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Summary: In this paper, a multiphase digital control called digital integration constant on‐time (DICOT) control is proposed, which applies the concept of signal accumulation, solves the drawbacks of ripple‐based digital COT control that the switching frequency and transient performance are affected by the A/D sample delay and sampling noise. Besides, the multiphase interleaving approach of the proposed DICOT control is well‐suitable for digital control and no higher calculation frequency is required compared to single‐phase. In the aspect of the current balance, almost all existing researches work on analog COT current balance scheme and few works are investigating the resolution improvement of digital COT current balance. In this paper, the current balance model of multiphase COT control is derived and can be applied in the Buck system with an arbitrary number of phases, the delay‐line‐based high‐resolution COT current balance scheme is proposed to enhance the control resolution. Finally, the two‐phase DICOT control is tested on the multiphase Buck system, the transient performance is tested of 100 A load step with the slew rate of 1000 A/μs, and the voltage undershoot and overshoot are 20 and 36 mV, respectively. The current balance is tested and the errors are 0.01% and 0.11% at the light and heavy loads, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-of-charge balance is vital for allowing multiple energy storage units (ESUs) to make the most of stored energy and ensure safe operation. Concerning scenarios wherein boost converters are used as the interfaces between ESUs and loads, this paper proposes a balancing strategy for realizing consistent state-of-charge (SoC) levels and equal currents among different ESUs. This strategy is valid for both parallel and series applications. Its advantages also include its high precision of SoC equalization without extra sensors and fast convergence. A common outer voltage loop is used to accomplish tight voltage regulation, while multiple inner current loops are utilized to achieve current control and SoC balance simultaneously. Firstly, by introducing SoC-based current distribution ratios (CDRs) to modify current references online, the currents are gradually adjusted to eliminate SoC deviations. Secondly, to expedite the balancing process, current saturations are further adopted. Thirdly, the influences of accelerating factor and current limits in CDR expressions are analyzed, and their selection guidelines are subsequently provided. Fourthly, the controller design, consisting of a dual loop, is illustrated to guarantee sufficient stability margins. Fifthly, an experimental platform consisting of three battery ESUs is developed to verify the proposed strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Multistring arrays of LED in parallel connection are widely applied in lighting fields. Active control and passive methods are utilized to guarantee equal current sharing between different strings with a common voltage source. Compared with active control, the passive methods that adopt purely passive components without real power dissipation are good candidates. Currently, an inductive power transfer (IPT) converter providing a constant voltage (CV) line, followed by some immittance networks that convert the CV line to constant current (CC) outputs, is commonly used to drive multiple LED strings. However, in such a two‐conversion‐stage scheme, the component count is as many as 3×N, where N is the number of LED strings, which deviates from compact, low‐cost, and simple design ideas. To address it, this paper aims to develop a single‐immittance‐network‐based IPT system to drive multistring LEDs with the current balance. The proposed IPT system can directly provide a CV to CC conversion to drive multistring LEDs with the benefits of simplifying the circuit design, size, and cost. The proposed IPT system also features programmable luminous power, zero‐phase‐angle (ZPA) input, IPT technology, and load‐independent‐current (LIC) output. Detailed analysis, implementation, and experiment are presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

State-of-charge balance is vital for allowing multiple energy storage units (ESUs) to make the most of stored energy and ensure safe operation. Concerning scenarios wherein boost converters are used as the interfaces between ESUs and loads, this paper proposes a balancing strategy for realizing consistent state-of-charge (SoC) levels and equal currents among different ESUs. This strategy is valid for both parallel and series applications. Its advantages also include its high precision of SoC equalization without extra sensors and fast convergence. A common outer voltage loop is used to accomplish tight voltage regulation, while multiple inner current loops are utilized to achieve current control and SoC balance simultaneously. Firstly, by introducing SoC-based current distribution ratios (CDRs) to modify current references online, the currents are gradually adjusted to eliminate SoC deviations. Secondly, to expedite the balancing process, current saturations are further adopted. Thirdly, the influences of accelerating factor and current limits in CDR expressions are analyzed, and their selection guidelines are subsequently provided. Fourthly, the controller design, consisting of a dual loop, is illustrated to guarantee sufficient stability margins. Fifthly, an experimental platform consisting of three battery ESUs is developed to verify the proposed strategy.

Under the condition of unbalanced grid voltage, the non-off grid operation of photovoltaic system will lead to the fluctuation of system output power and obvious harmonic distortion of grid connected current. Because stable output power and better grid connected current quality cannot be realized at the same time, a coordinated control strategy of power fluctuation suppression and current balance is proposed. The harmonic component in the output current is adjusted by using the adjustment coefficient, and the proposed strategy is realized based on reduced order resonance control. The voltage/current positive and negative sequence separation link and phase-locked loop are not needed in this method so that the control structure is simpler, and instantaneous power is used to calculate the reference command value of grid connected current. The coordinated control of power/current is realized by MATLAB simulation, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed strategy.

High step‐up boost converters with large input current capacity are necessary for low‐voltage renewable energy sources, such as photovoltaic panels and fuel cells. Interleaved converters are a suitable topology for low‐voltage, large input current applications. Conventional interleaved converters, however, face a variety of challenges, such as the necessity of additional current control loops for active current balancing, increased voltage stress of semiconductors, and poor extendibility. In this paper, highly extendable interleaved high step‐up boost converters with a passive current balancing and reduced semiconductor voltage stresses are proposed. Current capacities and step‐up conversion ratios of the proposed converters can be arbitrarily enhanced by extending the number of phases and voltage multiplier (VM) stages, respectively. The experimental results of 500‐W prototypes demonstrated passive current balancing, reduced semiconductor voltage stresses, and enhanced step‐up conversion ratios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A zero-current-transition (ZCT) strategy is proposed herein. This strategy is applied to a two-phase boost converter with isolated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) used as main switches. However, IGBTs have a current tail during the switch-off interval. Consequently, the proposed constant-frequency ZCT strategy along with common-ground auxiliary switches is employed to decrease the switching loss generated by the current tail. Furthermore, the light-load efficiency can be upgraded by regulating the switch-off instants and switch-on times of the two auxiliary switches. Moreover, two phases are interleaved with one phase having a phase difference of 180° from the other phase, and controlled by a current-sharing controller so that the input current can be distributed between the two phases as evenly as possible. Moreover, only one current sensing circuit is required to obtain information on currents in the two main switches. Above all, the number of phases can be extended with easy control of the ZCT and current balance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A multitransmitter (multi-TX) inductive power transfer system would not only offer better spatial freedom but also improve the overall output capability. Under heavy-load condition, it is desirable to fully utilize the output power capability, and the overall input power needs to be balanced among the multiple TXs. This article proposes a simple and low-cost current sharing method to balance the input power. The current distribution is analytically studied for an example two-TX system, and the sharing path is proposed to balance the power under coupling variation and coil inductance mismatch. It also explores the influence of sharing path on the efficiency and zero-phase operation. Besides, the proposed method is valid for other compensations and can be extended for N-TX (N $>$ 2) systems. Finally, a two-TX system is implemented to verify the sharing effect. The current imbalance factor is effectively reduced from 37% to 2.7% under the worst coupling cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The excessive use of fossil fuels has caused great concern due to modern environmental problems, particularly air pollution. The above situation demands that different areas of research aim at a sustainable movement to reduce CO 2 emissions caused by non-renewable organic fuels. A solution to this problem is the use of Electric Vehicles (EV) for mass transportation of people. However, these systems require high-power DC/DC converters capable of handling high current levels and should feature high efficiencies to charge their batteries. For this application, a single-stage converter is not viable for these applications due to the high current stress in a switch, the low power density, and its low efficiency due to higher switching losses. One solution to this problem is Multiphase Converters, which offer high efficiency, high power density, and low current ripple on the battery side. However, these characteristics are affected by the current imbalance in the phases. This paper is focused on the study of the effects of the current imbalance in a Multiphase Buck Converter, used as an intermediate cover between a power supply and the battery of an EV. Analyzing the efficiency and thermal stress parameters in different scenarios of current balance and current imbalance in each phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a current balancing coupled inductor (CBCL) based asymmetrically configured quad-active-bridge (QAB) converter is proposed. The QAB converter provides high-frequency isolation for a dc–dc stage of a solid state transformer (SST), as well as provides a modular solution to the SST medium-voltage (MV) dc link. The proposed CBCL ensures current balancing among/three active H-bridges without using any dedicated controller and without expensive sensors when transferring equal power from MV to low-voltage side. The proposed CBCL is the integration of three inductors of the active H-bridges required for power transfer and zero-voltage-switching and does not require an extra magnetic volume. Experimental results are presented to validate the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A zero-current-transition (ZCT) strategy is proposed herein. This strategy is applied to a two-phase boost converter with isolated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) used as main switches. However, IGBTs have a current tail during the switch-off interval. Consequently, the proposed constant-frequency ZCT strategy along with common-ground auxiliary switches is employed to decrease the switching loss generated by the current tail. Furthermore, the light-load efficiency can be upgraded by regulating the switch-off instants and switch-on times of the two auxiliary switches. Moreover, two phases are interleaved with one phase having a phase difference of 180° from the other phase, and controlled by a current-sharing controller so that the input current can be distributed between the two phases as evenly as possible. Moreover, only one current sensing circuit is required to obtain information on currents in the two main switches. Above all, the number of phases can be extended with easy control of the ZCT and current balance.

The excessive use of fossil fuels has caused great concern due to modern environmental problems, particularly air pollution. The above situation demands that different areas of research aim at a sustainable movement to reduce CO2 emissions caused by non-renewable organic fuels. A solution to this problem is the use of Electric Vehicles (EV) for mass transportation of people. However, these systems require high-power DC/DC converters capable of handling high current levels and should feature high efficiencies to charge their batteries. For this application, a single-stage converter is not viable for these applications due to the high current stress in a switch, the low power density, and its low efficiency due to higher switching losses. One solution to this problem is Multiphase Converters, which offer high efficiency, high power density, and low current ripple on the battery side. However, these characteristics are affected by the current imbalance in the phases. This paper is focused on the study of the effects of the current imbalance in a Multiphase Buck Converter, used as an intermediate cover between a power supply and the battery of an EV. Analyzing the efficiency and thermal stress parameters in different scenarios of current balance and current imbalance in each phase.

The equipment cost of pumping unit is one of the main investment costs of No. 2 oil production plant. Its annual power consumption is 41 million kwh, accounting for 10.8% of the energy consumption cost of the whole plant. The existing pumping units mainly include 14 and 16 beam walking units and 900 and 1 000 vertical units. According to the electrical parameter test and calculation, the average system efficiency is only 18.8%, far lower than the domestic average of 27%. Therefore, the management should be strengthened to improve the energy saving of the system. In this paper, the main reason of energy consumption loss of pumping unit in our plant is pointed out through the research and field practice of pumping unit energy saving, and the method of reducing cost and energy saving that is suitable for the second plant is found, which provides a guiding method for the later energy saving of pumping unit, and has great significance for comprehensive promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To mitigate global warming caused by vehicles, emission regulations have been implemented for all automobiles. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are being designed to meet consumer demand for eco-friendly vehicles that offer increased power and improved fuel efficiency. HEVs are powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) in combination with one or more electric motors that use electrical energy stored in a secondary battery, which is typically a lithium-based battery. With the use of such a hybrid drivetrain system, the fuel efficiency can be improved over that of conventional ICE vehicles. In this study, we conducted a vehicle-driving experiment to evaluate a transmission-mounted electric device (TMED) type parallel HEV using a chassis dynamometer and on-board diagnostics (OBD) signal-measuring equipment. In addition, we performed a numerical analysis using the CRUISE vehicle simulation code with experimental data. In our analysis, the engine output, which affects the torque of the drive motor, and the capacity (energy density) of the lithium-ion polymer battery were set as variables that affect the fuel-economy performance. As a result of this numerical analysis, a hybrid power-drivetrain model based on CRUISE was developed, and the current balance was evaluated according to the change in the battery capacity. We found that the battery state of charge (SOC) dropped because of a decrease in battery capacity. Thus, we predicted that the lithium-ion battery capacity would be reduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This study investigates the possible reasons of the financial fragility of 10 countries with examining the stability properties of current account balance, budget balance and unemployment rate. For this purpose, the stability process of current account balance of 10 countries is examined for the period from 2005 to 2014; the unemployment of 10 countries is investigated for the period from 2004 to 2013; the budget balance of 8 countries is searched for the period of 2004-2012. The stability properties are examined using with panel unit root test and it is concluded that the current account of Chile and Indonesia is found stationary. In case of unemployment, stationary process is confirmed in South Africa, India, Poland and Indonesia. Finally, the stationary of budget balance is only supported in Brazil.

To mitigate global warming caused by vehicles, emission regulations have been implemented for all automobiles. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) are being designed to meet consumer demand for eco-friendly vehicles that offer increased power and improved fuel efficiency. HEVs are powered by an internal combustion engine (ICE) in combination with one or more electric motors that use electrical energy stored in a secondary battery, which is typically a lithium-based battery. With the use of such a hybrid drivetrain system, the fuel efficiency can be improved over that of conventional ICE vehicles. In this study, we conducted a vehicle-driving experiment to evaluate a transmission-mounted electric device (TMED) type parallel HEV using a chassis dynamometer and on-board diagnostics (OBD) signal-measuring equipment. In addition, we performed a numerical analysis using the CRUISE vehicle simulation code with experimental data. In our analysis, the engine output, which affects the torque of the drive motor, and the capacity (energy density) of the lithium-ion polymer battery were set as variables that affect the fuel-economy performance. As a result of this numerical analysis, a hybrid power-drivetrain model based on CRUISE was developed, and the current balance was evaluated according to the change in the battery capacity. We found that the battery state of charge (SOC) dropped because of a decrease in battery capacity. Thus, we predicted that the lithium-ion battery capacity would be reduced.

Solved how to optimize the system of accounting and analytical indicators to assess the level of risk and the effectiveness of the Bank's credit activity, on the basis of scale, scope and structure of the credit portfolio; the turnover of credit investments; the problematical character of the loan portfolio and the level of risk and security of the loan portfolio. Exploring the possibility of accounting on the basis of which analysis calculated metrics and evaluation of significance proposed, in contrast to the current Grad C system with more than 50 indicators, the most informative in the amount of 20–25, which allow daily operational way to assess the level of credit portfolio management of the Bank. This contributes to the daily detailed sub-accounts trial balance balance sheet, which consists of all banks and provide the National Bank of Ukraine. So, the most reasonable is the performance in terms of scale and structure – percentage changes; turnover rates – the rate in days; problem – percentage problems; credit risk – factor security loans; management effectiveness factors: the economy, profitability and efficiency.

An LED driver consisting of dimmable current balancing circuits (CBCs) and a boost converter with drain voltage balance (DVB) and phase-shifted pulsewidth modulation (PSPWM) control schemes is presented. To reduce the power loss on conventional linear current regulators, CBCs are employed. The DVB control scheme is proposed to maintain a desired constant voltage across the CBCs, so as to increase current balance and achieve high efficiency of the CBCs. Thus, the bus voltage of the boost converter is adaptively regulated based on the DVB control. The PSPWM control scheme can alleviate the variation of the bus current provided by the boost converter. As a result, the transient ripple of the bus voltage can be reduced when the light-emitting diode (LED) strings are turned on and off. Furthermore, the utilization of DVB control is increased when the PWM dimming duty cycle becomes lower. The experimental results demonstrate that the minimum voltage among the CBCs is always kept at the lowest constant level while maintaining the required current passing through the LED strings. The efficiency of the CBCs is kept almost the same for different LED currents and is over 95%. Thus, a high-efficient parallel-string dimmable LED driver with simple circuitry can be achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a single-switch coupled-inductor-based two-channel light-emitting diode (LED) driver with a passive regenerative snubber is presented. In the proposed LED driver, the energy-transferring capacitor is not only used to step up the voltage gain but also to achieve the current balance among LED strings. Moreover, a passive regenerative snubber is added not only to recycle the leakage inductance energy but also to improve the voltage gain. As compared with the prior work, only one switch is required. Thus, the configuration of the proposed LED driver is simpler. Since the proposed LED driver has a higher voltage gain than the prior work, the turns ratio of the proposed LED driver can be lower. Thus, the magnetic core size can be reduced. In addition, both LED drivers have the same component count. Finally, the operating principle, analysis, and experimental results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed LED driver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neuromorphic hardware are designed by drawing inspiration from biology to overcome limitations of current computer architectures while forging the development of a new class of autonomous systems that can exhibit adaptive behaviors. Several designs in the recent past are capable of emulating large scale networks but avoid complexity in network dynamics by minimizing the number of dynamic variables that are supported and tunable in hardware. We believe that this is due to the lack of a clear understanding of how to design self-tuning complex systems. It has been widely demonstrated that criticality appears to be the default state of the brain and manifests in the form of spontaneous scale-invariant cascades of neural activity. Experiment, theory and recent models have shown that neuronal networks at criticality demonstrate optimal information transfer, learning and information processing capabilities that affect behavior. In this perspective article, we argue that understanding how large scale neuromorphic electronics can be designed to enable emergent adaptive behavior will require an understanding of how networks emulated by such hardware can self-tune local parameters to maintain criticality as a set-point. We believe that such capability will enable the design of truly scalable intelligent systems using neuromorphic hardware that embrace complexity in network dynamics rather than avoiding it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, R&D trends in the automobile industry have involved developing vehicles that are eco-friendly and have good fuel economy in order to meet increasingly stringent vehicle emission and fuel economy regulations. Among various environmentallyfriendly vehicles, recently-developed hybrid electric vehicles have been considered a successful technology. To improve the hybrid electric vehicle's efficiency, a regenerative braking system is applied that can save waste braking energy and fuel consumption. To date, much research has been conducted that is related to regenerative brake systems for motor-assisted vehicles. In this study, a vehicle brake model and DC motor model have been developed to predict the braking and electric characteristics of vehicle and motor by using MATLAB/Simulink code and compared with brake performance reference data. Since generating current is a key factor for regenerative braking in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) system, electric characteristics are the focus of this study. Therefore, in order to investigate the electric characteristics, analysis is also performed using the DC motor model. The main results obtained by this study are that the vehicle braking dynamics calculated by MATLAB/Simulink simulation were in reasonable agreement with reference values. Using the vehicle brake model, analysis is carried out for investigating the numerical model's characteristics and performances at initial velocity, slip ratio and road conditions. Additionally, experimentation is carried out using a chassis dynamometer and a hybrid electric vehicle, and the data are analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a simple capacitor clamped current-sharing circuit including linear and loop types according to the connection of capacitors for multistring light-emitting diodes (LEDs). The proposed circuit employs interleaved turn-on switches and multicapacitor charge conservation to solve the current imbalance problem caused by voltage drop tolerance and the negative temperature coefficient of LEDs. The operating principle and parameter design of the topologies are analyzed in detail. Based on this analysis, a three-string current-sharing topology has been validated by experiments. Experimental waveforms show that the proposed circuit does not only have good effect on current sharing while the effect is not affected by individual LED short but also has the advantages of low voltage stress, nonmagnetic components, ease of integration, and simple control. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Higher power applications require a multilevel converter to meet high power ratings. A multimodule current-source converter (CSC) can provide a multilevel current waveforms and at the same time eliminate the bulky transformer at the ac side. However, it is required for the multimodule CSC to use multiple dc-link inductors for the purpose of power balance among different modules. Thus, one key issue in the design of the multimodule CSC is to balance the current through different dc-link inductors. This paper focuses on studying the control strategy of the multimodule CSC and a generalized current balancing method is presented. As presented, zero vectors are distributed based on the deviation of the dc-link inductor currents and the comparison of the capacitor voltages. Therefore, the current imbalance problems, not only those among the upper inductors but also those among the lower inductors are solved. Moreover, since the current balancing algorithm is not dependent on module numbers, the presented control strategy is very suitable for modularization. Especially, with the feedback of the capacitor voltages, the resonance arising from the inductor-capacitor (LC) filter is damped. In addition, a design method of the dc-link inductors is also derived. Finally, simulation and experimental results show the validity of the propositions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional current-mirror methods require one fixed current reference for controlling other current source or sources. In this paper, a new self-configurable current-mirror method that can dynamically determine the best current branch as the current reference in order to ensure good balance of all parallel current sources is proposed. The operating principle involves a dynamic and self-configurable transistor-based current-balancing circuit that can be operated in saturation or linear mode. In either operating mode, good current balance or sharing among all parallel-connected current sources can be guaranteed. The novel current-balancing circuit does not require a separate power supply for powering their control circuits. The proposal is a modular one that can be expanded to any number of parallel current sources. Its principle has been successfully applied to current balancing of parallel LED strings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a capacitor-isolated light-emitting diode (LED) driver with inherent current-balancing capability. Based on a series resonant converter, the resonant capacitor can be used both for safety isolation and the current balancing with the proposed two-output rectifier structure. Compared to the conventional current-sharing technique, the proposed LED driver circuit is simple and has low cost and high performance. Also, the capacitor-isolated structure is more efficient and compact compared to the conventional transformer isolation. The detailed theoretical analysis and design considerations of the proposed circuit are presented. The performance of the proposed circuit is validated by the experimental results from a 60-W prototype with two balanced outputs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]