Analysis of a high step-up gain DC-DC converter for fuel cell and battery application

Abstract: In sustainable energy systems those using fuel cells, high step-up gain converters are widely used to increase the output voltage to levels that can be used by other converters, such as inverters for grid connection or powering other AC loads. In order to obtain a higher voltage gain, in comparison to a traditional boost converter, often different topologies techniques are involved. In this project a new topology is studied, cascading to half bridges, each working similar to a boost converter but with magnetic coupled inductors in-between.    The converter design is modeled in PLECS Blockset and MATLAB Simulink to simulate and evaluate the performance with proper design procedure. The results showed that a high step-up gain was achieved, and the gain could easily be adjusted by changing the duty cycle and/or the coupling factor. The converter design showed similarities and differences to a traditional boost converter. The coupled inductor has its advantage reducing the fuel cell current ripple with the effect of the duty cycle.