The charge equalization for the battery power source with battery power modules (BPMs) in series is presented in the thesis. The bidirectional power converters in BPMs are able to serve as chargers with buck conversion during the charging stage. Even though connected in series, all modules can substantially be operated individually, retaining the advantages of independent operation, such as flexible control, easy protection, simple maintenance, and favorable battery power management. Investigation results indicate that automatic charge equalization is possible for the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) operation. On the other hand, charge equalization can be achieved much faster by individually regulating the charging currents at the continuous conduction mode (CCM). According to the analyzed results, an equalization strategy is proposed to solve the charge imbalance problem by scheduling the individual battery current. Experiments are carried out to demonstrate the effectiveness of charge equalization.

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Recently, due to the increasing adoption of distributed energy resource (DER) technologies including battery energy storage (BES) and electric vehicle (EV) systems, bidirectional power converters are becoming more popular. These converters are broadly utilized as interface devices and provide a bidirectional power flow in applications where the primary power supply can both supply and receive energy. A dc capacitor, called the dc-link, is an important component of such bidirectional converters. For a wide range of applications, the converter is required to control the dc-link voltage. Commonly, a proportional-integrating (PI) controller is used by the dc capacitor voltage controller to generate a set-point for the inner current controller. This approach tightly regulates the dc-link voltage to a given value. The research presented in this dissertation shows that such an approach compromises the stability margins of the converter for reverse power flow and weak grid conditions. It is shown that by allowing a small variation of dc capacitor voltage in proportion to the amount of power flowing through the converter, the stability and robustness margins are improved. This approach also simplifies the design process and can be applied to both dc/dc and dc/ac (single-phase and three-phase) converters. Moreover, it grants an inherent power sharing capability when multiple converters share the same dc-link terminals; removing the need to a communication link between parallel converters. The proposed controller is equipped with a current limiting mechanism to protect the converter during low-voltage/over-current transients. Detailed analyses, simulations, comparisons, and experimental results are included to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed control approach. To mathematically establish the properties of the proposed method in a single-phase dc/ac application, this dissertation also derives a new and systematic modeling approach for a grid-connected bidirectional single-phase inverter controlled in stationary frame. Implementing the control system in the stationary frame has advantages over rotating frame. However, the combination of dc and ac state variables and nonlinearities make its stability analysis challenging. In the proposed model, an imaginary subsystem is properly generated and augmented to allow a full transformation to a synchronous rotating frame. The proposed modeling strategy is modular and has a closed form which facilitates further extensions. It is successfully used to demonstrate enhanced stability margins of the proposed controller.

Este trabalho visa o estudo das regiões de operação de conversores CC/CC isolados bidirecionais do tipo DAB (Dual Active Bridge). É feito um estudo do comportamento do circuito com a variação dos valores das reatâncias de acoplamento, avaliando-se aspectos como eficiência, fator de potência, reativos, entre outros. A seguir é proposta uma estrutura de controle que permite a operação com tensões nos barramentos DC diferentes das nominais, minimizando as correntes absorvidas. Além disso, propõe-se uma estratégia de controle para regular a potência transferida. O trabalho inclui modelagem teórica, implementação em simulação computacional e medidas em protótipo experimental. / This work investigates operation regions of Dual Active Bridge DC-DC isolated bidirectional converters, studying circuit behavior with the variation of the coupling reactance, evaluating parameters like efficiency, power factor, reactive flow etc. A control structure is proposed which allows operating with DC voltages different from nominal voltages, reducing the AC currents. Furthermore, a control strategy to regulate the power transferred is proposed. Methodology includes theoretical modeling, computer simulation and experimental prototype measurements.

Este trabalho visa o estudo das regiões de operação de conversores CC/CC isolados bidirecionais do tipo DAB (Dual Active Bridge). É feito um estudo do comportamento do circuito com a variação dos valores das reatâncias de acoplamento, avaliando-se aspectos como eficiência, fator de potência, reativos, entre outros. A seguir é proposta uma estrutura de controle que permite a operação com tensões nos barramentos DC diferentes das nominais, minimizando as correntes absorvidas. Além disso, propõe-se uma estratégia de controle para regular a potência transferida. O trabalho inclui modelagem teórica, implementação em simulação computacional e medidas em protótipo experimental. / This work investigates operation regions of Dual Active Bridge DC-DC isolated bidirectional converters, studying circuit behavior with the variation of the coupling reactance, evaluating parameters like efficiency, power factor, reactive flow etc. A control structure is proposed which allows operating with DC voltages different from nominal voltages, reducing the AC currents. Furthermore, a control strategy to regulate the power transferred is proposed. Methodology includes theoretical modeling, computer simulation and experimental prototype measurements.

Bi-directional DC-DC converters are used for applications that require a flow of energy in two directions, while a wide range converter offer efficient operation over a wide range of input and output voltages. However, an efficient technology that is both bi-directional and Wide Input Wide Output (WIWO), currently, does not currently exist.   To find a suitable topology, the work began by surveying the existing literature and when a potentially suitable solution was identified, it was evaluated via simulation.   Using a wide range, unidirectional topology as the starting point, a converter topology was designed, capable of reconfiguring its transformer ratios by controlling the synchronization of its switches.   By aiming to use soft switching in simulation, this topology was improved to reach 92\% efficiency in the forward mode and 95\% in the reverse mode of operation. Furthermore, a prototype of this converter was developed that reached 82\% efficiency. While this prototype requires a better controller, hardware optimization and testing for optimal performance, the proposed technology was verified via simulation to work as a WIWO converter that is also bi-directional.