Effects of Electromagnetic Inductive Attack on the Performance of a Boost DC-DC Converter

The performance of electric drives used in many applications is based on the correct integration of sensors and informatic systems, which can be affected by intentional cyberphysical attacks. In particular, voltage and current sensors are essential for the correct implementation of the control of a power converter. Usually in a sensor the measured physical quantity is transformed into an analog signal which is acquired by the ADC of a microcontroller. During this stage, some intentional electromagnetic interference can add a disturbance to the signal, resulting in the possibility of introducing a permanent fault in the drives. Usually, the attack is much more likely to introduce only a deterioration in the performance of the converter. This paper presents a study of the effect of an EMI attack on the control of a boost DC-DC converter, and points out some relations able to describe the deterioration of converter performance. By means of numerical simulations, two case studies are analyzed.