An Improved Layout Strategy for Common-Mode EMI Suppression Applicable to High-Frequency Planar Transformers in High-Power DC/DC Converters Used for Electric Vehicles

Presently, there is an immense impetus in the automotive industry to develop plug-in electric vehicles (PIEVs) to reverse the ever increasing green house gas emissions from fossil fuels and depleting fossil fuel resources. High-frequency ac-dc converters with an isolated output are one of the essential building blocks for transferring power from utility mains to the traction battery packs which store energy for propelling the EV. Generally, the ac/dc converters used in EVs include a PFC stage at the input side and an isolated dc/dc converter at the battery side. Due to the switching nature of the converter, electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) of these converters is an essential requirement, to ensure not only its own operation but also the safe and secure operation of surrounding electrical equipment. EVs possess a lot of sophisticated electronic circuits in the vicinity of the battery charging power converters. Thus, strict EMC standards of the on-board power converters must be met according to the CISPR 12 or SAEJ551/5 relevant EMC standards. Conventional passive filters used for EMI mitigation in power converters, comes at the expense of cost, size and weight, power losses, and printed circuit board real estate. In this paper, an electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter embedded into the main high-frequency planar transformer used in the dc/dc converter is proposed as a very cost-effective and efficient solution for EVs. The proposed structure is able to significantly suppress the common-mode (CM) EMI noise generated in the dc/dc converter. Experimental results have been obtained from a 3-kW prototype in order to prove the feasibility and performance of the proposed EMI filter. The results show that the proposed embedded EMI filter can effectively suppress the CM noise particularly for high switching frequency power converters. The proposed structure can be a very simple and cost-effective EMI filtering solution for future PIEVs.