Developing DC-DC Converter Control with Simulink: Determining Power Losses and Simulating Thermal Behavior

Learn how to use a simulation model of a DC-DC converter to determine power losses and simulate thermal behavior of the converter. The N-Channel MOSFET block from Simscape Electronics™ is used to model nonlinear switching behavior of the power semiconductor and to simulate thermal behavior of the converter.

This example shows how to parameterize the N-Channel MOSFET block based on the datasheet of the MOSFET used in the SEPIC converter. Both static and dynamic characteristics from the datasheet are used to parameterize the block.

Once the block is parameterized, the example shows how to check whether the block matches steady-state and gate charge characteristics from the datasheet. For that, a separate Simscape™ model is used to generate these characteristics which are then compared to the curves from the datasheet to ensure a close match. Similarly, transfer characteristics and gate charge characteristics are generated and compared to the datasheet.

The parameterized N-Channel MOSFET block is then added to the SEPIC converter model to replace the ideal switch block. The example shows how to add a thermal port to the block and to calculate dissipated power losses.