d. The small-signal models for each type of conduction are obtained by linearizing (8) and (9). While the small-signal model of the Current Mode controller in CCM can be derived independently of the converter, the model in DCM is dependent on the converters operating point. It is determined in conjunction with the equations describing the model of the converter in DCM. 111. VOLTAGE MODECONTROL We present in this section the open-loop line-tooutput and control-to-output transfer functions, when the controlled variable is the duty cycle d. We refer to this situation as to Voltage Mode Control. In the simulations made to compare the CPL case to the resistive load case, the operating point was set so that R, = R .
A. Validation of the model

Fig. 8. Current mode control in CCM. At the beginning of each period, the switch S is turned ON. The switch is turned OFF when the current through the inductor reaches a control signal. The control signal is obtained from a reference current i, . A compensating ramp (-ma ) is added to i, , in order to prevent instability, when D>0.5 [SI. It can be seen that the value of the inductor current at the end of the switching period is not necessarily equal to the current at the beginning of the switching period. Thus, the model developed based on this waveform takes into account the transients [6]. The average inductor current satisfies the relation: i,-madT=i+ d2(vi - vo)T
?)I

The transient response of the device level (switched) converter was compared with the transient response of the averaged model shown in Fig. 5. The converter has the following parameters: 5 = 150 V, V, = 54 V, D = 0.36, L = 200pH, C = 1 O O p F . The comparison was done for both a CPL with P = 300W ( R e = 9.7252 at V, = 54V ), and for a resistive load R = Re = 9.7252 . After reaching the operating point, the input voltage V, = 150 V was stepped up to 160V. The transient responses in the CPL case are shown inFig. 10. The upper trace shows the output voltage of the switched and averaged model. The middle trace shows the inductor current in the switched model (shifted upwards for clarity), and the lower trace shows the inductor current in the averaged models. The transient responses match very well. It can be seen that the model describes both CCM and DCM and that the system is unstable.

( I - d)2v,T
+

LL,

- 1

LL,

(8)

The principle of the Current Mode Control in DCM is presented in Fig. 9. The average inductor current in DCM satisfies the relation:

(i, - m,dT)(d
=i+

+ d2) =
2L

d2(vi - vo)T ( I - d - d 2 ) 2 ~ , T. (9)

2L

It can be seen from (8) and (9) that the Current Mode controller can be described by (9),if ( d + d2)

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Constant power load P=300W . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2ooT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I ,I

I/

Phase- CPL

CCM

DCM

.209L

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Phase -Resistive load i L ! I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

l.IY"

1Ph

lBDh

lDYh
Frrq"P"C'y

lOMh

?.Wh

C1

Robe Cursor 1.1053H. 7.7555

Fig. 12. Line-to-output transfer function in CCM, ' Voltage Mode Control. C. Transfer functions in DCM Using the DCM small-signal model in Fig. 7, the transfer functions in DCM can be calculated. The converter operates in DCM if R > 2L/[ T( 1 - D ) ] . If we define K = 2L/(RT), the conversion ratio in DCM is: 2 M = v,/Vi= (12) l + J a ' The line-to-output transfer function is:
y
1. o m

5111)-

7w

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

U(3a)

oU(3b)

-?
I
4w-

20-

I(LI,)

I(L1t.)

Y
w-

>>: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ,. .......... ,. ., ,
OS

2.w

3.ms

4.911

B. Transfer functions in CCM The small-signal model in Fig. 6 is used to calculate the transfer functions. The line-to-output transfer functions is:

The modulus Ho,(l-

and the position of the poles

depend on the operating point and on the type of the load. Thus, while for a resistive load:

for a CPL is

~o,(l-o)~cpL =
: / P = D2Y2/P. The transfer function where 4 = V (IO) has two poles in the right half plane, meaning that the system is unstable. The real parts is positive,
1/(2ReC) and the poles are complex valued if

For a resistive load, spl is a LHP pole,

1 2-A4

and for a CPL, spl is also a LHP pole, 1 M R,C 1- M ' The second pole is a LHP pole: 2FsM2 sp2 = ,
spllcp~ -

Re > ,/L/(4C) .
fo

The

resonance

frequency

is

= 1/2nz/LC = 1125H~.

(17)

The Bode plot is presented in Fig. 12. The transfer function in the resistive load case is also presented. The control-to-output transfer function is:

D2
where F, is the switching frequency. It can be seen that this pole is situated close to the switching frequency. The difference between the modulus of the transfer function for resistive load and for CPL is maximum at the boundary between CCM and DCM, and lowers as

It has naturally exactly the same dynamic properties as (IO).

76

the equivalent load resistance increases. The position of the poles is also different in the two cases, but most important is that they are in the left-half-plane. The Bode plots in Fig. 13, obtained by simulation, confirmed these theoretical results. The higher gain at low frequencies in the CPL case, and the different position of the pole s p l , can be observed. The input voltage of the converter, the duty-cycle and the values of L and C are the same as in the previous subsection. However, the load resistance is increased ( R = 200C2, P = 33W ), in order to obtain the DCM operation.

The control-to-output transfer function is:

The gain is:

Go,(c-o) =

I+

R X RxT(l-20) 2L

+-

m,R,

'

V i

or, for mu = 0.5mz ,

............
L. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
0

2L MR,

1
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
. . . . . . . ,

The pole spl is given by, RXT(1-2D) l+

Spl =

or"~l,l"~l,,

2L RXC

+- v;
,

or, for mu = 0.5m2,

'.yl
1.i.
"P<a>-"P,?,
,"lYl"W

'U/

(012

, . * " I

,M"Z

Fig. 13. Line-to-outputtransfer function in DCM, Voltage Mode Control, The control-to-output transfer function has the same form:

R,T(~- D ) 2L sp11mu=0.5~ R,C The resistance R , in (23)+(26) depends on the type of the load. For a resistive load
1+
'XIR =
>

(27)

and, for a CPL, (28) RxIcpr. = -Re * Comparing (25) for the two types of load, one can see that the gain is negative in the case of a CPL. The converter operates in CCM if R < 2L/[T(1- D)]. Suppose that the load resistance R (or equivalent resistance Re in the case of a CPL) is increased towards the value giving the boundary between CCM and DCM. It can be seen that the gain for resistive load is limited, while the gain for a CPL tends to infinity. The pole spl given by (26), is a RHP pole, in the CPL case. Also, the pole moves to origin as the converter operating point moves towards the boundary between CCM and DCM. The pole sp2 is close to the switching frequency, and is given by: In this section, we present the open-loop line-tooutput and control-to-output transfer functions when the controlled variable is the inductor current. We refer to this situation as to Current Mode Control.
sp2 =--

The poles are given by (16)-(18). The modulus of the transfer function is, for a resistive load:

and for a CPL:

In this case, also, the gain at low frequencies in the CPL case is higher than the gain in the resistive load case, as it can be seen from (20) and (21).

Iv. CURRENT MODE CONTROL

2Fs -D

A. Transferfunctions in CCM
We choose a compensating ramp mu = 0.5m2, in
which case the DC gain of the line-to-output transfer

function becomes zero. For this reason, only the control-to-output transfer function will be presented.

The Bode plots obtained by simulations are shown in fig. 14. The reference current I , was set to obtain the same operating point of the converter, as that defined in the beginning of Section III. It can be seen the higher DC gain of the converter with CPL. The phase of the system starts at -180", the system has a RHP, and also a pole close to the switching frequency can be seen.

77

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~

CPL

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Modulus
~~

~.~~ . . . .

V. CONCLUSION

oj
Buck, control-to-output, CCM Current Mode ConLTol

Ib<,l,,

,?.>I

MI

. . . . . . . . . . . . .~ . . . . . . . . . ~ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.~~. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
~~~~~

Current Mode Control. The poles of the line-to-output transfer function are the same as for the control-to-output transfer function, but the DC gain is theoretically zero for the particular case of the compensating ramp ma = OSm, . B. Transferfunctions in DCM The control-to-output transfer function is:

An equivalent resistance is defined as: Rk = k . R , , where, for ma = 0.5m2 , (1-M)(2-M) M+4(1- M ) ( 1 - 2 M ) The resistance R, in (31) depends on the type of the load. For a resistive load RxlR = R , and, for a CPL,
k=

In this paper a dynamic model of a Buck converter feeding a Constant Power Load is presented. The results show that by using Voltage Mode Control, the open loop is unstable in CCM and stable in DCM, and by using Current Mode Control, the system is unstable in both conduction modes. This will pose additional restrictions on the applied control solution as compared to the normal situation where a Buck converter is feeding a purely resistive load. The authors are aware that modeling the distributed system by two cascaded converters is a crude approximation of the real application. This research has its origin in trying to model a complete distributed power supply system. However, a good understanding of the behavior of a single unit (converter + CPL), and especially of its dominant dynamic characteristics, must be achieved first. After this step, the complete system can be modeled by these single units. In the literature there are presented various ways that could be applied for stabilizing the unit analyzed in this paper. However, based on our experience, using directly these single units in a large scale system, will not necessarily produce satisfactory results. Further research will be done to fiid a suitable control strategy to solve the overall problem.
REFERENCES
[ 11 Kislovski, A., Olsson, E., Constant-PowerRectifiers for Constant-Power Telecom Loads, Proc. INTELEC, Vancouver, Canada, 1994, pp. 630-634. [2j Suntio, T., Vallittu, P., Laurinen, T., Ikonen, M., Design of an AC/DC Power Supply for Telecom Applications,

~xIcpL = -Re

.
(33)

Proc. Finnish Workshop on Power and Industrial Electronics 1997, FINPIE/97, August 26, 1997, Finland, pp. 85-92. [3] Middlebrook, R.D., Cuk, S., A General Unified

Then, the gain is:

The pole spl is given by:

(34)
The sp2 is close to the switching frequency. The Bode plot is given in Fig. 15.

P=27W (R =lO8Q)

I\
,001

Phase

/ > > L s s 2 11 11 mz

YP,ll

PIII, ,Mi

I -

?am1

I H Z

IWHZ

t0DXl

owl

IrelYenry

Fig. 15 Control-to-outputtransfer function, DCM, Current Mode Control

Approach to Modeling Switching-Converter Power Stages, Proc. PESC 1976, Cleveland pp. 18-34. [4] VorpCrian, V. Simplified Analysis of PWM Converters Using Model of PWM Switch. Part 1: Continuous Conduction Mode, IEEE Trans. on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. 26, No. 3, May 1990, pp. 490-496. [5] VorpCrian, V., Simplified Analysis of PWM Converters Using Model of PWM Switch. Part 11: Discontinuous Conduction Mode, IEEE Trans. on Aerospace and Electronic Systems, Vol. 26, No. 3, May 1990, pp. 497-505. [6] Rodriguez, F.D., Chen, J.E., A Refined Nonlinear Averaged Model for Constant Frequency Current Mode Controlled PWM Converters, IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 6, No. 4, October 1991, pp. 656-664. [7] Liu, Y., Sen, P., Large-Signal Modeling of Hysteretic Current-Programmed Converters, IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 11, No. 3, May 1996, pp. 423-430. [SI Erickson, R.W., Fundamentals of Power Electronics, Chapman & Hall, 1997. [9j Mohan, N., Undeland, T., Robbins, W., Power Electronics. Converters, Applications and Design, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1995. [lo] Kislovski A., Red1 R., Sokal N., Dynamic Analysis of Switching-Mode DC/DC Converters, Design Automation Inc., Massachusetts, 1991.

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