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6, November 2010
JPE 10-6-14
Abstract
Although LLC resonant converters have the advantages of a wide operation range and high efficiency, the lack of an analytical
solution for the peak gain makes it difficult to optimize the resonant tank design, when considering not only the normal condition
but also the holdup time requirement. In this paper, based on a mathematical analysis of a LLC resonant converter at the peak
gain point, an analytical solution for the peak gain has been developed. By using the developed analytical solution, the peak gain
with given resonant tank parameters can be obtained. To confirm the validity of the developed analytical solution, simulations
and experimental results are compared.
Key Words: Holdup time, LLC resonant converter, Mathematical analysis, Peak gain
II. T HEORETICAL A NALYSIS OF THE P EAK G AIN FOR LLC (b) The equivalent circuit for working at Mode 1.
R ESONANT C ONVERTERS Fig. 2. Operation mode analysis at Mode 1.
The peak gain happens when a circuit is operating at the
boundary of zero current switching (ZCS) and zero voltage
switching (ZVS) modes. A resonant tank current under this
condition is shown in Figure 1. In each half switching cycle,
the magnetizing inductor is increased by the output voltage.
After the magnetizing inductor current equals the resonant
inductor current, the magnetizing inductor participates in the
resonance and the magnetizing energy is transferred to the
resonant capacitor. When the resonant current is reset to zero
at the end of each half of a switching cycle, the entire energy
stored in both the resonant inductor and the magnetizing (a) Topological stage of mode analysis at Mode 2.
inductor will be transferred to the resonant capacitor, and
hence the voltage conversion ratio reaches its peak value.
In this paper, based on the operation principle mentioned
above, a mathematical analysis of the peak gain has been
presented.
from T1 to T2 is newly defined as t2 . When the current iLr be- To eliminate iLr (t1 ) and vcr (t1 ), substituting equations (1)
comes equal to the current iLm and the secondary side current and (2) into equation (8) results in:
reaches zero, the secondary rectifier diode is blocked and then nq q o
Cr Cr
Mode 2 begins as shown in Figure 3(a). The equivalent circuit (Vin −Vcro ) Leq cos(ω o t 1 ) sin(ω1 t 2 ) + Lr sin(ω o t1 ) cos(ω 1 t2 )
for Mode 2 can then be shown as in Figure 3(b). The voltage Vo = nq q o .
Cr Cr
vcr and current iLr during this period can be expressed as a n Lr sin(ω t
o 1 ) cos(ω t
1 2 ) − Leq (1 − cos(ω t
o 1 )) sin(ω t
1 2 )
function of the time duration t2 of this mode as: (13)
vCr (t2 ) = Vin (1 − cos(ω1t2 )) + vCr (t1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) In the same manner, substituting equations (1) and (2) into
r equation (10) yields:
Leq (5)
+ iLr (t1 ) sin(ω1t2 ) q
Cr L
(Vin −Vcro ) cos(ωot1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) + Leqr sin(ωot1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) −Vcro
s
Cr Vo = q .
iLr (t2 ) = (Vin −Vcr (t1 )) sin(ω1t2 ) + iLr (t1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) (6) n cos(ωot1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) − cos(ω1t2 ) − Leq sin(ωot1 ) sin(ω1t2 )
L
eq Lr
(14)
where Leq is the sum of Lr and Lm , and the resonant frequency
including the magnetizing inductance ω1 becomes: Meanwhile, the current iLr (t1 ) is equal to the current iLm (t1 )
at t1 . Therefore, from equations (2) and (3), the output voltage
1
ω1 = p (7) vo can be obtained as follows:
(Lr + Lm )Cr
Vin −Vcro
Meanwhile, the current iLr through Lr is equal to zero at t2 . Vo = n q o. (15)
t1
Therefore, equation (6) can be expressed as follows: n Lm CLrr sin(ω
1
o t ) + 1
1
s
Cr From equation (15), the peak gain G peak leads to:
(Vin − vcr (t1 )) sin(ω1t2 ) + iLr (t1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) = 0 (8)
Leq Vo 1 −Vcro /Vin
G peak = = n q o. (16)
Since the resonant capacitor acts as a DC blocking capacitor, Vin t1
n L1m CLrr sin(ω + 1
ot ) 1
the DC offset of the resonating capacitor voltage is half of the
input voltage. Then, the resonant capacitor voltage at the end Equation (15) shows that the output voltage Vo can be
of Mode 2 can be obtained as: calculated by determining Vcro and t1 . The voltage Vcro can
be obtained from equations (14) and (15) as follows:
vcr (t2 ) = Vin −Vcro (9) q
L
From equations (5) and (9), the initial voltage Vcro can be Vcro = cos(ωot1 ) cos(ω1t2 ) − Leqr sin(ωot1 ) cos(ω1t2 )
obtained as follows: q −1
r t1
× 1 − L1m CLrr sin(ω + Lqm sin(ωo t1 ) cos(ω1 t2 )
Leq ot ) 1 Lr
Cr t1 +Lm sin(ωo t1 )
Vcro = Vin cos(ω1t2 )−vcr (t1 ) cos(ω1t2 )−iLr (t1 ) sin(ω1t2 ).
Cr (17)
(10) From equation (17), Vcro can be calculated by determining
t1 and t2 .
B. Peak gain of LLC resonant converters Meanwhile, by eliminating Vo and Vcro from the equations
Until now, five equations, as shown in equations (1), (2), (12), (13), and (15), t1 and t2 can be solved. In order to get
(3), (8), and (10), have been derived from the equivalent t1 , it is required that t2 is expressed as a function of t1 . From
circuit with the given parameters, Vin , RL , Lm , Lr , Cr , and n, equations (12) and (15), equation (18) can be derived as:
when the LLC converter is operating at the peak gain point. r
2 1 Lr t1 t12
Since the resonant inductor current iLr (t1 ) becomes equal to t2 = n RL Cr (1 − cos(ωot1 ) − −t1 .
Lm Cr sin(ωot1 ) 2Lm
the magnetizing current iLm (t1 ) at t1 , these equations have the (18)
following six unknown values: t1 , t2 , iLr (t1 ), vcr (t1 ), Vcro , and Similarly, from equations (13) and (15), equation (19) can
vo . Thus, to solve for the six unknown values, an additional be derived as:
equation is required.
The difference between the resonant inductor current and the
− 1
√ t
1 −1 Lm Cr 1
magnetizing current during the Mode 1 interval is transferred t2 = p tan q .
LeqCr
√ 1 1 L r t 1
cos(ωot1 ) + 1
to the load. Therefore, the following equation holds: Leq L C m r sin(ωo t1 )
Z
2 t1 Vo (19)
{iLr (t) − iLm (t)}dt = (11) Eliminating t2 from equations (18) and (19) gives:
T 0 nRL
n q o
From equations (2), (3), and (11), the output voltage Vo t1 t12
n2 RL Cr (1 − cos(ωot1 ) L1m CLrr sin(ω o t1 )
− 2Lm )# − t1
leads to: " (
1
−L √ t1
Cr (Vcro −Vin ){cos(ωot1 ) − 1} =√1 tan−1 q m Cr .
Vo = n o. (12) LeqCr √1 1 Lr t1
cos(ωo t1 )+1
(t1 +t2 ) nt12 Leq Lm Cr sin(ωo t1 )
2nRL − n Cr (cos(ωo t1 ) − 1) − 2Lm (20)
Precise Analytical Solution for the Peak Gain of LLC Resonant Converters 683
1
f peakgain = . (21)
2(t1 + t2 )
To sum up, there are four steps to getting the peak gain of
the LLC resonant converter. With known parameters, the first
step is to calculate the time t1 from equation (20). The next
step is to calculate the time t2 by substitution of the t1 value
into either equation (18) or (19). The third step is to calculate
Vcro by substitution of the t1 and t2 values into equation (17).
(b) Lm variation. (c) Lr variation.
The last step is to obtain the peak gain by substitution of the
Fig. 4. DC gain characteristic under the parameter variation conditions.
t1 and Vcro values into equation (16).
TABLE I
D ESIGN PARAMETERS FOR SIMULATION
C. Optimal design considerations
The peak gain equations (16) and (17) are so complex and Input voltage, Vin 250[V]
Output voltage, vo 55[V]
messy that it is hard to predict the peak gain characteristic Load resistance, RL 6.7[Ω]
under the parameter variation conditions. Therefore, in this Turn ratio, n 3.6
section, graphical simulations are presented to easily design Magnetizing inductance, Lm 210[uH]
the resonant tank parameters, which can get a large voltage Resonant inductance, Lr 40[uH]
Resonant capacitance, Cr 33[nF]
gain. Moreover, some optimal design considerations are ex-
plained in this section.
i) As shown in equation (16), in order to get a large voltage III. M EASUREMENT R ESULTS
gain, a small initial value of the resonant capacitor voltage, To confirm the validity of the developed analytical solution,
Vcro is required. Therefore, a larger resonant capacitance Cr a 450W prototype was built with parameters in Table I.
can get a higher voltage gain as shown in Figure 4(a). With the given parameters, we can obtain t1 =3.218[us], and
With a larger Cr , the voltage stress on Cr will be smaller. t2 =3.472[us] by solving the equation using a computer-based
However, the problem is that the impedance of the resonant program, which results in fsw = 74.738 kHz at the peak gain
tank will be small too, which will affect the short circuit point.
performance. With a smaller tank impedance, there will be a A simulation was done with PSIM as shown in Figure
higher short circuit current, and a higher switching frequency 5. Figure 6 shows the key waveforms such as the resonant
is needed to limit the short circuit current [10]. tank current and the output voltage. As shown in Figure 6(a),
ii) At the end of each half switching cycle, the entire energy the LLC resonant converter gain can be kept constant at the
stored in both the resonant inductor and the magnetizing resonant frequency, which results in a LLC resonant converter
inductor, (Lm + Lr )i2Lm /2, will be transferred to the resonant that can achieve maximum efficiency under normal operation
capacitance Cr . Therefore, a large voltage gain can be achieved conditions.
under the small magnetizing inductance Lm condition due to During the hold up time, to maintain a regulated output
the large magnetizing inductor current as shown in Figure 4(b). voltage, the switching frequency of the LLC resonant converter
Similarly, a large voltage gain can be obtained under a large needs to be reduced so that the converter gain can be boosted
resonant inductance Lr under an identical magnetizing inductor up. As shown in Figure 6(b), the switching frequency of the
current condition as shown in Figure 4(c). Even though a LLC resonant converter is reduced from about 136kHz to
narrow switching frequency range can be achieved due to the 74kHz, the resonant tank current becomes zero at the end of
small magnetizing inductance, the switching and conduction Mode 2, and the intervals of Mode 1 and 2 agree well with the
losses are increased due to the high magnetizing current, which mathematical results presented in this paper. Also, the output
results in poor efficiency. voltage is accurately regulated at 55[V] as expected.
A large resonant inductance will decrease the switching Figure 7 shows the experimental set up of a LLC resonant
frequency range of a LLC resonant converter. However, a large converter. The experimental waveforms under normal opera-
resonant inductance makes it difficult to use the transformer tion and at the peak gain point are shown in Figure 8. As
leakage inductance, which results in low power density and shown in Figure 8(a), during normal operation conditions, the
heat generation. LLC resonant converter is operating at its resonant frequency
684 Journal of Power Electronics, Vol. 10, No. 6, November 2010
to accurately optimize the resonant tank of a LLC resonant Sung-Soo Hong received his B.S. in Electrical Engi-
converter, which can regulate output voltage during hold up neering from Seoul National University, Seoul, Korea, in
1980, and his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering
time. from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Tech-
The simulations and experimental results of the derived nology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea, in 1986 and 1992,
equations for the peak gain of a LLC resonant converter show respectively. From 1994 to 1998, he was an Electronics
Engineer with Hyundai Electronics Company. In 1993,
a good agreement. This means that a LLC resonant converter he was a Research Scientist at the Virginia Polytechnic
can be more easily designed with the mathematical equations Institute and State University, Blacksburg. Since 1999,
presented in this paper. he has been an Associate Professor in the Electronics Engineering Department,
Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea. His current research interests are in the
areas of modeling and control techniques for power converters as well as EMI
ACKNOWLEDGMENT analysis and reduction techniques for power electronics circuits.
Sang-Ho Cho received his B.S. and M.S. in Electronic
This work was supported (in part) by the New Faculty Engineering from Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea,
Research Program 2007 of Kookmin University, Korea and in 2006, and 2008, respectively, where he is currently
the MKE (The Ministry of Knowledge Economy), Korea, working toward his Ph.D. His current research interests
are in the areas of analysis, modeling, design, and
under the ITRC (Information Technology Research Center) control of power converters.
support program supervised by the NIPA (National IT Industry
Promotion Agency) (NIPA-2010-C1090-1021-0005)
Chung-Wook Roh was born in Busan, Korea, in 1971.
R EFERENCES He received his B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. in Electrical En-
gineering from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science
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approach to integration in power electronics system,” IEEE-IECON ’03, Company, Suwon, Korea, where he was a Project Leader
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electronics,” IEEE Circuits and Systems Magazine, Vol. 2, Issue 4, pp. current research interests include driver circuits for plasma display panels,
4-22, 2002. low-power circuits for flat panel displays, modeling, design, and control of
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Proc. IPEMC, pp. 508-512, 2004. and electric drive systems. Dr. Roh is a Member of the Society for Information
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for distributed power system,” PhD thesis, Virginia Polytechnic Institute Institute of Electrical Engineers.
and Stage University, 2003.
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for front end DC/DC conversion,” in Proc. IEEE APEC, pp. 1108-1112, He received his B.S. in Electrical Engineering from
2002. Pusan National University, Busan, Korea, in 1999, and
[7] T. Liu, Z. Zhou, A. Xiong, J. Zeng, and J. Ying, “A novel precise design his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the
method for LLC resonant converter,” INTELEC ’06, pp. 1-6, 2006. Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology
[8] J-H. Jung and J-G. Kwon, “Theoretical analysis and optimal design of (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea, in 2001 and 2005, respec-
LLC resonant converter,” Power electronics and applications, pp. 1-10, tively. For six months after that, he worked as a Post-
Jan. 2007. Doctoral Fellow at KAIST. Since September 2005, he
[9] B. Lu, W. Liu, Y. Liang, F. C. Lee, and J. D. van Wyk, “Optimal design has been with Kookmin University, Seoul, Korea, as
methodology for LLC resonant converter,” in Proc. IEEE APEC, pp.533- an Assistant Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering. He has
538, Apr. 2006. also been working for the Samsung Power Electronics Center (SPEC) and
[10] B. Yang, “Topology Investigation for Front End DC/DC Power Con- the Samsung Network Power Center (SNPC) at Kookmin University as a
version for Distributed Power System,” Doctor Philosophy in Electrical Research Fellow. His current research interests are in the areas of power
Engineering, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Sept., converters, renewable energy systems, and display drivers, including analysis,
2003. modeling, design, and control. Dr. Han is a member of KIPE and IEEE.