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This work explores how GaN devices and advanced control can improve the power density of battery chargers for the plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. Gallium nitride (GaN) devices are used to increase switching frequency and shrink passive components. An innovative DC link reduction technique is proposed and several practical design issues are solved. A multi-chip-module (MCM) approach is used to integrate multiple GaN transistors into a package that enables fast, reliable, and efficient switching. The on-resistance and output charge are characterized. In a double pulse test, GaN devices show fast switching speed. The loss estimation based on the characterization results shows a good match with the measurement results of a 500 kHz GaN-based boost converter. Topology selection is conducted to identify candidates for the PHEV charger application. Popular topologies are reviewed, including non-isolated and isolated solutions, and single-stage and two-stage solutions. Since the isolated two-stage solution is more promising, the topologies consisting of an AC/DC front-end converter and an isolated DC/DC converters are reviewed. The identified candidate topologies are evaluated quantitatively. Finally, the topology of a full bridge AC/DC plus dual active bridge DC/DC is selected to build the battery charger prototype for fixed switching-frequency, low loss, and low realization complexity. The DC link capacitor is one of the major power density barriers of the charger, as its size cannot be reduced by increasing the switching frequency. This work proposed a charging scheme to reduce the DC link capacitance by balancing the ripple power from input and output given that the double-line-frequency current causes minor impact to the battery pack in terms of capacity and temperature rise. An in-depth analysis of ripple power balance, with converter loss considered, unveils the conditions of eliminating the low-frequency DC link capacitors. PWM-zero-off charging where the battery is charged by a current at double-line-frequency and DC/DC stage is turned off at the zero level of the waveform, is also proposed to achieve a better tradeoff between the DC link capacitor size and the charger efficiency. The practical design issues are outlined and the solutions are given at different levels of implementations, including the full bridge building block, the AC/DC stage, and the DC/DC stage. The full bridge section focuses on the solution of a reliable driving and sensing circuitry design. The AC/DC stage portion stresses the modulator improvement, which solves the often-reported issues of the current spike at the zero-crossing of the line voltage for the high frequency totem-pole bridgeless converter. In the DAB section, analytical expressions are given to model the converter operation at various operating conditions, which match well with the measurement results. The overall charging-system operation including the seamless transition of bi-directional power flow and the charging-profile control is verified on a laboratory GaN charger prototype at 500 kHz and 1.8 kW with an efficiency of 92.4%. To push the power density, some bulky components including the control board, the cooling system, and the chassis are redesigned. Together with other already-verified building blocks including full bridges, magnetics, and capacitors, a high-density mock-up prototype with 125 W/in3 power density is assembled. / Ph. D.

The emergence of wide-bandgap-based (WBG) devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), have unveiled unprecedented opportunities, enabling the realization of superior power conversion systems. Among the potential areas of advancement are medium-voltage (MV) and high-voltage (HV) applications, due to the growing demand for high-power-density and high-efficiency power electronics converters. These advancements have propelled a wide adoption of electric vehicles (EV), which in the future will require great improvements in the charging time of these vehicles. Thereby, this thesis attempts to address such a challenge and bring about technological improvements, enabling faster, more efficient, and more effective ways of charging an electric vehicle through the application of MV 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs. The current fast-charging solution involves heavy and bulky MV-LV transformers, which add installation complexity for EV charging stations. However, this thesis presents an alternative power-delivery solution utilizing an MV dual-active-bridge (DAB) converter. The proposed architecture is designed to directly interface with the MV grid for high-power, fast-charging capabilities while eliminating the need for an installation of the MV-LV transformer. The MV DAB converter utilizes 3.3 kV SiC MOSFETs to realize the next 800 V EV charging system, along with an extended zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) scheme, in order to provide an efficient charging strategy across a wide range of battery voltage levels. Lastly, a detailed design comparison analysis of an MV Flyback converter, targeted for the auxiliary power supply for the proposed MV EV charging architecture, is presented. / The field of power electronics, which controls and manages the conversion of electrical energy, is an important topic of discussion, as new technologies like electric vehicles (EV) are quickly emerging and disrupting the current status-quo of vehicle-choice. In order to promote timely and extensive adoption of such an enabling EV technology, it is critical to understand the current challenges involving EV charging stations and seek out opportunities to engender future innovations. Indeed, wide-bandgap (WBG) devices, such as silicon carbide (SiC) and gallium nitride (GaN), have unveiled unprecedented opportunities in enabling the realization of superior power conversion systems. Thus, utilizing these WGB devices in EV charging applications can bring about improved design and development of EV fast chargers that are faster-charging, more efficient, and more effective. Hence, this thesis presents an opportunity in EV charging station applications with the utilization of medium-voltage SiC MOSFETs. Because the current fast-charging solution involves a heavy and bulky transformer, it adds installation complexity for EV charging stations. However, this thesis presents an alternative power-delivery solution that could potentially provide an efficient and fast-charging mechanism of EVs while reducing the size of EV chargers. All things considered, this thesis provides in-depth evaluation-studies of medium-voltage 3.3 kV SiC MOSFET-based power converters, targeted for future fast EV charging applications. The development and design of the hardware prototype is presented in this thesis, along with testing and verification of experimental results.

The objective of the research is to develop a cost-effective high-power bi-directional dc/dc converter with low total-device ratings, reduced system parasitic effects, and a wide input/output range. Additional objectives of the research are to develop a small-signal model and control methods, and to present performance characterizations. Device stresses in the proposed topology are controlled to maintain minimal levels by varying the duty ratio and phase-shift angle between the primary and the secondary bridges, which results in a low total-device rating, when compared to conventional bi-directional dc/dc topologies. In the proposed topology, soft switching, which reduces power loss, can be realized under specific operating conditions. When the condition that causes minimal device stress is satisfied, zero-voltage switching (ZVS) can be obtained. In the research, ZVS capability is explored for a wide range of voltage conditions as well as for the minimal device-stress condition. The performance characterization includes verifying the soft-switching regions and power-loss estimation. Another part of the thesis is the controller design of the converter. Small-signal models and feedback controllers are developed, and the controllers are experimentally validated. Because in the isolated high-frequency converters, transformer saturation is an important issue, a method to prevent transformer saturation is proposed and experimentally validated.

With the increase of electric vehicles (EVs) on the roads the availability of charging infrastructure becomes more important. Today it is relatively straightforward to install fast chargers in areas with strong power grid connections, such as in urban areas. However, in areas with less available electrical power, the grid is considered to be a weak grid, typically in remote areas, which limits charging speeds. Local peak shaving can be implemented with battery energy storage systems (BESS) to support faster charging at these locations by increasing available power when needed. As the majority of the power is supplied by the BESS there are noticeable conversion losses when converting from the BESS DC voltage to AC in the grid and then back to DC through the fast charger. This thesis investigates DC/DC converters to charge EVs directly from a BESS DC bus by regulating the voltage to the level of the EV, while also supporting safe simultaneous charging capability. It was done through understanding relevant standards’ requirements, converter review, as well as design and simulation of the interesting topologies. The converters selected to simulate were the Buck-Boost and the Dual-Active Bridge (DAB). After analysing the efficiency result in combination with industry requirements, it was concluded that one DAB per output is the preferred option in most use cases. This would potentially also reduce the material usage and carbon footprint of this type of infrastructure compared to the current solution. Furthermore, some suggestions were made for improving the design of DAB converter before making a prototype for real testing. / Denna avhandling har undersökt hur en snabbladdares effektelektronik för en mobil batterienergilagringssystem kan designas för att ladda två elbilar samtidigt. För att göra detta har systemkrav från relevanta standarder sammanställts och olika snabbladdares kapacitet undersökts. Därefter har olika DC/DC-omvandlare identifierats i ändamål att välja ut de mest lämpade för att uppfylla funktionen. De utvalda omvandlarna designades iterativt och simulerades med i verktyget PLECS för att kunna jämföra hur vardera omvandlare presterade under olika scenarior och med olika transistorer. Resultat och slutsatser från detta arbete är att galvanisk isolering krävs mellan de två elbilarna samt att två Dual-Active Bridge (DAB) omvandlare är den mest lämpade utifrån effektivitet, kapacitet och materialanvänding. Det finns även flera områden att fortsätta arbetet på för att förbättra designen och testa med en prototyp.

Ces travaux de thèse consistent en la conception et la réalisation d’une chaîne de tractionintégrée pour véhicule hybride plug-in. L’étude s’oriente vers une solution de convertisseur mutualisé,dans l’objectif de partager la traction et les modes chargeurs de batteries, la structure en NPC à 3niveaux est retenue. Le chargeur monophasé se base une topologie de redresseur à MLI monophaséavec trois bras entrelacés, avec l’utilisation des enroulements du moteur pour le filtrage. En chargeurtriphasé nous adaptons la topologie pour réaliser un montage en double boost triphasé. Pour chaqueconfiguration, les passifs sont dimensionnés pour répondre aux contraintes en courant BF et HF. Lecontrôle adopté se base sur les correcteurs résonants. Enfin, un prototype de 5 kW a été réalisé pourvalider les différents modes de l’application.Dans une seconde partie, nous proposons une solution de chargeur isolé sans étage continu auprimaire à double ponts actifs (DAB). La topologie est modélisée au premier harmonique et unecommande assurant l’absorption sinusoïdale est étudiée. Une configuration isolée triphasée permetl’accès aux puissances plus élevées ainsi que la réduction des ondulations de courant BF en sortie. / This thesis consists on the design and realization of a plug-in hybrid vehicle integrated tractiondrive supply. The work turns to a solution of a mutualized converter, in the objective to imagine asolution which shared drive and battery chargers modes, the three-level NPC topology has beenretained. The single phase charger is based on an interleaved PWM rectifier, and motor windings areused as smoothing inductors. A double-boost PFC configuration is introduced to ensure the threephasecharger. Passives are sized in each configuration in order to take in account the whole currentconstraints (LF and HF). The PFC behavior is based on the resonant controllers. Then, a 5 kWprototype has been realized to validate the different application modes.In a second part, a single-stage isolated charger based on a Dual-Active-Bridge (DAB) isproposed. The topology is modeled to the fundamental and the PFC control law is studied. A threephaseconfiguration is simulated in order to achieve higher charging powers and to reduce batterycurrent low-frequency ripple.