A Comparative Evaluation of Isolated Bi-directional

DC/DC Converters with Wide Input and Output

Voltage Range
F. Krismer, J. Biela, J. W. Kolar
Power Electronics System Laboratory
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ)
Zurich, Switzerland

Abstract— The working principles and design equations of four primary side secondary side
different isolated, bi-directional DC to DC converter topologies (a
dual active bridge converter, a series resonant converter and two + +
multiple stage topologies) for a 2kW bi-directional battery T1 T3 T5 T7
charger that can be operated in a wide input and output voltage iL 1:n V2
range are presented in this paper. The results of a detailed V1 CDC,1 + +
L v T1 v T2
220V...447V
mathematical analysis of the converter topologies as well as 11V...16V
- C DC,2
digital simulation results are used to select the most efficient -
topology for this specific converter application, where the two- T2 T4 T6 T8
- -
stage series resonant converter is identified to be the most
promising, with up to 90% efficiency at rated power. (a)

Keywords: converter design, modulation techniques, converter

comparison, high current operation, high frequency conversion + +
T1 T3 T5 T7
i LC C R 1:n
I. INTRODUCTION CDC,1 + V2
V1 +v - LR +
C v v T2 C DC,2
With the increasing need for electric power in future - T1
-
automobiles there is an increasing requirement for bi-directional
T2 T4 T6 T8
isolated DC/DC converters to transfer energy between different - -
voltage levels, such as between the low voltage accessories and the
(b)
high voltage drive train. An alternative application for such type of
converters is in future more-electric aircraft where the power
LDC
converters will be used to interface between the aircraft power
distribution bus and specific loads [1]. +
T1 T3 T5 T7
+
T9 +
iL
Numerous different topologies for isolated, bi-directional V1 +
1:n
+
T10 V2
CDC,1 L Vi
DC/DC converters have been previously described [2]-[5] but no v T1 v T2 C DC,2 C DC,3
comprehensive comparative evaluation of the systems has been -
-
presented in the literature so far. T2 T4 T6 T8
- - -
In this paper four topologies of isolated, bi-directional (c)
converters (Fig. 1) are investigated and compared for the
realization of a 2kW interface between a low voltage battery and a LDC
high voltage DC bus. The converters are referred to as topology + + +
DAB1 and DAB2 for the dual active bridge (DAB) converter and T1 T3 T5 T7 T9
SRC1 and SRC2 for the series resonant converter (SRC) according i LC C R 1:n T10
Vi V2
to the caption of Fig. 1. All these converters allow an operation in V1 CDC,1 +v - LR +
v
+
v T2 C DC,3
C
- T1 C DC,2
a wide input and output voltage range. The actual operating range -
is depicted in Fig. 2 where the battery voltage ranges from 11V to T2 T4 T6 T8
- - -
16V (nominal voltage is 12V) and a voltage range of 220V to
447V is specified for the high voltage bus (nominal voltage is (d)
336V). The minimum switching frequency is set to fS = 100kHz Figure 1. Isolated and bi-directional DC/DC converter topologies: (a) DAB1:
which is a compromise between the size of the passive dual active bridge converter [2, 4], (b) SRC1: series resonant converter [5], (c)
components and/or power density, and/or the amount of switching DAB2 and (d) SRC2: two stage converters based on the combination of an
losses and conversion efficiency. isolation stage with a non-isolated voltage converter.

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 V2 In this paper, Section II describes the working principle of the
447V converters and a control scheme, which ensures minimum
400V switching losses and minimum component stresses, is defined for
each topology. In Section III the evaluation criteria, i.e. power
336V losses of the switches, conduction losses of the passive
300V nominal components and copper and core losses of the transformer, are
operation point defined and applied to the converter topologies in Section IV
220V based on the results gained from mathematical models and digital
200V simulations. Finally, a comparison of the different converter
concepts concerning efficiency and volume is given.
100V
11V 12V 16V
II. CONVERTER OPERATING PRINCIPLES AND DESIGN
V1
5V 10V 15V A. Dual active bridge converter (topology DAB1)
Figure 2. Operating range of the bi-directional DC/DC converter (hatched
Depending on the control this converter can be used to
area) as defined by the input and output voltage ranges. generate an output voltage that is higher or lower than the
transformed input voltage, i.e. the input voltage multiplied with the
According to Fig. 1, all the topologies discussed in this paper transformer turns ratio. Accordingly, the operating mode is
comprise a similar isolation stage implemented with a full bridge denominated as step up or step down operation where bi-
converter on the primary side (low voltage side) and on the directional power flow is possible in both cases.
secondary side (high voltage side) of the transformer. Moreover, 1) Converter modulation method
topologies DAB1 and DAB2 are based on the dual active bridge In [4] an extensive evaluation of the operation of this circuit
converter [2, 4] where full bridge circuits, which are used on the for three different control techniques is given:
low voltage and high voltage side, facilitate freewheeling states.
This represents an additional degree of freedom for the converter - rectangular operation mode with 50% duty cycle of the
control, which is an advantage compared to half-bridge circuits. primary and secondary transformer voltages, vT1 and vT2:
Also, the full bridge circuit is considered to be advantageous over allows for the highest power transfer with the given converter;
a push-pull circuit for the specified power rating. The main zero voltage switching (ZVS) is only achieved within a
drawbacks of push-pull circuits are the lower transformer defined range of the phase shift φ of vT1 and vT2. Moreover,
utilization, the need for additional snubber circuitry for transistor the instantaneous transistor currents that occur during the
blocking voltage limitation, and increased conduction losses switching process can not be explicitly controlled. However,
because switches with higher voltage rating / on-resistance are for the primary side full bridge of the bi-directional converter
required [6]. specified in Section I, low transistor currents during the
The dual active bridge converter (Fig. 1(a)) utilizes the leakage switching time instant are compulsory in order to achieve low
inductance L as a buck or boost inductor to cover the desired switching losses. Therefore, this modulation scheme is not
output voltage range [2]. Adding a capacitor in series to the considered as appropriate for the given converter.
leakage inductance leads to the series resonant converter (Fig. - triangular current mode (Fig. 3(a1) and 3(a2)): the duty cycle
1(b)) which can also be operated with bi-directional power flow of either the primary or the secondary transformer voltage is
within a wide range of input and output voltages [5]. Separating smaller than 50%; allows for lowest switching losses [4]
the voltage level conversion and isolation stages leads to - trapezoidal current mode (Fig. 3(a3)): the primary and the
topologies DAB2 and SRC2 with the voltage conversion stage being secondary full bridge converters apply voltages vT1 and vT2
on the high voltage side. There, a degree of freedom is gained for with a duty cycle smaller than 50% to the transformer.
the optimization of the converter control, as the level of the Compared to the triangular current mode, a higher power
internal voltage Vi can be selected within a defined range. This transfer is possible for a given converter.
allows for a reduction in the switch losses and the electrical stress
on the transformer. However, additional power losses now occur High rms and peak currents on the primary side of the power
in the voltage level converter. converter specified in Section I represent the biggest challenge in
its implementation. Therefore, a modulation scheme is chosen that
Another category of bi-directional converters are topologies
allows for an optimization of the primary side rms current values
with a current-fed full bridge arrangement on the low voltage side.
within the defined range of input and output voltages V1 and V2.
These converters have reduced rms switch and transformer current
Additionally, a defined limit of the primary side transistor currents
values [3] at the expense of higher voltage ratings of the switches.
should not be exceeded during the switching instants in order to
Additional circuitry is necessary to protect the switches from
achieve low switching losses. These suppositions are
overvoltages, which occur due to the energy stored in the
accomplished with the triangular and the trapezoidal current mode
transformer leakage inductance and the DC choke. It is also
modulation scheme.
difficult to manufacture an efficient high current DC choke [7].
Therefore, the voltage-fed topologies are considered to be The triangular current mode modulation (Fig. 3(a1), 3(a2))
advantageous over the current-fed topologies with respect to allows for pure zero current switching (ZCS) on the primary side
reliability and converter cost. and combined ZCS/ZVS on the secondary side, which is achieved

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 V1 = 11V, V2 = 447V V1 = 12V, V2 = 336V V1 = 16V, V2 = 220V

vT2
vT2
vT2 IL2 n·vT1
n·vT1 n·vT1
t3 t3
t0 t1 t2 t t t0 t1 t2 t
iL / n
iL / n iL / n
T1 T2 T3 T1 T2 T3

(a1) (a2) (a3)

vT2
vT2
n·vC n·vC vT2 n·vT1
n·vT1 n·vT1
t2 iLC / n
t0 t1 t t t
iLC / n iLC / n n·vC
T1 T2

(b1) (b2) (b3)

Figure 3. Simulated waveforms for secondary side referred transformer current iL(t) / n respectively iLC(t) / n, transformer voltages n·vT1(t) and vT2(t), and the
resonant capacitor voltage n·vC(t) for the dual active bridge converter DAB1 ((a1) to (a3)) and the series resonant converter (topology SRC1, (b1) to (b3)). Different
operating points at 2kW output power are shown for energy flowing from the low voltage (primary) to the high voltage (secondary) side. Input and output voltages
specified on top of this figure apply to all waveforms of the belonging column; time scale: 2µs/Div., voltage scale: 200V/Div., and current scale: 20A/Div.

for a transformer turns ratio n of sum of this expression describes the transferred power for the
triangular current mode modulation (IL2 = 0). Obviously, no power
V2,min . (1) can be transferred with the triangular current mode modulation for
n<
V1,max n·V1 = V2. The second and the third part of (2) are due to the
trapezoidal current mode modulation.
Figures 3(a1) and 3(a2) depict the transformer current and
voltage waveforms according to a power transfer from the primary  V ⋅ (V n − V ) nV 2   nV  2 nV 
to the secondary side. There, at time instant t0, only the primary V1 ⋅  1 2 1
+ I L 2 1 − Lf S I L22 ⋅   1  + 1 + 1 
 4 Lf S V2  V V2 
voltage V1 is applied to the transformer which causes the   2    . (2)
P=
transformer current to rise. At time instant t1 the secondary side V2 n
full bridge is turned on with v2(t1) = V2 and the transformer current
decreases againa until it reaches zero at t2. For constant frequency 2) Converter converter design
control, a dead time interval T3 may be inserted to adjust the The proposed design method is based on the converter
amount of transferred power. With variable frequency control the specifications presented in Section I. Moreover, the maximum
time interval T3 is zero. At time instant t3 the next half cycle starts. switch current IL2 = iL(t2) is taken into consideration in order to
The direction of the power transfer is reversed, when time achieve low switching losses on the primary side.
intervals T1 and T2 are transposed.
The evaluation of the transformer turns ratio n and inductor
The limitation of the transformer turns ratio n from (1) leads to value L is an iterative process that starts with the selection of n.
an ineffective utilization of the secondary side components of the Thereafter a condition for the minimum value for the inductor L
converter. This limitation can be circumvented with trapezoidal which is necessary to fulfil the above mentioned requirements is
current mode modulation (Fig. 3(a3)) by allowing a certain switch derived from (2),
current IL2 = iL(t2) at time instant t2. The waveforms for transformer
current iL and voltages vT1 and vT2 in Figure 3(a3) again correspond V2
3
V  V 
2
V  V 
2

to a power transfer from the low voltage side to the high voltage I L 2V13 − P 2  +  2  I L22V13  2  − 2 PI L 2V13 + P 2  2 
n  n  n   n  n  .(3)
side. Time intervals T1 and T2 are identical to those of the L < Lmin =
 V V V 
2

triangular current mode modulation except that the transformer 2 f S I L22V1 ⋅ V12 + 1 2 +  2  
 n  n  
current iL is greater than zero at time instant t2. There, the primary 
side full bridge applies v1(t2) = 0V to the transformer and the This procedure enables a search for a combination of values
transformer current decreases until it reaches zero at t3. for the transformer turns ratio n and inductor L that results in a
Equation (2) is used to determine the amount of transferred minimum rms transformer current for the specified input and
power for the trapezoidal current mode modulation depending on output voltage range.
the given switching frequency fS, primary and secondary DC
voltages V1 and V2, the turns ratio n of the transformer, the value of B. Series resonant converter (topology SRC1)
the converter inductor L, and the primary side transistor current IL2
at the switching time instant t2 (Fig. 3(a3)). The first term in the Also the series resonant converter (Fig. 1(b)) can be operated
with bi-directional power flow. In [5] the working principle of this
a circuit is described for a modulation scheme similar to the
assuming that condition (1) is fulfilled

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rectangular modulation scheme described for the DAB. However, f 0,temp = 0.8…0.9 ⋅ f S ,min . (6)
a different modulation scheme is investigated here that provides an
improvement in the utilization of the primary side converter Together with (5) and the expression for the transferred power,
components.
 V 
1) Converter modulation method V1 ⋅ V1 ⋅ (1 − cos(2π f 0 ⋅ T12 )) − 2 ⋅ (1 − cos(2π f 0 ⋅ T2 ))
 n , (7)
A modulation scheme similar to triangular current mode P=
modulation for the DAB can be applied with variable switching π f 0 ⋅ T12 ⋅ Z 0 ⋅ (1 + cos(2π f 0 ⋅ T12 ))
frequency to the series resonant converter. This enables pure ZCS
this enables one to numerically solve for the steady state switching
on the primary side, and combined ZVS/ZCS on the secondary
frequency at a given operating point. This in turn allows to search
side, and allows for an efficient utilization of the primary side
for the characteristic impedance Z0 of the series resonant circuit
switches. There, the low voltage side switches are operated with
needed to achieve the desired frequency ratio fS,min/fS,max. Finally,
50% duty cycle with the switching time instant at the zero crossing
the switching frequency is adjusted to
of the resonant current (t = t0 and t = t2 in Fig. 3(b1)). For the case
of power flowing from the primary to the secondary side, only the f S ,min,num b
f 0 = f 0,temp ⋅ , (8)
primary voltage V1 is applied to the transformer during time
f S ,min,desired
interval T1 and the resonant current starts to increase according to
Figure 3(b1). As the converter is operated above its resonance with the numerically evaluated minimum switching frequency
frequency f0, the voltage V2 is applied to the secondary side of the fS,min,num and the desired minimum switching frequency fS,min,desired.
resonant circuit at time instant t1 < 1/(2f0). For a transformer turns
ratio of
C. Two stage topologies (topologies DAB2 and SRC2)
V The requirement for the converter to be operated within a wide
n < n0 = 2, min , (4)
V1, max input and output voltage range results in operation regions of
inefficient switch and transformer utilization. Therefore, a two
the resonant current iLC(t) is finally forced back to zero at time stage solution is considered which consists of two separate
instant t2. In steady state operation, the duty cycle of the secondary conversion stages: an isolation stage and a non-isolated voltage
side converter stage is derived as converter. Initially four different possibilities were investigated:
 V   1. primary side voltage converter with V1<Vi
  2V1 − 2  ⋅ sin (T12 ⋅ π ⋅ f 0 )  2. primary side voltage converter with V1>Vi
T2 1 1 n
D= = + ⋅ arcsin    , (5)
3. secondary side voltage converter with Vi <V2
T12 2 2π ⋅ f 0 ⋅ T12  V2 
  4. secondary side voltage converter with Vi >V2
 n 
Low conversion efficiency is expected for the primary side
with T12 = T1+T2. Again, the direction of power transfer is reversed voltage converters (concepts 1 and 2) (below 85% for the boost
when the time intervals T1 and T2 are transposed. converter in [7] operated with an output power of 2kW). The third
concept seems to be promising, however only inefficient
2) Converter design semiconductor switches are available for the resulting voltage
In addition to the specifications given in Section I, minimum range of Vi. Therefore, the last proposal was investigated more
and maximum switching frequency (fS,min and fS,max) at full power detailed.
operation are required to carry out the design method proposed in
this paper. 1) Converter design
First of all, the transformer turns ratio is selected in order to The most efficient operation of the converters DAB1 and SRC1
meet condition (4). A suggested value of n close to n0 improves is achieved for the primary voltage V1 being close to the reflected
the utilization of the secondary side. In a second step the resonance secondary voltage V2/n. Moreover, the proposed modulation
frequency is set to a temporary value below the minimum method for topology SRC1 only allows for V2>V1·n and also the
switching frequency, discussed method for topology DAB1 primarily suggests that kind
of operation.
In order to achieve a balanced utilization of the two converter
D1 stages, it is proposed that either the isolation stage is operated with
an amplification v1≥v1,0 or that the non-isolated voltage converter
LDC
is operated with v2≤1,
+ + v1 = v1, 0
D2 T9 
 V2 , (9)
V  < v1, 0
v2 = 2
Vi
D3
D4 Vi  V1
V2
C DC,3
C DC,2 Vi 
T10 v1 =  V2 , (10)
V1  ≥ v1,0
v2 = 1  V1
- -

b
Figure 4. Voltage level converter with V2 ≤ Vi . Realization is based on The switching frequency fS = 1/(2·T12) is directly proportional to the
silicon carbide Schottky diodes for improved switching performance. resonance frequency f0 in (5) and (7).

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where v1,0 is the voltage transformation ratio of the isolation stage Finally, the switching losses for the non-isolated voltage converter
needed for maximum input and output voltage, in topologies DAB2 and SRC2 are calculated with the measurement
data given in [8].
V2,max , (11)
v1,0 = Power losses of the DC capacitors CDC are calculated with the
V1,max
currents being approximated with the fundamental component at a
v1 the amplification of the isolation stage, frequency of 200kHz,
2
Vi , (12) 2 I RMS ; (16)
v1 = P = RESR I RMS ≈
V1 2π ⋅ 200kHz ⋅ C ⋅ tan (δ (200kHz ))
and v2 the amplification of the non-isolated voltage converter for the resonant capacitor CR a frequency of 100kHz is considered.
For the DC choke LDC the dissipated power is calculated with the
V2 . (13) rms current value and the DC resistance of the choke,
v2 =
Vi
2
P = RDC I RMS . (17)
With this, the transistors are utilized up to the maximum operating
voltage in order to reduce the secondary side currents. Since the resonant inductor LR is integrated into the transformer,
its power losses are considered as part of the transformer losses.
The non-isolated voltage converter stage is realized according
The auxiliary power supply accounts for a fixed amount of 20W
to Figure 4. Silicon carbide Schottky diodes (D1 to D4) are used to
power loss.
achieve low switching losses. The designed values for the
components of all converters are summarized in Table I. The converter efficiency is calculated with the total dissipated
power Ploss and the output power Pout of the converter

η = 1 − (Ploss Pout ) . (18)

III. COMPARISON OF CONVERTER TOPOLOGIES
For comparing the different converter systems key quantities B. Transformer losses
such as converter efficiency and volume are taken into The estimation of the transformer power losses is split into the
consideration. winding losses (including HF losses) and the losses dissipated in
the transformer magnetic core.
A. Power losses of active and passive components
1) Winding losses
The conduction losses of all active and passive components are For the numeric calculation an interleaved arrangement of the
considered as a significant part of the total converter power loss. primary and the secondary winding (S-P-S) is assumed, which
Other important sources of power loss are the transformer and the consists of copper foils with the same width w as the transformer
low voltage side PCB which carries high currents. winding area. Moreover, the number of turns N is already defined
The MOSFET conduction losses are calculated based on the by the converter design and it is the same as the number of copper
on resistance RDS,on and the energy stored in the parasitic capacitors foil layers p: p = N. Then, the overall winding losses can be
is used to evaluate the losses due to ZCS. For ZVS the inductive minimized for a given current waveform with DC component IDC
turn off losses are considered and are experimentally estimated for and harmonic components In by optimizing the thickness d of the
the primary side transistors at given switch voltage VDS and current copper foil (one dimensional approximation, [9, 10], δ0 is the skin
ID, depth at the fundamental frequency of the current)

VDS ⋅ I D ∞
+ ∑ I n2
⋅ 500ns , (14) 2
Eoff = I DC (19)
2 15
d opt = δ 0 ⋅ 4 ⋅4 ∞
n =1
.
5 p2 −1
for transistor currents ID < 100A. For the secondary side inductive ∑n
n =1
2
I n2
turn off switching losses, the given datasheet values for VDS =
350V were scaled with the applied switch voltage, With this, an effective winding resistance and the winding
losses for all the given current waveforms can be calculated as
VDS .
Eoff = Eoff , Datasheet (350V, I D ) ⋅ (15) 4
PWdg ,opt , p = 2
⋅ RDC ,opt , p ⋅ I RMS
350V 3 (20)
N ⋅ lw
with RDC ,opt , p = .
σ ⋅ w ⋅ d opt

TABLE I. CALCULATED CONVERTER COMPONENT VALUES With (20) the losses in the primary (PWdg,opt,p) and in the
secondary winding (PWdg,opt,s) are calculated and added to
Single Stage Converters Two Stage Converters determine the total winding losses
Top.
L, LR CR n L, LR CR n
PWdg,opt = PWdg,opt,p + PWdg,opt,s. (21)
DAB1, DAB2 63nH – 13 40nH – 21
2) Core losses
SRC1, SRC2 212nH 16µF 12 161nH 25µF 25
The transformer core losses are calculated using

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 T2,A T1,A V1,+ T1,B T2,B V1,-
β −α α
VCore ki ( ∆ B ) V
PCore , p =
2
⋅
T
∑ N pj ,ApC ( ∆ t j ) (22)
j

80mm
with ∆ B = ∑ N pj ,ApC ( ∆ t j )
j

which is a simplified expression for the improved general

Steinmetz equation (iGSE) proposed in [11] and valid for flux
waveforms with no minor loops (i.e. monotonic waveforms) as T4,A T3,A Layer 1 T3,B T4,B Layer 4
given for the compared converter topologies. There, the voltage
90mm
waveform is given as a piecewise linear waveform Vj that is
constant during the time intervals ∆tj. It is used for calculating the Layer 2 Layer 3
rate of change of the flux density and the peak to peak amplitude
of the flux density ∆B. (AC represents the core cross section area
and VCore the core volume; ki, α, and β are called Steinmetz
coefficients which can be calculated with information from the
datasheet).
The total core losses PCore = PCore,p + PCore,s are calculated
assuming that in half of the core volume the flux is linked with the
primary winding and in the other half with the secondary winding.
This is an approximation of the actual flux distribution which is Transformer + Transformer -
accurate enough for the considered comparison of converter
topologies.

C. Low voltage side PCB power loss

100A/m 2 40A/mm2 10A/mm2 4A/mm 2 1A/mm 2
High rms currents (up to 200A) with a fundamental frequency
of more than 100kHz on the primary converter side lead to Figure 5. Current distribution in the primary side PCB for a sinusoidal
significant ohmic power loss in the PCB, therefore the layout of current at the peak value of 283A and with a frequency of 100kHz
the primary converter side is investigated separately. Low parasitic flowing through transistors T1 and T4 (Ti,A and Ti,B denote the parallel
inductance and well distributed currents are achieved with a four disposition of two transistors forming Ti; the dashed line represents the
layer PCB with the current planes on top of each other and the current path). High current densities (red) occur at the borders where the
semiconductors being placed at the left and at the right borders of transistors are located.
the PCB (Fig. 5).
- Equivalent series resistance of the resonant capacitors for
Information about the current distribution is obtained from topologies SRC1 and SRC2: RESR,1 = 45mΩ, RESR,2 = 72mΩ
FEA simulation (Fig. 5). High current densities appear at the outer - Boost inductor in topologies DAB2 and SRC2: LDC = 560µH,
borders where the semiconductors are located. Therefore, RDC = 90mΩ, core: ELP64 ferrite core / EPCOS
additional layers are used to increase the copper thickness close to - Transformer core: ELP64 / EPCOS
the transistors for the hardware realization of the converter. The
power loss from this simulation amounts 23.36W for a rms current The calculated values for the leakage inductances, the resonant
of 200A, and this corresponds to an equivalent resistance of components and the transformer turns ratios are summarized in
R = 0.58mΩ. Tab. I.
For converter topology DAB1 and the isolation stage of DAB2
IV. CONVERTER EVALUATION operation with constant switching frequency (fS = 100kHz) as well
as with variable switching frequency (fS ≥ 100kHz) is investigated.
The power converters, which have been designed in Section II, For the series resonant converter only the operation with variable
are evaluated based on the methods described in Section III. The switching frequency (fS ≥ 100kHz) is considered. The non-isolated
calculated current and voltage ratings for the switches suggest voltage converters of the two stage topologies are operated with
MOSFET semiconductors to be most suitable. The DC link constant switching frequency (fS = 100kHz).
capacitors CDC are chosen such that the peak to peak capacitor
voltage ripple is less than 5% of the minimum DC voltage. The Fig. 6(a) to (e) depict the calculated total power loss of the
boost inductor LDC is chosen to achieve a peak to peak inductor converters within the specified range of input and output voltages.
current ripple below 2A. The design leads to the following There the DAB shows the highest total power losses when
component values for the converters: operated with constant switching frequency (Fig. 6(a)) which is
due to high rms switch and transformer currents. A reduction of
- Primary side switches: RDS,on = 3mΩ/2 (two IRF2804S in the power losses is achieved with variable switching frequency
parallel, Tjunction = 150°C) operation of the DAB (Fig. 6(b)). Further improvements are
- Secondary side switches: RDS,on = 150mΩ (CoolMOS attained with the series resonant converter as reduced rms values
SPW47N60C3, Tjunction = 150°C) of switch and transformer currents are achieved (Fig. 6(c)).
- Silicon carbide diodes, voltage level converter: VF = 1.8V However, the transformer turns ratios n of the single stage
- Primary side DC capacitor: CDC,1 = 800µF, RESR = 111µΩ topologies DAB1 and SRC1 are smaller than those of the two stage
- Secondary side DC capacitors: CDC,2 = 3µF, RESR = 880µΩ and topologies DAB2 and SRC2 as explained in Section II. Therefore,
CDC,3 = 470nF with RESR = 5.3mΩ the two stage solutions not only allow for an optimized utilization

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 DAB1 with constant frequency control DAB1 with variable frequency control SRC1 with variable frequency control

Ploss / W Ploss / W Ploss / W

400 400 400
300 300 300
200 200 200
400 400 400
100 100 100
11
1 350 11
1 350
111 12 350
V2 / V 12 12
12 13 300 13 300 V2 / V 13 300 V2 / V
13 14 14 14
14 250 250 250
V1 / V 15
15 V1 / V 15 V1 / V 15
16 16 16
(a) (b) (c)

DAB2 with constant frequency control DAB2 with variable frequency control SRC2 with variable frequency control

Ploss / W Ploss / W Ploss / W

400 400 400
300 300 300
200 200 200
400 400 400
100 100 100
350 350 350
111 12 11
1
12
111
12
12
13
13 300 V2 / V 13 300 V2 / V 13 300 V2 / V
14
14 14 250 14 250
15 250 15 15
V1 / V 15 V1 / V V1 / V
16 16 16
(d) (e) (f)

Figure 6. Calculated total power losses of the single stage ((a), (b), and (c)) and two stage converter topologies ((d), (e), and (f)) for Pout = 2kW.

of the isolation stage within a wide range of input and output

voltages. Even more, the increased transformer turns ratio results h
in reduced secondary side rms current values, which in turn leads DAB, const. frequ.
to decreased power losses (Fig. 6(d), (e), and (f)). The 1 DAB, var. frequ.
discontinuity that can be observed in these figures is due to the 0.95 SRC
switching losses of the non-isolated voltage conversion stage
which is operated according to (9) and (10). Therefore, the voltage 0.9
converter stage is operated without switching in the region where a 0.85
high voltage transfer ratio is needed and thus no switching losses
0.8
occur.
0.75
Fig. 7 summarizes the calculated efficiency of the considered
converter topologies for varying output power Pout at V1=12V and 0.7
V2=336V. Obviously, a more effective converter utilization is
500 1000 1500 2000 Pout / W
achieved with variable frequency modulation for the high power (a)
range (Pout > 750W). However, the switching frequency increases
h
for the variable frequency control method with decreasing output
power which in turn causes significant switching losses at low DAB, const. frequ.
output power (Pout < 750W). For the series resonant converter a 1 DAB, var. frequ.
gain in efficiency of 5% at rated power (from 85% to 90%) is 0.95 SRC
achieved with the two stage topology. The additional voltage
0.9
converter stage also increases the efficiency of the dual active
bridge by 4% (from 84% to 88% at rated power) when variable 0.85
frequency control is used. 0.8
The mathematical models that are derived in order to obtain 0.75
the transistor and transformer current values needed for the
analysis are verified with the use of digital simulation. Figure 8 0.7
500 1000 1500 2000 Pout / W
depicts the calculated as well as the simulated distribution of the
power losses of the worst case (topology DAB1 operated with (b)
constant switching frequency) and the best case (topology SRC2 Figure 7. Calculated efficiency of the single stage (a) and two stage (b)
operated with variable switching frequency) for a power transfer converters at V1=12V and V2=336V depending on the output power.

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 Calculated losses Simulated losses volume given in Table II is calculated based on the maximum
12 20 26 13 20 29 PCB, primary side dissipated power and a maximum tolerated difference between
c a p 33 (p)
27 138 c a p 153 ambient and heat sink temperature of ∆T=60°C for a commercial
t t Conduction losses,
primary side (c 1)
heat sink with forced convection (8x8cm2 cross section, Rth = 0.17
68 s2 c1 70 s2 c1 Conduction losses, K/W for a length of l = 150cm). Obviously a reduction of the total
secondary side (c2) converter volume is achieved with the two stage solution which is
0.25 c2 0.25 c2 Switching losses, due to the improved efficiency.
81 90 primary side (s 1)
(a1) (a2) Switching losses,
secondary side (s2) V. CONCLUSIONS
20 20 20 23 Transformer (t)
14 a p 101
14 a p 118
Four different topologies of bi-directional power converters
v 8 cv Capacitors (c) with 2kW rated power, a primary voltage range of 11V to 16V,
8 c

17 t
21 t
Voltage level
and a secondary voltage range of 220V to 447V are investigated: a
s2
c1
11
s2 c1
Converter (v) dual active bridge and a series resonant converter, each of them
10 c2
c2 0.22 Auxiliary power also operated in combination with a separate voltage converter
0.22 18
16 supply (a) stage. With the presented design methods and modulation
(b1) (b2) techniques, high switching frequency is achieved as well as high
Figure 8. Calculated and simulated power loss distribution (in Watts) for current operation on the primary converter side. From the
nominal operation (V1 = 12V, V2 = 336V, Pout = 2kW) of topology DAB1 converter analysis it follows, that the operation within a wide
operated at constant frequency ((a1), (a2)) and topology SRC2 ((b1), (b2)). voltage range leads to a performance degradation for both, the
Power transfer from the primary to the secondary side is considered. DAB and the series resonant converter. It was shown that a
reduced amount of total losses and a reduction of the converter
direction from the primary to the secondary side. It can be volume can be achieved with a two stage topology as it enables
observed that the dominant part of the power losses is due to the high efficiency operation of the voltage conversion stage. There,
conduction losses of the primary side transistors which justifies the series resonant converter supported by a voltage level
why the proposed design methods emphasize on the high current converter stage (topology SRC2) is most promising with respect to
side. High conduction losses occur in the secondary side converter efficiency and volume. Measurement results from an
transistors of topology DAB1 (Fig. 8(a1) and 8(a2)) because of a actual realization of the hardware will be presented shortly in order
low transformer turns ratio n. Moreover, significant switching to validate the theoretical results.
losses are observed on the secondary side of this single stage
topology due to high peak currents at turn off. Compared with this,
the two stage solution allows for a great reduction of the secondary VI. REFERENCES
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