International Journal of Electrical and Electronics

Engineering Research (IJEEER)

ISSN(P): 2250-155X; ISSN(E): 2278-943X
Vol. 4, Issue 6, Dec 2014, 107-120
TJPRC Pvt. Ltd.

DESIGN AND SIMULATION OF NEW ZCS DCDC CLOSED LOOP

FULL-BRIDGE BOOST CONVERTER
WASEEM AHMED HALWEGAR & MOINUDDIN M SHIRBADGI
Assistant Professor, Department of E & E, AITM, Bhatkal, Karnataka, India

ABSTRACT
There are a number of applications where an output dc voltage that is considerably larger than the input dc voltage
is needed. Such applications include fuel cell and photovoltaic (pv) applications, where the voltage obtained from the fuel
or pv cell is low, and hybrid vehicles where the voltage required to run the motor is much higher than that provided by the
battery. Pulse width modulation (PWM) full bridge dcdc boost converters are typically used in applications where the
output voltage is considerably higher than the input voltage, these converters can be implemented with either zero-voltage
switching (ZVS) or zero-current switching (ZCS) depending on the application. ZCS converters are rarely used in
applications where the input voltage is very low (i.e, 12 V48 V) such as in fuel cell converters, because the converters in
these applications are implemented with MOSFETs and not IGBTs. If a review of the power electronics literature is made,
it can be seen that ZCS techniques are associated with IGBT and ZVS techniques are associated with MOSFETs, and that
it has, thus been assumed that ZCS techniques are, therefore, unsuitable for converters with very low input voltages.
This paper begins with a review of the operation of ZCS converters in general; the disadvantages of previous ZCS
converters are stated. A new ZCS-PWM dcdc boost full-bridge converter is then introduced. The operation of the new
converter is explained and analyzed, and a procedure for the design of its key components is given. Simulation results
obtained from simulation are compared with analytical results. Finally, two types of disturbances at the input side are
created and closed loop control is provided to maintain constant output voltage with variation in the input voltage.

KEYWORDS: Active Clamp, DcDc Power Conversion, LC Resonance, Low-Power Converters

INTRODUCTION
There are a number of applications where an output dc voltage that is considerably larger than the input dc voltage
is needed. Such applications include fuel cell and photovoltaic (pv) applications, where the voltage obtained from the fuel
or pv cell is low, and hybrid vehicles where the voltage required to run the motor is much higher than that provided by the
battery. Because they have two mechanisms by which the input voltage can be stepped up the main power transformer,
which is a step-up transformer and A PWM full-bridge boost converter can be implemented with either zero-voltage
switching (ZVS) [1],[2] or zero-current switching (ZCS) [3]depending on the application. In general, the use of ZVS
converters is preferred for applications where MOSFETs are used where the input voltage is high and the input current is
low or medium, and where turn-on switching losses dominate. The use of ZCS converters is preferred in applications
where insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) are used [4], [5] where the input current is high, and where conduction
losses dominate. The low dc voltages that the converter switches are exposed to do not allow for the use of IGBTs as very
low voltage IGBTs (<400 V) are unavailable. If a review of the power electronics literature is made, it can be seen that
ZCS techniques are associated with IGBT and ZVS techniques are associated with MOSFETs, and that it has, thus, been
assumed that ZCS techniques are, therefore, unsuitable for converters with very low input voltages. The objective of this

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Waseem Ahmed Halwegar & Moinuddin M Shirbadgi

paper is to show that this assumption is not necessarily true.

ZCS-PWM FULL-BRIDGE BOOST CONVERTERS

ZCS methods allow the full-bridge switches to turn off softly by diverting current away from them before they
turn off. This soft turn-off removes the need for additional snubber capacitances to be connected across each bridge switch;
therefore, there is no need to be concerned about losses due to snubber capacitor energy being dissipated in the switches.
Small inductances placed in the converter and the transformer leakage inductance are used to slow down the rise of current
through the switches when they are turned on.
Previously proposed converters of this type, however, have atleast one of the following disadvantages.

The converter is a fixed-frequency resonant ZCS current fed converter [3] or a variable-frequency resonant
converter [6]. An example resonant converter is shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1: Resonant ZCS Full-Bridge Boost Converter

Both types of resonant converter generate a considerable amount of circulating current in the full bridge so that
the switches can turn off with ZCS. This circulating current is not transferred to the load and does little but add to the
conduction losses of the converter.

Figure 2: Full-Bridge Boost Converter with Current-Blocking Diodes

For example, in the resonant converter shown in Figure 1, the current flowing in capacitor resonant Cr does not
result in energy being transferred to the output, but adds to conduction losses instead.

The converter achieves the ZCS turn-off of its devices by using an active auxiliary circuit that is connected
parallel to the full bridge to divert current away from the bridge switches before they are turned off. An example
converter with this problem is shown in Figure 2.The converter shown in Figure 3 tries to remove auxiliary circuit
energy by feeding it to the input, but this approach still results in increased primary-side conduction losses and the
switches do not operate with soft-switching.

Design and Simulation of New ZCS DcDc Closed Loop Full-Bridge Boost Converter

109

Figure 3: ZCS Full-Bridge Boost Converter with Parallel Auxiliary Circuit

The additional circulating current also contributes to increased peak current stresses in the full-bridge switches.
For example, the converters shown in Figures 1 and 2 must conduct current from the resonant tank (see Figure 1)
or auxiliary circuit (see Figure 2) on top of the current they are supposed to conduct. The converter in Figure 3
needs to be operated with the input boost inductor in a discontinuous conduction mode if a ZCS turn-on is to be
achieved, but doing so results in very high peak converter currents.

Diodes are placed in series with the switches in some converters so that current does not flow through the body
diodes of the switches and circulating current is reduced. The converter shown in Figure 2 is an example converter
with this issue.

An uncontrolled voltage spike and/or significant voltage ringing can appear across the main converter switches
because the output switch capacitances resonates with the leakage inductance of the main transformer during turn
off. This spike and ringing will appear across the secondary diodes as well. An example converter with this
problem is shown in Figure 4

Figure 4: ZCS Full-Bridge Converter with Snubber Energy

The existence of the aforementioned disadvantages has prevented the use of ZCS to be considered as a viable
option in low input dc voltage converters. The use of ZCS might be more attractive if these disadvantages can be
eliminated. To see if this can be done, a new ZCS-PWM dcdc full-bridge boost converter that has none of the
aforementioned disadvantages is proposed in this paper.

NEW ZCS-PWM FULL-BRIDGE CONVERTER

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Waseem Ahmed Halwegar & Moinuddin M Shirbadgi

Figure 5: New ZCS Full-Bridge Boost Converter

The new ZCS converter is shown in Figure 5. It is a standard PWM full-bridge converter with an auxiliary circuit
that consists of an auxiliary switch Qaux, a resonant capacitor Cr, a resonant inductor Lr2, a transformer with a center-tapped
secondary, and two secondary diodes Ds1 and Ds2 connected to the output. It is, therefore, an attractive candidate for use in
converters such as a low-voltage input, current-fed boost full bridge converter that operates with very high currents. This is
especially true as many other auxiliary circuits for ZCS-PWM boost converters cannot be implemented in current-fed full
bridge converters, this is due to the fact that it is implemented in a full-bridge converter that must operate with much
greater current and the fact that the leakage inductance interaction must be taken into account when designing the auxiliary
circuit.
The basic principle behind the converter is that the auxiliary circuit is activated during the time when all
full-bridge switches are ON so that current can be diverted away from these switches and the appropriate pair of switch can
turn off with ZCS. Energy in the auxiliary circuit can be transferred to the output through the transformer in the auxiliary
circuit. Switches turn on with ZCS due to the leakage inductance of the transformer preventing current from rushing into a
switch in a sudden manner

Modes of Operation
The modes of operation that the new converter goes through during half of a steady-state switching cycle are

explained in this section and a mathematical analysis of each mode is performed and waveforms are shown in Figure 6 and
the equivalent circuit modes are shown in Figure 7.
Mode 0 (t0 < t <t1 ) [see Figure 7(a)]: Switches Q1 and Q4 are turned at the beginning of this mode at t = t0 while
the other two switches Q2 and Q3 were already ON carrying the full input current Iin . Due to the primary transformer
leakage inductance, the transfer of current to these switches is gradual so that they turn on with ZCS. This is a
commutation mode during which a negative voltage appears across the leakage inductor so that current through it starts
decreasing. This will reduce the current through Q2 and Q3 while the current through Q1 and Q4 increases. At the end of this
mode, there is no current in the transformer primary and the bridge is shorted.
Mode 1 (t1 < t < t2 ) [see Figure 7(b)]: At time t = t1, all four switches Q1, Q2, Q3 , and Q4 are ON and the input
current flows through all four of these devices so that Q1-Q2 and Q3-Q4 carry half of the input current ideally.
The transformer primary remains shorted and the output capacitor gets discharged into the load. The input inductor has the
full input voltage across it and gets energized.
Mode 2 (t2 < t <t3 ) [see Figures 7(c)]: At t = t2 , the auxiliary switch Qaux is turned on and Cr begins to resonate

Design and Simulation of New ZCS DcDc Closed Loop Full-Bridge Boost Converter

111

with Lr2 and discharges. Energy in the auxiliary circuit is transferred to the load through Taux and Ds1.
Mode 3 (t3 < t <t4 ) [see Figure 7(d)]: At t = t3 , the voltage across Cr reaches zero and Daux starts to conduct as Cr
continues to resonate with Lr2 and the voltage across it becomes negative.
Mode 4 (t4 < t <t5 ) [see Figure 7(e)]: At t = t4 , the current through the main switches becomes zero and begins
reversing direction by flowing through the body diodes of the switches. Switches Q2 and Q3 can be turned off softly at any
time while current is flowing through their body diodes.
Mode 5 (t5 < t <t6 ) [see Figure 7(f)]: At t = t5 , the body diode of Qaux starts conducting and the switch can be
turned off softly after this instant. During this mode, the body diode of all converter switches conducts current. The current
coming out of the bridge flows through Lr1 and Daux, charging up Cr Energy is transferred from the auxiliary circuit to the
load through Taux and Ds2.

Figure 6: Converter Waveforms

Mode 6 (t6 < t <t7 ) [see Figure 7(g)]: At t = t6 , the current in the body diode of Qaux goes to zero. During this
mode, the voltage across Cr increases in resonance with Lr1 while the current flows through the body diodes of the
full-bridge switches. At the end of this mode, the voltage across Cr reaches Vpri= Vo/N.
Mode 7 (t7 < t < t8 ) [see Figure 7(h)]: At t = t7 , the current in the body diodes of the full-bridge switch becomes
zero, and some input current starts to flow through Lr1, Q1 , and Q4 .
Mode 8 (t8 < t <t9 ) [see Figure 7(i)]: At t = t8 , all the input current flows through the bridge switches Q1 and Q4 ,
and none through Cr . The converter is in an energy transfer mode.

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Waseem Ahmed Halwegar & Moinuddin M Shirbadgi

Figure 7: Converter Modes of Operation. (a) Mode 0. (b) Mode 1. (c) Mode 2.
(d) Mode 3. (e) Mode 4. (f) Mode 5. (g) Mode 6. (h) Mode 7. (i) Mode 8

DESIGN CONSIDERATION
In order to achieve ZCS for the Primary switches in every load conditions, the peak resonant current in the
auxiliary circuit should be larger than the maximum output current, Resonant Components Leq and Cr should satisfy

(1)

Where Leq is Leakage inductance, Cr is Resonant Capacitor, N is Turns ratio, Vin is DC input Voltage Io max is the
maximum output current
Based on the above equation the resonant parameters can be calculated and the smaller one should be adopted in the
design.
The design specifications of NEW ZCS full bridge converter are like maximum output power Po=600W, DC input
Voltage Vin=24 V, DC output Voltage Vo=288V, Load Current Io =2A, Switching frequency fs=50KHz.The output filter
parameters Co=100 F with input voltage 24V and transformer ratio N =12 the output voltage becomes Vo = 288 V,
Resonant circuit parameters are Leq = 225nH, Cr = 175nF, Resonant Frequency fr = 802KHz .The resonant frequency of

Design and Simulation of New ZCS DcDc Closed Loop Full-Bridge Boost Converter

113

802 kHz corresponds about 16 times the switching frequency the worst ZCS condition can be achieved
Table 1: Summary of Analytical Calculated Values
Parameters
Switching frequency fs
DC input Voltage Vin
DC output Voltage V0
Time period Ts
Duty ratio D
ON Period Ton
Resonant Frequency fr

Values
50KHz
24V
288V
20 Sec
0.7
(70%)
14 Sec
802KHz

The voltage across the resonant capacitor Cr and current through the resonant inductor Lr2 in mode 2 of operation
as described in chapter 4 can be expressed as follows
VCr(t) = L r2

( )

+ Vx

iLr2 (t) = iCr (t) = Cr

(2)
( )

(3)

The initial conditions for (5.6) and (5.7) are VCr(0) = VCr0 and iLr2 = 0. Solving these equations gives
VCr (t) = Vx + (VCr0 Vx ) cos

2t

22 = 1/ Lr2Cr

(4)
(5)

According to the condition required for resonance with switching frequency fs=50KHz, the resonant components
are chosen as Cr = 175nH, Lr1 = 300nH and Lr2 = 900nH.
Vx =

(6)

VCr (t) = Vx + (VCr0 Vx ) cos

iLr2(t) =

&

) " # $%

2t

(7)
(8)

where Z02is the characteristic impedance of the auxiliary circuit. Circulating energy from the auxiliary circuit is
transferred to the output during this time.
The equations describing mode 7 are
iLr1(t) = Iin(1 cos 1t)
VCr(t) =
1 = (
Z1 =

'

()

+ IinZ1 sin 1t
*)

( ) (*

(9)
(10)
(11)

(12)

Where Llk is the transformer leakage inductance assumed to be typically around 500nH.
iLr1(t) = Iin(1 cos 1t)
VCr(t) =

'

+ IinZ1 sin 1t

(13)
(14)

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Waseem Ahmed Halwegar & Moinuddin M Shirbadgi

TESTING AND SIMULATION RESULTS

Open Loop Model
This chapter gives the simulation of new ZCS-PWM full bridge converter. The simulation is done using Matlab /
Simulink. The Figure 8 shown below is the model for converter developed in Matlab/Simulink. This is designed for 600W,
288V connected to the converter circuit. The converter block is developed as per the Figure 5. The model has been
developed using Matlab/Simulink

Figure 8: Converter Model

Figure 9: Simulation Output Waveforms of Pulses for Switches

The Figure 9 shows the Simulation of Pulse generator output waveforms of Pulses for switches S1S4 (top wave
form), S2S3 (middle wave form) and Saux(Bottom wave form), (Amplitude of pulses are one)

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Design and Simulation of New ZCS DcDc Closed Loop Full-Bridge Boost Converter

Figure 10: Simulation Waveforms of Resonant Capacitor (Cr)

Comparison between Analytical Result and Simulation Results
Table 2: Comparison of Results

Output voltage, Vo
Mode 2
Resonant capacitor voltage,VCr(t)
Resonant inductor 1 current, iLr2(t)
Mode 7
Resonant inductor 2current,iLr1(t)
Resonant capacitor voltage, VCr (t)

Analytical
Results
288 V

Simulation
Results
290 V

47.24V
37.39A

48 V
38 A

47.16A
117.55V

47 A
117V

The Figure 10 shows the Voltage Vc across resonant capacitor Cr and current IC through the resonant
capacitor

Figure 11: Simulation Waveforms for Input Voltage, Vin= 24V

Closed Loop Model

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Waseem Ahmed Halwegar & Moinuddin M Shirbadgi

Two types of disturbances at the input side are created and closed loop control is provided to maintain constant
output voltage with variation in the input voltage.

Figure 12: Circuit for Input Voltage Disturbance I (Step Input)

The step variation of input voltage can be introduced by two switches and two timers. If the switch one is closed
the normal voltage is being applied to the circuit. When the switch two is closed the two DC sources are get connected in
series and the input voltage is increased.

Figure 13: Simulation Output for Step Input

The Figure 13 shows Simulation output for Input voltage Vin Disturbance I (Step input). The input voltage Vin
24V is applied and it will remains constant till the time 0.5 Sec, at 0.5 sec step input voltage is increased by 6V and it will
become 30V and it will continue.

Figure 14: Circuit for Input Voltage Disturbance II

Design and Simulation of New ZCS DcDc Closed Loop Full-Bridge Boost Converter

117

Figure 15: Simulation Output for Input Voltage Disturbance II

Figure 14 shows the Circuit for Input voltage Vin Disturbance II the voltage will varying randomly with respect
to the time, the input DC voltage is altered by introducing additional error signal. Figure 15 shows the Simulation of input
voltage Disturbance II.

Figure 16: Circuit for Closed Loop Control

Figure 17: Simulation Output with Disturbance I

Figure 17 shows the simulation waveforms of closed loop system with Disturbance I, step input The input voltage
Vin 24V varying in step (Top wave form), the regulated output voltage Vo 288V (middle wave form), is obtained
through PI controller and corresponding out current Io (Bottom wave form)

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Waseem Ahmed Halwegar & Moinuddin M Shirbadgi

Figure 18: Simulation Output with Disturbance II

The output voltage is sensed and it compared with the reference voltage. The error signal is given to PI controller.
The output pulses of PWM generation system are given to the MOSFETs. The response of closed loop it can be seen that
the output voltage reduces and settles at the set value or the control circuit takes proper action to reduce the amplitude to
the set values 288V the steady state error becomes zero.

CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, a new ZCS-PWM dcdc full-bridge boost converter is proposed. The converters main power
switches can operate with ZCS due to an active auxiliary circuit that diverts current away from the switch just before it is
turned off. Unlike other previously proposed converters, the auxiliary circuit allows the bridge switches to be turned off
with ZCS without increasing the peak current stress of these switches, with reduced circulating energy, and with a
significantly lower peak bridge switch voltage stress. The active switch in the auxiliary circuit can also operate with
soft-switching and conducts current for only a small fraction of the switching cycle. This auxiliary circuit also helps
remove unwanted voltage spikes appearing across the full-bridge devices during their turn-off transient as found in
conventional current fed full-bridge converters and other converters referred in the literature. Through this auxiliary circuit,
the trapped circulating energy can be fed to the output hence making it useful unlike all similar converters in the literature.
Finally, two types of disturbances at the input side are created and closed loop control is provided to maintain constant
output voltage with variation in the input voltage.

REFERENCES
1.

S.-K. Han, H.-K. Yoon, G. W. Moon, M.-J. Youn, Y.-H. Kim and K.-H. Lee, A new active clamping
zero-voltage switching PWM current fed half-bridge converter, IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 20, no. 6,
pp. 12711279, Nov. 2005.

2.

H. Xiao and S. Xie, A ZVS bidirectional dcdc converter with phase-shift plus PWM control scheme, IEEE
Trans. Power Electron, vol. 23, no. 2, pp. 813823, Mar. 2008.

3.

C. Iannello, S. Luo, and I. Batarseh, Full bridge ZCS PWM converter for high voltage high-power applications,
IEEE Trans. Aerospace. Electron. Syst, vol. 38, no. 2, pp. 515526, Apr. 2002

4.

C. M. Wang, New family of zero-current-switching PWM converters using a new zero-current-switching PWM
auxiliary circuit, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol. 53, no. 3, pp. 768777, Jun. 2006.

Design and Simulation of New ZCS DcDc Closed Loop Full-Bridge Boost Converter

5.

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D. Y. Lee, M. K. Lee, D. S. Hyun, and I. Choy, New zero-current transition PWM DC/DC converters without
current stress, IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 18, no. 1, pp. 95104, Apr. 2002.

6.

J. F. Chen, R. Y. Chen, and T. J. Liang, Study and implementation of a single-stage current-fed boost PFC
converter with ZCS for high voltage applications, IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 23, no. 1, pp. 379386,
Jan. 2008.

7.

Ahmad Mousavi, Pritam Dasand Gerry Moschopoulos A Comparative Study of A New ZCS DCDC Full-Bridge
Boost Converter with a ZVS Active-Clamp Converter, IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, vol. 27, no. 3,
March 2012.

AUTHORS DETAILS

Waseem Ahmed Halwegar received B. E degree from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum in the
year 2010 and M. Tech in Digital Electronics from Visvesvaraya Technological University, Belgaum in the year 2013.
He has published several research papers in the field of Electrical Engineering. Presently he is working as Assistant
Professor in Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering, Anjuman institute of technology and management,
Bhatkal (Karnataka, INDIA). And his areas of interest are Power Electronics, Renewable energy sources and power system
protection. E-mail:waseemhalwegar@gmail.com

Moinuddin M Shirbadgi received B. E degree in Electrical and Electronics from Visvesvaraya Technological
University, Belgaum in the year 2009 and M. Tech in Power system and power electronics from Visvesvaraya
Technological University, Belgaum in the year 2012.He has published several research papers in the field of Electrical
Engineering. Presently he is working as Assistant Professor in Department of Electrical & Electronics Engineering,
Anjuman institute of technology and management, Bhatkal (Karnataka, INDIA). And his areas of interest are Power
Electronics, Industrial drives and power system protection. E-mail:moin016@gmail.com