Design of a high voltage bidirectional DC-DC converter for driving capacitive incremental actuators usable in electric vehicles (EVs)

Abstract

Abstract-This paper presents the design of a low input (24 V) and variable high output voltage (0-2.5 kV) bidirectional dc-dc converter for driving a capacitive actuator. The topology is a digitally controlled bidirectional flyback converter with a variable frequency control. The objective is, to design the converter for efficiently charging and discharging the capacitive actuator from 0 V to 2.5 kV and vice versa, respectively. The converter is used to drive a dielectric electro active polymer (DEAP) based capacitive incremental actuator, which has the potential to be used in automotive (e.g., EVs), space and medical industries. The design of the bidirectional flyback converter to charge and discharge a 400 nF capacitive actuator is presented, when 4 kV and 4.5 kV high voltage MOSFETs are used on the secondary high voltage side. The experimental results and efficiency measurements of the converter with the proposed design are provided. Keywords

Control of a high‐voltage bidirectional dc–dc flyback converter for driving DEAs

“…High-voltage ratio power converters have several applications in medical, airborne, robotics, and electric vehicles [1][2][3]. A number of applications such as pulsed lasers, pulsed sonar equipment, photo flash systems, electric fences, and plasma research require controllable high voltages.…”

Digital Control of a High-Voltage (2.5 kV) Bidirectional DC--DC Flyback Converter for Driving a Capacitive Incremental Actuator

“…The converter design considerations [33] are discussed in this section. Specifications of the converter and power stage components used are provided in Tables I and II …”

New Incremental Actuators Based on Electroactive Polymer: Conceptual, Control, and Driver Design Considerations

“…14 is 400 nF. The detailed design of the bidirectional flyback converter for driving a capacitive load is discussed in [44]. During charge process the converter operates in boundary conduction mode (BCM), and during discharge process it operates in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) using a control IC LT3751 [45].…”