A Unified Model for the ZVS DC-DC Converters

With Active Clamp

by
N.Lakshminarasamma, B. Swaminathan,
Prof V. Ramanarayanan, IISC

Department of Electrical Engineering
Indian Institute of Science
Bangalore
Linear Regulator
Best dynamic performance
Very good regulation
Poor efficiency and bulky




Series Regulator Efficiency = K
(1-K)Vg
KVg
R
+


-
Vg
Switching Regulator
Ideal losses zero
Output discontinuous
Smoothing filter needed
Switching Voltage Regulator
+
-

T
ON

T
OFF

Vg
R
Typical Converter
Switches control power flow
Reactive elements smoothen power flow
Both are non-dissipative elements
L
C S Vg
Vo
Classification of SMPS

SWITCHED MODE
POWER
CONVERTERS
HARD SWITCHED
POWER
CONVERTERS
SOFT-SWITCHED
POWER CONVERTERS
Active Clamp
Converters
Resonant Load
Converters
Quasi-Resonant
Converters
Resonant Transition
Converters
Hard Switching Converter



















T1
T2
P
t
I

t V
I
V
Soft Switching Converter
















V

I

t

t

ZVS
ZCS

I
V
I
V
OFF/ON
Transient
ON/OFF
Transient
Active Clamp ZVS Buck Converter

S
2
S
1

C
R
C
R
C
C

L
R

I

D

V

D
C

Throw1 Pole
C
R
D
Clamp Capacitor
Clamp Switch
s
2
L
R
S
1
C
R
+
Interval T1 - Zero-voltage Turn-on
*
R
V
i(t) I t
L
= +
*
R
I I
T1 L
V
+
=
*
1
N
s
T I
I 1
T I
| |
= +
|
|
\ .
I
N
- Normalized current
I
V Vo S2
S1
C
R

C
R

D
1

D
2

L
R

D
V
C

i(t)
i(0) = -I
*

i(T1) = I
Interval T2 - Resonant Commutation
I
V Vo S2
S1
C
R

C
R

D
1

D
2

L
R

D
V
C
i(t)
i(0) = I
v(t) v(0) = V v(T2) = 0
R
R
R R
C t
i(t) I V sin
L
L C
= +
R R
t
v(t) Vcos
L C
=
R
T2
R
C
i( ) I V
L
= +
T2 v( ) 0 =
R R
T2 L C
2
t
=
S S
R R
f f T2
Ts 2 2 f 4f
t
= =
t
Interval T3 - Power-on Duration
I
V Vo S2
S1
C
R

C
R

D
1

D
2

L
R

D
V
C
i(t)
S1 turned off at end of T3 and C
R
almost instantly charges to V+V
C
.
R
R
C
i(t) I V
L
= +
T1 T2 T3 DTs + + =
T3 T1 T2
D
Ts Ts Ts
=
Interval T4 Assisted Turn-off
I
V Vo S2
S1
C
R

C
R

D
1

D
2

L
R

D
V
C
i(t)
i(T4) = I
R C
R R
C V V
i(t) I V t
L L
+
= +
T4 i( ) I =
R
R
C R
V C
T4 L
V V L
=
+
S
R
T4 1 f
Ts 1 2 f
=
+| t
C
V
V
=|
Interval T5 Resonant Commutation
I
V Vo S2
S1
C
R

C
R

D
1

D
2

L
R

D
V
C
i(t)
v(0) = 0
v(T5) = V
( )
R
C
R R R
C t
i(t) I V V sin
L L C
= +
( )
C
R R
t
v(t) V V 1 cos
L C
| |
= +
|
|
\ .
( )
R
T5
R
C
I( ) I V 1
L
= +|
V ( T5 ) = V
R R
T5 L C cos
1
|
=
|+
1 S
R
f T5
cos
Ts 2 f 1

| | |
=
|
t +|
\ .
Interval T6 Power Freewheeling Duration
At the end of T6 interval current i(t) has reversed and Flows through
MOSFET of S2. C
R
almost instantly discharges to zero. Now S1 may be
switched on with zero voltage across the same.
I
V Vo S2
S1
C
R

C
R

D
1

D
2

L
R

D
V
C
i(t)
Theoretical Waveforms
I Active Switch S1
I
*

T2
T1 T3 T6
I
T4
T5
t
I(T5)
kI(T5)
Resonant Inductor L
R
Current
I Freewheel Diode
t
Pole Voltage Vo
t
Vg
Clamp Ratio and Clamp Voltage
t
Clamp Capacitor Current
I
kI(T5)
I
*

T2
T1 T3 T6
I
T4
T5
t
I(T5)
kI(T5)
Resonant Inductor L
R
Current
R
T5
I T5 VC
k 2 1
I ( )T6

= +
( )
R
T5
C
k 1 L
V I( )
T6
+
=
S
R
f
2 f
N
| |
|=A I
|
t
\ .
( )
R
k 1 Ts / T6
A
k 1 1
1
T6 2 f
+
=
| | +
+
|
t
\ .
Steady State Equivalent Circuit Model
1: D
(1+k)L
R
/Ts
Steady State Equivalent Circuit for Active
Clamp Buck converter
o R
g g s
V L I(1 k)
D
V V T
+
=
R
o g
s
L I(1 k)
V DV
T
+
=
Equivalent Circuit Models of Other Converters
1-D: 1
R
d

1-D: 1
1:D
R
d

1: D 1-D: 1
R
d1
R
d2

Equivalent circuits of the active clamped ZVS boost, buck-boost and
cuk converters
Spread Sheet Design..\pesc04\work\spreadsheetdesign.xls
Inductor Current I 1.95 2.4 2.8 3.2 3.5
Throw Voltage V 50 50 50 50 50
Resonant Inductor LR 5.00E-06 5.00E-06 5.00E-06 5.00E-06 5.00E-06
Resonant Capacitor CR 1.00E-09 1.00E-09 1.00E-09 1.00E-09 1.00E-09
Resonant Freq r/s wR 1.41E+07 1.41E+07 1.41E+07 1.41E+07 1.41E+07
Resonant Freq Hz fR 2.22E+07 2.22E+07 2.22E+07 2.22E+07 2.22E+07
Switching Freq fS 2.50E+05 2.50E+05 2.50E+05 2.50E+05 2.50E+05
Switching Period Ts 4.00E-06 4.00E-06 4.00E-06 4.00E-06 4.00E-06
Switch Initial Current kI(T5) 1.40 1.87 2.30 2.72 3.03
Clamp Initial Voltage VC 4.61 6.23 7.66 9.08 10.15
Current after T6 kI(T5) 1.40 1.87 2.30 2.72 3.03
Clamp Voltage VC 4.61 6.23 7.66 9.08 10.15
Duty Ratio D 0.259 0.259 0.259 0.259 0.259
S1 ON Time DTs 1.04E-06 1.04E-06 1.04E-06 1.04E-06 1.04E-06
Dbar 1-D 0.741 0.741 0.741 0.741 0.741
Interval 1 T1 3.35E-07 4.27E-07 5.10E-07 5.92E-07 6.53E-07
Interval 2 T2 1.11E-07 1.11E-07 1.11E-07 1.11E-07 1.11E-07
Interval 3 T3 5.90E-07 4.98E-07 4.15E-07 3.33E-07 2.72E-07
Interval 4 T4 6.47E-08 6.29E-08 6.13E-08 5.98E-08 5.88E-08
Interval 5 T5 1.05E-07 1.03E-07 1.02E-07 1.00E-07 9.91E-08
Interval 6 T6 2.79E-06 2.80E-06 2.80E-06 2.80E-06 2.81E-06
Current after T5 I(T5) 1.18 1.61 1.99 2.37 2.66
Current Factor k 1.18 1.16 1.15 1.14 1.14
Pole Voltage Vp 9.65 8.51 7.48 6.46 5.70
Normal Current IN 0.05 0.06 0.07 0.08 0.09
Clamp Ratio VC/V 0.09 0.12 0.15 0.18 0.20
Voltage Ratio V/Vg 0.19 0.17 0.15 0.13 0.11
Table 1 : Spreadsheet Organisation for the Steady-state Performance Solution
Conversion Ratio (In vs V/Vg)
Clamp Ratio ( In vs Vc/Vg)
Conversi on Rati o and Cl amp Rati o as a functi on of Normal i zed Current
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.35
0.40
0.0000 0.0500 0.1000 In
Vc/Vg
D=0.259
D=0.332
D=0.436
0.00
0.05
0.10
0.15
0.20
0.25
0.30
0.00 0.05 0.10
In
V/Vg
D=0.259
D=0.332
D=0.436
Steady State Definitions Of Base Voltages And
Currents

Buck
Boost Buckboost Cuk
v
Rd
M
I
V
g
I
o
R
(1 k)L
Ts
+
N
D (1 k) I +
V
o
I
g
R
(1 k)L
Ts
+
R
(1 k)L
Ts
+
N
1
1 D (1 k)I + +
I
L

N
N
D (1 k)I
1 D (1 k)I
+
+ +
N
N
D (1 k)I
1 D (1 k)I
+
+ +
R R
(1 k)L (1 k)L
;
(1 D) Ts DTs
+ +

I
g
+ I
L

V
g
+V
o
V
g
+V
o
Dynamic Model Of Active Clamp Buck Converter
Perturbation of the nonlinear circuit averaged model about a quiescent operating point.
( ) ( )

D+d I+i
g g

V +V
L
+


-


+


1:D
R
c

C
-


+


( ) ( ) g g

D+d V +V
R
S
(1+k)L
T
Small signal ac model of active clamp buck converter
1:D
R
S
(1+k)L
T
R
c

L
C
R
g

dV
D

dI
g

V
-


-


+


+


+


-
Simulated Active Clamp Buck Converter
0
G1
S1
G2
1n
7u
1n
MUR1620CT
5u
IRF250
150u
MUR1620CT
IRF250
50V
110u
12
Output power = 60
watts
Input voltage = 50
volts
Output voltage = 20
volts
Switching frequency
= 250 KHz

Resonant Inductor Current Waveform
Clamp Capacitor Current Waveform
Steady State Performance Of Active Clamp Buck
Converter

Clamp Ratio
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15
In- Amps
V
c
/
V
g
D=0.259
D=0.332
D=0.436
Clamp Ratio
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.60
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15
In- Amps
V
c
/
V
g
D=0.259
D=0.332
D=0.436

Conversion Ratio
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15
In- Amps
V
/
V
g
D=0.259
D=0.332
D=0.436

Conversion ratio
0.00
0.10
0.20
0.30
0.40
0.50
0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15
IN - Amps
V
/
V
g
D=0.259
D=0.332
D=0.436

SIMULATED RESULTS EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Experimental Waveforms Of Active Clamp Buck
Converter
Vgs and Vds of S1 showing ZVS; Vgs and Vds of S2 showing ZVS

Experimental Waveforms Of Active Clamp Buck
Converter
Pole voltage and Inductor current waveforms; Pole voltage
and Clamp capacitor current waveforms
Dynamic Performance Of Active Clamp Buck Converter
Measured output impedance of Hard-switched buck converter and Active clamp buck converter
Conclusions Active Clamp Converters
Derived from Hard-Switched Converters by the addition of few
Resonant elements following the simple rule.

Circuit equations governing these sub-intervals are identical when
expressed in terms of pole current; throw voltage and freewheeling
resonant circuit voltage (I, V, and V
C
).

Steady state and Dynamic equivalent circuits are obtained from
this idealized analysis.

The resonant sub-interval introduces lossless damping in the
converter dynamics.
Advantages Active Clamp Converter
High Efficiency - ZVS

Simple Dynamic Model

Wide Variety of Topologies
Thanks