Analysis and Design of a Non-Isolated Bidirectional ZVS-PWM Active Clamped DC-DC Converter

Pritam Das and Gerry Moschopoulos

University of Western Ontario Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Thompson Engineering Building London, Ontario, Canada, N6A 5B9 E-Mail: pdas2@uwo.ca gmoschopoulos@eng.uwo.ca
Abstract- A new soft-switched bidirectional dc-dc converter is proposed in the paper. The proposed converter can operate with soft-switching, a continuous inductor current, fixed switching frequency, and the switch stresses of a conventional PWM converter regardless of the direction of power flow. These features are due to a very simple auxiliary circuit that is operational regardless of the direction of power flow. In the paper, the operation and design of the converter are discussed and its feasibility is confirmed with experimental results obtained from a prototype.

I. INTRODUCTION Power electronic converter systems for space, telecom, and automotive applications can have dc voltage buses that are backed up with batteries or supercapacitors. They are connected to the buses with bidirectional dc-dc converters that allow the batteries to be discharged or charged, depending on the operating conditions. Bidirectional dc-dc converters may be isolated [1], [8], [10]-[13] or non-isolated [2]-[7], [9], [14], [15], depending on the application. Non-isolated bidirectional dc-dc converters, which will be the main focus of the paper, are typically based on the boost/buck converter structure shown in Fig. 1. S1 operates like a boost switch and S2 operates as a boost diode when energy is transferred from the low-side source Vlo to the highside source Vhi and S1 operates like a buck diode and S2 like a boost diode when energy is transferred from Vhi to Vlo. It is not difficult to implement soft-switching in isolated bidirectional dc-dc converters as they tend to be based on conventional half-bridge and full-bridge structures that can use inductive energy stored in the main power transformer to discharge the capacitance across the converter switches. It is
S2 L in Cs2 V lo S1 Cs1 V hi

more challenging to do so for non-isolated converters as there is no such transformer. Previously proposed techniques to implement soft-switching in non-isolated bi directional dc-dc converter can be categorized as follows: (i) Initial converters of this type [6], [14] were made to operate with an inductor (Lin) current that flowed in both directions during each switching cycle. This requires that both converter switches are on (never simultaneously) sometime during each cycle so that the energy stored in the inductor when one switch is on is used to turn on the other switch with zero-voltage switching (ZVS) after the switch is turned off. The main drawback of this technique is that the inductor current has a lot of ripple with a very high peak as it must flow in both directions during each switching cycle. This results in very high turn-off losses that take away from the improvement in efficiency due to the ZVS turn-on and additional filtering is needed to reduce voltage ripple. (ii) Another approach to implementing soft-switching in a non-isolated bidirectional dc-dc converter is to use quasi-resonant or multi-resonant techniques [5], [15]. Doing so, however, results in the converter having high peak voltage and/or current stresses and forces the converter to be operated with variable switching frequency control, which complicates the design of the converter - especially the design of the magnetic and filtering elements as the converter must be able to operates under a wide range of switching frequencies. (iii) A third approach has been to use auxiliary circuits to assist the switches to operate with soft-switching [7],
S2 L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa

Cs2 V hi

Vlo S1 Cs1

Fig. 1. Standard boost/buck converter structure for bidirectional dc-dc power conversion.

Fig. 2. Proposed soft-switched non-isolated dc-dc PWM converter

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[9], [13]-[15], as is done in zero-voltage transition (ZVT) and zero-current transition (ZCT) converters. Although this approach is an improvement over the other two approaches, it can be costly and complex. This is because a separate independent auxiliary circuit is needed for each main power switch so that the converter must be implemented with four active switches. A new soft-switched bidirectional dc-dc converter with a simple active auxiliary circuit will proposed in the paper. The proposed converter, shown in Fig. 2, is very similar to the conventional converter in Fig. 1 except that auxiliary switch Sa, capacitor Cr and inductors Lr1 and Lr2 have been added. These four components make up a simple active clamp circuit that can be used to ensure that the main power switches, S1 and S2, operate with ZVS regardless of whether the converter is operating in a boost or buck mode. The proposed converter can operate with a continuous inductor current, fixed switching frequency, and the switch stresses of a conventional PWM converter regardless of the direction of power flow. In the paper, the converter's operation will be discussed in detail and analyzed. A procedure for the design of the converter will be presented along with results obtained from an experimental prototype that will confirm the feasibility of the proposed converter. II. CONVERTER OPERATION The modes of converter operation that the proposed converter goes through when it is operating as a boost or as buck converter are given below along with equivalent circuit diagrams in Figs. 3 and 5. Typical converter waveforms for the boost mode of operation are shown in Fig. 4. It should be noted that the waveforms in Fig. 4 also describe the buck mode of operation as the waveforms for both modes are identical - the waveforms for S1 in the boost mode are the waveforms of S2 in the buck mode and vice versa. Referring to Fig. 3 the inductor current ILr1 is positive if it enters the inductor through its positive terminal. The currents through switches S1 and S2 are considered positive if they flow into their respective switches through the drain. The current through Sa is considered to be positive if it flows from
L in Lr1
L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa C s2

the source of the switch through its drain. Any current flowing into the positive terminal of the capacitor Cr is considered to be positive. Voltage measured from drain to source is considered as positive for all the switches. A. Operation in Boost Mode (Fig.3) The operation of the converter in boost mode is explained in this section. For boost mode operation, switch S1 is the main power switch and S2 acts as the freewheeling diode. Mode 0 (t < t0): Before time t = t0, the converter operates as a standard PWM boost converter with switch S1 on and the current ILin through Lin is rising. There is no current in the rest of the auxiliary circuit during this mode. Mode 1 (t0 < t < t1): At t = t0, switch S1 is turned off and the rise in voltage across it is limited by Cs1. The current through Lr1 charges up Cs1 and begins to flow through Cr. Also during this mode, input current begins to be diverted to Lr2 and the capacitance across S2, Cs2, begins to be discharged. Mode 2 (t1 < t < t2): This mode is a continuation of Mode 1 except that Cs2 is completely discharged at t = t1 and current flows through the anti-parallel diode across S2. The key equation that describes this mode is

VCS2 = Vo +Iin Zeq sineq t where

eq = 1 1 (L r1 +L r2 )(C r +CS1 ) (L r1 +L r2 )C r ,

(1)

(2)

and
Zeq = (L r1 +L r2 ) (L r1 +L r2 ) (Cr +CS1 ) Cr (3)

since Cr >>CS1. At the end of this mode, iLr1 = 0, iLr2 = Iin, VCr
L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa S2 L in Lr2 S2

V lo S1

V lo C s1

V hi

V lo C s1

V hi

V lo

V hi

(a) Mode 0 (t < t0)

L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa

(b) Mode 1 (t0 < t < t1)

L in Lr2 Lr1 S2

(c) Mode 2 (t1 < t < t2)

L in Lr2 Lr1 S2 L in

(d) Mode 3 (t2 < t < t3)

Lr2 Lr1 S2

V lo S1

V lo C s1

V hi

V lo S1

V hi

V lo S1

V hi

(e) Mode 4 (t3 < t < t4)

(f) Mode 5 (t4 < t < t5) (g) Mode 6 (t5 < t < t6) Fig. 3. Equivalent circuit diagrams for boost mode of operation

(h) Mode 7 (t6 < t < t7)

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= Vo and the switch voltage rises to a maximum value of (Vhi+IinZeq).

Mode 3 (t2 < t < t3): At t = t2, current stops flowing through the auxiliary active clamp circuit and the converter operates as a standard PWM boost converter. The current through Lin decreases during this mode, as a negative voltage is impressed across Lin.
Mode 4 (t3 < t < t4): Some time before switch S1 is to be turned on, at t = t3, switch Sa is turned on with ZCS. Capacitor Cr begins to discharge through Lr1 and Lr2, as ILin continues to decrease. The key equations describing this mode are

i Lr1 =-Iin coseq2 t i Lr2 =-Iin (1+coseq2 t)

(8) (9) (10)

VCS1 =Vo -Iin Zeq2 sineq2 t

where
eq2 = 1 (L r1 +Lr2 )CS1

(11)

and
Z eq2 = L r1 +L r2 CS1

(12)

i Lr1 =-Iin sineq1 t i Lr2 =-Iin (1+sineq1 t) VCr =VCro -Iin Zeq1 (1-coseq1 t) where
eq1 = 1 (L r1 +L r2 )C r

(4) (5) (6)

At the end of this mode, VS1=VCs1=0.

Mode 6 (t5 < t < t7): At t = t5, capacitor Cs1 has been completely discharged and the anti-parallel diode across S1 begins to conduct. S1 can be turned on with ZVS while this diode is conducting. Mode 7 (t6 < t < t7): Some time after S1 has been turned on, at t = t6, the current through Lr1 will begin to reverse direction and the transfer of current from Lr2 to S1 will begin. This mode of operation will continue until current has been completely transferred to S1 and the converter enters Mode 0 at t = t7. The key equations that describe this mode of operation are
i Lr1 = Vo t L r1 +L r2
Vo t Lr1 +Lr2

(7)

Zeq1 is given by eqn. (3) and VCr0 is the initial voltage across Cr. At the end of this mode i Lr1 =-Iin ,i Lr2 =-2Iin , where Iin is the average input current in boost mode.
Mode 5 (t4 < t < t5): Switch Sa is turned off at t = t4. The current in Lr1 is used to discharge Cs1. The key equations describing this mode are

(13) (14)

i Lr2 =Iin -

Vgs1 Vga

t t t

The duration of this mode is

t C1 = Iin (L r1 +L r2 ) Vo

IS1
B.

(15)

VS1 t VS2 t IS2 ICr t

VCr t ISa VSa t0 t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t6 t7 t0+Tsw t t
Fig. 4. Typical converter waveforms for boost mode operation.

Buck Mode of Operation (Fig. 5) The operation of the converter in the buck mode is described in this section of the paper. For boost mode operation, switch S2 is the main power switch and S1 acts as the freewheeling diode. It should be noted that some of the equations that describe each of the following modes are identical to corresponding modes of operation when the converter is in boost mode. These equations are not presented in the paper to save space. Mode 0 (t < t0): Before time t = t0, the converter operates as a standard PWM buck converter with switch S2 on and the current through Lin, ILin, rising. Mode 1 (t0 < t < t1): At t = t0, switch S2 is turned off and the rise in voltage across it is limited by Cs2. The current through Lr2 charges up Cs1 and begins to flow through Cr. Also during this mode, input current begins to be diverted to Lr1 and the capacitance across S1, Cs1, begins to be discharged.

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Mode 2 (t1 < t < t2): This mode is a continuation of Mode 1 except that Cs2 is completely charged at t = t1. Some time during this mode, Cs1 may be completely discharged and/or current may stop flowing through Cr. At the end of this mode, i L =0,i L =Io ,VC =-Io Zeq and the switch voltage rises to a
r2 r1 r

eq3 =

1 (Lr1 +Lr2 )CS2 L r1 +L r2 CS2

(23)

and
Z eq3 =

(24)

maximum value of (Vhi+IoZeq).

Mode 3 (t2 < t < t3): At t = t2, current stops flowing through the auxiliary active clamp circuit and the converter operates as a standard PWM buck converter. The current through Lin decreases during this mode as the converter is in a freewheeling mode of operation. Mode 4 (t3 < t < t4): Some time before switch S2 is to be turned on, at t = t3, switch Sa is turned on with ZCS. Capacitor Cr begins to discharge through Lr1 and Lr2, as ILin continues to decrease. The key equations that describe this mode are

At the end of this mode, VS2=VCs2=0.

Mode 6 (t5 < t < t6): At t = t5, capacitor Cs2 has been completely discharged and the anti-parallel diode across S2 begins to conduct. S2 can be turned on while this diode is conducting. Mode 7 (t6 < t < t7): Some time after S2 has been turned on, at t = t6, the current through Lr2 will begin to reverse direction and the transfer of current from Lr1 to S2 will begin. This mode of operation will continue until current has been completely transferred to S2 and the converter enters Mode 0 at t = t7. The key equations describing this mode of operation are
i Lr2 = Vo t L r1 +L r2
Vo t Lr1 +L r2

i Lr2 =-Io sineq1 t i Lr1 =-Io (1+sineq1 t) VCr =VCr0 -Io Zeq1 (1-coseq1 t)

(16) (17) (18)

(25) (26)

i Lr1 =Iin -

At the end of this mode: i Lr2 =-Io ,i Lr1 =-2Io , where Io is the average output current in buck mode.
Mode 5 (t4 < t < t5): Switch Sa is turned off at t = t4. The current in Lr2 is used to discharge Cs2. The key equations describing this mode are:
i Lr1 =-I o (1+coseq3 t) i Lr2 =-Io coseq3 t

The duration of this mode is

t C2 = Iin (L r1 +L r2 ) Vhi

(27)

(19) (20) (21) (22)

III. CONVERTER DESIGN A procedure for the design of the proposed bidirectional ZVS converter is presented in this section of the paper. It should be noted that the auxiliary circuit must be designed so that it can create a ZVS turn-on for the device that acts as the main power switch, regardless of whether the converter is in boost or buck mode of operation.
L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa
L in Lr1

VCS2 =Vhi -Io Zeq3sineq3 t

i Lr2 =-Io cos(sin -1 Vhi ) I o Zeq3

where
S2 L in Lr2 L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa Cs2

V lo

V hi

V lo Cs1

V hi

V lo Cs1

V lo S1

(a) Mode 0 (t < t0)

L in Lr2 Lr1 Cr Sa V lo S1

(b) Mode 1 (t0 < t < t1)

L in Lr2 Lr1 Cs2 L in

(c) Mode 2 (t1 < t < t2)

S2 Lr2 Lr1 L in

(d) Mode 3 (t2 < t < t3)

S2 Lr2 Lr1

V lo S1

V hi

V lo S1

V hi

V lo S1

V hi

(e) Mode 4 (t3 < t < t4)

(f) Mode 5 (t4 < t < t5) (g) Mode 6 (t5 < t < t6) Fig. 5. Equivalent circuit diagrams for buck mode of operation

(h) Mode 7 (t6 < t < t7)

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A. Determine condition of ZVS in both directions The minimal conditions needed to ensure the ZVS turn-on of main power switch in both boost and buck modes are derived in this section. It was found that the main switch voltage reduces to zero following eqn. (10), during Mode 5 of boost operation. The condition for the ZVS turn-on of the main switch in boost mode is can therefore be determined from eqn. (10), which can be written as
VCS1 =Vhi -Iin Zeq2 sineq2 (t 5 t 4 ) = 0

tc1>3trr, where trr is the reverse recovery time for the boost diode. Substituting trr into eqn. (15) gives
t C1 = Iin (L r1 +L r2 )>3t rr Vhi

(33)

(28) (29)

where,
t 5 -t 4 =sin -1 (

Vhi ) Iin Zeq2

In the buck mode of operation, a similar commutation occurs in Mode 7, when output current gets diverted from the freewheeling diode to the main switch. Eqn. (27) gives this commutation time tC2. By applying the condition that the commutation time tC3>3trr, the following condition can be found:
t C2 = Io (L r1 +L r2 )>3t rr Vhi

(34)

is the duration of Mode 5. Using eqn. (29), the following relation can be derived:
Vhi <1 Iin Zeq2

(30)

C. Choose inductors Lr1 and Lr2: The choice of resonant inductors Lr1 and Lr2 is done based on the conditions given by eqns. (30), (32), (33) and (34). The following can be derived from these equations:

which is the condition that must be satisfied for the ZVS turnon of the main switch to occur in boost mode. For deriving the condition that ensures the ZVS turn-on of the main switch when the converter is operating in buck mode, Mode 5 of operation is referred to. It was found that the main switch voltage reduces to zero following eqn. (18), during Mode 5 of boost operation. The condition for the ZVS turn-on of the main switch in boost mode is can therefore be determined from eqn. (18), which can be written as
VCS1 =Vhi -Iin Zeq2 sineq2 (t 5b t 4b ) = 0

V (Lr1+Lr2) hi CS1 (in boost mode) (35) Iin V (Lr1+Lr2) hi CS1 (in buck mode) (36) Io
2

( L r1 +Lr2 ) 3t rr

Vo Iin Vo Iin

(in boost mode) (37) (in buck mode) (38)

(31)

( L r1 +Lr2 ) 3t rr

where (t5b-t4b) is the duration of mode-5 in buck mode. Using eqn. (31), the following relation can be derived:
Vhi <1 Io Zeq3

(32)

It can be determined from eqns. (35) and (36) that the sum of the values of Lr1 and Lr2 is inversely proportional to the average load current and average input in the buck mode and boost mode respectively. These inductors must be designed to satisfy eqns. (35)-(38) at the minimum load from and above which the ZVS turn-on of the main switch will occur.
D. Choose resonant capacitor: For choosing the resonant capacitor Cr, the maximum voltage across the main switch, which is given by

which is the condition that must be satisfied for the ZVS turnon of the main switch to occur in buck mode. For any given load, Iin for boost mode and Io for buck mode operation are the same due to the symmetry of the circuit. Switch capacitors CS1 = CS2 = Cs so that Zeq2=Zeq3 from eqns. (12) and (24) and thus eqns. (30) and (32) also become equivalent. In other words, if eqn. (30) is satisfied for a given load when the converter is operating in boost mode then eqn. (32), which is the ZVS condition for the buck mode, will also be satisfied.
B. Minimize reverse recovery losses during turn-off of freewheeling diode in buck mode and boost mode Referring to Mode 7 of operation in boost mode, the time in which current is fully diverted from the boost diode to the main switch is given by eqn. (15). To minimize the reverse recovery losses in this diode, the duration of this tc1 mode of operation given by eqn. (15) should be designed so that

Vs,max= (Vhi+IinZeq) (in boost mode) (Vhi+IoZeq) (in buck mode) where
Z eq Lr1 + Lr 2 Cr

(39) (40)

(41)

has to be considered. This voltage is proportional to the load in both boost and buck modes and must be evaluated at maximum load when choosing Cr.

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E. Turn on time of the auxiliary switch The auxiliary switch turn-on time is the time in which the current through Lr1 when the converter is in the boost mode and that through Lr2 when it is in the buck mode reaches its peak. This occurs while Cr resonates with Lr1 or Lr2 after the auxiliary switch is turned on. This time is given by
t a,on = (L r1 +L r2 )Cr 2

(42)

IV. DESIGN EXAMPLE An example that demonstrates the design procedure presented in the previous section of the paper is shown here. The converter is to be designed according to the following specifications: Vhi=400V, Vlo=100V, switching frequency fsw=100kHz, maximum power is 500 W. The converter is to be designed so that the ZVS turn-on of the main power switch occurs from 40% of full load to full load. This is to be done to try to reduce any circulating current that may contribute to conduction losses. Assuming an expected full load converter efficiency to be around 96%, the full load average input current for boost mode of operation and the full load average output current for 500watts buck mode is = 5.21Amps. Putting this value of 100Volts Iin and Io current into eqns. (33) and (34) and using tC1 = 3trr= 3x80 ns (which is a typical value), a value of (Lr1+Lr2) 19.2H is found. Designing with the condition that the circuit has ZVS from 40% to 100% of full load, a value of Zeq2 > 200 can be found from eqn. (29). If the value of switch capacitance used Lr1 + Lr 2 is assumed to be CS1=0.6nF, then, from Z eq1 = , CS 1

(a)

(b)

(Lr1+Lr2) 24H can be found. For this converter, (Lr1+Lr2)=25H is chosen as higher values of (Lr1+Lr2) will increase circulating currents in the circuit and thus increase circulating current losses. This value of (Lr1+Lr2) satisfies both the criteria for commutation and ZVS turn-on of the main switch in each mode of operation. For the sake of simplicity, a value of Lr1=Lr2=12.5H is used. The resonant clamp capacitor Cr is to be designed so that the peak voltage stress on the main switch given by eqns. (39) and (40) is to be maintained at 450 Volts. Using the chosen values of Lr1 and Lr2 and the maximum values of Io and Iin equal to 5.21Amps in eqns. (40)-(42), a value of Cr = 62.5nF can be found. A standard value of 68 nF can be used for this capacitor. V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS An experimental prototype of the proposed converter was built to confirm its feasibility. The converter was built to operate with a low-side voltage of Vlo = 100 V, a high-side voltage of Vhi = 400 V, maximum power of 500 W, and a switching frequency of 100 kHz. The components that were used were Lr1=Lr2=12.5H, Cr=68 nF. The selection of the main

(c)
Fig. 6. Experimental results. (a) Voltage and current waveforms for S2 with converter working in buck mode (V: 200 V/div., I: 1.25 A/div., t: 2 s/div.). (b) Voltage and current waveforms for S1 with converter working in boost mode (V: 200 V/div., I: 5 A/div., t: 2s/div.). (c) Experimental voltage and current waveforms of auxiliary switch Sa in buck mode. (V: 200V/div, t: 2 s/div)

power circuit inductor Lin, and the main power switches S1, S2 was done as if the converter was a regular PWM converter since the converter is a PWM converter. STP12NM50FP devices were used for S1 and S2 their body diodes were used as the freewheeling diodes. A 700H inductor was used for Lin and an IRC634 device was used as the auxiliary switch.

Typical converter waveforms are shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6(a) shows the voltage and current waveforms of S2 when it is turning on and the converter is operating in buck mode. Fig. 6(b) shows similar waveforms of S1 when the converter is operating in the boost mode. It can be seen that in both cases, the converter switches can operate with a ZVS turn-on. The main novelty of the proposed converter is that the ZVS turnon of both switches is achieved with just a single, common auxiliary circuit that is operational regardless of whether the converter is operating in boost mode or in buck mode.

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98 Efficiency of ZVS Boost Mode Efficiency of Hard Switched Boost Mode 96 Efficiency(%) 94 92 90 88 100

converter regardless of the direction of power flow. These features are due to a very simple auxiliary circuit that is operational regardless of the direction of power flow. In the paper, the converter's operation was discussed in detail, a design procedure was derived and then demonstrated with an example, and results obtained from an experimental prototype that confirm the feasibility of the converter were presented. It was shown how the ZVS turn-on of both switches is achieved with just a single, common auxiliary circuit that is operational regardless of whether the converter is operating in boost mode or in buck mode.
500

200

300 400 Output Power (in Watts)

ACKNOWLEDGMENT The authors would like to acknowledge funding from the National Sciences and Research Council of Canada (NSERC) for financial support during the course of this work. REFERENCES
[1] S. Inoue and H. Akagi, "A bidirectional isolated DCDC converter as a core circuit of the next-generation medium-voltage power conversion system," IEEE Trans. on Power Elec., vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 535-542, Mar. 2007. [2] E. Sanchis-Kilders, et al. "Soft switching bidirectional converter for battery discharging-charging," IEEE APEC Conf. Rec, 2006, pp. 603609. [3] J. Zhang, R.-Y. Kim, and J.-S. Lai, "High-power density design of a soft-switching high-power bidirectional DC-DC converter," IEEE PESC Conf. Rec., 2006. [4] Z. Kong, et al, " Study of bidirectional DC-DC converter for power management in electric bus with supercapacitors" IEEE VPPC Conf. Rec., 2006. [5] L. Schuch, et al, "Analysis and design of a new high-efficiency bidirectional integrated ZVT PWM converter for DC-bus and batterybank interface," IEEE Trans. on Ind. Appl., vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 13211332, Sept. 2007. [6] C.-E. Kim, et al, "A new high efficiency ZVZCS bidirectional DC/DC converter for 42V power system of HEVs," IEEE PESC Conf. Rec., 2006, pp. 792 797. [7] H. Shiji, et al, "A zero-voltage-switching bidirectional converter for PV systems," IEEE INTELEC Conf. Rec. 2003, pp. 14 - 19. [8] H. Li, et al, "A natural ZVS medium-power bidirectional DC-DC converter with minimum number of devices," IEEE Trans. on Ind. Appl., vol. 39, no. 2, pp. 525535, Mar. 2003. [9] C.P. Henze, et al., "Zero voltage switching in high frequency power converters using pulse width modulation," IEEE APEC Conf. Rec. 1988, pp. 33-40. [10] M. Jain, M. Daniele, and P. K. Jain, "A bidirectional DC-DC converter topology for low power application," IEEE Trans. on Power Elec., vol. 15, no. 4, pp. 595606, Jul. 2000. [11] R. Li, et al, "Analysis and design of improved isolated full-bridge bidirectional DC-DC converter," IEEE PESC Conf. Rec., 2004, pp. 521 526. [12] L. Zhu, "A novel soft-commutating isolated boost full-bridge ZVSPWM DC-DC converter for bidirectional high power applications," IEEE PESC Conf. Rec., 2004, pp. 2141 - 2146. [13] K. Wang, et al, Bidirectional dc to dc converters for fuel cell systems, Proc. PET, 1998, pp. 4751. [14] K. T. Chau, et al, "Bidirectional soft-switching converter-fed DC motor drives," IEEE PESC Conf. Rec., 1998, pp. 416 - 422. [15] Z. R. Martinez and B. Ray, "Bidirectional DC/DC power conversion using constant frequency multi-resonant topology," IEEE APEC Conf. Rec., 1994, pp. 991 997.

(a)
98 Efficiency of ZVS Buck Mode 96 Efficiency(%) 94 92 90 88 100 Efficiency of Hard Switched Buck Mode

200

300 400 Output Power (in Watts)

500

(b) Fig. 7. Experimental efficiency graphs. (a) Efficiency of ZVS and hardswitched converter operating in boost mode. (b) Efficiency of ZVS and hard-switched converter operating in buck mode.

Fig. 6(c) shows typical Sa voltage and current waveforms. It can be seen that the current in the auxiliary switch has a positive and a negative hump. The negative hump of the auxiliary switch current signifies the charging current of the active clamp capacitor through the body diode of the auxiliary switch while the positive hump shows the discharging of the active clamp capacitor in resonance with resonant inductors Lr1 and Lr2. The turn on of the switch Sa is ZCS due to the presence of the resonant inductors. Graphs of converter efficiency for both boost and buck modes of operation are shown in Fig. 7. It can be seen that the efficiency curves of the ZVS and the hard-switched converter diverge at heavier loads. This is because the active clamp auxiliary circuit significantly improves converter efficiency regardless of the direction of power flow. The auxiliary circuit reduces the losses due to switching transitions, which still exist in the hard-switched converter and become more dominant at heavier loads. VI. CONCLUSION A soft-switched bidirectional dc-dc converter was proposed in the paper. The proposed converter can operate with softswitching, a continuous inductor current, fixed switching frequency, and the switch stresses of a conventional PWM

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