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AbstractIn this paper, a novel grid-connected high has made the price of grid-connected inverters in ac module
step-up inverter is proposed. The topology is composed of more visible [2]. Due to the growing popularity of ac modules
two stages. The rst stage is a single-switch high step-up and the aforementioned design challenges, major research has
dcdc converter with bipolar outputs, and the second stage
is a conventional half-bridge dcac grid-connected inverter. been carried out to design more effective and more reliable
Negative grounding of the photovoltaic (PV) module has re- microinverters. In [1][6], many dcdc and dcac converters
sulted in elimination of unwanted ground leakage currents for ac modules are reviewed.
in the PV system. Simple structure, employing few semi- Since the generated voltage by PV modules is relatively low,
conductor switches, simple control, and high efciency are a high step-up boost conversion is required to reach the high bus
the features of the proposed topology. Theoretical analysis
and principal operation of the circuit are discussed. An voltage requirements for the full-bridge, half-bridge, or multi-
experimental prototype is implemented to verify the perfor- level grid-connected inverters. Therefore, the main challenge
mance of the proposed inverter. The experimental results within ac modules is designing high step-up dcac converters.
conrm the aforementioned features and the theoretical Another important issue in designing ac modules is the
analysis of the converter operation. difficulty with the ground leakage current in PV systems. Wide
Index TermsAC module, coupled inductor, ground surface of PV modules results in producing a large parasitic
leakage current, high step-up converter, photovoltaic (PV) capacitor between ground and PV module. Due to low effi-
inverter. ciency and high cost of transformers, employing nonisolated
I. I NTRODUCTION power converters is desirable. However, this results in forming
of a common-mode voltage across the aforementioned parasitic
R ENEWABLE energy sources are the best alternative for
fossil fuels. Free, clean, and abundant energy are the de-
sired characteristics of renewable energy sources. Photovoltaic
capacitor, and hence, some unwanted currents may flow in the
system. In [7], a comprehensive analysis on leakage currents
(PV) systems benefit from the leading technology among re- in single-phase transformerless PV grid-connected inverters is
newable energy technologies and have been considerably stud- presented, and some solutions for reducing these unwanted cur-
ied and developed in recent years [1], [2]. rents are reviewed. By employing multilevel inverters or other
The newest breakthrough in PV technology is ac module. AC similar topologies, the common-mode voltage across parasitic
module is an innovative preassembled module consisting of a capacitors in PV systems is reduced, and hence, lower leakage
microinverter and one or two PV modules [3]. An ac module currents would flow in the system [7]. In [8][12], some solu-
system maximizes energy production by individual maximum tions for reducing ground leakage currents in PV systems are
power point tracking (MPPT) for each PV module. The perfor- presented. Some other works are performed to eliminate leak-
mance issues within traditional PV system technologies caused age currents. Removing ground leakage currents in nonisolated
by clouds, partial shade from trees, or roof obstructions and PV systems can be achieved by negative grounding of PV mod-
module mismatches are resolved in ac module technology. ules [3]. Simultaneous grounding of the PV module and grid
Although higher cost for ac modules is expected, but due to can be provided by applying a dcdc converter with bipolar out-
the modularity, there is opportunity for massive production and puts as the first stage followed by a half-bridge dcac inverter
hence reduction in overall system price. AC module yields more as the second stage. Using a half-bridge inverter instead of a
energy and lower design and installation cost [4]. full-bridge inverter requires a dc link with twice the voltage. As
The main design challenge in ac modules is to produce a result, the first stage needs to have the capability to produce
a more reliable, efficient, and cost-effective grid-connected two high voltages in its outputs. For instance, for a grid with
inverter. The decrease in PV module price over the recent years 220 RMS voltage, each dc-link capacitor of the half-bridge inver-
ter must have a voltage higher than 310 Vdc, which is the grid
peak voltage. In this case, since the PV module voltage (in the ac
Manuscript received August 26, 2014; revised February 8, 2015,
April 16, 2015, and June 21, 2015; accepted August 23, 2015. Date module system) is typically around 50 V, hence, a voltage gain
of publication September 22, 2015; date of current version January 8, higher than 7 is expected for each output in the dcdc stage.
2016. The aforementioned strategy for eliminating ground leakage
The authors are with the Department of Electrical and Computer
Engineering, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan 84156-83111, current is employed in the topologies presented in [13][16].
Iran (e-mail: a.arshadi@ec.iut.ac.ir; b.poorali@ec.iut.ac.ir; e.adib@cc. Topology introduced in [13] is a combination of boost and
iut.ac.ir; hosein@cc.iut.ac.ir). buck-boost converters. The main problem with this topology
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. is the low voltage gain of buck-boost converters, which makes
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2015.2480387 them unsuitable for ac module application. In [14], by using
0278-0046 2015 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
ARSHADI et al.: HIGH STEP-UP DCAC INVERTER SUITABLE FOR AC MODULE APPLICATIONS 833
B. Formula Derivation
Fig. 2. Key theoretical waveforms of the dcdc stage. The voltage VCo1 and the sum of the voltages VCo2 and VCo3
form the bipolar outputs of the first stage. For easier analysis,
magnetizing inductance Lm . The turns ratios and coupling VCo1 is defined as output-1 and named as VO1 and the sum of
coefficient are defined as VCo2 and VCo3 , is defined as output-2 and named as VO2 . In
this part, for deriving the output voltage values, the coupling
N2
n1 = (1) coefficient k is assumed unity.
N1 The magnetizing inductor of the transformer, along with
N3
n2 = (2) switch Sb , diode D1 , and clamp capacitor C1 , form a conven-
N1 tional boost converter, and hence, like any boost converter, the
Lm clamp capacitor voltage can be calculated as
k= (3)
(Llk + Lm )
Vin
where N1 , N2 , and N3 are the winding turns of the primary, VC1 = (4)
1D
secondary, and tertiary sides of the coupled inductor.
1) Mode 1 (t0 t1 ) [see Fig. 3(a)]: In this mode, switch where D is the duty cycle of switch Sb . Meanwhile, the voltage
Sb is turned on. The magnetizing inductor is charged by across the secondary side of the transformer is n1 Vin , and
the input, and its current is increasing linearly. Diode D3 is the series voltages of the secondary side and VC1 charge the
conducting, and the tertiary current iD3 is increasing due to capacitor C2 . Therefore, the mean voltage across C2 can be
the voltage difference between VCO2 and the tertiary side, calculated as~
which is across the leakage inductor in the tertiary side. At Vin
VC2 = n1 Vin + . (5)
the same time, the secondary side of the transformer, along 1D
ARSHADI et al.: HIGH STEP-UP DCAC INVERTER SUITABLE FOR AC MODULE APPLICATIONS 835
Fig. 3. Equivalent circuit of each operating mode of the dcdc stage. (a) Mode 1. (b) Mode 2. (c) Mode 3. (d) Mode 4. (e) Mode 5.
When switch Sb is off and the primary and secondary sides Voltage stresses of diode D1 and switch Sb are equal to the
with capacitor C2 are charging the output capacitor CO1 , the capacitor C1 voltage as (4). In addition, voltage stresses of
following Kirchhoffs voltage law can be established: diodes D3 and D4 are equal to the output-2 voltage as (11).
Voltage stresses of diodes D2 and DO are calculated as (12),
VCo1 = Vin Vp + VC2 Vsec (6) and finally, voltage stresses of switches S1 and S2 are equal to
the sum of output-1 and ouput-2 voltages
where Vp and Vsec are the voltages of the primary and secondary
sides, respectively, and are specified as 1 + n1
VDO = VD2 = VO1 VC1 = Vin . (12)
1D
Vsec
VP = = Vin VC1 . (7)
n1
III. C ONTROL B LOCK
Using (4)(7), the output-1 voltage is derived as
In the previous section, the operational modes of the first
2 + n1 stage and voltage relations of each output are discussed. As
VO1 = VCO1 = Vin . (8)
1D aforementioned, the output voltages of the first stage are
dc-link voltages for the grid-connected half-bridge inverter in
CO2 is located at the output of the tertiary side of the trans- the second stage. In order to have the same output voltages, (8)
former and is charged through diode D3 when switch Sb is and (11) are equalized and the following relation is obtained:
on. When the switch is on, the voltage difference between the
tertiary side and VCo2 is across the leakage inductor in the n2 = 2 + n1 . (13)
tertiary side and forms a current that charges CO2 up to the ter-
This means that, by choosing the turns ratios of the trans-
tiary voltage. Then, the CO2 voltage is
former Tr as (13), the same output voltages for the first stage are
VCO2 = n2 Vin . (9) expected. However, in reality, due to coupling coefficient lower
than one, gain ratios become more complicated and equalizing
The tertiary side and diode D4 perform like a flyback con- the output voltages is a bit more difficult. Therefore, a peak
verter, and when switch Sb is off, capacitor CO3 is charged. current mode control scheme is adopted for the second stage
Therefore, the voltage across CO3 can be expressed as in order to inject a high-quality sinusoidal ac current in phase
with grid voltage. By adopting this control scheme, in case of
D
VCO3 = n2 Vin . (10) voltage difference between the dc-link capacitors of the half-
1D bridge inverter, dc current is not generated.
As aforementioned, the sum of voltages VCO2 and VCO3 is The first stage is controlled by MPPT algorithms to extract
the output-2 voltage of the first stage. Then, VO2 is derived as the maximum possible power generated by the PV module.
Since there is just one switch in the first stage Sb , implementing
Vin MPPT algorithms in this topology is much easier than circuits
VO2 = VCO2 + VCO3 = n2 . (11)
1D introduced in [13][16].
836 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 63, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2016
TABLE I
I NVERTED PARAMETERS
Fig. 10. Experimental voltage and current waveforms of the dcdc Fig. 11. Experimental voltage and current waveforms of the dcdc
stage of the proposed inverter at full load. (a) Leakage current iLk stage of the proposed inverter at 50% of nominal power. (a) Leakage
(1 A/div). (b) Switch Sb (50 V/div, 2 A/div). (c) Diode D2 (100 V/div, current iLk (0.5 A/div). (b) Switch Sb (50 V/div, 1 A/div). (c) Diode D2
0.5 A/div). (d) Diode DO (100 V/div, 1 A/div). (e) Diode D3 (100 V/div, (100 V/div, 0.1 A/div). (d) Diode DO (100 V/div, 0.5 A/div). (e) Diode D3
0.5 A/div). (f) Diode D4 (100 V/div, 0.5 A/div). (g) Diode D1 (50 V/div, (100 V/div, 0.2 A/div). (f) Diode D4 (100 V/div, 0.2 A/div). (g) Diode D1
2 A/div) (5 s/div). (50 V/div, 1 A/div) (5 s/div).
considered as n1 = 1, hence, the voltage of capacitor C2 is In Figs. 10 and 11, the dcdc stage experimental waveforms
expected to be 50 V higher than the voltage of capacitor C1 . at nominal power (150 W) and 50% of the nominal power are
This voltage difference can be observed in experimental results. presented respectively. At these two specific operating points,
In addition, according to the voltage relations and the design each output voltage is set at 350 V. ZCS turn on of switch Sb
parameters, the voltage of capacitor C1 is three times lower than and ZCS turn off of all diodes is observable.
the output voltages of the first stage as expected. The voltages
in Fig. 8(c) and (d) also contain a low 50-Hz voltage ripple,
V. C ONCLUSION
which is due to the output power fluctuations of capacitor CO1 .
In order to verify the performance of the dcdc stage In this paper, a new high step-up dcac inverter suitable
converter and the analysis in Section II-A, the dcdc stage for ac module application has been presented. Due to nega-
is separately tested at different power points. In Fig. 9, the tive grounding of the PV module, the problem of the ground
experimental results for the efficiency of the dcdc stage of leakage current in PV systems is solved. Simple structure and
the proposed inverter are shown. As shown, the measured easy control due to employing low number of semiconductor
efficiency at full load is 94.6% and the maximum efficiency switches are the main features of the proposed inverter. High
is 96.2%. step-up dcdc in the proposed inverter provides the possibility
ARSHADI et al.: HIGH STEP-UP DCAC INVERTER SUITABLE FOR AC MODULE APPLICATIONS 839
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