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Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference on Power Engineering, Energy and Electrical Drives

Torremolinos (Mlaga), Spain. May 2011

Some Design Considerations for Coupled Inductors


for Integrated Buck-Boost Converters
J. Zakis, D. Vinnikov, L. Bisenieks
Department of Electrical Drives and Power Electronics of Tallinn University of Technology
janis.zakis@ieee.org, dmitri.vinnikov@ieee.org
Abstract- This paper presents some design considerations for
magnetically coupled inductors in buck-boost converters for
distributed power generation. As compared to the conventional
approach, the proposed integrated magnetic structure with
coupled inductors enables reduction in core loss, core size,
winding losses and in the number of turns.
This paper discusses rough and simple design of the coupled
inductor to achieve desired objectives. The methodology for the
selection of inductance, core geometry, number of turns, air gap
and isolation is described. In addition, general operation
principles and conditions for the continuous conduction mode
(CCM) and the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) are
presented.
In order to verify the theoretical assumptions a prototype has
been built. The experimental results are presented and
discussed.

I.

INTRODUCTION

Today, green power generation systems powered by


photovoltaic (PV), wind generators and fuel cells (FC) are
becoming more promising in different applications due to
their increased efficiency. However, it is not only the
efficiency of an energy source, but also the selection of a
suitable power electronic interface that are essential.
It is known that the output voltage of distributed energy
sources can vary in a wide range depending on the load and
externals. It means that fast, efficient and reliable buck-boost
interface converters should be implemented in order to keep
constant output voltage.
The voltage fed quasi-Z-source inverter (qZSI) has been
quoted as one of the most challenging technologies for
distributed power generation systems [1-4]. The qZSI could
be simply represented by the quasi-Z-source (qZS) network
coupled with the pulse width modulated (PWM) inverter
(Fig. 1). The qZS-network could be realised with two separate
inductors (Fig. 1a) or with coupled inductors (Fig. 1b).

performs as a boost converter. The voltage boost can be


achieved by introducing an additional switching state of the
qZSI. It is the so-called shoot-through state [1, 2] that actually
means simultaneous conduction of both semiconductor
switches of one inverter leg. This operation state is forbidden
in traditional VSI because it will short circuit the voltage
source and DC-link capacitors. Since the PWM inverter is
coupled with the qZS-network (unique connection of two
capacitors C1 and C2, two inductors L1 and L2 and diode D)
the shoot-through state is allowed and is used to boost the
DC-link voltage. The voltage buck-boost operation in a single
stage and continuous input current is the most significant
advantage of the proposed topology.
This paper discusses possibilities for the optimization of the
qZS-network in order to increase power density of the
proposed converter. In addition, theoretical analysis of the
continuous conduction mode (CCM) and discontinuous
conduction mode (DCM) conditions is presented.
II.

GENERAL OPERATING PRINCIPLE OF QZSI

Generally, in the CCM the qZSI has two types of


operational states on the DC side: the non-shoot-through (i.e.
the six active states and two conventional zero states of the
traditional three-phase inverter) and the shoot-through state
(i.e. both switches in at least one leg conduct simultaneously).
To simplify the analysis the PWM inverter was replaced by a
switch S (Fig. 2). When the switch S is closed, the shootthrough state occurs and the converter performs the voltage
boost action. When the switch S is open, the non-shootthrough state emerges and previously stored inductive energy
in turn provides the boost of voltage seen on the load
terminals.

Fig. 2. Simplified power circuit of the qZSI used in the analysis and
experiments.

Fig. 1. General power circuit of the qZSI: with two separate inductors (a)
and with coupled inductors (b).

If the voltage from the source is at the rated level, then the
qZSI works in the non-shoot-through mode as a traditional
VSI, but if the rated voltage of the voltage source suddenly
drops, then the qZSI operates in the shoot-through mode and

978-1-4244-9843-7/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

The operating period T of the qZSI in the CCM consists of


a shoot-through and a non-shoot-through states with durations
tA and tS, respectively [5]:
t A tS
+ = DA + DS = 1 ,
T T

(1)

where DA and DS are the duty cycles of a non-shoot-through


and shoot-through states, correspondingly. Fig. 3 shows the

equivalent circuits of the qZS-converter operating in the CCM


for the shoot-through (a) and non-shoot-through (b) states. At
the steady state the average voltage of the inductors over one
operating period is zero. Considering that fact and defining
the shoot-through duty cycle as DS and the non-shoot-through
duty cycle as (1-DS), the inductors voltages over one
operating period could be represented as
U L1 = u L1 = DS (U IN + U C 2 ) + (1 DS )(U IN U C1 ) = 0
.

U L 2 = u L 2 = DS (U C1 ) (1 DS )(U C 2 ) = 0

where E is a constant related to the core material and


dimensions, N is the number of turns of the coil and IL is the
average current through the coil.

(2)

Fig. 4. General concept of coupled inductors.

The inductance of the coil is


L=

(a)

N
= E N2.
IL

(8)

In the voltage-fed qZSI the currents through inductors L1


and L2 are the same (IL1=IL2=IL) in terms of waveform and
magnitude. For two coils on one core with exactly the same
current, IL, the flux through the core is

= 2 E N IL .
(b)
Fig. 3. Operation states of the qZ-converter in the CCM: (a) shoot-through
state when iD=0 (duration tS); (b) non-shoot-through state when iD>0
(duration tA).

Voltage of the capacitor C2 could be expressed as


U C 2 = U C1 U IN

(3)

U C1
U + U IN
U C1
tS = C 2
tS =
tS .
UC2
UC2
U C1 U IN

(4)

and

tA =

In the CCM the voltages UC1 and UO are equal:


U C1 = U O =

1 DS
U IN
1 2 DS

(5)

and the amplitude voltage of the DC-link is


uDC (max) = U C1 + U C 2 = 2 U C1 U IN =

1
.
1 2 DS

(6)

III. DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR COUPLED INDUCTORS OF THE


QZS-NETWORK
A. General concept of coupled inductors
Inductors of the qZS-network function as essential
elements that not only protect the input voltage source and
DC-link capacitors against short circuiting during the shootthrough state but also limit the converter input current ripple.
Both of the qZS-network inductors (L1 and L2) can be built as
separate or coupled inductors. If the minimization of
converter size and weight is essential, then the coupled
inductors could be suggested [1].
For a single coil on one core (Fig. 4), the flux through the
core is
= E N IL ,
(7)

(9)

In ideal case the resulting inductance of each winding when


supplying exactly the same current to the two windings is
L=

N
= 2 E N 2 .
IL

(10)

Eq. (10) shows that the inductance of each winding is


doubled. Therefore, we need to build two windings for the
same operating conditions with an inductance twice smaller
than in the case of separate inductors or in other words the
inductance of each coil is doubled.
There are two possibilities for connecting inductor
windings (L1 and L2) the common mode and the differential
mode. By varying the connection mode of windings it is
possible to change such parameters as current ripple on the
inductor [6-7] and inductor size and weight [8-10].
B. Circuit parameter design
In this section, the inductance calculation example for the
qZS-network inductors as well as the design guidelines for a
coupled inductor will be presented.
1. Selection of inductance
The inductors in the qZS-network will limit the current
ripple through the switches during the shoot-through states.
The inductors during the shoot-through state tS store the
energy but during the active state tA charge up the capacitors
with stored energy.
Inductance of inductor should be selected according to
maximal boost and can be expressed as
U L t S . max ,
(11)
i L
where UL is the inductor voltage, tS,max is the maximal
duration of the shoot-through state and iL is the current
change in the inductor during tS,max.
Lmax =

A distinction of this scheme is that the inductor voltage


during the shoot-through state in the CCM is equal to voltage
UC1 of capacitor C1 [1]
U L = U C1 = U IN

1 DS ,max ,
1 2 DS ,max

(12)

where DS ,max = tS ,max .


T
Taking into account the above and choosing an acceptable
peak to peak current ripple rC, the inductance (11) can be
represented as
1 DS ,max
U IN
DS ,max T
1 2 DS ,max
U L t S ,max U C1 t S ,max
(13)
,
Lmax =
=
=
P
iL
I L rC
rC
U IN
where P is the power rating of the converter, UIN is the input
voltage, rC is the desired peak-to-peak current ripple through
the inductor (Ip-p/Iav).
2. Selection of magnetic core
Many different core sizes and shapes are available in the
market for different applications. The most suitable magnetic
cores for the coupled inductor in high power applications are
CC, UU, UI and EE types [11]. Their cost is lower than with
other core shapes and because of the simple bobbin structure
that has a wide window it is easy to make a winding. For
example, the labor cost for a winding is higher for a toroidal
core or alternatively the special winding machine is
necessary. Furthermore, a variety of sizes of CC, UU, UI and
EE are available that suit almost any application. All of these
features make it the most popular core used in power circuits.
Since the operation frequency of the qZS-network in high
power aplications could be relatively small (below 20 kHz)
the alloy type materials are preferred, because their saturation
flux density is higher than that of ferrite or powder iron cores.
Vitreous metals or amorphous metals are a variety of alloys
that are highly responsive to magnetic fields at low hysteresis
losses. Also, because of specific production features, these
kinds of materials perform at lower conductivity, thus the
eddy current losses are reduced.
3. Core geometry selection
General assumptions for optimal selection of core geometry
are given in Fig. 5. The geometric proportionality coefficient
a is introduced to express the dimensions of inductor.

Fig. 5. Assumed inductor geometry: isometric view (a), lateral section (b).

The number of turns can be calculated as

IL L ,
(14)
Bm S core
where the cross-sectional area Score of the inductor core at
assumed geometry can be calculated as
N=

S core = 2a 2 .

(15)

The number of turns in the coupled inductor (in both coils)


can be calculated as
8 a 2 ka j ,
(16)
N=
IL
where j is the current density, ka=0.35 is the winding fill
factor. Inserting (15) and (16) in (14) we obtain the width of
the core sheet

L I L2
.
16 k a j Bm

(17)

The active resistance of one winding is


l N j ,
RN = w N
2I L

(18)

a=4

where w=210-8 m is the approximate resistivity of the


copper wire in heated conditions, lN is the average length of
one turn in the winding (lN=10a). Power losses in one
winding can be expressed as
(19)
PN = I L2 RN .
Specific surface losses are
q=

PN ,
S cool

(20)

where Scool is the cooling area of the winding. Regarding to


the accepted geometry of the inductor, the cooling area is
Scool=56a2, where the rectangle edge of the winding with high
4a and perimeter 14a is assumed as the cooling surface.
Heating of the coil can be evaluated from (20). Specific
surface losses q for proper operation of the coil at the
temperature of about 65-70C should be 1100 q 1200
(W/m2) [12].
If q is smaller than the given margins, then the current
density j in the conductor can be increased. The cross section
of the conductor is

dcond =

IL .
j

(21)

4. Selection of air gap


Since inductor in the qZS-network operates at high DC
bias, inductor saturation is an essential issue. For this reason,
the design of an appropriate air gap should be made. To find
out the necessary air gap for the inductor the Kirchhoffs law
for the closed circuit can be used:
(22)
IN = Hl ,
where I is the current, N is the number of turns, H is the
magnetic field intensity, and l is the length of the magnetic
circuit. To adjust (22) for the air gap it can be rewritten as

I L N = H gap l gap ,

(23)

where

H gap

Bm .
=
r 0

(24)

The length of the air gap is

l gap

I N r 0 ,
=
Bm

(25)

where r is the magnetic permeability in the air r=1 and 0 is


the magnetic constant (0=410-7).

5. Selection of wires
To minimize the copper losses and skin effect the stranded
wires, foil or litz wires should be used. The skin depth can be
calculated as

2 ,

(26)

TABLE I
ASSUMED AND CALCULATED VALUES OF THE COUPLED INDUCTOR
Parameter
Assumptions for calculations
Input voltage UIN (V)
Inductor current IL (A)
Inductor current ripple rC (%)
Winding fill factor ka
Switching period T (s)
Maximal shoot-through time tSmax (s)
Current density in wire j (A/m2)
Saturation flux density Bm (T)
Calculated values
Inductance L (mH)
Number of turns in winding N
Cross section of core Score (m2)
Cross section of conductor dcond (m2)
Length of air gap lgap (m)
Cooling area Scool (m2)
Average length of one turn lN (m)

Value
40
25
5
0.35
100
25
2.7106
0.8
1.2
34
4.77210-4
9.25910-6
9.26810-3
10.27810-3
0.135

where is the resistivity of the conductor (Cu=1.710-8 m),


is the angular frequency of the current (=2f) and is the
absolute magnetic permeability of the conductor (=r0,
where r,Cu is the relative permeability of the copper
conductor 0.999994,0 is the relative permeability of free
space 410-7 H/m).

6. Selection of isolation
Isolation should be selected not only according to electric
properties but also according to physical properties. Materials
with high edge-tear strength, excellent tear propagation
strength and excellent resilience should be preferred. In
addition, thermal properties should perform at low thermal
resistance and low melting and softening points. In
accordance with these requirements, the aramid tape could be
recommended, which is available in different thicknesses and
for different isolation applications.
IV.

Fig. 6. Manufactured coupled inductor.

Fig. 7 shows the experimental voltage and current


waveforms of the coupled inductor windings both during the
common (Fig. 7a) and the differential mode (Fig 7b).
IL1; IL2 [5 A/div]

IL1; IL2 [5 A/div]

UL1 ; UL2 [25 V/div]

UL1 ; UL2 [25 V/div]

EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATION

To verify the theoretical assumptions the 1 kW


experimental setup was assembled in accordance with
schematics presented in Fig. 2. The converter was tested with
the input voltage of 40 V and with the shoot-through duty
cycle DS=0.25. The shoot-through duty cycle value was
selected in order to obtain the twofold boost of the input
voltage i.e. to achieve 80 V at the DC-link. The switching
frequency of the converter and operating frequency of the
qZS-network were 10 kHz.
The coupled inductor of the experimental setup was made
according to the design guidelines discussed previously. The
desired parameters are shown in Table I. Fig. 6 depicts the
manufactured inductor.
In our case Metglas type core AMCC-200 (AC=7.8 cm2,
WA=20.8 cm2) was selected because of its reduced electrical
resistivity and smaller material losses as compared with other
similar offers in the market. In the proposed inductor the
copper foil tape 58x0.2 mm was used because the higher
compressed windings can be achieved and the foil is much
cheaper than Litz wire.

(a)

(b)

Fig. 7. Inductor current and voltage waveforms in the common mode (a) and
the differential mode (b).

It can be seen that during the common mode the current


ripple is much smaller (5%) than with the current ripple in the
differential mode (40%).
V.

CALCULATION OF POWER LOSSES

Generally, power losses in inductors consist of core and


copper losses. Core losses or hysteresis losses are
proportional to both the frequency and the AC flux density.
The actual amount of power absorbed from the windings and
converted to heat depends on the AC flux density and the
volume of the core. The following equation gives the AC flux
density for an inductor [13]:
BAC =

L I 108 ,
2 S core N

(27)

where I is the peak-to-peak current. The core losses of the


selected Metglas AMCC material [14] can be calculated as

PCore = 6.5 f 1.51 B1AC.74 ,

(28)

where f is the operating frequency of the inductor.


Losses in wires or copper losses usually are due to the skin
effect and the proximity effect, which increases the equivalent
AC resistance, RAC of magnetic wires or I2R loss where
R=RAC+RDC [12, 15, 16]. In our case the power losses in the
windings were found from (19).
Fig. 8 shows the power loss distribution of the developed
coupled inductor. It is seen that the core losses (0.32 W)
comprise only 3%, while copper losses (12.4 W) comprise
97% of the total losses in the inductor.

(i.e. losses in the components are neglected), the output


voltage UO for the DCM can be calculated by:
1 DS DD
(30)
U C1 = U O =
U IN .
1 2 DS DD

Core losses
3%

Winding
losses
97%

Fig. 8. Power loss distribution in the developed inductor.

VI.

ELIMINATION OF DCM OPERATION

In the case of small loads, relatively low switching


frequency and low inductance values of L1 and L2, the qZSconverter starts to work in the discontinuous conduction mode
(DCM) [5]. This operating mode causes the overboost effect
of the DC-link and output voltages, which can lead to
instabilities of the converter and must also be taken into
account during the selection of the inductance of inductors L1
and L2.
The operating period of the DCM consists of a non-shootthrough, a shoot-through and a discontinuous conduction
states with durations tA, tS, tD, respectively:
t A tS tD
+ + = D A + DS + DD = 1 ,
T T T

(29)

where DA, DS and DD are the duty cycles of active, shootthrough and discontinuous conduction states, respectively.
While the equivalent circuits of the qZS-converter operating
in the shoot-through and non-shoot-through states remain the
same as in Fig. 2, the equivalent circuit of the discontinuous
conduction state is presented in Fig. 9.

Fig. 9. Discontinuous conduction state when iD=0 (duration tD).

Fig. 10 shows the typical waveforms of currents and


voltages of the qZS-converter operating in the DCM. Fig. 10
shows that during the discontinuous conduction state tD the
diode D stops to conduct and inductor currents (iL1 and iL2)
decrease to the value I0. In the case of an ideal converter

Fig. 10. Current and voltage waveforms of the qZS-converter in the DCM.

It results from the comparison of (5) and (30) that the


transition from the CCM to the DCM increases the output
voltage. This so-called overboost effect can lead to
destabilized work and damage of components. Maximum
value of the DC-link voltage can be calculated as

u DC (max) = U C1 + U C 2 =

1 DD
U IN . (31)
1 2 DS DD

However, as seen from Fig. 10, during the discontinuous


conduction state tD, the DC-link voltage drops to the level of
the output voltage UO and can be calculated according to (30).
For a lossless system, the input and output power of the
converter must be in balance
(32)
I IN U IN = I OU O ,
where IIN is the input current (in the discussed converter the
input current is equal to the average inductor current IL), UIN
is the input voltage, UO is the output voltage, and IO is the
average output current. The average current through the
inductor in DCM could be calculated as
IL =

I 0 U 0t A
(tS + t A ) = I 0 + U 0 DS 2U 0 U IN
+
2
2L
2
2 Lf U 0 U IN

where f=1/T is the switching frequency.

, (33)

By combining (32) and (33), the following expression can


be derived:
1 + U 0 (U 0 U IN ) 2 2 I 0 Lf .
(34)
DS =
U IN
1 U IN 2U 0
By introducing a coefficient
2 I 0 Lf
(35)
U IN
and rearranging (34), the transfer function of the qZSconverter in the DCM can be found

U0 =

2 DS2

U IN .

(36)

Combining dependencies (33), (35) and (36) one can derive


basic parameters of the qZS-converter, where no DCM
occurs:
D DS2
(37)
L> S
U IN .
I0 f
In Fig. 11 the output voltage gain of the qZS-converter
operating in the DCM is presented as a function of the
coefficient . According to (37), the overboost effect can be
compensated with appropriately chosen inductances and
switching frequencies.

coupled inductor in the common and differential modes by


means of the inductor voltage and current are presented and
discussed. It is shown that during the common mode the
current ripple is much smaller (5%) than with the current
ripple in the differential mode (40%).
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This research work was supported by Estonian Ministry of
Education and Research (Project SF0140016s11), Estonian
Science Foundation (Grant ETF8538) and European Social
Fund's Researcher Mobility Program "Mobilitas" (Grant no
MJD42)
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Fig. 11. Output voltage gain of the qZS-converter, including continuous


(CCM) and discontinuous (DCM) conduction modes.

VII.

CONCLUSION

This paper presents some design considerations for the


magnetically coupled inductors in buck-boost converters for
distributed power generation. As compared to the
conventional approach, the proposed integrated magnetic
structure with coupled inductors enables reduction in core
loss, core size, winding losses and in the number of turns.
A detailed analysis of replacing two single inductors by a
coupled inductor is given. The simple and reliable design
method of coupled inductors for the qZS based converters is
presented.
Theoretical analysis of converter operation in continuous
and discontinuous conduction modes (CCM and DCM) has
been carried out and presented in this paper.
Experimental verifications were carried out by help of
1 kW laboratory prototype. The test results of the developed

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