International Journal of Scientific Engineering and Research (IJSER)

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ISSN (Online): 2347-3878
Volume 2 Issue 3, March 2014

Design of Battery-Super Capacitors Combination in

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS)
D. Ranjini1, Anitha Sambathkumar2
1
PG Scholar, Department of EEE, Bharath Institute of Science and Technology, Bharath University, Selaiyur Chennai, India
2
Assistant Professor, Department of EEE, Bharath Institute of Science and Technology, Bharath University, Selaiyur Chennai, India

Abstract: This paper presents a study of the reduction in battery stresses by using Super capacitors (SCs) in UPS. We aim at
investigating the optimal Super capacitors-battery combination versus the SCs cost. This investigation is threefold; first, super capacitors
and battery models developed using MATLAB/ Simulink are presented and validated. Second, the architecture and the simulation of the
designed system that combines the SCs and the battery are shown. The Super capacitors are used as high-power storage devices to
smooth the peak power applied to the battery during backup time and to deliver full power during short grid outages. By charging the
SCs through the battery at a suitable rate, all impulse power demands would be satisfied by the Super capacitors. Third, extensive
simulations are carried out to determine the gain in battery RMS current, the gain in energy losses, the energy efficiency and the
elimination rate of surge load power. These four performance parameters are determined by simulation and then analyzed.

Keywords: capacitors, Simulink, power, storage, energy, supply, energy loss

1. Introduction min backup time. They also deliver the whole load power
during outages lasting less than 10 s. The lifetime of the
In many industrial sectors, high reliability power supply is batteries could then be extended. We focus then our study of
required for critical loads. Uninterruptible power supplies the reduction in battery stresses by the use of SCs. We aim at
(UPS) are used to improve power quality and guarantee the investigating the optimal SCs/battery combination with
reliability of backup power. During voltage sags or complete respect to the cost price of super capacitors. This
interruptions of the power supply, the energy has to be investigation is threefold; first, super capacitors and battery
supplied by local energy storage systems (ESS). models are developed then validated using
Conventional ESS for UPS is basically relying on the choice MATLAB/Simulink software.
of good lead-acid batteries. However, there are many
disadvantages associated with batteries such as low-power 1.1 Existing System
density and limited charge/discharge cycles. Moreover,
extracting pulsed power instead of average power from the
battery can decrease its lifespan. First, the current variations
cause voltage transients that can be interpreted by the low-
voltage detection circuit as a discharged battery creating a
premature shutdown. Second, the pulsed currents have a
higher RMS value, which might cause increasing battery
losses. Third, pulsating currents also reduce greatly the
battery runtime. A super capacitor is a double-layer
electrochemical capacitor that can store thousand times more
energy than a typical capacitor. It shares the characteristics
of both batteries and conventional capacitors and has an
energy density about 20% of a battery. Moreover, they have
almost negligible losses and long lifespan. They can process
a large number of charge and discharge cycles (several
hundred thousand cycles) compared to only a few thousand
cycles for lead-acid batteries, and can supply much higher Figure 1: Existing system block diagram
currents than batteries. Batteries are mostly efficient when
used to supply low, reasonably steady power levels. Super Explanation
capacitors are very effective in storing charge for later use.
Their leakage rate and series resistance are quite small. We Uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) are used to improve
present a power-sharing method between the super power quality and guarantee the reliability of backup power.
capacitors and the lead-acid battery in a 500-kVA rated UPS. During voltage sags or complete interruptions of the power
Combining super capacitors with battery-based UPS system supply, the energy has to be supplied by local energy storage
gives the best of high energy and high-power configurations. systems (ESS).Conventional ESS for UPS is basically
The super capacitors ensure the power impulses and reduce relying on the choice of good lead-acid batteries. However,
high power demands away from the battery during the 10- there are many disadvantages associated with batteries such

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ISSN (Online): 2347-3878
Volume 2 Issue 3, March 2014

as low-power density and limited charge/discharge cycles.

Moreover, extracting pulsed power instead of average power
from the battery can decrease its lifespan.

1.2 Proposed System

Figure 3: Topology of the 500-kVA UPS

1) Short interruptions of voltage supply: (up to 3 min), few

tens–few hundred/year, duration 70% of them <1 s;
2) Long interruptions of voltage supply: (longer than 3 min),
<10–50/year.

We mention that in practice, these requirements are not

particularly rigorous for the supplier. On the other hand, the
consumer regards the limits given in EN 50160 as
requirements that must be guaranteed by the supplier [3].

2.2 Super capacitors Pack Sizing and Modelling

Figure 2: Proposed block diagram
We have chosen that the supercapacitors, added as high-
Explanation: Super capacitors are a double-layer power storage devices, must supply the full power Pload= PN
electrochemical capacitor that can store thousand times more during Δt= 10 s, the delivered energy is then estimated to be
energy than a typical capacitor. It shares the characteristics around 4.8 MJ. The energy Esc stored at the voltage Uscof the
of both batteries and conventional capacitors and has an SCs pack voltage can be expressed as follows:
energy density about 20% of a battery. Moreover, they have
almost negligible losses and long lifespan. They can process
a large number of charge and discharge cycles (several
hundred thousand cycles) compared to only a few thousand
cycles for lead-acid batteries and can supply much higher
currents than batteries. Batteries are mostly efficient when Where Ceq is the equivalent capaccity of the SCs pack, Np_sc
used to supply low, reasonably steady power levels. Super and Ns_sc aare the number of the parallel branches and the
capacitors are very effective in storing charge for later use. number of SCs series connections, respectively, and Csc is
the SC capacitance. The supercapacitors considered in this
2. Presentation of the Studied UPS pper are the Maxwell/BCAP3000 type, rated 3000 F, 2.7 V
having the parameters given in table 1.
2.1 UPS Specification

Its topology is an Online/Double-Conversion system [2].

Before adding the super capacitors (without the dotted part),
in the case of interruption of the power grid rom Input1,” the
battery supplies immediately the full power to the inverter
during short and long outages. The period of backup time is
10 min and it is the required time for the generator to start up
and to reach its rated operation. Referring to Standard EN
Figure 4: Super-Capacitor simplified circuit: two branches
50160 [3], grid failures requirements are as follows:
model

It is usually allowed to utilize 75% of the energy stored in

the SCs pack by discharging the pack from its rated voltage
UM = 300 V (about 80% of the dc-bus voltage [4] to the half
of that value equal to Um = 150 V. Every elementary SC is
then discharged from an initial voltage Vsci= 2.7 V to a final
voltage Vscf= 1.35 V. Further, the internal losses in the SCs

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ISSN (Online): 2347-3878
Volume 2 Issue 3, March 2014

may be taken into account through the efficiency coefficient almost equal to 560 V (OCV battery voltage). We have then
k = 0.9 [4]. Ns sc= 205 and Np sc= 4.

This leads, by considering an energy of 4.8 MJ, to a SCs

pack having an equivalent capacitance Ceq= 158 F. Referring Figure 6: Parallel combination between SCs and battery
to the initial voltage of the SCs pack, we obtain Ns sc= 112
and Np sc= 6. To optimize the super capacitors combination 3.2 Controlled SCs-Battery Combination
with the battery in UPS applications, we need to establish a
model to describe the super capacitor behaviour during fast The control system presented in this section is designed to
charge and discharge cycles. We consider the equivalent benefit the fast charge and discharge capability of the super
electric circuit with two RC branches proposed by Zubieta capacitors in order to reduce the battery stresses due to
and Bonert [5], Gualous. The main capacitance C1 instantaneous power demands. The purpose of the
(differential capacitance [5]) depends on the voltage v1 . It combination between SCs and the battery is to make the SCs
consists of a constant capacity C0 (inF) and a constant supply the power transients and to smooth the high-power
parameter Cv(in F/V) and it is written as C1= C0 + Cvv1. The demands applied to the battery during autonomous operation
R1C1 branch determines the immediate behaviour of the [8]. Fig 7 shows the new UPS topology counting the control
super capacitor during rapid charge and discharge cycles in a system for power sharing between SCs and the battery.
few seconds. The R2C2 cell is the slow branch. It completes
the first cell in long time range in order of a few minutes and
describes the internal energy distribution at the end of the
charge (or discharge).The equivalent parallel resistance Rf
represents the leakage current and can be neglected during
fast charge/discharge of the super-capacitor.

Figure 7: Topology of the controlled SCs/battery

combination

The dc/dc converters are supposed to be without losses and

modelled as dc ideal bidirectional transformers. The input
currents of the converters associated with the battery and the
SCs pack, respectively ibat bus and isc bus are controlled by the
Figure 5: MATLAB simulation model of super capacitors power-sharing system. This control system performs
pack according to the SoC of the SCs pack and to the shape of the
load power. The load current iload and the load power Pload
The simulation circuit with MATLAB\Simulink of the super are distributed to the battery and the SCs according to the
capacitors pack is illustrated. This circuit is based on the principle represented in Fig.6.
following equations (leakage current of super capacitor is
neglected):

3. Design of Battery - Super Capacitors

Combination
3.1 Combination without Control System

First, the battery and the super capacitors have been

combined in parallel without control system as shown in
Fig.6the dc/dc and the ac/dc converters are supposed to be
ideal without losses. The dc-bus voltage VDC is equal to 400 Figure 8: Principle of power sharing between SCs and the
V. The super capacitors are configured as such to have battery.
approximately the same total number calculated in the
previous section (672 cells) and to ensure initial voltage

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ISSN
N (Online): 234 47-3878
Volumee 2 Issue 3, March
M 2014

Pload is the loaad power, Pbaat is the batterry power, Psc is the 4.2 Flowchart
SCs pack power, PLm is the limit load poower, and PIVV is the
innitial value off the battery poower.

1)) At time t1, the battery is subjected to a rising power

requested by
b the load. A low-pass filtter is applied to the
load currentt diverting suddden power vaariation to thee super
capacitors. The equationss of this first phase
p can be written
w
as follows:

Figuree 10: The SC’ss/battery comb

bination
2)) The constannt Tau characcterizes the dynamic
d of thhe low
pass filter. It is adjustabble and can act on the disccharge
We examined att the first stepp the combin nation of thesuuper
time of the SCs especiallly on the smooothing degree of the
capacitors with thhe batter duriing the UPS backup
b time of
o 10
peak powerr applied to thee battery.
n. A load-pow
min wer profile, richh in harmoniccs.
3)) At time t2,, Pload<Pbat, the battery supplies
s a fulll load
power and the
t low-pass filter
f operationn is cancelled.
4.3 Circuit Diaggram
4)) At time t3 , the load powwer Ploadis lesss than a load power
limit PLm, the battery suupplies both thhe load and thhe SCs
pack with energy inttended to reecharge the super
capacitors.

4 Architectture
4.

Figure 9: Block Diagraam

4.1 Modules

a)) Power Electronics Sectioon Expplanation

 Diode rectifier,
r Gatee driver circuuit, MOSFET Ts, LC • I present a power-sharing
p g method beetween the suuper
resonantt circuit, Filterr Capacitor. caapacitors and the lead-acid battery in UP
PS.
b)) Microcontrooller Section • Combining
C suuper capacitoors with baattery-based UPSU
 PIC16F8877A and PIC16F628A A Microconttroller, syystem gives the best of high energy and high-poower
Keys, LC CD, OR logicc. coonfigurations
 PIC16F6628A controoller is usedd to computte the • The
T Super caapacitors ensuure the pow wer impulses and
efficienccy and power factor of the system. It achieves reeduce high-poower demandss away from the t battery duuring
unity poower factor whhen the voltagge and currentt are in th
he 10-min bacckup time.
phase with
w each otherr. • They
T also deliiver the whole load poweer during outaages
laasting less thaan 10 s. The lifetime of th
he batteries coould
th
hen be extended.
• I present a power-sharing
p g method beetween the suuper
caapacitors and the lead-acid battery in UP
PS.
• Combining
C suuper capacitoors with baattery-based UPSU
syystem gives the best of high energy and high-poower
coonfigurations

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ISSN (Online): 2347-3878
Volume 2 Issue 3, March 2014

• The Super capacitors ensure the power impulses and in this chapter you will learn that pulsating dc is not
reduce high-power demands away from the battery during desirable. For this reason a FILTER section is used to
the 10-min backup time. convert pulsating dc to a purer, more desirable form of dc
• They also deliver the whole load power during outages voltage.
lasting less than 10 s. The lifetime of the batteries could
then be extended. The final section, the REGULATOR, does just what the
name implies. It maintains the output of the power supply at
4.3.1 Circuit Description: Voltage Doubler 12/24 volts a constant level in spite of large changes in load current or
input line voltages. Now that you know what each section
This circuit was born from the requirement to have 24 volts does, let's trace an ac signal through the power supply. At
DC in remote 12 volts DC operated boxes, such as this point you need to see how this signal is altered within
microwave transverters or other control units. This was each section of the power supply. Later on in the chapter you
aimed to properly drive relays, fans, etc. operating at 24V. will see how these changes take place. In view B of figure 4-
This circuit was replicated in hundred of units operating 1, an input signal of 115 volts ac is applied to the primary of
indoor/outdoor also with extreme conditions of heat/cold the transformer. The transformer is a step-up transformer
very successfully. with a turn’s ratio of 1:3. You can calculate the output for
this transformer by multiplying the input voltage by the ratio
The circuit consists in a simple, rugged BF amplifier put to of turns in the primary to the ratio of turns in the secondary;
self-oscillate to generate a square wave at 70 KHz circa. therefore, 115 volts ac ´ 3 = 345 volts ac (peak-to- peak) at
Then the square wave is rectified with a voltage doubler the output. Because each diode in the rectifier section
consisting of D1, D2, C3 and C4. The TDA2003 is built to conducts for 180 degrees of the 360-degree input, the output
deliver some 10 watts of power, the doubled output voltage of the rectifier will be one-half, or approximately 173 volts
at 24-26 volts (voltage out is depending by voltage in) it of pulsating dc. The filter section, a network of resistors,
exceeds430mA of current. The TDA2003 output stage works capacitors, or inductors, controls the rise and fall time of the
saturated therefore the power dissipated by the IC is quite varying signal; consequently, the signal remains at a more
low. Due to the little dissipation a big heatsink is not needed. constant dc level. You will see the filter process more clearly
Many units were built in a 'dead bug' manner soldering in the discussion of the actual filter circuits. The output of
directly the IC dissipator pad onto a small rectangular piece the filter is a signal of 110 volts dc, with ac ripple riding on
of PC board 2.5cm x 1.5cm acting as a support for the the dc.
circuit, as well as an heatsink (with full copper on the board
obviously). The idling current (no output load) is 4.4.2 Circuit Diagram of the Power Supply
approximately 40mA. The capacitors must have enough high voltage rating to
safely handle the input voltage feed to circuit. The circuit is
For D1 and D2 (1 amp at least) fast rectifiers shall be used very easy to build for example into a piece of Vero board.
while C3 and C4 shall better be low ear units; this said,
standard caps and diodes were used with success although
with slightly diminished performances (voltage and ripple).
C3 and C4 values of 330uF are adequate (not critic). Make
sure to properly decouple the 12 V power supply by means
of ceramic and low esr electrolytic capacitors; on the
schematic I put only one 470uF low esr for 'drawing
convenience' but it won't hurt to put other ones in parallel as
close as possible to the TDA input pin.

4.4 Hardware Used

4.4.3 Pin out of the 7805 regulator IC
4.4.1 Micro Controller Power Supply Unit
1) Unregulated voltage in
2) Ground
3) Regulated voltage out

4.4.4 Component List

 7805 regulator IC
 100 uF electrolytic capacitor, at least 25V voltage rating
 10 uF electrolytic capacitor, at least 6V voltage rating
 100 nF ceramic or polyester capacitor
The transformer steps up or steps down the input line voltage
and isolates the power supply from the power line. The
RECTIFIER section converts the alternating current input
signal to a pulsating direct current. However, as you proceed

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4.4.5 Drive Circuit (IR2110) and development (R&D) work, the objective of this chapter
is to describe simulation of;

 Impedance source
 Inverter with R, R-L and RLE loads
 Using MATLAB tool.

5.2 Introduction to MATLAB

MATLAB is a high-performance language for technical

computing. It integrates computation, visualization, and
programming in an easy-to-use environment where problems
and solutions are expressed in familiar mathematical
notation. Typical uses include;

1. Algorithm development
2. Data acquisition
3. Modeling, simulation, and prototyping
4. Data analysis, exploration, and visualization
5. Scientific and engineering graphics
The IR2110/IR2113 are high voltage, high speed power 6. Application development, including graphical user
MOSFET and IGBT drivers with independent high and low interface building
side referenced output channels. Proprietary HVIC and latch
immune CMOS technologies enable ruggedized monolithic 5.3 Simulation Diagram
construction. Logic inputs are compatible with standard
CMOS or LSTTL output, down to 3.3V logic. The output
drivers feature a high pulse current buffer stage designed for
minimum driver cross-conduction. Propagation delays are
matched to simplify use in high frequency applications. The
floating channel can be used to drive an N-channel power
MOSFET or IGBT in the high side configuration which
operates up to 500 or 600 volts.

4.4.6 Pin Configuration

DC-DC DAB converter circuit simulation diagram

5. Simulation
5.1 General

Simulation has become a very powerful tool on the industry

application as well as in academics, nowadays. It is now
essential for an electrical engineer to understand the concept
of simulation and learn its use in various applications.
Simulation is one of the best ways to study the system or
circuit behavior without damaging it .The tools for doing the
simulation in various fields are available in the market for
engineering professionals. Many industries are spending a Figure 5.1: Online Circuit Simulation Diagram
considerable amount of time and money in doing simulation
before manufacturing their product. In most of the research

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ISSN (Online): 2347-3878
Volume 2 Issue 3, March 2014

5.3 Simulation Output Proc. Eur. Conf. Power Electr.Appl., Aalborg,

Denmark, Sep. 2–5, 2007.
[3] J. M. Gurrero, L. G. De Vicuna, and J. Uceda,
“Uninterruptible powersupply systems provide
protection,” IEEE Ind. Electron. Mag., vol. 1,no. 1, pp.
28–38, 2007.
[4] H. Markiewicz, A. Klajn. (2004, Jul.). “Voltage
disturbances, standard EN50160 - voltage characteristics
in public distribution systems,” LeonardoPower Qual.
Figure 5.2: Over all voltage output Initiative (LPQI). [Online]. Available: www.lpqi.org
[5] W. Choi, J. W. Howze, and P. Enjeti, “Fuel-cell
powered uninterruptiblepower supply systems: Design
considerations,” J. Power Sources,vol. 157, no. 1, pp.
311–317, 2006.
[6] L. Zubieta and R. Bonert, “Characterization of double-
layer capacitors forpower electronics applications,”
IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 36, no. 1,pp. 199–205,
Figure 5.3: Super capacitor output Jan./Feb. 2000.
[7] H. Gualous, D. Bouquain, A. Bertbon, and J.M.
6. Conclusion Kauffinann, “Experimentalstudy of supercapacitor serial
resistance and capacitance variations withtemperature,”
In this paper, the design of a control system that optimizes J. Power Sources, vol. 123, pp. 86–93, 2003.
the battery-supercapacitors combination in a 500-kVA rated [8] D. Rakhmatov, S. Vrudhula, and D. A. Wallach, “A
UPS has been presented. The advantage of having a hybrid model for batterylifetime analysis for organizing
energy source for the UPS has been shown. The importance applications on a pocket computer,” IEEETrans. Very
of supercapacitors in peak-power smoothing has been Large Scale Integr. (VLSI) Syst., vol. 11, no. 6, pp.
elaborated on. TheSCs pack and the battery are modelled 1019–1030,Jun. 2003.
using MATLAB/Simulink software and then validated. The [9] B. S. Bhangu, P. Bentley, D. A. Stone, and C. M.
reduction in battery stresses has been discussed. The Bingham, “Nonlinearobservers for predicting state-of-
supercapacitors overcome the power surges and reduce high- charge and state-of-health of lead-acidbatteries for
power demands away from the battery during the backup hybrid-electric vehicles,” IEEE Trans. Veh. Technol.,
time. They also ensure the whole load power during outages vol. 54,no. 3, pp. 783–794, May 2005.
lasting less than 10 s. The study of some performance [10] J. Chiasson and B. Vairamohan, “Estimating the state of
parameters with respect to the cost of the SCs pack has also charge of abattery,” IEEE Trans. Control Syst. Technol.,
been presented and an optimal configuration has been found vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 465–470,May 2005.
for a filter constant Tau = 2 s, a number of SCs parallel
branches Np sc=8, and battery recharge current Ibat charge = Author Profile
400 A. The cost of this system is higher today than pure
battery system, however, it should be pointed out that D. Ranjini received the B. E. in Electrical and Electronics
supercapacitors undergo intensive development and become Engineering from Ranipettai Engineering College, Affiliated to
more and more available in small size and low price. At the Anna University Chennai, and currently doing M. Tech. degree in
current state, the SCs pack cost is almost triple of the battery Power Electronics and Drives from Bharath Institute of Science and
pack cost. The system we conceived would be efficient if the Technology, Chennai, affiliated to Bharath University, Chennai,
battery lifetime is enhanced at least four times. We are India
undertaking accelerated tests on lead-acid batteries to
Mrs. Anitha Sampathkumar received the B. Tech in Electrical
observe the effect of pulsed loads and smoothed loads on and Electronics Engineering from R.B.S Engineering College,
battery wear out process and reliability. Some extensions of Dhindukal and M.Tech degree Power Electronics and Drives
this study are undertaken and experimental bench has been Engineering. She now works as Assistant Professor in Bharath
set up to carry accelerated tests on lead-acid batteries. We Institute of Science and Technology, Chennai, India.
aim to observe the effect of pulsed loads and smoothed loads
on battery wear out process and reliability in order to
quantify the efficiency of the designed system.

References
[1] P. Mars, “A survey of super capacitors, their
applications, power designwith supercapacitors, and
future directions,” in Proc. IEEE Technol. TimeMach.
Symp. Technol. Beyond 2020, pp. 1–2, Jun.1–3, 2011.
[2] Stepanov, I. Galkin, and L. Bisenieks, “Implementation
of supercapacitorsin uninterruptible power supplies,” in

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