PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS OF BOOST CONVERTER USING SOFT SWITCHING SCHEMES

Abstract

The growing rate of renewable energy systems and electric vehicles' technology has driven the need for efficient DC-DC power converters. Boost converter is one of the attractive converter topologies that can step up the low input voltage to higher output voltage. The voltages generated by renewable energy sources, like PV systems and fuel cells, are typically low and variable in nature. Thus, effective techniques in voltage boosting is vital for the correct power conversion and utilization. Boost converters are commonly used in electric vehicle applications such as motor drive application and battery management system. The drawback of using conventional boost converter at high frequency is high switching losses. Such switching losses reduce efficiency and cause thermal stresses on semiconductor devices. To surmount these drawbacks, the soft switching techniques are adopted in the design of converter. Zero Voltage Switching (ZVS) and Zero Current Switching (ZCS) are two important soft-switching methods used in power electronics. These techniques minimize switching stress and enhance the efficiency of the converter. ZVS converters operate by switching element on and off when the voltage across the switch goes to zero. This minimizes switching losses and reduces electromagnetic interference. The switch is turned on when the current flows through the switch is zero, in ZCS converters. This lowers the stress and switching losses in operation. The present work is emphasizing on the design and analysis of different configuration of ZVS and ZCS boost converter. A variety of converter topologies are explored to study their performance characteristics. The proposed converters operate at high-frequency. The high frequency operation results in a reduction of the size of passive components (inductors and capacitors). But in the classical power converter high frequency switching results in high switching losses. Thus, software switching techniques are necessary for an efficient operation. Various configurations of ZVS and ZCS boost converter in open loop condition are presented in the paper. The converters are modelled and simulated in MATLAB R2023a software. MATLAB Simulink is a flexible platform to analyse the behavior of the converter. The switching characteristics of these converters are better understood by simulating them. Different parameters like output voltage, current wave orm, switching stress and efficiency are studied. The voltage stress of switching devices are reduced in the proposed ZVS converter configuration. Likewise, the ZCS converter configuration shows a lower current stress during switching transitions. Switching waveforms are used to check the implementation of the soft switching conditions. The switching loss is reduced, which leads to an improvement of the overall efficiency of the converter system. The converters also have smoother voltage and current waveforms than the conventional converters. Switching stress is reduced and the reliability and lifespan of semiconductor devices are improved. For renewable energy applications where efficiency is a key concern, soft switching converters are very appropriate. Boost converters are employed for the connection between the solar panels and the DC buses in the PV systems or with the battery systems. Such applications can be enhanced in terms of power conversion efficiency by the proposed converters. For a battery powered system, an efficient DC-DC conversion is essential in an electric vehicle. The soft-switching boost converters designed can help in energy saving in EV systems. The simulation results match the stable operation of the converter topologies under the various operating conditions. Successful regulation of the output voltage is obtained in open loop mode. The resonant components used in the converter help in achieving soft-switching conditions. Efficient operation of the converter requires the proper design of its resonant inductors and capacitors. Operating principle of various converter configurations are also discussed. Switching sequences are analyzed in detail to get insight to the converter performance. The voltage and current waveforms simulated agree with the theoretical analysis. The proposed converter configurations can offer higher efficiency than hard switched converter. Lower switching losses results in decreased heat generation in the converter circuit. This makes the need for big heat sinks and cooling systems unnecessary. Consequently, the entire converter system is compact and economical. The study shows that soft-switching techniques are greatly beneficial in the modern power electronic system. The designed converter models can be further expanded on for the closed loop control analysis. Advanced controllers for voltage regulation and stability improvement can be implemented in the future.The proposed work helps in the development of efficient DC-DC conversion for renewable energy and EVs applications. The study emphasizes that in order to reduce switching losses and increase the efficiency, ZVS and ZCS techniques are important. Thus, soft-switching boost converter is a potential solution to future sustainable energy.