What question did this study set out to answer?

The aim is to reduce light-load losses in standalone low-voltage DC/DC converter operation for electric vehicles.

February 12, 2026Open Access

A Study on the Reduction of Light Load Loss in the Standalone Operation of LDC in Integrated Charging System for Electric Vehicles with 2-Transformer

Key Points

The aim is to reduce light-load losses in standalone low-voltage DC/DC converter operation for electric vehicles.
Introduced a 2-transformer based integrated OBC and LDC system.
Utilized a dual-active-bridge converter for high-voltage battery charging.
Employed a phase-shift full-bridge converter for low-voltage battery charging.
Implemented a dual-phase-shift control strategy for power flow management.
Conducted experimental validation using a prototype system.
Achieved up to a 33% reduction in light-load losses during standalone operation.
Confirmed the feasibility of the 2-transformer architecture in improving power density.
Demonstrated effective high- and low-voltage battery charging capabilities.

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel 2-transformer (2-Trans)-based integrated on-board charger (OBC) and low-voltage DC/DC converter (LDC) system for electric vehicles. Conventional integrated OBC–LDC systems employing a three-winding transformer suffer from reduced light-load efficiency during standalone LDC operation because core losses dominate when designers size the transformer for high-power operation. In addition, concentrating multiple windings on a single magnetic core limits transformer design flexibility and causes complex magnetic coupling among the windings. To effectively reduce light-load losses and enhance transformer design freedom, this paper introduces a new integrated charging architecture that utilizes two independent transformers. The proposed system adopts a dual-active-bridge (DAB) converter for high-voltage battery charging and a phase-shift full-bridge (PSFB) converter for low-voltage battery charging. The system supports both simultaneous high- and low-voltage battery charging and standalone low-voltage battery operation, and a dual-phase-shift (DPS) control strategy enables independent and proper power flow control. Experimental results obtained from an 11 kW OBC and a 3 kW LDC prototype demonstrate up to a 33% reduction in light-load losses during standalone LDC operation and confirm the feasibility of improving power density through the proposed 2-Trans-based architecture.

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