Distributed Power. What Causes These Systems to Oscillate?

Focus:

This paper explains the underlying reasons why oscillations occur when one power supply is driving another as is the case in distributed power systems. Impedance concepts are discussed as they relate to basic circuit elements; magnitude and phase are explained using the polar impedance graph, which leads into discussion about the power supply input impedance graph. The origins of oscillation and ringing are explained. With those concepts as background, the paper explains in terms of impedance concepts why oscillation occurs when one power supply drives another and gives the criteria for oscillation to occur. Plots for two simple example systems are explained. Finally, the paper describes measurement and analytical techniques for determining whether the system of interest meets the impedance criteria for oscillation. Some guidelines for testing are given here, but there are no examples of test set ups, which might have been helpful.

What you’ll learn:

• How to understand the causes of oscillation in distributed power systems
• How to determine through impedance measurement or analysis whether oscillation will occur when one power supply drives another

Notes:

No publication date listed. Copyright on web page is 2012 so date is listed here as 01/01/2012.

View the Source

Author & Publication:

Steve Burns, Venable Industries, Vendor website, Jan 01 2012

This article summary appears
in the HOW2POWER Design Guide.

The Design Guide offers
organized access to
hundreds of articles
on dozens of power conversion
and power management topics.

The Design Guide search results
include exclusive summaries
and accurate "how to" analysis
to help you make faster,
more informed decisions.

Search
for more articles