CJEE

Chinese Journal of Electrical Engineering ›› 2023, Vol. 9 ›› Issue (4): 1-22.doi: 10.23919/CJEE.2023.000034

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A Review of Isolated Bidirectional DC-DC Converters for Data Centers*

Shuohang Chen1, Guidong Zhang1,*, Samson S. Yu2, Yi Mei3, Yun Zhang1   

  1. 1. School of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510600, China;
    2. School of Engineering, Deakin University, Melbourne 3125, Australia;
    3. Global Data Services Holdings Ltd., Guangzhou 510600, China
  • Received:2023-06-26 Revised:2023-08-06 Accepted:2023-08-20 Published:2024-01-08
  • Contact: *E-mail: guidong.zhang@gdut.edu.cn
  • About author:Shuohang Chen was born in Shantou, Guangdong, China, in 1999. He is currently working toward the master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the School of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China.
    His current research interests include power electronics topology and their applications.
    Guidong Zhang (S’13-M’15-SM’23) was born in Shantou, Guangdong, China, in 1986. He received the B.S. degree and two Ph.D. degrees from the Xi’an University of Technology, Xi’an, China, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China, and FernUniversität in Hagen, Hagen, Germany, in 2008, 2014 and 2015, respectively. From 2015 to 2016, he was a post-doctoral Fellow with The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China.
    He is currently a Professor with the School of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou, China. He has published a Springer monograph and over 70 journal articles and obtained 70 patents. His research interests include high-performance converter design and control, renewable energy generation and storage, design and applications of radio frequency power supplies.
    Prof. Zhang received the Australian Endeavor Research Fellowship in 2017. He is now serving as Review Editor of International Journal of Circuit Theory and Applications, Associate Editor of Chinese Journal of Electrical Engineering and Vice-Chair of IEEE Power Electronics Society Guangzhou Chapter, etc. He won six esteemed scientific awards.
    Samson S. Yu (M’17-SM’23) obtained the Master’s degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Western Australia (UWA), Perth, WA, Australia, in 2014 and 2018, respectively. From 2011 to 2012, he was an Electronics Design and Testing Engineer. From 2017 to 2019, he was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UWA. Since August 2019, he has been an Assistant Professor (Lecturer, then Senior Lecturer from 2022) with Deakin University, Melborune, Australia.
    Dr. Yu’s research interests include power systems engineering, optimization, applied electronics and control, and machine intelligence. Dr. Yu has been working on a wide range of industrial and research projects for systems technologies, battery technologies, faults detection in electric grids, and future grids technologies.
    Dr. Yu currently serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Mathematics, and Electronics.
    Yi Mei, Master, currently works at GDS, focusing on the application of power electronics technology in the design and operation of data centers, which can improve data center reliability and energy efficiency.
    Yun Zhang received B.S. and M.S. degrees in Automatic Engineering from Hunan University, Changsha, China, in 1982 and 1986, respectively, and a Ph.D. degree in Automatic Engineering from the South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, China, in 1998.
    He is currently a Professor with the School of Automation, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou. His current research interests include intelligent control systems, network systems, and signal process.
  • Supported by:
    * Natural Science Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars of Guangdong Province (2022B1515020002).

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Abstract: In today's fast-paced, information-driven world, data centers can offer high-speed, intricate capabilities on a larger scale owing to the ever-growing demand for networks and information systems. Because data centers process and transmit information, stability and reliability are important. Data center power supply architectures rely heavily on isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters to ensure safety and stability. For the smooth operation of a data center, the power supply must be reliable and uninterrupted. In this study, we summarize the basic principle, topology, switch conversion strategy, and control technology of the existing isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters. Subsequently, existing research results and problems with isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters are reviewed. Finally, future trends in the development of isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters for data centers are presented, which offer valuable insights for solving engineering obstacles and future research directions in the field.

Key words: Data centers, isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters, power electronics topology, control strategy