• 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.15 no.6
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• pp.1609-1618
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• 2015

DC microgrids are considered as prospective systems because of their easy connection of distributed energy resources (DERs) and electric vehicles (EVs), reduction of conversion loss between dc output sources and loads, lack of reactive power issues, etc. These features make them very suitable for future industrial and commercial buildings' power systems. In addition, the bipolar-type dc system structure is more popular, because it provides two voltage levels for different power converters and loads. To keep voltage balanced in such a dc system, a bidirectional dual buck-boost voltage balancer with direct coupling is introduced based on P-cell and N-cell concepts. This results in greatly enhanced system reliability thanks to no shoot-through problems and lower switching losses with the help of power MOSFETs. In order to increase system efficiency and reliability, a novel burst-mode control strategy is proposed for the dual buck-boost voltage balancer. The basic operating principle, the current relations, and a small-signal model of the voltage balancer are analyzed under the burst-mode control scheme in detail. Finally, simulation experiments are performed and a laboratory unit with a 5kW unbalanced ability is constructed to verify the viability of the bidirectional dual buck-boost voltage balancer under the proposed burst-mode control scheme in low-voltage bipolar-type dc microgrids.

• 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.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.

• 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.

• Journal of international Conference on Electrical Machines and Systems
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.176-183
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• 2014

Three-phase four-wire distribution systems are used for both three-phase three-wire loads and single-phase two-wire consumer appliances in South Korea, Myanmar and other countries. Unbalanced load conditions frequently occur in these distribution systems. These unbalanced load conditions cause unbalanced voltages for three-phase and single-phase loads, and increase the loss in the distribution transformer. In this paper, we propose constant DC capacitor voltage control based strategy for the active load balancer (ALB) in the three-phase four-wire distribution systems. Constant DC capacitor voltage control is always used in active power line conditioners. The proposed control strategy does not require any computation blocks of the active and reactive currents on the distribution systems. Balanced source-side currents with a unity power factor are obtained without any calculation block of the unbalanced active and reactive components on the load side. The basic principle of the constant DC capacitor voltage control based strategy for the ALB is discussed in detail and then confirmed by both digital computer simulations using PSIM software and prototype experimental model. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that the proposed control strategy for the ALB can balance the source currents with a unity power factor in the three-phase four-wire distribution systems.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.63 no.4
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• pp.476-483
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• 2014

This paper describes the operational analysis results of the bipolar DC distribution system coupled with the distributed generators. The energy management for AC/DC power trade and the operational principle of distributed generators and energy storages were first analyzed by computer simulation with PSCAD/EMTDC software. After then a hardware simulator for the bipolar DC distribution system was built, which is composed of the grid-tied three-level inverter, battery storage, super-capacitor storage, and the voltage balancer. Various experiments with the hardware simulator were carried out to verify the operation of bipolar DC distribution system. The developed simulator has an upper-level controller which operates in connection with the controllers for each distributed generator and the battery energy storage based on CAN communication. The developed hardware simulator are possible to use in designing the bipolar DC distribution system and analyzing its performance experimentally.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.10 no.5
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• pp.538-547
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• 2010

This paper deals with a stand-alone wind energy conversion system (WECS) with an isolated asynchronous generator (IAG) and voltage and frequency (VF) control feeding three-phase four-wire loads. The reference generator currents are estimated using the instantaneous symmetrical component theory to control the voltage and frequency of an IAG system. A three-leg voltage source converter (VSC) with an isolated star/delta transformer is used as an integrated VSC. An integrated VSC with a battery energy storage system (BESS) is used to control the active and reactive powers of the WECS. The WECS is modeled and simulated in MATLAB using the Simulink and the Sim Power System (SPS) toolboxes. The proposed VF controller functions as a voltage and frequency regulator, a load leveler, a load balancer and a harmonic eliminator in the WECS. A comparison is made on the rating of the VSC with and without ac capacitors connected at the terminals of an IAG. Simulation and test results are presented to verify the control algorithm.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2018.07a
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• pp.432-433
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• 2018

A new DC-DC converter circuit for LVDC(Low Voltage Direct-Current) distribution is proposed. DC-DC converter consists of two stage which are voltage balancer and converter stage. The balancing circuit adjust balance input voltage of converter circuit and compensate for unbalanced loads and short circuits. The converter circuit control the bipolar output voltage ${\pm}750V$. Simulation is carried out for this DC-DC converter system.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.211-218
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• 2009

This paper presents a voltage and frequency controller (VFC) for a 4-wire stand-alone wind energy conversion system (WECS) employing an asynchronous generator. The proposed VF con-troller consists of a three leg IGBT (Insulated Gate Bipolar Junction Transistor) based voltage source converter and a battery at its DC bus. The neutral terminal for the consumer loads is created using a T-connected transformer, which consists of only two single phase transformers. The control algorithm of the VF controller is developed for the bidirectional flow capability of the active power and reactive power control by which it controls the WECS voltage and frequency under different dynamic conditions, such as varying consumer loads and varying wind speeds. The WECS is modeled and simulated in MATLAB using Simulink and PSB toolboxes. Extensive results are presented to demonstrate the capability of the VF controller as a harmonic eliminator, a load balancer, a neutral current compensator as well as a voltage and frequency controller.