A bidirectional soft switched ultracapacitor interface circuit for hybrid electric vehicles

Ultracapacitors are used as auxiliary elements beside batteries to increase peak power capability and battery life in hybrid electric vehicles. In such a configuration, a bidirectional high efficiency converter is required as an interface between ultracapacitors and batteries. Since the voltage level of ultracapacitors and batteries are different, the interface must be able to increase or decrease the voltage level in each power flow direction while limiting the current. This paper presents a zero voltage transition (ZVT) buck-and-boost converter for ultracapacitors interface. All the switches in the proposed converter are soft switched to reduce switching losses and increase efficiency. The converter operational modes are analyzed and its performance is discussed. Finally, the experimental results from a 150 W laboratory prototype are presented which justify the theoretical analysis.