Design. Build. Ship. Service.Design. Build. Ship. Service.
IBM Technology Symposium
Impact of Input Voltage on Server PSU-
Efficiency, Power Density and Cost
Sriram Chandrasekaran
November 13, 2012
Presentation Outline
Redundant Server PSU Performance Metrics
Efficiency, Power Density, Features
Architectural Overview of Server PSU
Overview of Converter Topologies
Impact of input voltage on PSU Metrics
AC Input voltage
22
AC Input voltage
High line/Low line
277Vac
Dual input AC
DC Input voltage
380Vdc
260Vdc
48Vdc
Redundant Server PSU Performance Metrics
Efficiency
80 PLUS Certification 230V Internal Redundant
% of Rated Load 10% 20% 50% 100%
80 PLUS Bronze --- 81% 85% 81%
80 PLUS Silver --- 85% 89% 85%
80 PLUS Gold --- 88% 92% 88%
80 PLUS Platinum --- 90% 94% 91%
80 PLUS Titanium 90% 94% 96% 91%
33
Processed Power Density: > 40W/in3
Features Sleep Mode Operation
High Accuracy Reporting
No-load input power
Peak power profiles with throttling
Event Recording
Field-upgradability of firmware
80 PLUS Titanium 90% 94% 96% 91%
FlexPower 3kW PSU Efficiency @ 230Vin
84
86
88
90
92
94
96
PS
U E
ffic
ien
cy (
%)
% Load Efficiency
5 78.41
10 87.82
15 91.49
20 93.02
25 93.78
30 94.21
35 94.46
40 94.62
45 94.68
50 94.67
55 94.63
44
76
78
80
82
84
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PS
U E
ffic
ien
cy (
%)
% Load
55 94.63
60 94.56
65 94.50
70 94.41
75 94.28
80 94.15
85 93.88
90 93.68
95 93.46
100 93.22
PSU Block Diagram
EMI
Filter
Rectifier &
Inrush
Control
Boost PFC
(80 ~100kHz)
Isolated
DC/DC
(80
~100kHz)
Bias & To power supply
1- AC
90-264VACV1 = 12V
~400V ORing
FETs
ORing
55
Bias &
standby
(80-100kHz)
Control
Isolation
Communication
To power supply
To system
Vsb = 12V
Vhk
ORing
FETs
Digital PFC control
Input current
Bus voltage
Switching FrequencyVAC
Boost PFC FET gating
signals, Relay drive
Primary and
secondary side FET
gating signals
Isolation barrierPM Bus
Digital Load share
DC Algorithms
System
Control Block Diagram
Analog or Digital
Control IC
66
Primary side
digital controller
Primary side
monitoring and
communication
VAC
Bus voltage,
rectified
current
DC/DC
Controller
Voltage/current
analog control
Output voltage,
current signals
8 bit Silabs
Micro controller
Housekeeping
and black box
Secondary side
microcontroller
PFC
Power & RMS
algorithms
Digital Isolator
Design. Build. Ship. Service.
Converter Topologies
R1
R
DC1
DC
CR
CHSA1
DA1
DCH
LB1
DC1
SA1
DA1LB1DA2
LB2
SA2
CHL
N
Power Factor Correction (AC Bulk Vdc)
Conventional Boost PFC Bridgeless Boost PFC
88
R2 DC2DC2
A1 A2
Robust, time tested topology
DCM, BM (Boundary Mode), CCM
Interleaving for higher power
Innovations Soft switching variations
Magnetics design
Control
Higher efficiency
EMI compliance is challenging
Innovations EMI compliance
Magnetics Design
Control
Isolated DC/DC Conversion (Bulk Vdc 12V)
Single Stage Two-Stage
PWM
(1) Phase-shifted Full Bridge
(2) Half-Bridge
(3) 2T forward
(1) Boost + Half-bridge (50% duty cycle)
(2) Buck + Half-bridge (50% duty cycle)
Resonant Frequency modulated LLC(1) Boost + fixed frequency LLC
(2) Buck + fixed frequency LLC
Primary side
99
Interleaving variations for higher power and ripple cancellation
Secondary side
Synchronous Rectification
Current doublers
Coupled inductors
Center-tapped/single winding variations
Design. Build. Ship. Service.
Impact on Input Voltage on PSU
Single Phase AC Input
Universal line (90Vac 264Vac): 1000W, >30W/in3
High line/de-rated low line
1111
277Vac
Single Phase AC Input
1- ACDC
DC
AC
DC
Vo = 12V DC
DC BUS
(400V nom)EMI + PFC Isolated DC/DC
REVERSE AIR FLOW
1212
FORWARD AIR FLOW
Impact of input voltage range is dominant on design of the PFC power train Efficiency and power density 120Hz ripple on DC bus E-cap life
Second order impact on DC/DC design from air-flow direction Packaging and Layout
277Vac 277Vac is Line-Neutral (Y) from 480Vac Line-Line () input
Input voltage max is 277Vac+10% = 305V
Higher efficiency and density due to lower input current
Front-End
AC inlet
X and Y caps
1313
X and Y caps
305V rated safety caps are available in the market now
Rectifier/PFC Stage
Peak Rectified 305Vac = 430Vdc
Voltage rating switching devices can stay at 600V is Vbulk < 480V (80% derating)
500V rated bulk capacitance required
High Vbulk results in lower Cbulk for given hold-up spec
PF and THD impact due to lower input current
277Vac
DC/DC Stage
No change to primary side if Vbulk < 480V
600V/650V devices can continue to be used
For PWM topologies, SR FET voltage rating may increase from 60V to 75V
Device portfolio not as broad in the 75V space
Cost and efficiency impact
1414
No impact to SRs for resonant topologies
SR Voltage rating is 2X output voltage
277Vac Hold-up Capacitance Requirement
Bulk capacitance/Watt for 10ms of hold-up
2
2
,
21 o,maxH
Co t
bus nom
max
PC t
k V nV
D
=
Po Maximum output power
tH Hold-up time, 10ms
Vbus,nom Bulk voltage @ full load
Dmax Max allowable duty cycle, 45%
Vo Output voltage, 12.2V
1515
Vo Output voltage, 12.2V
Vdropout Drop out voltage, Vont/Dmax nt Transformer turns ratio, 12:1
kC capacitor derating factor, 80%
DC/DC Stage efficiency, 96%
33% reduction in Cbulk
Bulk capacitance requirement is reduced at higher Vbulk.
Availability of 500V caps (105C, 2000hr) is limited
Best option is to build a series/parallel cap bank Impact to power density Largest capacitance in 30x50 can size is 300uF
Large drop in foil gain results in reduction of C/m2 voltage rating increases from 450V to 500V
277Vac PFC Efficiency Improvement
PFC Efficiency comparison at 3kW
1616
Modulation range of bulk voltage as a function of load is limited with 277Vac
Gains at light loads are insignificant due to dominant switching losses
PFC design is optimized for reduced current at 277Vac Density advantage Higher inductance boost choke
Bulk cap availability is the limiting factor for increasing density
Dual Redundant AC Input
AC input fed into PSU through two AC inlets (FEED1 and FEED2)
FEED 1 is the default input
PSU monitors both AC inputs continuously
PSU should switch to FEED 2 in the event of AC FAIL on FEED 1
PSU should switch back to FEED 1 when good AC is available
1717
Density and Cost impact due to
AC Transfer Circuitry (Relay network)
Monitoring and Control circuitry
No efficiency impact
Dual Redundant AC Input AC Transfer Circuit
L1
L2
L
RLY0
PRI_RTN
RLY_LINE
AC_DETECT
L1 N1 L2 N2
1818
N2
N1
PSU
N
RLY1
PRI_RTN
RLY_NEUT
DC Input PSU
380Vdc High Voltage DC Input
2006 study from Lawrence Berkeley labs showed 7% reduction in input power
Hold-up requirements will dictate size of front-end
160Vdc 265Vdc Pass-through from Standby Power System
PSU to operate from AC input and DC input.
In the event of AC failure, DC input will be made available with specified duration
1919
In the event of AC failure, DC input will be made available with specified duration
PSU will power up within specified duration after availability of GOOD DC power
48Vdc
36VDC 72VDC input (from battery bank)
Reverse polarity protection
Hold-up time of 2ms - 8ms
High current makes design of front-end challenging
DC Input PSU Block Diagram
EMI
Filter
Inrush Control &
Reverse Polarity
Protection or
Bridge Rectifier
Front-end
Boost
(80 ~100kHz)
Isolated
DC/DC
(80
~100kHz)
Bias & To power supply
Vdc V1 = 12VORing
FETs
ORing
2020
Bias &
standby
(80-100kHz)
Control
Isolation
Communication
To power supply
To system
Vsb = 12V
Vhk
ORing
FETs
High Voltage 380Vdc Input
Efficiency improvement of front-end boost due to Elimination of Bridge Rectifier
Near Unity Step-up ratio from 380Vdc to 430Vdcmax ~99%
Density Improvement due to reduced input current
No significant change in PSU architecture Simplified RMS detection and control algorithms on front-end MPPF/MPF high voltage caps used for DM and CM filtering
2121
MPPF/MPF high voltage caps used for DM and CM filtering No impact to DC/DC stage or AUX stage
Vin = 380V, Vo = 420V, fs = 60kHz
Front-End Boost Efficiency (3kW)
2222
Efficiency estimations are based on best-available component models
High Voltage 380Vdc Input - Connectors
We have looked at Positronics connectors as an option
2323
We also expect front-loading designs where input/output terminals are on
same connector system
DC Input PSU (165Vdc 260Vdc)
160Vdc 265Vdc Pass-through from Standby Power System
PSU to operate from AC input and DC input
In the event of AC failure, DC input will be made available with specified duration
PSU will power up from DC input within specified duration from instant of
2424
PSU will power up from DC input within specified duration from instant of availability of GOOD DC power
No change in PSU architecture
AC detection/metering algorithm has to accommodate DC input for Determining turn-on/turn-off thresholds
Reporting Input power/voltage/current
DC Input PSU (48VDC)
Counterparts of AC input PSUs in same form factor at same or lower power levels
Reduced hold-up time (2ms to 8ms)
Reverse Polarity Protection is required
Achieving high densities at higher power levels (>1000W) is a challenge due to high input current
2525
high input current
Common-Mode Choke based on UU-core
Input fuse and EMI Filter
2626
Common-Mode Choke based on UU-core
At 36Vin/3kW input current is ~85A
For every m , power loss is 7.225W
4in of 14AWG wire has a resistance of 1m at 75C
Multi-filar magnet wire or copper stampings
UU-core geometry results in better window utilization
Low L/High C filter to minimize turns, hence copper loss
sDT
g1
g2
g3
L1 L2 L3
CC
L
L
C
D
2
3
4
Integrated Boost Choke for Front-End
2727
3 boost chokes integrated within a single ferrite core assembly (54mm (L) x 24mm (W) x 40mm (H))
Flux and currents are interleaved resulting low core and copper loss
Fluxes are interleaved in ~72% of core volume (very low core loss)
Per phase inductance of 28uH
3
sTsDT
sT
D
84
86
88
90
92
94
96P
SU
Eff
icie
ncy
(%
)
% Load % Eff
10 93.17
20 94.46
30 94.30
40 93.85
50 93.25
60 92.57
Estimated Efficiency at 48Vdc/3kW
2828
76
78
80
82
84
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
PS
U E
ffic
ien
cy (
%)
% Load
60 92.57
70 91.84
80 91.09
90 90.33
100 89.57
PSU efficiency is dominated by conduction loss due to high input and output currents
As a result, efficiency peaks at light loads and decreases down to 100% load due to I2R loss
Summary
Impact of input voltage on redundant server PSU architecture and metrics were covered.
No significant changes in power converter topologies other than obvious updates to component selection
Higher input voltages lead to higher efficiency
2929
Density improvements are dictated by advancements in component technologies(1) 500V E-cap availability for 277Vac designs
(2) High current front-end designs for 48Vdc designs
High Voltage DC input PSUs are more efficient and simpler designs Require re-architecting of the power delivery infrastructure to server rack