• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.24 no.4
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• pp.294-302
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• 2019

A capacitor common connected LLC resonant converter with auxiliary switches for a wide output voltage control range is presented in this paper. The proposed converter can be controlled in two ways to achieve a wide output voltage control range of Vo-3Vo. The first control method is performed through pulse width modulation of the auxiliary switches and primary switching devices. The second control method is conducted through frequency modulation of the primary switching devices configured to operate in full-bridge switching modes, when the auxiliary switches are turned off. The feasibility of the proposed converter is verified by the experimental results of a 5 kW prototype.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.256-264
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• 2018

This paper proposes a three-bridge LLC resonant converter with auxiliary switches for a wide output voltage control range. This converter can be controlled in two ways to achieve a wide controllable output voltage control range of $V_o$ to $3V_o$. The first control mechanism is achieved through the pulse width modulation (PM) of the auxiliary switches and primary switching devices, while the second control mechanism is achieved through the frequency modulation (FM) of the primary switching devices that are configured to operate in the full-bridge switching mode when the auxiliary switches are turned off. The feasibility of using the proposed converter is verified by the results of an experiment with a 2kW prototype.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.182-189
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• 2018

LLC resonant converters or phase-shift full-bridge converters have been widely used as DC - DC converters for rapid charging of electric vehicles (EVs). However, these converters present critical disadvantages, including a large circulating current, which can hinder efficiency and miniaturization in EV battery charger applications. In this paper, a new DC - DC converter topology is proposed for EV rapid chargers. The proposed converter can operate at high frequency despite a high rated power capacity of over 20kW, and the problem of circulating current can be minimized during the entire battery charging time. Owing to these advantages, the proposed converter can achieve a high conversion efficiency of over 97% for EV rapid charger applications. The performance of the proposed converter is verified with 20kW prototypes in this study.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2012.07a
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• pp.373-374
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• 2012

본 논문에서는 전력변환장치의 고효율화 시대에 맞추어 AC-DC단에는 브릿지리스 PFC, DC-DC단에는 Full-Bridge LLC 공진형 컨버터를 적용하여 전부하 ZVS 동작영역 확보를 통한 고효율의 저전압, 대전류 AC-DC 정류기를 제안하였다. 제안된 AC-DC 정류기는 그린 PC용 전력변환 장치로써 단말형 중앙 집중식 PC rack 시스템에 사용된다. 따라서 19 [V], 105 [A] (2KW) Full-bridge LLC 공진형 컨버터를 설계 및 제작하여 실험을 통해 제안된 토폴로지의 타당성을 검증하였다.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1099-1107
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• 2019

A soft switching converter with wide voltage range operation is investigated in this paper. A series resonant converter is implemented to achieve a high circuit efficiency with soft switching characteristics on power switches and rectifier diodes. To improve the weakness of the narrow voltage range in LLC converters, an alternating current (ac) power switch is used on the primary side to select a half-bridge or full-bridge resonant circuit to implement 4:1 voltage range operation. On the secondary-side, another ac power switch is adopted to select a full-wave rectifier or voltage-doubler rectifier to achiever an additional 2:1 output voltage range. Therefore, the proposed resonant converter has the capacity for 8:1 (320V~40V) wide output voltage operation. A single-stage hybrid resonant converter is employed in the study circuit instead of a two-stage dc converter to achiever wide voltage range operation. As a result, the study converter has better converter efficiency. The theoretical analysis and circuit characteristics are verified by experiments with a prototype circuit.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.9 no.2
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• pp.215-223
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• 2009

A design methodology for transformers including integrated and center-tapped structures for LLC resonant converters is proposed. In the LLC resonant converter, the resonant inductor in the primary side can be merged in the transformer as a leakage inductance. And, the absence of the secondary filter inductor creates low voltage stress on the secondary rectifiers and is cost-effective. A center-tapped structure of the transformer secondary side is widely used in commercial applications because of its higher efficiency and lower cost than full-bridge structures in the rectifying stages. However, this transformer structure has problems of resonance imbalance and transformer inefficiency caused by leakage inductance imbalance in the secondary side and the position of the air-gap in the transformer, respectively. In this paper, gain curves and soft-switching conditions are derived by first harmonic approximation (FHA) and operating circuit simulation. In addition, the effects of the transformer including integrated and center-tapped structures are analyzed by new FHA models and simulations to obtain an optimal design. Finally, the effects of the air-gap position are analyzed by an electromagnetic field simulator. The proposed analysis and design are verified by experimental results with a 385W LLC resonant converter.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.766-777
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• 2018

In this paper, a sliding mode and proportional plus integral (SM-PI) control combined with self-sustained phase shift modulation (SSPSM) for LLC resonant converters is presented. The proposed control scheme improves the transient response while preserving good steady-state performance. An averaged large signal model of an LLC converter with the ZVS modulation technique is developed for the SM control design. The sliding surface is obtained based on the input-output linearization concept. A system identification method is adopted to obtain the transform function of the LLC resonant converter, which is used to design the PI control. In order to reduce the inherent chattering problem in the steady state, the combined SM-PI control strategy is derived with fuzzy control, where the SM control is responsive during the transient state while the PI control prevails in the steady state. The combination of SSPSM and the SM-PI control provides ZVS operation, robustness and a fast transient response against step load variations. Simulation and experimental results validate the theoretical analysis and the attractive features of the proposed scheme.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.211-219
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• 2014

This paper proposes a low voltage high current LLC resonant converter for Green PC. Green PC is composed of a lot of blade PCs, and it is a centralized system to manage them in computer center. Green PC should require that its power supplies have several characteristics such as low output voltage, high output current, and high power conversion efficiency. Conventional PSFB (Phase Shift Full Bridge) converter is usually used as DC/DC converter for computer power supply because it has high power conversion efficiency thanks to ZVS (Zero Voltage Switching) operation under middle and high load conditions. However, this converter has some problems such as large switching noise and limitation of ZVS operation under light load condition. In order to improve the performance of power supply for Green PC, a new power supply using popular high efficiency LLC resonant converter for low voltage and high current application is proposed in this paper. The proposed power supply has ZVS capability over the entire load range, thus resulting in good efficiency and high switching frequency. Experimental results verify the performance of the proposed power supply for Green PC using 2[kW] (19[V], 105[A]) rated prototype converter.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.915-924
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• 2016

A digital self-sustained phase shift modulation (DSSPSM) strategy that allows for good soft switching and dynamic response performance in the presence of step variations is presented in this paper. The working principle, soft switching characteristics, and voltage gain formulae of a LLC converter with DSSPSM have been provided separately. Furthermore, the method for realizing DSSPSM is proposed. Specifically, some key components of the proposed DSSPSM are carefully investigated, including a parameter variation analysis, the start-up process, and the zero-crossing capture of the resonant current. The simulation and experiment results verify the feasibility of the proposed control method. It is observed that the zero voltage switching of the switches and the zero current switching of the rectifier diodes can be easily realized in presence of step load variations.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.201-210
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• 2019

This paper proposes a multimode hybrid control strategy that can achieve zero-voltage switching of primary switches and zero-current switching of secondary rectifier diodes in a wide input voltage range for full-bridge LLC resonant converters. When the input voltage is lower than the rated voltage, the converter operates in Mode 1 through the variable-frequency control strategy. When the input voltage is higher than the rated voltage, the converter operates in Mode 2 through the VF and phase-shift control strategy until the switching frequency reaches the upper limit. Then, the converter operates in Mode 3 through the constant-frequency and phase-shift control strategy. The secondary-side diode current will operate in the discontinuous current mode in Modes 1 and 3, whereas it will operate in the boundary current mode in Mode 2. The current RMS value and conduction loss can be reduced in Mode 2. A detailed theoretical analysis of the operation principle, the voltage gain characteristics, and the realization method is presented in this paper. Finally, a 500 W prototype with 100-200 V input voltage and 40 V output voltage is built to verify the feasibility of the multimode hybrid control strategy.