Current-Sharing Worst-Case Analysis of Three-Phase CLLC Resonant Converters

Three-phase CLLC resonant converters provide higher power conversion capability as compared to half-bridge and full-bridge structures. In addition to the unique features of CLLC converters for bidirectional applications, the three-phase structure provides significantly reduced output current ripple (smaller output capacitor), parallel power processing (reduced components size and current peak stress), and better thermal distribution (smaller heatsinks). However, with practical, i.e., nonzero, resonant component tolerances, these benefits are normally less, and sometimes significantly less than expected in the ideal case. In this article, the unbalanced behavior of the converter with 15 unknown resonant components is identified and analyzed. A new analysis methodology is proposed to investigate the worst-cases of current-sharing among above 32 000 possible scenarios in three-phase CLLC resonant converters. In addition, this article shows that phase-shifting techniques can be effective to mitigate the unbalanced behavior of the converter. The proposed analysis in this article helps to determine the highest admissible tolerance in the components to keep the converter working within a certain range of unbalanced behavior without requiring any balancing techniques. The proposed analytical framework is verified with experimental and simulation results of a 3-kW bidirectional three-phase CLLC experimental prototype.