Soft-Switching DC-DC Converters

Power electronics converters are implemented with switching devices that turn on and off while power is being converted from one form to another. They operate with high switching frequencies to reduce the size of the converters\u27 inductors, transformers and capacitors. Such high switching frequency operation, however, increases the amount of power that is lost due to switching losses and thus reduces power converter efficiency. Switching losses are caused by the overlap of switch voltage and switch current during a switching transition. If, however, either the voltage across or the current flowing through a switch is zero during a switching transition, then there is no overlap of switch voltage and switch current so in theory, there are no switching losses. Techniques that ensure that this happens are referred to as soft-switching techniques in the power electronics literature and there are two types: zero-voltage switching (ZVS) and zero-current switching (ZCS). For pulse-width modulated (PWM) Dc-Dc converters, both ZVS and ZCS are typically implemented with auxiliary circuits that help the main power switches operate with soft-switching. Although these auxiliary circuits do help improve the efficiency of the converters, they increase their cost. There is, therefore, motivation to try to make these auxiliary circuits as simple and as inexpensive as possible. Three new soft-switching Dc-Dc PWM converters are proposed in this thesis. For each converter, a very simple auxiliary circuit that consists of only a single active switching device and a few passive components is used to reduce the switching losses in the main power switches. The outstanding feature of each converter is the simplicity of its auxiliary circuit, which unlike most other previously proposed converters of similar type, avoids the use of multiple active auxiliary switches. In this thesis, the operation of each proposed converter is explained, analyzed, and the results of the analysis are used to develop a design procedure to select key component values. This design procedure is demonstrated with an example that was used in the implementation of an experimental prototype. The feasibility of each proposed converter is confirmed with experimental result obtained from a prototype converter

Design of dual-input two phase dc/dc converter with modified pulse width modulation (mpwm)

Recently, hybrid energy source/renewable energy has attracted interest as the next-generation energy system capable of solving the problems of global warming and energy exhaustion caused by increasing energy consumption. Energy sources such as wind turbines and photovoltaic (PV) systems are intermittent, unpredictable and unregulated. For such systems, the use of multiple-input converter (MIC) has the advantage of regulating and controlling multiple-input sources. With multiple Pulsating Voltage-Source Cells (PVSC) configurations, the proposed converter can deliver power to the load individually and simultaneously. Also, it has the capability of operating either in buck, boost or buck–boost mode of operation. In addition, by proposing the enhanced Modified PWM (MPWM) switching scheme, it is able to solve the issues of the overlapping unregulated input sources. Furthermore, with the proposed multiphase configuration, the input current stresses in the switching devices are reduced and it has the benefit of a reduction in conduction losses. In addition, Zero-Voltage Switching (ZVS) technique is also employed in the proposed converter to reduce the switching loss. The proposed converter circuit is simulated by using MATLAB/Simulink and PSpice software programs. The duty cycle employed to regulate output voltage is reached from Altera DE2-70 board through dSPACE DS1103 board using by Proportional-Integral (PI) controller. The dual-input converter circuit model specification with output power at 200 W, input voltages that range from 10 to 60 V, and operating with dual switching frequencies of 50 kHz and 100 kHz is simulated to validate the designed parameters. Design guidelines, simulation and experimental results are presented. The results show that the proposed two-phase DC/DC converter with ZVS technique achieves 94% efficiency for all ranges of loads compared with the multiphase hard-switching. The total power losses across the power switches are reduced by approximately 37% in the proposed converter. Thus, the proposed converter circuit model offers advantages on input current stress and switching loss reductions. The proposed circuit configuration can be used in a standalone hybrid energy system under unregulated DC input voltages. However the major disadvantages of resonant circuit are increased peak current and voltage stress and not suitable for variable frequency operation

A New Zcs-Pwm Full-Bridge Dc–Dc Converter With Simple Auxiliary Circuits

In this paper design & analysis of pv system based full bridge dc-dc converter with auxiliary circuits with soft-switching pulse width modulated (PWM) converter is proposed. The advantage of this converter is that it allows its main power switches to operate with zero current switching (ZCS) and with fewer conduction losses than conventional full-bridge converters. This conventional approach will gathered importance towards solar system. This solar system is also designed by using two simple active auxiliary circuits one is active, and the other is passive. The paper presents the PV based converter system and then discusses its operation, steady-state characteristics. Simulation results will be obtained from MATLAB/SIMULINK software to validate the converter’s performance of the PV system  based full bridge dc-dc converter

High step up DC-DC converter topology for PV systems and electric vehicles

This thesis presents new high step-up DC-DC converters for photovoltaic and electric vehicle applications. An asymmetric flyback-forward DC-DC converter is proposed for the PV system controlled by the MPPT algorithm. The second converter is a modular switched-capacitor DC-DC converter, it has the capability to operate with transistor and capacitor open-circuit faults in every module. The results from simulations and tests of the asymmetric DC-DC converters have suggested that the proposed converter has a 5% to 10% voltage gain ratio increased to the symmetric structures among 100W – 300W power (such as [3]) range while maintaining efficiency of 89%-93% when input voltage is in the range of 25 – 30 V. they also indicated that the softswitching technique has been achieved, which significantly reduce the power loss by 1.7%, which exceeds the same topology of the proposed converter without the softswitching technique. Moreover, the converters can maintain rated outputs under main transistor open circuit fault situation or capacitor open circuit faults. The simulation and test results of the proposed modularized switched-capacitor DC-DC converters indicate that the proposed converter has the potential of extension, it can be embedded with infinite module in simulation results, however, during experiment. The sign open circuit fault to the transistors and capacitors would have low impact to the proposed converters, only the current ripple on the input source would increase around 25% for 4-module switched-capacitor DC-DC converters. The developed converters can be applied to many applications where DC-DC voltage conversion is alighted. In addition to PVs and EVs. Since they can ride through some electrical faults in the devices, the developed converter will have economic implications to improve the system efficiency and reliability

Review of Electric Vehicle Charging Technologies, Configurations, and Architectures

Electric Vehicles (EVs) are projected to be one of the major contributors to energy transition in the global transportation due to their rapid expansion. The EVs will play a vital role in achieving a sustainable transportation system by reducing fossil fuel dependency and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, high level of EVs integration into the distribution grid has introduced many challenges for the power grid operation, safety, and network planning due to the increase in load demand, power quality impacts and power losses. An increasing fleet of electric mobility requires the advanced charging systems to enhance charging efficiency and utility grid support. Innovative EV charging technologies are obtaining much attention in recent research studies aimed at strengthening EV adoption while providing ancillary services. Therefore, analysis of the status of EV charging technologies is significant to accelerate EV adoption with advanced control strategies to discover a remedial solution for negative grid impacts, enhance desired charging efficiency and grid support. This paper presents a comprehensive review of the current deployment of EV charging systems, international standards, charging configurations, EV battery technologies, architecture of EV charging stations, and emerging technical challenges. The charging systems require a dedicated converter topology, a control strategy and international standards for charging and grid interconnection to ensure optimum operation and enhance grid support. An overview of different charging systems in terms of onboard and off-board chargers, AC-DC and DC-DC converter topologies, and AC and DC-based charging station architectures are evaluated

Optimization And Design Of Photovoltaic Micro-inverter

To relieve energy shortage and environmental pollution issues, renewable energy, especially PV energy has developed rapidly in the last decade. The micro-inverter systems, with advantages in dedicated PV power harvest, flexible system size, simple installation, and enhanced safety characteristics are the future development trend of the PV power generation systems. The double-stage structure which can realize high efficiency with nice regulated sinusoidal waveforms is the mainstream for the micro-inverter. This thesis studied a double stage micro-inverter system. Considering the intermittent nature of PV power, a PFC was analyzed to provide additional electrical power to the system. When the solar power is less than the load required, PFC can drag power from the utility grid. In the double stage micro-inverter, the DC/DC stage was realized by a LLC converter, which could realize soft switching automatically under frequency modulation. However it has a complicated relationship between voltage gain and load. Thus conventional variable step P&O MPPT techniques for PWM converter were no longer suitable for the LLC converter. To solve this problem, a novel MPPT was proposed to track MPP efficiently. Simulation and experimental results verified the effectiveness of the proposed MPPT. The DC/AC stage of the micro-inverter was realized by a BCM inverter. With duty cycle and frequency modulation, ZVS was achieved through controlling the inductor current bi-directional in every switching cycle. This technique required no additional resonant components and could be employed for low power applications on conventional full-bridge and half-bridge inverter topologies. Three different current mode control schemes were derived from the basic theory of the proposed technique. They were referred to as Boundary Current Mode (BCM), Variable Hysteresis Current Mode (VHCM), and Constant Hysteresis Current Mode (CHCM) individually in this paper with their advantages and disadvantages analyzed in detail. Simulation and experimental iv results demonstrated the feasibilities of the proposed soft-switching technique with the digital control schemes. The PFC converter was applied by a single stage Biflyback topology, which combined the advantages of single stage PFC and flyback topology together, with further advantages in low intermediate bus voltage and current stresses. A digital controller without current sampling requirement was proposed based on the specific topology. To reduce the voltage spike caused by the leakage inductor, a novel snubber cell combining soft switching technique with snubber technique together was proposed. Simulation and experimental waveforms illustrated the same as characteristics as the theoretical analysis. In summary, the dissertation analyzed each power stage of photovoltaic micro-inverter system from efficiency and effectiveness optimization perspectives. Moreover their advantages were compared carefully with existed topologies and control techniques. Simulation and experiment results were provided to support the theoretical analysis

High Power, Medium Frequency, and Medium Voltage Transformer Design and Implementation

Many industrial applications that require high-power and high-voltage DC-DC conversion are emerging. Space-borne and off-shore wind farms, fleet fast electric vehicle charging stations, large data centers, and smart distribution systems are among the applications. Solid State Transformer (SST) is a promising concept for addressing these emerging applications. It replaces the traditional Low Frequency Transformer (LFT) while offering many advanced features such as VAR compensation, voltage regulation, fault isolation, and DC connectivity. Many technical challenges related to high voltage stress, efficiency, reliability, protection, and insulation must be addressed before the technology is ready for commercial deployment. Among the major challenges in the construction of SSTs are the strategies for connecting to Medium Voltage (MV) level. This issue has primarily been addressed by synthesizing multicellular SST concepts based on modules rated for a fraction of the total MV side voltage and connecting these modules in series at the input side. Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductor development enables the fabrication of power semiconductor devices with high blocking voltage capabilities while achieving superior switching and conduction performances. When compared to modular lower voltage converters, these higher voltage semiconductors enable the construction of single-cell SSTs by avoiding the series connection of several modules, resulting in simple, reliable, lighter mass, more power dense, higher efficiency, and cost effective converter structures. This dissertation proposes a solution to this major issue. The proposed work focuses on the development of a dual active bridge with high power, medium voltage, and medium frequency control. This architecture addresses the shortcomings of existing modular systems by providing a more power dense, cost-effective, and efficient solution. For the first time, this topology is investigated on a 700kW system connected to a 13kVdc input to generate 7.2kVdc at the output. The use of 10kV SiC modules and gate drivers in an active neutral point clamped to two level dual active bridge converter is investigated. A special emphasis will be placed on a comprehensive transformer design that employs a multi-physics approach that addresses all magnetic, electrical, insulation, and thermal aspects. The transformer is designed and tested to ensure the system’s viability

A Novel Adaptive Synchronous Rectification System for Low Output Voltage Isolated Converters

The design of efficient isolated low output voltage converters is a major concern due to their widespread use. One of the preferred methods used to maximize their efficiency is synchronous rectification (SR), i.e., the replacement of the secondary side diodes with MOSFETs to decrease conduction losses. However, depending on the topology being used, SR might not provide the required efficiency improvement or even be easily implemented. This paper presents a novel SR system that can be applied to converters with symmetrically driven transformers and to converters from the flyback family; in both cases, the proposed system adaptively generates a control signal that controls a synchronous rectifier MOSFET placed in parallel with each diode, turning it on during the conduction intervals of the diodes. The proposed system uses only information from the secondary side, thus avoiding breaking the isolation barrier; it can be built using a few low-cost analog components, is reliable and simple, and could be easily implemented in an integrated circuit. Up to a 3% improvement is demonstrated in a 3.3-5-V 120-W push-pull converter, and up to a 2.5% improvement is obtained in a 5-V 50-W flyback converter, with both of them designed for telecom application