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Double-Input DCDC Power Electronic Converters for Electric-Drive VehiclesTopology Exploration and Synthesis Using a Single-Pole Triple-Throw Switch
Karteek Gummi and Mehdi Ferdowsi, Member, IEEE
AbstractHybridizing energy systems using storage devices has gained popularity in transportation and distributed electric power generation applications. Traditionally, several independent power electronic converters (PECs) were utilized in such practices. Due to their reduced part count, double-input (DI) PECs prove to be a promising choice in hybridizing energy systems. A few topologies for multi-input converters have been reported in the literature; however, there is no systematic approach to synthesize them. Furthermore, all possible topologies are not completely explored, and it is difcult to derive new converters from existing topologies. Therefore, in this paper, a systematic approach to derive DI converters by using a single-pole triple-throw switch as a building block is presented. Index TermsDCDC power conversion, energy storage, multiport converters.

I. I NTRODUCTION OUBLE-INPUT (DI) converters have gained popularity in power electronic applications including electric, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles; fuel cell systems; photovoltaic systems [1], [2]; wind generation [3], [4]; and power factor correction [5]. In these applications, utilizing a short- or long-term energy storage device is inevitable since the instantaneous values of the input and output powers are not equal [6][11]. The energy storage unit can be comprised of batteries and/or electrochemical capacitors. In other words, the storage unit can be hybridized itself. Electrochemical capacitors have been proposed to be utilized in the electrical distribution system of conventional and hybrid vehicles to serve applications like local energy cache, voltage smoothing, pseudo-42-V architecture, and service life of batteries extension. However, the high specic power of electrochemical capacitors is the major reason for having them used

as an intermediate energy storage unit during acceleration, hill climbing, and regenerative braking. A hybrid energy storage unit comprising both batteries and electrochemical capacitors seems to be the promising choice for future electric drive vehicles. The basic idea is to realize the advantages of both batteries and electrochemical capacitors while keeping the weight of the entire energy storage unit minimized through an appropriate matching. In order to combine the main source of power with the energy storage unit or in order to hybridize the energy storage unit, either two independent converters or a single DI converter is needed. The advantages of using a DI converter include reduced component count, lower cost, and control simplicity. These advantages can potentially improve the overall cost and efciency of electric drive vehicles. Magnetic coupling has been used to develop DI and, more generally, multi-input converters [12][17]. Combining the structure of independent power converters has also been proposed to make multiport converters [18][22]. These approaches do not systematically use building blocks to derive DI power electronic converters (DIPECs). Furthermore, all possible topologies have not been completely explored. In addition, it is difcult to derive new DI converters using existing DI topologies. Hence, in this paper, a single-pole triple-throw (SPTT) switch is used as a building block in creating DIPECs. Three DI dcdc converters are proposed in Section II. The operating modes of the new converters, as well as their voltage transfer ratios in the continuous conduction mode, are also described. In Section III, the switch realization of the converters is discussed. Simulation and experimental results to verify the converters characteristics are presented in Sections IV and V, respectively. Finally, Section VI draws the concluding remarks. II. D ERIVATION OF N EW DI C ONVERTERS U SING AN SPTT S WITCH Fig. 1 shows a simple representation of an SPTT switch. At any given time, the pole is connected to one and only one of the throws. An SPTT switch can be realized by using three singlepole single-throw (SPST) switches, as shown in Fig. 2. It should be reminded that one and only one of the three SPST switches is on at any given time [23].

Manuscript received March 10, 2009; revised September 8, 2009. First published September 22, 2009; current version published January 13, 2010. This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation under Grant 0640636. K. Gummi is with the Bechtel Corporation, Houston, TX 77056-6580 USA (e-mail: kgummi@bechtel.com). M. Ferdowsi is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, MO 65409 USA (e-mail: ferdowsi@mst.edu). Color versions of one or more of the gures in this paper are available online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org. Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TIE.2009.2032762

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Fig. 1. SPTT switch.

Fig. 6.

DI buck converter using three SPST switches.

Fig. 2. SPTT switch realized using three SPST switches.

Fig. 3. DI buck converter using an SPTT switch.

Fig. 7.

Switching patterns of a DI buck converter. TABLE I VOLTAGE ACROSS I NDUCTOR FOR D IFFERENT M ODES OF O PERATION OF DI B UCK C ONVERTER

Fig. 4. DI buckboost converter using an SPTT switch.

Fig. 5. DI buckboost-buck converter using an SPTT switch.

Figs. 35 show the circuit diagrams of the new DIPECs that can be synthesized using an SPTT switch. Here, these converters are named DI buck, DI buckboost, and DI buckboost-buck topologies, respectively. Although voltage sources are used for the graphic demonstration of these topologies, any stiff dc voltage source or storage mechanism can be used. It is worth mentioning that only one inductor is used in the structure of these converters. Therefore, they benet from a higher power density. These converters are derived and will be analyzed using basic PEC topologies reported in the literature [12], [13], [19][21],

[24][28]. Similar to classic power electronic approaches, parasitic components will be neglected in the analysis. Fig. 6 shows the circuit diagram of the DI buck converter using three SPST switches instead of one SPTT switch. This replacement makes the switch realization easier. Voltage source V1 delivers power when SPST switch S1 is turned on. Similarly, voltage source V2 is the source of power when switch S2 is on. Finally, switch S3 can be used for freewheeling purposes. Fig. 7 shows a typical switching pattern for the three SPST switches. This pattern can be applied to any of the DIPECs discussed here. Three modes of operation for a DI buck converter that occur under unidirectional power ow are described in Table I. Similarly, the modes of operation for the DI buckboost and buckboost-buck converters are shown in Tables II and III, respectively. It is worth mentioning that Mode III does not have to appear at the end of the switching period. All or parts of it can be placed between Modes I and II.

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TABLE II VOLTAGE ACROSS I NDUCTOR FOR D IFFERENT M ODES OF O PERATION OF DI B UCKBOOST C ONVERTER

TABLE III VOLTAGE ACROSS I NDUCTOR FOR D IFFERENT M ODES OF O PERATION OF DI B UCKBOOST-B UCK C ONVERTER

One can observe in Fig. 7 that T1 is the on-time of switch S1 , T2 is the on-time of switch S2 , and T3 is the on-time of switch S3 . Hence T 1 = d1 T T 2 = d2 T T 3 = d3 T (1) (2)

Fig. 8. Variations of the output voltage in a DI buck converter as a function of the duty ratios when V1 = 80 V and V2 = 60 V.

T1 + T 2 + T 3 = T

in Fig. 8. In this gure, V1 and V2 are selected to be 80 and 60 V, respectively.

where T is the switching period and d1 , d2 , and d3 are the duty cycles of switches S1 , S2 , and S3 , respectively. Considering a DI buck converter, one can write the following equation based on Fig. 7, Table I, and the voltsecond balance equation of the inductor: T1 (V1 VO ) + T2 (V2 VO ) + T3 (VO ) = 0. This can be simplied to the following equation: V1 T1 + V2 T2 = VO (T1 + T2 + T3 ). (4) (3)

III. S WITCH R EALIZATION FOR N EW DI C ONVERTER T OPOLOGIES In the DI buck converter shown in Fig. 6, SPST switches S1 , S2 , and S3 can be realized using diodes and transistors. Switch realization depends on the input and output voltage levels as well as the power ow direction. Assuming that the power ow is from left to right (or iL > 0), one can argue (If S1 is on S2 and S3 are off) => (iS 1 > 0, VS 2 = V2 V1 , and VS 3 = V1 ) (If S2 is on S1 and S3 are off) => (iS 2 > 0, VS 1 = V1 V2 , and VS 3 = V2 ) (If S3 is on S1 and S2 are off) => (iS 3 > 0, VS 1 = V1 , and VS 2 = V2 ). Therefore, SPST switch S1 conducts positive currents and has to block either a positive or a negative voltage depending on the magnitude of V1 and V2 . Consequently, it should be replaced by a diode in series with a transistor. Similarly, switch S2 should be a bidirectional voltage blocking switch. Switch S3 , which conducts positive currents and opposes negative voltages, should be replaced by a diode. Therefore, the nal circuit diagram of the DI buck converter is shown in Fig. 9. The structure of a DI buck converter can be simplied to Fig. 10 if V1 is always greater than V2 (V1 > V2 ). Similarly, the structure of the DI buck converter can be further simplied if V1 is always greater than V2 (V1 > V2 ) and Mode III never

Combining (1), (2), and (4), one can obtain the following equation which describes the relation between the input and output voltages: V O = d1 V 1 + d 2 V 2 . (5)

Similarly, voltage transfer ratios of the DI buckboost and buckboost-buck converters can be described as VO = VO = d1 d2 V1 + V2 1 d1 d2 1 d1 d2 d1 d2 V1 + V2 . 1 d1 1 d1 (6) (7)

In employing (5)(7), one should keep in mind that d1 + d2 1. (8)

For instance, in a DI buck converter, (8) indicates that Vo cannot exceed Max(V1 , V2 ). Variations of the output voltage as a function of the duty ratios for a DI buck converter are shown

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Fig. 9. Switch realization for the DI buck converter (unidirectional power ow). Fig. 12. Switch realization for the DI buckboost converter (unidirectional power ow).

Fig. 10. Simplied DI buck converter (if V1 > V2 ).

Fig. 13. Switch realization for the DI buckboost-buck converter (unidirectional power ow).

Fig. 11.

Further simplied DI buck converter with V1 > V2 and no Mode III. Fig. 14. Four-quadrant switch for bidirectional power ow.

occurs. The simplied converter in this case is shown in Fig. 11. This converter is similar to a two-input buck converter [5]. Similarly, the unidirectional switch realization for the DI buckboost and buckboost-buck converters results in the nal circuits shown in Figs. 12 and 13, respectively. These two topologies may also be further simplied similar to the discussion presented for the DI buck converter. In applications such as hybrid electric vehicles and photovoltaic systems, one of the dc sources noted by V1 or V2 is a battery. Hence, bidirectional power ow to and from one of the sources (V1 in this paper) is required. In this case, switch realization will be slightly different (If S1 is on) => (iS 1 > 0 or < 0) (If S2 is on S1 is off) => (VS 1 > 0 or < 0). As switch S1 conducts either a positive or a negative current and also blocks either a positive or a negative voltage, it must be replaced by a four-quadrant switch (see Fig. 14).

IV. S IMULATION R ESULTS Figs. 1517 show the simulation results of the DI buck, buckboost, and buckboost-buck converters, respectively. Two dc voltage sources V1 = 100 V and V2 = 150 V are used as input voltage sources. The switching commands for S1 and S2 have xed duty ratios of 0.3 and 0.4 at the switching frequency is 100 kHz. The inductor value was selected to be 200 H, the capacitor value was 80 F, and the load resistance was 5 . From top to bottom are the waveforms of the switch commands for S1 and S2 , inductor voltage VL , inductor current iL , and the output voltage. One can observe from the waveforms that the average value of the output voltage for the DI buck converter is 90 V. This can also be obtained from the voltage transfer ratio described in (5). Similarly, the output voltages of the DI buckboost and buckboost-buck converters are regulated at 300 and 128.6 V, which can also be obtained by (6) and (7), respectively.

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Fig. 15. Simulation results of the DI buck converter.

Fig. 18. Experimental output voltage and inductor current waveforms of a DI buck converter (voltage: 25 V/div, current: 5 A/div, and time: 4 s).

where R is the load resistance and fs is the switching frequency. Similarly, under the same conditions, one can describe the peakto-peak ripple of the output voltage in a DI buck converter as [29] 1 d1 d2 vo = 2 Vo 8LCfs (10)

where Vo is the peak-to-peak ripple of the output voltage and C is the output capacitor.
Fig. 16. Simulation results of the DI buckboost converter.

V. E XPERIMENTAL V ERIFICATION In order to verify the simulation results, a low-power laboratory prototype of a DI buck converter was built. Sources V1 and V2 were selected to be 80- and 60-V power supplies. Dualpack IGBT switches were used for S1 and S2 . The switching frequency was 50 kHz. A 50-H inductor and a 150-F capacitor were used as L and C , respectively. The load resistance was about 4.5 , and the output power was expected to be around 550 W. Duty cycles d1 and d2 were selected to be 0.3 and 0.5, respectively. Mode II does not start immediately after Mode I. Mode III is placed before and after Mode II. The open-loop results are shown in Figs. 18 and 19. Fig. 18 contains the waveforms of output voltage Vo and inductor current iL . When both switches are off, the inductor is de-energized, and the power is dissipated through the load resistor. This process can be observed from the negative slope of the inductor current waveform. The output voltage was measured to be 50.5 V when the reading was taken by a multimeter. This is very close to 54 which (5) predicts. The 6.5% difference is due to nonideal effects and parasitic components which were not included in the development of (5). Fig. 19 shows the current waveforms of switches S1 and S2 . It can be observed that experimental and simulation results agree with each other. Fig. 20 shows the transient response of the open-loop DI buck converter to a step change in the load resistance. The dynamic response is similar to that of a single-input buck converter. The variations of the

Fig. 17. Simulation results of the DI buckboost-buck converter.

The peak-to-peak ripple of the inductor current in a DI buck converter is at its maximum level when V1 = V2 and Mode II occurs right after Mode I. Similar to a single-input buck converter, in order to make sure that the converter operates in the continuous conduction mode, one needs to make sure that the inductor value is greater than LCritical = R(1 d1 d2 ) 2fs (9)

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VI. C ONCLUSION Three DI converters are developed in this paper using a SPTT switch as a building block. All of the proposed converters use only one inductor, which results in a reduced size and part count of the system. The proposed converters can be used in ultracapacitor enhancement of battery packs in automotive applications or hybridizing photovoltaic or fuel cell systems. Simulation and experimental results agree with the analytical results. R EFERENCES
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Fig. 19. Experimental current waveforms of the switches in a DI buck converter (current: 5 A/div and time: 4 s/div).

Fig. 20. Transient response of the DI buck converter to a step-down load change (voltage: 10 V/div, current: 10 A/div, and time: 1 ms/div).

Fig. 21. Efciency of the DI buck converter versus the output power.

efciency of the DI buck converter versus the output power are shown in Fig. 21. The curve follows the efciency curves of classic dcdc converters.

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[21] K. P. Yalamanchili, M. Ferdowsi, and K. Corzine, New double-input dcdc converters for automotive applications, in Proc. IEEE Vehicular Power Propuls. Conf., 2006, pp. 16. [22] Y. M. Chen, Y. C. Liu, and S. H. Lin, Double-input PWM dc/dc converter for high/low-voltage sources, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 53, no. 5, pp. 15381545, Oct. 2006. [23] P. Wood, Switching Power Converters. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1981, ch. 3. [24] K. P. Yalamanchili, Multi-input dcdc converters for combined energy storage systems in hybrid electric vehicles, M.S. thesis, Univ. MissouriRolla, Rolla, Dec., 2006. [25] N. D. Benavides and P. L. Chapman, Power budgeting of a multipleinput buck-boost converter, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 20, no. 6, pp. 13031309, Nov. 2005. [26] B. G. Dobbs and P. L. Chapman, A multiple-input dcdc converter topology, IEEE Power Electron. Lett., vol. 1, no. 1, pp. 69, Mar. 2003. [27] N. D. Benavides, T. Esramand, and P. L. Chapman, Ripple correlation control of a multiple-input dcdc converter, in Proc. IEEE Power Electron. Spec. Conf., 2005, pp. 160164. [28] A. Davoudi, J. Jatskevich, and P. L. Chapman, Parametric average-value modeling of multiple-input buck converters, in Proc. IEEE Can. Conf., Apr. 2226, 2007, pp. 990993. [29] D. W. Hart, Introduction to Power Electronics. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1997.

Mehdi Ferdowsi (M04) received the B.Sc. degree from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, in 1997. He is currently an Assistant Professor of electrical and computer engineering with the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla. His research interests include energy storage systems, multi-input power electronic converters, projected cross point control, and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles. Mr. Ferdowsi is a member of IEEE and an Associate Editor of the IEEE T RANSACTIONS ON P OWER E LECTRONICS . He received the NSF CAREER award in 2007.

Karteek Gummi was born in Hyderabad, India, in 1984. He received the B.Sc. degree in electrical and electronics engineering from Osmania University, Hyderabad, in 2006 and the M.Sc. degree from the Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla (formerly University of Missouri-Rolla) in 2008, specializing in power electronics and power systems. He began his career working for Bechtel Corporation in Houston, TX, in January 2008. In 2009, in order to get hands-on experience, he moved to a project in Tennessee to work on the construction of a nuclear power plant. He is currently working with the electrical engineering design group on that project.