Abstract This work proposes two differential magnetic‐field resonant probes, consisting of a U‐shaped single‐loop resonant probe (S_probe) and a dual‐loops resonant probe (D_probe). These resonant probes are composed of a pair of LC resonant circuits, a pair of strip‐lines with two outputs, two rows of via fences, and two different sensing structures (single‐loop and dual‐loops). Among them, a pair of open stubs as capacitor and shorted stubs as inductor is used to form the LC resonant circuit, via fences are utilized to suppress unwanted electromagnetic wave modes, a U‐shaped single‐loop and a pair of differential dual‐loops is used to receive the electromagnetic signal. In order to prove the rationality of the design, simulation models of the S_probe and D_probe are optimized and manufactured based on four‐layers PCBs. In addition, a near‐field scanning system with a standard 50 Ω straight microstrip line as calibration kit is used to measure and calibrate these resonant probes. The tested results indicate that these designed magnetic‐field probes could operate at 1.575 GHz and have high detection sensitivity and electric‐field suppression.

Abstract The electromagnetic Halbach array (EHA) for wireless power transfer (WPT), designed to improve the transferred power and power transfer distance, has been proven to be effective and can be applied in various consumer applications. This paper presents a hybrid form of the EHA, aimed at improving the quality of power generated and transmitted. The expression for the determination of the magnetic field of a variable pitch flat coil for wireless power transfer and other uses has been derived. The average magnetic field, magnetic flux, and power transfer efficiency are investigated. The power transfer efficiency and the average magnetic field generated by four different design considerations were compared. The hybrid electromagnetic Halbach array wireless power transfer system (HEHA‐WPTS) has also been studied and results are compared with the conventional arrangements. Simulations and experiments were carried out to verify the analytical results obtained. According to the results obtained, the HEHA‐WPTS, with a base coil with variable pitches and uniform side coils, produces a more uniform average magnetic field and a better average power transfer efficiency over a longer power transfer distance.

Abstract This paper investigates the optimal stator voltage angle in a rotor flux‐oriented system of an induction machine drive, aiming to maximise machine torque while operating in a deep field weakening region. Here, torque maximisation leads to maximum torque per voltage control, as only voltage constraints are relevant in this region due to high back‐electromotive force. Previous studies have predominantly focused on field‐weakening operation and torque maximisation, assuming a constant synchronous speed. However, for a given rotor speed, the variation in thedqvoltage components impacts the slip speed, thereby influencing the synchronous speed. Therefore, this paper proposes enhanced analytical expressions to address this limitation. It is shown that after a linearisation around a suitable operating point, a closed‐form algebraic equation for calculating the speed and parameter‐dependent optimal voltage angle for torque maximisation can be obtained. The theoretical analysis is supported by numerical and experimental results. The presented linearised expression is proven to be an effective tool for the analytical calculation of the optimal voltage angle, making it suitable for real‐time control applications. It is shown that the proposed approach achieves higher drive torque and efficiency than the conventional voltage component distribution.

Abstract One of the early design decisions for DC‐DC converters is the choice of an appropriate magnetic core material. Powder cores in particular are suitable due to their saturation flux density of up to 1.5 T. However, high DC currents constitutes a significant problem since the winding cross‐section rises with the current, which consequently increases AC losses due to skin effects. Another challenge is the reduction of winding layers to decrease proximity losses. This paper presents an improved single‐layer winding design procedure for DC‐DC converter powder cores. The procedure determines the optimum number of parallel cores and stacks. This way, the procedure enables a predefined maximum wire cross‐section for copper loss optimisation and single‐layer winding. The introduced approach defines the optimum switching frequency as a trade‐off between core loss and core volume. Finally, experimental tests with two setups validate 27 kW DC‐DC converters and hence the design procedure using Si‐IGBTs and SiC‐MOSFETs. The results demonstrate that SiC‐MOSFETs reduce core volume by a factor of 3 compared to Si‐IGBTs. Further, the SiC setup reaches high efficiencies of up to 98.53% compared to 98.17% for the Si‐based converter.

Abstract This paper proposes a novel bidirectional DC–DC converter with high voltage conversion ratio and capability of cancelling input current ripple. The proposed converter uses two coupled inductors and switched‐capacitor circuit to increase the voltage conversion ratio. The input current ripple at low voltage side can be eliminated for a pre‐selected duty cycle by adjusting special values of magnetizing inductances of coupled inductors. The input current is divided into two paths of the primary winding of coupled inductors that causes the decrease in the current stresses of switches. The proposed converter has five switches that consist the internal diodes of switches to bring about bidirectional power flow and have boost and buck operations. Here, the proposed topology is analysed in all operating modes and the current and voltage stresses of switches, input current ripple cancelling condition and voltage conversion ratio are calculated. Finally, the accuracy performance of the proposed converter is reconfirmed through EMTDC/PSCAD simulation and experimental results for boost operations.

Abstract Bi‐mode Insulated Gate Transistor (BIGT), owing to its notable attributes in power density and compact dimensions, holds promising applications in the realm of high power converters. However, its characteristic of the voltage drop in diode mode controlled by gate‐emitter voltage poses significant challenges for low‐loss operation. This paper investigates the relationship between BIGT's on‐state voltage drop in diode mode and its gate‐emitter voltage in detail. By combining simulation and experimental analysis, recommended the gate‐emitter voltage values are provided. Furthermore, a novel driver optimization scheme is proposed to automatically lower the gate voltage during reverse conduction, which can effectively reduce the reverse on‐state losses of the BIGT. Experimental validation demonstrates a 10.6% reduction in reverse on‐state voltage drop, showcasing the efficacy of the proposed driver optimization scheme.

Abstract Harmonics and electromagnetic interference (EMI) pose serious threats to the safety and efficiency of grid‐tied inverters. Although the inductor‐capacitor‐inductor (LCL) filter offers commendable harmonic suppression, it does not sufficiently mitigate leakage current and EMI caused by high‐frequency pulse‐width modulation (PWM). This paper examines the use of a symmetrical LCL filter to reduce the AC side leakage current in grid‐tied inverters. The symmetrical structure bolsters the conducted EMI suppression capability of the LCL filter. A magnetic integration scheme for symmetric LCL filters is introduced, and through thoughtful structural design, it achieves filter inductance integration on the EIE magnetic core. An experimental platform, equipped with a high‐frequency SiC‐MOSFET voltage source inverter with a 600 W output, is utilized. The LCL filter, symmetric LCL filter, and magnetic integrated symmetric LCL filter are contrasted, proving the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed scheme. Furthermore, the experimental results demonstrate that the proposed magnetic integration scheme significantly reduces the filter's volume and weight, thereby enhancing the power density of the grid‐tied inverter system.

Abstract Multilevel inverters play a crucial role in high‐power renewable energy applications and medium voltage drives. However, existing solutions such as capacitor‐clamped and diode‐clamped multilevel inverters are not suitable for these applications due to their dependence on isolated DC sources, complex control techniques, and potential reliability issues. Here, a novel fifteen‐level inverter topology is proposed which addresses these limitations. The proposed multilevel inverters utilize a topology with reduced number of switches, which can effectively accommodate isolated DC sources. It consists of eight switches for level generation and four switches for polarity generation (H‐bridge). One of the key advantages of this topology is that it significantly reduces the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in accordance with the IEEE 519 standards. Genetic algorithm‐based selective harmonic elimination technique was employed for THD minimization. A detailed switching loss calculation and harmonic analysis were performed to support the effectiveness of the proposed topology and the control used. The implementation of the proposed topology is simple and straightforward. Furthermore, to validate the results, insulated gate bipolar transistor based hardware model was developed. The optimized firing pulses were generated using the dSPACE 1104 controller. The results were compared with the existing recent literature and was found to address the limitations of existing topology.

Abstract In harsh operating environments such as mines and gas stations, intrinsically safe power converters are required for electronics devices. Reliable communication is the key ensuring good performance of monitoring and coordinated control for intrinsically safe converters. This paper proposes a power and signal dual modulation (PSDM)‐based communication method for intrinsically safe parallel‐connected Buck converters. The bidirectional communication between two parallel Buck converters is realized by combining the frequency shift keying (FSK) and phase shift keying (PSK) methods. In addition, switching frequencies are employed to identify the signals received from the power converters interfacing different sources. According to the intrinsic safety requirement, inductors and capacitors are redesigned based on the modulated voltage ripples during communication. Simulations and prototype experiments are performed to verify the feasibility of the proposed bidirectional communication for intrinsically safe converters. The amplitude of voltage ripples modulated for carrying data is restricted to less than 1.5% of the bus voltage. The transmission speed can be achieved from 0.5 to 2kbps depending on the adopted switching frequencies. The demodulation delay is less than 5% duration of one bit of transmitted data.