A zero voltage switching full-bridge DC-DC converter for an on-board PHEV battery charger

In this paper, a detailed mode analysis and design procedure is presented for 3.3 kW zero voltage switching full-bridge dc-dc converter operating in continuous conduction mode. The target application for the work is an on-board charger for a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV). A PHEV battery charger consists of an ac-dc front end power factor correction circuit (PFC), followed by a dc-dc converter. For this application the design objective is to achieve high efficiency, in order to minimize the charger size, charging time and the amount and cost of electricity drawn from the utility. This paper presents a new detailed state of operation analysis of the dc-dc converter, a detailed design procedure, simulation and experimental results. The prototype achieves a peak efficiency of 96% at a full load of 3.3 kW at 400V output with a 400V input and a switching frequency of 200 kHz.