Ju-Won Baek

High boost converter using voltage multiplier

With the increasing demand for renewable energy, distributed power included in fuel cells have been studied and developed as a future energy source. For this system, a power conversion circuit is necessary to interface the generated power to the utility. In many cases, a high step-up DC/DC converter is needed to boost low input voltage to high voltage output. Conventional methods using cascade DC/DC converters cause extra complexity and higher cost. The conventional topologies to get high output voltage use flyback DC/DC converters. They have the leakage components that cause stress and loss of energy that results in low efficiency. This paper presents a high boost converter with a voltage multiplier and a coupled inductor. The secondary voltage of the coupled inductor is rectified using a voltage multiplier. High boost voltage is obtained with low duty cycle. Theoretical analysis and experimental results verify the proposed solutions using a 300 W prototype.

Novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching full-bridge PWM converter using a simple auxiliary circuit

A novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) full-bridge pulsewidth modulation converter is presented to simplify the circuits of the previously presented ZVSCS converters. A simple auxiliary circuit, which consists of one small capacitor and two small diodes, is added in the secondary to provide ZVZCS conditions to primary switches, as well as to clamp secondary rectifier voltage. The additional clamp circuit for the secondary rectifier is not necessary. The auxiliary circuit includes neither lossy components nor additional active switches, which makes the proposed converter efficient and cost effective. The principle of operation, features, and design considerations are illustrated and verified on a 2.5 kW 100 kHz insulated-gate-bipolar-transistor-based experimental circuit.

Novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching full bridge PWM converter 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.

Design Methodology of Bidirectional CLLC Resonant Converter for High-Frequency Isolation of DC Distribution Systems

A bidirectional full-bridge CLLC resonant converter using a new symmetric LLC-type resonant network is proposed for a low-voltage direct current power distribution system. This converter can operate under high power conversion efficiency because the symmetric LLC resonant network has zero-voltage switching capability for primary power switches and soft commutation capability for output rectifiers. In addition, the proposed topology does not require any snubber circuits to reduce the voltage stress of the switching devices because the switch voltage of the primary and secondary power stage is confined by the input and output voltage, respectively. In addition, the power conversion efficiency of any directions is exactly same as each other. Using digital control schemes, a 5-kW prototype converter designed for a high-frequency galvanic isolation of 380-V dc buses was developed with a commercial digital signal processor. Intelligent digital control algorithms are also proposed to regulate output voltage and to control bidirectional power conversions. Using the prototype converter, experimental results were obtained to verify the performance of the proposed topology and control algorithms. The converter could softly change the power flow directions and its maximum power conversion efficiency was 97.8% during the bidirectional operation.

High-Efficiency Isolated Bidirectional AC–DC Converter for a DC Distribution System

A high-efficiency isolated bidirectional ac–dc converter is proposed for a 380-V dc power distribution system to control bidirectional power flows and to improve its power conversion efficiency. To reduce the switches’ losses of the proposed nonisolated full-bridge ac–dc rectifier using an unipolar switching method, switching devices employ insulated-gate bipolar transistors, MOSFETs, and silicon carbide diodes. Using the analysis of the rectifier’s operating modes, each switching device can be selected by considering switch stresses. A simple and intuitive frequency detection method for a single-phase synchronous reference frame-phase-locked loop (SRF-PLL) is also proposed using a filter compensator, a fast period detector, and a finite impulse response filter to improve the robustness and accuracy of PLL performance under fundamental frequency variations. In addition, design and control methodology of the bidirectional full-bridge CLLC resonant converter is suggested for the galvanic isolation of the dc distribution system. A dead-band control algorithm for the bidirectional dc–dc converter is developed to smoothly change power conversion directions only using output voltage information. Experimental results will verify the performance of the proposed methods using a 5-kW prototype converter.

Novel zero-voltage and zero-current-switching (ZVZCS) full bridge PWM converter using transformer auxiliary winding

A novel zero voltage and zero current switching (ZVZCS) full bridge (FB) 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 (>1 kW) applications. The operation, analysis, features and design considerations are illustrated and verified on a 2.5 kW, 100 kHz IGBT based experimental circuit.

High efficiency bidirectional LLC resonant converter for 380V DC power distribution system using digital control scheme

A bidirectional full-bridge LLC resonant converter with a new symmetric LLC-type resonant network using a digital control scheme is proposed for a 380V dc power distribution system. This converter can operate under high power conversion efficiency since the symmetric LLC resonant network has zero voltage switching capability for primary power switches and soft commutation capability for output rectifiers. In addition, the proposed topology does not require any clamp circuits to reduce the voltage stress of the switches because the switch voltage of the primary inverting stage is confined by the input voltage, and that of the secondary rectifying stage is limited by the output voltage. Therefore, the power conversion efficiency of any directions is exactly the same as each other. In addition, intelligent digital control schemes such as dead-band control and switch transition control are proposed to regulate output voltage for any power flow directions. A prototype converter designed for a high-frequency galvanic isolation of 380V dc buses was developed with a rated power rating of 5kW using a digital signal processor to verify the performance of the proposed topology and algorithms. The maximum power conversion efficiency was 97.8% during bidirectional operations.

Novel zero-voltage-transition PWM multiphase converters

Novel zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) pulse-width-modulation (PWM) multiphase converters are presented. To construct a ZVT multiphase converter in a conventional way, it is necessary to add the auxiliary circuits with as many number of phases. In the proposed converter, only one auxiliary circuit provides the zero-voltage switching (ZVS) for main switches and diodes of all phases. So, the new converters are cost effective and attractive for high-performance and high power-density conversion applications. Operation, features, and characteristics of the two-phase buck converter are illustrated and verified on a 4-kW 100-kHz insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)-based (a MOSFET for the auxiliary switch) experimental circuit.

Analysis of the Contactless Power Transfer System Using Modelling and Analysis of the Contactless Transformer

In this paper, the electrical characteristics of the contactless transformer is presented using the conventional coupled inductor theory. Compared with the conventional transformer, the contactless transformer has a large airgap, long primary wire and multi-secondary wire. As such, the contactless transformer has a large leakage inductance, small magnetizing inductance and poor coupling coefficient. Therefore, large magnetizing currents flow through the entire primary system due to small magnetizing inductance, resulting in low overall system efficiency. In high power applications, the contactless transformer is so bulky and heavy that it needs to be split by some light and small transformers. So, the contactless transformer needs several small transformer modules that are connected in series or parallel to transfer the primary power to the secondary one. This paper shows the analysis and measurement results of each contactless transformer module and comparison results between the series- and parallel-connection of the con tactless transformer. The results are verified on the simulation based on the theoretical analysis and the 30㎾ experimental prototype.

Zero-voltage-transition isolated PWM boost converter for single stage power factor correction

A novel zero-voltage-transition (ZVT) isolated PWM boost converter for single stage power factor correction (PFC) is presented. A simple auxiliary circuit added in the secondary rectifier side provides zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) condition to all semiconductor devices without increasing additional device voltage and current stresses. The proposed converter gives both input power factor correction and direct conversion from AC line to DC output, which leads to high efficiency and high power density conversion. Operation principle, analysis, and features of the proposed converter are presented and verified by the computer simulation and experimental results from a 1.5 kW, 80 kHz laboratory prototype.