Medium Voltage Flying Capacitor DCDC Converter With High-Frequency TCM-Q2L Control

This article presents a novel control method for a multilevel dc-dc flying capacitor converter for applications in medium voltage range. Quasi-two-level modulation provides the possibility to obtain low flying capacitance even below 1 mu F, whereas the triangular current mode controller part enables to achieve zero voltage switching at turn-ON for a wide operating range, lowering power losses, and providing the possibility to operate at higher frequencies. The proposed novel control converges the advantages of these both methods leading to very high efficiency with high power density. Performance of the flying capacitor converter with the proposed control method is illustrated with a model-based Saber simulation at first, and then, an experimental model operating at wide frequency range (40 o 250 kHz) and in medium voltage range was designed and constructed. A series of laboratory tests at up to 1.5 kV dc and 10 kW confirmed the noteworthy characteristics of the converter. The voltage between the power devices is balanced and the efficiency achieved reached as high as 99.1%. Therefore, the proposed converter can be competitively employed against classical two-level, as well as three-level and series connection-based counterparts.

Automated summary

This article presents a novel control method for a multilevel dc-dc flying capacitor converter for applications in medium voltage range. The proposed control combines the advantages of low flying capacitance, zero voltage switching, and higher frequency operation, resulting in high efficiency and power density.