An Efficient LLC Resonant Converter Design for Photovoltaic Application

This paper presents a novel design procedure to improve the efficiency of the LLC resonant converter for photovoltaic (PV) applications. State of the art LLC resonant converter operates either in buck or boost mode by operating at a switching frequency higher or lower than the resonant frequency respectively. However, such operation of the converter at a switching frequency other than the resonant frequency may result in increased turn off losses for MOSFET, conduction losses, and hard commutation for the rectifier diodes which reduces the efficiency of the converter. In this paper, a design procedure is proposed where the converter operates very close to the resonant frequency (10% margin) in buck and boost mode of operation to improve the efficiency of the converter. The design procedure mainly involves the control of the transformer tap ratio such that the converter operates near the resonant frequency. Since the transformer tap changing control is slow in nature, the proposed control strategy is mainly suited for photovoltaic application where the input voltage to the converter does not change rapidly during the daytime. The transformer tap control is suggested based on the historical data for solar energy, i.e. recorded temperature and solar irradiance. On changing the transformer tap ratio according to the input voltage, the switching frequency is observed to be moving towards the resonant frequency of the LLC resonant converter. Simulations for both the boost and buck mode operation of the resonant tank of the converter are performed, and with the proposed control higher efficiency is achieved for PV applications.