Hybrid simulation method using MATLAB/SIMULINK and PSPICE for studying the dynamics of the dc-dc converters with linear controllers

There are numerous simulation tools for studying electrical and electronic circuit system dynamics. Most of the times, we stick to a specific software package for studying the behavior of a circuit- it depends either on acquaintance with the software or on accessibility. However, it is good to carefully evaluate the advantages and shortcomings of each package prior to selecting one for a given set of objectives. In this paper, it has been demonstrated how one can combine both the popular simulation tools MATLAB/SIMULINK and PSPICE to study the dynamics of the dc-dc converters. The introduced co-simulation method has advantages like elimination of the laborious process of development of transfer function of the power stage for designing the controller, get rid of convergence problem and truncation of simulation time. The method proposed can be adapted by beginners who are very new to the designing of switching regulators for the quick understanding of dynamics of the converter. Down converter with voltage mode control is used to verify the proposed method. This can also be extended to higher order converters, like Cuk and SEPIC, where deriving the transfer function of a plant is quite tedious process, apart from above mentioned second order converter. Also, simulation with idealized models and detailed models has been discussed in the paper.