This project provides laboratory equipment to improve undergraduate instruction in the area of power electronics. With the equipment, students gain a basic understanding of (1) the topologies of power converters; (2) the characteristics of power devices; and (3) the design considerations of power switching components. There are five workstations incorporated in the project. Each workstation consists of a digital/analog oscilloscope, dc/ac power supplies with various levels of voltages and currents, a data acquisition interface, two custom-built power FET control units, a custom-built polyphase SCR control unit, a temperature and current measurement instrument, and a plotter. This equipment assists students with data acquisition and presentation of results for a variety of laboratory experiments so that students are freed from tedious manual data collection. The project provides students a unique opportunity to apply high-power switching techniques as well as to gain experience with the operation of the state- of-the-art equipment.
