Bidirectional Isolated 400-12V DC-DC Converter With Improved Power Density and Full-Range Operation for EV Applications

Abstract:
Efficient and high-performance dc-dc conversion is essential in modern electric vehicles to power key essential systems and allow for regenerative micro-grid operation. Usually, operating under a wide range of operating conditions, i.e. input/output voltage, is a challenging task, degrading the converter performance. In this paper, a bidirectional isolated 400-12 V dc-dc converter with improved power density and full-range operation for EV applications is proposed. The proposed novel topology significantly improves continuous-mode operation in the full input/output voltages range and improves power density thanks to the advantageous inductor and transformer implementation. The proposed 400-12 V converter has been designed and experimentally tested with a 100-A output current prototype.