A Review on State-of-the-Art Power Converters: Bidirectional, Resonant, Multilevel Converters and Their Derivatives

Abstract

With the rapid development of modern energy applications such as renewable energy, PV systems, electric vehicles, and smart grids, DC-DC converters have become the key component to meet strict industrial demands. More advanced converters are effective in minimizing switching losses and providing an efficient energy conversion; nonetheless, the main challenge is to provide a single converter that has all the required features to deliver efficient energy for different types of modern energy systems and energy storage system integrations. This paper reviews multilevel, bidirectional, and resonant converters with respect to their constructions, classifications, merits, demerits, combined topologies, applications, and challenges; practical recommendations were also made to deliver clear ideas of the recent challenges and limited capabilities of these three converters to guide society on improving and providing a new, efficient, and economic converter that meets the strict demands of modern energy system integrations. The needs of other industrial applications, as well as the number of used elements for size and weight reduction, were also considered to achieve a power circuit that can effectively address the identified limitations. In brief, integrated bidirectional resonant DC-DC converters and multilevel inverters are expected to be well suited and highly demanded in various applications in the near future. Due to their highlighted merits, more studies are necessary for achieving a perfect level of reducing losses and components.

Polymer-Magnetic Semiconductor Nanocomposites for Industrial Electronic Applications

“…According to Altai et al, supercapacitor devices will be used where high levels of instantaneous power are required and fast recharging. On the other hand, batteries will be needed when renewable energy sources are intermittent [127].…”

Resonant Power Converters for Renewable Energy Applications: A Comprehensive Review

“…The input is a sinusoidal voltage and current waveforms, produced at the resonant frequency in the previous stage; this input works as a pass filter that eliminates FIGURE 2 | Structure of a resonant power converter (PRC) (Outeiro et al, 2016a). (Alatai et al, 2021 the voltage harmonics of the core component generated by the CSN at its output. Then, it feeds the conditioning circuitry (CC) stage at its input as a pulse waveform.…”

Design Methodology and Analysis of Five-Level LLC Resonant Converter for Battery Chargers

“…Therefore, a converter is needed to convert the voltage before it can be effectively used [1]. Because of the negative effects of electricity generation from fossil sources, it is vital to switch to clean and renewable energy sources like solar, geothermal, wind, and hydropower energy [2]. The energy that reaches the Earth per hour from the Sun is close to the total energy consumed by humanity in a year [3].…”

“…The energy that reaches the Earth per hour from the Sun is close to the total energy consumed by humanity in a year [3]. As a result, utilizing this readily available resource should eventually reduce reliance on conventional fossil energy sources and contribute to decline in global warming, for a cleaner and safer world [2]. Energy storage systems (ESS) are mostly used to ensure the suitability of renewable energy generation in all circumstances.…”

“…MLIs have been shown to be a viable technology for numerous applications, including commercial and customized products, renewable energy generation (REG), high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission, adjustable speed drives (ASD), flexible ac transmission systems (FACTS), battery energy storage systems (BESS), custom power devices (CPD), active frontend converters (AFC), and electric vehicles (EV) [20]. Among all these, diode clamped or neutral-point (DCML), flying capacitor (FCML), and cascade H-bridge (CHB) remain the most common MLI topologies; thus they are called "Traditional MLIs" [2,21].…”