High-Efficiency Bidirectional DAB Inverter Using a Novel Hybrid Modulation for Stand-Alone Power Generating System With Low Input Voltage

This paper proposes a high-efficiency bidirectional dual-active-bridge (DAB) inverter using a novel hybrid modulation for a stand-alone power generating system with a low input voltage. The proposed DAB inverter consists of a DAB dc-dc converter and a synchronous rectifier (SR) for unfolding. The DAB dc-dc converter transforms the low dc voltage into a rectified sine wave that pulsates twice the grid frequency. The rectified sine wave unfolds into the grid voltage by SR. The proposed hybrid modulation combines a phase shift control and a variable frequency control. The variable frequency control converts the nonlinear function of the phase shift angle into a linear function and controls the output power. This leads to a simple closed-loop control for the sinusoidal current waveform, a low harmonic distortion, and a high-voltage conversion ratio without an increase of the transformer turn ratio. Since the proposed DAB inverter has only a single power conversion stage, it has a simple structure, high power density, and low cost. It also has a high efficiency of 94.2% by a zero-voltage switching (ZVS) turn on of the switches in two full bridges (FBs). The operation principle of the proposed DAB inverter using this hybrid modulation is analyzed and verified. Experimental results for a 1-kW prototype are obtained to show the performance.