DESIGN AND INVESTIGATION OF FOUR-SWITCH INTERLEAVED BOOST CONVERTER FOR RENEWABLE INTEGRATION

Abstract

The primary goal of this research work is to build a DC-to-DC interleaved boost converter having low voltage stress and high voltage gain. The low voltage stress is particularly focused on the switching components, making the converter suitable for low voltage sources like photovoltaic (PV) modules and fuel cells. DC converters, including boost converters, are crucial for reliable performance in various applications. These applications, such as PV systems and fuel cells, often require stepping up the voltage up to 500 V. Conventional converter topologies are not capable of achieving significant voltage gain. High voltage gain of this magnitude cannot be obtained using traditional boost converters, as they require operation at high duty cycles, which leads to issues such as reverse recovery in rectifier diodes. Converters designed with a high voltage conversion ratio tend to suffer from larger voltage drops, resulting in increased switching losses. Furthermore, they also experience losses in parts of the filters which negatively impact the power conversion efficiency. Additionally, smaller filter inductors necessitate minimizing input and output current ripples. This research work aims at obtaining an increased voltage gain while avoiding drawbacks associated with excessively high duty cycles and the reverse recovery issue. The objectives include minimizing the voltage stress on switches, reducing input and output current ripples, and improving overall power conversion efficiency. The study will involve a detailed examination of existing methods, followed by the development of new techniques to meet these goals.