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This article presents a method for generating a family of transformerless inverters with common ground, for the connection of photovoltaic or battery energy storage systems with the electrical grid. Using the proposed method, four common-ground buck type inverter topologies are derived from bidirectional dc–dc converters based on buck–boost, SEPIC, zeta and boost–buck converters, which have in common the static gain given by ${D \mathord{/ {\vphantom {D {(1 - D)}}} } {(1 - D)}}$. The operation of each generated topology is explained and confirmed by computer simulation results. A comparative analysis between the four generated topologies and other transformerless common-ground inverters are included, considering the number of components, voltage ratings, output power, switching frequency, reported efficiency at rated power, and the requirement for filter insertion. Experimental results obtained in the laboratory, with tests performed on a nonoptimized experimental prototype are presented, for the topology based on the bidirectional zeta converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a hybrid boost switched-capacitor converter operating as an ac–ac solid-state autotransformer is presented. The topology integrates a basic inductive switching cell and a switched-capacitor ladder cell, performing a direct energy conversion with a high-gain output voltage. The theoretical analysis presents the main operational characteristics of the hybrid converter, including the voltage stresses across the devices, the equivalent average electric circuit model, and the calculation of current stresses considering the partial charging of the capacitors. A design methodology is described, focusing on the modulation technique and criteria for determining capacitors, semiconductor devices, inductor, and switching frequency. Validation was carried out based on simulation and experimental results obtained with a single-phase prototype with 55/220-V voltage conversion and 1-kVA rated power at 60 Hz. Additional tests verified the operation at different grid frequencies, loads (inductive and nonlinear), and with 14 different input–output connections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a three-phase multilevel power factor correction rectifier using the hybrid switched-capacitor concept is proposed. The converter is suitable for high-voltage-gain applications from conventional three-phase low-voltage sources. The three-level voltage operation reduces the weight and bulk of the magnetic devices. The main advantages of the proposed converter are low number of active switches, high voltage gain, sinusoidal currents, low voltage stress across all components, and simple control. Both steady-state and dynamic analyses are investigated. Experimental results for a 7500-W/220-V-to-1600-V laboratory prototype with maximum efficiency of 97.78% are presented and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a modular isolated dc–dc converter, based on the input-series and output-series association of the full-bridge PWM dc–dc converter with capacitive filter. The main attribute of the proposed architecture is its ability to provide self-balance of the input and output voltages across the individual converters, without voltage loop control scheme, both in the steady-state and transient operations. Circuit operation, theoretical analysis, and modeling are included in this paper, along with experimental results taken from a laboratory prototype with four modules, 1600-Vdc total input voltage, 1600-Vdc total output voltage, 4-kW output power, and 40-kHz switching frequency. Possible applications include high-voltage power supplies, solid-state transformers, dc current distribution systems, and renewable electric energy systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a ZVS-PWM three-phase current-fed push–pull dc–dc converter is proposed. When compared to single-phase topologies, the three-phase dc–dc conversion increases the power density, uses the magnetic core of the transformer more efficiently, reduces the stress on switches, and requires smaller filters since the frequency for its design is higher. The proposed converter employs an active clamping technique by connecting the primary side of the transformer to a three-phase full bridge of switches and a clamping capacitor. This circuit allows the energy from the leakage inductances to be reused, increasing the efficiency of the converter. If appropriate parameters are chosen, soft-commutation of the switches (ZVS) can also be achieved. The soft-commutation improves the efficiency even further, allows higher switching frequencies to be used, and reduces the electromagnetic interference significantly. Applications such as fuel cell systems, transportation, and uninterruptable power supplies are some examples that can benefit from the advantages presented by this converter. The theoretical analysis, a design example, and the experimental results for a prototype implementing this topology are presented. The prototype was designed to process 4 kW at full load with an input voltage of 120 V, an output voltage of 400 V, and a switching frequency of 40 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes an isolated three-phase rectifier power-factor correction using two single-phase buck preregulators in continuous conduction mode. The use of the Scott transformer renders a simple and robust rectifier to operate with unity power factor. With only two active switches, the rectifier is able to generate symmetrical currents in the line and a regulated voltage output without any necessary synchronous switches. The proposed control technique with sinusoidal pulse width modulation uses a feedforward of the output inductor current and only one voltage control regulates the output. Complete simulation results under closed-loop operation are given and a 12-kW prototype has been implemented in the laboratory, which demonstrated to operate successfully with excellent performance, and thus can feasibly be implemented in higher power applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new four-switch full-bridge dc-dc converter topology is especially well-suited for power converters operating from high input voltage: it imposes only half of the input voltage across each of the four switches. The two legs of a full-bridge converter are connected in series with each other, across the dc input source, instead of the usual topology in which each leg is connected across the dc source. The topology reduces turn-off switching losses by providing capacitive snubbing of the turn-off voltage transient, and eliminates capacitor-discharge turn-on losses by providing zero-voltage turn-on. (Switching losses are especially important in converters operating at high input voltage because turn-on losses are proportional to the square of the input voltage, and turn-off losses are proportional to the input voltage). The topology is suitable for resonant and nonresonant converters. It adds one bypass capacitor and one commutating inductor to the minimum-topology full-bridge converter (that inductor is already present in many present-day converters, to provide zero-voltage turn-on, or is associated with one or two capacitors to provide resonant operation), and contains a dc-blocking capacitor in series with the output transformer, primary winding, and some nonresonant converters (that capacitor is already present in resonant power converters). The paper gives a theoretical analysis, and experimental data on a 1.5-kW example that was built and tested: 600-Vdc input, 60-Vdc output at up to 25 A, and 50-kHz switching frequency. The measured performance agreed well with the theoretical predictions. The measured efficiency was 93.6% at full load, and was a maximum of 95.15% at 44.8% load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Describes a novel direct current direct current (dc/dc) converter whose significant advantages includes the single power switch, single-input inductor, with focus on a flyback-current-fed push-pull topology. Features of the system; Conclusions reached.

In this research, the study and implementation of the t-type parallel resonant dc–dc converter in high-voltage power supplies for travelling wave tube applications is presented. The proposed converter shares the benefits of the traditional full-bridge parallel resonant dc–dc converter, such as zero voltage switching on primary side switches over a wide load range, symmetric three-level voltage across the transformers primary winding, and integration of transformers leakage inductance and winding capacitance during its basic operation. However, only two switches are subjected to the input voltage, while the other two switches are subjected to half of the input voltage. Theoretical analysis, commutation analysis, and design guidelines are presented. The theoretical analysis validation and efficiency investigation are conducted through a t-type parallel resonant converter prototype, which operates with 1.5 kW and 97.12% efficiency. Hence, experimental results of a travelling wave tube power supply prototype operating with 1.5 kW of output power, 400 Vdc input, and four high output voltages, whose measurements results are Vo1=1382\,\rm {V}, Vo2=3505\,\rm {V}, Vo3= 1504\,\rm {V}, and Vo4=3338\,\rm {V}, confirm the feasibility of the proposed implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a new topology for a three-phase open-delta connection ac–ac converter based on the switched capacitor principle. The topology employs only capacitors and switches in the power stage, which can provide high efficiency and power density. It operates in open loop with constant values for the gain, duty cycle, and frequency. The converter is bidirectional and thus it can step-down or step-up the output voltages. A 3.5-kW prototype was built, tested and used to verify the theoretical analysis for resistive, inductive, and nonlinear loads. The efficiency of the topology is around 93% in nominal load and the power density is 1.178 kW/kg. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new nonisolated buck/boost-type multilevel dc–dc converter suitable for high-power and medium/high-voltage application. The main features of the proposed topology are as follows: low voltage across the semiconductors, low switching losses, and reduced volume of the output filter. The theoretical analysis is carried out for a five-level bidirectional structure of the proposed converter, operating in Buck mode. The proposed topology presents some capacitors, and their voltage must be balanced for proper operation of the converter. Thus, a capacitor voltage balancing active control using a feedforward technique is proposed and analyzed in detail. In order to validate the theoretical analysis, a prototype with 10 kW output power capability, 1.3 kV to 800 V input-to-output voltage, and 20 kHz of switching frequency was built and experimented. The results attest the advantages of the new dc–dc topology, as well as the new capacitor voltage control technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a modified asymmetric half-bridge (AHB) isolated converter is proposed, which does not have dc current offset in the transformer. The topology operates in the same way as the conventional half-bridge (HB), using asymmetric pulsewidth modulation with constant frequency. A voltage doubler rectifier is used in the output stage, which avoids the flow of the dc component current in the primary side of the transformer. In order to investigate the application of the proposed topology, a parallel-resonant (PR) version of the modified AHB was tested, which uses the parasitic elements of the transformer, such as the leakage inductance and the winding capacitance, to achieve zero voltage switching in the primary side switches over a wide load range. Theoretical and commutation analysis results are reported and design guidelines are presented herein. Experimental data were obtained from a parallel resonant 1-kW prototype, operating with a 50 kHz switching frequency, 400 V input voltage, and 400 V output voltage, to verify the theoretical study, and 97% efficiency was achieved. The proposed solution was also tested at high voltage, operating with a rated power of 1.8 kW, switching frequency of 50 kHz, input voltage of 400 V and series-connected output voltages, the maximum voltage being 8620 V. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Automotive embedded electronic systems have been increasing in power and complexity and, therefore, more advanced power electronic converters are necessary in these vehicles. Several dual-voltage (42 V/14 V) bidirectional converter architectures have been proposed for automotive systems in recent years. However, most of them have low efficiency or are based in series and parallel configurations with large number of semiconductors and magnetics devices. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a bidirectional high-efficiency converter with lower number of components. This converter was created by merging a switched-capacitor converter and a conventional bidirectional converter, resulting in a hybrid topology. The voltage across the semiconductors of the proposed converter is equal to half of the highest voltage source value. Furthermore, the topology is composed of only one inductor to control the power flow between the two voltage sources. To verify all the mentioned features, a prototype was implemented experimentally, reaching a maximum efficiency of 97.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This letter proposes an ac–ac converter based on the switched-capacitor principle. The new topology is described, analyzed, designed, and tested in the laboratory. The converter characteristics at the frequency of the input voltage and at the switching frequency are described herein. The absence of magnetic elements and the stress voltages in all components equal to half the input voltage are the main advantages of the proposed ac–ac converter. In order to demonstrate the performance of this converter a design example and experimental results for a prototype of 600 W, 220 Vrms high-side voltage, 110 Vrms low-side voltage, and switching frequency of 50 kHz are reported herein. The maximum and nominal efficiencies obtained were 95.6% and 90.6%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The focus of this paper is the study of direct alternating-current (ac)–ac converters, beginning by buck, half-bridge, full-bridge, and push–pull converters. From the basic converters, we apply a simple methodology to make the use of switches in commercial configurations possible. Following that, eight voltage restorers supplied either on the line side or on the load side are proposed. A comparative evaluation of these topologies concerning implementation, complexity, and component effort is presented. It is notable that some of the studied topologies are known in the literature and others are new. For one of the presented topologies, the design of a 3-kVA voltage restorer is developed, and experimental results are shown, certifying the correct operation of the drive strategy used. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]