A Novel Soft-Switching Bidirectional DC-DC Converter With Coupled Inductors

This paper presents a novel topology for a nonisolated bidirectional dc-dc converter with soft-switching capabilities, which usually operates at a zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) condition. A nonisolated dc-dc converter combines a buck converter and a backward boost converter into one circuit, which consists of a half-bridge power switch, an inductor, and capacitors. In order to realize ZVS conditions, the proposed converter utilizes a coupled inductor, a small independent inductor, and auxiliary switches and diodes. Due to ZVS, switching stress on switch components is reduced, and the reverse recovery problem of MOSFET antiparallel body diodes is also eliminated. Moreover, the operating modes of the proposed converter can be switched between a ZVS mode and a conventional hard-switching mode on the basis of load conditions. The soft-switching mode is for heavy loads, and the hard-switching mode is for light-load conditions. Therefore, the highest efficiency can be obtained at almost all load ranges. The detailed theoretical analyses in each mode are presented, and a 1-kW prototype is also built to verify the principle of the circuit and the theoretical analysis.