Optimal design of a soft-switched DC-DC converter for a prototype DC distribution system

With goals of increased littoral operation and reduced manning, future U.S. Naval surface combatants must employ new technologies and architectures that better enable the vessel to sustain battle damage and continue to fight effectively. Since the power system is integral to shipboard combat system and damage control operation, the U.S. Navy is investigating power electronics-based distribution topologies that enhance survivability by promoting controllability and system reconfiguration. Constrained by multimegawatt power requirements and limited space, such architectures require unique multifunctional, high-efficiency, power dense converters. One approach to maximizing power density is to adopt soft-switching or resonant converter topologies. In this paper, the authors report on efforts to design, optimize, and validate the performance of a selected 8 kW soft-switching DC-DC converter. The converter specifications were selected to enable inclusion in a reduced-scale power system test platform.