A New Control Strategy for a Voltage and Current Fed Multiport DC-DC Converter

Electrical power systems are increasingly adopting DC-based loads like Electric Vehicles, DC-based energy sources like solar photovoltaic panels, and battery energy storage systems (BESS). This increasingly necessitates the control of power flows between multiple DC busses of different voltage levels. Multi-port DC-DC converters such as the Modular Multiple Active Bridge (MMAB) converter can address this requirement with a reduced component count compared to alternative approaches, and good design flexibility. However, some applications such as BESS require both voltage and current-source converter outputs. This paper proposes a new control strategy with Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) for a voltage and current fed MMAB converter, focused on BESS applications. Theory and simulations are presented, followed by experimental validation to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed control strategy. It is demonstrated that the converter is stable and can achieve ZVS and high efficiency under practical conditions, and that it can operate with small passive component values that allow cost-effective design choices.