The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference

1 Megawatt, 20 kHz, Isolated, Bidirectional 12kV to 1.2kV DC-DC

Converter for Renewable Energy Applications
G. Ortiz, J. Biela, D. Bortis and J. W. Kolar
Power Electronic Systems Laboratory, ETH Zurich
ETL I16, Physikstrasse 3
CH-8092 Zurich, Switzerland
Email: [email protected]

Abstract—The design of a 1 MW, 20 kHz, isolated, bidirectional AC AC AC

12kV to 1.2kV DC-DC converter for renewable energy applications DC DC DC
is presented. The main topics addressed are: High-Voltage (HV)
side switch, topology & modulation and Medium Frequency (MF) DC DC DC

transformer. A study of the possible HV side switches, considering

4.5 kV IGBTs is performed, fixing the requirements from the topology DC DC DC

and modulation side in order to reach a highly efficient system. The

studied topologies are the Dual Active Bridge (DAB) with triangular
modulation and the Series Resonant Converter (SRC) with constant AC AC AC

frequency operation. Both topologies are able to achieve Zero Current DC DC DC

Switching (ZCS) in the HV side switches, reducing the switching losses DC DC DC

in these devices, which contribute to a large share to the system
losses. Efficiency curves are presented for different semiconductor DC DC DC
technologies for the Low-Voltage (LV) side switch in order to study
the trade-offs between the selected topologies. Three MF transformer
concepts, namely core-type, shell-type and matrix transformer, are
AC AC AC
presented and compared in respect of winding arrangement, isolation DC DC DC
mechanisms and thermal management. Power losses and volume are
calculated in each case and used to compare the different transformer DC DC DC
concepts.
DC DC DC
I. I NTRODUCTION
Problems associated with power generation through limited and
CO2 emitting energy sources are planed to be overcome using offshore
renewable energy sources. A study of the European Renewable onshore
Energy Council projects that generation through renewable energy
will quadruple its contribution to power generation by 2050 [1]. DC
Amongst today’s renewable energy sources, wind power gener-
ation is currently the main contributor and is being continuously AC
developed further. This trend will increase the current wind turbine PPC
a)
power ratings and will further encourage the location of wind farms
in shallow seas, as the offshore power generation is projected to Storage Storage Storage
considerably increase within the next decades [1, 2]. The offshore
DC DC DC DC DC DC
installation of these new higher power wind farms introduces
new challenges in power transmission and connection to onshore Storage Storage Storage

AC transmission/distribution grids. Research has shown that High DC DC DC DC DC DC

DC

Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) power transmission suits better AC PPC

the requirements of medium/large distance, e.g. 100/200km, power

transmission in relation to classical AC transmission lines because Storage Storage Storage

no reactive power is produced/consumed by the transmission cable, DC DC DC DC DC DC

reducing the losses in the power transmission system [3].

One of the proposed [2, 4] future wind farm DC layouts is shown b)
in Fig. 1-a) as an example. Here, several wind turbines with DC
output are connected in series to reach the HVDC transmission Figure 1: Examples for applications of high-power isolated
level, avoiding the installation of an offshore HVDC station. Groups DC-DC converter in renewable energy generation: a) High power
of these series connected wind turbines are then paralleled to reach wind farm with HVDC transmission line; b) Energy storage
the desired power level. The power from the HVDC bus is then scheme with DC transmission.
fed to the AC grid through a three-phase inverter, avoiding the use
of bulky 50/60 Hz transformer inside the nacelle or at the bottom
of the wind turbine. The use of a MF transformer instead results In this wind farm layout, each wind turbine’s AC-DC converter is
in a significant reduction in the overall installed volume/weight, connected to a fully rated DC-DC converter. This converter is used
reducing the construction and installation costs of the wind turbine to reach the required step-up ratio between the input and output
[5]. Special attention must be paid to the level of isolation provided voltages and to provide the required isolation for the wind turbine,
by this transformer, which, in order to be a real replacement for given the series connection at the output side. Moreover, by using
50/60 Hz transformers, must comply with international standards this DC-DC converter, higher dynamic control is achieved over the
[6]. Moreover, in the series connection of wind generators presented power flow.
in Fig. 1-a), the MF transformer must withstand the whole HVDC On the other hand, one drawback of renewable energy sources
level. This isolation level is not considered in this work. is their susceptibility to energy fluctuations which, if not properly

978-1-4244-5393-1/10/$26.00 ©2010 IEEE 3212

 The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference

TABLE I: Specifications for the isolated, bidirectional DC-DC

converter. II. H IGH -VOLTAGE S IDE S WITCH
Topologies which allow soft switching conditions (Zero Voltage
Parameter Value
Switching (ZVS) or ZCS) for semiconductor devices are highly
Power P 1 MW desirable for this application given the selected switching frequency
Switching frequency fs =1/Ts 20 kHz fs and power rate P (cf. Table I). Additionally, the requirement
Port 1 voltage (high voltage side) VHV 12 kV
Port 2 voltage (low voltage side) VLV 1.2 kV
for bidirectional power flow reduces the possibilities of converter
Isolation (without output series connection) 100 kVDC topologies. As a consequence, two converters which allow bidi-
rectional power flow, ZVS and ZCS under certain conditions are
considered: The Dual Active Bridge (DAB) and the Series Resonant
5
10 Converter (SRC). In both cases, the inductive turn-off of the
devices represents the most critical processes within the converter
Freedm NCSU [20] ETH Zurich
operation.
On the other hand, semiconductor switches with high-voltage
blocking capability (ranging from 3.3 kV to 6.5 kV) are expected
4 ABB [16] to generate a large share of the converter losses due to their
10
typically slow switching behavior. For that reason, the switching
Frequency (Hz)

Bombardier [14] performance of two 4.5 kV IGBT switches is investigated in this

section with focus on their turn-off behavior.
Alstom [15] An attractive future solution would consider Silicon Carbide
Uniflex [21] E.ON RWTH
3
(SiC) switches in the HV side. As an example, 6.5 kV SiC JFETs
10 from SiCED are available for testing. By connecting three of these
switches in cascode configuration [10], a total blocking voltage
capability of 19.5 kV is possible while keeping the high-speed
KTH [29]
switching behavior of SiC devices in addition to a simple switch
control given by a single gate terminal. However, with the presently
2
10 2 available 6.5 kV SiC JFETs, only currents in the 5-6 A range could
10 10 3 10 4 be carried by the switch and therefore this technology is not further
Power (kW)
considered in this paper.
Figure 2: Frequency v/s Power map with different high-power The 4.5 kV IGBTs switching measurements are used to estimate
DC-DC converter research efforts. the losses in the system considering a DAB with trapezoidal
modulation, which allows ZVS on the HV IGBTs. Using this
estimation, conclusions on the requirements from the topology and
treated, could lead to instabilities in the power grid or variations in modulation point of view will be drawn.
the mains frequency. To overcome these problems, energy storage
systems are utilized to store energy during periods of generation A. 4.5 kV Powerex IGBT
surplus and to deliver it during generation sags [7, 8]. Other The 4.5 kV Powerex IGBT represents an attractive solution from
energy storage systems are meant to provide leveling in the power the packaging point of view, since its gate connection enables fast
generation during peak loading, allowing the generators to operate turn-on behaviors. The testbench depicted in Fig. 3 was built to test
smoothly and closer to their optimum conditions. In both cases, the switching performance of this device. Here, two QIS4506002
a high-power bidirectional DC-DC converter with high step-up Powerex switches are connected in series to build a half-bridge.
ratio is required to interface with the distribution grid. For larger The upper switch is then connected to the load used to test the
energy storage schemes, storage systems with their isolated DC-DC switch performance.
converters can be series connected to reach a medium DC voltage A turn-off process at 900 V and 600 A is shown in Fig. 5-
level, while the power is reached through parallel connection of a). A considerable tail current can be seen here, which causes a
grouped storage systems (cf. Fig. 1-b)). large amount of losses (Eof f =1.51 J) during each turn-off process.
The key enabling technology for these applications is a high- An additional test was performed with a 40 nF purely capacitive
power/high-voltage bidirectional, isolated DC-DC converter. As snubber, where the dissipated turn-off energy reaches in this case
a consequence, a DC-DC converter with the specifications from Eof f =0.75 J. In both cases, the large amount of dissipated energy
Table I is designed. In Fig. 2, a frequency v/s power graph makes this switch unattractive for a 20 kHz operation.
shows the research groups working on DC-DC converters with
similar specifications as the ones proposed in this work. As can be
seen, several research efforts are addressing the high-power/high- Ceramic
frequency DC-DC converter topic, as it is a key element within IGBTs capacitors
future power transmission/distribution grids. Remarkable is also
the work performed in [9], where Silicon-Carbide is presented as
enabling technology for future converters with powers in the MW Load
50 mm

range and frequencies in the MHz range. connection

In this paper, the main research areas that must be addressed
to fulfill these requirements are presented. Section II presents the
High-Voltage (HV) switch options and discusses their performance Gate drivers
where the requirements for the topology and modulation of the
m

converter are identified. In order to fulfill these requirements,

m0

155
17

Section III discusses the possibilities for topologies and mod- mm

ulation schemes which are attractive for the application. Three
MF transformer concepts are designed in Section IV using the
calculated voltage and current waveforms. Figure 3: 4.5kV Powerex IGBT Testbench.

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 The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference

up to 22 kW, corresponding to 64.1 % of the overall converter

Copper foils
Capacitors losses (cf. Fig 8-a)). This high switching losses must be reduced by
modifying the converter topology and its modulation scheme. As
Mechanical
Press a consequence, two topologies which allow a ZCS on the HV side
are discussed in the following section along with their respective
modulation schemes.
340 m m

III. T OPOLOGY AND M ODULATION

The two studied topologies that can enable a ZCS in the HV side
(HV-ZCS) of the converter are: Dual Active Bridge with triangular
modulation and the Series Resonant Converter (SRC) with constant
IGBTs frequency modulation. A ±5% operating range is imposed over the
HV and LV levels in order to reach higher robustness. Full power is
Heat Sinks Load transferred within these range. The operation principles of each of
460 connection
m m
m these converters under HV-ZCS operation will be now discussed.
5m

A. Dual Active Bridge With Triangular Modulation

24

The DAB is displayed in Fig. 6-a) and it consists of two

Figure 4: 4.5 kV Press-Pack IGBT Testbench. fullbridge converters each connected to one side of the MF trans-
former. An inductor (Lst,D in Fig 6-a)), which is used as energy
Current (kA), Voltage(kV)

1 transfer component, is placed in series with the transformer, or

alternatively, the leakage inductance of the transformer can be used.
0.75 The operation of this converter under HV-ZCS has been reported
0.5
vCE vCE previously [13] and is described, according to Fig.6-c), by the
iC iC
following piecewise sequence valid for power transfer from the
0.25 LV to the HV side:
0 • Interval I: The HV and the LV side bridges apply full positive
0 10 20 30 40 0 2 4 6 8 10
a) Time (μs) b) Time (μs) voltage to the HV and LV windings of the transformer. The
difference VLV − VHV /nD is applied to inductor Lst,D . If
Figure 5: Collector-emitter voltage and collector current of 4.5 kV the turns ratio nD is different to VHV /VLV , then the current
IGBTs during turn-off behavior: a) Powerex IGBT; b) Press-Pack iL,D (t) through the transformer rises linearly with slope given
IGBT. by (VLV − VHV /nD )/Lst,D . The length of this interval is
given by the duty cycle D2,D .
• Interval II: The LV side bridge switches the voltage vLV (t) to
B. 4.5 kV Press-Pack IGBT zero, whereas turn-off losses are generated the LV side. The
Originally designed for pulsed power and industrial traction voltage applied to the inductor is now −VLV /nD and there-
applications, the Press-Pack IGBT features 4.5 kV blocking voltage fore current iL,D (t) decreases with slope −VHV /nD /Lst,D .
and rated currents in the kA range [11]. The construction of this As soon as current iL,D (t) reaches zero, the HV side bridge
device is based on single semiconductor chips, which can be either switches and applies zero voltage to the HV side of the
IGBTs or diodes. Several chips are placed on a collector baseplate transformer. As the switched current at this point is zero, the
and the connection to the emitter is then made through special turn-off loses are ideally zero. The length of this interval is
spring contacts designed for equal pressure/current distribution given by the duty cycle D1,D .
among the chips. • Interval III: As approximately no voltage is applied to the
The testbench displayed in Fig. 4 was built to test the perfor- inductor Lst,D , the current through the transformer stays at
mance of this switch. This testbench comprises a capacitor bank zero until the second half cycle takes place and the analogous
which is connected to the IGBT half bridge through coplanar process is repeated. The length of this interval must be
copper foils. Special water-cooled heat sinks are placed over each adjusted to enable recombination or swap-out of all carriers
collector plate to cool the IGBTs. Aluminium plates are then placed in the HV IGBT before the next switching cycle begins. This
above and beneath the setup which are mechanically pressed up to safety margin time is named tSM,D .
3 Tons, allowing an even current distribution. Using Fig. 6-c), the following equations that describe the behav-
A turn-off process of this switch at 900 V and 600 A is presented ior of the transformer current iL,D (t) during the first half switching
in Fig. 5-b). This device presents a better performance on the cycle are calculated.
switching behavior (Eof f =0.82 J), with a considerably shorter
tailing process in comparison to the Powerex device. iL,D (t) = IL0,D +
vE,D (t)
·t (1)
Lst,D
C. Efficiency estimation based on DAB converter 
 VLV − VHV /nD : 0 < t ≤ D2,D Ts
In order to quantify the performance of each of these IGBTs, vE,D (t) = −VHV /nD : D2,D Ts < t ≤ D1,D Ts
efficiency calculations based on a purely trapezoidal modulation  0 : D1,D Ts < t ≤ Ts /2
using a DAB converter [12] are now performed. For the LV side (2)
switches, the losses were calculated as shown in Section III with the
SiC JFET solution. In the case of the transformer, the calculated The initial condition IL0,D is calculated in each switching
losses correspond to the matrix transformer discussed in Section interval in order to have a continuous current waveform, whereas
IV. the initial condition iL,D (0) at interval I is calculated to meet with
The switching losses considering the powerex IGBT reach (3).
40.3 kW, which correspond to 76.6 % of the overall losses. Similar
values are found for the press-pack solution, with switching losses iL,D (0) = −iL,D (Ts /2) (3)

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 The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference

vC,S (t)
SLV,1 SLV,2 Lst,D SHV,1 SHV,2 SLV,1 SLV,2 Lst,S SHV,1 SHV,2

12000 V

12000 V
1200 V

1200 V
iL,D (t) iL,S (t) Cst,S
vLV (t) vHV (t) vLV (t) vHV (t)
CLV CHV CLV CHV
1:nD 1:nS
SLV,3 SLV,4 SHV,3 SHV,4 SLV,3 SLV,4 SHV,3 SHV,4

a) b)
Current (kA), Voltage (kV)

3
Turn-off Turn-off iL,S
2 LV side iL,D v,LV
v,LV LV side
vHV
1 vHV vC,S
Turn-off
0 HV side
Turn-off
-1 HV side

-2 I II III
I II III
-3
0 10 Ts D2,D Ts D1,D 30 40 50 0 10 Ts D2,S Ts D1,S 30 40 50
c) Time (µs) d) Time (µs)
Figure 6: HV side Zero Current Switching bidirectional topologies and modulations: a) Dual Active Bridge; b) Series Resonant
Converter; c) DAB triangular modulation with nD =13 and Lst,D =2 µH at 1 MW transferred power.; d) SRC constant frequency
modulation with nD =13, Lst,D =5.85 µH, Cst,D =12 µF at 1 MW transferred power.
In order to achieve HV-ZCS, the constraint iL,D (0)=0 must be • Over-resonant frequency: In this operating mode, the current
fulfilled, which gives a relation between D1,D and D2,D described iL,S (t) has always a phase difference with respect to the driv-
by (4). The duty cycle D1,D must be adjusted to transfer the ing voltage. This implies that, when the power is transferred
required power, thus for a power PD , the required D1,D is given from the HV to the LV side, the HV side switches will turn-
by (5). off the transformer current and thus HV-ZCS would not be
VHV · D1,D achievable.
D2,D = (4) • Under-resonant frequency: In this operating mode, only buck
nD · VLV
 operation is achievable by reducing the switching frequency
nD Ts (VLV · nD − VHV )Lst,D nD VLV PD starting from resonant frequency. This means that the voltage
D1,D = (5)
Ts (VLV · nD − VHV )VHV ranges can not be covered once a turns ratio nS is selected.
In this modulation scheme, the turns ratio must be different to Constant frequency operation of the SRC converter was treated in
the input output voltage ratio VHV /VLV , otherwise no power is [18] for several state trajectories. Of special interest is the trajectory
transferred. Additionally, to achieve HV-ZCS, the turns ratio must that enables a HV-ZCS behavior, which is presented in Fig.6-d) and
be higher than the input output voltage ratio VHV /VLV . Therefore described by the following piecewise intervals:
the limitation on the turns ratio is given by:
• Interval I: The HV and the LV side bridges apply full positive
VHV voltage to the HV and LV windings of the transformer. The
(6)
nD > difference VLV −VHV /nS is applied to the resonant tank. The
VLV
current iL,S (t) through the transformer rises with a sinusoidal
The series inductance Lst,D is designed to have a certain safety
waveform and consequently the resonant capacitor voltage
margin time tSM,D in worst case between the turn-off of the HV
vC,S (t) varies sinusoidally (cf. I Fig.6-d)). The length of this
switch and the start of the next switching cycle. This in turn gives
interval is given by the duty cycle D2,S .
a relation between the turns ratio nD and the series inductance
• Interval II: The LV side bridge switches the voltage vLV (t) to
Lst,D .
With this description, the turns ratio nD and the safety margin zero, whereas turn-off losses are generated the LV side. The
tSM,D are left as design parameters. The turned-off currents, RMS voltage applied to the tank is now −VLV /nS and therefore
and average currents in the switches are calculated for a given the current decreases. As soon as current iL,S (t) reaches zero,
transferred power PD . Thereafter, an optimized design can be
reached by following the optimization process shown in Fig. 7.
DAB: PD
B. Series Resonant Converter with Constant Frequency Modulation Specifications: VHV ; VLV ; fs
SRC: PS
The SRC converter depicted in Fig.6-b), represents an attractive
DAB: nD ; tSM,D
alternative for the HV-ZCS current modulation, which led to Setup free parameters:
SRC: nS ; tSM,S ; fo
several high power DC-DC converter research efforts [14–16]. This
Parameter variation

converter consists of two full bridges interfaced by a transformer DAB: D1,D ; D2,D
Calculate operating point: i ; ioff...
with a series resonant tank composed of an inductor Lst,S and SRC: D1,S ; D2.S rms
a capacitor Cst,S . Piecewise sinusoidal current waveforms are
LV side losses Transformer losses HV side losses
obtained through the transformer with this resonant tank.
Cond. Sw. Core Copper Cond. Sw.
As has been reported in [17], the power transfer of this converter
can be controlled by adjusting the switching frequency with a 50 %
duty cycle in both fullbridges. However, given the desired HV-ZCS Efficiency optimization
behavior and the operating ranges of the system, this operating
mode is not suitable for the following reasons: Figure 7: Flow-chart of converter’s optimization process.

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 The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference

TABLE II: Design parameters for the DAB and the SRC
the HV side bridge switches and applies zero voltage to the topologies.
HV side of the transformer. As the switched current at this
point is zero, the turn-off loses are negligible. The length of Parameter DAB SRC
this interval is given by the duty cycle D1,S . Turns ratio nD =13 nS =13
• Interval III: If capacitor voltage vC,S (t) is lower than the Safe M. time tSM,D =2.5 µs tSM,S =2.5 µs
low side voltage VLV and the reflected high side voltage Series inductance Lst,D =2 µH Lst,S =5.85 µH
VHV /n, then the corresponding diodes are in blocking state Series capacitor - Cst,S =12 µF
and therefore the current through the transformer stays at Resonant frequency - f0 =19 kHz
zero until the next half switching period begins. The resonant
frequency f0 is must be adjusted to enable recombination 1
or swap-out of all carriers in the HV IGBT before the next Semisouth SJEP120R063 SiC JFET

Efficiency (%)
99 Infineon IPW60R045CP MOSFET
switching cycle begins. This safety margin time is named
tSM,S . 98
Considering the time intervals in Fig.6-d), the current iL,S (t) and 97 Infineon IGW75N60T IGBT
the voltage vC,S (t) are described by the following set of equations 96
[18] for the first half switching period:
95
(VC0,S − vE,S (t)) 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
iL,S (t) = − sin(ω0 t) + IL0,S · cos(ω0 t) (7) Power (MW)
Z0
vC,S (t) = (VC0,S − vE,S (t)) · cos(ω0 t) (8) Figure 9: Calculated efficiencies for DAB with triangular
+ IL0,S Z0 · sin(ω0 t) + vE,S (t) (9) modulation using different LV-side switch technologies.

1
ω0 = = 2πf0 (10) RMS and average currents in the switches are calculated for a
Lst,S Cst,S
 given transferred power PS . Thereafter, an optimized design can
Lst,S be reached by following the optimization process shown in Fig. 7.
Z0 = (11)
Cst,S
 C. Efficiency comparison for different LV side switches
 VLV − VHV /n : 0 < t ≤ D2,S Ts
vE,S (t) = −VHV /nS : D2,S Ts < t ≤ D1,S Ts (12) With the aforementioned modulation schemes, the desired HV-
 0 : D1,S Ts < t ≤ Ts /2 ZCS is achieved, where all the switching processes are performed
by the LV side switches. In this voltage range, mature technologies
The initial conditions VC0,S and IL0,S are calculated in each with high switching performances can be found. In this section, the
switching interval in order to have a continuous voltage/current efficiencies of both studied topologies considering the following
waveforms, whereas the initial conditions iL,S (0) and vC,S (0) at switch technologies are investigated:
interval I are calculated to meet with (13) and (14) respectively.
• 600 V IGBT: Infineon IGW75N60T
iL,S (0) = −iL,S (Ts /2) (13) • 600 V MOSFET: Infineon CoolMOS IPW60R045CP
• 1200 V SiC JFET: Semisouth SJEP120R063
vC,S (0) = −vC (Ts /2) (14)
These devices are single switches which require to be paralleled
The aim is to achieve HV-ZCS, which is equivalent to forcing
in order to reach the current driving capability. A total of 60
iL,S (0)=0 and solving for D2,S , thus finding the relation between
switches are paralleled to build one of the power switching device,
D1,S and D2,S given by (15). The duty-cycle D1,S is then adjusted
which will be then fitted into one power module. In the case of
to transfer a power PS through the converter as described by (19).
IGBTs and MOSFETS, the blocking capability is reached through
D2,S = a series connection of 3 groups of paralleled devices, whereas in
 case of the SiC JFETs, only 2 series connected groups of devices
F1 nS vC,S (0)
− tan−1 are required. For the HV side, each of the switches is built using
F2 (nS VLV − nS vC,S (0) − nS VHV ) − nS VLV 4 series connected Press-Pack IGBTs.

nS VLV + VHV fs The safe blocking voltage distribution in the series connected
− (15)
F2 (nS VLV − nS vC,S (0) − nS VHV ) − nS VLV ω0 devices in both LV and HV sides can be achieved by addition of
F1 = sin(ω0 D1,S Ts ) (16) passive components or by using a multilevel (ML) construction
[19–21]. When considering a Neutral Point Clamped (NPC) ML
F2 = cos(ω0 D1,S Ts ) (17)
converter in two level operation, no additional losses are generated
VLV (F2 VLV nS − F2 VHV − VLV nS ) in the clamping diodes [22] and therefore the losses calculations can
vC,S (0) = (18)
2VHV + F2 VLV nS − VLV nS be performed considering an ideal series connection of switches.
D1,S = Two level operation is considered at full transferred power whereas

4fs (VLV2
VHV − VLV VHV 2
) at partial load, the staircase-type voltage of the ML topology could
cos−1 be used to increase the soft-switching range. This last case is not
VLV (4fs VHV nS VLV − 4VHV fs + PS Z0 ω0 n2S )
2
 treated in this paper.
PS · Z0 ω0 (n2S VLV − 2nS VHV ) fs The losses in the LV side switches are calculated using datasheet
+ 2
(19)
VLV (4fs VHV nS VLV − 4VHV fs + PS Z0 ω0 n2S ) ω0 information whereas for the HV side switches the measured output
The same constraint as with the DAB stands for the turns ratio characteristic is used. The transformer losses are included in the
nS , (cf. (6)). The resonant frequency f0 is chosen to have a defined efficiency calculations considering the matrix transformer construc-
tSM,S in worst-case operation. This frequency is usually in the tion presented in Section IV, which represents a worst case in terms
range f0 =0.8..0.9fs [13]. The series capacitor Cst,S should be of losses. In the case of the SRC converter, the losses in the series
large enough to avoid conduction of the diodes during interval III. capacitor are included in the transformer losses.
With (7)-(18) the operation of the converter is described, leaving The parameters used to perform the efficiency comparison be-
nS , tSM,S and Cst,S as design parameters. The turned-off currents, tween both converters are shown in Table II.

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 The 2010 International Power Electronics Conference

DAB trapezoidal modulation DAB triangular modulation SRC constant frequency

25

10
Losses (kW)

Switching
7.5 Switching
Switching
5
Copper
Switching Copper Copper
Cond. Cond.
2.5 Cond. Cond.
Cond.
Cond. Core Core Core
0
a) LV side Trafo. HV side b) LV side Trafo. HV side c) LV side Trafo. HV side
Figure 8: Loss distribution at power P = 1 MW for the SiC JFET LV switch solution and the matrix transformer design: a) DAB with
trapezoidal modulation; b) DAB with triangular modulation; c) SRC with constant frequency.
1 Litz wire
HVwinding 100kV dry-type
Efficiency (%)

99
potted isolation
98 U-Cores
97
Semisouth SJEP120R063 SiC JFET
96 Infineon IPW60R045CP MOSFET
Infineon IGW75N60T IGBT
95
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
Power (MW)
Figure 10: Calculated efficiencies for SRC with constant
frequency modulation using different LV-side switch technologies.

LV windng & core

Figs. 9 and 10 show the calculated average efficiencies for both water-cooled
topologies as function of the transferred power for the different LV LV copper heat sinks
switch technologies. As can be seen, a considerable improvement foil winding
in efficiency is achieved in comparison with a DAB-trapezoidal
Figure 11: Core-type transformer. Size:
modulation in all cases. The SiC JFET solution appears specially
294 mmx284 mmx141 mm. Core losses: 1.26 kW, Copper losses
attractive, with efficiencies over 98 % for both topologies. The best
1.55 kW.
performance is achieved with the SiC JFET solution using the SRC
converter. Here a 98.6 % efficiency is reached at nominal power.
This is mainly due to the lower switched-off currents in relation to which determines the core cross-section and the number of turns, is
the DAB converter, given the resonant operation. However, special assumed as square-shaped with 50 % duty cycle. The core material
attention should be payed to capacitor Cst,S , which must be able to in all cases is the VITROPERM 500F.
withstand high voltages and to carry the whole transformer current As the transformer is responsible for a large share of the volume
(cf. Fig. 6-c)). and losses of the converter, it is desirable to study different con-
The loss distribution among the converter components for the structions and isolation mechanisms. Moreover, with high power
studied topologies is presented in Fig. 8 including the DAB with densities, thermal management complexity is increased due to more
trapezoidal modulation. As can be seen, compared to the trape- compact converter constructions. It is therefore desirable to rely
zoidal modulation, the losses in the HV switches are drastically on good thermal extraction mechanisms, which would allow to
reduced with the triangular modulation and the SRC constant increase the power density of the transformer.
frequency modulation as ideally no switching losses are generated In the following, the design of three different transformer
in these devices . In turn, the switching losses are now taken by concepts, namely U-core, shell-type and matrix transformer with
the LV side switches, which posses better switching performances different isolation mechanisms is presented. For the winding losses,
and, despite the high switched-off currents, enable high efficiencies HF skin and proximity effects were included as described in [23]
of the converter (cf. Fig. 9 and 10). whereas in case of the core losses, non-sinusoidal effects of the
A further step in the topology and modulation is to perform an applied voltage were included as described in [24]. For each
optimal design of all the components for both the DAB and the concept, a description of the winding arrangement, the isolation
SRC topologies in order to choose the most attractive solution for and thermal management is performed and compared. In future,
application in hand. this last topic will be investigated more in detail.
IV. M EDIUM F REQUENCY T RANSFORMER A. U-Core Transformer
The MF transformer is used mainly for two purposes: step- The U-Core transformer arrangement is based on a single mag-
up/down the voltage levels and to provide the required isolation netic core with windings in both legs of the core [25]. A 3D
between HV and LV sides (cf. Table I). This last feature is CAD design of the transformer for this applications is presented in
particularly critical as it is closely linked to the losses and power Fig. 11.
density of the transformer, as will be shown in the following 1) Winding Arrangement: The LV winding is built with two
sections. HF-optimized copper foils of 0.3 mm. Each leg of the core has one
The voltage and current waveforms are extracted from the mod- of these 4-turn LV windings which are then parallel connected.
ulation scheme in order to design the transformer. The DAB with The current distribution between these windings is then actively
triangular modulation is used as reference as it represents a worst controlled by the converter. The HV winding is built with a litz
case in terms of HF losses. The voltage applied to the transformer, wire of 840 strands of 0.1 mm each. Two windings composed of

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U-Cores in 6 U-Cores in Chambered

E configuration Water-cooled radial arrangement construction
LV copper core heat sinks for heat extraction
foil winding

100kV Isolated
HV Cable 100kV isolated
HV Cable
Chambered
construction l
for heat extraction 120mm Fan 6 LV copper
120mm Fan foil winding

Figure 12: Shell-type transformer. Size: Figure 13: Matrix transformer. Size: Outer Diam.= 396 mm,
358 mmx324 mmx163 mm. Core losses: 1.83 kW, Copper losses Height=120 mm. Core losses: 2.23 kW, Copper losses 2.28 kW.
1.93 kW.

increasing the volume of the transformer to 11.9 liter. With these

26 turns each are wound around the LV windings and then series larger core and winding sizes, the losses in the transformer are
connected higher, which added to the not HF-optimized litz HV conductor,
2) Isolation: The isolation is achieved by placing a 20 mm dry- reach 3.76 kW in this case at full power.
isolation layer between primary and secondary of the transformer 3) Thermal Management: Water-cooled heat-sinks as depicted
(cf. Fig. 11). This distance is required to integrate the series in Fig. 13 are placed between the core and the windings for the
inductance within the transformer’s leakage inductance. A 300 kV heat extraction of the core and LV windings. Additional heat sinks
c
isolation is achieved using the Micares [26] material with this are placed in the outer face of the core to exact the core heat.
isolation layer. This dry-type isolation enables a compact trans- Two chambers are created by an additional enclosure to create
former construction with a total volume of 4.3 liter. Moreover, as independent ventilation ducts through which respective 120 mm
the required winding window is reduced, the size of the core is fans blow to cool the HV winding. The distance between each
also reduced, decreasing the core losses. The use of a litz-wire HV winding turn must be adjusted to enable the required heat
optimized for HF operation further reduces the transformer losses extraction.
which are 3.5 kW at 1 MW. Another shell-type transformer was designed considering a litz
3) Thermal Management: To extract the losses of the LV wire for the HV side winding with a potted isolation as with the U-
winding and core, water-cooled heat sinks are placed, on one side core transformer. The volume is reduced to 3.5 liter and the losses
against the core surface and on the other side on the LV winding to 3.37 kW with this isolation type.
surface (cf. Fig. 11). For the HV winding, water-cooled heat sinks
are placed on the outer face of the cast isolation where the heat is C. Matrix Transformer
transferred through the outer isolation layer [27]. An attractive solution is represented by matrix transformer
Another proposed heat extraction mechanism consists of using arrangement [31]. Here several magnetic cores are interwired
a braided hollow copper conductor with an internal plastic hose with series/parallel conductors, reaching the desired HV to LV
carrying water. This water-cooled cable was proposed in [28] for transformation ratio []. A 3D CAD drawing of the designed matrix
a battery charging system. transformer is shown in Fig. 13.
1) Winding Arrangement: As shown in Fig. 13, the designed
B. Shell-Type Transformer matrix transformer consists of 6 magnetic core units, each with a
This transformer construction consists of two pairs of U cores LV winding consisting of 8 turns of a HF-optimized 0.3 mm copper
arranged in "E-core" configuration as depicted in Fig. 12 and foil. Through all 6 cores, 16 turns of a HV cable [30] are wound
reported in [25, 29]. (cf. Fig. 13), where each core unit has a 1:2 turns ratio reaching a
1) Winding arrangement: The LV winding is built using an HF- total turns ratio of ALV /AHV ·1/2=1:12 for the whole transformer.
optimized 0.5mm thick copper foil wound around the middle leg The main advantage of this transformer construction is the
formed by the two pairs of U cores. The HV winding is then placed requirement of less HV cable turns in comparison to the core and
around the LV winding using a 133 strand HV cable [30]. The shell-type transformers, significantly reducing the transformer con-
maximum bending radius of this cable determines the length l of struction complexity. Also, by using separated magnetic core units,
the transformer, as can be seen in Fig. 12. a magnetic paralleling of semiconductors is possible, enabling a
2) Isolation: The HV cable used for the HV winding is able better current distribution among the devices [32].
to withstand a 100 kVDC isolation using a silicon-based material 2) Isolation: The HV cable reaches an isolation level of
[30]. The use of this isolation mechanism significantly reduces the 100 kVDC using a silicon-based isolation material [30]. As with
complexity of the transformer construction in relation to the U- the shell-type transformer with HV cable, the unavoidable distance
core transformer, as no custom made parts are required to reach between each HV conductor significantly affects the overall volume
the isolation level. of the system, reaching a total volume of 11 liter. By this same
It should be noted that the 100 kVDC isolation must be achieved fact, together with the not HF-optimized HV cable, the transformer
between LV and HV windings. However, by using a HV cable, losses are affected, reaching 4.5 kW at nominal power.
there exists a double isolation level between each HV turn. This 3) Thermal Management: The thermal management of the core
unavoidable issue increases the core and winding sizes drastically, and LV windings has a reduced complexity since more area is

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TABLE III: Performance of the different transformer concepts at

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