Novel zero voltage switching dual-switch forward converter with ripple current cancellation

A zero voltage switching (ZVS) dual-switch forward converter with ripple current cancellation is presented. In the proposed converter, active clamp circuit is used to clamp the voltage stresses and to realise ZVS of all switching devices. Active clamp boost converter with power factor correction is used in the front stage of the proposed converter to draw a sinusoidal line current from the AC source and to maintain a constant voltage at the DC bus. The second stage of the proposed converter is a dual-switch forward converter with current doubler rectifier to obtain the isolated low output voltage. Active clamp circuit used in the DC/DC converter can recycle the energy stored in the leakage inductor and magnetising inductor so that the voltage stresses on the switches are limited and the ZVS feature is realised. The current doubler rectifier offers the ripple current cancellation at the output capacitor and reduces the current stress of the transformer secondary winding. The circuit configuration and principle of operation are analysed and discussed in detail. Experimental results with a laboratory prototype based on a 90-260 V_rms input and 12 V/30 A output were provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter.