Design and implementation of multiple output forward converter with Mag-amp and LDO as post regulators for space application

Abstract

Linear power supplies are commonly used power supplies for many applications. They have some drawbacks such as low efficiency, difficulty in  thermal management and also in regulation of the output voltage. Some of these drawbacks can be overcome by Switch Mode Power Supplies (SMPS). One of the best-suited applications of SMPS is for space applications that require power supplies which are lighter, smaller, more efficient and highly reliable. Multiple-output DC-DC converters are an important topology of SMPS that can be used for space applications. But, in multiple output converters usually, only the master output is regulated and the other outputs are left unregulated and this can result in cross-regulation. In this paper, post regulators such as Magnetic amplifiers (Mag-amp) and Low DropOut regulator (LDO) are proposed to regulate each output and also to improve load regulation. In addition to this, the input voltage feed-forward control technique is proposed to control the duty cycle of the switch, which is dynamically faster and provides better line regulation when compared to the voltage feedback controller. Besides, over current protection circuit for the converter is discussed in detail.

Keywords: Cross regulation effect, Mag-amp and LDO, multiple output forward converter, output over current protection, voltage feed forward control.