Design of a 2 MW DC supply using a 4-stage interleaved DC-DC converter

An optimal design of a 2-MW dc supply with a variable output dc voltage range between 400 V and 1500 V, and intended for testing equipment under IEEE 1547 is presented in this paper. Trade-offs between size and system complexity must be taken into account because the main components (dc inductor, semiconductor switches, cooling system, etc.) of such a high power system are expensive and/or bulky. Several dc-dc converter topologies are evaluated and compared for the intended application, and all the components are selected based on current market availability. The 4-stage interleaved dc-dc converter topology is selected since it has a good performance-to-price ratio. Challenges of operation under both heavy and light loads are addressed. The control algorithm for this topology is presented and illustrated using simulation results. These simulations demonstrate that the proposed dc supply design provides an acceptable dc power source for testing distributed generation equipment under IEEE 1547 at not only relatively high power levels, but also light power levels.