The 2018 International Power Electronics Conference
A Transformerless Bidirectional DC-DC Converter
based on Power Units with Unipolar and Bipolar
structure for MVDC Interconnection
Lejia Sun1, Fang Zhuo1, Feng Wang1, Hao Yi1 and Baohui Ma2
1 School of Electrical Engineering, Xi’an Jiaotong University, Xi’an, China
2 State Key Laboratory of Large Electric Drive System and Equipment Technology，Tianshui, gansu, China
sunlejia@163.com
Abstract — In this paper, a novel bidirectional DC-DC
converter based on series-connected power units (BPUC) for
unipolar and bipolar MVDC interconnection is proposed.
Compared with traditional grid-connecting converters,⎯ the
proposed converter has a transformerless structure to reduce
size, cost, and power loss, being more suitable for MVDC
systems emphasizing on efficiency, small volume, and low cost.
In addition, the proposed converter can be applied as both a
unipolar and a bipolar converter in MVDC networks, which
greatly extends its scope of application and improves its
transmission efficiency. Its control system can realized
precise power interaction between DC grids. Simulations of
the 4-level unipolar BPUC and bipolar BPUC were
implemented, and a 1 kW experimental implementation of
the 4-level unipolar BPUC was developed to verify the
converter effectiveness.
Index Terms—unipolar，bipolar, bidirectional, multilevel
I. INTRODUCTION
Owing to the increasing installation of DC transmission
lines, DC-DC converters for DC grid-connection
applications will play a decisive role in future energy grids.
In recent years, the increasing amount of renewable energy
sources stimulates the development of medium-voltage DC
(MVDC) transmission lines[1]. It has been shown that
large renewable energy sources, such as windfarms and
photovoltaic (PV) power plants, operate more efciently
when connected to an MVDC grid instead of an AC grid [2]
and All these renewable energy systems that provide
different voltage DC levels, can be efficiently integrated
using DC conversion in MVDC lines [3]. In order to
establish MVDC networks and efficiently transfer power
between unipolar and bipolar MVDC systems, many
researches have focused on the medium-voltage (MV) DC-
DC converter, used as an interface between MVDC
systems [4].
Some researchers propose that the dual-active bridge
(DAB) converter and the face-to-face modular multilevel
⎯
This work was supported by the National Research Program of China
(973 Program) under project 2015CB251001 and the National High
Technology Research and Development Program of China (863 Program)
2015AA050606
©2018 IEEJ
converter (MMC) can be applied in MVDC connection
applications [5]. However, they share some disadvantages:
1) Transformers are required. Their required
transformer having adequate isolation and high-frequency
operation is difficult to manufacture and faces some
technical drawbacks. Furthermore, the weight, parasitic
capacitance, losses, and cost associated with transformers
add to the system complexity.
2) The topology and control strategy are highly
complex. In the DAB and the MMC, a large number of
switches need to be controlled and cooperate to
accomplish voltage conversion.
With the development of switched-capacitor (SC)
circuits, novel DC-DC converters with high conversion
ratio have emerged by combining SC and boost circuits [6].
A typical example is the MBC mentioned in [7]. However,
the MBC cannot be applied to connect different MVDC
systems due to its inherent defects: 1) the power flow
cannot reverse; 2) The SC circuit is not suitable for high-
power applications, since the required charging current of
capacitors would be excessively large. 3) It is difficult to
realize bipolar conversion.
In this paper we present a novel kind of bidirectional
power-unit-based DC-DC converters with unipolar and
bipolar structure for MVDC connection applications,
named the BPUC. Topologies of both unipolar and bipolar
BPUCs are shown in Fig.1 and Fig.2 and excels with the
following characteristics:
1) Simple structure and smaller size. The proposed
BPUC is a transformerless topology. Thus, the weight,
parasitic capacitance, losses, and cost associated to
transformers, which add to the system complexity, are
removed. In addition, since issues related to transformers
such as cooling and insulation are avoided, the overall size
of the device is reduced.
2) Realizing bipolar DC conversion. There is evidence
that bipolar MVDC systems are advantageous due to
higher reliability and increased power transmission
capability if compared with unipolar MVDC systems.The
BPUC can be applied as a bipolar DC-DC converter.
3) More intelligent control system. By applying a
hierarchical and local control system, the control system
not only enhances converter’s dynamic performance and
control flexibility, but also improves the accuracy of power
interaction between connected MVDC systems.
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Fig.1 The n-level unipolar BPUC
Fig.2 The bipolar BPUC
II. OPERATION PRINCIPLE OF THE BPUC
A. Unipolar BPUC
The diagram of the unipolar BPUC is shown in Fig. 1.
Each power unit includes two switching devices Si,1 and Si,2,
and one inductor Li, i=1,2,…,n. There are two operation
modes of the unipolar BPUC based on the power flow
direction: buck mode and boost mode. For a given power
flow direction, in each power unit, one switch is used as
power switch and the other as freewheeling diode. The
BPUC utilizes L-C resonance between power units and
capacitors to transmit power and preserve voltage balance
between series capacitors. A high voltage conversion ratio
can be obtained between the series capacitors and the
bottom level capacitor. In this section, only the power
transferring process between the two bottom levels (i.e., CL
and C1) in boost mode are discussed in detail, since the
power transferring process between other adjacent levels is
analogous.
For unipolar BPUC, in boost mode, The power unit can
pump power from capacitor CL up to capacitor Cn step-by-
step and keep the voltage of every series capacitor at U.
The high-voltage output is obtained from the series
capacitors output. Fig. 3(c) shows the theoretical
waveform when power is pumped from capacitor CL to
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capacitor C1. The power transferring process can be
divided into two stages, illustrated in Fig. 3(a) and Fig.
3(b), respectively. VG(1,2) is the driving signal of S1,2, f is the
switching frequency, and i1-MAX is the maximum value of
inductor current.
Stage � (t0-t1): From time t0 to t1, S1,2 is turned on and S1,1
is turned off; hence, power is transferred from CL to L1. At
the same time, voltage VCL decreases and inductor current
i1 increases. The rated voltage of S1,1 is the sum of VCL and
VC1, which is 2U. Variable k is the increasing gradient of i1,
and i1-MAX is the maximum value of i1,
Stage � (t1-t2): From time t1 to t2, S1,2 is turned off.
Current i1 flows through freewheeling diode D1,1 and
power is transferred from L1 to C1. Then, i1 decreases and
VC1 increases. Voltage VCL increases charged by input
voltage VLow. The rated voltage of S1,2 is the sum of VCL and
VC1, which is 2U. The declining gradient of i1 is equal to k
in (1). Finally, at time t2, S1,2 is turned on, and the process
repeats from Stage �.
When the converter operates in buck mode, the
converter power flow is reversed and the power is
transferred from top capacitor Cn to bottom capacitor CL
step by step. The working principle is similar with the
boost mode.
B. Bipolar BPUC
Worldwide, most operating commercial MVDC
networks are bipolar systems. The bipolar BPUC which is
used in bipolar MVDC system connection is shown in Fig.
2. The part of the converter above the middle level (i.e.,
from Cn+1 to C2n-1) is named positive pole, whereas the part
below the middle level (i.e., from C1 to Cn, including CL) is
named negative pole. Both pole circuits can be considered
as two independent unipolar BPUC converters. According
to the power flow direction, the bipolar BPUC also has two
operation modes: up-conversion and down-conversion
mode. The operation principle of the bipolar BPUC
converter is shown in Fig.4.
When the bipolar BPUC works in up-conversion mode,
the positive pole circuit works under boost mode, and the
negative pole works under buck mode. The power
transferring route is represented by blue arrows in Fig.4.
When the bipolar converter works in down-conversion
mode, the power flow is reversed. The positive pole works
under buck mode, and the negative pole works under boost
mode. The power transferring route is represented by red
arrows in Fig.4. By using the bipolar BPUC, the current
level in inductors can be reduced to 50% and the rated
voltage of switching devices can also be reduced to 50% of
those present in the unipolar BPUC. Therefore, the
efficiency and reliability of transmission are both
improved.
 The 2018 International Power Electronics Conference

(a). Operation state circuit: State� (t0-t1) (b). Operation state circuit: Stage� (t1-t2) (c). Theoretical waveform in up-conversion mode
Fig. 3. Transferring process of the n-level unipolar BPUC in the boost mode when the power transferred from the CL to C1

Fig.5. The control system consists of two levels: the central

Ⅲ. CONVERTER DESIGN controller and local power unit controllers. The BPUC
provides two power control strategies according to its
A. Inductor Design
application: unipolar power control for the unipolar BPUC
In the n-level unipolar BPUC, the conversion ratio is and bipolar power control for the bipolar BPUC.
VHigh/VLow=N=n+1. The power transferred by the i-th level
can be expressed by (N-i)P/N, i=1,2,...,n, and α is the
current ripple of inductor current ik. To maintain the energy
balance of inductor Lk, the following equation can be used:
N −k 1 α α
⋅ P = ⋅ Lk ⋅ f ⋅ [(ik + ik ) 2 − (ik − ik ) 2 ] . (1)
N 2 2 2
From (1),the Lk can be calculated as
U2
Lk = . (2)
2 fαP ( N − k )

B. Capacitor Design
In order to keep the voltage exchange between series
capacitors, the capacitance of CL and Cn should be the same.
The voltage ripple of capacitor CL is expressed as β and
the following equation can be obtained: Fig. 5. General control scheme for the BPUC

1 β β D⋅P A. Unipolar Power Control

⋅ C L ⋅ [(U + U ) 2 − (U − U ) 2 ] = . (3) The unipolar power control is used in unipolar
2 2 2 f
applications, where the converter is required to connect
From (3), capacitance Cn can be obtained as unipolar MV systems such as battery storage systems, PV
P systems, or distributed generation systems. In the unipolar
Cn = C L = . (4) power control strategy, either the top power unit controller
2 fβ U 2
or the bottom power unit controller is set to current control
loop to perform constant power interaction between two
DC grids. The remaining power unit controllers are set to
voltage control loop. Take the unipolar BPUC in buck
mode for example, and its control block diagram is shown
in Fig.6. Based on the required constant output power Pref.
Reference input current iH-ref can be expressed as
Pref
iH − ref = . (5)
VHigh
The reference voltage for the remaining power unit
controllers is given by
V
VC − ref = VC ( n −1) − ref ...... = VC1− ref = high (6)
n +1

Fig. 4. Operation principle of the bipolar BPUC converter

Ⅳ. POWER CONTROL SYSTEM

A proposed hierarchical and local control system is
Fig. 6. Control block diagram of the unipolar BPUC for unipolar power
used in the BPUC to achieve more flexible and precise control in buck mode
power control between interacting MVDC systems. The
general control block diagram of the BPUC is presented in B. Bipolar power control

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When the BPUC works as a bipolar converter to connect
bipolar MVDC networks and perform precise power
interaction, bipolar power control is used. Take the bipolar
BPUC in down-conversion as an example,and its block
diagram is shown in Fig.7. The positive pole of the
converter works under unipolar power control in buck
mode and the power unit controller (2n-1) is set to current
control loop. The negative pole of the converter works
under unipolar power control in boost mode, and Power
unit controller 1 is set to current control loop.
To verify the feasibility of the proposed converter, a
simulation model based on a 4-level unipolar BPUC was
implemented using PSIM. The simulation parameters are
given as follows: VHigh=5 kV, VLow=1 kV, f=10 kHz, P=1
MW, N=5, α=50%, CL=Ci=1mF, (i=1,2,3,4), Li,
(i=1,2,3,4)= 25 µH, 33 µH, 50 µH,100 µH
A. Simulation for Unipolar Power Control
Fig. 8 shows the simulation waveforms of the 4-level
unipolar BPUC for unipolar power control in the boost
mode (Vin=VLow=1 kV, VO=VHigh=5 kV). It can be seen that
an equal voltage is present in both capacitors (i.e.,
VC1=VC2), with an obtained ripple below 5% and inductor
currents approximately equal to the theoretical values
calculated by (10). Next, the dynamic step response of the
proposed converter was investigated in a simulation of the
converter with unipolar power control in buck mode, whose
outputs are shown in Fig. 9, and a slightly lower damping is
observed during the transient process.

B. Simulation for Bipolar Power Control

Fig. 10 shows the waveforms of the 4-level bipolar
BPUC for bipolar power control in up-conversion mode
( ±Vin/2=±VLow/2=±500 V, ±VO/2=±VHigh/2=2.5 kV, Pref= 1
MW). Compared with the outcomes of Fig.12, the inductor
Fig. 7. Control block diagram of the bipolar BPUC for bipolar power
control in down-conversion mode
current level and its ripple are greatly reduced.

Ⅴ. SIMULATION RESULTS

Fig. 8. Simulation of the 4-level unipolar BPUC Fig. 9. Simulation of dynamic step response Fig. 10. Simulation waveform of inductor currents
for unipolar power control in boost mode of the 4-level BPUC for unipolar power control and output voltage of bipolar 4-level BPUC in
(Vin=VLow=1kV, VO=VHigh=4 kV) in buck mode (the load R varies from 2 Ω to 1 Ω) bipolar power control under up-conversion mode

Ⅵ. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Owing to laboratory conditions, a small-scale (i.e., 1 kW)
4-level prototype of the unipolar BPUC was developed, as
shown in Fig.11. The prototype parameters are: n=4,
P=1kW, VHigh=500V, VLow=100V, f=20kHz. Fig. 12 shows
the the waveforms for inductor currents for unipolar power
control in boost mode. Fig. 13 shows the input and the
output waveform of the prototype. Fig. 14 shows the startup
process of the converter with a slightly lower damping
during this process, until the output voltage finally reaches
Fig. 11. Photograph of the 1 kW 4-level unipolar BPUC prototype
the steady-state rated voltage of 500 V.

Fig.12 inductor currents in power units(2A/1V) Fig.13 Waveform of the input and output (2A/1V) Fig.14 Waveform of automatic starting-up process

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Ⅶ. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a novel bidirectional DC-DC converter
based on series power units for unipolar and bipolar
MVDC connection and its corresponding control strategies
are proposed. Compared with traditional DC grid-
connecting converters, the proposed converter presents the
following improvements:
--Transformerless.
--Bipolar MVDC connection with simple structure.
--Precise power control between MVDC systems.
Finally, a 1 kW implementation of the 4-level BPUC is
developed. The experiment results validate the operation
principle and feasibility of the proposed converter.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work was supported by the National Research
Program of China (973 Program) under project
2015CB251001 and the National High Technology
Research and Development Program of China (863
Program) 2015AA050606

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