A high power-density, high efficiency front-end converter for capacitor charging applications

This paper introduces a high power-density, high-efficiency isolated full-bridge boost converter, which is used for the front-end converter of a capacitor charger. The design equations, design considerations and practical trade-offs for the converter power stage are summarized. In addition, by fully taking advantage of the pulsed load profile, a transformer design using a high-saturation flux density material is introduced to maximize the power density. The principle of operation for the converter is analyzed and verified on a 15 kW, 100 kHz front-end converter prototype.