A Novel Three-phase LLC Resonant Converter with
Integrated Magnetics for Lower Turn-off losses and
Higher Power Density
Mostafa Noah, Shota
Kimura, Shun Endo,
Masayoshi Yamamoto
Shimane University
Matsue, Shimane, Japan
yamamoto@ecs.shimane-
u.ac.jp
Jun Imaoka
Kyushu University
Fukuoka, Japan
imaoka@ees.kyushu-
u.ac.jp
Kazuhiro Umetani
Okayama University
Okayama, Japan
umetani@okayama-u.ac.jp
Wilmar Martinez
Universidad Nacional de
Colombia
Bogota, Colombia
whmartinezm@unal.edu.co
Abstract— The aim of this work is to present a novel topology
of a three-phase LLC converter with integrated magnetics. The
converter operation and the comprehensive theoretical analysis
are presented; this analysis follows the first harmonic
approximation (FHA) approach to simplify the system model.
Usually, LLC converter achieves zero voltage switching (ZVS) as
long as it working in the inductive region. Therefore, the turn off
losses are considered as the main source of the switching losses in
the converter. In this paper the design in optimized to minimize
the switching losses. On the other hand, adapting three discrete
transformer cores in this topology will definitely increase the size
and volume of the converter. As a result, a novel magnetic
integration concept is introduced where all magnetic components
of the three-phases are advantageously combined into a single
magnetic core to increase the converter power density. Finally,
the experimental results are presented to verify the optimized
design by showing a reduction in the turn-off losses and the
effectiveness of adapting the proposed integrated transformer, in
which an increment of 56% in the power density of the converter
could be attained.
Keywords—Three phase LLC resonant converter; integrated
magnetics; steady state analysis; optimization.
I. INTRODUCTION
In a typical electric vehicle (EV) auxiliary system, a DC-
DC converter is usually connected between the high voltage
DC bus (200V in case of Toyota Prius 3
rd
generation) to feed
the low voltage non-propulsive loads. In such DC-DC
converters, galvanic isolation is required to protect the low
voltage electronic system from any hazardous high voltage;
therefore, the converter shall incorporate a transformer [1],[2].
Nowadays, SiC and GaN semiconductor devices are adapted in
the EV applications as they are capable of operating at high
frequencies [3]. In the same way, resonant converters can
operate at high frequency due to their soft switching
characteristics. In fact, one of the most popular resonant
topologies is the LLC resonant converter where soft switching
and high efficiency can be attained over entire load range [4],
[5]. Furthermore, Multiphase techniques have been proposed to
offer many advantages over the single phase one [6]. Many
studies [7], [8] have proposed a star connection on the primary
and secondary sides to balance the currents between phases.
Many studies focused on the analysis of three-phase resonant
converter: in [9] the analysis of three-phase LCL series
resonant is presented; the three-phase LCC-type resonant
converter with inductive output filter has been proposed in
[10]-[11] and the three-phase LCC-type resonant DC–DC
converter with capacitive output filter was proposed in [12]-
[13]. However, the analysis of the three-phase LLC resonant
integrated transformer has not been reported in the literature.
This paper introduces for the first time a comprehensive
analysis of the three-phase LLC resonant converter depicted in
fig.1. The equivalent AC circuit will be derived based on the
first harmonic approximation (FHA) approach, which
simplifies the system into a linear circuit. Moreover, an
optimized design method is introduced based on the steady
state output capacitance of the Mosfets in primary switching
bridge. In addition, the concept of the magnetic integration is
introduced, where the integrated transformer assembly the
functions of the resonant inductors and magnetizing inductors
of the three-phases on one single magnetic core. A
methodology to design the three-phase integrated transformer
is presented. Finally, experimental results are presented to
validate the properness of the design.
Fig. 1. Three-phase LLC converter star-delta connected with integrated
magnetics.
978-1-5090-5366-7/17/$31.00 ©2017 IEEE 322