Performance Evaluations of Coupled Inductor-Assisted High Frequency PWM Chopper Type DC-DC Converters

Claudio Y. Inaba, Yoshihiro Konishi, Hisashi Iyomori, and Mutsuo Nakaoka

The Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Yamaguchi University, 2-16-1 Tokiwadai, Ube city, Yamaguchi, 755-861 1, Japan
inabaope-news1 .eee.yamaguchi-u.acjp

Abstract - In this paper, an advanced two quadrant PWM chopper type DC-DC power converter with low switch peak voltage stress for parallel processing type small scale UPS applications and utility interactive new energy interface distributed power supplies is presented. In addition, a coupled inductor - assisted soft switching PWM boost chopper type DCDC converter is also proposed. These two circuit topologies are evaluated and compared on the basis of simulation and experimental results by a lkW, SOkHz breadboard setup. Moreover, some modified circuit topologies of the soft switching boost chopper with coupled inductors are also discussed in this paper.

PWM boost chopper type DC-DC converter, both utilizing coupled inductors, are compared, discussed and evaluated on the basis of simulation and experimental results.
11. CONVENTIONAL TWO QUADRANT PWM

CHOPPER TYPE DC-DC CONVERTER The conventional two quadrant high frequency PWM chopper type DC-DC converter is shown in Fig. 1. As an example of application, its operating principle is described when the converter circuit is applied to a new type battery interfaced power conditioner, including small capacity UPS and new energy interface type distributed power supply. (i) Step-down operationfor battery charging: Battery V, is charged by the time ratio control of switch S, through a stepdown operation. (ii) Step-up operationfor battery discharging:Battery V, is discharged by the time ratio control of switch SI through a step-up voltage operation. This two-quadrant (bi-directional) converter circuit topology is very simple and advantageous when applied to systems which step-up (boost) voltage conversion ratio is not high. However, if the number of cells such as battery cell, fuel cell or super capacitor cell is small, the boost voltage conversion ratio becomes higher and the maximum voltage and current rates of power semiconductor devices (MOSFET, IGBT) become extremely high resulting in worsen efficiency.
111. COUPLED INDUCTOR - ASSISTED TWO QUADRANT

Index Terms - Coupled inductor, low switch peak voltage stress, Two-quadrant converter, boost converter, soft switching.

I. INTRODUCTION Recently, demands for small capacity UPS for telecommunication network systems, 36Vl42V DC power supplies for electric vehicles and automobiles, new energy utilization stand-by power sources and industrial energy plants are becoming higher and higher from an enhancement view point. From this technological background, high frequency PWM chopper type DC-DC power converter circuits with high boost voltage conversion ratio and low switch peak voltage stresses are particularly required for DC interfaced systems and applications mentioned above. However, in conventional PWM chopper type DC-DC power converters, the power semiconductor devices such as MOSFETs and IGBTs with high voltage and large current rates are needed as voltage step-up ratio increases. In order to overcome these practical problems, by employing two magnetically coupled inductors, a two quadrant PWM chopper type DC-DC power converter with high boost voltage conversion ratio and low switch peak voltage is proposed in this paper. The operating performances of this advanced chopper circuit topology are described and compared with the conventional PWM chopper type DC-DC converter. In addition, an active voltage clamp soft switching PWM cell is introduced in the hard switching PWM chopper type DC-DC converter with coupled inductors in order to reduce switching losses of power semiconductor devices used in this circuit. The operating principle of this soft switching PWM boost chopper type DC-DC converter with low switching peak voltage stress and high boost voltage conversion ratio is also presented herein. The two quadrant hard switching PWM chopper type DCDC converter operating in boost mode and the soft switching

PWM CHOPPER TYPE DC-DC CONVERTER

3. I . Circuit touology In order to improve the aforementioned disadvantages of the circuit illustrated in Fig. 1, two magnetically coupled inductors (L, and L2) are implemented and this converter circuit is illustrated in Fig. 2. These coupled inductors are represented by L,, L, and M ( = k m ) and have similar characteristics of a flyback type high frequency transformer.

Fig. 1 Conventional two quadrant PWM chopper type DC-DC converter

0-7803-7474-6/02/$17.00 02002 IEEE

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Current through switch S, Current across coupled inductors L, and L, Voltage and current of diode D, Fig. 2 Coupled inductor - assisted two quadrant PWM chopper type DC-DC converter

Current through capacitors C , C Voltage across capacitor Cd,

Here, A 4 is the mutual inductance between L , and L,, and k is the magnetic coupling coefficient. With this configuration, voltage step-up conversion ratio can be determined by the duty factor of boost switch SI and turn ratio N between L, and L,. However, in the case of magnetic coupling coefficient k is considerably low, i.e., if the leakage inductance in primary side of high frequency transformer (coupled inductors) is considerably high, a voltage spike is generated in the active power switch S, since it is connected in the tapped point of L , and L,. In order to alleviate this voltage spike, an , is provided. Besides, a diode additional snubber capacitor C D, is also connected to block the current path from C, to SI. Therefore, the energy stored into C , does not discharge to SI. On the other hand, in voltage step-down mode, because of the leakage inductance in secondary side of coupled , also operates as a snubber capacitor during the inductors, C turning off of switch S,, decreasing its voltage spike. 3.2.Qnveratingprinciple (i) Voltage step-down operation (battery charging mode) : When the active power switch S, is on, current flows through the path composed of C,, - S, - L, - D, - c d , and energy is stored into L,. After that, S, turns off and the energy stored into L, discharges through L,. As a result, current flows through L, - V, - D,, - L, charging battery V,. In order to discharge the energy in the leakage inductance of secondary side (L2 side) of coupled inductors, C, operates as a snubber capacitor and an instantaneous current flows through L, - D, - Cd2 - D, - L,, when S , turns off. (ii) Voltage step-up operation (battery discharging mode): In Fig. 3, typical voltage and current waveforms are illustrated when the proposed converter circuit operates in the boost mode. Mode 0 ( to,t3- ): S, is on and current flows through V, L , - S, - V,. In this mode, energy is stored into L,. Mode 1, 2, 3 (to t3): At to, S, is turned off. While the energy stored into L , is discharged through L,, current flows through V, - L , - D, - L, - Ds2- C,, - C,, - V,, charging C , and C,,; and C , operates as a snubber during turn off of S, attenuating its voltage spike. In mode 2 (t, t,), D, turns off. Although energy into C , is not discharged completely, part of it is effectively transferred to L,, since D, is off.

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Fig. 3 Typical current and voltage waveforms

simulation analysis and a 1kW, 5OkHz experimental breadboard setup using power MOSFETs is also implemented and the experimental results are compared with the simulation. In the breadboard setup, two divided load resistances with same values (R,, = R,,) are connected in parallel with output smoothing capacitors c d , and c,, since a half bridge inverter is supposed to be connected in the output of the DC-DC power converter treated here. This means that a center tap potential variation of output smoothing capacitors (Cdlr Cd2)reduces the circuit reliability. When a half bridge inverter is connected in the output of the proposed power converter, the net current flowing into the center tap during the inverter switching cycle may add zero in theory, but the stabilization of the center tap potential may be lost when asymmetrical operation conditions arise between the plus and minus semicycle of the inverter output current in each phase. As a result, the diode D, conducts if voltage across capacitor C,, decreases, reducing the circuit reliability. D, should only conduct during the voltage stepdown (battery charge) operation. In simulation analysis, all the switching power devices are considered ideal and in the experimental breadboard setup, the design specifications and circuit parameters are as follows;
S,lD,: IRFP264N, VDss=250V, ID=44A(Tc=25"C), C,,=:

480pF (at VDs=25V) S21D,: 1MBH30D-060, V,, = 600V, I, = 48A (T, = 25C); (in experiment, V,,= OV) D, - D,: 3OJL2C41, V,, = 600V, I,= 30A L,, L,: L , = 50pH;L, = 312.5pH; N = 2.5; (in simulation, k = 0.968) C,: l p F Cdl,C,,: 2700pF Voltage and current operating waveforms of S, and D, are respectively illustrated in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5, when input voltage, output voltage and output power are respectively V ,

3.3. Simulation and experimental evaluations The steady state characteristics of this power converter (see Fig. 2) operating in boost mode are verified by

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Y,,

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(a) Simulation (b) Experiment Fig. 4 Voltage and current waveforms of switch S,

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Fig. 7 Coupled inductor - assisted soft switching PWM boost chopper type DC-DC converter

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4.2. Operating principle In Fig. 8, typical voltage and current waveforms on this circuit topology are illustrated and each operation stage is represented in Fig. 9. Mode 0 ( to):Before to, S, is on and Sa is off. In this mode, energy is stored into L,. Mode 1 (to t,): At time instant to, S, is turned off under , and L, starts. Voltage across ZVS and resonance between C C , increases linearly. Mode 2 (t, t2): At t,, C , voltage v , reaches C, voltage Vcc; and diodes D , and D, start to conduct. While D, is conducting, the gate signal is supplied to Sa. In this mode, v,, is clamped to a constant level of V,. Mode 3 (t2 t3):Current through D, decreases to zero at t2, and S, turns on under conditions of ZVS and ZCS. The resonant inductor current iLrdecreases to zero and starts to flow to the negative direction. Mode 4 (t3 r4): At the end of one switching cycle, S, turns off under condition of ZVS, since vcr= Vcc. L, and C , resonate again and voltage across C, decreases linearly. Mode 5 (t4 t,): when v,, becomes zero, diode D, starts to conduct and during this interval, the gate signal is inserted into S,. Current through D, decreases linearly. Mode 6 (t, t6): At ti, S,,, turns on under conditions of ZVS and ZCS and at t6, the current through inductor L, becomes zero.

(a) Simulation (b) Experiment Fig. 5 Voltage and current waveforms of diode D,
= 36V, V,,,, = 340V and Po,,= 8OOW. From Fig. 4, it can be noted that the switch peak voltage is suppressed lower than V,. Voltage and current waveforms through C , are also depicted in Fig. 6. As it can be seen, when SI turns off, C , operates as snubber and the absorbed energy is effectively discharged in L, since D, is off.

IV. COUPLED INDUCTOR - ASSISTED BOOST CHOPPER TYPE SOFT SWITCHING PWM DC - DC CONVERTER

4. I.' Circuit topology In order to improve the operation performances of the circuit in Fig. 2, an active voltage clamp cell is introduced for achieving soft switching in boost chopper operating mode. This improved soft switching PWM boost chopper type DC DC power converter is illustrated in Fig. 7 where Qm(S,/Dm) and Q,(S,/D,) are the main and auxiliary switching blocks, , is the resonant capacitor connected in respectively. C parallel with Qnt. L, and C , (C,>>C,) are respectively termed the resonant inductor and the clamp capacitor. S,,, and Sa turn on and off alternately with a certain interval td as a dead time, and ZVS can be achieved in S,, and So. By using the coupled inductors, high output voltage and low switch peak voltage is obtained, even if the active voltage clamp cell is introduced.

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Fig. 8 Operation waveforms of switches Qm and Qa, and their switching drive signals

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(a) Simulation (b) Experiment Fig. 10 Voltage and current waveforms of switch S,

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Fig. 9 Equivalent circuits for each commutation stage

Mode 7 (t6 ): S,, is on and Sa is off. In this mode, energy is stored in L,.
4.3. p s The operating principle and steady state characteristics of the proposed soft switching DC-DC converter are verified by simulation analysis and a lkW, SokHz experimental breadboard setup using power MOSFETs is implemented. The design specifications and circuit parameters of this converter are as follows; SJD,,, SJD,: IRFP264N, VDss= 250V, ID= 44A (Tc= 25"C), Cos,= 480pF (at VDs=25V) D , - D,: 3OJL2C41, VmM = 600V, I F = 30A L,, L,: L , = 50pH; L, = 312.5pH; N = 2.5; (in simulation, k = 0.968) L,: 2.5pH C; 0.022pF; C,: 2pF; C : , 2700pF Experimental voltages and current waveforms of switches
S,,, and S, are respectively illustrated in Fig. 10 and Fig. 11.

. . 4.3. Modified soft swz'tchinp boost chouper circuit with coupled inductors In Fig. 12, three modified topologies of the soft switching boost chopper type DC-DC converter circuit using coupled inductors other than the proposed converter in Fig. 7 are illustrated. The two DC-DC converter circuits illustrated in Fig. 12(a) and Fig. 12(b), the position of the active clamp cell composed of SAD, and C, differs from the circuit in Fig. 7. Their operating principle is similar to the DC-DC converter circuit in Fig.7; however, the voltage across the clamp , changes according to each topology. capacitor C In the circuit illustrated in Fig. 12(c), the clamp capacitor C , is removed. Although C , is removed, soft switching can be achieved and the total cost of the DC-DC converter can be , and Cd2 becomes decreased. However voltage across C unbalanced when C , is removed from the circuit. But, this does not affect in the circuit performance.

V. COMPARISON BETWEEN THE HARD SWITCHING TWOQUADRANT AND THE SOFT SWITCHING BOOST CHOPPER TYPE DC-DC CONVERTER Comparative experimental evaluations of voltage and current stresses for the hard switching two-quadrant chopper type DC-DC converter circuit (Fig. 2) operating in boost mode and the soft switching boost chopper circuit (Fig. 7) are discussed. In Fig. 13, the output voltage as function of output power is illustrated, for three different duty cycle ( D = T,,/T) values and in Fig. 14 the switch peak voltage characteristics for the same conditions are also shown. From these results, it can be noted that in both DC-DC converter circuits, the peak voltage across the active power switch is suppressed to value lower than the output voltage.

These results are depicted when input voltage, output voltage and output power are respectively V, = 36V, V,,,, = 340V, P,,,, = 900W. It can be verified that each active power switch turns on after its voltage falls down to zero, indicating that ZVS is achieved.

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300
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400

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Fig. 13 Output voltage vs. output power for different constant duty cycle values
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(c) Fig. 12 Modified circuit topologies of soft switching boost chopper type DC-DC converter with coupled inductors

200

400

600

800

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Output power P,,,[W]

Fig. 14 Switch peak voltage vs. output power for different constant duty cycle values
0.85

In Fig. 15, the duty cycle D necessary to keep output voltage in V,,,, = 340V in relation to output power is depicted and in Fig. 16, total efficiency in relation to output power is represented for each circuit topology. Maximum efficiency reached by the soft switching DC-DC power converter is 89.1%. Although duty cycle value in the soft switching circuit is higher than the hard switching circuit, total actual efficiency can improve when soft switching technique is introduced.
VI. CONCLUSIONS

0 Soft Switching 0 Hard Switching

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600 I

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800 I

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Output power POut[W]

Fig. 15 Duty cycle vs. output power under conditions of V, = 36V and Vou, = 340V

Two advanced topologies of PWM chopper type DC-DC converters have been presented in this paper; the coupled inductor - assisted two quadrant hard switching PWM

chopper type DC-DC converter and the coupled inductor assisted soft switching PWM boost chopper type DC-DC converter. It was proved on the basis of simulation and experimental evaluations that these two converter circuit topologies could efficiently work with high performances and keeping switch peak voltage suppressed lower than the comparatively high output voltage. Besides, three modified topologies of the soft switching boost chopper circuit were

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L,, since D,is off.

l l l ~ l l

V,= 36V

(ii) In the circuit topology of Fig. 7, by using coupled inductors, high output voltage conversion characteristics are: obtained, even if an active voltage clamp cell is introduced, improving its actual efficiency.

VII. REFERENCES
[ I ] M. Yamanaka, M. Sakane, K. Hirachi, Practical Development of a High Performance UPS with a Novel Buck - Boost Chopper Circuit Proceedings of IEEE INTELEC, pp. 632-637, September 2000. [2] C. M. C. Duarte, I. Barbi, A New Family of ZVS-PWM Active: - Clamping DC-to-DC Boost Converters: Analysis, Design, and Experimentation IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 12, pp. 824-831, September 1997. [3] W. Shi, R. Cheng, Y. Chang, A ZVT quasi-resonant PWM converter for unity power factor application IEE-UK Int. J. Electronics, Vol. 84, pp. 421-428, 1998. [4] Y. Xi, P. K. Jain, Y. F. Liu, R. Om, A Self Core reset and Zero Voltage Switching Forward Converter Topology IEEE Trans. On Power Electronics, Vol. 15, pp. 1192-1202,November 2000. [5] T.Wu, S. Liang, A Systematic Approach to Developing Single -Stage Soft Switching PWM Converters IEEE Trans. On Power Electronics, Vol. 16, pp. 58 1-593, September 200 1.

0 Soft Switching 0 Hard Switching

400
600

800

1000

Output power POut[W]

Fig. 16 Actual efficiency vs. output power under conditions of V,, = 36V and V,,, = 340V

also introduced. The following features could be verified in the proposed two converter circuits. (i) In the circuit topology in Fig. 2, it was verified that capacitor C, operates as a snubber during turn off of S, attenuating its voltage spike and although energy in C , is not discharged completely, its energy is effectively transferred to

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