8th International Conference on Power Electronics - ECCE Asia

[WeF2-1] May 30-June 3, 2011, The Shilla Jeju, Korea

The Impact of Bidirectional DC-DC Converter

on the Inverter Operation and Battery Current in
Hybrid Electric Vehicles
Hua Bai1, and Chris Mi2
1
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Kettering University, Flint, MI, 48504 USA
Email: hbai@kettering.edu
2
Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering University of Michigan-Dearborn, Dearborn, MI, 48188 USA
Email: chrismi@umich.edu

Abstract-- The bidirectional DC-DC converter in a HEV

is also some times called a power management converter, or
D1
an energy management converter, or boost DC-DC T1
converter. This DC-DC converter is a high-power converter
that links the high voltage battery (HV) at a lower voltage Vd
with the high voltage DC bus. The typical voltage of a L1 R
battery pack is designed at 300 to 400V. The best operating
voltage for a motor and inverter is around 600V. Therefore, D2 VB
T2
this converter can be used to match the voltages of the
battery system and the motor system. Other functions of
this DC-DC converter include optimizing the operation of Fig. 1. The high power bidirectional DC-DC converter used in HEV
the powertrain system, reducing ripple current in the and PHEV.
battery, and maintaining DC link voltage, hence, high power
operation of the powertrain. t 2 on t 2 on  t 2 off
0
Vo dt t 2 on
(Vd  Vo )dt (4)
Index TermsPower Electronics, DC-DC converter,
power management, energy management, battery, DC-bus. 1
Vd Vo (5)
1  D2
I. INTRODUCTION
where D2 is he duty ratio defined as the percent of on
The DC-DC converter provides bidirectional power time of switch T2.
transfer. The circuit is shown in Fig. 1.
t 2on
Buck Operation: In buck operation, the power is D2 (6)
transferred from Vd to VB. When T1 is closed and T2 is T
open, since Vd>VB, VL=Vd-VB and the inductor current IL In the bidirectional boost converter control, since T1
builds up. When T1 is open, the inductor current IL and T2 can not be switched on simultaneously, a practical
continues to flow through D2. VL=VB. control strategy is to turn T2 off while T1 is on and vice
Assume ideal components and a constant Vo, the versa. In this case,
inductor current over one cycle in steady state operation D2 1  D1 (7)
will remain the same, e.g.,
t1on t1on  t1off
0 (Vd  Vo )dt t
1on
(Vo )dt (1) II. MAINTAIN CONSTANT TORQUE RANGE AND INCREASE
POWER CAPABILITY
t1on The above analysis neglected the internal impedance
Vo Vd D1Vd (2)
T of the battery. In fact, the impedance is often not
where D1 is he duty ratio defined as the percentage of on negligible. When an electric motor and inverter is
time of switch T1. directly connected to the battery without a bidirectional
DC-DC converter as shown in Fig. 2, as the current
t1on (power or torque) goes up, the battery terminal voltage
D1 (3)
T starts to drop because the voltage drop on the battery
Boost Operation: In boost operation, the power is internal impedance. For example, a 16kWh lithium-ion
transferred from VB to Vd. When T2 is closed and T1 is battery with iron phosphate chemistry will have an
open, VB and inductor form a short circuit through switch internal impedance of 0.5Ohms. If the powertrain
T2, therefore VL=VB and the inductor current IL builds up. inverter/motor is rated at 125kW, 400V, 90% efficiency,
When T1 is open, the inductor current continues to flow the rated current is 348A at 400V. The battery internal
through D1 to Vd, therefore VL=Vd-VB. voltage drop is 174V. This voltage drop will significantly

978-1-61284-957-7/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

affect the performance of the powertrain motors. In fact,
in this example, the maximum power can be delivered to
the motor is only 78kW. In addition, due to the available
voltage at the input, the motor constant torque region is
also affected. In the above example, the constant torque
region is shortened by 43.5%.
Battery Internal
Resistance
0.5 ohm 348A
+ 174V -
400V Motor Rating
16kWh 125kW, 400V
Load
Battery Internal Loss
48kW Only 78kW
Fig. 2. Equivalent circuit for Powertrain motor directly connected to
battery without the DC-DC converter.
Another factor is that battery voltage is related to
battery state of charge (SOC). As the battery SOC drops,
the battery voltage will also drop. Therefore, the available
voltage a motor/inverter terminal is also change, which
will make it difficult to maintain the constant torque
range.
When a DC-DC converter is inserted between the
battery and inverter/motor as shown in Fig. 4-9, the DC
bus voltage before the inverter can be maintained as a
constant. Therefore, the constant torque range will not be
affected by battery SOC or large power draw by the
inverter/motor.
III. REDUCING CURRENT RIPPLE IN THE BATTERY
Due to switching functions of the inverter used in the
powertrain system, there is abundant high frequency
current harmonics on the DC side. The amount of current
ripple that goes into/out the battery depends on the
switching methodology, switching frequency, and the
capacitance on the DC bus. When there is no DC-DC
converter in place, the amount of ripple current of the
battery is determined by the DC-bus capacitance C and
the ratio of capacitor impedance over battery impedance.
Without the capacitance, the battery current will be
directly determined by the switching status of the DC/AC
inverter, i.e., the combination of the three-phase current
of the motor, as shown in Fig. 3. When there is DC-Bus
capacitor in parallel with the battery, the amount of
current ripple flowing into/out of the battery is
determined by the capacitance and parasitic impedance of
the DC-bus capacitor.
However, the parasitic resistance of the capacitor is
also not negligible. A high-quality 10mF capacitor has
26m internal resistance and the second-class capacitor
has 100m. The quality of the capacitor affects the
current ripple of the battery. The lower the capacitor
impedance, the lower the battery ripples, as shown in the
Fig. 3. High frequency ripple current is believed to be
harmful for the battery life.
140
130
120
Current/A
110
100
90
80
70
0.078 0.08 0.082 0.084 0.086 0.088 0.09 0.092
Time/s
(a)
(b)
Fig. 1. Battery current with and without a DC-DC converter. (a). With
DC-DC converter. (b). Without DC-DC converter.
IV. ENHANCE REGENERATIVE BRAKING
The regenerative braking of the two topologies, i.e.,
one with and without DC-DC converter, will also be
different. In the topology where there is no DC-DC
converter, the DC bus voltage will fluctuate during
transition from motoring to braking. For example, if the
motor is initially motoring at 50kW, and the battery
internal voltage is 400V with 0.5 Ohm internal resistance.
The battery current is 155A and the DC bus voltage is
322V. If the motor is switched to braking at 50kW, then
the battery current is 110A and the DC bus voltage is
455V. This dramatic change of DC bus voltage will make
the motor control, such as vector control, very difficult.
On the other hand, in a system that contains a DC-DC
converter between the inverter/motor DC bus and the
battery, the DC bus voltage can be maintained relatively
constant. Hence, the transition between motoring and
braking is easier to handle.
V. CONCLUSIONS
In this paper, we have demonstrated that the high
power bidirectional DC-DC converter equipped in HEV
and PHEV between the battery pack and the inverter can
help improve the drive capability, reduce current ripple
and potentially extend battery life because of the
controlled charge and discharge behavior.
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