Power Electronics

The branch of electronics, which deals with the control of power at supply frequency (50 Hz or 60 Hz), is known as power electronics and it is one of the contemporary subjects of electrical engineering that has seen many advancements in recent times and has affected human life in almost all spheres. It is a hybrid of power engineering, analogue electronics, semiconductor devices and control systems. One major field of semiconductor devices has been to control large blocks of power flow in a system that has led to the development of power electronics. Such devices act as controlled switches and can perform the duties of controlled rectification, inversion and regulation of power in a load and the most important switching devices are thyristors or SCR (Silicon Controlled Rectifier), Triac (Triode for alternating current), Diac (Diode for alternating current), IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor), MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor) and BJT (Bipolar Junction Transistor). Lastly, the electric energy in itself is not usable until it is converted into a tangible form of energy such as motion, sound, heat, light, etc. De Lorenzo has designed a complete laboratory, with industrial components mounted on didactic panels, that covers the main configurations of power electronic circuits such as AC to DC conversion (Rectifiers), AC to AC conversion (fixed AC to variable AC at same input frequency or to AC with variable frequency), DC to DC conversion (Choppers), DC to AC conversion (Inverters) and applications as DC and AC motor driving. They are dedicated to high schools and first years of university.