The operation of Dielectric Elastomer Transducers typically requires high voltages in the kilovolt range and relatively low currents. Therefore, for driving Dielectric Elastomer Transducers a high voltage power electronics is necessary. For realization of energy efficient actuator and generator applications bidirectional switched-mode converter topologies should be used enabling a bidirectional energy transfer as well as a high efficiency. In this contribution a modular converter system consisting of several switched-mode converter modules featuring galvanic isolation is presented as a basic concept for realization of a high voltage power supply. Three converter topologies -bidirectional flyback, Dual Active Bridge and Isolated Bidirectional Full-Bridge converter -are investigated and suitable modulation schemes are presented, which are based on hysteretic current-mode control, enabling a high converter dynamic and limitation of the converter output current in order to prevent electrode damage. Simulation results for the proposed converter topologies are presented and experimental results for a single bidirectional flyback converter module are shown.
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