Nonresonant and resonant coupled zero voltage switching converters

Two zero-voltage switching power converters with nonresonant and resonant coupling are presented. These are high-order multiple resonant converters in which the circuit modes associated with the converter operation may have different resonant frequencies. The steady-state responses of these converters are derived in terms of state-plane diagrams by using proper state variable transformations. It is shown that the converters have all the desirable features for high-frequency applications and overcome the drawback of load-range limitation of zero-voltage switching associated with the conventional class-E converter     

New zero voltage switching DC converter with flying capacitors

A new soft switching converter is presented for medium power applications. Two full-bridge converters are connected in series at high voltage side in order to limit the voltage stress of power switches at V_in/2. Therefore, power metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs) with 600 V voltage rating can be adopted for 1200 V input voltage applications. In order to balance two input split capacitor voltages in every switching cycle, two flying capacitors are connected on the AC side of two full-bridge converters. Phase-shift pulse-width modulation (PS-PWM) is adopted to regulate the output voltage. Based on the resonant behaviour by the output capacitance of MOSFETs and the resonant inductance, active MOSFETs can be turned on under zero voltage switching (ZVS) during the transition interval. Thus, the switching losses of power MOSFETs are reduced. Two full-bridge converters are used in the proposed circuit to share load current and reduce the current stress of passive and active components. The circuit analysis and design example of the prototype circuit are provided in detail and the performance of the proposed converter is verified by the experiments.     

The novel resonant DC link three-level soft-switching inverter

ABSTRACT

In the paper, the novel topology of the resonant DC link three-level soft-switching inverter is proposed to reduce switching losses and improve the efficiency of three-level inverter at high switching frequency. Symmetrical auxiliary resonant circuits are set in the DC link of three-level hard-switching inverter. Moreover, the terminal voltage of the resonant capacitors between the DC buses periodically drops to zero via the resonance of auxiliary circuits. Furthermore, under such condition, the main switches of the three-level inverter would be operated, in order to achieve zero-voltage switching. Based on the equivalent circuits in different operating modes, the paper analyses the working process of the soft-switching inverter in detail. In addition, a 3 kW laboratory prototype of resonant DC link three-phase three-level soft-switching inverter is built. The experimental results show that the main switches and auxiliary switches of the inverter are operated under soft-switching conditions, and the efficiency is significantly improved compared with the three-level hard-switching inverter. Therefore, the proposed topology can effectively reduce switching losses and prove to be more practical in engineering.     

一种新型零电压切换双向DC/DC变换器的设计与仿真

由于电动汽车电源变换器在行驶过程中,电机的调速范围很宽,加减速频繁,因此对电源变换器的动态响应速度,续航能力提出了更高的要求。但汽车电源存在低电压大电流、di/dt和du/dt较大、转换效率低和电磁干扰严重等问题。为此,设计一种新型的具有升压-降压功能的零电压转换双向DC-DC变换器。在传统的升降压变换器的基础上,通过增加两个辅助开关器件和一个LC谐振电路,构成一个H-软开关控制转换电路,产生的有源钳位电压加载到主开关两端,实现电路零电压转换。在Matlab环境下,对所提出的电路进行仿真,结果表明,所设计的电路能降低开关器件的导通损耗,提高电源的效率,并在6 kW双向升降压变换器样机上进行实验。     

Quasi-parallel resonant DC link inverter with improved PWMcapability

A quasi-parallel resonant DC-link (QPRDCL) circuit with improved PWM capability is proposed for the zero voltage switching (ZVS) three phase PWM inverter. The circuit has minimum voltage stresses and improved PWM capability due to the flexible selectability of the on/off instants of the resonant link     

The three-phase resonant DC link inverter with soft-switching function

ABSTRACT

In order to realise the energy-saving operation of the three-phase inverter, a three-phase resonant DC link inverter with soft-switching function is proposed. The auxiliary resonant circuit on the DC side participates in the commutation process, so that the DC link voltage can change to zero before the main switch on the bridge arm is switched. Therefore, the main switch can complete the zero-voltage soft-switching and realise the energy-saving operation of the inverter by reducing the switching power loss. The circuit workflow and parameter design rules in each switching period are analysed. As indicated from the experimental results, the switching device is in the soft-switching state when it is switched, and when the output power reaches the rated value of 2.5 kW, the efficiency of the prototype is 98.4%, which is higher than that of the same type of soft-switching inverters. Thus, the auxiliary resonant circuit structure has reference value for the research and development of energy-saving three-phase inverters.     

Analysis and design considerations of a load and line independent zero voltage switching full bridge DC/DC converter topology

The analysis and design of a zero voltage switching (ZVS) full bridge DC/DC power converter topology is presented in this paper. The converter topology presented here employs an asymmetrical auxiliary circuit consisting of a few passive components. With this auxiliary circuit, the full bridge converter can achieve ZVS independent of line and load conditions. The operating principle of the circuit is demonstrated, and the steady state analysis is performed. Based on the analysis, a criterion for optimal design is given. Experiment and simulation on a 350-400 V to 55 V, 500 W prototype converter operated at 100 kHz verify the design and show an overall efficiency of greater than 97% at full load.     

Soft switching resonant converter with duty-cycle control in DC micro-grid system

Resonant converter has been widely used for the benefits of low switching losses and high circuit efficiency. However, the wide frequency variation is the main drawback of resonant converter. This paper studies a new modular resonant converter with duty-cycle control to overcome this problem and realise the advantages of low switching losses, no reverse recovery current loss, balance input split voltages and constant frequency operation for medium voltage direct currentgrid or system network. Series full-bridge (FB) converters are used in the studied circuit in order to reduce the voltage stresses and power rating on power semiconductors. Flying capacitor is used between two FB converters to balance input split voltages. Two circuit modules are paralleled on the secondary side to lessen the current rating of rectifier diodes and the size of magnetic components. The resonant tank is operated at inductive load circuit to help power switches to be turned on at zero voltage with wide load range. The pulse-width modulation scheme is used to regulate output voltage. Experimental verifications are provided to show the performance of the proposed circuit.     

Quasi current resonant DC link AC/AC converter

A new quasi current resonant DC link (QCRDCL) topology has been developed in this paper. Although prototype current resonant DC link topologies for AC/AC power conversion have had such problems as irregular high current peaks, uncontrollable pulse width, etc., this new topology enables the AC/AC conversion system to have the properties wherein the current peak is limited and the pulse width is adjustable. The system begins to assume an adjustable-width flat-topped current shape, whereby the system becomes particularly suitable for high power application. With control of the pulse width a very fine load current regulation can be obtained. In this system, an open loop PWM control has been adopted and almost the same quality of output waveforms as the conventional current source inverter has been achieved     

A new quasi-parallel resonant DC link for soft-switching PWMinverters

A new quasi-parallel resonant DC-link inverter with the more flexible pulse-width-modulation (PWM) capability and easier control is proposed in this paper. With the addition of one coupling core and one diode, the circuit can be directly applied to the single/three-phase inverter to achieve the soft-switching action. For the proposed topology, it needs neither the help of the inverter switch devices nor the requirement of voltage/current sensors. Random duration of the zero DC-link voltage can be obtained, and the voltage stresses of the inverter switches can be maintained to the minimum. The relative analysis of the presented circuit has been performed and verified by the experiment     

零电流开关大功率DC/DC双全桥变换器设计

提出了一种基于双全桥结构的单向零电流开关大功率（兆瓦级）DC/DC变换器,该变换器通过采用两个全桥变换器来实现零电流开关,实现了较低的功率损耗和输出滤波电感。为了验证提出的变换器在大功率应用中的有效性,构建了小型样机并在大功率直流电网进行了实际测试。实验证明,相比传统的两种单向大功率全桥变换器,提出变换器所需的滤波电感和半导体器件的功率损耗均较少,分别仅为1.72mH和924.5kW。     

A self core reset and zero voltage switching forward convertertopology

A self core reset and zero voltage switching (ZVS) forward converter topology is presented in this paper. By employing a simple auxiliary circuit, the proposed topology is able to achieve self reset of the power transformer without the use of the conventional tertiary reset winding, and its main switch can be turned on and turned off under ZVS independent of line and load conditions. This simplifies the power transformer, and the switching losses are substantially removed to improve the overall efficiency. Steady state analysis of the circuit is performed. Based on the analysis, a design procedure is presented, and the effects of the circuit parameters on the flux excursion of the power transformer are investigated to make sure self reset can be achieved without increasing the core losses. Simulation and experiment on a 5 V, 100 W prototype circuit operated at 200 kHz are carried out to verify the design, about 5% higher overall efficiency is obtained in the prototype converter than in its conventional counterpart     

A single-stage power factor correction AC/DC converter based on zero voltage switching full bridge topology with two series-connected transformers

A single-stage power factor correction ac/dc converter based on zero voltage switching (ZVS) full bridge topology with two series-connected transformers is proposed in this paper. The proposed converter offers a very wide ZVS range due to the configuration of two series-connected transformers. It features a high efficiency over wide load ranges. Furthermore, it shows the low voltage stress on a dc link capacitor. The proposed converter also gives the high power factor and low input current harmonics complied with IEC 61000-3-2 Class D requirements by integrating a boost stage operated in a discontinuous current mode. The ZVS conditions, large signal modeling, and design procedure are discussed in detail. Experimental results are presented to show the validity of the proposed converter.     

PWM series resonant DC link converter with current peak limitingusing a saturable core

A series resonant DC link converter with PWM capability and current peak limiting is proposed. It requires only an additional bidirectional switch to synchronise with external PWM signals and a saturable core to achieve current peak limiting. The clamping level is automatically adjusted by the current load     

Design of high efficiency interleaved active clamp zero voltage switching forward converter

A high efficiency interleaved active clamp forward converter with self-driven synchronous rectifiers for a modular power processor is presented. To simplify the gate drive circuits, the n–p MOSFETs coupled active clamp method is used. An efficiency of about 90% for a load range of 50-100% is achieved. Details of design for the power stage and current mode control circuit are provided, and also some experimental results are given.     

Evaluation of turn-on performance of P-i-N rectifiers and IGBT'sunder zero voltage switching

This paper compares the turn-on performance of two vertical power bipolar devices, viz, P-I-N diode and IGBT, under Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS). Although both the devices are “conductivity modulated” during turn-on, the IGBT carrier dynamics distinctly differ from that of a P-i-N rectifier. It is shown that, for identical drift region parameters, the conductivity modulation in the IGBT is significantly lower compared to that in a P-i-N rectifier mainly because of carrier flow constraints in the IGBT and the inherent bipolar transistor-like carrier distribution in the IGBT. 2-D mixed device and circuit simulations were performed to understand the behavior of the two devices during turn-on under ZVS. The mixed device and circuit simulator was also used to study the effects of variations in the rate of change of current (di/dt) through the device during turn-on, carrier lifetime and temperature on the turn-on behavior of the two bipolar devices under ZVS     

A zero voltage transition boost converter employing a soft switching auxiliary circuit with reduced conduction losses

This paper presents a zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) boost converter using a soft switching auxiliary circuit for power factor correction (PFC) applications. The improvement over existing topologies lies in the positioning of the auxiliary circuit capacitors and the subsequent reduction in the resonant current and therefore the conduction losses as compared to other similar topologies. The proposed converter operates in two modes - Mode 1 and Mode 2. It is shown in the paper that the converter should be designed using the constraints obtained in Mode 1 to achieve low-loss switching. The converter is analyzed and characteristic curves presented which are then used in a detailed design example. Experimental results from a 250 W, 127 V input laboratory prototype switching at 100 kHz verify the design process and highlight the advantages of the proposed topology. The proposed converter is suitable for single-phase, two stage power factor correction circuits with universal input voltage range and power levels up to 3 kW.     

Utilization of the series resonant DC link converter as aconditioning system for SMES

A superconductive magnetic energy storage (SMES) system utilizing a high-frequency series resonant DC link power converter of high efficiency as the conditioning converter is presented. This system generates a high-frequency (20 kHz or more) resonant current in a series link and switching is done at zero-current instants, reducing switching losses to a minimal value. Through the utilization of an adequate control strategy, the input power factor can be fully adjusted during the charging, storing, and discharging modes of the SMES, improving the overall system efficiency. Different semiconductor devices are used as the switching losses are established for each case. Experimental results from a monophase and three-phase system verified the results obtained from digital simulation     

New conceptual three-phase current-fed soft switching pulse width modulation converter with switched capacitor type resonant dc link

This paper presents a novel prototype of three-phase current-fed PWM converter with a switched capacitor type resonant dc link snubber circuit, which can basically operate under a principle of zero current soft switching commutation. The optimum PWM pattern-based control scheme proposed by the authors is effectively applied for this active converter. In this paper, the steady-state operating principle of a new converter circuit treated here is described. The practical design procedure of this converter is discussed from a theoretical point of view. The feasible experiment to confirm zero current soft switching commutation of this converter is concretely implemented and evaluated herein.