AC Startup Input Source

The AC startup input simulates the initial startup of a AC line source. The delay before the startup is programmable as are the filter and slew rate limiter parameters which affect the simulated waveshape. The AC Startup Source is used in the LineStartup() Test Objective.

In this topic:

Model Name AC Startup Input Source
Simulator This device is compatible with both the SIMetrix and SIMPLIS simulators.
Parts Selector
Menu Location
DVM > Sources > DVM Input Source w/ AC Line Support
Symbol Library None - the symbol is automatically generated when placed or edited.
Model File SIMPLIS_DVM_ADVANCED.lb
Subcircuit Name SIMPLIS_DVM_ADVANCED_SOURCE_AC_STARTUP
Symbols
Schematic

AC Startup Input Source Parameters

The following table explains the relevant parameters.

Parameter Name Default Data Type Range Units Parameter Description
AC_VOLTAGE1 115 Real min: 0 V The RMS value of the source
DC_VOLTAGE 5 Real   V The DC voltage offset of the source
FREQUENCY 50 Real min: >0 Hz The frequency of the source
F_CORNER 1Meg Real min: >0 Hz The corner frequency for the internal low pass filter. The number of poles is set by the N_ORDER parameter.
LINE_PHASEANGLE 0 Real 0- 360 ° Sets the source phase angle at time=0. Most often used in three phase systems to set the phase angle of each phase.
N_ORDER 0 Real 0 - 3   The number of poles in the filter. Set to 0 to remove the filter from the design.
SLEW_RATE 10Meg Real max: 1.0E11 V/s The maximum slew rate of the voltage source
SOURCE_INDUCTANCE 795.8u Real min: 0 H Sets the inductance of the line source
SOURCE_NAME SRC String n/a n/a Name of the DVM source. This name cannot contain spaces.
SOURCE_RESISTANCE 0.4 Real min:0 Sets the source resistance of the source.
TIME_DELAY 10u Real min:0 s Sets the time delay before the startup source is activated.

Testplan Entry

To set a managed DVM source to use the AC Startup subcircuit, the source symbol must be set to support AC line sources. Then, to set the source definition to a AC Startup source, place a AcStartup() testplan entry in a Source column.

The AcStartup()  testplan entry has the following syntax with the arguments taken from the list of AC Startup Input Source Parameters above.

AcStartup(REF, LINE_RANGE, VOLTAGE, FREQUENCY)
AcStartup(REF, LINE_RANGE, VOLTAGE, FREQUENCY, OPTIONAL_PARAMETER_STRING)
Argument Range Description
REF n/a The actual reference designator of the DVM Source or the generic syntax of INPUT:n where n is an integer indicating a position in the list of Managed Sources and Loads
LINE_RANGE LL or HL The line range to select the correct symbolic voltage value. This can only be the two strings LL or HL.
VOLTAGE min:0 The RMS voltage for the input source. The voltage can be a numeric value or a symbolic value, such as a percentage of nominal input voltage. Symbolic values use the LINE_RANGE parameter to find the correct symbolic value.
FREQUENCY min: > 0 The AC line frequency of the input source. This is used to both set the frequency of the input source and to set the simulation timing. The frequency can be a numeric or a symbolic value, such as F_High or F_Low.
OPTIONAL_PARAMETER_STRING n/a Parameter string with any of the other parameters from the parameter table above*
*    If more than one parameter is specified, join the parameter key-value pairs with a space, for example:
parameter_name1=parameter_value1 parameter_name2=parameter_value2
The order of the parameter key-value pairs does not matter.

Waveforms

This example uses the optional parameter LINE_PHASEANGLE set to 90°, and a time delay before the source starts. The dotted curve represents the source prior to the startup time, which is set by the TIME_DELAY parameter. For simulation times greater than the TIME_DELAY, the source is a fixed AC sine wave.