New mathematical models of metal halide lamps for ballast circuit design

Summary form only given. This paper presents the development of new mathematical models of metal halide lamps suitable for electronic ballast circuit design. The core of these models is a set of recently derived equations based on magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) which couple the electromagnetic field and the fluid field to describe the plasma phenomenon in the lamps in space and in time. The applications of these models in the lighting industry would be timely, given that metal halide lamps are finding sharp increase in usage in recent years. The design of electronic ballast circuits to control the starting, the efficient steady-state operation and the dimming operation, is no trivial matter given the highly non-linear characteristics of these lamps. With the aid of the proposed models in computer aided design and analysis, optimization of existing ballast circuit topologies and synthesis of new topologies would be greatly facilitated.