Planar Integrated Magnetics (PIM) Module in Hybrid Bidirectional DC-DC Converter for Fuel Cell Application

In most power electronics converters, the overall volume is mainly determined by the number of parts and the size of passive components. Integrated magnetics and planar magnetics techniques therefore have been an excellent option in order to reduce the counts and the size of magnetic components, hereby increasing the power density of converters.

In this paper, a new planar integrated magnetics (PIM) module for a phase-shift plus duty cycle controlled hybrid bi-directional dc-dc converter is proposed, which assembles one boost inductor and two transformers into an E-I-E core geometry, reducing the number of parts, the total volume of converter, as well as the total core loss of the magnetic components.

AC losses in the windings and leakage inductance of the transformers are kept low by interleaving the primary and secondary turns of the transformers. To verify the validity of the design approach and theoretical analysis, a lab prototype employing the PIM module is implemented for a fuel cell application with 20~40 V input voltage and 400 V output voltage.

Detailed results from the experimental comparisons demonstrate that the PIM module is fully functional and electromagnetically equivalent to the discrete magnetics and a significant reduction of size can be achieved by using the PIM module.