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Power Electronics -
Keeping Pace With Society
by
William W. Burns, III, Member,
IEEE
President, Power Electronics
Council
EVER SINCE THE DISCOVERY of the "miracle force" of electricity
more than 200 years ago, engineers have been creating new inventions
to perform work and to process information for the benefit of
mankind. All these inventions require electric power in order to
operate, but the required characteristics of the power source are
often different from those which are available. Therefore, power
conversion and control are required. Such power conversion and
control functions form the basis of what has come to be known as the
field of power electronics. In essence, the power electronics
engineer must match the characteristics of the source of electrical
energy to the requirements of the electrical/electronic devices which
it will power. The ability to accomplish these functions
satisfactorily is dependent on two key elements; a complete
understanding of the characteristics of available power components,
and the creative application of these components in circuits and
systems.
For many years, the only means of accomplishing a power conversion
function was through rotating machinery, and a tremendous amount of
research went into developing new and better "commutation"
techniques. The invention of the mercury arc rectifier in the early
part of this century suddenly brought new possibilities for power
conversion, and new circuits were invented to take advantage of the
properties of this new component. Thus, "static" power conversion
became possible, and creative engineers began developing the
foundations for modern power electronics. However, whereas these new
components made possible the development of this new body of
knowledge, their performance was not good enough to yield truly
practical systems.
It was not until the discovery of semiconductors, the invention of
the transistor, and ultimately the invention of the thyristor in
1957, that the field of power electronics reached its full potential.
Since that time, new components and new circuit techniques have been
complementing each other and enabling a very rapid advance in the
state of the art of power electronics. With these advances, the field
of power electronics has been able to keep pace with the needs of
other evolving technologies.
Our society has benefited greatly from this evolution of power
electronics technology. Most of the electronic gadgets we have in our
homes would not be as small or lightweight if it had not been for
advances in this field. Likewise, it would have been significantly
more difficult to put satellites into orbit and ultimately men on the
moon without the progress in power electronics which was made in the
late 1950's and 1960's. In fact, as is often the case, the space
program provided a significant boost to research in the field of
power electronics and clearly provided the roots of modern
telecommunications and data processing power system technology.
In other areas, today's society is benefiting from improved
efficiency and precise control of modern electric motors. This has
been a key factor in the recent progress in robotics and other forms
of factory automation which has led to increased productivity and
quality. In addition, power electronics technology has led to
significant advances in electric locomotion, with many modern subway
and railway systems being installed throughout the world.
Power electronics engineers have also been playing a key role in
the evolution of our utility power systems. Static power converters
are an essential component of most "renewable energy source" power
systems such as photovoltaic systems, fuel cells and windmills. Also,
high voltage dc distribution systems are dependent on power
electronics technology for efficient and reliable operation.
Throughout this evolutionary process, the IEEE has provided
technical forums for power electronics engineers. These forums have
been sponsored by the various technical societies whose fields of
interest have included some aspect of the many facets of power
electronics technology. Examples of these sponsors include the
Aerospace and Electronic Systems Society for spacecraft power
systems, the Industry Applications Society for industrial motor
drives, the Power Engineering Society for utility applications, and
others. It became apparent several years ago that the engineers
working in the field of power electronics, but in different areas of
application, shared a common base of technology. In order to provide
opportunities for these engineers to come together and share their
experiences, The IEEE Power Electronics Council was formed.
The seeds of the Council were sown in early 1980. Through the
efforts of Paul Pittman, Bob Corbett, and Dave Borst, a Power
Electronics Council (PEC) Constitution and Bylaws were written, and
subsequently approved by the IEEE Technical Activities Board. With
this approval, the Council was officially established in 1983, and by
the Spring of 1984 ten IEEE societies had joined PEC. In June of
1984, the Council Administrative Committee voted to pursue the
publications of an archival journal on power electronics. The PEC
proposal was approved by the cognizant IEEE organizations in early
1985, and the IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics began to
take form. This first issue of the Transactions is a result of
this effort. Many thanks are due to the volunteers whose hard work
has brought us to this point in the Council's formation.
It is satisfying to look back at the early beginnings of power
electronics and see how the engineers who have worked in this field
have responded to needs and have been so creative in developing new
components, theories, and well engineered applications. Today's power
electronics engineers are continuing the tradition by contributing to
so many areas of modern electrotechnology and by contributing in so
many ways to the welfare of society. It is also very satisfying to
reflect on the role that the IEEE has played throughout the evolution
of power electronics.
As the field itself has changed, so has the response of the IEEE
in meeting the needs of the engineers who work in the field. As we
look ahead to many and varied challenges in the field of power
electronics, it is reassuring to note the responsiveness and support
of the IEEE through its recent formation of the Power Electronics
Council and the publication of this Transactions. Today's
power electronics engineers are truly fortunate to be faced with such
exciting opportunities and to have the support of such an
organization as the IEEE.
Copyright © 1986 Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers. Reprinted, with permission, from IEEE
Transactions on Power Electronics, January 1986, Volume PE-1,
No.1 pp. 1-2.
Internal or personal use of this material is permitted.
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