Stability-improvement Method of Cascaded DC-DC Converters with Additional Voltage-error Mutual Feedback Control

The interaction between the source and load converters in cascaded DC-DC converters may cause instability.Thus,improving the stability of cascaded DC-DC converters is important.To solve the above-mentioned problem,a flowchart to improve the control method is established by calculating the eigenvalue sensitivity of a time-domain model of cascaded DC-DC converters.Further,an additional voltage-error mutual feedback control method is firstly proposed based on the flowchart provided in this study to improve the stability of cascaded DC-DC converters.Subsequently,the influence of the proposed mutual feedback control on the stability of cascaded DC-DC converters is analyzed.Finally,the effectiveness of the proposed control method is verified by simulation and experiment.

Modeling the System for Hybrid Renewable Energy Using Highly Efficient Converters and Generator

High-efficient isolated DC/DC converters with a high-efficiency synchronous reluctance generator(SRG)are the ultimate solutions in DC microgrid systems.The design and modeling of isolated DC/DC converters with the performance of SRG are carried out.On the generator side,reactive and active powers are used as pulse width modulation(PWM)control variables.Further,the flux estimator is used.Three-phase PWM rectifier is used by applying space vector modulation(SVM)with a constant switching frequency for direct power control.Further,the paper also includes the experimental validation of the results.The paper also proposes that highly efficient power converters and synchronous reluctance generators are required to achieve high performance for hybrid renewable energy systems applications.

ANovel Non-Isolated Cubic DC-DC Converter with High Voltage Gain for Renewable Energy Power Generation System

In recent years,switched inductor(SL)technology,switched capacitor(SC)technology,and switched inductor-capacitor(SL-SC)technology have been widely applied to optimize and improve DC-DC boost converters,which can effectively enhance voltage gain and reduce device stress.To address the issue of low output voltage in current renewable energy power generation systems,this study proposes a novel non-isolated cubic high-gain DC-DC converter based on the traditional quadratic DC-DC boost converter by incorporating a SC and a SL-SC unit.Firstly,the proposed converter’s details are elaborated,including its topology structure,operating mode,voltage gain,device stress,and power loss.Subsequently,a comparative analysis is conducted on the voltage gain and device stress between the proposed converter and other high-gain converters.Then,a closed-loop simulation system is constructed to obtain simulation waveforms of various devices and explore the dynamic performance.Finally,an experimental prototype is built,experimental waveforms are obtained,and the experimental dynamic performance and conversion efficiency are analyzed.The theoretical analysis’s correctness is verified through simulation and experimental results.The proposed converter has advantages such as high voltage gain,low device stress,high conversion efficiency,simple control,and wide input voltage range,achieving a good balance between voltage gain,device stress,and power loss.The proposed converter is well-suited for renewable energy systems and holds theoretical significance and practical value in renewable energy applications.It provides an effective solution to the issue of low output voltage in renewable energy power generation systems.

Large-areaβ-Ga_(2)O_(3) Schottky barrier diode and its application in DC-DC converters

We demonstrate superb large-area verticalβ-Ga_(2)O_(3)SBDs with a Schottky contact area of 1×1 mm^(2)and obtain a high-efficiency DC-DC converter based on the device.Theβ-Ga_(2)O_(3)SBD can obtain a forward current of 8 A with a forward volt-age of 5 V,and has a reverse breakdown voltage of 612 V.The forward turn-on voltage(VF)and the on-resistance(Ron)are 1.17 V and 0.46Ω,respectively.The conversion efficiency of theβ-Ga_(2)O_(3)SBD-based DC-DC converter is 95.81%.This work indicates the great potential of Ga_(2)O_(3)SBDs and relevant circuits in power electronic applications.

Synchronization analysis on cascaded multilevel converters with distributed control

Cascaded multilevel converters built with integrated modules have many advantages such as increased power density,flexible distributed control,multi-functionality,increased reliability and short design cycles.However,the system performance will be affected due to the synchronization errors among each integrated modules.This paper analyzes the impact of the three kinds of synchronization errors on the whole system performance,as well as detailed synchronization implementation.Some valuable conclusions are derived from the theoretical analysis,simulations and experimental results.

A Piecewise Linear Slope Compensation Circuit for DC-DC Converters

To prevent sub-harmonic oscillation and improve the stability and load capacity of the system,a piecewise linear slope compensation circuit is designed. Compared with the traditional design, this circuit provides a compensation signal whose slope varies from different duty cycles at - 40-85℃ ,and reduces the negative effect of slope compensation on the system＇s load capacity and transient response. A current mode PWM Boost DC-DC converter employing this slope compensation circuit is implemented in a UMC 0.6μm-BCD process. The results indicate that the circuit works well and effectively,and the load capacity is increased by 20%. The chip area of the piecewise linear slope compensation circuit is 0.01mm^2 ,which consumes only 8μA quiescent current,and the efficiency ranges up to 93%.

A Novel Hybrid DPWM for Digital DC-DC Converters

We present a new hybrid digital pulse-width modulator （DPWM） for digital DC-DC converters that employs a ring-oscillator/counter structure. Based on a temperature/process compensation technique and a novel digital controller, the proposed DPWM can not only offer temperature/process-independent pulse widths, but also operate at a much higher clock frequency than the existing delay-line/counter DPWM structure. Post-simulation results show that with our DPWM, the system clock frequency reaches 156.9MHz while the worst variation,in a temperature range of 0 to 100℃under all process corners,is only± 9.4%.

Paralleled DC-DC Power Converters Sliding Mode Control with Dual Stages Design

This paper proposes the new cascaded series parallel design for improved dynamic performance of DC-DC buck boost converters by a new Sliding Mode Control (SMC) method. The converter is controlled using Sliding Mode Control method that utilizes the converter’s duty ratio to determine the skidding surface. System modeling and simulation results are presented. The results also showed an improved overall performance over typical PID controller, and there was no overshoot or settling time, tracking the desired output nicely. Improved converter performance and robustness were expected.

Simulations of the Performance of Maximum Power Point Tracking Algorithms Based on Experimental Data According to the Topologies of DC-DC Converters

Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms are now widely used in PV systems independently of the weather conditions. In function of the application, a DC-DC converter topology is chosen without any previous performance test under normal weather conditions. This paper proposes an experimental evaluation of MPPT algorithms according to DC-DC converters topologies, under normal operation conditions. Four widely used MPPT algorithms i.e. Perturb and Observe (P & O), Hill Climbing (HC), Fixed step Increment of Conductance (INCF) and Variable step Increment of Conductance (INCV) are implemented using two topologies of DC-DC converters i.e. buck and boost converters. As input variables to the PV systems, recorded irradiance and temperature, and extracted photovoltaic parameters (ideality factor, series resistance and reverse saturation current) were used. The obtained results show that buck converter has a lot of power losses when controlled by each of the four MPPT algorithms. Meanwhile, boost converter presents a stable output power during the whole day. Once more, the results show that INCV algorithm has the best performance.

Experimental Evaluation of Medium-Voltage Cascode Gallium Nitride(GaN)Devices for Bidirectional DC-DC Converters

Wide bandgap(WBG)semiconductors,such as silicon carbide(SiC)and gallium nitride(GaN),exhibit superior physical properties and demonstrate great potential for replacing conventional silicon(Si)semiconductors with WBG technology,pushing the boundaries of power devices to handle higher blocking voltages,switching frequencies,output power levels,and operating temperatures.However,tradeoffs in switching performance and converter efficiency when substituting GaN devices for Si and SiC counterparts are not well-defined,especially in a cascode configuration.Additional research with further detailed investigation and analysis is necessitated for medium-voltage GaN devices in power converter applications.Therefore,the aim of this research is to experimentally investigate the impact of emerging 650/900 V cascode GaN devices on bidirectional dc-dc converters that are suitable for energy storage and distributed renewable energy systems.Dynamic characteristics of Si,SiC,and cascode GaN power devices are examined through the double-pulse test(DPT)circuit at different gate resistance values,device currents,and DC bus voltages.Furthermore,the switching behavior and energy loss as well as the rate of voltage and current changes over the time are studied and analyzed at various operating conditions.A 500 W experimental converter prototype is implemented to validate the benefits of cascode GaN devices on the converter operation and performance.Comprehensive analysis of the power losses and efficiency improvements for Si-based,SiC-based,and GaN-based converters are performed and evaluated as the switching frequency,working temperature,and output power level are in-creased.The experimental results reveal significant improvements in switching performance and energy efficiency from the emerging cascode GaN devices in the bidirectional converters.

Enhancing the Performance of the Marine and Tidal Current Converters Using DC-DC Boost Converter

Due to the highly demand on the renewable energy sources as a free and a clean power resource, extracting energy from unsteady flow using marine and tidal current turbines has a distinct focusing nowadays. For their resource characteristic, extracting energy from marine/tidal current needs a simple and robust converter, which could overcome the drawbacks of the mechanical system such as gearbox and enhance conversion system stability. In this paper a new AC-DC-AC conversion system has been proposed. The new conversion system contains a middle stage DC-DC boost converter, which boost the generated rectified DC voltage higher enough that can enable the PWM inverter to generate the required voltage with the synchronized frequency. In order to investigate the efficient performance of the proposed conversion system especially at low current speed compared to the conventional one, different operating conditions have been studied. Moreover, the effect of including boost converter on the THD （total harmonic distortion） has also been checked. The new conversion system presents its capability to enhance and improve system performance not only with low current speed but also with high current speed.

Design Analysis of DC-DC Converters Connected to a Photovoltaic Generator and Controlled by MPPT for Optimal Energy Transfer throughout a Clear Day

The DC-DC converters are widely used in photovoltaic generating systems as an interface between PV module and the load. These converters must be chosen to be able to match the maximum power point (MPP) of PV module when climatic conditions change with different resistive load values. So DC-DC converters must be used with MPPT controller in order to reduce losses in the global PV system. This article focuses on the effect of climatic conditions on design of two components (inductance, capacitance) for three topologies of DC-DC converters commonly used in PV systems. When climatic conditions change, the boundary of inductance and capacitance parameters of DC-DC converter will change. These two parameters must be properly sized to achieve optimal efficiency for each converter. The design optimization is based on two principles: 1) for a steady-state operation in a continuous conduction mode, the inductance value for all choppers must be greater than the maximum value of boundary inductance, and 2) in order to limit the output voltage ripple of DC-DC converter below a desired value, the filter capacitance must be larger than the maximum value of boundary capacitance.

Design and Simulation of a Solar Regulator Based on DC-DC Converters Using a Robust Sliding ModeController

The MPPT （maximum power point tracking） is one of the most important features of a regulator system that processes the energy produced by a photovoltaic generator. It is necessary, in fact, to design a controller that is able to set the output value of the voltage and ensure the working within the maximum power point. In this paper, we propose the application of the robust sliding mode control technique to a DC-DC buck converter which is combined with a classical P ＆ O （perturbation and observation） algorithm to enhance the solar system efficiency. Dynamic equations describing the boost converter are derived and a sliding mode controller for a buck converter is designed. It is shown that, this control approach gives good results in terms of robustness toward load and input voltage variations. The effectiveness of the proposed work is verified by the simulation results under PowerSim environment.

A Method to Obtain Complex Transfer Functions of Four Order DC-DC Converters

Two TFs （transfer functions） are needed to analyze switching DC-DC converters in control-voltage mode： the duty-cycle to output-voltage （control to output） and the input-voltage to output-voltage （line to output）. To obtain these TFs a small-signal analysis is required. The CCM （continuous conduction mode） and the DCM （discontinuous conduction mode） analysis are different. When a circuit includes the loss resistances of the components, the number of parameters increases considerably, making manual nodal-loop circuit analysis techniques impractical to obtain the TFs. Moreover, these circuits are bilinear （non-linear） and it is necessary to linearize the equations at a DC operating-point （approximate linearization）. Vorp6rian describes a PWM （pulse-width-modulated） switch model that includes all non-linear parts of the DC-DC switching converters. This model can be linearized and replaced on the switching converter schematic leading to a linear circuit. At this point it is possible to use symbolic analysis programs to obtain these TFs or to simply apply numerical values for either the Bode diagrams or the calculation of poles and zeros. Here we describe an application of Ekrem Cangeici＇s method on X DC-DC converter to obtain control to output and line to output TFs in CCM and DCM including loss resistances. The method presented in this paper is optimized to use in the online publishing platform OctaveRS. Also the control to output TF for PCC （peak current controlled） in CCM is obtained.

Inductor Losses Estimation in DC-DC Converters by Means of Averaging Technique

A suitable inductor modeling for power electronic DC-DC converters is presented in this paper. It is developed with the aim of improving inductor losses estimation achievable by averaged models, which inherently neglect inductor current ripple. In order to account for its contribution to the overall inductor losses, an appropriate parallel resistance is thus enclosed into the inductor model, whose value should be chosen in accordance with the DC-DC converter operating conditions. This allows the development of improved averaged models of DC-DC converters, especially in terms of power losses estimation. The effectiveness of the proposed modeling approach has been validated through a simulation study, which refers to the case of a boost DC-DC converter and is performed by means of a suitable circuit simulator designed for rapid modelling of switching power systems （SIMetrix/SIMPLIS）.

A Current-Mode DC-DC Buck Converter with High Stability and Fast Dynamic Response

A current-mode DC-DC buck converter with high stability is presented. The loop gain＇s expression of the current-mode converter is derived by employing an advanced model of a current-mode control converter. After analyzing the loop gain＇s expression, which illustrates the method of selecting suitable frequency compensation for the control loop,a novel pole-zero tracking frequency compensation is proposed. Based on theoretical analysis, a DC-DC buck converter with high stability is designed with 0.5μm-CMOS technology. The simulated results reveal that the stability of the converter is independent of the load current and the input voltage. Moreover,the converter provides a full load transient response setting time of less than 5μs and overshoots and undershoots of less than 30mV.

Modular System of Cascaded Converters Based onModel Predictive Control

A modular system of cascaded converters based on model predictive control(MPC)is proposed to meet the application requirements ofmultiple voltage levels and electrical isolation in renewable energy generation systems.The system consists of a Buck/Boost+CLLLC cascaded converter as a submodule,which is combined in series and parallel on the input and output sides to achieve direct-current(DC)voltage transformation,bidirectional energy flow,and electrical isolation.The CLLLC converter operates in DC transformer mode in the submodule,while the Buck/Boost converter participates in voltage regulation.This article establishes a suitable mathematical model for the proposed system topology,and uses MPC to control the system based on this mathematical model.Module parameters are designed and calculated,and simulation is built in MATLAB/Simulink to complete the simulation comparison experiment between MPC and traditional proportional integral(PI)control.Finally,a physical experimental platform is built to complete the physical comparison experiment.The simulation and physical experimental results prove that the control accuracy and response speed ofMPC are better than traditional PI control strategy.

Improving Characteristics of Integrated Switched-Capacitor DC-DC Converter by CMOS Technology

An integrated 3.3V/1.2V SC DC-DC converter operating under 10MHz with a fixed duty radio of 0.5 is presented.To improve the output current of the converter,CMOS technology is adopted to fabricate the switching devices,and mutually compensatory circuitry technology is also employed to double the output current furthermore.The simulation results using Hspice simulation software,show that the output currents of a single unit circuit and two unit circuits connected in a mutually compensatory manner of the improved converter is about 12.5mA and 26mA,respectively.The power conversion efficiency of the mutually compensatory circuit can amount to 73%,while its output voltage ripple is less than 1.5%.The converter is fabricated in standard Rohm 0.35μm CMOS technology in Tokyo University of Japan.The test result indicates that the output current of 9.8mA can be obtained from a single unit circuit of the improved converter.

A distributed VSG control method for a battery energy storage system with a cascaded H-bridge in a grid-connected mode

With the high penetration of renewable energy,new challenges,such as power fluctuation suppression and inertial support capability,have arisen in the power sector.Battery energy storage systems play an essential role in renewable energy integration.In this paper,a distributed virtual synchronous generator(VSG)control method for a battery energy storage system(BESS)with a cascaded H-bridge converter in a grid-connected mode is proposed.The VSG is developed without communication dependence,and state-of-charge(SOC)balancing control is achieved using the distributed average algorithm.Owing to the low varying speed of SOC,the bandwidth of the distributed communication networks is extremely slow,which decreases the cost.Therefore,the proposed method can simultaneously provide inertial support and accurate SOC balancing.The stability is also proved using root locus analysis.Finally,simulations under different conditions are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Study of Sliding Mode Control of DC-DC Buck Converter

In this paper, a robust sliding mode controller for the control of dc-dc buck converter is designed and analyzed. Dynamic equations describing the buck converter are derived and sliding mode controller is designed. A two-loop control is employed for a buck converter. The robustness of the sliding mode controlled buck converter system is tested for step load changes and input voltage variations. The theoretical predictions are validated by means of simulations. Matlab/Simulink is used for the simulations. The simulation results are presented. The buck converter is tested with operating point changes and parameter uncertainties. Fast dynamic response of the output voltage and robustness to load and input voltage variations are obtained.