Session F4C
Power Electronics Homework Problem Solver on
the Click
Khalid S. Al-Olimat, Ph.D., P.E.
Ohio Northern University, k-al-olimat@onu.edu
Abstract The field of Power Electronics plays an
important role in industry as well as in our day-to-day
life. They are used in power plants to generate electrical
power and in industry to provide mechanical work. They
are an indispensable part of our daily lives. The power
electronics area has been and will continue to be amongst
the most important fundamental courses of the electrical
engineering curriculum. To enhance students learning in
the area of power electronics, homework problem solver
software has been developed at Ohio Northern
University (ONU). This paper explores both the modules
of the developed Power Electronics Problem Solver
software and the assessment results of an investigation of
learners attitude toward this media based teaching tool.
This software is one that the students can install it on
their personal computers and be able to run it as a
standalone program that doesnt need the assistance of
any other software. This program utilizes C# and
Graphical User Interface (GUI) that provides a user
friendly platform for entering all of the data necessary to
perform the calculations and instantly receive the
outcomes of those calculations. As a helpful learning tool,
this program instantly shows the effects that changing
one input has on every different aspect of the output and
also makes it possible for students to check their
homework answers. The modules include DC-DC
converters (buck, boost, buck-boost), power supplies
(forward converters and flyback converters), DC-AC
inverters. The assessment results are based on a survey
completed by eighteen students enrolled in the course.
The information and data collected from the survey were
analyzed and used for the evaluation of Students
attitudes toward the use of this media based teaching
tool. Students have responded favorably to and
expressed their satisfaction with the developed software
tool.
Index Terms Converters, educational technology tools,
graphical user interface, power electronics.
INTRODUCTION
In recent years the scope of activities of an electrical
engineer has been expanding at an ever increasing rate.
However, the time required to earn the bachelor degree that
is supposed to prepare an individual to pursue the profession
of electrical engineering has remained practically
unchanged. Electrical Engineering educators have responded
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by continually evaluating and changing the content of the
curriculum in order to meet the standards and the needs of
the profession. Considering the area of power engineering,
the power industry is changing. The changes are mainly due
to the use of high-power solid state devices and the
computing capabilities of microprocessors that can process
signal data in real time with incredible speed. This has
resulted in the introduction of the field of power electronics.
The use of power electronics technology leads to lower
maintenance cost, higher efficiency, and greater
productivity. This field has witnessed unprecedented
research and teaching growth worldwide [1]-[2]. The growth
is due to expanding market demand for power electronic
circuits that cover a wide range of residential, commercial,
and industrial applications including computers,
transportation, power utilities, and fuel cells [3]-[4].
The current and future developments in various fields are
increasing the need of engineers with experience in power
electronics. For example, mechanical/hydraulic drives in
automotive are being replaced by electronic drives. Fuel
cells are expected to serve the energy needs in home and
automobiles in the near future. A major thrust is effective
and efficient conversion and storage of the electrical energy.
Also, there is a demand to develop new technologies to build
a modern power grid. Power electronics will play a
significant role in these future applications. Therefore, it is
essential to develop and introduce skills in this area to future
electrical engineers.
This has put a demand on educators to find ways to optimize
the content of their courses. The continuous growth of
technology made it easier for educators to achieve this
optimization while meeting the instructional needs of
students. Meeting the instructional needs of students to
learn the material is the keystone of every effective program.
The tools of educational technology and software hold
tremendous potential for improving both teaching and
learning processes [5]-[9]. It has been reported that those
who integrate technology in the learning process believe it
will improve learning and better prepare students to
effectively participate in the 21st century workplace [10]-
[14]. According to [12] multimedia enables the instructor to
custom design and individualize instruction and learner to
plan, execute, and manage his or her learning experience
at the rate, place, and time of the learners choice. Today,
educators are concerned with how to use technology to
enhance and enrich their learning environments rather than
asking whether to use it.
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Taking the above factors into consideration, the author has
developed a software tool to aid in the teaching of power
electronics course. This paper explores both the modules of
the developed Power Electronics software and the feedback
received from students about these modules. Students have
expressed their satisfaction with the developed software tool.
This paper is organized through sections. The first section
describes the course. The second section presents the
software and some examples. The third section reports some
data and students comments and finally a conclusion.
POWER ELECTRONICS COURSE
There are many ways to teach power electronics. One way is
through the innovative power pole building block which
brings all voltage converter topologies under a common
frame [4]. This allows these topologies to be covered in a
short period of time. This is beneficiary for universities
running on quarter system as the case of ONU. Power pole
building block consists of a two port bipositional switch. On
one side of the switch is a voltage port (voltage across a
capacitor) and on the other side is a current port (current
through an inductor). In dc-dc converters, the various
configurations of power pole result in buck, boost or buck-
boost converter. The power pole when used with an isolation
transformer can result in forward and flyback converters.
Using multiple power poles one can derive switch-mode
inverters. Dr. Mohan of UMN has combined power pole
with average modeling to provide an easy to understand
insight to the desired output voltage through pulse width
modulation [4]. This results in a simpler analytical
understanding of converters. In addition faster circuit
simulations are possible when the average switch model
replaces the actual semiconductor device model.
The course offered at ONU requires 30 lecture hours and 8
laboratory sessions. The curriculum at ONU as mentioned
earlier is based on quarterly calendar with four credit hour
courses.
In the laboratory component, students gain the required
familiarity with the equipment in the laboratory during the
first experiment. This includes a detailed study of the power
pole topology and the relationship between the switching
frequency and duty cycle of a simple power converter
configuration. Parametric analysis is explained to students
through PSPICE simulation. In the second experiment, a
simple buck converter operating in an open loop feedback
condition is used to study the relationship between the
measured and theoretical results. The power pole board is
configured to study the characteristics of simple boost and
buck-boost converters during the third experiment. The
students thus gain practical experience and understanding of
the flexibility of the power pole concept to implement
different types of power converters. In the fourth experiment
the switching characteristics of power MOSFETs and power
diodes are studied using buck converters. At the same time,
device models that contribute to the deviation from the ideal
switching characteristics are studied using PSPICE
simulation. Thus, students become familiar with conduction
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Session F4C
and switching losses incurred by using non-ideal switching
elements.
Up to this point, all experiments have been conducted in an
open-loop control mode. The voltage-mode control of a buck
converter is accomplished in the fifth experiment using the
power pole board and a plug-in board. In the sixth
experiment, a peak current-mode control is implemented for
one of the converter topologies. This enhances student
understanding of closed loop control to improve the stability
of the converter. The power pole board is used in the seventh
experiment to implement flyback and forward converter
topologies in the open loop control mode. In the eighth
experiment, a simple inverter is designed to convert a dc
voltage to an ac voltage. So, upon the completion of the
course, students are expected to be able to
1. Perform power calculations for circuits with
sinusoidal and nonsinusoidal voltage and current.
2. Analyze and design dc-dc converters.
3. Analyze and design ac-ac converters.
4. Analyze and design dc-ac inverters.
5. Analyze and design power supplies.
6. Use PSPICE in the analysis and design of power
electronic circuits.
7. Use lab equipment to conduct related experiments.
DEVELOPED POWER ELECTRONICS SOFTWARE MODULES
The developed software is saved as a folder with all the
necessary components included in the same folder. Students
can install the developed software on their personal
computers and be able to run it as a standalone program that
doesnt need the assistance of any other software. This
program utilizes C# and Graphical User Interface (GUI) that
provides a user friendly platform for entering all of the data
necessary to perform the calculations and instantly receive
the outcomes of those calculations. As a helpful learning
tool, this program instantly shows the effects of changing
one input has on every different aspect of the output and also
makes it possible for students to check their homework
answers. Due to the fact that the software is one-on-one,
self-paced, and provides immediate feedback, it enhances
student understanding of the course topics. There are eight
modules so far that encapsulate most of the calculations
necessary in solving problems in the following topics:
1. Buck Converters.
2. Boost Converters.
3. Buck-boost Converters.
4. Flyback Converters.
5. Forward converters.
6. Square-wave Inverters.
7. Pulse-Width Modulated (PWM) Inverters and
8. Three-phase Inverters.
Some of the modules are shown in the following figures and
they will be displayed to the audience using a laptop during
the presentation.
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1. The buck, boost, buck-boost, flyback and forward
converters are included in one window. The user has
the choice to select the desired converter to be analyzed.
Suppose that the user would like to perform the
calculation for a buck converter based on a problem
statement given as:
A buck dc-dc converter has the following parameters:
50
0.4
400
100
20
20.
Calculate:
a. the output voltage.
b. the minimum and maximum inductor currents.
c. the output voltage ripple.
A screen shot is shown in Figure 1 that shows the
solution to this problem. The remained modules also
can be selected to perform a related calculation.
2. The square-wave, PWM and three-phase inverters are
included in one window. The user can select any of
them to perform related calculation to the selected
module. The following example shows the calculation
results for the following problem.
FIGURE 1
BUCK CONVERTER CALCULATION RESULTS
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40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
F4C-3
Session F4C
A square-wave inverter has the following parameters:
60
100
10
L 25mH.
Determine:
a. an expression for load current.
b. the power absorbed by the load.
c. the average current in the dc source.
It can be noted that there is nothing mentioned about
Fourier series terms, so the user will enable the term
No Fourier Series. The solution is shown in Figure 2.
If it is desired to determine the total harmonic distortion
(THD) of the load voltage, users need to include Fourier
series. The software will establish the required table that
shows all values at different frequencies to calculate the
THD.
The two examples mentioned above are taken from
[15].
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FIGURE 2
SQUARE-WAVE INVERTER CALCULATION RESULTS
ASSESSMENT OF STUDENTS FEEDBACK
The participants completed a survey based on their attitude
toward the use of the developed software tool. The survey
included also a section for students comments.
1. Participants
The pool included two groups of electrical engineering
students enrolled in the course at Ohio Northern University.
The first group consists of 18 students in spring quarter of
2008/2009 academic year. The second group of students
consists of 26 students enrolled in the course during spring
quarter of 2009/2010. All participants were junior standing.
Students have classified themselves regarding computer
knowledge based on a score ranges from 1 to 10. Half of
students considered their level of computer knowledge to be
9 and the other half considered it to be 8.
2. Measures
The primary assessment goal was to measure the attitude of
students toward this teaching tool. In order to perform this
assessment, a survey that consists of 10 questions was
distributed to students at the end of the quarter. They are
listed here for convenience:
1. I enjoy learning using media-based instruction
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40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
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Session F4C
2. I believe that the more teachers use media-based
instruction, the more I will enjoy learning
3. I feel uncomfortable learning material using media-
based instruction in my own time
4. I feel nervous when I know that I need to use
technology related instructional material
5. I believe it is important for me to know how to use
variety of software
6. I concentrate better when a media-based instruction is
used
7. Learning the course content is faster using this
software compared to traditional method
8. I can learn more from this software than from
traditional textbook with same content
9. Using this software improved my engagement in the
learning process
10. Using this software motivated me to solve more
problems related to the course.
Students were asked to indicate their level of agreement on
each of the above questions using a five-point Likert scale
with higher values indicating greater levels of
agreementwith the statement. The scale is defined as: 1 for
strongly disagree, 2 for disagree, 3 for neutral, 4 for agree
and 5 for strongly agree.
October 27 - 30, 2010, Washington, DC
 Session F4C
Based on the recommendation of the reviewers, the author
has eliminated the neutral option from the Likert scale so
that the methodology ensures that participants make at least
some commitment toward attitude. The modified survey
was given to students in class during the 8th week of spring
quarter of 2009/2010 academic year.

Statistical Results
The first set of data was obtained from the students in spring
08/09. The calculated percentage of students agreement on
each question is shown in Figure 3. Half of the class
population indicated that they strongly believe and the other
half indicated that they believe that they have enjoyed
learning using this instructional tool. 78% of students
FIGURE 3
supported the idea of media based instructional tool and PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS AGREEMENT VS SURVEY
22% of students in the class were neutral. Majority of QUESTIONS (SPRING 2009)
students felt comfortable with the instructional tool (83%),
and the rest of students were neutral. 89% of students
expressed that they felt relaxed during the use of this
instructional tool and 11% were neutral. 95% of students
believed that it is very important to know how to use variety
of software and 5% (one student) was neutral. 89% of the
students believed that they have concentrated better using
this instructional tool while 11% were neutral. Same
percentage of students is obtained from the instructional tool
has accelerated the learning process and students learned
more using this instructional tool compared to textbooks
with same content. The remaining percentage of students
was neutral. Majority of students agreed that they have
engaged in the learning process (89%). Approximately 90%
of students believed that the media based instructional tool
has motivated them to work out some more problems related FIGURE 4
PERCENTAGE OF STUDENTS AGREEMENT VS SURVEY
to the material. Statistically, the results show that students QUESTIONS (SPRING 2010)
are in favor of using the tool to help them understand the
course materials.
The second set of data was collected in spring quarter of I like to try every available tool related to my courses. I
2010. All students responded positively toward the use of enjoyed using the modules.
this software tool. They have chosen agree and strongly This software allows me to check my homework
agree on the positively worded questions and disagree or solutions. Many times it caught my mistakes.
strongly disagree on the negatively worded questions The professor is doing a good job in presenting the
(questions 3 and 4). The percentage of students agreement material and the software saved me time to go to the
on questions is shown in Figure 4. The most important point professors office to ask questions about the HW.
here is that it motivated them to do more homework
It is good to have it.
problems and check their solutions if they got the answers
I use it mostly when I review for exams since I like to
right.
solve every single problem at the end of each chapter.
Students Comments I didnt use it that much since I am always behind in my
The survey sheet included a section asking students for any school work.
constructive comments to improve the software. In I loved it, would you like me to work on it to make it
addition, there was a space for students to write comments more appealing to students? Let me know!
regarding the developed software tool (student satisfaction It helped me a lot in solving my HW problems.
and opinion). The comments of students included the I wish there is something like this for analog electronics.
following:
Based on the statistical data and the comments obtained
I really appreciate the effort put into this software from students, the developed software tool is proven to be
development. That shows our professor cares about his an effective learning tool that has worked for majority of
students. students. Students were satisfied with the instruction, and
the access to the tool.
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40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
F4C-5

IMPACT OF DEVELOPED TOOL ON STUDENTS
Student Role: When students are using the developed tool
to check their homework problems, they are in an active
role. The student is actively thinking about the given values
in the assigned problem and can take a decision if the
generated output of the tool makes sense to him/her. This
way, students are in the position to evaluate their progress.
In addition, the author has observed that the number of
students stopping by his office asking questions about the
homework problems has decreased to minimal compared to
the previous years.
Student Motivation: the motivation and self esteem of
students have increased. Usually students work only on
assigned homework problems and solve them. The tool has
motivated them to check even the solved examples in the
textbook. This is due to the fact that the tool gives them the
immediate results and students like that.
Student Achievement: Students in this course has taken a
sequence of courses with the author. In the Fall quarter,
they took Electromagnetics, in the Winter quarter, they took
Electric Machines and Power Systems, and in the Spring
quarter, they took the Power Electronics course. It is the
opinion of the author that these courses are similar in
difficulty. It has been observed that students who submitted
all assignments obtained a full score on each. This fact in
addition to understanding the material helped students to get
better grades in the course compared to their grades on the
previous courses mentioned above.
CONCLUSION
The software tool was designed to help students in solving
problems related to power electronics. The information and
data collected from the surveys were analyzed and used for
the assessment and evaluation. Students have responded
favorably to and expressed their satisfaction in the
developed tool. I believe that the media based instructional
tool offers some advantages such as it is a completely
learner-paced, it can be followed easily, it does not require a
great deal of time or effort and the learner does not have to
be at a specific time and place to use it. In the course,
Power Electronics, it is no longer necessary to devote
additional classroom or laboratory time to provide and solve
examples; students can do those on their own time. Finally,
since the role of instruction is not to distribute facts but to
grant students with ways to assemble knowledge, educators
must find favored strategies that build students confidence
and enhanced course relevance. This can be achieved
through the continual investigation of appropriate ways to
introduce new technologies into the classroom.
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40th ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference
F4C-6
Session F4C
REFERENCES
[1] Krein, P. T, Elements of Power Electronics, Oxford University Press,
1997.
[2] Batarseh, I, Power Electronic Circuits, Wiley, 2003.
[3] Rashid, M., Power Electronics: Circuits, devices and applications, 3rd
edition, Prentice Hall, 2003.
[4] Mohan, N., First Course on Power Electronics, MNPERE, 2009.
[5] J. V. Powell, V. G. Aeby Jr. & T. Carpenter-Aeby, A comparison of
student outcomes with and without teacher facilitated computer-based
instruction, Computers & Education, 40, 2003, pp183-191.
[6] M. H. Hopson, R. L. Simms & G. A. Knezek, Using a
technologically enriched environment to improve higher-order
thinking skills, Journal of Research on Technology in Education,
34(2), 2002, pp 109-119.
[7] R. A. Bartsch & K. M. Cobern, Effectiveness of PowerPoint
presentations in lectures, Computer & Education, 41, 2003, pp 77-
86.
[8] S. M. Butzin, Using instructional technology in transformed learning
environments: An evaluation of project child, Journal of Research in
Computing Education, 33(4), 2000, pp 367-384.
[9] P. Cohen, B. Ebeling & J. Kulik, A meta-analysis of outcomes
studies of visual-based instruction, Educational Communications
and Technology Journal, 29, pp 26-36, 1981.
[10] S. T. Marina, Facing the challenges, getting the right way with
distance learning, Ed at a Distance, 15(30), 2001, pp 1-8.
[11] R. A. Reiser, A history of instructional design and technology:
Part1: A history of instructional media, Educational Technology
Research and Development, 49(1), 2001, pp 53-64.
[12] Willis, B., Distance Education Strategies And Tools, Educational
Technology Publications, Inc., 1994, pp 169.
[13] Al-Olimat, K. and Jao, F., An Investigation of the Attitude of
Learners toward Media Based Instructions of PSPICE in Electric
Circuits Analysis, Proceedings of the 2004 American Society for
Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition, Salt Lake
City, UT, June 2004.
[14] Al-Olimat, K. S., On-line Learning Tool for Undergraduate
Electrical Machines and Power Systems Course, Proceedings of
ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition, Pittsburgh, PA, June 2008.
[15] Hart, D., Power Electronics, McGraw Hill, 2011.
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Dr. Khalid S. Al-Olimat is an associate professor in the
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering and
Computer Science at Ohio Northern University. He
obtained his BS in Electrical Engineering from Far Eastern
University in 1990, his MS in Manufacturing Engineering
from Bradley University in 1994 and his PhD in Electrical
Engineering from the University of Toledo in 1999. Dr. Al-
Olimat has many publications in the area of adaptive
control, fuzzy control and machine drives. His areas of
interest are power engineering, adaptive, fuzzy and
intelligent control. He is a member of ASEE and IEEE
where he is the past chair of IEEE-Lima section. Dr. Al-
Olimat is a registered professional engineer in the State of
Michigan.
October 27 - 30, 2010, Washington, DC