A quasi-two-switch power factor correction converter for on-board battery chargers

This paper describes a quasi-two-switch buck-boost power factor correction (PFC) converter for use in on-board battery chargers to create a variable output voltage that is less than or greater than the peak input voltage. A two-stage converter links the input grid power to the battery pack both in battery-operated electric cars (BEVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), with battery pack voltages ranging from 100 to 500 V depending on vehicle size and capacity. A universal charger that can manage such a wide range of battery pack voltages is appropriate for all vehicle designs. This requirement is met by supplying a changeable DC link voltage at the input of the DC/DC converter, which is a major obstacle in battery chargers when it comes to achieving universal output voltages. The major contribution of this research is the analysis and design of a dual-control technique for a cascaded buck-boost converter suited for a power factor correction (PFC) rectifier. The control loop is designed to allow a seamless transition from buck-boost operation while putting less stress on the devices. The converter's power loss and small-signal model are also investigated. From an economic standpoint, this concept allows the automobile industry to manufacture a single power converter, which is flexible and capable of charging numerous vehicle variants. Results have been verified both with a PSIM (11.0) simulation model and an experimental setup for a 1-kW PFC converter suitable for universal input voltages of 85-265 Vrms and broad output voltages.