PVECLAB: Interactive power electronics training, teaching and experimentation tool

Nowadays, thanks to the development of communications and systems, the interactivity has taken a fundamental role in engineering education. An important challenge is the effective use of computer tools that allow associating the teaching methods with the new way the students learn. In power electronics area, recognizing different concepts of switching converters is more simple thanks to simulation and experimentation tools. Nevertheless, the general-purpose tools applied in the analysis and simulation of electronic circuits and systems do not take advantage properly of the interactivity that computer applications can offer. As a consequence it is necessary to develop modern tools with specific capacities as complementation of teaching and researching processes in power electronics. This article presents the results of the development of a tool for researching and teaching activities in power electronics area, implemented in LabVIEW called PVCLAB. It contains different dedicated modules to provide interactive conceptual training for analysis, design, simulation and control of DC/DC switching power converters. The state-space models of these converters include resistors in inductors, capacitors, MOSFET and diodes.