Hysteresis-Controlled DC-DC Boost Converter for UAV Power Modules
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) face challenges with voltage fluctuations and reduced thrust due to battery discharge, as well as electrical surges from propulsion motors, which affect the reliability and efficiency of power delivery to their electrical loads.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of power conversion units that boost direct current (DC) voltage levels in response to demand, using modular and fault-tolerant systems with analog components to provide stable power to UAVs, decoupling power sources from electrical loads and optimizing them independently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If a battery is used as a power source for propulsion motors, then the UAV can operate with reduced weight and cost, but the output voltage naturally falls over time as the battery discharges, reducing thrust and causing voltage fluctuations
Solution Approach 1:
A DC-DC boost converter is introduced as an intermediary device between the battery and the electrical loads. This converter maintains stable output voltage by boosting the declining battery voltage, thereby decoupling the battery's natural voltage decay from the voltage requirements of the propulsion motors and other electrical loads, ensuring reliable operation throughout the battery's discharge cycle
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the operating parameters of the battery by using a boost converter to transform the declining voltage into a stable output voltage. The converter adjusts its duty cycle and switching frequency to maintain constant output voltage despite varying battery voltage, effectively changing the electrical parameter delivery to maintain reliability
2Force
If propulsion motors are used for high thrust, then the UAV can achieve better performance, but electrical surges and starting current fluctuations cause voltage levels to fluctuate to undesirable degrees
Solution Approach 1:
The DC-DC boost converter incorporates feedback control mechanisms that continuously monitor the output voltage and adjust the switching parameters accordingly. This feedback system compensates for voltage dips caused by motor starting currents and surges, maintaining stable voltage levels even during high-thrust operations and motor startup sequences
Solution Approach 2:
The boost converter acts as a buffer intermediary between the battery and the high-power propulsion motors, isolating the voltage-sensitive motor control circuits from the transient current demands of motor startup and operation, thereby maintaining stable voltage levels during high-thrust events
3Device complexity
If the power source is directly connected to electrical loads, then the system is simpler, but voltage fluctuations and current surges affect the reliability and efficiency of power delivery
Solution Approach 1:
A DC-DC boost converter is introduced as an intermediary device between the battery and the electrical loads. This converter maintains stable output voltage by boosting the declining battery voltage, thereby decoupling the battery's natural voltage decay from the voltage requirements of the propulsion motors and other electrical loads, ensuring reliable operation throughout the battery's discharge cycle
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes the operating parameters of the battery by using a boost converter to transform the declining voltage into a stable output voltage. The converter adjusts its duty cycle and switching frequency to maintain constant output voltage despite varying battery voltage, effectively changing the electrical parameter delivery to maintain reliability
Data Source
AI summary
A power conversion unit may include two or more power modules for providing high-voltage direct current power to electrical loads, such as one or more propulsion motors aboard an aerial vehicle. Each of the power modules may be controlled by hysteresis, and may include one or more pairs of transistors that are switched by a gate driver with respect to differences between a reference current and a sensed current passing through a boost inductor. The number, size and shape of the power modules may be selected to accommodate the electrical loads, and may be switched on or off, as necessary. The power conversion unit may feature at least one more power module than is required to meet all anticipated electrical loads, thereby ensuring that the power conversion unit may continue to provide power even in the event that one of the power modules experiences a fault of any kind.