CAD at the power electronics/systems interface

Power electronics is an expanding field, as the range of semiconductor devices continues to widen, applications are found for these devices. Increasingly problems are identified with power electronic converters: not with the individual semiconductors but with the affect the electronic converter has upon either its power supply or load. At Aberdeen University, research work has concentrated on assessing the performance of power electronic converters for a number of high power applications, including variable speed AC and DC drives, as well as HVDC transmission schemes. The authors focus on the calculation of the harmonics generated by nonlinear power converters. The models developed to analyse these systems have been prepared using a commercially available CAD software package, to model the library components required by a power systems engineer. In this way, a simulation model is created which can be used to predict the performance of power electronic converters when they are operated in conjunction with electrical machines. The usefulness of this CAD model is demonstrated