IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 67, NO.

2, FEBRUARY 2020 1103

A Novel Boost Active Bridge-Based Inductive

Power Transfer System
Gaurav R. Kalra , Student Member, IEEE, Duleepa J. Thrimawithana, Senior Member, IEEE,
Baljit S. Riar , Chang-Yu Huang, Member, IEEE, and Martin Neuburger

Abstract—In recent years, a number of bidirectional

inductive power transfer systems (BD-IPT) suitable for
wireless grid integration of electric vehicles have been
developed. These developments have been fueled by the
enhanced efficiency and spatial tolerance offered by BD-IPT
systems. A typical BD-IPT system utilizes two synchronized
full-bridge converters operating at fixed duty cycles to drive
the primary and secondary magnetic couplers. However,
in order to cater for a wide range of loading conditions,
additional circuitry is employed at the expense of cost
and power density. As an alternative solution, this paper
proposes a novel power converter, named a boost active
bridge (BAB), to replace the full-bridge converters. The BAB
topology caters to a wide range of loading conditions
without the need for any extra switching devices. A com-
prehensive mathematical model that predicts steady-state
currents, voltages, and power transfer is presented to
highlight the operating principles of the BAB technology.
Experimental results obtained from a 3.5-kW prototype
show a nearly constant efficiency under all loading condi-
tions, validating the viability of the proposed BAB topology.
Index Terms—Electric vehicle (EV) charger, inductive
power transfer, wireless power transfer.
I. INTRODUCTION
S THE population of electric vehicles (EVs) continues to
A grow around the world, there is an ever greater need for
safe, convenient, and reliable EV charging solutions. To date,
charging solutions mainly consist of hard-wired chargers where
a physical connection between the EV battery and an external
energy source such as the utility grid is required [1]–[3]. Often,
such chargers raise concerns over user safety and reliability,
Manuscript received June 8, 2018; revised October 4, 2018 and De-
cember 10, 2018; accepted January 20, 2019. Date of publication Febru-
ary 20, 2019; date of current version September 30, 2019. (Correspond-
ing author: Gaurav R. Kalra.)
G. R. Kalra and D. J. Thrimawithana are with the Department
of Electrical and Computer Engineering, The University of Auckland,
Auckland 1010, New Zealand (e-mail:, gkal280@aucklanduni.ac.nz;
d.thrimawithana@auckland.ac.nz).
B. S. Riar is with the Power Electronics Laboratory, Department of
Electrical and Computer Engineering, Utah State University, Logan, UT
84341 USA (e-mail:, baljit.riar@usu.edu).
C.-Y. Huang is with the Qualcomm New Zealand, Auckland 1010, New
Zealand (e-mail:, changyu.huang@gmail.com).
M. Neuburger is with the Department of Electrical Drives, University
of Applied Sciences Esslingen, 73728 Esslingen am Neckar, Germany
(e-mail:, Martin.Neuburger@hs-esslingen.de).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TIE.2019.2898615
Fig. 1. Conceptual block diagram of a typical BD-IPT system employed
in V2G/G2V applications.
especially at higher power levels and during harsh weather con-
ditions. Consequently, there has been a shift toward wireless
chargers, which are inherently safer, more convenient, and lack
any physical contacts. Inductive power transfer (IPT), which has
been used in a wide variety of applications [4]–[6], is currently
the preferred technology for implementing wireless EV charg-
ers [7]–[9]. This preference is mainly due to the high galvanic
isolation and flexibility offered by IPT-based wireless chargers,
while still being able to achieve efficiencies comparable to wired
chargers. This trend is further highlighted by the introduction
of specifications and guidelines for IPT-based EV chargers to
ensure interoperability between various systems, such as SAE
J2954 [10].
The majority of IPT-based EV chargers reported to date only
allow unidirectional power flow, typically from the utility grid
to the EV battery [11]–[13]. However, the recent introduction of
bidirectional IPT (BD-IPT) technologies not only improve sys-
tem efficiency and flexibility, but also enable vehicle to grid/grid
to vehicle (V2G/G2V) services [14]–[17]. These services are
expected to become an integral part of the future EV charging
infrastructure and include the absorption of power variances
produced by renewable energy sources, reactive power injec-
tion for grid voltage regulation, and harmonics absorption for
improved power quality [18]–[20]. Overall, such services can
further enhance the use of renewable energy sources and also
provide an additional revenue stream for EV owners [21]. How-
ever, in order to realize effective V2G/G2V services, a BD-IPT
system that can operate under different loading and operating
conditions is an essential requirement.
A conceptual block diagram of a typical BD-IPT system that
can be employed in V2G/G2V applications is shown in Fig. 1,
where Vs represents an EV battery voltage and Vp represents a
dc-link voltage generated from the single-phase grid through a
full-bridge inverter, also known as a grid-tied inverter or a re-
versible rectifier [22]. To drive the magnetic couplers Lpt and Lst ,
and their respective compensation networks, full-bridge voltage

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 1104
source inverters (VSI) are commonly used on both the primary
and secondary side [8], [23], [24]. The selection of compensa-
tion networks as well as the design of the magnetic couplers
plays a vital role in the performance of the overall system and
have been analyzed extensively in [25]–[27]. Nonetheless, re-
gardless of the compensation networks and/or coupler design
employed, the limitations imposed on Vp and Vs by the grid and
EV battery voltages, respectively, significantly impact system
performance. For example, in a typical BD-IPT system inter-
faced with the single-phase utility grid, Vp is regulated by the
grid-tied inverter to a fixed voltage between 250 and 350 V
(120 Vac grid connection) or 400 and 500 V (230 Vac grid con-
nection). Similarly, Vs depends on the state of charge (SOC)
of the battery and its nominal voltage, which typically is in the
range of 250–450 V or 700–800 V. Since the power transfer
capability is proportional to Vp and Vs , the lack of control over
these voltages constrains the ability of a BD-IPT system to oper-
ate under optimum parameters over a wide range of loading and
operating conditions [28], [29]. Additionally, the lower dc-link
voltages result in high current stresses throughout the system,
especially at high power levels (≥3.3 kW) and lead to poor
efficiency.
Among the solutions proposed to address these issues, the
simplest one involves using a high frequency transformer as a
part of the compensation network that also steps-up the voltage
across the magnetic coupler [10]. Another commonly used solu-
tion involves partial series compensating the magnetic coupler
to increase its VA rating [14]–[16]. Although these solutions in-
crease the power transfer capability, the additional components
operate under high VA stress, leading to lower power transfer
efficiency and increased system cost. Furthermore, these so-
lutions fail to maintain an acceptable efficiency over a wide
range of loading conditions. As an alternative, in some applica-
tions, preregulation and postregulation stages are employed to
boost the dc-link voltages, while also facilitating maximum ef-
ficiency tracking over a wide range of loading conditions. How-
ever, this requires two additional bidirectional power conversion
stages, for example, bidirectional buck–boost converters. A cur-
rent source inverter (CSI), such as a push–pull parallel-resonant
converter [17], can also be employed to drive the magnetic cou-
plers with a boosted voltage. Despite that, this solution requires
additional dc inductors, while no improvement is offered in
terms of switch current stress. Similar to a VSI, a CSI also lacks
the ability to track the maximum efficiency under all loading
conditions, as the modulation of the inverter leads to loss of
zero voltage switching (ZVS) [30].
In order to overcome the challenges discussed above, this pa-
per proposes a BD-IPT system that utilizes a novel multi-port
power converter, termed the Boost Active Bridge (BAB). Un-
like multiport converters that have been previously reported and
used in renewable energy applications [31]–[33], the proposed
BAB converter is unique as it has a split dc link. This split dc
link is fed by two half-bridges that are connected with a dc
source/load through two dc inductors. As a result, the split dc
link enables the generation of a pure ac voltage to drive the
compensation network, eliminating the dc-blocking capacitor
that is needed to avoid circulating currents. The two half-bridges
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 67, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2020
and the dc inductors also form a bidirectional buck–boost con-
verter, thus generating a significantly larger ac voltage to drive
the compensation network. The larger ac voltage increases the
power transfer capability and eliminates the need for a trans-
former or series compensation. The BD-IPT system presented
in the paper employs a BAB converter as both the primary and
the secondary converters, which are individually controlled to
operate the system at the maximum efficiency point under all
loading conditions. As such, the proposed BAB-based BD-IPT
system together with the presented control scheme is expected
to offer significant performance and cost improvements over the
solutions discussed earlier.
The focus and contribution of this paper is to introduce and
highlight the operating principles of a novel BAB-based LCL
tuned BD-IPT system. A detailed description of the circuit con-
figuration and its operation, including a switching scheme, is
provided in Section II. This is followed by the development of a
mathematical model to describe key voltage and current wave-
forms as well as the power transfer capability in Section III.
Also provided in Section III are equations for sizing passive
components and predicting switch current stresses. Experimen-
tal results of a 3.5-kW “proof of concept” prototype system are
provided in Section IV to highlight the benefits of a BAB-based
BD-IPT system and to validate the accuracy of the mathemati-
cal model. To quantify the advantages of a BAB-based system
over a full-bridge-based traditional BD-IPT system, Section IV
also provides a detailed comparison between the two systems.
Finally, conclusions based on the validity and effectiveness of
the proposed converter are drawn in Section V.
II. PROPOSED BAB CONVERTER
A. Converter Configuration Description
The proposed BAB technology can replace the VSI found in
commonly used unidirectional or bidirectional IPT systems re-
gardless of the compensation topology and the type of magnetic
coupler employed. However, to highlight all the benefits of the
BAB technology, including its ability to inherently eliminate cir-
culating currents, an LCL tuned BD-IPT system utilizing BABs
as both the primary and secondary converters is considered as an
example in this paper. A schematic of this BAB-based BD-IPT
system is shown in Fig. 2. The primary BAB converter drives
the primary magnetic coupler Lpt , through Lpi and Cp , which
together form an LCL compensation network. Similarly, the
secondary is composed of a BAB and an LCL network formed
by Lst , Cs , and Lsi . The mutual inductance between Lpt and
Lst is referred to as M , and is defined as M = k Lpt Lst ,
where k is the coupling coefficient. In a typical application,
the supply to the primary BAB is derived through a grid-tied
inverter. For simplicity, the dc-link voltage generated by this
grid-tied inverter is modeled by a dc voltage source, Vp . The
secondary BAB will be directly connected to the EV battery,
which is modeled by Vs .
Since the electronics on the primary and secondary sides are
identical, the operating principles discussed below pertain to
both sides. In order to ensure generality, subscript x is used,
x ∈ {p, s}, where subscripts p and s represent the primary and
 KALRA et al.: NOVEL BOOST ACTIVE BRIDGE-BASED INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEM 1105

Fig. 2. Schematic of the proposed BAB-based BD-IPT system.

secondary side, respectively. Each side consists of two half-

bridges; half-bridge “a”, Bxa , which is made up from switch
pair SxaT and SxaB ; and half-bridge “b”, Bxb , which is made
up from switch pair SxbT and SxbB . Vx is connected to both Bxa
and Bxb through dc inductors Lxa and Lxb , respectively. The
capacitors Cxa and Cxb are connected across the dc sides of Bxa
and Bxb , respectively. This arrangement forms an interleaved,
bidirectional buck–boost converter between Vx and Cxa ; as well
as Vx and Cxb . Although a BAB requires two dc inductors and
capacitors, in comparison to the passive components required
to implement a bidirectional pre/postregulator, these devices are
significantly smaller due to the interleaved operation of Bxa and
Bxb . Lxa and Lxb can also be designed as a single coupled in-
ductor, further reducing the cost of the system. The combination
of Bxa and Bxb also form a quasi full-bridge inverter, whose
output vxi drives the corresponding LCL network.
Bxa and Bxb are switched in a complementary manner at fs ,
which is equal to, or in proximity to the resonant frequency of
the two LCL networks, fT . As a result, the output voltage vxa ,
Fig. 3. Voltages produced by the BAB utilizing the proposed switching
produced by Bxa , and vxb , produced by Bxb , are 180° out of scheme at (a) 50%, (b) 60%, and (c) 40% duty cycles.
phase. The duty cycles of vxa and vxb are defined as Dxa and
Dxb , respectively. Since the average of vxa and vxb should be duty-cycle control scheme employed by the BAB will reduce
equal to Vx at steady state, the voltages VC xa and VC xb are a the control effort required and minimize switching losses over
function of Dxa and Dxb , respectively, as given by a wide load range, as validated in Section IV. Furthermore, the
magnitude of vxi can be increased by operating at a Dx below
VC xa Dxa = VC xb Dxb = Vx . (1)
50% in order to compensate for reduced power transfer under
Equation (1) shows that a nominal duty cycle of 50% dou- misaligned conditions or a drop in dc-link voltages. Although
bles Vx , and reducing/increasing the duty cycle results in a decreasing Dx below 50% increases αx , as per (1) the amplitude
higher/lower voltage across each half-bridge, as shown in Fig. 3. of vxi increases, resulting in a net increase in the rms value of
The output of the quasi-full-bridge converter vxi is the differ- vxi . As shown in Fig. 3, αx is a function of Dx as given by

ence between voltages vxa and vxb , and is also shown in Fig. 3. π − 2πDx Dx ≤ 0.5
Bxa and Bxb are normally operated with equal duty cycles to αx = . (2)
π − 2π(1 − Dx ) Dx > 0.5
produce a symmetric vxi , and the duty cycle of each side can be
referred to as simply Dx , i.e., Dxa = Dxb = Dx . The rms value Due to nonideal conditions, such as component tolerances
of vxi can be controlled using phase-shift modulation while Dx and delays introduced by the driver circuitry, a conventional
is set to 50% [14]. Alternatively, the proposed BAB can also full-bridge converter that is controlled using phase-shift mod-
be controlled by modulating Dx while Bxa and Bxb are driven ulation, may generate an output voltage with a dc offset. As
180° out of phase [31]. Fig. 3 shows that increasing Dx beyond mentioned previously, this dc offset will lead to a large circulat-
50% lowers the rms value of vxi by increasing the duration of ing dc current through the inductors of an LCL tuned BD-IPT
the 0 V level αx , and reducing the amplitude of vxi . Therefore, system. To resolve this issue, a dc-blocking capacitor is normally
in contrast to the traditional phase-shift modulation scheme, the placed in series with one of the inductors, adding to system cost

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 1106 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 67, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2020

of the following analysis, it is assumed that the power transfer

occurs only at the fundamental components of vpi and vsi . The
phasors of these fundamental components can be expressed as
√ α 
2 2 p
Vpi = V p cos , (7)
Fig. 4. Equivalent phasor domain representation of the LCL networks. Dp π 2
√ α 
2 2 s
and size. However, due to the split dc-link configuration, the Vsi = Vs cos . (8)
Ds π 2
BAB converter achieves self-voltage balancing, thus avoiding
the need for dc-blocking capacitors. Self-voltage balancing en- The current flowing in the primary and secondary magnetic
sures that at steady state, the average of vxi is always 0, allowing couplers, Ipt and Ist , respectively, can be expressed as
the converter to drive a purely inductive load. Since vxi is the  Z 
difference between vxa and vxb , its average can be expressed as 1 Iin Z p +j ω s Lp p t +r p t
Ipt = , (9)
K +Iout (Z +j ω L +rj ω s )(Z M Zs
Vxi Avg = VC xa Dxa − VC xb Dxb . (3) p s pt pt s +j ω s L s t +r s t )
 
Therefore, according to (1), Vxi Avg must always be equal to 1 Iout Z s +j ωZs Ls s t +r s t
Ist = jωs M Zp , (10)
zero during steady-state operation. K +Iin (Z +j ω L +r
p s pt p t )(Z s +j ω s L s t +r s t )

III. GENERALIZED MATHEMATICAL MODEL where

jωs Lpi + rpi
A. Generalized Model for Power Transfer Zp = , (11)
1 − ωs2 Lpi Cp + jωs Cp rpi
In order to develop a deeper understanding of the proposed
system, the LCL networks and the switching scheme are mathe- jωs Lsi + rsi
Zs = 2
, (12)
matically modeled and presented in this section. The following 1− ωs Lsi Cs + jωs Cs rsi
analysis is based on the extensive work already presented in ωs2 M 2
[14] and [23] on a traditional LCL tuned BD-IPT system, and K =1+ , (13)
(Zp + jωs Lpt + rpi )(Zs + jωs Lst + rsi )
extends to model the power transfer characteristics, component
stresses, and efficiency, of the proposed system. As discussed in and Iin and Iout refer to conceptual currents given by
[14] and [23], the LCL networks can be simplified and repre-
Vpi Vsi
sented by an equivalent phasor domain model shown in Fig. 4. Iin = and Iout = . (14)
Typically, to minimize the VA rating of the converters and to rpi + jωs Lpi rsi + jωs Lst
maximize the power transfer, both LCL networks are intended Ipt and Ist induce voltages Vsr and Vpr , respectively, across
to operate at their designed resonant frequency, fT . Therefore, the magnetic couplers, as given by
1 1 1 1 Vpr = jωs M Ist and Vsr = jωs M Ipt .
(2πfT )2 = ωT2 = = = = . (4) (15)
Lpi Cp Lpt Cp Lsi Cs Lst Cs
Following the same procedure, the current flowing into the
In most EV charging applications, misalignment between
primary LCL network Ipi , and the current flowing out of the
magnetic couplers invariably results in changes to the self-
secondary LCL network Isi , can be expressed as
inductances Lpt and Lst , detuning the LCL networks. In some
cases, at the cost of converter VA rating, the networks are inten- −Ipr Zpr + Vpi
Ipi = , (16)
tionally de-tuned to present a slightly inductive input impedance Zpr + jωs Lpi + rpi
at the switching frequency fs (ωs ), to ensure a wide ZVS range.
−Isr Zsr + Vsi
Thus, the following analysis is generalized assuming the LCL Isi = , (17)
networks are not ideally tuned. As discussed in the previous Zsr + jωs Lsi + rsi
section, vpi and vsi represent the outputs of the primary and sec- where
ondary BAB converters, respectively. They can be represented jωs Lpt + rpt
by their Fourier series, as given in the following: Zpr = , (18)
1 − ωs2 Lpt Cp + jωs Cp rpt
4Vp
∞
 1  nα 
vpi = cos
p
sin (nωs t) (5) jωs Lst + rst
πDp n 2 Zsr = , (19)
n =1,3... 1 − ωs2 Lst Cs + jωs Cs rst

4Vs
∞
 1  nα  and Ipr and Isr refer to conceptual currents given by
s
vsi = cos sin (nωs t + nθ) (6)
πDs n =1,3...
n 2 Vpr Vsr
Ipr = and Isr = . (20)
rpt + jωs Lpt rst + jωs Lst
where θ represents the phase difference between vpi and vsi .
The LCL networks significantly attenuate the higher order The resistive losses of the magnetic couplers and other passive
harmonics generated by the converters. Thus, for the purpose components are typically negligible in comparison to the overall

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 KALRA et al.: NOVEL BOOST ACTIVE BRIDGE-BASED INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEM 1107

power transfer. Therefore,

8Vp Vs ΓΛ α  α 
p s
Pout = cos cos sin (θ) , (21)
π 2 Dp Ds 2 2
where
1 ωs M
Γ= × , (22)
ωs Lpt /(1 − ωs2 Lpt Cp ) + ωs Lpi 1 − ωs2 Lpt Cp
1 1/(1 − ωs2 Lsi Cs )
Λ=  × , (23)
K ωs Lsi /(1 − ωs2 Lsi Cst ) + ωs Lst
 ωs2 M 2
K =1+   .
jωs Lp i
1−ω s2 L p i C p + jωs Lpt jωs Ls i
1−ω s2 L s i C s + jωs Lst
(24) Fig. 5. Normalized output power plotted as a function of D p and D s .

As evident from (21), in contrast to a traditional full-bridge-

based BD-IPT system, the output power of the proposed BAB-
based system is a function of the control variables, Dp and Ds , as
well as αp and αs . Nominally, the converters are operated with
Dp = Ds = 50%, when delivering rated power. Under these
conditions, accordingly with (2), being a function of Dp and Ds ,
both αp and αs are zero. As discussed in the previous section,
the output power can be regulated by controlling Dp and Ds .
Increasing one or both of the duty cycles above 50% results
in reduced output power. However, increasing Dp and/or Ds
also leads to an increase in αp and/or αs . Thus, as clear from
(21), a small increase in the duty cycles translates to a much
larger reduction in the output power, enabling the converter to
minimize switching losses over a wide load range as shown in
Section IV. Unlike in traditional BD-IPT systems, the output
power of the proposed BAB-based system can be increased
by decreasing one or both of the duty cycles below 50% to
compensate for variations in system parameters. The following
subsections discuss some of the favorable properties offered by
the BAB technology in detail.
B. Maximum Efficiency Tracking
In an LCL-based BD-IPT system, the current stress on Lpt
and Lst is significantly greater than the current stress on Lpi
and Lsi . As a result, the power dissipated in the LCL networks
is dominated by the loss attributed to the magnetic couplers.
Based on this assumption and simplifying (21) using ωs = ωT ,
the power dissipated in the LCL networks can be approximated
as
2 2
Vpi Pin Lpt
PLoss ≈ rpt +
ωs Lpt M Vpi
Taking the derivative of (25) with respect to Vpi and equating
it to 0, the value of Vpi at which the ac–ac loss is a minimum
can be obtained as given by
ωs Pin L2st rpt
Vpi2 P =P = .
Loss Loss MIN M rst
Applying the same procedure to derive the value of Vsi , which
minimizes PLoss , and combining it with (26) gives the optimal
ratio between Vpi and Vsi for maximum ac–ac efficiency as
Vpi Lpt rst
= . (27)
Vsi P Loss =P Loss MIN Lst rpt
This implies that the maximum ac–ac power transfer effi-
ciency is achieved when the power loss in the primary and
2 2
secondary magnetic couplers is matched (i.e., Ipt rpt = Ist rst ).
Furthermore, the maximum ac–ac efficiency when employing
this impedance matching scheme is given by
√
2 rpt rst
ηMax = 1 − . (28)
ωs M
A BAB-based BD-IPT system can facilitate this impedance
matching scheme without the aid of any additional circuitry over
a wide range of loading and operating conditions. For example,
consider a symmetric BAB-based BD-IPT system, where pri-
mary and secondary circuits are identical. Normalized output
power of this system, as a function of Dp and Ds , is shown in
Fig. 5 . In this example, when delivering rated power, efficiency
would be maximized by operating at point A. On the other hand,
consider an asymmetric case where Lst is physically smaller but
has the same self-inductance as Lpt , which is often the case for
EV charging applications [10]. Typically, a smaller coupler im-
plies higher resistive losses due to the reduced winding area. As
such, to maximize ac–ac efficiency while still delivering rated
power, the operating point of the BAB can be shifted toward B
to increase ipt and reduce ist . Similarly, consider another ex-
ample where the EV battery voltage is increasing as it charges
at a constant power level. The operating point, which is close
to point C when the battery is depleted, can be shifted toward
rst . (25) point B during the charge process in order to maximize ac–ac
efficiency. In contrast, a traditional full-bridge converter-based
BD-IPT system achieves impedance matching at the expense of
efficiency and power transfer capability [29].
C. Reduced Conduction Losses
(26) The conduction losses associated with the BAB-based sys-
tem can be divided into conduction losses in the switches, LCL
networks, and the dc inductors. In comparison to a traditional
full-bridge-based BD-IPT system, under nominal operating

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 1108 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 67, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2020

given as
2
Pout
PLoss BAB = (0.74) Rds , (32)
Vp2
where Rds is the ON resistance of each switch. In the case of a
full-bridge-based system operating under equivalent conditions,
the conduction losses of the primary full bridge are simply a
function of ipi , which can be given as
πPout
Ipi F B = √ . (33)
2 2Vp
Therefore, the total conduction loss in the primary full bridge
can be given by
2
πPout
PLoss FB = √ 2Rds (34)
2 2Vp
2
Pout
= (2.47) Rds . (35)
Vp2
As evident from (32) and (35), the switch conduction losses of
the BABs are lowered by approximately 70%. The additional
Fig. 6. Theoretical and approximate current and voltage waveforms of
the primary BAB at 50% duty cycle.
losses associated with the dc inductors used by the BABs of
the proposed system are significantly lower in comparison to
the reduction in conduction losses of the switches and LCL
conditions, the primary and secondary LCL networks are driven networks. As a result, the overall efficiency is improved.
at twice Vp and Vs , respectively, halving the currents in the LCL
networks. Although a higher magnetic coupler inductance is re- D. Reduced Current Ripple
quired to achieve the same level of power transfer, the winding
losses are effectively halved. However, since the magnetic cou- As the two half-bridges together with the two dc inductors
plers in each system are operated at the same VA, the core losses of each BAB form two interleaved buck–boost converters, the
in each system remain the same. switching frequency current ripple present in Ip and Is is greatly
Due to the addition of the currents flowing through the dc reduced. For example, the individual peak ripple current present
inductors, the currents through the top and bottom switches in Lpa can be given as
of each half-bridge are asymmetric, leading to unevenly dis- Vp (1 − Dp )
tributed switch conduction losses. As shown in Fig. 6, the top ΔIL pa pk = . (36)
2fT Lpa
switch of Bpa conducts during the negative half-cycle of ipi and
the bottom switch conducts for the positive half-cycle. How- Since vpa and vpb are 180° out of phase, so are the currents
ever, since the dc current iL pa always flows into Bpa during through Lpa and Lpb . Thus, the peak ripple present in Ip can be
their respective ON durations, the top switch current is given derived as
by iS paT = |ipi | − iL pa and the bottom switch current is given ⎧ Vp αp
⎪
⎨ 2π f T L p a Dp ≤ 0.5
by iS paB = |ipi | + iL pa . Ignoring the contribution of switching
ΔIp pk = . (37)
harmonics as shown in Fig. 6, the rms of ipi and iL pa can be ⎪
⎩ V p (1−D p )α p
given by D p 2π f T L p a Dp > 0.5
Pout πPout Under nominal operating conditions, according to (37), ΔIp pk
IL pa = and Ipi = √ . (29)
2Vp 4 2Vp is zero. As the duty cycle deviates from 50%, ΔIp pk increases
and Ip appears to be at twice the switching frequency. Nonethe-
Therefore, the rms of iS paT and iS paB are approximated as less, it is still comparatively lower in amplitude than ΔIL pa pk
√ under all operating conditions. Similarly, the ripple current
Pout π 2 − 6
IS paT = , (30) present in Is on the secondary BAB is also reduced.
8Vp
√
Pout π 2 + 10 IV. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
IS paB = . (31)
8Vp A. Experimental Validation
As per the proposed switching scheme, at least two switching In order to illustrate the viability of the proposed BAB tech-
devices are conducting at any given instance. Therefore, the total nology and to validate the accuracy of the mathematical models
conduction loss of the primary BAB converter switches can be developed, a 3.5-kW “proof of concept” prototype shown in

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 KALRA et al.: NOVEL BOOST ACTIVE BRIDGE-BASED INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEM
Fig. 7. Bipolar magnetic couplers employed by the prototype system.
Fig. 8. Bipolar magnetic couplers employed by the prototype system.
TABLE I
CIRCUIT PARAMETERS
Figs. 7 and 8 was designed and built. Circuit parameters of this
prototype system are listed in Table I. Although the prototype
can be operated as a bidirectional IPT system, the results pre-
sented below only illustrate the forward power transfer (i.e.,
from the primary to the secondary). When the power transfer is
reversed, the waveforms presented in the paper would simply
appear to mirror each other since the primary and secondary
circuitry employed are identical.
The experimental voltage and current waveforms are shown in
Fig. 9 for 50, 60, and 80%, primary and secondary, duty cycles.
The captured waveforms include vpi , vsi , and the output current
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1109
Fig. 9. Experimental voltage and current waveforms produced by the
primary (left) and secondary (right) BAB at (a) 50%, (b) 60%, and
(c) 80% duty cycles.
of Bxa (i.e., ixi + iL xa ). In order to verify the accuracy of the
mathematical model developed in Section III, the experimental
currents and voltages are overlaid with their theoretical values.
As evident, the experimental and theoretical waveforms present
an excellent correlation. In accordance with (1) and as shown in
Fig. 9(a), when operating at Dp = Ds = 50% and on an input
supply voltage of 280 V, the output power is approximately
3.5 kW, while VC xa and VC xb are approximately 560 V. The
output power is reduced to approximately 2.2 kW by increasing
both Dp and Ds to 60%, resulting in a reduction of VC xa and
VC xb to 467 V. Simultaneously, αp and αs have increased from 0
to 0.2π rad (1.176 μs) as predicted by (2). Accordingly with (5)
and (6), the fundamental components of vpi and vsi have reduced
significantly from 504 to 400 V. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 9(c),
the output power is further reduced to 0.5 kW by increasing
Dp and Ds to 80%. Accordingly, at 0.5 kW, αp and αs have
increased to 0.6π rad (3.53 μs) and the fundamental components
of vpi and vsi have further reduced to approximately 185 V. As
such, Fig. 9 verifies the ability of the presented switching scheme
to regulate the power flow.
The converter’s ability to minimize switching losses for the
entire load range is also evident from the experimental switching
 1110
Fig. 10. Experimental waveforms of the primary dc inductor currents
(top) and the primary supply current (bottom) at (a) 50% and (b) 60%
duty cycles.
waveforms shown in Fig. 9. Due to the symmetry of the primary
BAB circuitry, if Bpa achieves ZVS for both switches, so will
Bpb . The same relationship applies to Bsa and Bsb . Therefore,
it is clear from Fig. 9(a) that when operating under nominal
conditions, ZVS is achieved for all switches (i.e., vxa transi-
tion is during dead-time between SxaT and SxaB ). At 2.2 kW,
as evident from Fig. 9(b), two switches of each BAB are hard
switched. However, due to the dc offset present in the output
current of Bxa , the current through these switches at the switch-
ing instance remains close to zero, leading to minimal switching
losses. Similarly, as illustrated by Fig. 9(c), only a single switch
of each BAB is hard switched when delivering 0.5 kW. As in the
previous case, the current through these switches at the switch-
ing instance is almost zero, thus maintaining switching losses
to a minimum.
According to (24) and (27), the theoretical peak dc induc-
tor currents can be calculated as 8 and 5.6 A, under 50% and
60% duty-cycle operation, respectively. The experimental re-
sults shown in Fig. 10 closely match these theoretical values.
Moreover, as evident from Fig. 10(a) and predicted by (31),
ΔIp pk is nearly zero when operated at 50% duty cycle. ΔIp pk
can be calculated as 0.5 A when operated at a duty cycle of 60%,
which is also experimentally verified in Fig. 10(b).
B. Efficiency Comparison
Fig. 11 depicts the dc–dc efficiency of the prototype BAB-
based BD-IPT system as a function of input power, which was
varied from 3.5 to 0.5 kW by adjusting both Dp and Ds equally
from 50% to 80%, respectively. The efficiency of the BAB-based
system is approximately constant throughout the entire load
range with a minimum of 94.9% at 1.2 kW and a maximum
of 95.4% at 2.2 kW. To highlight the improved performance,
the efficiency of the prototype BAB-based system is compared
with conventional full-bridge implementations in Fig. 11. All
full-bridge-based systems tested employed the same magnetic
couplers. Two of these full-bridge implementations derived
power from the same 280 V dc sources as the BAB-based sys-
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 67, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2020
Fig. 11. Experimental efficiency versus input power for various different
IPT systems.
tem. To ensure that these two full-bridge-based BD-IPT systems
could deliver 3.5 kW, in one of the implementations (FB-280V)
the primary and secondary magnetic couplers were partially se-
ries compensated using capacitors Cpt and Cst , respectively.
In contrast, the second system (FB-BB) utilized bidirectional
buck–boost converters as preregulators and postregulators that
generated 560 V to feed the full bridges. The two buck–boost
converters employed identical dc inductors as the BAB. For
completeness, a full-bridge system fed directly by 560 V dc
sources (FB-560V) was also tested. The two full bridges that
operated at 560 V (i.e., FB-BB and FB-560V) used 170 nF ca-
pacitors as Cpi and Csi to eliminate circulating currents. In order
to maintain the same resonant frequency, Lpi and Lsi were in-
creased to 62 and 67 μH, respectively. The output power of
full-bridge-based systems were regulated by equally modulat-
ing the phase angle of both primary and secondary full bridges
[14]. While in the case of the FB-BB implementation, the phase
angles of the full bridges were fixed to 100% and the duty cy-
cles of the buck–boost converters were controlled equally to
regulate the power from 3.5 to 1 kW. This ensured that the
full bridges of the FB-BB implementation operated with ZVS.
For power demands less than 1 kW, the full bridges of the
FB-BB implementation were controlled using phase modula-
tion, while operating the buck–boost converters at 100% duty
cycle. The circuit parameters of these systems are listed in
Table I for reference. As evident from Fig. 11, the proposed
BAB technology offers a better balance between efficiency,
power transfer, and cost in comparison to traditional full-bridge-
based implementations. The efficiency of both the FB-280V and
FB-560V implementations deteriorates sharply as the output
power is reduced due to the loss of ZVS. Although the FB-
BB implementation offers an improvement under light loads,
overall efficiency suffers due to the additional power conversion
stages.
To help better understand and compare the loss mechanisms
of the BAB and full-bridge-based systems, detailed simulation
program with integrated circuit emphasis (SPICE) models were
developed. In a practical application, it is realistic to assume
that Vp and Vs will be constrained within a specified volt-
 KALRA et al.: NOVEL BOOST ACTIVE BRIDGE-BASED INDUCTIVE POWER TRANSFER SYSTEM
Fig. 12. Simulated and experimental efficiency over varying loads.
Fig. 13. Simulated loss breakdown.
age range (i.e., 280 V in the example application considered
above). Therefore, the FB-280V implementation is considered
for the following comparison. The ac and dc losses in the mag-
netic components were modeled using equivalent series resistors
(ESRs) detailed in Table I. Simulated efficiency obtained from
these models is also depicted in Fig. 12 to verify the accuracy of
the simulation models. These simulations were therefore used to
derive the loss breakdown presented in Fig. 13. The figure vali-
dates that even with the additional loss in the dc inductors, the
BAB-based system is more efficient. This is mainly due to the
significantly reduced losses in Lpi and Lsi and reduced losses
in the switches. The favorable switching conditions facilitated
by the BAB-based system are also clearly evident in Fig. 13,
where in contrast to the full-bridge-based system, the losses as-
sociated with the primary and secondary BAB converters scale
down almost linearly with power. It should be noted that the
efficiency of neither system has been optimized, as the intention
of this paper is to propose and highlight the operating principles
of a novel BAB-based BD-IPT system. However, the trend in
efficiency of the full-bridge-based system aligns well with the
previous research [8], [28], [29]. Overall, these results validate
the flexibility offered by the BAB technology to operate over
a wide load range without the concern for lowered efficiency.
Furthermore, it is evident that the additional cost of the dc in-
ductors is, to a significant extent, offset by the lower thermal
management requirements and the lower current stress on the
ac inductors.
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1111
V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, the operating principles of a novel BAB-based
BD-IPT system were presented. The viability of the proposed
system and the accuracy of the presented mathematical model
were verified through the development of a 3.5-kW “proof of
concept” prototype system. The experimental results proved
that the proposed system offered a higher power transfer ef-
ficiency throughout the entire load range in comparison to a
traditional full-bridge-based system. The experimental results
also validated further advantageous properties of the proposed
system such as lower switching losses, elimination of the dc-
blocking capacitor, ability to track maximum efficiency over a
wide range of operating conditions, and reduced current stresses
in the components.
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Gaurav R. Kalra (S’17) received the B.E.
(Hons.) degree in electrical and electronic en-
gineering, in 2016, from The University of Auck-
land, Auckland, New Zealand, where he is cur-
rently working toward the Ph.D. degree in elec-
trical engineering.
His research interests include power elec-
tronics, inductive power transfer, and renewable
energy technology.
Authorized licensed use limited to: Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur. Downloaded on May 25,2023 at 14:39:32 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Duleepa J. Thrimawithana (M’09–SM’18) re-
ceived the B.E. degree in electrical engineering
(Hons.) and the Ph.D. degree in power electron-
ics from The University of Auckland, Auckland,
New Zealand, in 2005 and 2009, respectively.
He joined the Department of Electrical and
Computer Engineering at The University of
Auckland in 2009, where he currently works as
a Senior Lecturer in Electrical Engineering. He
also serves as the Chairman of the Joint Chapter
of IEEE Industrial Electronics and Industrial Ap-
plications Society, New Zealand (North). He has coauthored over 100 in-
ternational journal and conference publications, and has filled 14 patents
on wireless power transfer technologies. His research areas include wire-
less power transfer, power electronics, and renewable energy.
Dr. Thrimawithana received the Jim and Hazel D. Lord Fellowship in
2014 in recognition of his outstanding contributions to engineering as an
early career researcher.
Baljit S. Riar received the B.E. (Hons.) and
the Ph.D. degrees in electrical and electronic
engineering from The University of Auckland,
Auckland, New Zealand, in 2010 and 2015,
respectively.
He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at Utah
State University, Logan, UT, USA. From 2015 to
2016, he worked as a Postdoctoral Researcher
at the University of Oxford, Oxford, U.K. His re-
search interests include power electronics, bat-
tery management systems, microgrid systems,
control and modulation schemes for power converters, and wireless
power transfer systems.
Chang-Yu (David) Huang (M’06) received the
B.E. (Hons.) and the Ph.D. degrees in electri-
cal engineering from The University of Auck-
land, Auckland, New Zealand, in 2004 and 2012,
respectively.
He joined Qualcomm, New Zealand, in 2013,
where he is currently working in the field of wire-
less electric vehicle charging (WEVC), special-
ized in WEVC system design roadway charg-
ing application. He has over ten peer-reviewed
IEEE, international journal, and conference pub-
lications. He was granted 25 patents and has 19 pending patents. His
research interests include EV battery charging, resonant converters, and
inductive power transfer.
Martin Neuburger received the B.S., M.S., and
Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Ulm
University, Ulm, Germany, in 1998, 2000, and
2004, respectively.
After working for the Robert Bosch GmbH, he
joined the University of Applied Sciences, Esslin-
gen, Germany, in 2011, where he is currently a
Professor and Head of the Department of Elec-
trical Drives.
Dr. Neuburger is a member of Engineering
Centre for Power Electronics (ECPE), WindFors,
and the SolarCluster eV.