A system level solution for power electronic measurements

With the increased use of digital instrumentation in industrial applications, it becomes highly essential for the engineer to become more familiar and aware of the possible sources of measurement error related to the instruments being used and their internal construction. This paper aims to provide a common terminology, and error quantification in such systems. The discussion is aimed at both the user and the manufacturer of such instruments. The main body presents many performance features of modern digital measurement systems and the sources of error. Simple MATLAB/SIMULINK models attempt to simulate digital measurement system components in an intuitive manner. Developing such an understanding will aid in the determination of the required tests and the interpretation of their results. The work is aimed at a better understanding of the nonsinusoidal situation and the measuring problems due to nonsinusoidal conditions. The main part of this work is the development of a solid background using modern simulation tools of one of the main components of the measurement system, namely the data converter, and its requirements and errors. Sample data converter specifications are illustrated based on a sample nonlinear inverter waveform analysis. A new simple low cost topology for a data converter suitable for such an application is also presented and its performance is assessed using simulation. Finally, a comparison between this method and the existing one in TI DSP TMS2407 is made.