• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.1
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• pp.91-102
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• 2013

This paper proposes the improved LCCT(Inductor-Capacitor-Capacitor-Trans) Z-source DC-DC converter (Improved LCCT ZSDC) which can generate the bipolar output voltages according to duty ratio D. The proposed converter has the characteristic and structure of Quasi Z-source DC-DC converter(Quasi ZSDC) and conventional LCCT Z-source DC-DC converter(LCCT ZSDC). To confirm the validity of the proposed method, PSIM simulation and a DSP based experiment were performed for each converter. In case which the input DC voltage is 70V, the bipolar output DC voltage of positive 90V and negative 50V could generate. Also, as comparison result of the capacitor voltage ripple in Z-network and the input current under the same condition for each converter, the voltage stress and the capacitor voltage in Z-network of the proposed method were lower compared with the conventional methods. Finally, the efficiency for each method was investigated according to load variation and duty ratio D.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1357-1368
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• 2018

In this paper, a novel high gain bidirectional modular dc-dc converter (BMC) with unipolar and bipolar structures for dc network interconnections is proposed. When compared with traditional dc grid-connecting converters, the proposed converter can achieve a high voltage gain with a simple modular transformerless structure. A sub-modular structure for the BMC is proposed to eliminate the unbalanced current stress between the different power units (levels) in the BMC. This can realize current sharing and standardized production and assembling. In addition, phase-interval operation is introduced to the sub-modules to realize low voltage and current ripple in both sides of the converter. Furthermore, two types of bipolar topologies of the sub-modular BMC were proposed to extend its application in bipolar dc network connections. In addition, the control system was optimized for grid-connection applications by providing various control strategies. Finally, simulations of a 3-level unipolar sub-modular BMC and a 4-level bipolar sub-modular BMC were conducted, and a 1-kW experimental 3-level unipolar prototype was developed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.1223-1234
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• 2018

In this paper, a new three-port multidirectional DC-DC converter is proposed for integrating an energy storage system (ESS) to a bipolar DC microgrid (BPDCMG). The proposed converter provides a voltage-balancing function for the BPDCMG and adjusts the charge of the ESS. Thanks to the multi-functional operation of the proposed converter, the conversion stages of the system are reduced. In addition, the efficiency and weight of the system are improved. Therefore, this converter has a significant capability when it comes to use in portable BPDCMGs such as electric DC ships. The converter modes are analyzed and small-signal models of the converter in each of the independent modes are extracted. Finally, comprehensive simulation studies are carried out and a BPDCMG laboratory prototype is implemented in order to verify the performance of the proposed voltage balancer using the burst mode control scheme.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.229-236
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• 2019

This study proposes a DC-DC converter topology of solid-state transformer for low-voltage DC distribution. The proposed topology consists of a voltage balancer and bipolar DC-DC converter. The voltage and current equations are obtained on the basis of switching states to design the controller. The open-loop gain of the controller is achieved using the derived voltage and current equations. The controller gain is selected through the frequency analysis of the loop gain. The inductance and capacitance are calculated considering the voltage and current ripples. The prototype is fabricated in accordance with the designed system parameters. The proposed topology and designed controller are verified through simulation and experiment.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.21 no.6
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• pp.486-496
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• 2016

The voltage unbalance of an LVDC bipolar distribution system was controlled for high power quality. Voltage unbalance may occur in a bipolar distribution system depending on the operation of the converter and load usage. Voltage unbalance can damage sensitive load and lead to converter accidents. The conditions that may cause voltage unbalance in a bipolar distribution system are as follows. First, three-level AC/DC converters in bipolar distribution systems can lead to voltage unbalance. Second, bipolar distribution systems can be at risk for voltage unbalance because of load usage. In this paper, the output DC link of a three-level AC/DC converter was analyzed for voltage unbalance, and the bipolar voltage was controlled with algorithms. In the case of additional voltage unbalance according to load usage, the bipolar voltage was controlled using the proposed converter. The proposed converter is a dual half-bridge converter, which was improved from the secondary circuit of a dual half-bridge converter. A control algorithm for bipolar voltage control without additional converters was proposed. The balancing control of the bipolar distribution system with distributed power was verified through experiments.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.23 no.5
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• pp.313-320
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• 2018

This study proposes a new voltage balancer with bidirectional DC-DC converter function. The proposed balancer can serve as a voltage balancer and a bidirectional DC-DC converter. Thus, the balancer can be applied to battery management systems or fast chargers in electric vehicles (EVs) charging stations while balancing bipolar DC bus voltages. The proposed system has unlimited voltage balancing range unlike the conventional voltage balancing control using a three-level DC-DC converter. A comparison of the voltage balancing range between the proposed and conventional scheme is explored to confirm this superiority. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the effectiveness of the proposed system.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.5
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• pp.1595-1607
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• 2018

In this paper, a hierarchical control strategy is introduced to control a new three-port multidirectional DC-DC converter for integrating an energy storage system (ESS) to a bipolar DC microgrid (BPDCMG). The proposed converter provides a voltage-balancing function for the BPDCMG and adjusts the states of charge (SoC) of the ESS. Previous studies tend to balance the voltage of the BPDCMG buses with active sources or by transferring power from one bus to another. Furthermore, the batteries available in BPDCMGs were charged equally by both buses. However, this power sharing method does not guarantee efficient operation of the whole system. In order to achieve a higher efficiency and lower energy losses, a triple-layer hierarchical control strategy, including a primary droop controller, a secondary voltage restoration controller and a tertiary optimization controller are proposed. Thanks to the multi-functional operation of the proposed converter, its conversion stages are reduced. Furthermore, the efficiency and weight of the system are both improved. Therefore, this converter has a significant capability to be used in portable BPDCMGs such as electric DC ships. The converter modes are analyzed and small-signal models of the converter are extracted. Comprehensive simulation studies are carried out and a BPDCMG laboratory setup is implemented in order to validate the effectiveness of the proposed converter and its hierarchical control strategy. Simulation and experimental results show that using the proposed converter mitigates voltage imbalances. As a result, the system efficiency is improved by using the hierarchical optimal power flow control.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.24-28
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• 2010

A simulation study of a current-mode direct current (DC)-DC buck converter is presented in this paper. The converter, with a fully integrated power module, is implemented by using sense method metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) and bipolar complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (BiCMOS) technology. When the MOSFET is used in a current sensor, the sensed inductor current with an internal ramp signal can be used for feedback control. In addition, the BiCMOS technology is applied in the converter for an accurate current sensing and a low power consumption. The DC-DC converter is designed using the standard $0.35\;{\mu}m$ CMOS process. An off-chip LC filter is designed with an inductance of 1 mH and a capacitance of 12.5 nF. The simulation results show that the error between the sensing signal and the inductor current can be controlled to be within 3%. The characteristics of the error amplification and output ripple are much improved, as compared to converters using conventional CMOS circuits.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.27 no.5
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• pp.391-396
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• 2022

In this study, a new voltage-balancing dual-active bridge converter that integrates a DAB converter with a voltage balancer is proposed for a bipolar DC distribution system. The proposed converter is configured to connect two loads to the transformer secondary center tap of the DAB converter, and no additional components are added. The proposed converter has the same operation as the conventional DAB converter, and it makes both output voltages similar. Moreover, the imbalanced current offset between the two loads is bypassed only on the secondary side of the transformer. Consequently, the proposed converter integrates a voltage balancer without any additional components, and no additional loss occurs in the corresponding components. Thus, high efficiency and high power density can be achieved. The feasibility of the proposed converter is verified using 3 kW prototypes under 380 V input and 190/190 V output conditions.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.348-355
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• 2022

A bipolar DC distribution system suffers from an imbalance in voltages when asymmetric loads are connected at the outputs. Dedicated voltage balancers are required to address the imbalance in bipolar voltage levels. However, additional components eventually increase the cost and decrease the efficiency and power density of the system. Therefore, to deal with the imbalance in output voltages without adding any extra components, this study presents a coupled inductor-based voltage balancing technique with a dual-output CLL resonant converter. The proposed coupled inductor does not require extra magnetic components to balance the output voltages because it is the result of resonant inductors of the CLL tank circuit. It can also avoid complex control schemes applied to voltage balancing. Moreover, with the proposed coupled inductor, the CLL converter acquires good features including zero voltage and zero current switching. Detailed analysis of the proposed coupled inductor is presented with different load conditions. A 3.6-kW hardware prototype was built and tested to validate the performance of the proposed coupled inductor-based voltage balancing technique.