High Efficiency and High Power Density,

Isolated Bi-Directional DC-DC Converter

for Residential Storage System
(Project Proposal)

Submitted by:
Hafiz Khubaib Bashir 2015-EE-19
Hassan Raza Shah 2015-EE-27
Noman Saleem 2015-EE-36
Zeeshan Abbasi 2015-EE-78

Supervised by: Mr. Mustafeez Ul Hassan

Department of Electrical Engineering

University of Engineering and Technology Lahore
Contents

List of Figures ii

Abbreviations iii

Problem Statement 1
0.1 Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

1 Literature Review 2
1.1 Buck Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Boost Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Bi-direction Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.1 Non-Isolated Bi-direction Buck Boost Converter . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.3.2 Advantages of Isolation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.3.3 Isolated Bi-Directional Converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

2 Proposed Methodology 7
2.1 Topology for converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1.1 Advantages of DAB-IBDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1.2 DAB-IBDC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Control Methodology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2.1 Dual Phase Shift Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

3 Block Diagram and Flow Chart 10

4 Tentative Time Table and Deliverables 12

4.1 Time Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
4.2 Deliverables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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List of Figures

1.1 Buck Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

1.2 Buck Converter Mode 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.3 Buck Converter Mode 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.4 Boost Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.5 Boost Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.6 Bi-direction Buck Boost Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.7 Isolated Bi-direction Converter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

2.1 Dual Active Bridge Isolated Bi-directional Dc-Dc Converter[3] . . . . . . . 8

2.2 Comparision of Different Phase Shift Control Methods [3] . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Triggering gate signals of DPS control method [3] . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

3.1 Block Diagram . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

3.2 Flow Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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Abbreviations

MOSFET Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor

DC Direct Current
PWM Pulse Width Modulation
PCB Printed Circuit Board
DAB Dual Active Bridge
IBDC Isolated Bidirectional Dc– Dc Converter
DPS Dual Phase Shift Control
HF High Frequency

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Problem Statement 1

0.1 Problem Statement

An efficient and highly power dense DC-DC converter is to be designed and implemented.
Following are some desired to be achieved in the converter.

• Low voltage side

(Charging)

– Vlow (DC) : 35 ∼ 50V

– Current ripple: ≤ 3% at 100% load

• High voltage side

(Discharging)

– Vlow (DC) : 400V

– Voltage ripple: ≤ 2% at 100% load

• Output power: 1kW

• Power density: ≥ 1.5W/cm3

• Efficiency
(both charging and discharging modes)

– ≥ 96% at 100% load

– ≥ 94% at 50% load
– ≥ 92% at 25% load
Chapter 1

Literature Review

1.1 Buck Converter

[1] A buck converter (step-down converter) is a DC-DC power converter which steps
down voltage (while stepping up current) from its input (supply) to its output (load).
The fundamental circuit for a step down converter or buck converter consists of an
inductor, diode, capacitor, switch and an optional error amplifier with switch control
circuitry.

Figure 1.1: Buck Converter

The circuit for the buck regulator operates by varying the amount of time in which
inductor receives energy from the source.

Typically the switch is controlled by a pulse width modulator, the switch remaining on
of longer as more current is drawn by the load and the voltage tends to drop and often
there is a fixed frequency oscillator to drive the switching.

Buck Converter Operation: When the switch in the buck regulator is on, the voltage
that appears across the inductor is (Vin −Vout ). Using the inductor equations, the current
(Vin −Vout
in the inductor will rise at a rate of L . At this time the diode D is reverse biased
and does not conduct.

2
Chapter 1. Literature Review 3

Figure 1.2: Buck Converter Mode 1

When the switch opens, current must still flow as the inductor works to keep the same
current flowing. As a result current still flows through the inductor and into the load.
The diode, D then forms the return path with a current Idiode equal to Iout flowing
through it.With the switch open, the polarity of the voltage across the inductor has
reversed and therefore the current through the inductor decreases with a slope equal to
−Vout
L .

Figure 1.3: Buck Converter Mode 2

1.2 Boost Converter

The boost converter circuit has many similarities to the buck converter. However the
circuit topology for the boost converter is slightly different. The fundamental circuit for
a boost converter or step up converter consists of an inductor, diode, capacitor, switch.

Figure 1.4: Boost Converter

The circuit for the step-up boost converter operates by varying the amount of time in
which inductor receives energy from the source. In the basic block diagram the oper-
ation of the boost converter can be seen that the output voltage appearing across the
load is sensed by the error amplifier and an error voltage is generated that controls the
Chapter 1. Literature Review 4

switch.Typically the boost converter switch is controlled by a pulse width modulator,

the switch remaining on of longer as more current is drawn by the load and the voltage
tends to drop and often there is a fixed frequency oscillator to drive the switching.

Boost Converter Operation: The operation of the boost converter is relatively straight-
forward.When the switch is in the ON position, the inductor output is connected to
ground and the voltage Vin is placed across it. The inductor current increases at a rate
equal to Vin /L.When the switch is placed in the OFF position, the voltage across the
inductor changes and is equal to Vout − Vin . Current that was flowing in the inductor
Vout −Vin
decays at a rate equal to L /.

Figure 1.5: Boost Converter

1.3 Bi-direction Converters

Bidirectional dc-dc converters (BDC) have recently received a lot of attention due to the
increasing need to systems with the capability of bidirectional energy transfer between
two dc buses. Apart from traditional application in dc motor drives, new applications
of BDC include energy storage in renewable energy systems, fuel cell energy systems,
hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and uninterruptible power supplies (UPS).

1.3.1 Non-Isolated Bi-direction Buck Boost Converter

Basic dc-dc converters such as buck and boost converters (and their derivatives) do
not have bidirectional power flow capability. This limitation is due to the presence of
diodes in their structure which prevents reverse current flow. Non-Isolated Bi-directional
Buck–boost converter is “a DC to DC converter which either steps up or steps down the
input voltage level”. The step up or step down of input voltage level depends on the
duty ratio. Duty ratio or duty cycle is the ratio of output voltage to the input voltage in
the circuit. Buck – bust converter provides regulated DC output without isolating input
and output sides.

Bi-direction Buck Boost Converter Operation: The bi-directional converter oper-

ates in two modes:
Chapter 1. Literature Review 5

Figure 1.6: Bi-direction Buck Boost Converter

I.Buck Mode: In this mode Q2 switch operates while Q1 just act as a diode which is
built in it and operate as simple buck converter discussed above.

II.Boost Mode: In this mode Q1 switch operates while Q2 just act as a diode which is
built in it and operate as simple boost converter discussed above.

1.3.2 Advantages of Isolation

Galvanic isolation between multi-source systems is a requirement mandated by many
standards. Following are listed some pros associated with isolated input and output
side:

• Personnel safety

• Noise reduction

• Correct operation of protection systems

1.3.3 Isolated Bi-Directional Converters

Voltage matching is also needed in many applications as it helps in designing and opti-
mizing the voltage rating of different stages in the system. Both galvanic isolation and
voltage matching are usually performed by a magnetic transformer in power electronic
systems, which calls for an ac link for proper energy transfer. Although this approach
is similar to unidirectional dc-dc converters, the need to bidirectional power flow signifi-
cantly adds to the system complexity. Furthermore, when high efficiency soft-switching
techniques are to be applied, this complexity tends to be more. Most, if not all, of
medium-power IBDCs have a structure similar to 1.7. This structure consists of two
high-frequency switching dc-ac converters and a high-frequency transformer which is
primarily used to maintain galvanic isolation between two sources. This transformer is
also essential for voltage matching in case of large voltage ratio between two sources. The
transformer calls for ac quantities at its terminals and thus a dc-ac converter is employed
on each side. As energy transfer in either direction is required for the system, each dc-ac
converter must also have bidirectional energy transfer capability. With the same token,
the dc buses in this structure must also be able to either generate or absorb energy. The
Chapter 1. Literature Review 6

dc buses shown in this structure are assumed to have stiff-voltage characteristics, i.e.
their Thevenin impedance is negligible. In practice, these buses are connected to a dc
source or an active load like battery, ultra-capacitor or dc-link capacitor which resemble
an ideal voltage source with stiff voltage characteristics. If the converter is of current-fed
type, it is assumed that the required elements to realize stiff current are incorporated
inside the converters shown in 1.7.

Figure 1.7: Isolated Bi-direction Converter

Chapter 2

Proposed Methodology

2.1 Topology for converter

Overall, IBDC topologies for high frequency power converters are numerous and diverse.
But, in general, when the rated voltage and current of switches are the same, the trans-
mission power of IBDC is proportional to the number of switches, such as the power
capacity of four-switch IBDC is double that of dual-switch IBDC but half that of eight-
switch IBDC, so the DAB-IBDC has the highest power capacity.From the view of filter,
the output pulsation frequency for forward converter is switching frequency but for the
push–pull, half-bridge and full-bridge converters is double switching frequency, so with
the same output voltage, the filter for DAB-IBDC is also small.

2.1.1 Advantages of DAB-IBDC

As described above and also from compact points given below, superiority of DAB can
be confirmed over other typologies.

• Highest transmission power capacity.

• Smaller filter size as stated above.

• Ease of realizing soft-switching.

• Bidirectional power transfer capability.

• Modular and symmetric structure

2.1.2 DAB-IBDC
2.1 shows a common IBDC topology which is sometimes called dual active (full) bridge
(DAB). The converter is introduced in (De Doncker et al., 1991) and (Kheraluwala et
al., 1992)[2]. In this configuration, full-bridge voltage-fed converters are used at both
sides of the isolation transformer and the control is performed based on soft-switched
phase-shift strategy. In its basic form, the diagonal switching pairs in each converter

7
Chapter 2. Proposed Methodology 8

are turned on simultaneously with 50% duty cycle (ignoring the small dead time) and
with 180 degrees phase shift between two legs to provide a nearly square wave ac voltage
across transformer terminals. The phase shift between two ac voltages, denoted by φ, is
an important parameter which determines the direction and amount of power transfer
between dc buses. By adjusting this phase shift, a fixed frequency operation with full
control over the power transfer is possible.

Figure 2.1: Dual Active Bridge Isolated Bi-directional Dc-Dc Converter[3]

2.2 Control Methodology

In recent years, a lot of topics have been worked by many scientists for improving system
efficiency on the IBDCs and these studies are generally about phase shift control methods
and their different variations. In literature, the most commonly used control method
is single phase shift method phase shift control methods. Moreover, there are several
comparison articles about Single (Traditional) Phase Shift (SPS), Extended Phase Shift
(EPS) and Dual Phase Shift (DPS). However, various topologies are improved that are
used in several applications, isolated BDCs are usually based on single-phase, full-bridge
topology. Therefore, these PI based phase shift control methods are applied to single-
phase, full-bridge topology with isolation transformer.

2.2.1 Dual Phase Shift Control

When the voltage range of two side of the transformer increase, the current stress becomes
higher values. This condition gives rise to use higher volt-ampere rating components. In
order to minimize the weight and size, switching frequency must be increase. Under this
condition, increase of the current stress cause to switching losses and great reduction
in efficiency. Therefore, requirement of good performance, DPS control method must
be use instead of increasing switching frequency. DPS control has complex calculation
and its modeling is harder than the SPS and EPS. If it is taken dead band effects into
consideration, the complexity of DPS control would have risen.

Under Conventional DAB-IBDC, 2.2 describes comparison of different phase control

methodologies based on their efficiency.
Chapter 2. Proposed Methodology 9

Figure 2.2: Comparision of Different Phase Shift Control Methods [3]

All of the switching legs have different phase shift angles at DPS control method as
shown in Fig.2.3 . In other words, Q1-Q2, Q3-Q4, Q5-Q6, Q7-Q8 switches have different
angles each other as referenced to 2.1.

Figure 2.3: Triggering gate signals of DPS control method [3]

Chapter 3

Block Diagram and Flow Chart

As traditional BAB-IBDC, DC input from any selected input side is processed through
a full bridge circuit to convert it into high frequency alternating voltage i.e acting as
inverter. This ac voltage is fed through an HF inductor and high frequency transformer
for purpose of energy storage and isolation respectively.The other fully controlled full
bridge circuit is used for ac to dc conversion i.e as rectifier.

Figure 3.1: Block Diagram

Micro-controller unit’s job is to generate Dual Phase Shifted gate triggering signals which
derive respective switches (high frequency MOSFETs) of respective bridges through op-
tical isolation for protection of expensive controller. A feed back is would also be taken
from output DC voltage and PI Control will be implemented for best achieving the aimed
for output. Duty cycle of respective gate pulses of appropriate bridge is changed keeping
track of current output.

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Chapter 3. Block Diagram and Flow Chart 11

Figure 3.2: Flow Chart

Chapter 4

Tentative Time Table and

Deliverables

4.1 Time Table

Month Aim
September 2018 Literature Study
Importing Components(SiC or GaN devices, gate drivers)
October 2018 Initial Testing of DC-AC Inverter
November 2018 Implementation of control logics in micro-controller
December 2018 Hardware implementation of DC-AC inverter
January 2019 Design and implementation of high frequency transformer
February 2019 Design and implementation of AC-DC converter
March 2019 Integration of modules and final testings
April,May 2019 Further improvements

4.2 Deliverables
Complete module as per requirements of 3 including PCBs, Control Unit, HF transformer
as essential components is proposed to be presented as final product.

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Bibliography

[1] Muhammad H.Rashid Power Electronics, Circuits, Devices and Applications. Pearson
Publishers, 2003.

[2] R. W. A. A. D. Doncker, D. M. Divan, and M. H. Kheraluwala. A threephase soft-

switched high-power-density dc/dc converter for high-power applications. IEEE Trans.
Ind. Appl., vol. 27, no. 1, pp. 63–73, Jan./Feb. 1991, 1991.

[3] Hamid R. Karshenas. Bidirectional DC-DC Converters for Energy Storage Sys-
tems. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221917061_Bidirectional_
DC_DC_Converters_for_Energy_Storage_Systems, Last accessed on May 18, 2018.

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