The implementation of orthogonal array method on designing self-excited electronic ballast

A pragmatic and efficient method using consecutive orthogonal arrays is proposed for designing a fluorescent lamp electronic ballast with a self-excitation driving circuit. The circuit parameters of the electronic ballast to be determined are assigned as the control variables in the orthogonal arrays, and the average effects corresponding to each control variable are calculated from the circuit performances which are obtained from experimental tests. In accordance with the inferential rules, the average effects are used as the observational indexes to adjust the levels of the control variables for the subsequent orthogonal array. Through manipulating consecutive orthogonal arrays step by step, the applicable ranges of circuit parameters are shrunk, and then the region with desired output performances can be approached. The design procedure and the inferential rules are illustrated by an example of the electronic ballast with the self-excited series resonant inverter. In the design example, one can find 8 combinations of circuit parameters with the desired output performances from 5 steps of orthogonal array manipulation.