Performance Comparison of Ferrite and Nanocrystalline Cores for Medium-Frequency Transformer of Dual Active Bridge DC-DC Converter

Sakda Somkun, Toshiro Sato, Viboon Chunkag, Akekachai Pannawan, Pornnipa Nunocha and Tawat Suriwong
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Sakda Somkun: School of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Technology (SGtech), Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
Toshiro Sato: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Shinshu University, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
Viboon Chunkag: Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, King Mongkut’s University of Technology North Bangkok, Bangkok 10800, Thailand
Akekachai Pannawan: School of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Technology (SGtech), Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
Pornnipa Nunocha: School of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Technology (SGtech), Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand
Tawat Suriwong: School of Renewable Energy and Smart Grid Technology (SGtech), Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand

Energies, 2021, vol. 14, issue 9, 1-21

Abstract: This article reports an investigation into ferrite and nanocrystalline materials for the medium-frequency transformer of a dual active bridge DC-DC converter, which plays a key role in the converter’s efficiency and power density. E65 MnZn ferrite cores and toroidal and cut nanocrystalline cores are selected for the construction of 20-kHz transformers. Transformer performance is evaluated with a 1.1-kW (42–54 V)/400 V dual active bridge DC-DC converter with single-phase shift and extended phase shift modulations. The experimental results indicate that the toroidal nanocrystalline transformer had the best performance with an efficiency range of 98.5–99.2% and power density of 12 W/cm 3 , whereas the cut-core nanocrystalline transformer had an efficiency range of 98.4–99.1% with a power density of 9 W/cm 3 , and the ferrite transformer had an efficiency range of 97.6–98.8% with a power density of 6 W/cm 3 . A small mismatch in the circuit parameters is found to cause saturation in the nanocrystalline toroidal core, due to its high permeability. The analytical and experimental results suggest that cut nanocrystalline cores are suitable for the dual active bridge DC-DC converter transformers with switching frequencies up to 100 kHz.

Keywords: dual active bridge DC-DC converters; ferrite material; nanocrystalline material; soft magnetic material; transformer (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: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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