SiC-based Triple Active Bridge Converter for Shipboard Micro-grid Applications with Efficient Energy Storage

Silicon Carbide (SiC) MOSFET power module has became commercially available in the past few years, and it is attractive in dual/triple active bridge converters to replace conventional Si-IGBTs. The capability to connect with the energy storage system of the triple active bridge converter is extremely attractive for micro-grid applications. In this paper, a SiC based triple active bridge converter is built with optimised high frequency transformer. The experimental results showing that the maximum efficiency of the built SiC based TAB converter is obtained by 97.5% at 80kHz and 98.4% at 20kHz, when power is transferred from port 1 to port 2. In addition, the lower device loss and higher switching frequency potential of SiC-MOSFET could boost the optimum switching frequency from 22kHz to 30kHz of the battery connected TAB compare to Si counterpart with the power is transferred from port 3 to port 1, and the battery loss is reduced by 10% with the switching frequency increases from 16kHz to 60kHz, due to the inductive behaviour of the lithium-ion battery.