A User-Friendly Reconfigurable Power Electronics Testbed System for Educational and Research Purposes

The present paper relates to a user-friendly reconfigurable testbed system that can be used in power engineering research and education to test and validate the power electronic circuits and converter systems. Input and output voltmeters and ammeters are present in the testbed to display the measured input and output voltage and current of the realized circuit. The availability of the IGBT switch modules, along with the passive circuit elements like inductors and capacitors, provides the user flexibility to realize various power electronics circuits. Any topologies requiring a maximum of twelve power electronics switches and a minimum of one switch, fixed inductors, variable inductors, and the capacitors in the given voltage and current range can be realizable by making an external electrical connection. Also, there are bulb loads and power supplies available in the testbed. The users can implement various circuits by adding their controller externally to the testbed or by using the inhouse controller of the testbed. Six voltage and current sensors are available in the testbed to sense the voltage and current of the circuit. There are voltage and current displays connected with the sensors to show the sensor voltages and currents. The reconfigurable power electronics testbed system also has features like inbuilt hardware protection from faults.