Quasi-resonant zero-current-switching bidirectional converter for battery equalization applications

A systematic approach to reform andanalyze a soft-switching bidirectional dc-to-dc converter is proposed for cell voltage balancing control in a series connected battery string. quasi-resonant converter circuits have been designed to achieve the zero-current-switching (ZCS) to reduce the switching loss in bidirectional battery equalizers. The results indicate that the switching loss and energy transfer efficiency can be substantially improved using the quasi-resonant ZCS (QRZCS) technology in a battery charging system with an individual cell equalizer (ICE). The validity of the battery equalization is further verified using an experimental installation involving a battery string of three lithitun-ion cells. The simulation and experimental results show that the proposed QRZCS battery equalization schemes can achieve bidirectional battery equalization performance and reduce the MOSFET transistor switch power losses by more than 96% and increase the efficiency by around 20%-30% compared with the conventional battery equalizer during an identical equalization process.