Digital control technologies for modular DC-DC converters

Recent trends in aerospace Power Management and Distribution (PMAD) systems focus on using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components as standard building blocks. This move to more modular designs has been driven by a desire to reduce costs and development times, but is also due to the impressive power density and efficiency numbers achieved by today´s commercial DC-DC converters. However, the PMAD designer quickly learns of the hidden “costs” of using COTS converters. The most significant cost is the required addition of external input filters to meet strict EMI requirements for space systems. In fact, the high power density numbers achieved by the commercial manufacturers are greatly due to the lack of necessary input filters included in the COTS module. The NASA Glenn Research Center is currently pursuing a digital control technology that addresses this problem with modular DC-DC converters. This paper presents the digital control technologies that have been developed to greatly reduce the input filter requirements for paralleled, modular DC-DC converters. Initial test result show that the input filter´s inductor size was reduced by 75%, and the capacitor size was reduced by 94% while maintaining the same power quality specifications