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In this paper, a single-inductor dual-output (SIDO) dc–dc converter is proposed. The significant feature of the proposed converter is feeding a constant power load in low-voltage side (LVS) port, where even feeding a variable load at LVS does not have any cross regulation to high-voltage side port with the desired approximation. Magnificently, both merits are obtained in open-loop manner, which is an outstanding characteristic in comparison with that of the existed converters. In this paper, soft commutation and soft switching of switches and diodes are investigated along with the aforementioned main novelty. Moreover, detailed theoretical analyses of the proposed SIDO dc–dc converter in continuous conduction mode are presented besides the comparisons with some other structures. Finally, theoretical analyses are verified through a 1500 W experimental prototype results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a series-capacitor-based interleaving buck power factor correction (PFC) converter is proposed, the intermediate energy storage capacitance of which is operated at discontinuous capacitor voltage mode (DCVM), and automatic power factor (PF) correction for this converter is obtained. Moreover, the voltage across the series capacitor of the proposed PFC converter is clamped at the input voltage, and thus peak voltage stress existed in the traditional DCVM buck PFC could be relieved. By effectively regulating the charge/discharge time for the series capacitor, ultrahigh step-down conversion ratio of the proposed converter is achieved, the conversion ratio of which is independent of the duty cycle and only related to the switching frequency and circuit parameters. Therefore, high PF can be obtained due to very narrow deadtime of the input current. Meanwhile, the proposed PFC converter can realize the soft turn-on of part power switch and soft turn-off of part power diodes. In addition, comparing with the traditional discontinuous inductor current mode PFC, the input current of the proposed PFC converter is continuous so that the peak value and root-mean-square value of input current can be reduced. The operational principle, performance analysis, and parameter design principle are given in this paper. The analysis results show that the PF and total harmonic distortion are also independent of the duty cycle. Finally, a 220-Vac input, 60 W/15 V output experimental prototype is built to verify the validity of the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reduced switch active phase converters (APC) are cost-effective solutions for running three-phase loads from single-phase grids. This paper proposes a novel auxiliary-capacitor-based APC (AC-APC) for this application. The combination of the topological location of the auxiliary capacitor and the control of the AC-APC reduces current stress on the semiconductor devices. In this paper, a selection criterion for the optimal auxiliary capacitor value is formulated to reduce the device currents in such a way that the overall efficiency is enhanced. This paper presents a comparative analysis of converter volt-ampere (VA) rating and device power loss for conventional H-bridge active front-end and inverter-based topology, APC, and AC-APC. To evaluate the efficacy of the proposed AC-APC, an experimental study is conducted on the APC and the AC-APC feeding a 3-hp three-phase induction motor. At a full load of $\text{2.5}\,\text{kW}$ and $\text{0.8 } \text{power factor}$ , the measured maximum efficiency of the AC-APC is $2\%$ higher than that of the APC. Analytical evaluation of converter currents and device power loss are in close agreement with experimental observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new developed switched-capacitor converter to achieve high-voltage pulses with adjustable voltage level and frequency. The proposed topology generates repetitive high-voltage pulses by using low-voltage power supply with reduced number of components, including power semiconductors and capacitor. Therefore, a converter based on switched-capacitor units with high voltage gain and high efficiency can be achieved. Operation principles and design steps of the converter as well as comparative study with conventional converters are described in this paper. Finally, simulation and experimental results of a two-stage structure of the proposed circuit validate the operation principles and features of this topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new nonisolated high step-down dc–dc converter with ultrahigh step-down conversion ratio is proposed. Advantages of the proposed converter are high step-down ratio, extended duty cycle, reduced switching losses by a converter operation under zero-voltage switching (ZVS) conditions, reduced reverse reco-very losses of diodes by achieved zero-current switching turn-off condition, and reduced voltage spikes by the inherent active-clamping structure of the converter. In this converter, series capacitors and coupled inductors have been used in power path to achieve the low voltage gain and extended duty cycle. By the inherent active-clamping structure of the proposed converter, the leakage inductance energy is totally recovered in the output; therefore, the high voltage spike across the semiconductor devices is suppressed. The switches of the proposed converter can operate under ZVS conditions, which cause reduced switching losses and improved efficiency. In this paper, the converter operating modes are discussed, and a prototype circuit is implemented. Experimental results are presented to verify the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents three unidirectional step-up ac–dc converter topologies with voltage multiplication on their outputs. The first topology is the hybrid boost rectifier and the other two are novel bridgeless structures, all based on the integration of boost rectifier and the ladder switched-capacitor (SC) cell. The new hybrid structures provide high voltage gain with low voltage stress across the switches, high-power factor, and output voltage regulation. This paper presents the principle of operation, steady-state and dynamic analysis, design methodology, and experimental verification. A different approach is also presented for the design methodology of the SC cell and for the analysis of its influence on the dynamic model. Three 1000-W prototypes with a 220-V input voltage, 800-V output voltage, and 100-kHz switching frequency were designed to corroborate the theoretical study. The best efficiency was 97.1$\%$ in the proposed bridgeless versions and the voltage stress across the switches stands around 400 V. Furthermore, a comparison between the proposed structures and previous topologies is also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes an analytical design procedure for the LLCL and the LCCL filters for grid integration of high-power voltage-source converters. The low switching frequency and stringent limits on grid-injected harmonics in high-power applications lead to large smoothing filters. In order to reduce the size and weight, high-order filters are already proposed and wise design procedures with the main goal of minimizing the overall filter size are being suggested. In this paper, the parameters of the LLCL and the LCCL filters are designed in the per-unit system to satisfy the requirements on the injected grid current and at the same time minimize the overall filter size through minimizing the total energy stored in the filter components. The experimental results of a downscaled laboratory prototype with a low switching frequency prove the effectiveness of the proposed design procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Circuit analysis and design criteria of a two-phase bidirectional converter with high voltage gain are presented in this paper. The operating principle of the forward or reverse mode is similar to that of the conventional buck or boost converter. Compared with the conventional converter, the switch stresses can be reduced significantly depending on the operating region of the voltage ratio in the two-phase converter. The power losses can also be reduced due to the use of low-voltage rating switches. The derivate converters are discussed to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed topology. A 200 W/1 MHz two-phase prototype converter with gallium nitride (GaN) devices is built and tested to verify the feasibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel switch current stress reduction technique for a single switch boost-flyback high step up dc–dc converter. Coupled inductor-based converters do not have a sufficiently higher inductance value of their windings. This creates current surge during transient and steady state, which in turn increases current stress at main switch. To compensate this difficulty in coupled inductor-based boost flyback converter, an inductor–diode parallel combination has been connected in series with the switch. This technique increases the effective inductance of the coupled inductor primary winding during switch turn-on operation and helps to reduce current stress. Steady-state operating principle with the proposed technique is analyzed in continuous conduction mode. The current reduction technique is discussed with a proper mathematical derivation. To verify theoretical findings, simulation study is carried out in MATLAB/Simulink R2014b. Finally, a laboratory-based 40-W prototype converter is designed to show the effectiveness of the proposed switch current reduction technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new transformerless bidirectional buck-boost converter is proposed in this paper. The proposed converter has a simple circuit structure, low component count, low voltage stress on the power transistors, and a wide voltage gain range. This makes it applicable in the energy storage charge/discharge systems, such as electric vehicles (EV), microgrids and nanogrids with energy storage units, and uninterruptible power supplies. In addition, synchronous rectification between the complementary transistors is employed to improve the converter efficiency. A comprehensive analysis of the steady-state operation, small-signal model, component parameters design, and efficiency analysis of the proposed converter operating in a continuous conduction mode is given. Finally, a 1.6-kW scaled-down prototype was built using Silicon Carbide MOSFETS to validate the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel noncoupled inductor high voltage gain single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC) is presented. The proposed converter has various advantages, such as lower voltage stress on the switches, noninverting output voltage, high efficiency, and high voltage gain. Also, the introduced converter has a continuous input current which makes it suitable for renewable energy and fuel cell applications. Moreover, high voltage gain is achieved without using any transformer and coupled inductor, thus there is not any voltage overshoot for the switches during the turn-off process. This effect allows low conduction losses by using lower voltage rating switches and also additional clamping circuit is not needed. The control system of the presented converter is simple and the converter can be easily controlled in continuous conduction mode mode operation. Because, the gating pulses for both of the switches are the same and wide output voltage range is achieved only by changing the duty cycle. Furthermore, the number of the components compared to the other noncoupled inductor, SEPIC-based converters which provide near voltage gain to the proposed converter, is reduced. The detailed operation of the introduced converter and design considerations are discussed. Experimental results are presented to verify the performance of the proposed dc–dc converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an approach for dealing with the control of five-level, diode-clamped rectifiers. The control of such converters is challenging, as voltage balancing among capacitors is not a trivial task. Some of the existing approaches that cope with this problem use specific modifications of one of the traditional modulation techniques, such as using redundant vectors in space vector modulation (SVM). The main feature of the proposed technique is that part of the modulation is considered in the system equations and, in this way, the voltage balance can be solved designing a specific controller for this problem. As a result, several levels are used within a switching period. Furthermore, it is shown that the proposed approach hardly affects the control of active and reactive powers and total dc-link voltage in such a way that the well-known direct power control can be applied. As a consequence, the resultant modulation stage is simpler than other techniques based on, e.g., SVM. The effectiveness and good performance of the system under the proposed control approach are validated by both simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) is a promising topology for medium-voltage high-power applications. CHB consists of low-power H-bridge modules in each phase, and these modules are connected in a cascade manner to achieve multilevel operation. However, CHB requires a phase-shifting transformer with multiple secondary windings to generate an isolated dc source for each module, and this requirement increases the overall system cost. In this paper, a series connection of low-power modules is employed to realize a new power converter called a series-connected multilevel converter. Each phase of the proposed topology requires a single isolated dc source. Hence, the required number of secondary windings is considerably reduced. This approach also minimizes the complexity and cost of the overall system. The operation of the proposed topology is presented by using three-level neutral point clamped modules in each phase. Model predictive control (MPC) is employed to control the dc-bus capacitor voltage and output currents of the proposed topology. A discrete-time mathematical model of the proposed topology is also developed to predict the future behavior of control variables. The performance of the proposed topology with MPC is verified through MATLAB simulations and a scaled-down laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a fully soft-switched bidirectional dc–dc converter is proposed. All semiconductor devices are soft switched, while its control circuit remains pulsewidth modulated. This condition is achieved only by one auxiliary switch. So, the proposed topology has less complexity in comparison with other similar structures. The energy conversion through the proposed topology during buck and boost modes is highly efficient due to achieved soft-switching condition. The auxiliary circuit operates once during each switching cycle. The converter is analyzed and a 250-W laboratory prototype of the proposed converter is constructed. The experimental results are presented that confirm the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes two coupled-inductors-based Z-source networks, called the modified series and tapped switched-coupled-inductors quasi-Z-source networks (mSSCL-qZSN and mTSCL-qZSN, respectively). These networks offer high voltage gains with less-than-unity winding turn ratios $(n < {\text{1)}}$ , resulting in a reduced inductive element size. Other advantages include a less number of active components and their lower ratings and a higher efficiency. In addition, a lower magnetic core size is required for the proposed ZSNs due to the lower peak magnetizing current. The performance principles and detailed comparative analysis are provided and confirmed through experiments on a 200-W dc–dc converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a three-phase open-end winding induction motor drive. The drive consists of a three-phase induction machine with open stator phase windings and dual-bridge inverter supplied from a single dc voltage source. To achieve multilevel output voltage waveforms, a floating capacitor bank is used for the second of the dual bridges. The capacitor voltage is regulated using redundant switching states at half of the main dc-link voltage. This particular voltage ratio (2:1) is used to create a multilevel output voltage waveform with three levels. A modified modulation scheme is used to improve the waveform quality of this dual inverter. This paper also compares the losses in the dual-inverter system in contrast with a single-sided three-level neutral point clamped converter. Finally, detailed simulation and experimental results are presented for the motor drive operating as an open-loop v /f controlled motor drive and as a closed-loop field-oriented motor controller. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a high step up converter consisting of an integrated quadratic-boost converter and a voltage doubler is proposed. The integration of the quadratic-boost converter makes the system easier to lift up its voltage gain through slightly increasing the duty ratio of the single switch. The voltage doubler further increases the voltage gain of the system as the turn ratio rises. The voltage stresses on the switch and the diodes are decreased for such cascaded topology. Different operation modes are analyzed and mathematical analysis of the converter is presented in detail. The leakage inductance contributes to realizing zero current switching of the diodes in the second boost stage and the doubler and the energy can be recycled to the load. A 38-W prototype is built to work as a vehicle LED driver. Experiments are conducted to verify the advantages of the proposed converter and the efficiency is 90% at the nominal operating point. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, modular multilevel converter (MMC) is considered for medium-voltage variable speed drives (VSD) due to its modularity and higher reliability. However, the major drawback of the MMC-based VSD is the higher capacitor ripple voltage at lower operating speeds. In literature, this ripple voltage is reduced by injecting a high-frequency circulating current into each arm. This additional circulating current increases the overall current rating of the devices, inductors, and capacitors. Alternatively, the capacitor ripple voltage can be reduced at the lower output frequency by reducing the dc-bus voltage. This paper proposes a new configuration using a multipulse diode-bridge rectifier to reduce the dc-bus voltage when the drive is operated at lower speeds. Therefore, the capacitor ripple voltage decreases without injecting any circulating current. In addition, a new technique is proposed to maintain the peak-to-peak value of the submodule capacitor ripple voltage constant at near-zero speed. The proposed converter with 24-pulse rectifier configuration is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink, and the experimental validation is carried out on a prototype with 12-pulse rectifier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new modified single-switch single-ended primary inductor converter (MS2-SEPIC)-based high step-up dc–dc converter is presented. The proposed topology uses the coupled-inductor (CL) technique and a voltage tripler rectifier, which results in a high voltage gain for the converter. Here, the switching loss has been reduced significantly owing to the quasi-resonance operation of the circuit created by the leakage inductance of the CL along with circuit capacitors. The operational principles and steady-state analysis are discussed. Experimental results based on a 100 W laboratory prototype verify the validity of theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A 1-MHz-modified single-ended primary-inductor converter (SEPIC) circuit is presented in this paper as an LED driver for automotive headlights. On the basis of traditional SEPIC, only a diode and two capacitors are added; therefore, the circuit structure is relatively simple and the volume is relatively small. High step-up capability is obtained with moderate duty cycle. Compared with traditional step-up circuit such as boost, low-voltage stress is gained which is beneficial to device selection. Zero-voltage switching is achieved at the same time to reduce switching loss. Planar inductors are used with the advantages of low profile and good thermal characteristic. Operational principle and parameters design process are introduced in detail. A 36-W prototype has been designed to demonstrate theoretical analysis. Obtained efficiency was up to 90.91% at full load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switched-capacitor converter (SCC) featuring high efficiency and power density has attracted industry interest, but weak output voltage regulation hinders its application. This paper presents an optimized phase-shift (PS) control strategy for a bridge modular SCC, utilized in energy storage system, to obtain continuous conversion ratio and high-efficiency operation. By employing a small inductor as current buffer, the control strategy could be implemented to regulate output voltage conveniently with excellent steady and dynamic performance in step-down mode as well as step-up mode. Most importantly, the high-efficiency operation mechanism never reported before is revealed here. Correspondingly, the active circumfluence could be controlled through optimizing the range of PS time, which will avoid the loss in circuit self. Meanwhile, the soft-switching conditions of all the switches are comprehensively analyzed and soft-switching operations are achieved according to the logic timing control of the power devices, improving efficiency further. Finally, the prototype of the proposed converter was built and the experimental results validated the principle and features of the conversion method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a novel buck–boost converter with low electric stress on components and negative output voltage is proposed. The operational principle, steady-state analysis, and small-signal modeling of the proposed buck–boost converter in continuous conduction mode are presented. Comparisons among another five buck–boost converters and the proposed buck–boost converter are presented. It is found that the proposed converter's voltage gain is smaller than the other converters’ in step-down mode. Also, based upon the comparisons among the same kind and same number of components, the voltage and current stresses on the power switch of the proposed buck–boost converter are less than or equal to those of the comparative converters, and the voltage stress on the charge pump capacitor and the switching device power rating of the proposed buck–boost converter are always lower than those of other comparative converters. The efficiency of the proposed buck–boost converter is highest among those converters having the same number of elements. These advantages make component selection for the proposed converter much easier, and it can be used directly in applications needing a negative voltage source. Finally, simulation results and circuit experiments are given for validating the effectiveness of the proposed buck–boost converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional two-level as well as multilevel voltage-source-inverter topologies with a hexagonal voltage-space vector structure generate low-order harmonics in the machine terminal voltages when operated beyond the linear modulation range in variable speed drive application. Progressing from hexagonal to a higher sided polygonal voltage-space-vector structure (VSVS) suppresses significant low-order harmonics throughout the modulation range. In addition, the linear modulation range will also be enhanced very near to the base speed. In this paper, for the first time, the generation of a multilevel 24-sided VSVS using a single dc source for induction-motor drives is proposed. A cascaded topology with a dc-source-fed flying-capacitor inverter and two low-voltage capacitor-fed H-bridge cells forms the power circuit. The features and advantages of the proposed scheme are validated through experimental results and discussions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a family of automatic interleaved Dickson switched-capacitor converters (AIDSCC) and its zero-voltage switching (ZVS) resonant configuration are proposed. Different from the traditional Dickson switched-capacitor converter, the AIDSCC has symmetrical configuration with the features of automatic interleaved input current, small output voltage ripple, and lower peak capacitor voltage stress. To improve the line regulation capability, one small resonant inductor is inserted and two bulky capacitor banks are replaced by two much smaller resonant capacitors, forming the resonant AIDSCC. The transistors are ZVS turned on and diodes are zero-current switching turned off by operating above the resonance. With frequency modulation within a reasonable range, the voltage-gain range of the resonant AIDSCC is expanded significantly, while sacrificing the maximum efficiency due to the higher conduction loss. A 3X AIDSCC and a 3X resonant AIDSCC below 140 W were built to verify the analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a self-oscillating soft-switched converter for light-emitting-diode (LED) driver application is presented. In the proposed converter, the self-oscillation conditions are provided with a low number of additional components, and this converter provides a zero-current switching (ZCS) condition for instant switch turn-OFF. This converter does not need additional output current feedback because the output current changes only 10% when the output voltage changes by 33%. The self-oscillating part of this converter applies three low-power BJT and guarantees a soft-switching condition. The proposed self-oscillating control circuit can be implemented with a low cost since it does not need any IC and power supply for the control circuit. The proposed self-oscillating circuit detects the proper moment to turn the switch OFF under the ZCS condition. In order to justify the validity of theoretical analysis, the results of the implemented prototype for driving an LED string are presented. The measured power factor of the prototype shows that, although the input current of the converter is not sinusoidal, this converter can meet the IEC61000-3-2 standard at an operating power of less than 25 W, in addition to having a simple structure and achieving the robust ZCS condition. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Microinverters operating into the single-phase grid from new energy source with low-voltage output face the challenges of efficiency bottleneck and twice-line-frequency variation. This paper proposed a multilevel inverter based on bridge modular switched-capacitor (BMSC) circuits with its superiority in conversion efficiency and power density. The topology is composed of dc–dc and dc–ac stages with independent control for each stage, aiming to improve system stability and simplify the control method. The BMSC dc–dc stage, which can be expanded to synthesize more levels, not only features multilevel voltage gain but also partially replaces the original bulk input capacitor and functions as an active energy buffer to enhance power-decoupling ability between dc and ac sides. In dc–ac stage, the control strategy of optimized unipolar frequency doubling sine-wave pulse width modulation is proposed to improve the quality of output waveform. Meanwhile, the multilevel voltage phase has been optimized to further reduce the power loss. Finally, a prototype has been built and tested. Associated with the simulation, the experimental results validate the practicability of these analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a bidirectional three-phase direct ac–ac converter, with only capacitors and switches in its power circuit and with its operation based on the switched-capacitor principle. The converter presents fixed gain, it keeps the frequencies of the output and input voltages equal, and it operates in open loop with constant switching frequency and duty cycle. The main advantages of the proposed converter are the absence of magnetic elements in the power circuit, the higher efficiency, the higher power density, the higher specific power, the lower cost, and the fact that it can convert ac–ac voltages within a wide frequency range, including dc voltage. Therefore, it is suitable to replace the conventional three-phase autotransformer in industrial, commercial, and residential applications, and it can be designated as a magnetic-less three-phase solid-state autotransformer. The principle of operation, a qualitative and quantitative analysis, the design methodology, and a fabricated example are described in this paper. In order to verify the converter in the laboratory, a prototype with the following characteristics was designed and fabricated: 6 kW, 1.35 kW/kg, 380/110 V, and switching frequency of 100 kHz. The measured efficiency at rated power was 96.3%, and other relevant experimental results are reported herein. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a novel transformerless interleaved high step-down conversion ratio dc–dc converter with low switch voltage stress is proposed. In the proposed converter, two input capacitors are series-charged by the input voltage and parallel-discharged by a new two-phase interleaved buck converter for providing a much higher step-down conversion ratio without adopting an extreme short duty cycle. Based on the capacitive voltage division, the main objectives of the new voltage-divider circuit in the converter are for both storing energy in the blocking capacitors for increasing the step-down conversion ratio and reducing voltage stresses of active switches. As a result, the proposed converter topology possesses the low switch voltage stress characteristic. This will allow one to choose lower voltage rating MOSFETs to reduce both switching and conduction losses, and the overall efficiency is consequently improved. Moreover, due to the charge balance of the blocking capacitor, the converter features automatic uniform current sharing characteristic of the interleaved phases without adding extra circuitry or complex control methods. The operation principles and relevant analysis of the proposed converter are presented in this paper. Finally, a 400-V input voltage, 25-V output voltage, and 400-W output power prototype circuit is implemented in the laboratory to verify the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a comparison of two modulation methods for the seven-level switched-capacitor (SC) inverter using series/parallel conversion (SCISPC). The SCISPC is a multilevel inverter which has the less number of switching devices than the conventional multilevel inverters. The level-shifted pulsewidth modulation (PWM) (LS-PWM) was applied to the seven-level SCISPC in the previous research. In this paper, the level- and phase-shifted PWM (LPS-PWM) and the LS-PWM are applied to the seven-level SCISPC, and LPS-PWM is compared with LS-PWM for the seven-level SCISPC. The LPS-PWM has both the characteristics of the phase-shifted PWM (PS-PWM) and the LS-PWM. The voltage reduction during the discharging term of the SCs is reduced by means of the shorter discharging period compared to LS-PWM. The voltage ripple of the capacitors is also reduced, which leads to higher power conversion efficiency. The difference of the two modulation methods is confirmed by the theoretical approach, simulation with PSIM, and circuit experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Direct current voltages unbalance of respective power cells is an inherent and critical problem in a cascaded multilevel converter, which is widely used in the solid-state transformer. In this paper, an n -dimension space vector pulse width modulation is presented to address this issue in a three-level H-bridge-based cascaded multilevel converter. This algorithm utilizes the redundant switching pairs of the inner cell and the redundant vectors of mutual cells to balance capacitors’ and cells’ voltages. Meanwhile, a smooth vector transition strategy is included in this algorithm to avoid the level-skip phenomenon. The calculation processes are analyzed in one-cell, two-cells, and three-cells modes, respectively. It is simple, calculable, and flexible to extend in n-cells mode. Finally, the voltage balancing capacity of the inner cell and mutual cells with smooth level transition are verified by simulations and experiments not only at startup but also with unbalanced loads. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The control loop stability in boost converters operating in continuous conduction mode has been restricted due to its nonminimum phase nature: the presence of a positive zero (right-half plane zero) in the control to output voltage transfer function. This paper proposes a method to mitigate the effect of the zero on the control loop by shifting the position of the zero to the left-half plane and hence leading to increased stability for the control loop of the boost converter. Superior performance of the proposed method has been clearly demonstrated using simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A nonisolated single-stage electronic lighting system with a high power factor for driving power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is proposed in this paper. The presented topology is based on the integration of a bridgeless boost rectifier with a nonresonant half-bridge converter. Accurate steady-state analyses of the nonresonant- and resonant-based circuits are reported, serving as the basis for designing the lighting systems. The LEDs current is adjusted by means of frequency modulation, being the converter switches driven by complementary symmetrical signals. A small-signal analysis is detailed for the proposed nonresonant scheme, providing fundamental information regarding its dynamic behavior. Also, a step-by-step design procedure based on the performed mathematical analysis is elaborated, allowing the adequate design of the proposed lighting system. In order to confirm the validity and the feasibility of the proposed converter, experimental results for a 42-W, 127- \rmV{\rm{rms}}, 50-kHz, 94.2% peak efficiency prototype are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents an optimized topology of 3-$\phi$ , multilevel inverter (MLI) configuration for five or higher level operation with reduced switch count. The proposed solution consists of two basic units (BUs) of multilevel converter and a T-structured 3-level inverter (3-LI). Both BUs are equally shared by the three phases maintaining symmetry among the phases. Moreover, for a higher level operation of the proposed MLI, the modifications required are at two BUs only and not at three legs of the inverter. It further helps in reducing the requirement of extra components for higher level operation compared to the conventional solutions. Furthermore, the topology also has the benefits of reduced switching and conduction loss. An algorithm is also devised to generate the switching pulses for the BUs and the 3-LI, using a carrier-based space vector modulation technique. Presented topology is compared with other existing topologies to prove its advantage. All the details regarding the operating modes and pulse width modulation techniques employed for the proposed system are given and supported by the simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adding the auxiliary switches to the conventional H-bridge inverter is an effective way to eliminate the leakage current for transformerless PV systems, such as H5, H6, etc. Inspired by the newly developed embedded-switch H6 topology, a novel embedded-switch inverter (ESI) is proposed in this paper for three-phase transformerless PV systems. First, the operation principle and characteristics of the proposed ESI are analyzed. Second, the common-mode model of the three-phase ESI is established, based on which the main factors that affect the leakage current are discussed. The finding reveals that the switching states with conventional modulation strategy result in high-frequency common-mode voltage, which is the source of leakage current. In order to solve the problem, a new modulation strategy is presented for ESI to eliminate the high-frequency leakage current. Finally, the time-domain simulation and the experimental tests are carried out. The results verify the effectiveness of the proposed solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an interleaved-stage ac–dc bidirectional power converter topology feasible to medium-voltage railway systems. It is based on an arrangement that uses input-series-output-parallel configuration with identical power modules. Each module consists of two interleaved legs employing coupled windings so that it is possible to connect a medium-frequency transformer. The topology conception is presented, followed by the adopted control and modulation technique. An estimation of semiconductor losses is also discussed, while a comparative analysis by means of simulation results validates the improved performance of the introduced approach if compared with similar solutions. The topology results are obtainedt through a medium-voltage high-power railway application, demonstrating the converter functionalities and performance under both steady-state and dynamic conditions. It is then possible to state that good performance in terms of efficiency is achieved even though the power stage presents higher component count if compared with the topology that presents the best result, thus making it suitable to high-power ac–dc machine drive applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a soft-switching topology is proposed for the bidirectional dc–dc converter. In order to achieve soft-switching conditions, the auxiliary circuits including a small inductor and two capacitors are introduced to the bidirectional dc–dc converter. By generating and keeping a recycle current in the auxiliary circuits, the proposed topology can provide soft-switching conditions for both switches of the bidirectional dc–dc converter in fixed frequency control application. Meanwhile, no auxiliary switches are introduced. Due to the existence of the auxiliary circuits, the proposed topology can also reduce the current ripple in the main inductor. Based on this soft-switching method, a family of bidirectional soft-switching dc–dc topologies is derived. These topologies have the similar structures and the same characteristics. The topology deduction, operating principles, and design guidelines are presented in detail. Finally, an experimental prototype is built to verify the analysis and characteristics of the proposed topologies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a power factor correction (PFC)-based switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive is proposed. Generally, the SRM drive is fed with a simple diode bridge rectifier followed by a bulky capacitor, which draws peaky current at low power factor and high-input-current total harmonic distortion (THD). Here, a dual output converter is proposed to control the SRM and to provide power quality improvement as well. This converter is a combination of Cuk and SEPIC converters, which produces two equal output voltages with neutral point N, to feed a midpoint converter of the SRM drive. The converter is designed to operate in discontinuous conduction mode of operation to obtain inherent PFC at supply side. The motor control is attained by regulating dc link voltage over a wide range. Test results on a prototype of the SRM drive demonstrate the excellent performance with high power factor and reduced input current THD. The observed power quality indices depict the improved power quality as per the standard IEC 61000-3-2. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new zero-voltage switching and resonant core reset pulse width modulation forward converter with a simple auxiliary circuit is introduced. The proposed auxiliary circuit can be applied to both single-switch and two-switch forward converters. The main and the auxiliary mosfets of the proposed converters operate under soft switching condition independent of line and load variation. Also, due to the capability of operating at duty cycles higher than 0.5, the proposed converters can be used for wide input voltage applications. In comparison to the existing zero-voltage transition (ZVT) forward converters, this auxiliary circuit has low number of components and also does not require any additional magnetic element which has improved the power density. The proposed converter is compared with exiting ZVT forward converters in details. The converter steady-state operation is analyzed and various operating modes are explained. Also, in addition to a design example, a comprehensive design procedure is presented. The experimental results of a laboratory prototype of the converter with 85–180 V input voltage and 24 V output voltage at 150 W are provided which verify the theoretical analysis and confirm the converter operation. The overall efficiency of 93.5% is achieved for the proposed converter at full load. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Impedance networks have been already investigated in various literature with the main goals of increasing the attainable voltage gain and reducing the components number. Recently, coupled inductors found popularity because they let converters with lower weight and cost. It seems that coupled inductances are a proper answer to the increasing voltage gain while keeping down the components number. This paper proposes a novel impedance network circuit based on three coupled inductors with a Δ connection. The proposed Δ-source converter offers smaller magnetizing current and winding losses compared to the successful Y-source circuit. Moreover, with the Δ-connected three coupled inductors, the adverse effect of leakage inductance on the converter performance is significantly reduced. The effectiveness of the proposed structure is analytically proved. The theoretical achievements over the conventional Y-source structure are confirmed through extensive simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A simple current-feed single-switch forward resonant converter with secondary diode-clamping is proposed for low-power high-density bus converter applications in this paper. The quasi-zero-voltage-switching turn-on and quasi-zero-current-switching (ZCS) turn-off for switch are both achieved. Due to the quasi-ZCS turn-off , the high voltage spike in traditional single forward converter with a reset winding is much reduced. A small diode connected to the output capacitor is utilized to clamp the voltage stress of the switches. The operating principle of the proposed converter is analyzed and a MHz 66 W 24 V-to-12 V prototype with all Si devices is built up. Experimental results show good soft-switching features, and the prototype achieves 95.3% peak efficiency with 270 W/in3 power density. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new cascaded high step-up multilevel converter topology is designed, which is based on the series connection of several switched-capacitor submultilevel units. The voltage gain of proposed multilevel converter is related to the number of used switches-capacitor units. The main advantage of proposed topology is inherent voltage balancing of used capacitors. The proposed cascade topology is optimized to minimize the number of capacitors, power switches, and the value of voltage on switches for given levels. The proposed topology is compared with other high step-up multilevel converter topologies and conventional structures. The comparison results show that the presented structure requires the least number of switches and dc sources. Moreover, the voltage on the switches of proposed topology is low. In order to confirm the operation of proposed high step-up multilevel converter, both experimental and simulation works are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new type of matrix converter (MC) also called a single-phase high-frequency transformer isolated (HFTI) buck MC is proposed. The proposed converter can provide step-down operation of the input voltage with various types of output voltages such as in-phase and out-of-phase output voltages, rectified (or positive) output voltage, and output voltage with step-changed frequency. By incorporating HFT isolation, the proposed MC saves an extra bulky line frequency transformer, which is required for the conventional MCs to provide electrical isolation and safety, when used in application such as dynamic voltage restorers, etc. Two different circuit variations of the proposed HFTI MC are presented with and without continuous output currents, with the latter having less passive components. The safe-commutation strategy is also employed for the proposed HFTI MC to provide current path for the inductor during dead-time, which avoids switch voltage spikes without adding any snubber circuits. The operation principle and circuit analysis of the proposed MC are presented, and switching strategies are also developed to obtain various output voltages. Moreover, a prototype of the proposed MC is fabricated, and experiments are performed to produce in-phase/out-of-phase and rectified output voltages, and output voltage with step-changed frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A new interleaved single-stage ac–dc converter is proposed in this paper to reduce line current harmonics while achieving power factor correction (PFC). The proposed rectifier can produce input currents that do not have deadband regions with high PFC, operate with a continuous output current, and minimize the input electromagnetic interference filter size. In this paper, the operation of the new converter is explained, its features and design are discussed in results, and its operation is confirmed with experimental results obtained from a prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a phase-shift interleaving control method for variable-phase switched-capacitor (SC) converters that can perform voltage conversions with little electromagnetic interference over a wide range of operating condition. This is achieved by having multiple units of SC converter connected in parallel and an N-state hysteresis unit selection control scheme which works along the interleaving control to vary the number of converters in operation. By having the capacitors of inactive units connected to the output and the converters operating with output interleaving operation, the output capacitor that is typically required in SC converters for maintaining a small voltage ripple is made redundant in this configuration. A three-unit SC converter of the proposed configuration is described in this paper. Experimental results show that the proposed solution works satisfactorily with good regulation, input and output interleaving operations, and dynamic response for a wide operating range. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Single-phase power factor correction (PFC) ac–dc converters are widely used in the industry for ac–dc power conversion from single phase ac-mains to an isolated output dc voltage. Typically, for high-power applications, such converters use an ac–dc boost input converter followed by a dc–dc full-bridge converter. A new ac–dc single-stage high-power universal PFC ac input full-bridge, pulse-width modulated converter is proposed in this paper. The converter can operate with an excellent input power factor, continuous input and output currents, and a non-excessive intermediate dc bus voltage and has reduced number of semiconductor devices thus presenting a cost-effective novel solution for such applications. In this paper, the operation of the proposed converter is explained, a steady-state analysis of its operation is performed, and the results of the analysis are used to develop a procedure for its design. The operation of the proposed converter is confirmed with results obtained from an experimental prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The main objective of this paper is to examine the operation of a fundamental buck-based three-phase single-stage ac–dc full-bridge converter. In this paper, the operation of this fundamental converter is explained and analyzed, and a procedure for the design of its key components is derived and demonstrated with an example. The performance and characteristics of the converter are shown with experimental results that have been obtained from a prototype, and general concluding remarks comparing buck-based and boost-based three-phase single-stage ac–dc full-bridge converters are made. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A new three-phase single-stage rectifier is proposed in this paper. The outstanding features of the proposed rectifier are that it can produce input currents that do not have deadband regions and an output current that can be continuous when the converter is operating from maximum load to at least half of the load. In this paper, the operation of the new converter is explained, its features and design are discussed in results, and its operation is confirmed with experimental results obtained from a prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

During the design phase of a modular multilevel converter (MMC), an accurate loss evaluation of the submodule (SM) plays an important role. In this paper, a method based on the analytical description of the MMC key waveforms that allows to directly obtain the average semiconductor and capacitor losses that each SM will experience is introduced, under different operating conditions or control schemes. To verify the proposed concept, the results are compared with the losses obtained from a switched model with closed-loop control, where the analytical MMC key waveforms are approached in steady state. The proposed method provides a great flexibility and a significant reduction of the simulation/computational time otherwise needed to evaluate SM losses under various operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Electrolytic capacitors are the components that mainly impact the lifetime of ac/dc light-emitting diode (LED) drivers. Therefore, eliminating electrolytic capacitors from LED drivers is of vital importance. First, the basic derivation concept of a family of flyback-based three-port converters for electrolytic capacitor-less LED drivers is addressed in this paper, by manipulating the power flow among input port, output port, and storage capacitors. Together with the derivation of existing topologies, new topologies are also proposed. After evaluation, an integrated dual flyback converter (IDFC) is chosen, which requires less switching components and simpler control strategy. Following that, the operation principle and switching modes of the IDFC are elaborated, as well as the parameter design and implementation of control strategy. Finally, experiments on a laboratory prototype are carried out to verify the feasibility of the proposed topology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) modules and dc-link capacitors are important parts in the majority of power electronic converters which contribute to cost, size, and failure rate on a considerable scale. This paper presents an online condition monitoring method for both IGBT modules and dc-link capacitors of power converters based on short-circuit current of an IGBT module, which is a good condition indicator according to the theory analysis. The failure prediction of dc-Link capacitor is realized by equivalent series resistance, which can be calculated by short-circuit current and a step voltage, and the bond wires fatigue can also be identified by the short-circuit current. The proposed method is capable for detecting small changes in the failure indicators of IGBT modules and electrolytic capacitors, and its effectiveness is validated by a confirmatory experiment. The novelty of the proposed method is that the degradations of IGBT modules and capacitors can be identified simultaneously, and has the merits of low cost and circuit simplicity [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]