Hybrid Full-Bridge Three-Level LLC Resonant Converter—A Novel DC–DC Converter Suitable for Fuel-Cell Power System

This paper proposes a novel hybrid full-bridge (H-FB) three-level (TL) LLC resonant converter. It integrates the advantages of the H-FB TL converter and the LLC resonant converter. It can operate under both three-level mode and two-level mode, so it is very suitable for wide-input-voltage-range applications, such as fuel-cell power systems. Compared with the traditional full-bridge converter, the input current ripple and output filter can be reduced. In addition, all the switches can realize zero-voltage switching from nearly zero to full load, and the switches of the TL leg sustain only half of the input voltage. Moreover, the rectifier diodes can achieve zero-current switching, and the voltage stress across them can be minimized to the output voltage. A prototype of 200-400-V input and 360-V/4-A output is built in our laboratory to verify the operation principle of the proposed converter     

Zero-voltage-switching PWM hybrid full-bridge three-level converter

This paper proposes a zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) pulse-width modulation (PWM) hybrid full-bridge three-level converter, which has a three-level leg and a two-level leg. The switches of the three-level leg sustain only the half of the input voltage, and they can realize ZVS in a wide load range. The switches of the two-level leg sustain the input voltage, and they can realize ZVS with the use of the resonant inductance. The secondary rectified voltage is a three-level waveform having lower high-frequency content compared with that of the traditional full-bridge converters, which can reduce the output filter, and as a result, the dynamic response of the converter is improved. The voltage stress of the rectifier diode is reduced also. The input current of the converter has quite little ripple, so the input filter can also be significantly reduced. The operation principle of the proposed converter is analyzed and verified by the experimental results.     

Zero-Voltage-Switching PWM Hybrid Full-Bridge Three-Level Converter With Secondary-Voltage Clamping Scheme

A hybrid full-bridge (H-FB) three-level (TL) converter can realize zero-voltage-switching for switches with the use of resonant inductance (including the leakage inductance of the transformer) and intrinsic capacitors of the switches. As it can operate in three-level and two-level (2L) modes, the secondary rectified voltage is always close to the output voltage over the input-voltage range; thus, the output filter requirement is significantly less. Meanwhile, the voltage stress of the rectifier diodes can also be reduced. Therefore, the H-FB TL converter is very attractive for wide input-voltage-range applications. However, there is a serious voltage oscillation across the rectifier diodes caused by reverse recovery like the Buck-derived converters. In this paper, two clamping diodes are introduced to the H-FB TL converter to eliminate the voltage oscillation across the rectifier diodes. The arrangement of the positions of the resonant inductance and the transformer is discussed. The operation principle of the proposed converter is analyzed in details. A 1.2-kW prototype was built and tested in the laboratory to verify the operation of the proposed converter.     

Soft-switching PWM three-level converters

This paper proposes a family of modulation strategies for PWM three-level (TL) converters. The modulation strategies can be classified into two kinds according to the turn-off sequence of the two switches of the pair of switches. The concept of the leading switches and the lagging switches is introduced to realize soft-switching for PWM TL converters. The realization of soft-switching for both the leading switches and the lagging switches is proposed, based on which, soft-switching PWM TL converters can be classified into two kinds: zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) and zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS), for which the suitable modulation strategies are pointed out respectively from the family of modulation strategies. A novel ZVZCS TL converter is proposed, its operation principle and parameter design are analyzed, and the experimental results are also included     

Novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) full-bridge PWM converter using coupled output inductor

A novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) full-bridge pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converter is proposed to improve the previously proposed ZVZCS full-bridge PWM converters. By employing a simple auxiliary circuit with neither lossy components nor active switches, soft-switching of the primary switches is achieved. The proposed converter has many advantages such as simple auxiliary circuit, high efficiency, low voltage stress of the rectifier diode and self-adjustment of the circulating current, which make the proposed converter attractive for the high voltage and high power applications. The principles of operation and design considerations are presented and verified on the 4 kW experimental converter operating at 80 kHz.     

基于LPC2214的ZVZCS-PWM全桥变换控制器的研究

针对传统ZVZCS-PWMDC／DC全桥变换器在实现滞后桥臂开关管零电流开关过程中,存在着辅助谐振电路附加损耗较大,软开关实现方式复杂,功率开关管电压应力和电流应力高等缺点,介绍了一种新型次级箝位移相控制的ZVZCSPWMDC／DC全桥变换器。文中分析了该变换器实现软开关的原理,同时设计了变换器数字控制系统,控制器采用LPC2214型ARM芯片,并通过一台实验样机验证了这种软开关变换器相关理论的正确性以及该数字控制系统的可行性。     

Zero-voltage-switching PWM three-level converter with two clamping diodes

A zero-voltage-switching pulsewidth-modulation three-level (ZVS PWM TL) converter realizes ZVS for the switches with the use of the leakage inductance (or external resonant inductance) and the output capacitors of the switches, however, the rectifier diodes suffer from reverse recovery which results in oscillation and voltage spike. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes a novel ZVS PWM TL converter, which introduces two clamping diodes to the basic TL converter to eliminate the oscillation and clamp the rectified voltage to the reflected input voltage; in the meanwhile, all the switches keep to realize ZVS. Furthermore, the proposed ZVS PWM TL converter can be simplified by removing the two freewheeling diodes. The operation principle of the novel converter and the simplified converter are analyzed and are verified by a prototype converter. The experimental results are also included in this paper.     

一种新型的零电压零电流三电平变换器的研究

针对采用IGBT的软开关三电平变换器中IGBT关断过程存在的电流拖尾现象,以及基本三电平拓扑变压器次级存在的电压过冲和电压振荡现象,提出了改进型ZVZCS三电平结构。该结构在基于拓扑的三电平桥臂侧和两电平桥臂侧分别加入了一个无源辅助网络,三电平桥臂侧的辅助变压器在续流阶段为主变压器初级电流回零提供了条件,两电平桥臂的谐振电感和箍位二极管有效地抑制了主变压器次级电压的过冲现象。详细分析了改进拓扑的工作原理、工作模态,以及辅助网络的工作特点,并研制了实验样机,验证了理论分析的正确性以及改进拓扑的可行性。     

Novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching full bridge PWMconverter using transformer auxiliary winding

A novel zero voltage and zero current switching (ZVZCS) full bridge (FB) pulse width modulation (PWM) converter is proposed to improve the demerits of the previously presented ZVZCS-FB-PWM converters, such as use of lossy components or additional active switches. A simple auxiliary circuit which includes neither lossy components nor active switches provides ZVZCS conditions to primary switches, ZVS for leading-leg switches and ZCS for lagging-leg switches. Many advantages including simple circuit topology, high efficiency, and low cost make the new converter attractive for high power (>2 kW) applications. The operation, analysis, features and design considerations are illustrated and verified on a 2.5 kW, 100 kHz insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) based experimental circuit     

Single-phase Z-source PWM AC-AC converters

The letter proposes a new family of simple topologies of single-phase PWM ac-ac converters with a minimal number of switches: voltage-fed Z-source converter and current-fed Z-source converter. By PWM duty-ratio control, they become "solid-state transformers" with a continuously variable turns ratio. All the proposed ac-ac converters in this paper employ only two switches. Compared to the existing PWM ac-ac converter circuits, they have unique features: providing a larger range of output ac voltage with buck-boost, reversing or maintaining phase angle, reducing in-rush and harmonic current, and improving reliability. The operating principle and control method of the proposed topologies are presented. Analysis, simulation, and experimental results are given using the voltage-fed Z-source ac-ac converter as an example. The analysis can be easily extended to other converters of the proposed family. The proposed converters could be used in voltage regulation, power regulation, and so on.     

An improved ZCS-PWM commutation cell for IGBT's application

An improved zero-current-switching pulsewidth-modulation (ZCS-PWM) commutation cell is proposed, which is suitable for high-power applications using insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) as the power switches. It provides ZCS operation for active switches with low-current stress without voltage stress and PWM operating at constant frequency. The main advantage of this cell is a substantial reduction of the resonant current peak through the main switch during the commutation process. Therefore, the RMS current through it is very close to that observed in the hard-switching PWM converters. Also, small ratings auxiliary components can be used. To demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed ZCS-PWM commutation cell, it was applied to a boost converter. Operating principles, theoretical analysis, design guidelines and a design example are described and verified by experimental results obtained from a prototype operating at 40 kHz, with an input voltage rated at 155 V and 1 kW output power. The measured efficiency of the improved ZCS-PWM boost converter is presented and compared with that of hard-switching boost converter and with some ZCS-PWM boost converters presented in the literature. Finally, this paper presents the application of the proposed soft-switching technique in DC-DC nonisolated power converters     

Zero-voltage and zero-current-switching full-bridge PWM converterusing secondary active clamp

A new zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) full-bridge (FB) pulse width modulation (PWM) power converter is proposed to improve the performance of the previously presented ZVZCS FB PWM power converters. By adding a secondary active clamp and controlling the clamp switch moderately, ZVS (for leading-leg switches) and ZCS (for lagging-leg switches) are achieved without adding any lossy components or the saturable reactor. Many advantages, including simple circuit topology, high efficiency and low cost, make the new power converter attractive for high-voltage and high-power (>10 kW) applications. The principle of operation is explained and analyzed. The features and design considerations of the new power converter are also illustrated and verified on a 1.8 kW 100 kHz IGBT-based experimental circuit     

Three-Phase Three Level, Soft Switched, Phase Shifted PWM DC–DC Converter for High Power Applications

A new three-phase, three-level dc to dc phase shifted pulsewidth modulation (PWM) converter is proposed for high power and high input voltage applications. Output voltage is controlled by incorporating phase shift PWM. Clocked gate signals of each leg are phase shifted by 2pi/3 from each other. Major features of the converter include: (1) outer two switches of each leg are turned on and off as zero voltage switching, (2) inner two switches of each leg are turned on and off as zero current switching, and (3) this is achieved without involving any extra passive or active components. The secondary side of the converter is of center tapped full-wave current tripler type. This results in an increase of ripple frequency by a factor of six, leading to a significant reduction in size of the output filter. In order to obtain behavioral and performance characteristics of the proposed converter topology, detailed analytical and simulation studies are carried out. Finally the viability of the scheme is confirmed through detailed experimental studies on a laboratory prototype developed for the purpose.     

一种采用无源辅助网络的ZVZCS三电平DC-DC变换器

提出一种采用无源辅助网络的零电压零电流开关(ZVZCS)三电平DC-DC;变换器拓扑,其中各开关管电压应力为输入电压的一半,并且能够在宽负载范围内实现各开关管的软开关.副边的无源辅助网络不仅能为滞后管创造零电流关断条件,而且还可抑制变压器副边整流后电压的过冲.本文详细分析了此变换器的工作原理及开关管实现软开关的条件,并通过实验样机验证了理论分析的正确性及此拓扑的可行性.     

Zero-voltage-zero-current switching in high-output-voltagefull-bridge PWM converters using the interwinding capacitance

A novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) full-bridge (FB) pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) power converter is proposed. The new converter uses the interwinding capacitance and a small primary-side inductor to achieve a zero-current-zero-voltage turn off and a zero-current turn on of the passive-to-active leg transistors. The turn off of the active-to-passive leg transistors is with zero voltage, and the turn on is with zero voltage and zero current across them. The ringing caused by the parasitic interwinding capacitance and by the reverse recovery of the rectifiers is reduced. The new converter is attractive for high-output-voltage applications (600-1000 V), where the interwinding capacitance is sufficiently dominant. In addition, switches such as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) and MCTs can be used at higher frequencies which is particularly desirable for high-power application (above 2 kW). The experimental results obtained from an IGBT-based 62.5-kHz DC/DC power converter with a rated output voltage of 600 V and a nominal power of 1.2 kW are presented     

Zero-Voltage and Zero-Current Switching Full-Bridge DC–DC Converter With Auxiliary Transformer

A novel zero-voltage and zero-current switching (ZVZCS) full-bridge phase-shifted pulsewidth modulation (PWM) converter using insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) with auxiliary transformer is proposed to improve the properties of the previously presented converters. ZVZCS for all power switches is achieved for full load range from no-load to short circuit by adding active energy recovery snubber and auxiliary circuits. The principle of operation is explained and analyzed and experimental results are presented. The features and design considerations of the converter are verified on a 3-kW, 50-kHz IGBT based experimental circuit.     

采用辅助变压器的零电压零电流开关全桥直-直变换器

本文给出了一种新型的零电压零电流开关全桥移相脉宽调制变换器,该变换器采用IGBT为功率开关管,在传统变换器的基础上通过增加辅助变压器的方式提高了变换器的性能,通过增加正激能量恢复缓冲器和辅助电路,使变换器在各种负载以及短路工作状态下都能够保证所有开关管实现零电压零电流开关工作模式。介绍了变换器的工作原理并通过试验得到了较好的结果。     

A family of zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) three-level DC-DC converters with secondary-assisted regenerative passive snubber

A detailed analysis and optimized-oriented design of a family of three-level soft-switching converters is presented. The zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) of the outer switches and zero-current-switching (ZCS) of the inner switches is realized by employing a pulse-width-modulation (PWM) phase-shift control and a secondary-assisted passive snubber. The switching operation is discussed by comparing the results produced by the use of different passive snubbers (the author's original one and literature-available ones). The voltage on the rectifier diodes is clamped at a reasonable value, specific to each one of the six snubbers taken into consideration. The voltage stress on each transistor is reduced to half of the input voltage. Lower rated transistors and rectifier diodes can be used, thus reducing the conduction losses. Before turning on/off the inner switches, the snubber's capacitor voltage determines the fall of the primary current to zero, thus avoiding wasteful energy circulation and assuring ZCS. The snubber's energy is recuperated to the load. The outcome of these improvements is a high efficiency in energy processing. Soft-switching-oriented constraints on the converter parameters are expressed as implicit equations, whose graphical solution permits the optimized design of the parameters in order to ensure ZVZCS. A comparative analysis of the effective duty cycle and the boost effect of it, due to the use of the secondary snubber, is performed. The influence of the choices of the parameters values on the regulation capability is pointed out. Experimental results prove the expected high performances of the optimized converters.     

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.     

Interleaved ZVS Converter With Ripple-Current Cancellation

In this paper, an interleaved soft-switching converter with ripple-current cancellation is presented to achieve zero- voltage-switching (ZVS) turn-on and load current sharing. In order to achieve ZVS turn-on, an active snubber is connected in parallel with the primary winding of the transformer. The energy stored in the transformer leakage inductance and magnetizing inductance can be recovered so that the peak voltage stress of switching devices is limited. The resonance at the transition interval is used to realize ZVS turn-on of all switches. In order to achieve three-level pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) scheme, an addition fast-recovery diode is used in the converter. Three-level PWM scheme can reduce the ac ripple current on the output inductor such that the output inductor can be reduced. The current-doubler rectifier is adopted in the secondary side of the transformer to reduce the transformer secondary-winding current and output voltage ripple by canceling the current ripple of two output inductors. The output voltage is controlled at the desired value using the interleaved PWM scheme. These features make the proposed converter suitable for the dc-dc converter with high output current. The operation principles, steady state analysis, and design equations of the proposed converter are provided in detail. Finally, experiments based on a 600-W (12 V/50 A) prototype are provided to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed converter.