Guru/PEInverters/Half-Bridge/ February 24, 2006 Half-Bridge Inverter

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The half-bridge Inverter
The half-bridge inverter in its simplest form is shown in Figure-1a. It has two identical dc
voltage sources connected in series, two static switches, and two diodes. The diodes are
needed to protect the switches especially when these switches have to carry currents in
the reverse directions. Since most single-phase loads are inductive in nature, we have
drawn the circuit with an inductive load. In case there is only one available dc source, we
can split its voltage equally into two by using the circuit shown in Figure-1b. Once the
two large electrolytic capacitors are fully charged, they behave as the voltage sources.
The two equal resistors in parallel with the capacitors not only ensure that the voltages on
the two capacitor are the same but also provide the paths for the capacitors to discharge
once the half-bridge inverter is switched off.

Figure 1: (a) Half-bridge inverter with dual supply, and (b) single supply


Figure 2: The voltage across and the current through the load

Let us assume that the circuit has been operating for some time and it has attained
its steady state. In order to obtain an output voltage with zero dc components, each
switching action must last for one-half of the time period.
Guru/PEInverters/Half-Bridge/ February 24, 2006 Half-Bridge Inverter
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We begin our analysis when the switch
1
S is about to close and
2
S is about to
open at t = 0. At this instant, the current is negative (in the direction opposite to that
shown in Figure-1) and is at its minimum. Since each switch can conduct current only in
the direction shown by the arrow when it is closed, diode
1
D provides the path for the
current to flow. Prior to the closing of the switch
1
S , the current was flowing in the lower
part of the circuit in the clockwise direction through the RL load, the switch
2
S , and the
source
2 S
V . As soon as the switch
1
S is closed and
2
S is opened at t = 0, the current begins
to flow in the counterclockwise direction in the upper half of the circuit through the diode
1
D toward the positive terminal of the source
1 S
V . Since the current is flowing into the
positive terminal of
1 S
V , its reversal is expected. After some time,
1
t t = , the current
becomes zero and reverses its direction. As soon as the current reversal takes place, the
switch
1
S begins to conduct and the diode
1
D ceases to conduct as it is reverse biased.
The current continues to build up until t = T/2 when it attains its maximum value. Owing
to the symmetry of the current waveform as shown in Figure 2, the minimum and the
maximum values of the current are equal in magnitude as the average current through the
load is zero.
The differential equation for the current from t = 0 to t = T/2 may be written as

S
V ) t ( i R
dt
) t ( di
L = + (1)
Its general solution is of the form


+ =
/ t S
e A
R
V
) t ( i (2)
where , the time constant, is

R
L
= (3)
Applying the initial condition, i.e.
max min
I I ) 0 ( i = = when t = 0, we get

max
S
I
R
V
A =
Guru/PEInverters/Half-Bridge/ February 24, 2006 Half-Bridge Inverter
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Hence, the expression for the current in the circuit during t o and t = T/2 is
( )

=
/ t
max
/ t S
e I e 1
R
V
) t ( i (4)
The current attains its maximum value at t = T/2 and is obtained from (4) as
( )

=
2 / T
max
2 / T S
max
e I e 1
R
V
I
Rearranging the terms we get

|
|

\
|
+

=


2 / T
2 / T
S
max
e 1
e 1
R
V
I (5)
Hence the current in the circuit during t = 0 and t = T/2 is
( )




|
|

\
|
+

=
/ t
2 / T
2 / T
S / t S
e
e 1
e 1
R
V
e 1
R
V
) t ( i (6)
At t = T/2, the current reaches its maximum value as given by (5). At this instant, the
switch
1
S is opened and the switch
2
S is closed. As long as the current is positive, the
diode
2
D provides the path for the current to circulate in the counterclockwise direction
in the lower half of the circuit. Only when the current becomes zero at
2
t t = and is about
to change its direction, the switch
2
S begins to conduct. This situation lasts until t = T at
which the switch
1
S is closed and the switch
2
S is opened. A new sequence of events
begins all over again.
Owing to the symmetry of operation of the half-bridge circuit, the current through the
load from t = T/2 to t = T is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to that given in
(6) as long as the t = 0 is assumed at the commencement of the negative half-cycle. That
is,
( )




|
|

\
|
+

+ =
/ t
2 / T
2 / T
S / t S
e
e 1
e 1
R
V
e 1
R
V
) t ( i (7)
If the commencement of the negative half cycle is assumed to begin at t = T/2 and
lasts until t = T, we only need to make the change from t to t T/2.

Guru/PEInverters/Half-Bridge/ February 24, 2006 Half-Bridge Inverter
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Setting (6) to zero at
1
t t = , we obtain
1
t as

|

\
|
+
=
2 / T 1
e 1
2
ln t (8)
From symmetry, we obtain
2
t as

1 2
t T 5 . 0 t + = (9)

Example: ____________________________________________________________
The half-bridge inverter is operating from a dual 48-V dc source and supplies power to a
single-phase motor whose equivalent resistance and inductance are 2 and 5 mH,
respectively. If the operating frequency is 2 kHz, determine the minimum and the
maximum currents in the motor, the time at which the current is zero during each half
period, and the general expression for the current in the motor. Sketch the current for one
time period.
Solution:
From the given data, 48 V
S
= V, R = 2 , L = 5 mH, f = 2000 Hz, and T = 0.5 ms. The
time constant is
ms 5 . 2
2
10 5
R
L
3
=

= =

1 . 0
10 5 . 2 2
10 5 . 0
2
T
3
3
=

9048 . 0 e e
1 . 0 2 / T
= =


From (5), the maximum current is

A 2 . 1
9048 . 0 1
9048 . 0 1
2
48
e 1
e 1
R
V
I
2 / T
2 / T
S
max
=
|

\
|
+

=
|
|

\
|
+

=



The minimum current through the load is
A 2 . 1 I I
max min
= =
Guru/PEInverters/Half-Bridge/ February 24, 2006 Half-Bridge Inverter
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The expression for the current from t = 0 to t = T/2, from (6), is

( )
( )
A e 2 . 25 24
e
9048 . 0 1
9048 . 0 1
2
48
e 1
2
48
e
e 1
e 1
R
V
e 1
R
V
) t ( i
t 400
t 400 t 400
/ t
2 / T
2 / T
S / t S

=
|

\
|
+

=
|
|

\
|
+

=

Setting the current to zero at
1
t t = , we obtain
ms 122 . 0
24
2 . 25
ln
400
1
t
1
=
|

\
|
=
The current will go to zero during the negative half-cycle at
372 . 0 122 . 0 ) 5 . 0 ( 5 . 0 t T 5 . 0 t
1 2
= + = + = ms
The expression for the current during the negative half-cycle when the time axis remains
the same is

) ms 25 . 0 t ( 400
e 2 . 25 24 ) t ( i

+ =
The current through the RL load for one time period is shown below.

0 0.05 0.1 0.15 0.2 0.25 0.3 0.35 0.4 0.45 0.5
2
1.2
0.4
0.4
1.2
2
Current through RL for one time period
Time ( ms )
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(

A

)

Guru/PEInverters/Half-Bridge/ February 24, 2006 Half-Bridge Inverter
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Power Supplied by the two 48-V sources: Let us compute the average current supplied
by each source as

) mA 10 ( A 01 . 0 e
400
2 . 25
t 24 2000
dt ) e 2 . 25 24 ( 2000 dt ) t ( i
T
1
I
ms 25 . 0
0
t 400
2 / T
0
ms 25 . 0
0
t 400
S
=
(

+ =
= =

i
Thus the power supplied by the two 48-V sources
W 96 . 0 01 . 0 48 2 P
S
= =
Total power dissipated by the load: To compute the total power dissipated by the load,
let us compute the effective value of the current through the load as

A 6925 . 0 e
400
6 . 1209
e
800
04 . 635
t 576 4000
dt ) e 6 . 1209 e 04 . 635 576 ( 4000 dt ) t ( i
T
2
I
ms 25 . 0
0
400 t 800
ms 25 . 0
0
t 400 t 800
2 / T
0
2
RMS
=
(

+ =
+ = =




Consequently, the total power dissipated by the load is
W 96 . 0 2 6925 . 0 R I P
2 2
RMS L
= = =
As expected, the power dissipated by load is exactly equal to the power supplied by the
two sources because the switches have been assumed as ideal.