A Low Cost Flyback CCM Inverter For AC Module Application
A Low Cost Flyback CCM Inverter For AC Module Application
A Low Cost Flyback CCM Inverter For AC Module Application
I
pv
L
m
f
V
pv
|sin(t)| = D
amp
|sin(t)| . (4)
Equation (4) shows that in DCM, the duty cycle varies accord-
ing to the (rectied) grid voltage, while its amplitude (D
amp
)
is determined by the ratio of V
pv
byI
pv
. In this case, a simple
open-loop scheme without current feedback can be adopted. By
varying D
amp
, the ratio of V
pv
over I
pv
can be varied in or-
der to seek and operate the system at maximum power point
(MPP) [11].
When operated in CCM, by assuming quasi-steady-state oper-
ation and using inductor voltseconds balance over a switching
period, the duty ratioD
CCM
can be obtained
D
CCM
=
|V
g
|
(nV
pv
+|V
g
|)
. (5)
Here, the duty cycle does not directly determine the current
and hence power level. Therefore, a closed-loop current control
is necessary in this case.
The peak duty cycle values (denoted by the symbol) in an
ac period occur at the ac peak instants in both cases and can be
written as
D
DCM
= D
amp
= 2
I
pv
L
m
f
s
V
pv
(6)
D
CCM
=
2V
rms
(nV
pv
+
2V
rms
)
. (7)
LI AND ORUGANTI: A LOW COST FLYBACK CCM INVERTER FOR AC MODULE APPLICATION 1297
Fig. 2. Design aid diagramof yback inverter for V
rms
= 230 V. (The numbers
on the lines indicate the peak duty ratios.)
TABLE I
WORST-CASE CURRENT AND VOLTAGE STRESSES
The design condition for the peak duty cycle to occur at the
DCM/CCM boundary operation can be derived by equating (6)
and (7)
I
pv
L
mc
f
s
=
V
pv
4
_
nV
pv
/
_
2V
rms
_
+ 1
2
. (8)
Here, L
mc
is the critical inductance above which the operation
is in the CCM mode.
Equations (6)(8) relate the peak control variable
D, the PV
module specications V
pv
, I
pv
, and the design parameters of the
inverter, viz., n, L
m
, and f
s
, under both DCM and CCM condi-
tions. A design aid diagram is shown in Fig. 2 for an assumed
grid voltage of 230 V
rms
and for two assumed values of the turns
ratio n ( = 10 and 4). For the assumed V
rms
and n values, every
point on the graph in Fig. 2 represents a possible inverter design.
For example, n =10, I
pv
L
m
f
s
= 3, and V
pv
= 22 V represents
a CCM design with
D = 0.6. The curves marked as boundary
represent the boundary between CCM design and DCM-only
design for the two n values assumed. The choice of
D inu-
ences the component current stresses, as will be discussed in the
following sections.
B. Component Stresses
The worst-case current and voltage stresses in the inverter
circuit can be obtained (see Table I) froma basic circuit analysis.
For a DCM-only design, as shown in (9), the peak primary
current depends on the input powerI
pv
V
pv
, f
s
, and L
m
values
and not on n. A larger L
m
, but less than L
mc
, would reduce
the primary side current. For a CCM design, the peak current
stress is related to both n and L
m
values (10). The primary side
peak current has the same value as the peak value of the net
transformer magnetizing current (primary side and secondary
side combined) reected on to the primary. In (10), the rst
term is the average value of the net magnetizing current, while
the second term is half of the peak-to-peak ripple in the net
magnetizing current. A larger n value would lead to a higher
average net magnetizing current (rst term) while at the same
time reducing the current ripple (second term). As the average
magnetizing current is larger than the current ripple in CCM
operation, in general, a smaller n value is preferable to reduce
the primary side current stress.
Smaller turns ratio would also require a larger peak duty
ratio (7). As a result, the diode voltage stress is reduced as well
(13) so that a diode with a smaller forward voltage drop can
be chosen. However, the secondary side current stress increases
(11). The MOSFET voltage stress also increases (12) requiring
a MOSFET with larger on resistance (for the same die size).
Thus, the trade-off between the current and voltage stresses of
devices on both sides of the transformer determines n. Since
in grid-connected ac module application, the input current and
output voltage are large, the primary side current stress and
output side voltage stress are more crucial. Therefore, a small n
is generally preferred.
C. Suggested Design Steps
Step 1: Identify PV panel specications. The voltage V
pv
and
current I
pv
values given by the manufacturer cor-
respond to MPP and vary with solar irradiance and
temperature. For design purposes, a constant V
pv
is
used, while the variation of power is considered to be
due to current change.
Step 2: Choose a switching frequency f
s
considering the
trade-off between the switching losses and the trans-
former size.
Step 3: Choose an initial transformer turns ratio n. This can
be tuned later.
Step 4: Obtain the peak duty ratio
D and L
mc
using (7) and
(8).
Step 5: Calculate voltage stresses of the primary and sec-
ondary side devices using (12)(14).
Step 6: Choose L
m
(>L
mc
) based on acceptable primary
current stress using (10). A larger L
m
reduces the
primary current stress, while increasing transformer
size.
Step 7: Calculate the secondary current stress using (10) and
(11).
Step 8: Return to steps 37 until the voltage and current
stresses are acceptable.
If the primary current stress or the secondary diode voltage
stress is too large, n can be reduced. If the secondary side
current stress or the primary side voltage stress is too large, then
n can be increased.
In our paper, a yback inverter was designed for CCM
operation for a power level of 200 W for the Kyocera
solar module KC200GT. Another yback inverter was de-
signed for DCM-only operation as a benchmark for the same
1298 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 27, NO. 3, MARCH 2012
TABLE II
DESIGN OF FLYBACK INVERTERS FOR OPERATION IN CCM AND DCM.
(SPECIFICATIONS V
pv
= 27 V, P
pv
= 0200 W, AND V
rms
= 230 V)
specications. Table II gives the design parameters of both in-
verters as well as the respective current and voltage stresses
at rated power. Magnetics ferrite cores (R material with the
lowest loss at 100
1
2P
pv
f
s
L
m
n
_
. (15)
When |V
g
| < V
gb
, the inverter works in DCMand the control-
to-primary current transfer function can be shown to be
G
id DCM
=
|V
g
|
V
rms
2P
pv
L
m
f
s
. (16)
The transfer function is a simple gain that tends toward zero
as the instantaneous grid voltage V
g
goes toward zero.
When |V
g
| > V
gb
, the operation is in CCM and the control-
to-primary current transfer function can be shown to be
G
id CCM
=
|V
g
|
nsL
m
_
1
s
s
z
_
(17)
where
s
z
=
V
2
rms
V
pv
P
pv
nL
m
(|V
g
| + nV
pv
)
. (18)
This transfer function has a pole at origin followed by a
varying left half plane (LHP) zero.
Fig. 4(a) explores the low-frequency gain (gain at 2f
ac
=
100 Hz) and LHP zero variations over half ac cycle at four
different power levels. It is observed that the gain at 100 Hz in
CCM mode is only related to grid voltage, while the LHP zero
varies with both power and grid voltage. Compared to the DCM
case, yback converter in CCM operation has much larger gains
at 100 Hz at the cost of a smaller phase at lower frequencies.
Due to these differences, the design of a single controller to
accommodate both operating modes requires a careful trade-off
between tracking performance in DCM operation and stability
in CCM operation.
In order to simplify the controller design process, a few crit-
ical plant operating conditions are chosen as reference condi-
tions. In CCM operation, at the transition between DCM and
CCM modes, the smallest 100-Hz gain and the largest LHP
zero [see Fig. 4(a)] occur together. When the power level re-
duces, both the gain at 100 Hz and the LHP zero reduce at
the CCM/DCM transition instant, introducing a series of such
worst-case operating points. Of these cases, the ones under the
maximum and minimum power levels are used as the plant ref-
erences [curves A and B in Fig. 4(b)]. All the other boundary
Fig. 4. Variation of plant transfer function with grid voltage and power level.
(a) Variation of low-frequency gain (at 2f
ac
= 100 Hz) and LHP zero with
power level over ac half period (1) 100%, (2) 75%, (3) 50%, and (4) 25%
(DCM-only with no LHP zero) of rated power P
r
(200 W). (b) Plant references
(A: worst case in CCM at P
c
; B: worst case in CCM at P
r
; C: DCM at
P
r
and V
g
= 10 V).
operating cases at other power levels are within the range de-
ned by these two curves. The minimum power level for CCM
operation is given by
P
c
=
1
2L
m
f
s
1
_
n/V
rms
+
2
_
V
pv
_
2
. (19)
In DCM case, the performance [here, gain as given by (16)]
becomes poorer as the grid voltage V
g
reduces and also as the
power level P
pv
decreases. There is, in fact, no way to com-
pensate for this fully. In our design, operation at full power
with a small grid voltage of 10 V is considered as a reference
case, as shown in curve C of Fig. 4(b). Though the tracking
performance will be poorer at lower voltages and lower power,
the main aim is to keep the resulting overall current distortion
within acceptable limits at rated power.
B. Design of Controller
A type II compensator given by (20) is chosen for the design
G
C
=
k
s
s + z
s + p
. (20)
This controller (curves G
C1
and G
C2
in Fig. 5) is es-
sentially a PI controller together with a single-pole lter for the
averaging of the current waveform. The integrator increases the
1300 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 27, NO. 3, MARCH 2012
Fig. 5. Illustration of controller design (k/s, G
C 1
, and G
C 2
with different
pole values) and their open-loop Bode plots (G
1
and G
2
for plant reference
B).
low-frequency gain and the system BW in DCM (curve C
in Fig. 4). However, as indicated by curves A and B in
Fig. 4, a pole already exists at origin for the yback in CCM
mode. Together with the controllers integrator, this creates a
total phase change of 180
phase margin.
TABLE III
PERFORMANCE OF THE DESIGNED SYSTEM AT SEVERAL KEY
OPERATION CONDITIONS
3) Choice of p: Fig. 5 shows two controllers (G
C1
and
G
C2
) with the same zero (z
1
= z
2
) but different pole values
(p
1
< p
2
); it also shows the corresponding open-loop Bode plots
(G1 and G2) based on plant B (see Fig. 4). First, it may
be noted that the maximum gain at 2f
ac
is limited by the curve
k/s. A larger pole p
2
reduces the controller gain at 2f
ac
(see
curve G
C2
) and the loop BW (see curve G
2
). Although
a large pole value causes a larger phase bump (G
2
versus
G
1
), this does not necessarily lead to a larger phase margin
(PM
1
> PM
2
). Also, the pole should be sufciently small (say,
less than f
s
/5) in order to lter out the switching components.
On the other hand, if the pole is too close to the zero, it will
deteriorate the phase boost provided by the zero. In our design,
the pole p is at 16 kHz, which is sufciently low to lter the
switching components, while at the same time, ensure a phase
margin of 29
using Theo-2.
In addition, the frequency response tests have also been car-
ried out at selected power levels over the set of worst-case
conditions dened in Fig. 4(b) (between P
c
and P
r
). Here also,
the experimental results conrm the theoretical modeling and
stability of the system.
VI. DISCUSSION OF THE PROPOSED SCHEME
Asignicant efciency improvement (8%) has been achieved
with the yback CCM approach. The resulting weighted ef-
ciency of 87.4%, though less than some industry values, still
forms a good basis for further efciency improvement. For ex-
ample, by adopting nondissipative snubber circuit, interleaving
[21], or soft switching techniques [21][23], we can expect sig-
nicant improvements in efciency at rated power level. Like-
wise, by adopting burst mode operation [24] or pulse frequency
modulation at light load, higher efciency can be achieved at
low-power levels. Through such modications, it will be possi-
ble to obtain higher overall efciencies (California efciency or
European efciency).
The higher efciency of the proposed scheme has been
achieved at the cost of higher distortion in the current waveform.
However, the current THD value is still below 5% as required
1
The authors will be happy to provide the derivation upon request to an
interested reader.
by the standards [20]. It has also been demonstrated that the
designed system is stable at varying operation conditions.
A major concern in single-stage inverters is the requirement
of a large-value input electrolytic capacitor that generally has a
short lifetime [1] due to the high operating temperature of the ac
module behind the PV module exposed to the sun. The problem
exists in both the popular DCM scheme and the proposed CCM
scheme.
By proper thermal design, it is possible to extend the lifetime
of the capacitor signicantly. For example, in [25], four 2200-
mF electrolytic capacitors with a rated lifetime of 8000 h at 105