Novel Isolated Multiple-Input Buck-Boost DC-DC Converter for Renewable Energy Sources

An isolated multiple input dc-dc converter (MIC) with unidirectional buck-boost characteristics and simultaneous power transfer is proposed for multi-sources in renewable energy systems in this paper. When compared to existing isolated MICs, the proposed MIC significantly reduces the component count and control complexity since it requires a fixed coupled inductor with only one primary and secondary winding each for any number of inputs and does not require any phase-shifted pulse-width modulation. The operation of the proposed converter for simultaneous power transfer from multiple sources with varying voltages is numerically verified in simulation and validated on OPAL-RT’s OP5700 hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) validation platform.