DC Power Supplies - Fundamental Concepts

In DC Power Supplies - Fundamental Concepts , you'll learn ...

• Process of transforming AC voltages to different levels
• Conversion from AC to DC
• Functional operation of a simple power supply
• Process and techniques for voltage regulation

Overview

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Credit: 2 CPD

Length: 14 pages

This course introduces the student to the purpose, function, and elements of the ubiquitous DC (direct current) power supply. Modern electronic devices generally require low-voltage DC sources to power their circuits. Some devices use battery or even solar power, but all others need a DC power supply, typically connected to a house or office AC (alternating current) wall outlet. These include radios, stereo systems, TV, computers, and other devices which we use daily.

The discussion starts with the primary power source - the wall socket, and a brief history about AC power. Several basic power supply configurations are described to support the functional concepts introduced. Features such as voltage transformation, i.e., changing the voltage from one level to another, and regulation, i.e., maintaining a constant output voltage, are presented and basic components are described. Important issues such as cooling requirements, protection circuits, and radio-frequency interference are addressed.

An understanding of the overall operation and performance characteristics of such power supplies will aid those in other disciplines who must accommodate power supplies in the definition, layout, or packaging of electronic devices.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:

• Summarize the process of transforming AC voltages to different levels and demonstrate understanding through an assessment question or scenario.
• Interpret the conversion from AC to DC and demonstrate understanding through an assessment question or scenario.
• Compute the functional operation of a simple power supply using course principles and given data.
• Use processes and techniques for voltage regulation in a representative engineering or safety scenario.
• Recognize the hardware components involved with sufficient accuracy to distinguish them from related concepts.
• Characterize definitions of terminology and quantities with sufficient accuracy to distinguish them from related concepts.

Certificate of Completion

You will be able to immediately print a certificate of completion after passing a multiple-choice quiz consisting of 10 questions. CPD credits are not awarded until the course is completed and quiz is passed.