Soft Switching Range Extension of Bidirectional DC-DC Converter for Applications Demanding Wide Voltage Gain

Bidirectional DC-DC converters have an important role in low-carbon technologies during power flow control and energy management. The galvanic isolation in these converters also help in meeting the necessary safety standards. However, they fail to achieve soft-switching conditions during varying voltage gain operations resulting in higher switching losses and reduced efficiency, necessitating higher thermal management. This paper considers the operation of a dual active bridge (DAB) DC-DC Converter during varying input voltage. A method is proposed to achieve soft switching conditions in an extended range with wide voltage gain. A conventional DAB and the proposed one were simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and the soft switching conditions were verified.