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This paper suggests a cascade output voltage regulation strategy for dc/dc boost converters that embeds a robust inner-loop current controller against parameter variations. The contributions of this paper are divided into two parts. The first contribution is to present a simple and robust inner-loop current controller despite parameter uncertainties, guaranteeing the stability of the whole closed-loop system including the first-order internal dynamics. The second contribution is to show that an outer-loop proportional–integral regulator can stabilize the output voltage error without relying on any parameter information. Simulations and experiments using a 3-kW dc/dc boost converter showed that the proposed method offers satisfactory closed-loop performance in the presence of parameter uncertainties. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A phase-locked loop (PLL) is commonly used in grid-connected power converter for synchronization. A single input single output (SISO) linear model of PLL with the phase angle of the point of common coupling (PCC) voltage as input and the estimated phase angle as the output is generally used in the PLL analysis and design. However, an undesirable coupling between the magnitude and phase of the input voltage is present when a filtering stage is incorporated before the control loop, which a SISO model cannot capture, and could result in a significant disturbance in the PLL estimated phase during grid faults. This paper proposes a generalized multi-input multi-output (MIMO) linear model that captures the complete PLL dynamics during symmetrical faults for a PLL equipped with any prefilter. Furthermore, a compensation method that decouples the magnitude dynamics of the input voltage from the phase dynamics is proposed in this paper. The proposed compensation improves the PLL's phase tracking performance by ensuring that the prefiltered PLL acts only on the PCC voltage phase changes. A vital application of the proposed compensation method for PLL is during a grid fault case, wherein the converters are expected to contribute to the fault current, which requires an accurate measurement of the PCC voltage phase. The compensation method's effectiveness is demonstrated using power hardware in the loop simulation of a hardware voltage source converter interfaced to a distribution system simulated in real-time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern electric-powered vehicles include several sources and loads. This paper extends the idea of introducing multiple sources and loads into an onboard vehicular integrated power system. The proposed power conditioning system is formed around a multiwinding integrated transformer. Both inductive and capacitive elements of this magnetic component affect the power conditioning stages of the system. This paper proposes an experimental transformer modeling procedure that includes the inductive and capacitive parameters. A mathematical procedure is developed, simplifying this more detailed experimental model of the multiwinding transformer into a $\Pi\ RLC$ circuit that can be utilized in the system transient analysis. The modeling method is applied to a three-winding transformer and is verified through simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a multifunctional control system for interlinking converters interfacing microgrids and ac mains. Applicable standards pose power quality and grid-support function requirements for converters that interface energy resources of dc nature with an ac utility grid. At the same time, the forthcoming smart grid scenario calls for additional functionalities, enabling the effective integration of hybrid (i.e., dc or ac) microgrids, that are applicable to both grid-connected and islanded modes of operation. This requires novel interlinking converter controllers with extended flexibility. The control system described in this paper fulfills both connected and islanded operation needs and provides seamless transitions between the two modes. Such valuable functionalities are attained owing to an underlying, large-bandwidth, triple-loop control organization. The target converter is meant to be connected to a local dc subgrid at the dc side and to a local ac subgrid at the ac side. The controller manages the connection of the ac-side subgrid with the utility grid, ensuring a fast response control of the ac grid current. Therefore, it allows interfacing of renewable sources and loads, aggregated in dc and ac nanogrids or microgrids, with smart power systems, providing enhanced power quality, stability, and flexibility of operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the quadruple active bridge (QAB) dc–dc converter is proposed to be used as a building block to implement the dc–dc stage of a smart transformer (ST). Different configurations (symmetrical, asymmetrical, and rated for voltage/power) for this converter are considered for investigation. Four different architectures of ST, including one based on the dual active bridge converter as a benchmark and three based on the QAB converter, are presented and compared in terms of cost, efficiency, reliability, and implementation complexity. As an additional contribution, different semiconductor technologies (silicon IGBT and silicon-carbide MOSFETs) are evaluated in order to verify their impact on ST application. The design for each architecture is described and the results are compared. In order to validate the theoretical analysis developed in this paper, a 20-kW prototype is built and experimented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Single-stage power-factor-corrected (S2PFC) power supplies usually suffer from high voltage stress, due to lack of control on the intermediate bus capacitor voltage. In the past, analysis of such voltage stress was mostly based on steady-state condition without providing sufficient explanation during the transient circuit operation. This paper revisits the problem at circuit level and reports that the root cause is due to the inherent negative current feedback property of the output inductor or the transformer operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM). Based on the finding, this paper further proposes a new approach to reducing the voltage stress by adding an auxiliary circuit branch to existing S2PFC converters. The additional circuit branch limits the effect of negative current feedback by suppressing the change of output current slope due to change of load. This assists the pulsewidth modulation controller to track the change of load better such that the bus capacitor voltage range is reduced through duty cycle control. The auxiliary circuit branch also reduces reverse-recovery-related losses of the converter under CCM operation. A laboratory prototype using the popular boost PFC converter combined flyback dc/dc converter was built and tested to confirm the analysis and effectiveness of the approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates time-domain analysis of sampling effect in digital pulsewidth modulation (DPWM) of dc–dc converters. The relation between the sampling delay, duty ratio, and multisampling factor (sampling to carrier frequency ratio) has been characterized. The sampling delay of the digital controller used for DPWM of the dc–dc converter has close relation with the actual pulsewidth-modulation output. An increase in the multisampling factor can reduce the delay effect of the DPWM. The output voltage varies as a stepped function of the duty ratio instead of the linear function as observed in ideal modulation. It is shown in this paper that this delay is a periodic function of the duty ratio. The effect of variations in the sampling frequency, switching frequency, and modulation index has been analyzed. The proposed sampling effect has been verified analytically for the buck, boost, and buck–boost dc–dc converters. The experimental results for the buck and boost converters have been obtained with the control circuit realized through a field-programmable gate array-based digital controller. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper describes a systematic procedure using power flow graphs for generating all possible double-input single-output (DISO) dc/dc converters. To maximize the generality of applications, the input ports can possibly be connected with voltage source(s) or current source(s), and the output port can be connected with a voltage load or current load. The control methods are described in this paper. A DISO converter with two voltage sources and one voltage load is taken as an example to analyze a few key properties of practical relevance, including input voltage range, efficiency, power distribution, and switching stress. A popular application of DISO converters involves the use of a battery as storage element, and for this specific case, possible choices for the converters, the control method, and the attainable efficiency are discussed. Finally, experimental results are presented to verify the analytical results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this paper is to comment on the reference voltage tracking ability of a recently proposed state observer based adaptive sliding mode control for boost converters. It is shown that the control in the cited paper cannot track the reference voltage. A modified control law that enables reference voltage tracking while preserving the other advantages of the commented paper is proposed and validated by simulation and experimentation on laboratory hardware. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In applications that demand single-input dual-output (SIDO) or dual-input single-output (DISO) dc–dc converters, employing two separate single-input single-output (SISO) converters is a solution. However, the number of components is doubled, resulting in high overall cost. In order to reduce costs, this paper proposes a novel topology synthesis methodology, with which a variety of SIDO and DISO dc–dc converters with reduced components can be derived. The principle of topology synthesis states that integrated SIDO and DISO dc–dc converters can be easily developed from conventional SISO converters by replacing a diode with a basic cell inclusive of additional input/output port. The principle is effective for many SISO dc–dc converters, and as an example, topology synthesis based on buck, boost, buck–boost, Cuk, sepic, and zeta SISO converters is performed in this paper. In order to achieve better understanding of the proposed converters, the integrated SIDO Cuk converter is specifically analyzed and experimentally verified. In comparison with the conventional scheme of two separate SISO Cuk converters, good cross regulation is retained while the number of diodes, inductors, and capacitors is reduced in the proposed SIDO Cuk converter. In addition, zero-voltage-switching operation of one switch is achieved, contributing to lower switching losses. Finally, a prototype circuit with 48-V input and 156 V/1 A, 24 V/4 A outputs is built to validate the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) convert thermal energy directly into electrical energy using thermoelectric materials, with attractive advantages such as a lack of noise and pollution, considerable reliability, and a long lifetime. Because of the low output power and low output voltage of each TEG module, conventional thermoelectric generation systems are constituted by a centralized converter with series-connected multiple TEG modules. Power mismatch usually occurs in this system configuration due to the unbalanced temperature difference distribution, which results in lower conversion efficiency. In this paper, two solutions based on differential power processing (DPP) have been proposed to enhance the output power and conversion efficiency of the TEG system: the centralized-distributed hybrid structure and the cascaded power transfer structure, both of which realize the maximum power point tracking of each TEG module. The circuit designs and control strategies of the two proposed systems are here presented. Experimental results have demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of these two solutions; they have higher output power and better efficiency than the conventional TEG system. Each of these two solutions exhibits its own features and has suitable application situations. If the temperature difference distribution of all TEG modules has significant variations, the centralized-distributed hybrid structure outperforms the cascaded power transfer structure on the output power. While the temperature difference distribution is comparatively stable, the cascaded power transfer structure is superior to the centralized-distributed hybrid structure. With detailed evaluation and comparison between the two structures, the overall design for DPP-based TEG systems with different connection types has been proposed in this paper, which is the reference for the future implementation of practical TEG applications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper deals with improving the voltage quality of sensitive loads from voltage sags using a dynamic voltage restorer (DVR). The higher active power requirement associated with voltage phase jump compensation has caused a substantial rise in size and cost of the dc link energy storage system of DVR. The existing control strategies either mitigate the phase jump or improve the utilization of dc link energy by the following: 1) reducing the amplitude of the injected voltage or 2) optimizing the dc bus energy support. In this paper, an enhanced sag compensation strategy is proposed, which mitigates the phase jump in the load voltage while improving the overall sag compensation time. An analytical study shows that the proposed method significantly increases the DVR sag support time (more than 50%) compared with the existing phase jump compensation methods. This enhancement can also be seen as a considerable reduction in dc link capacitor size for new installation. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated using simulation study and finally verified experimentally on a scaled laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the two latest proposed drive system topologies for dc-biased vernier reluctance machines (VRMs), aims to find out the preferable drive system configuration, and explains the performance discrepancy between the two configurations. Different from the regular ac machines, the armature winding current waveforms of dc-biased VRMs are sinusoidal with dc bias. To provide the dc flow path, the two drive system topologies are associated with the machine, namely, an open winding converter with single-layer concentrated winding and a dual three-phase converter with double-layer concentrated winding. The two configurations are investigated and compared in terms of machine operation principle, power converter configuration, voltage utilization, system cost, and system efficiency. The theoretical analyses and experimental results validate that the two drive systems have their respective advantages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, eight ultrahigh-voltage gain dc–dc converters are proposed. These sets of converters are derived by the association of boost cells, coupled inductor, voltage multiplier, switched capacitors, and LC filter cells. The nonpulsating input and output converters are evaluated in terms of: principle of operation, voltage gain, voltage and current stress, estimated power losses, and efficiency. Following full analysis prototypes built in the laboratory show experimental results verifying the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1-MHz half-bridge high-gain multi-CLLC bidirectional resonant converter with (gallium nitride) GaN field effect transistor (FETs) and integrated planar magnetics is proposed in this paper. It presents excellent gain characteristic and high power density, which is very suitable for a distributed energy storage system. The operation principle, topology features, and parameter design method of the converter are discussed in detail. The improved winding method of integrated planar magnetics is also elaborated. And then, a 400-W prototype is established and the corresponding experiments are carried out in 1 MHz. Finally, the accuracy and correctness of the theory are verified and the highest efficiency of the converter can reach 94.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A phase-shift pulse-frequency modulation (PS-PFM) for a full-bridge LCC resonant converter is proposed in this paper to reduce both switching frequency variation range and reactive power of a traditional PFM LCC resonant converter. Like the PFM LCC resonant converter, a PS-PFM LCC resonant converter has a wider zero voltage switching operation range than a phase-shift modulated LCC resonant converter. By integrating a voltage-controlled carrier generator, the proposed PS-PFM modulator can adjust phase-shift angle and switching frequency simultaneously, resulting in one more degree of control freedom to optimize the steady-state performance of an LCC resonant converter. A detailed analysis of the proposed PS-PFM LCC resonant converter is performed and a step-by-step parameter design procedure is given. A 500-W/48-V prototype with 100–200 V input voltage is built to verify the theoretical analysis. The maximum efficiency of the prototype reaches 95.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a 20 MHz low-profile dc–dc converter with magnetic-free characteristics based on aircore planar inductors. The switch and diode of the proposed converter operate in soft-switching modes, which significantly reduces the switching loss. Furthermore, the parasitic capacitances are taken as part of corresponding resonant capacitors. A high-performance aircore inductor with a variable width and an optimal connecting angle is analyzed. The optimal parameters design method to achieve minimum winding resistance is derived in detail. The resonant driving method is adopted to reduce driving loss in a high-frequency condition. A 20 MHz prototype is built to verify the feasibility of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new highly integrable hybrid step-down converter that merges switched-inductor and switched-capacitor operations and significantly reduces onboard loss by using the input cable's parasitic inductance as its main inductor. This converter has the inductor placed at the input with a smaller voltage swing, leading to possible use of a smaller inductor and low-voltage rating switches that generally translate to reduced conduction losses. Analyses of converter operation and losses to reveal its original characteristics and design guidelines are presented to facilitate the components optimization. The converter architecture is verified by a proof-of-concept 15-W inductor-less lithium-ion battery charger prototype that uses a 1-m USB 3.0 cable as inductor. The converter, switched at 2 MHz from a 5-V input, experimentally achieves 89.7% peak efficiency and 6% higher efficiency at full load than a Buck converter counterpart. This high efficiency and zero onboard inductor yield a relative 45.7% onboard loss reduction at full load, promising excellent integration feasibility and superior system thermal management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Implementation of maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control to variable-speed wind turbines below the rated wind velocity helps the turbine improve its efficiency, thereby increasing its annual energy yield. However, for the most commonly used optimum power (OP) MPPT method, it is proved to have the drawback of low tracking speed. Moreover, what is worse, the tracking bandwidth will get narrower when the turbine is operating under low wind velocities, which results in the reduction of annual energy yield. To overcome this drawback, an improved MPPT method, which is improved from the conventional OP control method, is designed in this paper to broaden the MPPT bandwidth. The design details on how to realize the improved MPPT method and the principle of choosing a proper system dynamics are both pointed out after analyzing the system dynamics in frequency domain. The theoretic analysis is verified by simulation and experimental results performed by a 1.2-kW variable-speed wind turbine. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new soft switching flyback dc–dc converter with a simple zero-voltage and zero-current switching (ZVZCS) cell is proposed. The auxiliary resonant cell consists of one switch, one diode, one inductor, and two capacitors. It provides ZVZCS not only for the main switch but also for the auxiliary switch at both turn-on and turn-off times. In addition, all the auxiliary diodes and body diodes of the switches operate under full ZVZCS except the output diode which turns off only with zero current switching. This soft switching technique makes the proposed converter have less switching losses which leads the converter to operate in higher frequencies and efficiency. Another outstanding feature of the proposed converter is using the auxiliary resonant cell out of the main power path to have lower voltage stress on the switches. In this paper, pulse width modulation (PWM) is employed to control the main switch. A detailed mode analysis of the proposed converter operation is presented along with design procedure. Finally, the accuracy performance of the converter is verified through a 60 W experimental prototype results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-Z-source modular cascaded converter (qZS-MCC) is proposed for dc integration of high-power photovoltaic (PV) systems. The qZS-MCC comprises series-connected front-end isolated qZS half-bridge (HB) dc–dc converter submodules (SMs). With the front-end isolation, the qZS-MCC achieves high-voltage dc capability, while maintaining modularity and PV panel grounded. The post-stage qZS-HB handles the PV voltage and power flows, dc-link voltage balance, and output-series power integration. Whereas, the front-end isolation converters of all SMs perform a constant duty cycle, lowing the control complexity. There is no double-line-frequency power flowing through the dc-side PV panels, qZS inductors, and qZS capacitors in the qZS-MCC, so small qZS impedance is possible compared to the existing qZS cascaded multilevel inverter. The configuration, operating principle, power loss evaluation, and passive components design of the proposed system are investigated in this part of the paper. The system control, modeling, and corresponding verifications are stated in Part II of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents predictive current-mode control for a single-phase high-frequency transformer-isolated dual-active bridge dc-to-dc converter. The predictive control algorithm increases the bandwidth of the current loop of the converter which enables tracking of the current reference within one switching cycle. The paper further demonstrates that the application of the predictive control algorithm can remove transient dc offset from the current in high-frequency isolation transformer within one switching cycle. Direct control of the converter current protects the transformer from saturation even at transient conditions. The control algorithm has been implemented on an experimental setup and transient tests have been performed to validate controller performance. Since the predictive control algorithm is dependent on the measured value of the leakage inductance of the transformer, a compensator has been implemented to improve the parameter insensitivity of the proposed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three-port converters with high voltage gain are desirable solutions for integrating renewable energy and energy storage devices into high voltage dc bus. A high gain three-port converter with soft switching is proposed in this paper, which can realize zero voltage switching for all switches and zero current switching for all diodes in various operating modes. Single coupled inductor is used to achieve high voltage gain and to reduce the voltage stress of switches so that switches with low on-resistance can be selected to reduce the conduction loss. In addition, the advantages of fewer components, higher voltage gain, and very low switch voltage stresses make the proposed converter more suitable for application in renewable energy systems than similar solutions. Various operating modes, performance analysis, design considerations, efficiency analysis, and control method of the proposed converter are discussed. A laboratory prototype with 30 V renewable energy source, 48 V energy storage device and 400 V output is designed to verify the performance of the proposed three-port converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the goal to decrease weight and increase overall efficiency, power electronics is proliferating in the aircraft applications. The conventional mechanical, pneumatic, and hydraulic systems are substituted with on-board electrical distribution systems. The new power electronics based distribution architectures should comply with the airworthiness standards by providing adequate redundancy to operate even under multiple failures. However, each redundant system adds to more weight and cost, and hence optimizing redundancy without compromising safety still remains a challenge. In this scenario, modular power converters offer a promising solution for obtaining reliable operation. Apart from ensuring availability and operation of the system, the modular converters enable controlling the stress for the individual converter cell and therefore their wear-out. This paper considers the failure mechanisms of the most sensitive devices in the system, the power semiconductors, and predicts their remaining useful lifetime (RUL). Based on this RUL, an optimization of the system loading is performed in order to delay the wear-out based failures in the system without reducing the mean lifetime of the building blocks. A study case is shown in order to demonstrate the lifetime extension of the system with the proposed algorithm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an overview of technology related to on-board microgrids for the more electric aircraft. All aircraft use an isolated system, where security of supply and power density represents the main requirements. Different distribution systems (ac and dc) and voltage levels coexist, and power converters have the central role in connecting them with high reliability and high power density. Ensuring the safety of supply with a limited redundancy is one of the targets of the system design since it allows increasing the power density. This main challenge is often tackled with proper load management and advanced control strategies, as highlighted in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the design of optimal and robust coordinated controller of hybrid energy storage system in a naval dc microgrid (MG) application. It is able to mitigate the negative effects of the pulsed power loads and meet the practical limitations of both converters input control and state variables signals based on IEEE standards. To do this, first, the dynamic model of the dc MG, which can represent in either all-electric aircraft or shipboard power systems, is developed. Second, a novel model predictive controller (MPC) for energy storage converters is proposed such that all of the mentioned hard constraints are guaranteed. Third, a linear matrix inequality approach is used to solve the MPC conditions. Finally, to evaluate the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed approach, some experimental tests are extracted. Obtained results verify better performance of the proposed approach over other state-of-the-art control techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concerns over environmental impact and high infrastructure cost heavily influence the uptake of wind turbine technology. Recently, researchers have started to look into small wind turbines, which are much smaller in size and capacity. Small wind turbines have less environmental impact and low infrastructure cost. These small turbines have limited power generation capacity, requiring multiple turbines to be connected together to produce useful power. In order to capture power from multiple wind turbines, researchers have proposed numerous topologies in the literature. However, these traditional topologies were designed for high-power wind turbines and cannot be used to connect very small wind turbines since a significant amount of the generated power would be lost in driving the complex electronic circuits used in traditional topologies. In this paper, we present a multiple-input nonisolated dc–dc converter design that collects the output power from series-connected very small wind turbines. The proposed system was implemented in our smart energy laboratory and experimental results were gathered, showing a significant improvement over existing converters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the nonlinear characteristics of a photovoltaic (PV) array, its regulation is highly dependent on the operating point. Focusing on a dc–dc boost converter, this paper first shows how the PV voltage and inductor current controls are affected by the PV array. It then proposes to emulate an impedance virtually connected to the PV array, making it possible to greatly improve the control robustness. Thanks to the proposed strategy, the crossover frequency variation for the whole operating range is reduced from 42 times for the traditional control to 3.5 times when emulating parallel resistance or to 1.4 times when emulating series and parallel resistances, all with simple implementation. Experimental results with a commercial PV inverter and a 4-kWp PV array validate the theoretical analysis and demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MR16 lighting system with a high-frequency step-down electronic transformer is widely used in commercial lighting. In this paper, a single-switch quadratic boost light emitting diode (LED) driver compatible with electronic transformers for the MR16 lighting system is proposed and analyzed. It combines a prestage boost power factor correction (PFC) converter and a second-stage boost dc–dc converter with a single switch. The effect of the dc link voltage ripple of the prestage boost PFC converter on the output of the second-stage boost dc–dc converter is eliminated by a fast voltage mode control loop of a second-stage circuit. Therefore, flicker-free low ripple LED current is achieved. With a small dc link voltage ripple of prestage, the turn-on time of the active switch is almost constant in a half-line cycle. Therefore, PFC can be achieved with inductor current of prestage operating in a discontinuous conduction mode. With small input capacitance, the proposed LED driver presents a good compatibility performance with different kinds of electronic transformers. Furthermore, the proposed LED driver needs only one active switch and one control loop, which makes circuit volume small and low cost. Finally, a 4 W LED driver for a small-size MR16 lighting system is provided to verify the studied results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a simple and generic model of a dual active bridge converter valid throughout its range of operation. It is suitable for all operating modes and modulation strategies such as phase-shift, extended phase-shift, dual phase-shift, or triple phase-shift modulation. It hypothesizes that any mode of its operation characterized by the duty ratios ($d_1$ , $d_2$) of the two full-bridge converter ac voltages and the phase shift ($\phi$) between them can be decomposed into four parallel dual active bridge circuits operating in simple phase-shift modulation. The hypothesis is proven mathematically; the average and small-signal models are derived and validated through simulations and experiments on a hardware prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In photovoltaic systems, dc–dc converters have been identified as one of the most critical and challenging subsystem in terms of failure rate. Thus, this paper proposes fault-tolerant operation of a two-stage buck/buck–boost converter under open-circuit switch failure. Remedial actions are efficient in any failure of one of the two switches of the converter. Here, a new unified approach is considered, for the overall fault-tolerant operation of the two stages of the converter. The fault-tolerant circuit we propose lies on performing redundancy by implementing the equivalent synchronous switch for the two main switches of the two stages, in offline mode. The fault-tolerant circuit results from the basic two-stage buck/buck-boost converter and its equivalent circuit with a synchronous switch, merged together to form the new dc–dc fault-tolerant circuit. Therefore, postfault operation at full power can also be performed. By using a switch fault management unit with reduced complexity, inserted between the control block and the switches, we have designed an unified, efficient, and optimized fault-tolerant control, suitable in both healthy and postfault operations. Some selected experimental tests, which all confirm the good performances of the proposed fault-tolerant approach, are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a photovoltaic system, a dc–dc power optimizer (DCPO) is an option to maximize the output power. At the same time, data links among DCPOs are often required for system monitoring and controlling. This paper proposes a novel power line communication method for the DCPOs, in which the data of a DCPO are modulated into the control loop of a power converter, and then transmitted through the series-connected dc power line to other DCPOs. In the process of communication, differential phase-shift keying modulation and discrete Fourier transformation demodulation are employed. To analyze the quality of communication, the communication model of the system is built, based on a small-signal model. Furthermore, the noises of the system, including switching, maximum power point tracking, and additive white Gaussian noise, are discussed and measured to evaluate the signal-to-noise ratio. Lastly, an experimental system including six DCPOs is established and tested, which verifies the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article exhibits an output voltage-tracking control algorithm incorporating a self-tuning algorithm and disturbance observers (DOBs) for dc–dc boost converters without tracking error integrators, considering model nonlinearities, parameter variations, and load uncertainties. The proposed algorithm is designed such that it forces the output voltage to track its target trajectory driven by a time-varying low-pass filter (LPF), despite model-plant mismatches. This paper makes two main contributions. First, it constructs the self-tuning algorithm by updating the closed-loop cut-off frequency in the time-varying LPF to improve the transient tracking performance. Second, it embeds first-order DOBs in the proportional-type nonlinear controller to achieve both performance recovery and the offset-free properties. The experimental verifications are carried out to illustrate the effectiveness of the closed-loop system driven by the proposed technique with a 3-kW prototype dc–dc boost converter; the 46% improvement of the tracking performance is observed, compared with the conventional feedback-linearization controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new average electrothermal model of the inductor dedicated to the computer analysis of dc–dc converters, such as a boost converter. The proposed model takes into account the influence of power losses in the ferromagnetic core on frequency and temperature. The considered model includes parameters, values of which are estimated on the basis of the catalog data of the inductor components—the core and the winding. To prove the usefulness of the average electrothermal model of the inductor, calculations of the characteristics of the boost converter are performed. The results of calculations are compared with the results of measurements and the good agreement between these results is achieved for two types of ferromagnetic cores made of powdered iron or ferrite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new light emitting diode (LED) driver circuit is presented in this paper based on the buck converter with coupled inductors for automotive applications. Soft-switching condition is provided for the switch via a passive resonant circuit incorporating the leakage inductance of the coupled inductors. Also, the leakage inductance energy is recycled to the output. The proposed converter has a very simple structure as well as high efficiency, which makes it a good candidate for battery-operated applications. The proposed converter only applies one magnetic element and the leakage and magnetizing inductances are used as resonant elements. Also, during the resonance, a resonance capacitor is approximately charged to the input voltage, and therefore, the capacitor voltage stress and semiconductor devices voltage stress are low. These are the main advantages of the proposed converter over other similar converters. The theoretical analysis is provided and the operating principles and design considerations are explained. An 8 W laboratory prototype is implemented in order to prove the validity of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a hybrid modular multilevel dc–dc converter with dc fault ride-through capability. In each phase, the lower arm and shunt arm are composed of half-bridge submodules and full-bridge submodules (FBSMs) respectively, and the upper arm is composed of both types of submodules. The shunt arm eliminates the large ac filter required at the output of dc side. Moreover, it provides the bidirectional fault ride-through capability together with the FBSMs in the upper arm. Required kVA rating of the switches in the proposed topology is analyzed and compared to other topologies. With the optimal number of FBSMs in the upper and shunt arms designed by overmodulation, the proposed topology has a reduced kVA rating of switches, especially for the voltage conversion ratio above 0.54. A control strategy is presented to control the ac circulating current and balance the energy between the three arms. The performance of the proposed topology is validated by real-time simulation and a lab-scale test bench. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nonisolated dc–dc converter with chain links of submodules (SMs) is proposed in this paper. The converter can perform as a dc transformer with a low step-up ratio. To demonstrate the step-up dc–dc conversion, the converter is operated in a resonant conversion mode, achieving soft switching and inherent balancing of the SM capacitor voltages. The circuit configuration is presented and the operation principle is analyzed in this paper. Experimental results based on a downscaled prototype validate the performance of the proposed converter as a low step-up ratio dc transformer. The converter also exhibits a good linearity covering a broad range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new approach for the small-signal modeling of the dc–dc LLC resonant converter aimed to supply high-power light-emitting diodes (LEDs). This small-signal modeling procedure is based on the extended describing function method, where for a reliable small-signal model of the LLC LED driver, the equivalent piece-wise linear circuit of the LED has to be considered under some conditions throughout the model development. Otherwise, the obtained model does not reflect the real dynamic behavior of the converter. Furthermore, a numerical analysis is presented showing the conditions where the proposed model better describes the real dynamic behavior of the converter in relation to the traditional approach where the LED is modeled by an equivalent resistance. From the obtained model, the feedback compensator is designed and implemented in order to track the average current reference and avoid output current ripple, consequently sidestepping output light modulation (flicker). Experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed small-signal model and the active ripple compensation through a dimmable digitally controlled LLC LED driver under closed-loop operation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, a multilevel cascaded converter fed with a single dc source has been presented. An analysis of the steady-state working limits of this type of converter is presented in this paper. Limits of the maximum output voltage and the minimum and maximum loading conditions for stable operation of the converter are addressed. In this paper, a way to achieve any dc voltage ratio (inside the stable operation area of the converter) between the H-bridges of the single-dc-source cascaded H-bridge converter is presented. The proposed dc-voltage-ratio control is based on a time-domain modulation strategy that avoids the use of inappropriate states to achieve the dc-voltage-ratio control. The proposed technique is a feedforward-modulation technique which takes into account the actual dc voltage of each H-bridge of the converter, leading to output waveforms with low distortion. In this way, the dc voltage of the floating H-bridge can be controlled while the output voltage has low distortion independently of the desired dc voltage ratio. Experimental results from a two-cell cascaded converter are presented in order to validate the proposed dc-voltage-ratio control strategy and the introduced concepts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a complete method that is used to balance dc link voltages in a cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) multilevel rectifier. Recently, such converters have been the subject of extensive research due to their suitability for high-power applications. One requirement in using a multilevel active rectifier at high levels of power is to limit the switching losses by reducing the switching frequency to a minimum. Another requirement for these converters is to ensure that individual dc link capacitor voltages for each cell of the converter are always balanced to ensure controllability and to limit stress on the converter cells. This paper presents a complete method in solving both of these problems using a selective-harmonic-elimination pulsewidth-modulation scheme. The scheme utilizes a simple controller to track each cell dc link capacitor voltage magnitude and accordingly biases the power flowing into each cell to ensure that the voltages across each cell capacitor converge. This is the case even when the loads attached to the individual cells are not balanced. The theory is supported by both simulated results from Saber and by experimental results from a seven-level CHB single-phase multilevel rectifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses a tolerance design approach for the feedback compensation networks of dc-dc switching regulators, identifying the most reliable solutions among different feasible alternatives that fulfil closed-loop design constraints. A voltage-mode-regulated dc-dc buck converter is considered as a case study. Given the performance and stability constraints, as tolerance ranges for crossover frequency and phase margin, feasible design solutions are sought by means of Monte Carlo and Interval Arithmetic computations. The search space is a set of available commercial values of H-C parameters and related tolerances. Best design is identified by a weighted fitness function, exploring the set of solutions provided by different design approaches. The results presented in the paper highlight that the tolerance design approach allows one to find compensation networks that fit the given performance/robustness priorities better than those ones found by means of the classical nominal design approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a nonisolated bidirectional dc–dc converter is presented. The proposed converter consists of two boost converters to enhance the voltage gain. Four power switches with their body diodes are employed in the proposed converter. Also, two inductors and a capacitor are used as passive components. The input current is divided to the inductors which causes the efficiency to be high. The voltage gain of the proposed converter is higher than the conventional cascaded bidirectional buck/boost converter (CCBC) in step-up mode. Besides, the voltage gain in step-down mode is lower than CCBC. Besides, the efficiency of the proposed converter more than CCBC while the total stress on active switches are same. The simple structure of the proposed converter causes its control to be easy. The steady-state analysis of the proposed converter is discussed in this paper thoroughly. The stress on converters’ devices and the efficiency of the proposed converter and CCBC are compared in this paper. Finally, the proposed converter prototype circuit is implemented to justify the validity of the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the current-stress optimization and soft-switching operation of the isolated bidirectional dual active bridge (DAB) dc–dc converter with the unified triple-phase-shift (UTPS) control. On this basis, the current-stress-optimized modulation scheme is proposed for DAB, which leads to the minimum current stress with the required transmission power and voltage conversion ratio in the whole load range. Moreover, the full soft-switching operation is achieved for the converter simultaneously. Distinct from the previous modulation schemes, the proposed optimized modulation scheme is deduced from a unified analysis of TPS where all effective switching modes are investigated. A novel algorithm based on the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker (KKT) conditions is originally proposed to derive closed-form solutions for the global optimal control parameters. This paper also presents a typical closed-loop control strategy for DAB with TPS control and detailed descriptions about the closed-loop operation. A laboratory prototype is applied, and the experimental results validate that the current-stress optimization and efficiency improvement are realized by applying the optimized modulation scheme. The experimental results also verify the effectiveness of the closed-loop control strategy for DAB with TPS control. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A conventional asymmetrical half-bridge (AHB) converter is widely used for dc–dc stage in low-to-medium power system. However, since the asymmetric operation of AHB converter causes the low efficiency over entire load condition, the conventional AHB converter is not usually considered for the candidate of server power system. In order to overcome the problems of the conventional AHB converter, a wide zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) range AHB converter with a clamp switch and a clamp diode is proposed in this paper. The proposed AHB converter (PAHBC) replaces a low-side clamp diode with a MOSFET switch and adds an auxiliary winding, which changes the transformer turns-ratio. From these modifications and the pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) control of clamp switch, the PAHBC can be designed optimally at nominal input condition and obtains additional dc gain at hold-up time condition. These advantages achieve the high conversion efficiency over the entire load condition. The operational principle and analysis of the PAHBC are presented in this paper and verified by a 340–400 V input and 50 V/500 W output laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

It is known that the ripple-based control of a switching dc–dc converter benefits from a faster transient response than a conventional pulse width modulation (PWM) control switching dc–dc converter. However, ripple-based control switching dc–dc converters may suffer from fast-scale oscillation. In order to achieve fast transient response and ensure the stable operation of a switching dc–dc converter over a wide load range, based on a conventional pulse train (PT) control technique, a peak capacitor current PT (PCC-PT) control technique is proposed in this paper. With a buck converter as an example, the operating modes, steady-state performance, and transient respond performance of a PCC-PT controlled buck converter are presented and assessed. To eliminate fast-scale oscillation, circuit and control parameter design considerations are given. An accurate discrete iteration model of a PCC-PT controlled buck converter is established, based on which the effects of circuit parameters on the stability of the converter operating in a discontinuous current mode (DCM), mixed DCM-continuous conduction mode (CCM), and CCM are studied. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the analysis results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The success of electric vehicles (EVs) greatly depends on battery size, cost, lifetime, and capacity. The battery capacity of EVs has to contain enough energy to allow EV users to drive, at least, the minimum distance that internal combustion engine vehicles take. However, even with very efficient EVs and combining all the available highly efficient EV technologies, the battery capacity still needs to be large. Thus, one alternative to reduce the battery size is to improve the charging infrastructure by implementing sufficient public/private fast-charging locations, which will significantly increase the EV driving range with relatively low battery capacities. However, this kind of infrastructure requires charging with higher current capability, due to the high power levels involved in the fast-charging process. In this paper, a bidirectional dc/dc converter with six inverter legs connected to a three-phase output is proposed. The converter is similar to a three-phase dual-active-bridge (DAB) converter with more inverter legs in parallel. These additional inverter legs increase the converter current capability, without affecting the DAB main characteristics, preserving similar modulation techniques and DAB advantages. An accurate study about the proposed topology is carried out in this paper, and simulations and experimental results are shown for a 20-kW prototype, validating the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper suggests a new hybrid dc–dc converter for a neighborhood electric vehicle battery charger. The proposed converter is based on the conventional phase-shift full-bridge (PSFB) converter with center-tap rectifier. By integrating an $LLC$ series resonant converter into the conventional PSFB converter, the proposed converter has many advantages like wide soft-switching range without duty-cycle loss, zero-current-switching operation of rectifying diodes, minimized circulating current, reduced size of filter inductor, and much better transformer utilization than before presented hybrid dc–dc converters. The proposed converter can be modulated in phase-shift manner or frequency variation. The feasibility of the proposed converter has been verified with the experimental results under an output voltage range of 36–72 V dc at 1 kW. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Parasitic capacitance has a considerable impact on conductive electromagnetic interference (EMI), especially on the common mode (CM) noise. In vehicular applications, such as more electric aircraft and electrical vehicles, the value of CM stray capacitance can vary during the drive cycle, due to some change in environmental, and operating conditions, resulting in fluctuations in EMI level. Designing EMI filters according to potentially overestimated CM capacitance results in additional weight, volume, and cost which should be avoided. In this paper, for the first time, the parasitic capacitance relevant to CM noise is estimated in real-time using unscented Kalman filter (UKF). The UKF is employed due to its ability in dealing with nonlinearity and stochastic nature of the EMI as well as the measurement noises. The proposed method is tested on a typical dc–dc buck converter in different operating conditions. The effectiveness of the proposed method is tested using some hardware-in-the-loop experiments using dSPACE1104 development platform. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel high-conversion-ratio high-efficiency isolated bidirectional dc–dc converter. The proposed converter is operated in the step-down stage. The dc-blocking capacitor in the high-voltage side is used to reduce the voltage on the transformer, and the current-doubler circuits are used in the low-voltage side to reduce the output current ripple. The energy stored in the leakage inductance is recycled to the dc-blocking capacitor. When the proposed converter is operated with a step-up function, dual current-fed circuits on the low-voltage side are used to reduce the current ripples and conduction losses of the switches in the low-voltage side. The voltage-doubler circuit in the high-voltage side increases the conversion ratio. The proposed converter can achieve high conversion with high efficiency. Experimental results based on a prototype implemented in the laboratory with a high voltage of 200 V, low voltage of 24 V, and output power of 200 W verify the performance of the proposed converter. The peak efficiency of the proposed converter in the high-step-down and high-step-up stages is 96.3% and 95.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper is focused on core size optimization of power inductors in bidirectional dc–dc converters. It presents an experimental large-signal characterization procedure for power inductors in electric vehicle applications and a method to obtain an inductance reference value for the power inductor in dc–dc converters' simulation studies. It discusses the importance of the inductor design project by describing important constraints such as core size and saturation. The main contribution of this paper is related to the proposed dc flux cancelation technique in the bidirectional converter. A variable inductor prototype is used to replace the power inductor in order to decrease core size by improving the ripple content of the inductor current. The saturation level of the core is controlled by means of an auxiliary winding whether the converter operates in buck or boost mode. Experimental results validate the proposed methodology showing more than 50% reduction in magnetic material for similar current levels. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]