Reconfigurable Dual Active Bridge Converter for Wide Voltage Range EV Charging Applications

The main issues impeding wide adoption of electric vehicles (EVs) are limited driving range and longer battery charging time. Recently, there has been a shift from traditional 400 V battery charging systems (BCS) to next-generation 800 V BCS owing to advantages such as reduced battery charging time and weight savings in the EVs. The dual active bridge (DAB) converter and resonant converters are typically used in the isolated bidirectional dc-dc conversion stage (IBDCS) in EVs. Among which DAB converter is a popular choice because of simplicity in control, inherent bidirectional power flow and soft-switching capability. The performance of the conventional DAB topology however gets compromised when operating over such a wide battery voltage range. This paper proposes a reconfigurable DAB (r-DAB) converter for the IBDCS of EV charging infrastructure to cater to the wide voltage range requirements of traditional/next-generation of EVs. Besides, the proposed r-DAB converter facilitates bidirectional power flow capability that can support the grid during peak load demands. In this paper, the operational aspects and the control structure of the proposed r-DAB converter are analyzed in detail and the same are validated through PLECS simulations.