Nanocrystalline and Silicon Steel Medium-Frequency Transformers Applied to DC-DC Converters: Analysis and Experimental Comparison

Dante Ruiz-Robles, Jorge Ortíz-Marín, Vicente Venegas-Rebollar, Edgar L. Moreno-Goytia, David Granados-Lieberman and Juan R. Rodríguez-Rodriguez
Additional contact information
Dante Ruiz-Robles: Graduate Program and Research in Electrical Engineering (PGIIE), Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia, Morelia 58120, Mexico
Jorge Ortíz-Marín: Graduate Program and Research in Electrical Engineering (PGIIE), Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia, Morelia 58120, Mexico
Vicente Venegas-Rebollar: Graduate Program and Research in Electrical Engineering (PGIIE), Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia, Morelia 58120, Mexico
Edgar L. Moreno-Goytia: Graduate Program and Research in Electrical Engineering (PGIIE), Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia, Morelia 58120, Mexico
David Granados-Lieberman: ENAP-Research Group, CA-Fuentes Alternas y Calidad de la Energía Eléctrica, Departamento de Ingeniería Electromecánica, Instituto Tecnológico Superior de Irapuato (ITESI), Irapuato 36821, Mexico
Juan R. Rodríguez-Rodriguez: Departamento de Energía, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico, Ciudad de Mexico 04510, Mexico

Energies, 2019, vol. 12, issue 11, 1-16

Abstract: High performance, highly efficient DC-DC converters play a key role in improving the penetration of renewable energy sources in the context of smart grids in applications such as solid-state transformers, built-in power drives in electric vehicles and interfacing photovoltaic and wind-power systems. Advanced medium-frequency transformers (MFTs) are fundamental to enhance DC-DC converters and determining its behavior, therefore MFT design procedures have become increasingly important in this context. This paper investigates which type of core material, between nanocrystalline and silicon steel, has the best properties for designing MFTs for distinct applications. Unlike to other proposals, in this work, two 1 kVA-120 V/240 V-1 kHz lab MFT prototypes, with a different type of core material, are developed for the purpose of comparing its physical characteristics, behavior, and performance under real-life conditions. A final section, the experimental results show that the nanocrystalline MFT has greater power density and efficiency. The results of this work introduce nanocrystalline MFTs as an option in a wider range of applications in niches in which other materials are currently used.

Keywords: converter DC-DC; medium frequency transformer; renewable energies; solid state transformers; electric vehicles (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/11/2062/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/12/11/2062/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jeners:v:12:y:2019:i:11:p:2062-:d:235577

Access Statistics for this article

Energies is currently edited by Ms. Agatha Cao

More articles in Energies from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().