IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO.

3, MARCH 2016 2213

A Bidirectional Three-Level LLC Resonant Converter

With PWAM Control
Tianyang Jiang, Junming Zhang, Member, IEEE, Xinke Wu, Member, IEEE, Kuang Sheng, Senior Member, IEEE,
and Yousheng Wang

Abstract—This paper proposes a bidirectional three-level LLC

resonant converter with a new pulse width and amplitude modu-
lation control method. With different control signals, it has three
different operation modes with different voltage gains. Therefore,
it can achieve wide voltage gain range by switching among these
three modes, which is attractive for energy storage system ap-
plications needing wide voltage variation. The proposed topology
operates with constant switching frequency, which is easy to im-
plement with digital control, and it can achieve soft switching for
all the switches and diodes in the circuit as a conventional LLC
resonant converter. The performance of the proposed converter is
validated by the experimental results from a 1-kW prototype with
20 A maximum output current.
Index Terms—Bidirectional, constant switching frequency, LLC,
three-level (TL), wide voltage gain.
Fig. 1. Typical DG system with ESSs.
I. INTRODUCTION
Many isolated bidirectional topologies have been proposed
ORE and more research efforts have been focused on
M how to use the clean energy in an efficient way in re-
cent years for energy saving and environment protection. The
and studied in recent years, and the dual-active-bridge converter
is one of the most popular topologies for its simplicity and high
power density [5]–[19]. However, it suffers from high circu-
distributed generation systems (DGSs) with clean renewable
lating energy and high turn-off power loss. A lot of control
energy resources like photovoltaic, wind power, and fuel cell
methods have been proposed to minimize the circulating energy
are widely adopted around the world. However, the intermittent
or extend its soft-switching range by phase shift or duty cycle
nature of these clean renewable energy resources may cause
control, but the control methods are complex and cannot solve
fluctuation between power generation and consumption [1], [2].
all the disadvantages at the same time [12]–[18].
So energy storage systems (ESSs) are required in DGSs to deal
In order to further improve the efficiency, an LLC resonant
with the intermittent outages and make the system more sta-
converter is a promising candidate. It can achieve soft switch-
ble and reliable. Batteries and super capacitors are the most
ing for all the power devices and its efficiency is quite high
popular energy storage components considering the price and
[19]–[22]. A bidirectional LLC resonant topology for vehicu-
performance. Fig. 1 shows a typical DGS with renewable en-
lar applications was proposed in [23]. The topology was still
ergy resources and ESSs. The ESSs should have bidirectional
a traditional SRC during backward operation, which can only
power flow capability to store the excess energy generated by
operate under buck mode. In [24], a symmetrical bidirectional
renewable resources, and release it when the load is heavy or re-
CLLC resonant converter with two resonant tanks was proposed.
newable energy is not sufficient [3], [4]. The bidirectional dc–dc
The extra resonant tank increased both the cost and volume of
converter is a key component in ESSs to enable the bidirectional
the converter, and the voltage gain was reduced compared with
power flow. Galvanic isolation is usually required for safety
the traditional LLC converter especially at heavy-load condi-
consideration. Besides, voltage variation of both the renewable
tion. Furthermore, forward mode and backward mode cannot be
energy resources and energy storage components is wide, so the
switched automatically, and the current in the output side has to
voltage gain range of the bidirectional dc–dc converter should
flow through the body diodes of the switches which may cause
be as wide as possible.
high conduction loss. A bidirectional LLC resonant converter
with an auxiliary inductor is proposed in [25], which has a sym-
Manuscript received February 6, 2015; revised April 13, 2015; accepted May
18, 2015. Date of publication June 1, 2015; date of current version November metrical structure in forward mode and backward mode, and
16, 2015. This work was supported by the National Nature Science Foundation it can automatically change the power flow direction by simply
of China under Grants 51277161, 51477154, and 51277164. Recommended for regulating the switching frequency. However, the voltage gain is
publication by Associate Editor G. Moschopoulos.
The authors are with the College of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang
still limited for reasonable conversion efficiency and switching
University, Hangzhou, 310027, China (e-mail: [email protected]; frequency variation range.
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; Yousheng- To limit the switching frequency variation and achieve wide
[email protected]). voltage gain range, the constant frequency phase shift control
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. method for LLC resonant converters are proposed [26]–[32], but
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2015.2438072 the converter will loss zero-voltage switching (ZVS) under low

0885-8993 © 2015 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
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more information.
 2214 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 3, MARCH 2016

TABLE I
AMPLITUDE OF V A B WITH DIFFERENT ON/OFF STATUS OF M 1 –M 6

M1 M2 M3 M4 M5 M6 M7 M8 VA B

1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0/1 V1
0 1 0 1/0 0 1 1/0 0 0.5V 1
1/0 0 1 0 0 1 0 1/0 0.5V 1
1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1/0 0
0 0 1 1 0 1 1/0 0 0
0 1 0 1/0 1 0 1/0 0 –0.5V 1
1/0 0 1 0 1 0 0 1/0 –0.5V 1
0 0 1 1 1 0 1/0 0 −V 1
Fig. 2. Proposed bidirectional TL LLC resonant converter.

voltage gain or light-load condition [26]–[31]. In [32] and [33], 3) Coss1 –Coss8 are the parasitic capacitors of M1 –M8 , which
soft switching can always be achieved with extra components, have the same capacitance Coss ; the parasitic capacitors
which increases cost and complexity. A unidirectional three- of Q1 –Q4 also have the same capacitance Coss referred
level (TL) constant-frequency LLC resonant converter with hy- to the transformer primary side;
brid full-bridge structure is proposed in [34] to achieve wider 4) current of the MOSFET is assumed to be constant during
voltage gain range. However, duty cycle has to be very small its ON/OFF transient.
in low voltage gain condition, the ZVS will be lost and the
conduction loss is high due to small duty cycle. II. FORWARD MODE OPERATION
To further improve the performance of a bidirectional LLC When the converter is in forward mode operation, the MOS-
resonant converter, this paper proposes a TL LLC converter FETs in the primary side can be divided into three pairs: M1
with a pulse width and amplitude modulation (PWAM) control and M4 , M2 and M3 , and M5 and M6 . MOSFETs in each pair
method. The switching frequency is constant and equal to its turn ON and OFF complementary. M7 and M8 are always OFF
resonant frequency, thus the converter can achieve soft switching and their body diodes are used to clamp the voltage of M1 –M4
for all switches easily. With three different control schemes, the to half of the input voltage. Q1 –Q4 form the rectifier circuit in
converter can achieve a wide voltage gain. the secondary side. Since the voltage drop on MOSFETs’ body
The proposed bidirectional TL LLC resonant converter is diodes is high, Q3 and Q4 are used as synchronous rectifier to
shown in Fig. 2, which has a hybrid full-bridge structure with reduce the conduction loss, while Q1 and Q2 are always OFF
MOSFETS M1 –M6 in the transformer primary side and a full- to ensure DCM operation.
bridge structure with MOSFETs Q1 –Q4 in the secondary side, VA B is the voltage across point “A” and “B”, and the equiv-
D1 and D2 are the body diodes of Q1 and Q2 , D5 –D8 are the alent ac voltage of VA B is applied to the resonant tank, and the
body diodes of MOSFET M5 –M8 , respectively. MOSFETs M1 output voltage is determined by its amplitude and pulse width.
to M4 are connected in series to form a TL switching leg I, Since the switching frequency is constant, duty cycle and phase
M5 and M6 are series connected to form bridge leg II. “A” shift angles between different pairs of MOSFETs are used to
and “B” are the midpoints of bridge leg I and II. “C” and “D” regulate the amplitude and pulse width of VA B , so the pro-
are the midpoints of secondary-side full bridge. n is the trans- posed control method is a kind of PWAM method. With PWAM
former turns ratio. In order to achieve bidirectional power flow, control, the amplitude of VA B will be different based on the
MOSFETs M7 and M8 are used as clamp switches instead of ON/OFF status of M1 –M6 , which is shown in Table I.
conventional clamp diodes. The input source V1 is in the trans- It is seen from Table I that VA B can be 0, ±0.5V1 , and ±V1 .
former primary side, while the energy storage element V2 is in There are three control schemes corresponding to three different
the transformer secondary side. Lr is the resonant inductor, Cr operation modes. Fig. 3 shows the steady-state waveforms of the
is the resonant capacitor, and Lm is the magnetizing inductor of three modes. A brief description of these three modes is given
the transformer. Capacitor C3 is the flying capacitor. below.
The operation principle in forward mode and backward mode
are analyzed in Section II and Section III, respectively. Section
A. High Gain (HG) Mode
IV presents the performance analysis and design considerations
for the proposed bidirectional LLC converter. A prototype with The peak-to-peak amplitude of VA B shown in Fig. 3(a) is
maximum 20-A output current is built and the experiments re- 2V1 , which is the highest one and the output voltage gain will
sults are given in Section V. also be the highest, so it is called the HG mode. Duty cycle of
To simplify the steady-stage analysis, some assumptions are M1 and M3 is equal to α, and α is the control variable in HG
given as follows: mode to regulate the output voltage. The duty cycle of M5 and
1) all the MOSFETs with their body diodes and all the pas- M6 is always 0.5. The phase shift time between M1 /M4 and
sive components are ideal, the dead time between switch- M3 /M2 is always equal to 0.5Ts . The switching frequency is
ing signals are neglected; fixed to the resonant frequency fr formed by Lr and Cr , i.e.,
2) output capacitor Co is large enough and the output volt- Ts = 1/fr .
age V2 is constant; C1 and C2 are also large enough, the There are six stages in one switching cycle Ts , and the corre-
voltage ripple can be neglected, and the dc voltage across sponding equivalent circuits of the first-half switching cycle are
them is 0.5 V1 ; shown in Fig. 4(a)–(c).
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 JIANG et al.: BIDIRECTIONAL THREE-LEVEL LLC RESONANT CONVERTER WITH PWAM CONTROL 2215

Fig. 3. Control schemes and related waveforms: (a) HG mode, (b) MG mode, (c) LG mode.

Stage 1 (t0 –t1 ): In this stage, M1 , M2 , and M6 in the primary voltage. The time duration of VA B = V1 in a switching period
side and Q1 ’s body diode D1 and Q4 in the secondary side are is βTs , and β is the phase shift angle between M4 /M3 and M6 ,
ON, as shown in Fig. 4(a). The resonant current ir is negative which is used to regulate the output voltage in MG mode.
and equal to the magnetizing current iL m at t0 , and it increases Due to the asymmetrical voltage waveforms of VA B , the con-
in a resonant mode during this stage. trol signals for the MOSFETs are also asymmetrical, which
Stage 2 (t1 –t2 ): M1 turns OFF and M4 turns ON at t1 , while makes the energy flow through C1 , C2 , and C3 unbalanced in
M2 , M6 , D1 , and Q4 keep ON during this stage. VA B is equal a switching cycle. In order to solve this problem, the energy
to 0.5V1 . The equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(b). Since the flow through the capacitors should be in opposite direction in
resonant current ir is above zero, it will charge the parasitic next switching cycle, thus the energy can be balanced in two
capacitor of M1 until it reaches 0.5V1 , and M4 can turn ON consecutive switching cycles. For example, if the capacitors are
with ZVS. Voltage of the flying capacitor C3 is clamped to charged in the first switching cycle, it should be discharged in the
0.5V1 through the body diode of M7 . As soon as ir equals to next cycle, and vice versa. Therefore, the switching frequency
iL m at t2 , this stage ends. fe for M1 –M4 is half the resonant frequency fr . It should be
Stage 3 (t2 –t3 ): Once ir is equal to iL m at t2 , the current known that the switching frequency of M5 /M6 and Q3 –Q4 is
through D1 is zero and it turns OFF with ZCS, the converter still equal to the resonant frequency. The relationship between
goes into DCM operation. Since Q1 is always OFF, the current fe , fs , and fr is shown in
will not reverse during this mode. The equivalent circuit is shown
1 2 2
in Fig. 4(c). The secondary side is separated from the primary Te = = 2Ts = = . (1)
side, and load is supplied by the output capacitor. Lr , Lm , and fe fs fr
Cr form the resonant tank. Since Lm is much larger than Lr , the There are 12 operation stages in an equivalent switching pe-
resonant period is quite long and the resonant current decreases riod.
slowly. This stage ends when M2 and M6 turn OFF at t3 , and Stage 1 (t0 –t1 ): M1 , M2 , M6 , D1 , and Q4 conduct in this
M3 and M5 can turn ON with ZVS in the next stage. stage, and the equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(a), which is
In the next half switching cycle, the operation principle of exactly the same as Stage 1 in HG mode.
stages 4–6 is similar to stages 1–3 except the current direction Stage 2 (t1 –t2 ): M2 , M4 , and M6 conduct in this stage, which
is changed, which is not repeated here. is also same as stage 2 in HG mode. The equivalent circuit is
shown in Fig. 4(b). Since ir is above zero, C3 will be discharged
in this stage.
B. Medium Gain (MG) Mode
Stage 3 (t2 –t3 ): When ir equals to iL m at t2 , the converter is
The peak-to-peak amplitude of VA B shown in Fig. 3(b) is in DCM operation, which is same as stage 3 in HG mode. The
equal to 1.5V1 and its voltage gain will be lower than the HG equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(c).
mode, so it is called the MG mode. In MG mode, VA B is equal Stage 4 (t3 –t4 ): M2 , M4 , and M5 in the primary side and Q2 ’s
to V1 , 0.5V1 , –0.5V1 and 0 in different stages in a switching body diode and Q3 in the secondary side conduct in this stage.
cycle, so it is asymmetrical, and the average dc value of VA B is VA B = –0.5V1 , and the equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(d).
equal to 0.25V1 , which is blocked by the resonant capacitor Cr The resonant current ir is positive at t3 and will decrease to
and will not affect the operation of converter. The equivalent ac negative during this stage. So C3 will be discharged at first and
voltage applied to the resonant tank is also a symmetrical TL then it will be charged.

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 2216 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 3, MARCH 2016

Fig. 4. Equivalent circuits of the converter in different operating stages.

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 JIANG et al.: BIDIRECTIONAL THREE-LEVEL LLC RESONANT CONVERTER WITH PWAM CONTROL 2217

Stage 5 (t4 –t5 ): M4 turns OFF and M1 turns ON at t4 . VA B = of three different modes are shown in Fig. 5. Switching fre-
0, and the equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(e). The resonant quency of Q1 –Q4 is equal to the resonant frequency. M5 and
current decreases to the magnetizing current iL m , the secondary M6 are always OFF, and their body diodes are used as rectifier
side keeps the same as previous stage. in backward operation. Similar to that in forward operation, the
Stage 6 (t5 –t6 ): Once ir is equal to iL m , the secondary-side switching frequency of M1 –M4 is equal to the resonant fre-
switches are all OFF, and the converter is in DCM operation. quency in HG mode and LG mode, and it will be equal to half
The equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(f). the resonant frequency in MG mode.
Stage 7 (t6 –t7 ): M5 turns OFF and M6 turns ON, the equiv-
alent circuit of stage 7 is same as stage 1 as shown in Fig. 4(a). A. HG Mode
Stage 8 (t7 –t8 ): M1 , M3 , M6 in the primary side and Q1 ’s
body diodes and Q4 in the secondary side conduct. VA B = M5 and M6 are always OFF and the switching frequency of
0.5V1 , the equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(g). Since the all the other MOSFETs is equal to fr . VA B is equal to 0.5V1 ,
resonant current ir is positive, C3 will be charged. The amplitude V1 , –0.5V1 , and –V1 in a switching cycle. α is the duty cycle of
of ir in stage 2 and stage 8 are same, so the charger variation of M1 and M3 which is used to regulate V1 . There are six stages
C3 during these two stages is also equal, which can be balanced in a switching cycle, which are briefly described as follows.
automatically. Stage 1 (t0 –t1 ): Q1 and Q4 in the secondary side, M2 M4 , M7
Stage 9 (t8 –t9 ): Once ir is equal to iL m , the converter is in and D6 in the primary side are on in this stage, and VA B = 0.5
DCM operation. The equivalent circuit is shown in Fig. 4(h). V1 . C2 and C3 are charged in parallel.
Stage 10 (t9 –t10 ): M1 and M3 keep ON, M6 turns OFF and Stage 2 (t1 –t2 ): M1 and M8 turn ON, M4 and M7 turn OFF
M5 turns ON in this stage, and the equivalent circuit is shown in at t1 , M2 and D6 keep ON. VA B is equal to V1 in this stage.
Fig. 4(i). The resonant current ir is positive at t9 , so C3 will be Current will charge the parasitic capacitor of M4 and M7 , so
charged first. Then, ir drops to negative and C3 is discharged. M1 and M8 can turn ON with ZVS.
Energy flow through C1 –C3 is in opposite direction during stage Stage 3 (t2 –t3 ): ir is equal to iL m , so the converter is in
4 and stage 10, so it can be balanced. DCM operation, D6 turns OFF with ZCS at t2 . This stage ends
Stage 11 (t10 –t11 ): M1 , M2 , M5 , and Q3 are ON. The oper- when Q1 and Q4 turn OFF at t3 , the secondary-side current is is
ation principle in stage 11 is same as stage 5, and the equivalent positive at t3 , so Q2 and Q3 can achieve ZVS in the next stage.
is shown in Fig. 4(e). The resonant current decreases to iL m . The operation principle for stages 4–6 in the next half switch-
Stage 12 (t11 –t12 ): Once ir is equal to iL m , the converter is ing cycle is similar to stages 1–3 except the current direction,
in DCM operation. The operation in stage 12 is same as stage 6. and it is not repeated here.
As a conclusion, by adopting the asymmetrical control
method, energy of the capacitors C1 –C3 can always be bal- B. MG Mode
anced. Since the switching frequency of M1 –M4 is half the The MG mode in backward operation is similar to that in
resonant frequency, the switching loss will also reduce. ZVS forward mode operation, and asymmetrical control method is
can always be achieved for M1 –M6 and ZCS is achieved for adopted to balance the energy of the capacitors. The key wave-
Q1 –Q4 . forms are shown in Fig. 5(b). Switching frequency fs of Q1 –Q4
is equal to the resonant frequency, M5 and M6 are always OFF,
C. Low Gain (LG) Mode and the switching frequency fe of M1 –M4 and M7 /M8 is equal
to half the resonant frequency. Duty cycle of M4 and M7 is 0.25,
The peak-to-peak amplitude of VA B in Fig. 3(c) is equal to and β is the phase shift angle between M4 /M7 and Q1 /Q4 .β is
V1 , so it is called the LG mode. VA B is equal to 0.5V1 , 0, – used to regulate the output voltage V1 . There are 12 stages in an
0.5V1 , 0 in different stages in this mode. Duty cycle of M1 and equivalent switching cycle Te , which is from t0 to t12 , as shown
M3 is equal to (0.5–γ). When γ increases, the pulse width of in Fig. 5(b). The ON/OFF status of the switches is also given in
VA B = V1 also increases. γ is the control variable in LG mode, Fig. 5(b).
which is used to control the output voltage. VA B is equal to 0.5V1 , V1 , 0, and –0.5V1 in different stages
When the converter is operating in LG mode, it is similar to in a switching cycle. In stage 1 and stage 7 VA B = 0.5V1 , the
the traditional phase shift LLC resonant converter as proposed current flow through C1 and C2 is balanced in an equivalent
in [28], so it is not discussed here. In LG mode, ZVS can switching cycle. In stages 5, 6 and 11, 12, the current flow
be achieved in the primary side and ZCS is achieved in the through C1 and C2 is also balanced.
secondary side. In MG mode, M5 and M6 can always achieve ZCS, and all
the other MOSFETs can achieve ZVS.
III. BACKWARD MODE OPERATION
C. LG Mode
When the converter is in backward mode operation, the trans-
former secondary side is the input side. The operation of the Key waveforms and control signals for LG mode operation are
converter is similar to a series resonant converter, and the max- shown in Fig. 5(c). VA B in different stages are 0, 0.5V1 , 0, and
imum voltage gain is 1. –0.5V1 . When VA B = 0.5V1 or –0.5V1 , output power is supplied
There are also three operation modes as that in forward mode by the source in the secondary side; when VA B = 0, output
operation: HG mode, MG mode, and LG mode according to power will be supplied by C1 and C2 . Operation principle in the
different control schemes. Key waveforms and control schemes first-half switching cycle and the second-half switching cycle is

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 2218 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 3, MARCH 2016

Fig. 5. Waveforms and control schemes in backward operation: (a) HG mode, (b) MG mode, (c) LG mode.

the dc load resistance, vC D 1  (t) is the fundamental harmonic

of the VC D (t) referred to the primary side. Since the switching
frequency is equal to the resonant frequency, the amplitude of
vA B 1 (t) is always equal to the amplitude of vC D 1  (t). So the
voltage gain in forward mode and backward mode is same
nV2
G= . (2)
V1
Fig. 6. Simplified equivalent circuit for FHA analysis.

1) HG Mode: The expression of VA B in HG mode is shown

symmetrical. The operation principle of LG mode in backward in (3) according to Figs. 3(a) and 5(a). VA B H is a periodical
operation is similar to that in forward operation, which will not function which can be expressed as
repeated here. In LG mode, M5 and M6 can always achieve ⎧
ZCS, and all the other MOSFETs can achieve ZVS. ⎪ V1 , (0 ≤ t ≤ αTs )
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎪
⎨ 0.5V1 , (αTs ≤ t < 0.5Ts )
IV. PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS VA B H = (3)
⎪
⎪ −V1 , (0.5Ts ≤ t < 0.5Ts + αT )
⎪
⎪
A. Voltage Gain ⎪
⎩
0.5V1 , (0.5Ts + αT ≤ t < T )
No matter in forward operation or backward operation, the
⎧ ∞
voltage gain G is defined as the ratio of secondary-side voltage ⎪ 
⎪
⎪ v (t) = [an V1 cos(2nπfs t) + bn V1 sin(2nπfs t)]
referred to the primary side to the input voltage as given in (2), ⎪
⎪ AB H
⎪
⎪
in which n is the transformer turns ratio. The fundamental har- ⎪
⎪
n =1
 0.5T
monic approximation (FHA) method is used to get the voltage ⎨
2
an = VA B (t) cos(2nπfs t)dt (4)
gain expression approximately. ⎪
⎪ Ts −0.5T
⎪
⎪
The equivalent circuit based on the FHA method is shown ⎪
⎪  0.5T
⎪
⎪ 2
in Fig. 6. vA B 1 (t) is the fundamental harmonic of VA B (t), Re ⎪
⎩ bn = VA B (t) sin(2nπfs t)dt.
is the equivalent ac load which is equal to 8n2 Ro /π 2 , Ro is Ts −0.5T

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 JIANG et al.: BIDIRECTIONAL THREE-LEVEL LLC RESONANT CONVERTER WITH PWAM CONTROL 2219

Taking (3) into (4), the Fourier decomposition of VA B H is

given in (5). vA B H 1 (t) is the fundamental harmonic of VA B (t),
which is given in


∞
sin 2πnα
vA B H (t) = V1 sin 2nπfs t
n = 1,3,5.....
nπ

3 − cos 2πnα
+ V1 cos 2nπfs t (5)
nπ
⎧ √
⎪ 10 − 6 cos 2πα
⎪
⎨ ABH 1
v (t) = V1 sin (2πfs t + θ)
π
(6)
⎪
⎪ 3 − cos 2πα
⎩ θ = arctan .
sin 2πα
The relationship between vC D 1  (t) and V2 is given in (7).
Since vC D 1  (t) is equal to vA B H 1 (t), taking (6) into (7), the
voltage gain can be derived and is given by
4nV2
vC D 1 (t) = sin 2πfs t (7)
π
√
nV2 10 − 6 cos 2πα
GH = = (8)
V1 4 Fig. 7. (a) Voltage gain of HG, MG, and LG mode. (b) Switching process
when the voltage gain decreases. (c) Switching process when the voltage gain
It is seen from (8) that the voltage gain increases with the increases.
increasing of α, and the variation range of α is from 0 to 0.5.
When α is 0.5, GH researches its maximum value 1 and the 0 to 0.5, so the voltage gain range is from 0 to 0.5
converter operation is same as a traditional LLC converter with ⎧
input voltage equals to V1 ; when α is 0, the voltage gain GH ⎪ 0.5V1 , (0 ≤ t ≤ γTs )
⎪
⎪
is 0.5 and the converter operation is same as a traditional LLC ⎪
⎪
⎨ 0, (γTs ≤ t < 0.5Ts )
converter with input voltage equals to 0.5V1 . The voltage gain
VA B L (t) = (12)
range of HG mode is from 1 to 0.5. ⎪
⎪ −0.5V1 , (0.5Ts ≤ t < 0.5Ts + γTs )
⎪
⎪
2) MG Mode: The voltage gain of MG mode can also be ⎪
⎩
calculated by the FHA method. The dc bias voltage is 0.25V1 0, (0.5Ts + γTs ≤ t < Ts )
which is blocked by the resonant capacitor. The actual ac volt- √
nV2 2 − 2 cos 2πγ
age applied to the resonant tank is given in (9). The Fourier GL = = . (13)
decomposition of VA B M is given in (10), and the voltage gain V1 4
of MG mode is given in (11) From (8), (11), and (13), the voltage gain is only related to the
⎧ control variables α, β, and γ, which is not affected by the load
⎪ 0.75V1 , (0 ≤ t ≤ βTs )
⎪
⎪ condition. The voltage gain curves of HG mode, MG mode, and
⎪
⎪
⎨ 0.25V1 , (βTs ≤ t < 0.5Ts ) LG mode are plotted in Fig. 7. It is seen that the voltage gain
VA B M (t) = (9) of HG mode and MG mode are overlapped from 0.75 to 0.5,
⎪
⎪
⎪ −0.75V1 , (0.5Ts ≤ t < 0.5Ts + βTs )
⎪ and the voltage gain of MG mode and LG mode are overlapped
⎪
⎩ from 0.5 to 0.25.
−0.25V1 , (0.5Ts + βTs ≤ t < Ts )
By switching the converter between different operation
∞
 modes, the total voltage gain range will be very wide, and the
sin 2πnβ
vA B M (t) = V1 sin 2nπfs t voltage gain range in forward operation and backward operation
nπ
n =1,3,5..... is the same.
2 − cos 2πnβ It should be noted that the voltage gain given in (8), (11), and
+ V1 cos 2nπfs t (10) (13) are derived based on the FHA method, and it is not very
nπ
√ accurate when the converter is in DCM operation like that for a
nV2 5 − 4 cos 2πβ conventional LLC converter. Though the switching frequency of
GM = = . (11) the proposed converter always equals to the resonant frequency,
V1 4
the converter can also be in DCM operation as described above,
The voltage gain of MG mode will also increase with the
which means the actual voltage gain is still slightly affected by
increase of β. The variation range of β is also from 0 to 0.5, so
the control variables (α, β, and γ) and load condition.
the voltage gain range of MG mode is from 0.25 to 0.75.
3) LG Mode: In LG mode, γ is used to regulate the output
B. Soft Switching
voltage. The expression of VA B is given in (12). No matter
in forward operation or backward operation, the voltage gain 1) Forward Mode: Since the switching frequency is always
equation is same which is given in (13). The range of γ is from equal to the resonant frequency, ZCS can always be achieved

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 2220 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 3, MARCH 2016

Since γGL is usually smaller than βGM and αGH , therefore

if ZVS is achieved in LG mode, it will always be achieved in all
the operation modes.
b) Switching Point t3 : The converter is in DCM operation
during t2 to t3 , and the secondary side is separated from the
primary side. However, D2 and Q3 will conduct and the next
half resonant period will begin if the amplitude of vC r is higher
than nV2 , then ZVS cannot be achieved and the converter will
operate under capacitive mode. The amplitude of vC r is related
to the load condition; the heavier the load is, the larger the
amplitude of vC r will be. In LG mode, it is the worst case to
achieve ZVS at t3 because there is no input voltage applied to
the resonant tank in DCM operation. In order to avoid capacitive
switching at heavy load in LG mode, (17) should be satisfied.
The approximate value of VC r m ax can be solved according to
the equivalent circuit shown in Fig. 6, and the required resonant
capacitance of Cr is given in (18)
VC r m ax ≤ nV2 (17)
Fig. 8. Maximum inductance of L m to achieve ZVS versus voltage gain: (a) ω 2 L2m + Re2
HG mode, (b) MG mode, (c) LG mode. Cr ≥ . (18)
ω 2 Lm Re
for the secondary-side devices. For the primary-side switches, Besides, another soft-switching condition of LG mode at t3 is
there are two switching point in a half-switching cycle: t1 and given in (19). The worst case for soft switching occurs at no-load
t3 , as shown in Fig. 3. Magnetizing inductor Lm and resonant condition because the resonant current ir reaches its minimum
capacitor Cr will affect the soft-switching condition at these value. For simplicity, the resonant current ir is assumed to be
two points. constant during DCM period at no-load condition, so ir at t3 is
a) Switching Point t1 : Switching current at t1 is equal to equal to that at t2 , and the soft-switching condition at t3 is given
the resonant current ir , and the requirement for ZVS is shown in in (20)
(14), in which tdead is the dead time between the two switching ir (t3 )tdead ≥ 3V1 Coss (19)
signals. With a given dead time, the soft switching is easy to
achieve when the resonant current is large. Since the resonant γGL tdead
Lm ≤ . (20)
current ir is proportional to the load current, it will reach its 6fs Coss
minimum value at no-load condition. In this condition, ir is 2) Backward Operation: In backward operation, Q1 –Q4 are
equal to iL m , so the switching current at t1 is also equal to iL m . switched with 50% duty cycle. The soft-switching condition
The expression of iL m at t1 at no-load condition is given in (15), for Q1 –Q4 is shown in (21), in which is (t3 ) is the switching
and the coefficient (α, β, γ) in the right side of the equation is current of Q1 –Q4 at t3 , and n2 Coss is the parasitic capaci-
α for HG mode, β for MG mode, and γ for LG mode tance of switches referred to the transformer secondary side.
ir (t1 )tdead ≥ V1 Coss (14) The secondary-side current is (t3 ) is equal to n ∗ iL m at t3 , and
the approximate value of iL m at t3 is given in (22). Taking (22)
nV2 into (21), the requirement for Lm to achieve ZVS is given in
iL m (t1 ) = (α, β, γ) · . (15)
2Lm fs (23)
In order to achieve ZVS in any load condition, the desired is (t3 )tdead ≥ 2n2 V2 Coss (21)
magnetizing inductance Lm for the three modes can be derived
nV2
based on (14) and (15), which is given as iL m (t3 ) = (α, β, γ) · (22)
4Lm fs
tdead
Lm ≤ min(αGH , βGM , γGL ) · . (16) tdead
2fs Coss Lm ≤ min(α, β, γ) · . (23)
8fs Coss
Assuming fs = 100 kHz, Coss = 80 pF, tdead = 300 ns, and
Based on the analysis given above, we can design the mag-
n = 4, the desired Lm from (16) is shown in Fig. 8. The lower
netizing inductance and resonant capacitance to achieve soft
the voltage gain is, the smaller Lm should be to achieve ZVS.
switching in any operation mode.
For example, when the voltage gain is near 0.5 in HG mode, ZVS
cannot be achieved no matter how small Lm is. By switching
C. Mode Switching
the converter from HG mode to MG mode when the voltage
gain gets lower, the ZVS can still be achieved with a reasonable In order to achieve ZVS and optimize the operation of the
Lm . When the voltage gain is near 0.25 in MG mode, ZVS will converter during different voltage gain condition, the operation
lost too, the converter can be switched from MG mode to LG of the converter can be switched between these three modes,
mode before the voltage gain is too low. and the voltage gain should have overlap for different operation

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 JIANG et al.: BIDIRECTIONAL THREE-LEVEL LLC RESONANT CONVERTER WITH PWAM CONTROL 2221

modes in order to keep the same output. For HG mode and MG TABLE II
KEY PARAMETERS OF THE PROTOTYPE
mode, the converter can be switched when the voltage gain is
between 0.5 and 0.75. For MG mode and LG mode, it can be
switched when the voltage gain is between 0.25 and 0.5. It is Parameters Value Size/Type Vendor

known that the RMS current in MG mode is smaller than that Resonant capacitor (C r ) 100 nF MKP4 J023303 C Vishay
in HG mode with same voltage gain and load condition, so the Transformer n=4 EE42/21/15 TDK
conduction loss in HG mode is higher than that in MG mode. L m = 200 μH PC40
n 1 = 32 turns
Also, the control variables should not be too small in order n 2 = 8 turns
to achieve ZVS. In order to optimize the efficiency, when HG Resonant inductor (Lr ) 25.3 μH PQ32/20 TDK
mode and MG mode can achieve the same voltage gain, MG PC40
mode is preferred; when MG mode and LG mode can achieve MOSFETs (Q 1 –Q 4 ) IPP200 N15 N3 G Infineon
TO-220
the same voltage gain, LG mode is preferred. The voltage gain MOSFET (M1–M8) IPP65 R110 CFD Infineon
of switching point should be as high as possible, so RMS current TO-220
will be smaller and ZVS is easier to be achieved. DSP TMS320 F28335 TI
The control method of different operation modes and the
operation modes switching method can be easily implemented
by digital control circuit, such as DSP from TI. Taking forward
operation as an example, the DSP samples V2 by its A/D input 2) Mode switching point: As discussed above, the voltage
port and then compares it with the reference voltage Vref , after gain of mode switching point should be as high as possible
a PI regulator, the error result Verr is send to the phase shift to optimize the converter operation. In the prototype, the
register or the duty cycle register of EPWM module. According voltage gain for HG and MG mode switching is set to 0.7
to the error signal Verr , the output of phase shift register or duty with a small hysteresis; and the voltage gain for MG and
cycle register varies to change the duty cycle and phase shift LG mode switching is set to 0.45 with a small hysteresis.
angle, which is used to regulate the output voltage. The input In backward operation and forward operation, the voltage
voltage V1 should also be sampled to calculate the actual voltage gain for mode switching is the same.
gain and decide when to switch the operation mode. When the 3) Resonant capacitor Cr : Considering the soft-switching
input voltage increases, the voltage gain will decrease. If the condition derived for HG mode, MG mode, and LG mode,
voltage gain reaches the mode switching point, control method the minimum capacitance of Cr is given in (18). With the
will be changed and the operation mode is switched, and it specifications given above, Cr should be larger than 81 nF.
is similar when the input voltage decreases. Hysteretic control In the prototype, Cr is 100 nF considering reasonable
is adopted to ensure the stability during mode switching. The margin. So the resonant inductance Lr is 25.3 μH to get
mode switching process is shown as dash line in Fig. 7(b) and the required resonant frequency.
(c). The feedback loop should regulate the phase shift angle to 4) Magnetizing inductor Lm : The Lm can be designed based
ensure the same voltage gain after mode transition. on (16), (20), and (23). With the parameters given above,
Lm should below 260 μH. In the prototype, Lm is set to
200 μH.
V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
A DSP TMS320 F28335 from TI is adopted as the digital
A prototype of TL LLC converter is built to verify the theo- control unit. The output voltage V2 and the input voltage V1 are
retical analysis. The specifications of the prototype are listed as sampled by the A/D input port of the DSP. The conventional
follows: digital PI algorithm is adopted to regulate the output voltage,
1) battery voltage: V2 = 30–60 V; and the gate drive signals are generated by the EPWM module
2) primary side voltage: V1 = 240–480 V; of DSP.
3) maximum output current in forward operation: Io = Figs. 9–11 show the waveforms of HG mode in forward
20 A; operation with V2 = 60 V and V1 = 250, 300, and 400 V,
4) maximum output current in backward operation: Id = respectively, at Po = 1000 W. It is seen in Figs. 9(a)–11(a)
2.5 A; that ZVS is achieved for M4 and M6 no matter what the
5) resonant frequency: fr = 100 kHz. voltage gain is. As shown in Fig. 9(b), VA B is almost a
The 100 kHz resonant is just a reasonable value for dc/dc con- square waveform when α is near 0.5, and when α decreases
verter, which is not specially designed. For the proposed con- in Figs. 10(b) and 11(b), the voltage gain decreases corre-
verter, switching frequency is same as the resonant frequency. spondingly. The rectifier diodes turn OFF with ZCS as shown
With 100-kHz switching frequency, it is easy to select power de- in Figs. 9(c)–11(c).
vices, magnetic components, and design digital control circuit. Fig. 12 shows the waveforms of HG mode in forward oper-
IPP65 R110 CFD and IPP200 N15 from INFINEON are used as ation with V2 = 60 V and V1 = 300 V at 10% load, and ZVS
the primary MOSFETs and secondary MOSFETs, respectively. and ZCS can also be achieved. The oscillation on the resonant
A brief parameters design description is given below. current and secondary-side voltage is caused by the parasitic
1) Transformer turns ratio: The minimum primary-side volt- capacitors of MOSFETs and the resonant inductor due to DCM
age is 240 V, and the maximum secondary-side voltage is operation.
60 V, since the maximum voltage gain of the converter is Figs. 13 and 14 show the waveforms of MG mode, when
1, n is set to 4. V1 = 400 V, and V2 = 60 and 40 V, respectively. Though VA B

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 2222 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 3, MARCH 2016

Fig. 9. Waveforms of HG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 250 V at full load in forward operation.

Fig. 10. Waveforms of HG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 300 V at full load in forward operation.

Fig. 11. Waveforms of HG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 400 V at full load in forward operation.

Fig. 12. Waveforms of HG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 300 V at light load in forward operation.

Fig. 13. Waveforms of MG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 400 V at full load in forward operation.

is asymmetrical as shown in Figs. 13(b) and 14(b), energy and the capacitance of Cr is large enough, ZVS can also be
of capacitors can be balanced. ZVS and ZCS can also be achieved in LG mode.
achieved. Waveforms in backward operation are shown in Figs. 16 and
Fig. 15 shows the waveforms of LG mode when V2 = 30 V 17, it is seen that ZVS and ZCS are always achieved. Though
and V1 = 400 V. Since the inductance of Lm is small enough vA B is asymmetrical in MG mode as shown in Fig. 17, the

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 JIANG et al.: BIDIRECTIONAL THREE-LEVEL LLC RESONANT CONVERTER WITH PWAM CONTROL 2223

Fig. 14. Waveforms of MG mode when V 2 = 40 V and V 1 = 400 V at full load in forward operation.

Fig. 15. Waveforms of LG mode when V 2 = 25 V and V 1 = 400 V in forward

operation.

Fig. 16. Waveforms of HG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 400 V at full

load in backward operation.

Fig. 17. Waveforms of MG mode when V 2 = 60 V and V 1 = 400 V at full

load in backward operation.

Fig. 19. Measured voltage gain versus control variables: (a) HG mode, (b)
MG mode, (c) LG mode.

Fig. 18. Dynamic process of operation mode transition.

energy of the capacitor are also well balanced in one equivalent will recovery to its steady-state value quickly. When the input
switching cycle. voltage decreases and the detected voltage gain is beyond the
Fig. 18(a) shows the dynamic transition of mode switch- range of MG mode, the converter is switched from MG mode to
ing between HG mode and MG mode, the input voltage keeps HG mode to keep the output voltage constant. There is a small
increasing at first and the converter switches from HG mode to voltage overshoot in the output voltage.
MG mode when the detected voltage gain is beyond the range The mode switching between MG mode and LG mode is
of HG mode. It is seen that there is a small voltage dip in the similar, which is shown in Fig. 18(b). It verifies that the converter
output voltage during mode switching and the output voltage can switch between different operating modes smoothly without

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 2224 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 31, NO. 3, MARCH 2016

VI. CONCLUSION
This paper proposes a bidirectional TL LLC resonant con-
verter with a new PWAM control strategies. The switching fre-
quency is fixed to the resonant frequency and the equivalent
amplitude of the voltage is regulated to control the output. With
different control schemes, a very wide voltage gain range can be
achieved, which overcomes the narrow voltage gain limitation
of a conventional LLC resonant converter. Bidirectional opera-
tion can also be achieved with the proposed control method, and
the operation principle in forward mode and backward mode is
symmetrical. Finally, a 1-kW prototype is built and verifies the
theoretical analysis.

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Yousheng Wang received the B.S. degree from the

Tianyang Jiang was born in Liaoning, China, in Department of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang Uni-
1987. He received the B.S. degree in electrical engi- versity, Hangzhou, China.
neering from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, He became a Professor in 1978. His research in-
in 2010, where he is currently working toward the terests include power electronics and high-frequency
Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering. induction heating.
His current research interests include power elec- Mr. Wang has received several national awards for
tronics system integrations and high-efficiency con- his outstanding works in large electric generator and
verters. static induction heating equipment. He is a Member
of the China Academy of Engineering.

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