Multiphase Interleaved Bidirectional DC/DC Converter for Fuel Cell/Battery Powered Electric Vehicles

Transportation relies heavily on fossil fuels. Rapid consumption of natural resources and emission of greenhouse gases due to burning of fossil fuels have prompted the automotive industry to develop sustainable and clean energy sources vehicles for urban transportation. Research and development have been carried out on vehicles driven by electricity generated through renewable sources as possible alternatives to conventional vehicles. Fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are among these vehicles, which provide a means for an efficient and environmentally friendly urban transportation system. High sensitivity to sudden changes in the loads and poor transient performance issue are the main obstacles for the commercialization of pure fuel cell driven vehicles; therefore, fuel cells are usually augmented with a secondary power source. Typical systems used in industrial vehicles use battery as a secondary power source. Using battery as a secondary power source for FCEVs provides additional peak power in situations such as accelerating and hill climbing, and recuperates braking energy by regeneration, thereby improves the performance and efficiency of the overall system. To manage the energy transfer between batteries and the DC-bus, a converter with bidirectional power flow capabilities is required; therefore, the objective of this paper is to design an appropriate bidirectional DC/DC converter structure or sometimes called an energy management converter to manage the charging and discharging of the battery based on high efficiency range. A multi-phase interleaved bidirectional DC/DC converter structure is proposed, which offers reduction of: input current ripples, stresses on switches, output voltage ripples, and passive component sizes. Improving transient response and reliability are among the many advantages of using such structure.