ENEX13002 - Power Electronics

General Information

Unit Synopsis

In this unit, you will build on your electronics knowledge previously acquired. You will learn more about power semiconductor devices and their modeling, such as diodes, silicon-controlled rectifiers (SCRs), metal oxide silicon field effect transistors (MOSFETs), and isolated gate bipolar junction transistors (IGBTs), including their theory of operation and limitations. You will also learn to calculate thermal dissipation requirements of power semiconductors and to choose suitable heat sinks. You will be introduced to the concepts of alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), AC to AC, DC to DC, and DC to AC converters. You will analyse circuits and it's waveforms using Fourier analysis. You will also review different types of motors and learn about their drives and control, including DC motor drives and AC motor drives. You will learn to design/develop power electronics solutions and test them by simulation and prototyping in the lab. In this unit, you must complete compulsory practical activities. Refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Course Moodle site for proposed dates.

Details

Level Undergraduate
Unit Level 3
Credit Points 6
Student Contribution Band SCA Band 2
Fraction of Full-Time Student Load 0.125
Pre-requisites or Co-requisites
Prerequisites: (ENEX12002 Introductory Electronics OR ENEE13018 Analogue Electronics) AND (ENEX12001 Electrical Power and Machines OR ENEE12015 Electrical Power Engineering)
ENEE12015 Electrical Power Engineering may be studied as a co-requisite.

Important note: Students enrolled in a subsequent unit who failed their pre-requisite unit, should drop the subsequent unit before the census date or within 10 working days of Fail grade notification. Students who do not drop the unit in this timeframe cannot later drop the unit without academic and financial liability. See details in the Assessment Policy and Procedure (Higher Education Coursework).

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Residential School Compulsory Residential School
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Unit Availabilities from Term 3 - 2024

Term 2 - 2025 Profile
Mackay
Mixed Mode

Attendance Requirements

All on-campus students are expected to attend scheduled classes - in some units, these classes are identified as a mandatory (pass/fail) component and attendance is compulsory. International students, on a student visa, must maintain a full time study load and meet both attendance and academic progress requirements in each study period (satisfactory attendance for International students is defined as maintaining at least an 80% attendance record).

Assessment Overview

Recommended Student Time Commitment

Each 6-credit Undergraduate unit at CQUniversity requires an overall time commitment of an average of 12.5 hours of study per week, making a total of 150 hours for the unit.

Assessment Tasks

Assessment Task Weighting
1. Written Assessment 20%
2. Written Assessment 20%
3. Practical and Written Assessment 20%
4. Online Test 40%

This is a graded unit: your overall grade will be calculated from the marks or grades for each assessment task, based on the relative weightings shown in the table above. You must obtain an overall mark for the unit of at least 50%, or an overall grade of ‘pass’ in order to pass the unit. If any ‘pass/fail’ tasks are shown in the table above they must also be completed successfully (‘pass’ grade). You must also meet any minimum mark requirements specified for a particular assessment task, as detailed in the ‘assessment task’ section (note that in some instances, the minimum mark for a task may be greater than 50%).

Consult the University's Grades and Results Policy for more details of interim results and final grades

Past Exams

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Previous Feedback

Term 2 - 2023 : The overall satisfaction for students in the last offering of this course was 80.00% (`Agree` and `Strongly Agree` responses), based on a 27.78% response rate.

Feedback, Recommendations and Responses

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Source: Student unit evaluation, email and class.
Feedback
The 'Useful Learning Materials' feedback item scored lower in the unit evaluation. Students have further expressed that the unit workload is high due to excess learning material for this unit.
Recommendation
Review learning material to eliminate peripheral or excess work.
Action Taken
Learning material and assessments were better aligned. Zoom support meetings also focused more on guiding students to important content, specifically for assessments.
Source: Email and class.
Feedback
Self-paced learning is facilitated, seeing much of the unit material is online and available from the start of the semester.
Recommendation
Keep this approach, especially for distance students' sake.
Action Taken
Same approach was kept.
Source: Email, class and unit evaluation
Feedback
Students enjoyed the practical approach to the unit and felt that they learned a lot from the assessment tasks.
Recommendation
Keep developing the practical design approach as well as assessment tasks.
Action Taken
Same approach was kept.
Source: In class, email.
Feedback
Weekly Zoom support meetings were very useful, and helpful that they were recorded.
Recommendation
Keep the weekly Zoom support meetings. Invite questions via email and a Q&A forum for non-attending students.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: Email.
Feedback
Self-paced learning is facilitated by all the unit material being online and available.
Recommendation
Keep this approach and improve further.
Action Taken
In Progress
Source: In class.
Feedback
Students enjoyed the new LabVolt practicums, and found it helpful.
Recommendation
Keep this approach and improve further.
Action Taken
In Progress
Unit learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  1. Explain the construction of power semiconductor devices, their principle of operation, and their suitability for various switching functions
  2. Model power electronic devices for accurate circuit analysis, including their thermal performance
  3. Analyse and model the operation of single-phase and three-phase power electronic circuits, including alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC), AC to AC, DC to DC, and DC to AC topologies
  4. Compare and select power electronic components, converters, and drives for electromechanical/mechatronic systems
  5. Analyse and design variable speed motor drives and controllers for different types of electric motors and evaluate their performances
  6. Solve real-life problems and communicate professionally using power electronics terminology
  7. Work collaboratively and autonomously and communicate professionally in presenting your solutions.

The Learning Outcomes for this unit are linked with the Engineers Australia Stage 1 Competency Standards for Professional Engineers in the areas of 1. Knowledge and Skill Base, 2. Engineering Application Ability and 3. Professional and Personal Attributes at the following levels:

Intermediate
1.1 Comprehensive, theory-based understanding of the underpinning natural and physical sciences and the engineering fundamentals applicable to the engineering discipline. (LO: 1N 2I 3I 5I )
1.4 Discernment of knowledge development and research directions within the engineering discipline. (LO: 1N 3I 4N 5N 6I )
2.1 Application of established engineering methods to complex engineering problem-solving. (LO: 2I 3I 5I )
2.4 Application of systematic approaches to the conduct and management of engineering projects. (LO: 4N 6I )
3.1 Ethical conduct and professional accountability. (LO: 2I 3I 7N )
3.3 Creative, innovative and pro-active demeanour. (LO: 5I )
3.5 Orderly management of self, and professional conduct. (LO: 6I )
3.6 Effective team membership and team leadership. (LO: 1N 6I 7I )

Advanced
1.2 Conceptual understanding of the mathematics, numerical analysis, statistics, and computer and information sciences which underpin the engineering discipline. (LO: 2A 3A 5I 6I )
1.3 In-depth understanding of specialist bodies of knowledge within the engineering discipline. (LO: 1N 2A 3A 5I 6I )
1.5 Knowledge of engineering design practice and contextual factors impacting the engineering discipline. (LO: 3I 4N 6A )
1.6 Understanding of the scope, principles, norms, accountabilities and bounds of sustainable engineering practice in the specific discipline. (LO: 2A 4N 6N )
2.2 Fluent application of engineering techniques, tools and resources. (LO: 2I 3A 6A )
2.3 Application of systematic engineering synthesis and design processes. (LO: 2I 3I 5A )
3.2 Effective oral and written communication in professional and lay domains. (LO: 1N 6A 7I )
3.4 Professional use and management of information. (LO: 1N 4N 6A )

Note: LO refers to the Learning Outcome number(s) which link to the competency and the levels: N – Introductory, I – Intermediate and A - Advanced.

Refer to the Engineering Undergraduate Course Moodle site for further information on the Engineers Australia's Stage 1 Competency Standard for Professional Engineers and course level mapping information
https://moodle.cqu.edu.au/course/view.php?id=1511

Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Learning Outcomes
Assessment Tasks Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Written Assessment • • • •
2 - Written Assessment • • •
3 - Practical and Written Assessment • • • •
4 - Online Test • • •
Alignment of Graduate Attributes to Learning Outcomes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Graduate Attributes Learning Outcomes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 - Communication • • • • • •
2 - Problem Solving • • • •
3 - Critical Thinking • • • • • •
5 - Team Work • •
6 - Information Technology Competence • • • • • •
8 - Ethical practice • • •
Alignment of Assessment Tasks to Graduate Attributes
• Introductory Level
• Intermediate Level
• Graduate Level
Assessment Tasks Graduate Attributes
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10