A Half-Bridge Converter With Input Current Ripple Reduction for DC Distribution Systems

Abstract

Employing an L-C-L filter cell to modify the half-bridge converter (HBC), a HBC with input current ripple reduction (HBC-CRR) is proposed. In addition to having low-voltage stress, lossless snubbing, and voltage-clamping features inherited from its predecessor, the proposed converter can shape input current waveform of HBC to a nonpulsating fashion. Consequently, the ripple and undesired harmonic components of the input current can be significantly reduced without adding a large input filter. These characteristics make it suitable for high frequency, high efficiency, high-input voltage, and low electromagnetic interference (EMI) dc distribution power conversion applications. In addition to the circuit analysis and design consideration, moreover, a proposed converter and a HBC with the same specification, 360–400-V input, 12-V/20-A output, and 100-kHz switching frequency, are built and tested for the purpose of the comparison. Several performance comparisons are made to demonstrate the superiority of the proposed converter over HBC.