A Non-Isolated Hybrid-Modular DC-DC Converter for DC Grids: Small-Signal Modeling and Control

This paper presents small-signal modeling, stability analysis, and controller design of a non-isolated bidirectional hybrid-modular DC-DC Converter for DC grid applications. The DC-DC converter can be used to interconnect two different DC voltage levels in a medium-/high-voltage DC grid. Half-bridge Sub-Modules (SMs) and a high-voltage valve are the main components of the converter. The high-voltage valve can be implemented via employing series-connected Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs). Operation with zero voltage switching of the involved high-voltage valve is feasible, i.e., there is no concern pertinent to dynamic voltage sharing among the series-connected IGBTs. The power is transferred from one side to another through the involved SMs, where their capacitors are connected in series across the high-voltage side, while they are connected sequentially across the low-voltage side. In this paper, the state-space averaging technique is employed to derive the small-signal model of the presented converter for controller design. Closed-form expression of the duty cycle-to-inductor current transfer function is extracted. Comparison between simulation results of the small-signal model and the detailed circuit model is presented to authenticate the accuracy of the derived small-signal model. Finally, a scaled-down prototype is used to verify the accuracy of the small-signal model.