High

toplogy
for dc dc converter
Power Resonant toplogy
High

for dc-dc converter

Power Resonant

COPPIN Julian

COPPIIN lilian

High Power resonant topology for dc-dc converter.

O.A. Eno*, D.S. Thompson*, and J. Coppin**
*Dept Of EEP, University of Dundee, Dundee, DD 1 4HB, U.K.

"Albacom Ltd., George Buckman Drive, Dundee, U.K.

Keywords
Resonant Dc/dc converters.
,

Abstract
The paper presents a resonant dc-dc converter topology for the first stage of a two-stage
converter to link a renewable energy source to a utility grid. For reliable input to a grid the

inverter needs a stiff input dc voltage.

To minimize switching loss and avoid switching over voltages a resonant converter is used. This
also has the advantage of minimizing EMC. To gain the necessary dc voltage at the inverter
input, it is necessary to use a dc/dc step-up converter. The necessary requirements are met with
an H-bridge converter. Connected to the output of the converter is a series combination of the
transformer primary and a capacitor such that the capacitor resonates with the transformer's
leakage inductance at the switching frequency. The transformer's output is rectified and filtered
for input to the inverter.

Results from simulation tests confirm the current's resonant pattern. Yet further results are
shown of the converter's performance at different loadings to confirm the zero-current switching
effects. It is concluded that this converter topology provides a reliable basis for the application
under consideration. Further analysis confirms its wider applicability.

Introduction
As the world's energy demands continue to grow, the development of clean distributed
generation becomes increasingly important. The research and development of renewable
sources, such as fuel cells, photovoltaic panels, and wind turbines have reached a mature stage so
that they are considered ideal sources for distributed power applications. Because these are
inherently dc sources, their conversion to ac to supply a grid depends on an inverter. Two
drawbacks of small-scale inverters are their higher cost per kW and lower efficiency. Although
the cost of small-scale inverters decreases with larger volumes, the cost per watt will probably
still be higher, due to the higher cost of, for example, casing and connectors. As small-scale
inverters tend to have lower efficiency than larger inverters, it is important to optimize the
control circuits and to choose a topology with the lowest possible power dissipation, if they are
to compete with conventional inverters.
The issue then is how to convert electricity from these clean sources efficiently for connection to
the grid. The output voltages of these sources are low. There is a need to step this up using a
dc/dc converter to the input voltage required by the inverter stage. This requires a two stage

EPE 2005 - Dresden

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.'
P.1

High
toplogy
for dc dc converter
Power Resonant toplogy
High
Power Resonant

for dc-dc converter

COPPIN Julian

COPPIIN lilian

conversion process. The efficiency, cost, and simplicity of the control strategy for the system
become the issues in the implementation of such a distributed system.

The system consists of a high frequency, isolated dc/dc converter, and an H-bridge inverter, with
a DSP controller. The dc/dc converter makes use of a resonant topology. Operating at resonance
enables switching losses to be minimized and hence efficiency is greatly improved. The dc/dc
converter is unregulated, but is optimized for efficiency. The unit to be described will accept
input voltages within the range of 44 V to 66 V, and power handling capacity of up to 5kW.

Background
Ideally, there are two ways to realise near zero-switching loss. One is zero current switching,

which is the most popular and enables practical designs to 2MHz. The other is with zero voltage
switching, enabling implementation to the 10MHz region. Zero current switching ZCS utilizes
constant on-time pulses of variable repetition rate to shock-excite the resonant tank circuit.
Constant off-time pulses are used in the zero voltage switching ZVS mode.

In resonant converters, MOSFET devices are appropriate for high switching frequencies, and for
ZVS/ZCS is especially recommended. The conventional series resonant converter operates with
ZVS for the active devices when the switching frequency is above the resonant frequency.
However, for wide input-voltage and output-load variations, the converter has to operate with
wide switching-frequency variations, which complicates optimization of the converter. Some
fixed-frequency control strategies have been proposed for resonant converters [6-1 1]. These
permit the optimization of the converter's magnetics, as well as its input and output filters.

At high power levels, the DC/DC converter is often implemented with a full-bridge topology, as
shown in Fig. 1. The operation of this converter with phase-shift allows the use of the leakage
inductance of the transformer to achieve zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation for the main
devices. In order to achieve ZVS for a wide load variation, the converter must operate with a
switching frequency much higher than the resonant frequency of the tank, [11] or an additional
resonant inductance must be included. This extra inductor increases the circulating energy,
which increases the conduction losses in the converter. The series-parallel resonant converter is
widely used where there is need for a wide load variation. To maintain both the output voltage
regulation and the zero voltage switching (ZVS) of the converter at the same time a variable
frequency controller is used which can self adapt to the variable frequency and still provide zero
voltage switching (ZVS) [12].

The goal of a near-dissipationless power supply is easily attainable if the requirement for
regulation is removed. Then a simple transformer would be adequate for ac voltages, and an
inverter or converter would be adequate for dc voltages. The requirement for regulation of the
output voltage or current, despite variations of the input voltage, greatly complicates matters.
Regulation normally involves an error-correction process circuits that can monitor the output
voltage and make the necessary corrections to keep that output voltage within specified limits.
By eliminating this requirement we avoid the losses and the complicated designs necessary for
output regulation and the dc/dc converter can be optimised for efficiency.
-

EPE 2005 - Dresden

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.2
P.2

High
toplogy
for dc dc converter
Power Resonant toplogy
High
Power Resonant

for dc-dc converter

COPPIN Julian
COPPIIN lilian

Topology
Recently, high power, bi-directional dc/dc converters with soft-switching operation and galvanic

isolation have been introduced. These converters have the advantages of reduced switching
losses and EMI.[3]. However they are unable to achieve high power density, high reliability and
low cost because the control requirements for dedicated devices and/or complicated control
schemes for soft switching result in bulky and costly implementation. The topology presented
gives simplicity of control, reduced component count and high efficiency.
The dc/dc converter shown in Fig 1 is a voltage fed series resonant full bridge converter. The
diagonal switches are driven together to alternately place the transformer primary across the
input supply, VINPUT, for some period of time determined by the resonant frequency of Lr and Cr.
Power is transferred to the output section only during the ON times of the switches. Aiming at
reducing component count and achieving soft-switching simultaneously, it utilizes a capacitor Cr
to resonate with the transformer leakage inductance Lr to achieve zero-current switching (ZCS).
Therefore, no extra components are required for ZCS, further reducing component count. The
inherent soft-switching capability and the low component count of the converter allow high
power density and efficient power conversion.

ml

M3

Lr

Cr

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~T
N

U
T

T
M2

Figure 1 Schematic of Circuit

A model of the above converter was analyzed using Pspice to evaluate this principle of operation.
The simulation is modelled in a manner that depicts the behaviour of the control method without
going into the complication of modelling the controller and its associated circuitry [13]. The
control and gate drives are implemented using the analog behavioural library (ABM) [14]. The
transformer model is based on the classical equivalent of a two-winding (pie)-model. This
facilitates an easy determination of the transformer parameters for inclusion in Spice and lends
itself to the use of a linear transformer, for modelling in Spice [15]. The schematic of the model
from Pspice is shown in figure 2. Simulated and actual results for the dc/dc converter are shown
in figures 3 and 4 respectively.

The transformer provides the required galvanic isolation to meet safety requirements and voltage
level matching. The inverter transformer works best with a near unity turns ratio. Large
deviations from this one-to-one ratio, particularly when stepping up voltage, are associated with
increased leakage inductance in the transformer windings [16,17]. The leakage inductance of the
transformer is utilized as the intermediate energy storing and transferring element. In order to
make the leakage inductance of the transformer high, the transformer is poorly coupled with a
coefficient of coupling of 0.99126. Measured parameters for the transformer are shown in the
table below. Also, the transformer is the cheapest way of providing galvanic isolation between
the input and output of the system.

EPE 2005 - Dresden

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.3
P.3

High Power Resonant toplogy for dc-dc converter

COPPIN Julian

R9
5

R5

--R1
.-2k M1

FN2410

2
-

48

IXFN230N 10

M2

CL1

R6

20u
M3

R2 i

I5k XFN230 10

230N210
2k
\

Figure 2 Pspice Simulation Schematic

Figure 3. Simulation result showing the currents through the Mosfets and gate drive voltages

EPE 2005 - Dresden

08

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.4
P.4

High
toplogy
for dc dc converter
Power Resonant toplogy
High
Power Resonant

for dc-dc converter

COPPIN Julian

COPPIIN lilian

Results from tests of a current system are presented in the next section.

TABLE 1 Transformer Values

Parameter
Primary DC Resistance
Secondary DC Resistance

Value
0.2 Ohm
0.2 Ohm

Primary Magnetising Inductance

20.48 pfH at 40kHz

Secondary Magnetizing Inductance

Leakage Inductance
Turns ratio
Inter winding Capacitance

1.386mH at 40kHz
358nH
8.017
181 pF at 4OkHz

Results
Figures 4 a-d show the screen dumps of measured results for the Mosfet current and VDS , gatedrive signal and output dc voltage. The graphs show how these variables change as the output
power increases from 90W to 1kW. The current is seen to remain half-wave sinusoidal over the
output power range, with only an increase in the magnitude of the waveform. Turn-off of the
Mosfets remains at zero current switching ZCS for the whole power range showing the load
invariant nature operation of this topology. The efficiency of this stage is lowest at the minimum
power at about 900 o and increases to 970 o at the maximum output power.

Figure 4a Resonant Inverter at 90W

EPE
EPE 2005 - Dresden

Figure 4b Resonant Inverter at 360W

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.5
P.5

High
toplogy
for dc dc converter
Power Resonant toplogy
High
Power Resonant

for dc-dc converter

COPPIN Julian
COPPIIN lilian

Figure 4c Resonant Inverter at 846W

Legend
Green:
Yellow:
Purple:
Blue:

Figure 4d Resonant Inverter at 1.07kW

DC-dc converter output voltage

Mosfet Current
Gate Drive Signal
Mosfet VDS

Discussion
The resonant network has the effect of filtering the higher harmonics so that, essentially, a sine
of current appears at the input of the resonant circuit as can be seen in Figures 4 above.
These show the DC-link voltage, the Mosfet voltage, the gate drive voltage and the current
through the Mosfets for increasing power levels. The current waveform is a half sinusoid, and it
retains this characteristic with an increase in the magnitude as the power level increases. The
power level for the figures 4a-d are 90W, 360W, 846W and 1.072kW respectively showing the
circuit remains resonant for various loads, with efficiency above 900/O for all these conditions.
wave

Conclusion
Soft switching in dc/dc converters is fairly easy to realise, because at any given operating point,
flow is unidirectional, the switching frequency is fixed, and modulation is at zero
frequency. This paper shows the results from the implementation of the dc/dc resonant converter
stage of a two stage converter for use in renewable system. The control is implemented using the
Event Manager Module (EVM) of the TMS32OLF2407a from Texas Instruments.

power

The advantages of this dc/dc converter are, simple control, a high voltage step-up ratio of 7,
galvanic isolation between the input and output, over 900 o efficiency at power levels up to 5kW.
The key feature of this dc/dc converter is that it makes the most of the lumped parasitic leakage
inductance.

EPE
EPE 2005 - Dresden

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.6
P.6

High
toplogy
for dc dc converter
Power Resonant toplogy
High
Power Resonant

for dc-dc converter

COPPIN Julian

COPPIIN Julian

References
[1]. Resonant Mode PWM DC-DC Converter with a High High-Voltage Transformer -Link and its Control
Methods for Medical-Use X-Ray Power Supply. J.M. Sun, S.P. Wang, T.Nishimura and M. Nakaoka.
EPE 1999.
[2]. Recent advances in soft switching inverter technology.
htp./W.wreinr.oiIfWbdsg ceter/articles/SSI/ssi.shtm

[3]. Design Techniques for EMC. Keith Armsrong, EMC Journal.

[4]. A LCL Resonant DC-DC Converter for Electrical Power Distribution Systems. T. Filchev, P.
Wheeler, J. Clare, D. Yudov, V. Valchev, A. Van den Bossche. EPE-PEMC 2004.
[5]. A comparison of Half-Bridge Resonant Converter Topologies. Robert L. Steigerwald. IEEE Tran.
Power Electronics. Vol. 3, No. 2, April 1988.

on

[6]. F. S. Tsai, P. Materu and F. C. Lee, "Constant-Frequency Clamped-Mode Resonant Converters," in

IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 3, pp. 460-473, Oct. 1988.
[7]. P. K. Jain, A. St-Martin and G. Edwards, "Asymmetrical Pulse-Width-Modulated Resonant DC/DC
Converter Topologies," in IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 11, pp. 413-422, May 1996.

[8]. R. Oruganti, P. C. Heng, J. T. K. Guan and L. A. Choy, "Soft-Switched DC/DC Converter with PWM
Controll" in IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 13, pp. 102-114, Jan.1998.
[9].

I.

Bataresh, "Resonant Converter Topologies with Three and Four Energy Storage Elements," in IEEE
Power Electronics, Vol. 9, No. 1, pp. 64-73, January 1994.

Trans. on

[10]. R. Steigerwald, W. Roshen and C. Saj, "A High-Density 1 kW Resonant Power Converter with
Transient Boost Function," in IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 8, No. 4. pp. 431-438, October
1993.

[11]. J. Sabate and F. Lee, "Off-Line Applications of the Fixed-Frequency Clamped-Mode Series Resonant
Converter," in IEEE Trans. on Power Electronics, Vol. 6, No. 1, pp. 39-47, January 1991.
[12]. M.Z. Youssef, H. Pinheiro, P.K. jain. A Sampled-Data Reduced Order Dynamic Model for a SelfSustained Series-Parallel Resonant Converter.
[13]. O.A.Eno, D.S.Thompson. Comparison of simulated and actual data for a resonant inverter. ICEM
conference sept. 2004. Lodz.

[14]. R. S. Ramshaw. PSpice Simulation of Power Electronic Circuits: An Introductory Guide. London:
Chapman and Hall, 1997.
[15]. Dave LeVasseur; 'Midcoms's Tips for Transformer Modelling, Midcom Technical Note', no, 82. Jan.
1998
[17]. I.M. Gottlieb. Power Supplies, Switching Regulators, Inverters and Converters. Second Edition, Tab
Books, 1994.
[18]. B.Hague, T.R.Foord, Alternating Current Bridge Methods, Sixth Edition, 1971, Pitman publishing.

EPE 2005 - Dresden

ISBN: 90-75815-08-5

P.7
P.7