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Provides instructions and guidelines to prospective authors who wish to submit manuscripts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses dynamic behavior of a dual-active-bridge (DAB) dc–dc converter. Conventional phase-shift control methods for the DAB converter may cause dc offsets in both inductor current and transformer magnetizing current in transient states. The dc offset in the inductor current would introduce an excessive peak current through the switching devices. The dc offset in the magnetizing current may induce magnetic-flux saturation. Conventional methods simultaneously turn on and off the diagonal switches in each H-bridge converter and produce a square-wave voltage with a 50% duty ratio. In contrast, the proposed method in this paper independently controls each switch to modify the duty ratio in transient states. This paper clearly derives the requirements of each switch to eliminate the dc offsets in both currents with a settling time shorter than half the switching period. Experimental results using a 5-kW 20-kHz system verify the validity of the proposed control method, which is effective not only in a single step change, but also in a continuous change in the phase-shift reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a dc-link voltage control method of a single-phase back-to-back cascaded H-bridge inverter (SBCI) for a medium-voltage motor drive system. The main advantage of the SBCI topology over the conventional regenerative cascaded H-bridge topology with a three-phase active front-end (AFE) is a simple system structure, which is composed of an input transformer, a power cell, a current sensor, etc. However, the challenging points of the SBCI are larger voltage ripple in the dc-link capacitor and imbalance of dc-link voltages of each phase. The asymmetric dc-link voltage of each power cells could cause unstable operation such as over-modulation due to the lack of the dc-link voltage of a particular phase and result in over-voltage or under-voltage faults. In this paper, the control strategy of the dc-link voltage for the SBCI that uses the negative-sequence voltage of the converter is described. The proposed control method is verified with a computer simulation whose target is a 6.6-kV–1.25-MW medium-voltage drive system. Also, through the experimental setup with the prototype SBCI whose power rating is 16.2 kVA, the dc-link voltage of each AFE has been controlled within a 0.5% error of its reference value at the full load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The instantaneous output power of the two-stage single-phase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) inverter pulsates at twice the line frequency ($2f_{{\text{o}}}$), generating second harmonic current (SHC) in the front-end dc–dc converter and PV panel, which will affect the maximum power point tracking operation and deteriorate the overall conversion efficiency. The generating mechanism of the SHC is analyzed in this paper and it is pointed that in order to eliminate the SHC in the front-end dc–dc converter and PV panel, the voltage loop gain of the front-end dc–dc converter should be high enough at $2f_{{\text{o}}}$. Since there is a −180° phase abrupt at the resonant frequency of the input side filter capacitor and the inductor, the system may be unstable. To cope with this problem, the inductor current feedback active-damping scheme (ADS) is adopted. For further improving the loop gain at $2f_{{\text{o}}}$ , proportional–integral–resonant regulator with ADS (PIR + ADS) is proposed in this paper. Besides, a step-by-step closed-loop parameters design method is presented. Finally, a 3-kW two-stage single-phase grid-connected PV inverter has been fabricated and tested, and the experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One promising topology for solid state transformer (SST) is a modular multilevel cascaded converter, in which submodule is composed of dual active bridge (DAB) and H-bridge. For SST application in PV system, the efficiency could be severely affected especially for DAB due to the wide voltage and power range of PV panels. Thus, the motivation of this paper is to deal with the control strategy to improve DAB efficiency inside SST for PV application. Instead of utilizing time-domain based analysis method, which requires complex modeling process, this paper models DAB under frequency domain by fully considering the effect of both fundamental and harmonic frequency component. To achieve high efficiency operation, a multiorder reactive-current suppression (MRS) strategy is proposed by controlling phase shift angle as well as the duty cycles of primary and secondary side H-bridges. In terms of DAB controller design inside SST, the small signal model under MRS is established and a notch filter is implemented to suppress the second order line frequency fluctuation in the control loop. Finally, a 10 kV/1 MW SST prototype is introduced along with the system control structure and implementation method. The experiment of the submodule and SST confirms the effectiveness of proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modular multilevel converter (MMC) is regarded as a promising topology in high-voltage direct current systems. However, the MMC consists of numerous submodules (SMs) and switching devices, which lead to a considerable switching loss, and increased cost and size of the heat sink. To mitigate these issues, this paper presents a novel modulation method composed of fundamental frequency modulation (FFM) and multicarrier-based sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation schemes. The main purpose of this modulation method is the reduction of switching loss while maintaining good harmonic performance. However, the FFM scheme leads to the unbalanced capacitor voltage of each SM in the MMC. Accordingly, this paper additionally proposes the rotation method and selective voltage balancing control for SMs to ensure effective performance of the method. Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness and performance of the proposed modulation scheme through switching loss and spectral analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In data center and telecommunication power supplies, the front-end dc–dc stage is required to operate with a wide input voltage range to provide hold-up time when ac input fails. Conventional LLC converter serving as the dc–dc stage is not suitable for this requirement, as the normal operation efficiency (at 400 V input) will be penalized once the converter is designed to achieve high peak gain (wide input voltage range). This paper examined the operation of the LCLC converter and revealed that the LCLC converter could be essentially equivalent to a set of LLC converters with different magnetizing inductors that are automatically adjusted for different input voltages. In nominal 400 V input operation, the LCLC converter behaves like an LLC converter with large magnetizing inductor, thus the resonant current is small. In the hold-up period, when the input voltage reduces, the equivalent magnetizing inductor will reduce together with switching frequency reducing, thus the converter achieves high peak gain. In this paper, a new design methodology is also proposed to achieve optimal utilization of the two resonant capacitors for high power application. To verify the effectiveness of the LCLC converter for hold-up operation, comprehensive analysis has been conducted; a detailed step by step design example based on capacitor voltage stress is introduced; an experimental LCLC prototype optimized at 400 V, with input voltage range of 250–400 V and 12 V/500 W as output has been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Compared with the conventional power systems, large-scale power electronics based power systems present a more complex situation, where harmonic instability may be induced by the mutual interactions between the inner control loops of the converters. This paper presents an approach to locate which power converters and buses are more sensitive and have a significant contribution to the harmonic instability. In the approach, a power electronics based system is introduced as a multi-input multi-output (MIMO) dynamic system by means of a dynamic admittance matrix. Bus participation factors (PFs) are calculated by the oscillatory mode sensitivity analysis versus the elements of the MIMO transfer function matrix. The PF analysis detects which power electronic converters or buses have a higher participation in harmonic instability excitation than others or at which buses such instability problems have a higher impact. In order to confirm the effectiveness of the presented approach, time-domain simulation results are provided for a 400-MW wind farm in PSCAD software environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an open-delta operation as the fault-tolerant control strategy for the delta-connected cascaded converter. Based on the detailed power analysis, the fault-tolerant control enables continued operation and maintains dc capacitor voltages balancing during the occurrence of bridge cells fail. This enhances the system's reliability and availability. The simulation and laboratory test-bench, combining a seven-level delta-connected cascaded converter apply in a STATCOM operation and a PV system is tested to verify the proposed control technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper provides a theoretical discussion and comparison in energy balancing between a modular multilevel cascade inverter based on single-star bridge cells (SSBC) and that on single-delta bridge cells (SDBC). Attention is paid to applications involving asymmetric active-power generation in utility-scale grid-tied photovoltaic systems. Both qualitative and quantitative evaluation metrics to assess the energy-balancing capability are introduced and applied to both SSBC and SDBC inverters. As for the SSBC inverter, six zero-sequence voltage waveforms with different harmonic content enabling enhanced energy-balancing capability are analyzed and compared regarding their effectiveness. This paper also emphasizes on the SDBC as an alternative to the SSBC and highlights its superior operating characteristics under asymmetric active-power generation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents the design, modeling, and characterization of 3-D-printed air-core inductors for high-frequency power electronics circuits. The use of 3-D modeling techniques to make passive components extends the design flexibility and addresses some of the fabrication limitations of traditional processes. Recent work [1]– [9] has demonstrated the feasibility of incorporating air-core inductors in high-frequency ( $>$10 MHz) switching power converters. These implementations have used discrete wire wound solenoids and toroids, and planar components that use printed circuit board traces or microfabrication techniques to make air-core inductors. However, realizations of such components have limitations in performance and applicability including open paths conducive to the flow of leakage fields, and difficulties in achieving optimal cross section to minimize loss. Along with the current effort of involving 3-D printing technology to make inductors [10], [11], we propose the use of 3-D printing and casting/plating techniques as a simple and accessible alternative that adds flexibility and functionality to the air-core inductor design for high-frequency power conversion at moderate to high-power (e.g., tens to thousands of watts) and high-voltage (greater than 100 V) levels. In this paper, we present several examples of air-core inductors realized using 3-D printing and casting/plating techniques to give an idea of the geometries that are possible to design. Moreover, we show that some of these designs can lead to improved electrical performance. This paper also describes the tools used by the authors to design, fabricate, and characterize the electromagnetic performance of the air-core inductors. The software used to generate the 3-D scaffolds for the inductors are freely available and easily accessible. Readers are encouraged to explore more possibilities of geometries that can lead to better performance with the ease of manufacturing. As progress in additive manufacturing continues, we envision 3-D printing of a complete scaffold structure that after plating (or casting) will contain all resonant passive components of an RF switching converter. Toward this goal, we present a 70-W prototype 27.12-MHz resonant inverter that incorporates some of the 3-D-printed components developed for this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the modular multilevel cascade converter based on double-star chopper-cells, which is intended for grid connection to medium-voltage power systems without using line-frequency transformers. The converter is characterized by a modular arm structure consisting of cascade connection of multiple bidirectional pulsewidth modulation chopper-cells with floating dc capacitors. This arm structure requires voltage-balancing control of all the dc capacitors. However, the voltage control combining an averaging control with an individual-balancing control imposes certain limitations on operating conditions. This paper proposes an arm-balancing control to achieve voltage balancing under all the operating conditions. The validity of the arm-balancing control as well as the theory developed in this paper is confirmed by computer simulation and experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel dc–dc converter incorporating a distributed impedance-source network ( Z-source network, or Z-network) to achieve the buck (step-down) and boost (step-up) function of a transformer-isolated dc–dc converter. In this paper, the distributed impedance source network composed of an array of inductors and capacitors is coupled between power source and main switching devices. The great and unique feature about the distributed impedance source network dc–dc converter is that unlike the traditional V-source or I-source converters, it can be open- and short-circuited without damaging switching devices. Therefore, the desired buck and boost function can be achieved. Moreover, converter reliability can be greatly improved. A dc–dc converter using this proposed concept is built and tested. Its performances are verified with experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Constant on-time V^2 control for point-of-load buck converters has instability issues in the cases that the output capacitors' RC time constants are small. This paper intensively studies the proposed solution using capacitor current ramp compensation, which is a superior solution featuring fast response and universality. A frequency-domain small-signal model based on describing function method is proposed in this paper. The time-domain large-signal response to the load step change is analyzed. The analysis illustrates the unique transient response behaviors of the capacitor current ramp compensated V^2 control. The design optimization methodology based on frequency-domain and time-domain analysis is presented. The proposed model and the design guidelines are verified by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a generalized power-decoupling control scheme using a multiport isolated bidirectional converter for a multilevel inverter, which has multiple dc links inside. In the proposed method, a single power-decoupling capacitor is needed for all the dc links in the multilevel inverter cell. First, a prototype of the power-decoupling concept of individual H-bridge cells in the multilevel inverter is proposed, using a separate power-decoupling circuit. Then, a more advanced one-step power-decoupling method is proposed. The lifetime and reliability of the multilevel inverter is improved as film capacitors replace the large capacitance electrolyte capacitors. A multi-input ports/single output voltage-fed dual half-bridge converter (MDHB) is used for the power-decoupling circuit. A steady-state analysis for the peak and root mean square of the MDHB current is carried out for the loss breakdown. The currents are functions of the switching frequency, phase shift, leakage inductance, turn ratio, and output voltage, which make the multiport transformer design complex. A design methodology is proposed, which takes into account the design of the copper and core losses as functions of the switching frequency and number of turns. Furthermore, a special winding method for the input port is illustrated to obtain identical leakage inductances for the uniform current distribution in the multiport transformer. The proposed MDHB employs a current-sensorless power-decoupling control that contributes to the spontaneous ripple rejection of all the dc links without individual link current information, as well as to the cost and size reduction. Hence, the ripple-rejection controller is independent of the control configuration of the multilevel inverter, and also available for universal applications of various inverter topologies. Since the primary-input ports of MDHB share a single magnetic core for interfacing the ripple power to the unified secondary ripple capacitor, the controller design becomes difficult in considering the dynamic interaction among the ports, along with the average-voltage control loop design. In this paper, the dynamic analysis and controller design procedure of the circuit is also presented. The power decoupling is achieved even when the ripple frequency is other than the double frequency of the inverter output, since the single-pole transfer function of the small-signal model of the MDHB allows sufficient phase margin, along with high bandwidth. The proposed power-decoupling method for the multilevel inverter is validated with the help of simulation and 1.2-kW hardware prototype experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Class $E^2$ DC–DC converter composed of Class $E$ power amplifier (PA) and rectifier is a promising candidate for MHz wireless power transfer. It is soft-switching based and able to achieve high efficiency at MHz frequency. However, the converter implemented through traditional static design is sensitive to the variations of operation condition. Its performance gets deteriorated when DC load and coil coupling deviate from their respective optimum values. This paper demonstrates that the degradation of system efficiency is mostly due to the mismatch of PA load, and the efficiency drop can be efficiently improved by adding an L-type impedance matching network (IMN) after PA. A fixed IMN is sufficient to maintain a high efficiency, while a tunable IMN is required to ensure stable output power when operation condition dramatically changes. Key techniques, particularly system-level optimization, are discussed in this paper that ensure high efficiency over a wide range of variation in operation condition and also with reduced capacitor/inductor tuning ranges in the IMN. The 6.78-MHz Class $E^2$ DC–DC converters with and without the fixed/tunable IMN are fabricated and measured for validation purposes. The experimental results show that both high efficiency ( $>$66%) and stable output power (around 9 W) are maintained for the tunable converter when there are variations in the DC load and coil coupling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we demonstrate how latency insertion method (LIM) can be used for real-time simulation of high switching frequency power electronics systems and how this approach can be implemented for scalable Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) execution. We first present a summary of the LIM and how this method can be developed into a solver for high-performance FPGA execution. We then present how common power electronics topologies—buck and boost—can be modeled using the LIM approach, followed by how the LIM model of a three-phase dc/ac converter is created. Afterward, we demonstrate the accuracy of the developed FPGA solver through a set of power electronic system examples, with each example compared with near ideal results of same example provided by a traditional electromagnetic transient type solver. We complete the paper analyzing the scalability of the proposed approach on FPGA devices, both in terms of achievable time step as well as of resource usage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new bidirectional resonant dc–dc converter suitable for wide voltage gain range applications (e.g., energy storage systems). The proposed converter overcomes the narrow voltage gain range of conventional resonant dc–dc converters, and meanwhile achieves high efficiency throughout the wide range of operation voltage. It is achieved by configuring a full-bridge mode and a half-bridge mode operation during each switching cycle. A fixed-frequency phase-shift control scheme is proposed and the normalized voltage gain can be always from 0.5 to 1, regardless of the load. The transformer root-mean-square (rms) currents in both the forward and reverse power flow directions have a small variation with respect to the voltage gain, which is beneficial to the conduction losses reduction throughout a wide voltage range. Moreover, the power devices are soft-switched for minimum switching losses. The operation principles and characteristics of the proposed converter are firstly analyzed in this paper. Then the analytical solutions for the voltage gain, soft-switching, and rms currents are derived, which facilitates the parameters design and optimization. Finally, the proposed topology and analysis are verified with experimental results obtained from a 1-kW converter prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The modeling and control of a buck–boost and stacked dual half-bridge (DHB) integrated bidirectional dc–dc converter have been studied in this paper. This converter features high-voltage transfer ratio, high efficiency, and the minimum number of switches. In this paper, an extended, continuous, full-order, state-space averaging modeling method is proposed. Compared with existing methods, the proposed method exhibits higher coincidence with the switching circuit simulation, in steady and especially dynamic states. Due to its high dynamic accuracy and low complexity, the proposed modeling method provides a better theoretical analysis and a fast simulation tool for transient process and control design of converters with dual-active-bridge units, especially with DHB units. By using this method, the high-frequency transformer series inductance current is directly divided into a sampled dc component and a fluctuant component. Only the sampled dc one is included into state variables, but both components are considered into state equations. Besides, this method regards the entire converter as a linear superposition of its subsections, which provides a stepwise modeling based on linearization of subsections. Moreover, a decoupled proportional-integral control method is proposed to enhance the stability and dynamic response of the converter. This control method is analyzed by the proposed models, which can be regarded as an application of the proposed modeling method. Simulation and experiments have validated both the proposed modeling and the decoupled control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new feed-forward strategy for suppressing low-order harmonic circulating currents in pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) based modular multilevel converters (MMCs). The approach is based on the new average model approach established in this paper, which identifies cross-coupling interactions between the system-level and submodule elements using decomposed dependent sources. As well as improving the damping of the system, the major advantage of this approach is that it maintains the natural DC bus balance property of a PWM modulated MMC by considering the upper and lower arms together (unlike existing feed-forward schemes which treat each MMC arm independently). Moreover, unlike existing direct control resonant strategies, which require careful gain tuning and are highly dependent on the ac system frequency, the proposed approach achieves wideband circulating current ripple suppression without requiring knowledge of the circulating current harmonic frequencies and needs only a simple proportional–integral (PI) controller to regulate the circulating current dc component for power balance. This makes it particularly suitable for use in multifrequency or variable-frequency ac systems. Extensive simulation and matching experimental results, including steady-state and transient responses compared against existing circulating current suppression approaches, validate the effectiveness and benefits of this new feed-forward compensation technique. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a hybrid seven-level converter based on T-type converter and H-bridge cascaded suitable for low-voltage and high-power-density applications. The operation principles and conduction paths are analyzed comprehensively. Voltage balance control of the floating capacitors is the key point of this paper. Mathematical expressions of capacitor voltage balance conditions are deduced based on sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM). The results show that floating capacitor voltages are only balanced when the modulation index is below 0.82 under SPWM. In order to enlarge the modulation index ensuring the capacitor voltage balance, space vector modulation (SVM) is also applied to regulate floating capacitor voltages taking advantage of redundant switching vectors. Meanwhile, in SVM, there are no additional control requirements for the capacitor voltage. Taken both SPWM and SVM into consideration, the limit to the range of operation for this seven-level converter is presented, which is a function of the modulation index and the power factor. The merit of dc voltage utilization improvement in this topology is also analyzed based on simulation results. Simulations and experimental results under different modulation index and RL load are presented to verify the modulation strategies illustrated in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

An extended-duty-ratio (EDR) boost converter is studied extensively in this paper for high voltage gain applications with a wide input (and/or output) voltage range. The EDR is a unique combination of an interleaved, multiphase boost converter and switched capacitor configuration that achieves high voltage gain with significantly lower switch voltage stress and switching losses compared to conventional high-gain solutions. Most of the switches in the multiphase EDR experience only a fixed fraction of the output voltage ($1/M, 2/M$ , etc., where $M$ is the number of phases). Through extensive analysis over a wide operating range, it is shown here that the EDR boost converter has inherent current sharing among the phases only in a limited range of duty ratio— $(M-1)/M \leq D \leq 1$. As the duty ratio reduces beyond this range as required in wide input voltage applications, inherent current sharing property is lost. In this paper, techniques to ensure current sharing under all operating zones without requiring current sensors are presented. Instead of having equal duty ratio for each phase, it is adjusted for each phase according to the operating region of the converter. Extensive analysis is presented to derive the required duty ratio changes for the different phases. The proposed concept is validated with experimental results from a 250 W, 3-phase EDR boost, and GaN-based hardware prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct ac/ac topologies for ac-to-ac power conversion benefit from the absence of dc-link capacitors, and therefore, are highly reliable and have low cost as compared to the traditional voltage-source inverter (VSI)-based topologies. This paper deals with one of the more important tradeoffs considered in designing highly efficient converters: Losses. It is shown in this paper that the direct ac/ac converters have an inherently higher efficiency than their VSI-based back-to-back counterparts due to a dramatic reduction in switching losses (nearly 60%). Further, this paper compares the performance of three different device types (SiC MOSFETs, hybrid Si IGBT/SiC diode, and Si IGBTs) using wide-range device characterization that help to create detailed loss models. It is conjectured that traditional datasheets lack the level of detail needed for computing losses in direct ac/ac converters, and the availability of a multivalue voltage, current, and temperature-based loss profile is advocated. Using the obtained loss models, a comparison is drawn between the considered devices through simulations when operated in a 13-kV/1-MW direct ac/ac power flow controller, the controllable network transformer (CNT). The same loss-models are also used to compute losses in an experimental prototype of a 720-V, 10-kVA CNT and the results are compared with direct efficiency measurements. A similar computation is carried out for another experimental prototype at a 6.7-kV, 400-kVA, three-level, paralleled CNT. These experimental tests are used to confirm the validity of the analytical results presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Finite control set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) is emerging as a powerful control scheme in the control of power converters, because it takes the discrete nature of power converters into account and offers a flexible way to consider various constraints. However, conventional FCS-MPC requires to evaluate a cost function for each discrete switching states, which poses high computational burden. This paper proposes a low-complexity MPC (LC-MPC), which only requires one prediction to find the best voltage vector. The principle of LC-MPC is inherited from prior direct current control (DCC), but has been generalized by identifying its advantages, limitations, and potential application areas. Furthermore, the relationship between LC-MPC and FCS-MPC is studied and it is found that in some cases, the LC-MPC is completely equivalent to FCS-MPC. This paper presents the application example of LC-MPC in power control of three-phase ac/dc converter. To make it a success, the negative conjugate of complex power in synchronous frame is selected as the control variable. Detailed principle of vector selection is introduced and the reason for requiring only one prediction in the proposed LC-MPC is strictly proven using mathematical tools. The proposed LC-MPC is compared with conventional FCS-MPC and its effectiveness is verified by both simulation and experimental results from a two-level ac/dc converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a very simple analog control for quasi-square-wave zero voltage switching (QSW-ZVS) and triangular current mode bidirectional converters. The proposed circuit controls the inductance current, thanks to the use of a variable-width hysteretic current mode control. The upper and lower bounds of the hysteretic band are clamped to ensure QSW-ZVS operation with a single current command and independently from power flow direction. This enables the control to achieve a seamless transition between source and sink modes. The advantages and disadvantages of the proposed analog control are analyzed and two different power converters are built to demonstrate the validity of this solution: a 50 W, 48 to 24 V bidirectional buck converter and a 100 W, 24 to 48 V bidirectional boost converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The power efficiency and weight of present point-of-load (POL) dc–dc converters for drone applications are often compromised because they suffer from large switching losses at continuous conduction mode for heavy loads and excessive hardware overheads at discontinuous conduction mode for light loads. This paper presents a boundary conduction mode (BCM) control scheme for POL converters embodying a single operation mode. This is achieved by means of a hysteresis voltage controller to turn on/off the output power stage when necessary. The proposed BCM control scheme achieves high power efficiency (≥91.2%) over a wide load range (5 mA–1 A) by means of fully soft switching. Specifically, a hysteretic current controller is proposed to realize ZCS, and an adaptive dead time controller is proposed to realize ZVS. Further, the proposed BCM control scheme requires a small output inductor (0.82 μH) by means of designing the customizable peak inductor current. To verify the proposed BCM control scheme, we realize a BCM-based POL converter that features an input voltage range of 5–16 V, output voltage range of 2.5–8 V, switching frequency of 1.5 MHz, peak power efficiency of 96.8%, and ≤35 mV output voltage undershoot/overshoot for 1-A load step. When being benchmarked against state-of-the-art counterparts, the proposed design features the lowest voltage undershoot/overshoot, the highest switching frequency, ∼5.7× smaller inductor, and ∼11% higher power efficiency at light loads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonresonant single-phase dual-active-bridge (NSDAB) dc–dc converter has been increasingly adopted for isolated dc–dc power conversion systems. Over the past few years, significant research has been carried out to address the technical challenges associated with modulations and controls of the NSDAB dc–dc converter. The aim of this paper is to review and compare these recent state-of-the-art modulation and control strategies. First, the modulation strategies for the NSDAB dc–dc converter are analyzed. All possible phase-shift patterns are demonstrated, and the correlation analysis of the typical phases-shift modulation methods for the NSDAB dc–dc converter is presented. Then, an overview of steady-state efficiency-optimization strategies is discussed for the NSDAB dc–dc converter. Moreover, a review of optimized techniques for dynamic responses is also provided. For both the efficiency and dynamic optimizations, thorough comparisons and recommendations are provided in this paper. Finally, to improve both steady-state and transient performances, a combination approach to optimize both the efficiency and dynamics for an NSDAB dc–dc converter based on the reviewed methods is presented in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a multisource switched capacitor based boost multilevel inverter is proposed. The proposed topology features less number of components, high gain, self-charging capability of capacitors, reduced size of filter components. The modes of operation of the proposed converter and design guidelines of converter components are discussed. A comprehensive comparative study of the proposed converter topology with the topologies in the literature is given. Analytical expression for capacitor energy utilization (CEU) factor for the proposed topology is derived and the feasibility of the proposed converter with respect to CEU for the designed power rating is verified. The analytical performance of the proposed converter topology is verified through simulation studies. The common mode voltage and leakage current in the proposed topology are analyzed. Experimental prototype of the proposed converter topology with two sources and two capacitors for power rating of 500 W is developed and tested with resistive, inductive, and nonlinear loads. The experimental and simulated results are in close agreement with the analytical steady-state performance of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new control strategy of microgrids for the improved voltage quality. In the existing control techniques, the droop control is commonly adopted as a decentralized power sharing method at the cost of voltage deviations. Besides, the conventional cascaded control featuring relatively slow dynamic response shows difficulties in handling the fluctuation of renewable energy outputs, leading to further voltage quality deterioration. In this paper, an advanced model predictive power control strategy by considering the battery constraints is proposed for the bidirectional dc–dc converters to smooth the solar photovoltaic (PV) outputs and stabilize the dc-bus voltages. A model predictive voltage control scheme taking into account the voltage changing trend is then developed to control the distributed inverters to improve the output ac voltages. Furthermore, a washout-filter-based power sharing approach with the plug-and-play capability is adopted to achieve a proper load sharing among parallel inverters and mitigate the voltage deviation. The proposed control strategy is numerically simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and experimentally verified by hardware-in-the-loop tests under the condition of fluctuating PV outputs and variable power demands. (This paper is accompanied by a video showing the hardware-in-the-loop test.) [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes the design of gray wolf optimizer (GWO) algorithm-based fractional order proportional integral (FOPI) controller for power factor correction (PFC) using interleaved dc–dc single ended primary inductance converter converter with improved performance characteristics such as speed, accuracy, and stability. The detailed analysis and modeling of the proposed converter are presented. The optimal parameters of FOPI controller are obtained using GWO algorithm to improve the speed of response of the system. FOPI controller provides better performance in terms of robustness and stability since it has one more adjustable parameter than the conventional proportional integral (PI) controller. The cascade control strategy is implemented for the proposed converter with GWO-based FOPI controller as inner current and outer voltage controllers for PFC and load voltage regulation. The performance characteristics of the proposed system are analyzed and compared with conventional and other optimization techniques using MATLAB/Simulink software. A prototype of the proposed converter controlled by TMS320C2000 microcontroller for an output power of 200 W is tested and validated with the simulation results. The proposed system is used for powering devices like robots in critical applications such as military, space craft, etc., where stability, speed, and accuracy are major concerns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an improved LLC resonant converter with reconfigurable hybrid voltage multiplier for wide output voltage range applications. By adopting three legs and two active switches, the rectifier can be reconfigured to three configurations, i.e., full-bridge rectifier, hybrid voltage-multiplier rectifier and voltage-multiplier rectifier, covering the range of more than three times of the minimum output voltage. Compared with conventional LLC converter, the operating range of each configuration is narrowed so that the magnetizing inductance is optimized and switching frequency range is narrowed to achieve higher efficiency. Pulsewidth plus pulse-frequency modulation strategy is employed to achieve smooth transition between these operation modes. Zero-voltage switching of all power mosfets and zero-current switching of all secondary-side diodes are achieved as well. Detailed operational principles, characteristics, design consideration, and control stagey of the proposed converter are analyzed. A 3.3 kW 150–450 V output prototype is built and tested to verify the effectiveness and advantages of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the no-load condition, LLC converter usually fails to regulate its output voltage although it operates at a high switching frequency. Till now, it is hard to obtain the exact relationship between design parameters and the maximum switching frequency for no-load regulation capability. In this paper, a specific criterion for no-load regulation of LLC converter is provided, without using active components or other modulation schemes. By analyzing the macroscopic switching period and microscopic switching transition in the no-load condition, it is shown that not only the peaking resonant current during the switching transition, but also the resonant tank design affect the no-load regulation of the LLC converter, which affects the no-load regulation capability. Furthermore, the relationship among design parameters is analyzed and the design guideline is also provided to achieve no-load regulation at the specified maximum switching frequency. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed design, 400 V input and 50 V/200 W output prototype is built and tested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cascaded-connected string converter is an effective way to directly interconnect distributed low-voltage dc sources into higher voltage ac grids. When this system is switched to islanding operation, an important task is to obtain decentralized power sharing among power cells according to the corresponding dc source power capacity, and at the same time, maintaining a good regulation of supply voltage quality to local critical loads. In this paper, a hierarchical control approach is proposed to simultaneously realize the abovementioned two tasks. First, the central controller at point of common coupling (PCC) is responsible for supply voltage magnitude and frequency deviation suppression and it also distributes the key control signals to all power cell local controllers with only low bandwidth communications. At the same time, a modified inverse power factor droop regulator with adjustable offset is adopted by each power cell. As the offset is relevant to the PCC load power factor and the state of charges of power cell backstage batteries, it can easily obtain decentralized proportional power sharing. The proposed system and the control strategy are compared with the conventional parallel converters-based system and the potential applications of the system are also given in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An isolated bidirectional dc-dc converter, which combines multiple two-level converters (TLCs) in parallel on the medium-voltage side and a modular multilevel converter (MMC) on the high-voltage side, namely the TLC-MMC converter, is a promising candidate for the interconnection of MVdc and HVdc grids. In utility applications, the availability of power converters is of great importance, which makes the fault-tolerant operation (FTO) capability a required feature. In this paper, an FTO scheme of the TLC-MMC converter in case of a TLC failure is addressed. The FTO capability is enabled by employing only mechanical disconnectors. The faulty TLC can be bypassed and isolated for maintenance, and the TLC-MMC converter can continuously operate with a reduced power capacity. A dedicated mode-transition strategy is developed, whereby the TLC-MMC converter can transit to the fault-tolerant mode seamlessly without resulting in overvoltage or overcurrent despite the involvement of low-speed mechanical disconnectors. Thus, the proposed approach can effectively enhance the availability of the TLC-MMC converter. The validity of the proposed approach is verified by both simulation and experimental test with a down-scale prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The articles in this special issue focus on the latest achievements of modular multilevel converters regarding the development of new circuit configurations, converter models, modulation strategies, and control schemes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventionally, a proportional-integral (PI)-based dual-loop control strategy, in which both the dc-bus voltage and the inductor current are regulated, is utilized to control ac/dc converters with power factor correction (PFC). Due to the characteristics of the PI controller, converters experience poor control performance such as current distortion and slow dynamic response. This paper proposes a novel cascaded proportional control in conjunction with algebraic estimation method for PFC ac/dc converters. Different from the conventional control system, the average dc-bus energy and the instantaneous input power of the converter are regulated. Moreover, system nonlinearity, load power and uncertainties are estimated by incorporating algebraic estimators. A holistic design of controller parameters and stability analysis are presented based on the z-domain transfer functions. A 1 kW PFC ac/dc prototype is designed and experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phase-shift full-bridge (PSFB) converter is a widely used topology for high-efficiency and high-power applications, thanks to low voltage/current stress of all components and zero-voltage-switching operation of primary mosfets. The critical drawback of the PSFB converter is hard-switching characteristics of primary mosfets at a very light load, which causes severe thermal explosion and extremely high input power consumption, especially with the latest super-junction mosfet. To minimize the switching loss of the PSFB converter at a very light load, a new optimal dead-time control scheme with burst-mode operation is proposed in this paper and its validity is verified experimentally with the implemented 2.2-kW server power supply unit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a two-stage transformerless multiple-output converter is proposed for applications requiring a high voltage step-down ratio. The proposed circuit transfers power via a current interface and the use of current-source-mode (CSM) converters, resulting in low voltage stress and drastically simplified control. The first stage of this configuration is regulated to provide a constant current to the second stage. The second stage consists of series-connected CSM boost converters. The high step-down ratio of the proposed configuration reduces the voltage stress in the switches of the second stage. The series-connected CSM converters are inherently independent of each other, leading to a very simple control scheme without the need for decoupling of the input voltage of the interconnected converters. Input voltage variation to the system will not affect the input voltage of the second stage. Load variation in one output will not affect the other outputs. If one or more CSM converters are shorted, there is no impact on other converters. These advantages enable a high scalability. Besides, the first stage of the proposed configuration can operate both in continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) with the same control strategy. This feature leads to a low control complexity and elimination of inductors. The performance of the proposed converter is illustrated with a laboratory prototype driving light emitting diodes (LEDs). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discussed an active-bridge-active-clamp (ABAC) topology that is suitable for highpower more-electric-aircraft applications. Though conventional modulation techniques can be applied to ABAC converters, they present drawbacks, such as increased low-voltage (LV) current ripple and limited power transfer capability. To address these problems, a phase-shift-modulation (PSM) scheme is proposed to provide clean dc terminal current at the LV side while maintaining high power transfer capability and efficiency in a wide operating range. The proposed PSM has a complete switching harmonics cancellation on the LV terminals independent of the operating conditions. This results in high quality power without any ac components, thus minimizing passive filtering. In addition, when terminal voltages vary from their nominal values, the proposed PSM can improve the maximum power transfer capability of the ABAC converter compared to the conventional approach. The theoretical claims are validated by both simulation and experimental results on a 10-kW 270-V/28-V ABAC converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a systematic and analytical study of non-isolated topologies belonging to the family of reduced redundant power processing (R2P2) converters is presented. Based on this study, all the non-isolated R2P2 topologies that can be implemented in reality are derived. Detailed examples clarify all possible cases of this analysis. In addition to this, the voltage ratio and the efficiency for each one of the R2P2 configurations are calculated, being further illustrated with examples. A comparison among configurations is also discussed with criteria the high step-up voltage gain and efficiency, aiming for high-power applications. One of these R2P2 converters is selected for further examination, as the most suitable for such applications. The theoretical analysis, as well as the calculations of the step-up voltage ratio and efficiency of the selected converter, is compared to experimental results conducted on a 2-kW laboratory prototype designed to operate in various step-up voltage ratios and in a high-power range, proving the effectiveness of the proposed investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The solid-state transformer (SST) has the ability to operate with only two input phases, which can be called single-phase open-circuit (SPO) operation. With this ability, the SST can maintain operation under permanent single-phase-to-ground faults, where the fault phase must be isolated, providing a better power supply sustainability than that of the conventional low-frequency transformer. In the absence of research on the SPO operation of an SST, this paper presents a study of it. The influence of SPO operation on the grid and the SST itself is analyzed. Under the SPO state, the SST will inject the negative-sequence current to the grid; meanwhile, the maximum load power will decline; thus, the optimized power factor under the SPO state is unity. The maximum power of △-SST is higher than that of the Y-SST under the SPO state owing to the △ connection. A control strategy for the SST medium-voltage cascaded H-bridge stage is proposed. SPO current control can be achieved by controlling the positive-sequence current. A proper negative-sequence voltage can be injected to synchronize the cluster voltages to obtain a lower current total harmonic distortion and smaller dc voltage ripple. In the △-SST, a proper zero-sequence current can be injected to fully use the power rating of the double-cluster branch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important issue in the photovoltaic (PV) power generation systems is the massive amount of heat wasted by PV modules/panels. For the first time, this paper provides a new solution to recover a portion of the mentioned waste heat by utilizing a proposed electrochemical heat engine. A thermally regenerative electrochemical cycle (TREC) system has been designed, constructed, and embedded in a PV power generation system including a 200-W PV module to harvest the waste heat of its PV module, so a PV-TREC hybrid system has been organized and built. The hot cell of the TREC system has been positioned in direct contact with the backside of the PV module, and the cold cell is in direct contact with a heat sink located in the shade of the PV module. Experimental verifications demonstrate that the proposed TREC system efficiently converts the waste heat into electric power ranging from 0.1 to 54.5 W. In this manner, up to 6% of the waste heat of the PV module is recovered. It also substantiated that the daily energy efficiency of the PV-TREC hybrid system is improved by 27.5% compared to a usual PV system, and this is the main contribution and novelty of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new compensation strategy for receiving clean power of a conventional 18-pulse ac/dc converter formed by three 6-diode bridges is proposed. According to the proposed strategy, a three-phase current-controlled inverter injects the compensation currents into the three positive terminals of the three six-diode bridges. The goal of injecting currents at dc side is to improve the quality of the ac line currents. Compared to the conventional active filter deployed at the ac side, the three-phase inverter used in this paper is with lower kVA rating, and the 18-pulse converter draws nearly sinusoidal currents from the ac main by the proposed compensation strategy. The theoretical compensation command is derived in this paper, and then an approximate approach is recommended to simplify the calculation. A digital-signal processor is employed as a digital controller to calculate the compensation command, and a 3-kW prototype including the 18-pulse converter and the current-controlled inverter is built for evaluation and measurement. Moreover, the performance affected by unbalanced ac source is investigated. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method not only improves the line current quality but also mitigates the effects caused by unbalanced source voltages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel five-level nested neutral point piloted (NNPP) converter and analyzes the operating principle of five-level NNPP converter. This paper presents a novel space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) algorithm based on gh coordinate for five-level NNPP converter. First, the common-mode voltage is reduced by choosing the appropriate redundant switching states. After that, the floating-capacitor voltage balance control strategy is presented. The appropriate switch combinations of each phase are determined by the control requirements of floating-capacitor voltages respectively and the hardware mapping method of the switching states is presented. Furthermore, the neutral-point voltage balance control strategy is presented. In order to balance the dc-link capacitor voltages, the seven-segment switching sequence is selected according to the control requirements of dc-link capacitor voltages and the neutral-point voltage regulatory factor is introduced to regulate the durations of the redundant switching states in a switching cycle. Finally, the validity of the novel SVPWM algorithm with decoupling control strategies of floating-capacitor voltages and dc-link capacitor voltages is verified by the experimental results of five-level NNPP converter under steady-state and dynamic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) based on the diode-clamped modular multilevel converter (DCM2 C) is proposed in this paper. In this converter topology, the capacitor voltage is clamped by using a low power rating diode in each submodule. The quantity of voltage sensors is significantly reduced and is free from the number of voltage levels. Furthermore, the voltage balancing control method becomes very simple and the capacitor voltage balance speed is fast. Based on the structure of modular multilevel converter, the DCM2C-STATCOM has the capability of Var compensation and negative-sequence current compensation. The topology characteristics and compensation control method of DCM2C-STATCOM are investigated in this paper. Experimental results obtained from a laboratory prototype validate that the capacitor voltage of the proposed DCM2C-STATCOM can be well balanced and the Var and negative-sequence current compensations are effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve high-performance control of modern dc–dc converters, using direct digital design techniques, an accurate discrete model of the converter is necessary. In this paper, a new parametric system identification method, based on a Kalman filter (KF) approach is introduced to estimate the discrete model of a synchronous dc–dc buck converter. To improve the tracking performance of the proposed KF, an adaptive tuning technique is proposed. Unlike many other published schemes, this approach offers the unique advantage of updating the parameter vector coefficients at different rates. The proposed KF estimation technique is experimentally verified using a Texas Instruments TMS320F28335 microcontroller platform and synchronous step-down dc–dc converter. Results demonstrate a robust and reliable real-time estimator. The proposed method can accurately identify the discrete coefficients of the dc–dc converter. This paper also validates the performance of the identification algorithm with time-varying parameters, such as an abrupt load change. The proposed method demonstrates robust estimation with and without an excitation signal, which makes it very well suited for real-time power electronic control applications. Furthermore, the estimator convergence time is significantly shorter compared to many other schemes, such as the classical exponentially weighted recursive least-squares method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional vector-controlled voltage-source converters (VSC) suffer from stability and performance problems when integrated into very weak ac grids (high-impedance grids). This is attributed to the increased coupling between the converter and grid dynamics, via the phase-locked loop (PLL), at the very weak-grid condition. In the current literature, the impact of the PLL is usually ignored when the converter controllers are designed. While this approach can be accepted under stiff grid conditions, it yields unmodeled dynamics that destabilize the converter under weak-grid conditions and high-power injection levels. To overcome this limitation, this paper presents a robust vector-controlled VSC that facilitates full converter power injection at weak and very weak-grid conditions (i.e., when the short-circuit capacity ratio is one). To realize the controller, first, a detailed dynamic model for the ac-bus voltage dynamics, including the PLL dynamics, is developed and validated in this paper. Second, the model is used to optimally design a robust ac-bus voltage controller to stabilize the dynamics under operating point variation and grid impedance uncertainty. Because the developed model includes the PLL dynamics, the developed controller inherently stabilizes the negative impact of the PLL on the converter stability. A theoretical analysis and comparative simulation and experimental results are provided to show the effectiveness of the proposed controller. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Magnetically coupled impedance-source (MCIS) networks are recently introduced impedance networks intended for various high-boost applications. It employs coupled magnetic in the circuit to achieve higher voltage gain. Various MCIS networks have been proposed in the literature for myriad applications; however, due to effective role of system modeling in the closed-loop controller design, this paper is allocated to small-signal modeling and analysis of MCIS converters. The modeling is performed by means of the circuit averaging and averaged switch technique. A generalized small-signal derivation is demonstrated for pulse width modulation (PWM) MCIS converters and it is shown that the derived transfer functions can simply be applied to Y-source, Γ-source, and T-source impedance networks. Various transfer functions for capacitor voltage, output voltage, magnetizing current, input and output impedance are derived and have been validated through frequency and dynamic responses of computer simulation results. In addition, a comprehensive analysis has been done for all mentioned PWM MCIS converters regarding their circuit parameters. Furthermore, the effect of considering the equivalent series resistances of capacitor and inductor on the stability margin of MCIS converters is revealed in this paper. Finally, in order to validate the derived transfer functions and to consolidate the perfumed analysis, experimental results are presented for all mentioned MCIS converters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper extends the high-frequency transformer isolation concept to the Z-source (ZS) ac–ac converters and introduces a new family of high-frequency transformer isolated (HFTI) ZS ac–ac converters. The proposed HFTI-ZS converters retain all the benefits of their existing nonisolated counterparts, such as providing a larger range of output voltage with buck–boost functionality, reversing or maintaining the phase angle, reducing the in-rush and harmonic currents, and improving reliability. In addition to these benefits, the high-frequency (20 kHz) transformer (HFT) in the proposed ZS ac–ac converters provides the electrical isolation and safety with high power density as it eliminates the need for bulky and heavy line frequency (50 or 60 Hz) transformer for galvanic isolation, in applications such as dynamic voltage restorers, etc. The dc-blocking capacitor added in series with the HFT results in only ac voltage applied across its windings, which avoids its saturation. Various ZS-based HFTI ac–ac converters are proposed in this paper, and to verify their operation and advantages, example of quasi-ZS (qZS)-based isolated ac–ac converter is considered in detail. The commutation strategy is also developed to achieve the safe commutation, which avoids the current and voltage spikes without using any RC snubber. A 200-W laboratory prototype of HFTI-qZS ac–ac converter is fabricated and experiments are performed to validate the advantages of the proposed ac–ac converters. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

AC voltage regulation is required in both the domestic and industrial sectors to avoid undesired effects from random voltage variations of the power supply. The paper introduces an ac voltage stabilizer/converter (ACVS) that is based on a controllable autotransformer technology. The proposed ACVS offers a specified strategy of voltage regulation, less harmonics, and low cost. The paper explains the operating principle of the ACVS and derives its nonlinear mathematical model. To ensure the desired performance of the ACVS while it is subject to uncertain input voltage and load variations, an optimal control strategy is designed. It is achieved via transforming the ACVS model extending with fictive axis emulation into a rotating reference frame and the linearization of the model via specific orientation of the reference frame and introducing a linear control action. Operation of the ACVS is simulated under different disturbances due to load and grid voltage changes, and compared to voltage stabilization with application of I and PI controllers. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the voltage regulation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]