Application of soft-switching in domestic solar power

system

Tran Anh Huy Nguyen Quang Nam

Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
Bach Khoa University, BKU Bach Khoa University, BKU
Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
41201393@hcmut.edu.vn nqnam@hcmut.edu.vn

AbstractThis paper aim is to propose an improved technical

switching in power electronics based on soft-switching technique. II. PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS
This proposed method is more efficient and also reduce the In order to use solar energy stable and efficiency, between the
switching loses. This method is verified by a system including a solar panels and the load, there must be a power converter
PWM based power converter controlled by a microcontroller.
(usually a DC/DC converter and maybe include an inverter).
Keywords - Soft-switching; Photovoltaic; Solar Power; ZETA
converter

I. INTRODUCTION
Nowadays, fossil energy sources are dwindling due to the
increasing energy consumption. The application of renewable
energy sources is more and more necessary. Among them, solar
generation are the most promising power generation technology,
especially for domestic.

Conversion efficiency is a prime consideration for all switch-
mode power supplies (SMPSs), but is even more critical for
those found in portable devices, where prolonging battery life is
a key goal. High efficiency is also a must for compact designs
that struggle with thermal management, or in products where the
cost of providing power is of concern.
To achieve maximum conversion efficiency in an SMPS, it
helps to understand the elementary power-loss mechanisms in
these converters, and what can be done to mitigate their effects.
Additionally, with the same structure hardware, conduction
losses is the same and inevitable; so to improve conversion
efficiency we can change the way switching in converter.
Fig. 2 Block diagram of a PV water pumping system with
battery storage
The above figure is the example of block diagram of a PV
system. Because the output of PV panels is unstable, we need a
DC/DC converter to stabilize the voltage output for battery
charging, use straight to the equipment or convert it to the
inverter.
A. Solar Panel Model

Fig. 3 Equivalent circuit of the solar panel

1) Output current of the solar panel
I = IPh ID IP (1)
IPh: Current generated by the photovoltaic effect
ID: Current flowing through the diode
IP: Current flowing through the resistor RP
2) Current generated by the photovoltaic effect

Fig. 1. Switching losses occur as a MOSFET transitions = [1 + ( )] (2)

between its on and off states
 With ZETA is a non-inverting DC/DC converter like the SEPIC,
ISC-STC: The solar panels short circuit current at meaning the output voltage will have the same polarity with the
standard test condition (STC) input voltage. Unlike the SEPIC converter, which is configured
Ki: Temperature coefficient of the short circuit with a standard boost converter, the ZETA converter is
current configured from a buck controller that drives a high-side
T: Temperature of the panel MOSFET.
TSTC: Temperature of the panel at STC (25oC or
III. PROPOSED SOFT-SWITCHING TECHNIQUE
298K)
G: The solar insolation Power converters typically consist of semiconductor devices
GSTC: The solar insolation at STC (1000W/m2) such as transistors and diodes, energy storage elements such as
3) Diode current inductors and capacitors, and some sort of controller to regulate
+ the output voltage. Transistor type device like BJTs (Bipolar
= [ ( ) 1] (3) Junction Transistors), MOSFETs (Metal Oxide Silicon Field

[1+ ( )] Effect Transistors) and IGBTs (Insulated Gate Bipolar
= (1+ ( ))
(4) Transistors) are used as switches in power electronic converter
[( )1]
and are made to operate as switches that are either fully on or
fully off at any given moment in time. These devices can be
=
(5)
operated at higher switching frequencies than thyristor based
With devices, which helps:
n: The number of cell in series of a panel PWM waveform will be closer to expected waveform
a: Diode ideality factor Harmonics is easier to be filtered
Voc-STC: The panels open circuit voltage at STC 1
Reduce converter size: =
KV: Temperature coefficient of the open circuit 2
voltage Faster response
B. Converter But together with benefits, it has some disadvantages like higher
1) Choosing the power converter power losses on power semiconductor devices, more severe
For the purpose of battery charging, a DC/DC converter with the electromagnetic interference (EMI). So, using soft-switching
ability to both step up and step down the voltage should be used technique will reduce these disadvantages.
(the converter will be able to charge batteries with different
nominal voltage)
Simple DC/DC converters that meet this requirement includes
the Buck-Boost converter, the Cuk converter, the SEPIC
converter and the ZETA. Buck-Boost is the simplest of them all
(require the least components), but it has several flaws like
discontinuous input current, high peak current flowing through
the components, not so good transient response,
Cuk, SEPIC and ZETA are three converters that is more Fig. 5 The process of power semiconductor device
appropriate to use as DC link or battery charging. These three hard-switching
share many similarities with each others. While the Cuk
converter usually provide better output current and voltage, and
the SEPIC has the advantage non-inverting output voltage, the
ZETA converter is another option for regulating an unregulated
power supply input, like a low-cost wall wart.
In this paper, the ZETA converter will be used
2) ZETA Converter model
Fig. 6 The process of power semiconductor device
soft-switching
A. Zero-voltage switching (ZVS)
Soft-switching forces either the voltage or the current to be zero
during the time of transition; therefore, there is no overlap
between voltage and current and (ideally) no switching loss.
There are two type of soft-switching: zero-voltage switching
(ZVS) and zero-current switching (ZCS). Although there are
many ZVS and ZCS techniques, there are general principles
associated with each type. In this paper, the ZVS technique will
Fig. 4 Simple circuit diagram of ZETA converter be used.
The circuit symbol for a MOSFET is shown in Fig. 7, along with
an anti-parallel diode (which is the body diode that is internal to
the device) and a capacitor Cds that is across the devices drain
and source. Cds usually consists of an internal capacitance
associated with the device and an additional external capacitor.
The MOSFET can turn on with ZVS if it is somehow ensured
that current is flowing through the body diode to clamp the
drain-source voltage to zero just before turn-on. The MOSFET
can turn off with ZVS because Cds Prevents the voltage from
rising abruptly as the device is turned off

Fig. 7 ZVS MOSFET implementation

B. Capacitive idling
The static characteristic of the traditional topologies of this
converter, in continuous conduction mode (CCM), is

= (5)
1
Where is the MOSFET duty cycle.
From the charge balance on Cb one gets
(1 ) = (6)
Where o and i are the duty cycles of To and Ti, respectively, Ii and Io
are the average input and output currents. Fig. 9 Waveform of ZETA converter
Like SEPIC and Cuk topology, it allows independent control of the
IV. RESULTS
input and output currents. The input is controlled by modulating i,
while the output is controlled by o. The proper operation of this circuit A prototype of the ZETA converter was tested with the
requires following characteristics
i o (7) Table 1. Parameters tested
The reason for this limitation is evident, considering that it is possible Parameters Value
to transfer energy from the input stage to the output only during the
conduction of Ti. Otherwise, diodes Do and Di will conduct, which Output Power Pmax 150W
means zero voltage at the input of the second stage. Input voltage Uin 30V
During the interval (o.) (where is the switching period), To conducts Output voltage Uout 24V
and capacitor Cb is discharged by current io. When To turns off (and Ti Switching Frequency 100kHz
is still on), the capacitor current is zero, and its voltage remains Voltage Ripple max 25mV
constant. During the interval [1- i).], both transistors are off, and the
current ii recharges Cb. A. Simulation Results

Fig. 8 DC-DC capacitive idling ZETA converters

Fig. 10 The model of Hard-switch & Idling Capacitive

(with ZVS) simulation
 Some components are used in prototye
Components Value
Pulse transformer 150H
Inductor 470nH
Filter Capacitor 10F
Diode Schottky 1N5822
Kha MOSFET IRF3205
IC voltage isolated MuRata NML1212SC
IC driver UCC27325P
Opto 6N137
Both prototypes are not operating as desired. The cause may
be due to inexperienced team made several circuits, associated
with the use of components that are not optimal, circuit board
design irrational leads to prototypes were inactivity.
Fig. 11 The waveform of Vo & Io of Hard switch & Soft switch
Table 2. Simulation Results V. CONCLUSION
Parameters Hard-switch Soft-switch In this paper, a soft-switch technique can solve some problems
Uo 23,14V 23,92V of the hard-switch technique is proposed. The simulation proved
Io 4,63A 4,78A that this technique help improving the power efficiency,
U_ripple 0,103mV 0,101mV overshoot and response of system. But because prototype is not
U_overshoot 36,97V 24,5V work, so we cannot verifiable between theory and fact.
I_overshoot 7,38A 4,89A
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Following the results, the soft-switch technique is better than
hard-switch technique. I would like to give my utmost gratitude to Dr. Nguyen Quang
Nam for supervising us as well as giving me valuable advices so
B. Experimental Results that I can do this research. I also would like to thank Mr. Nguyen
Nhat Nam for supporting me for knowledge. Finally, I want to
thank the PFIEV program for supporting me financially so that
I can conduct this research.
REFERENCES
[1] Designing DC/DC converters based on ZETA topology, Power
Managerment, Texas Instruments Incorporated.
[2] L.D.Stevanovic, Slobodan Cuk, Capacitive Idling Converters
with Decoupled Input Voltage and Load Regulation Loops,
Power Electronics Specialists Conference, 1993. PESC '93
Record., 24th Annual IEEE
[3] Bill Andreycak, Zero Voltage Switching Resonant Power
Conversion, Unitrode application note
[4] Denizar C. Martins, Member IEEE, Glaucio N. De Abreu,
Application of the ZETA converter in Switch-mode Power
Suppliers, Applied Power Electronics Conference and
Fig.12 The soft-switch prototype Exposition, 1993. APEC '93. Conference Proceedings 1993.,
Eighth Annual
[5] Hebertt Sira-Ramirez, Ramon Silva-Ortigoza, Control Design
Techniques in Power Electronics Devices, Springer
[6] Le Van Doanh, Nguyen The Cong, Tran Van Thinh, Dien Tu
Cong Suat Ly thuyet, Thiet ke, Ung dung, NXB Khoa hoc va
Ky Thuat

Fig. 13 The hard-switch (left) and soft switch prototype