IET Power Electronics

Research Article

Design of hybrid forward boost converter for ISSN 1755-4535

Received on 1st February 2019
Revised 30th March 2019
renewable energy powered electric vehicle Accepted on 8th April 2019
E-First on 6th June 2019
charging applications doi: 10.1049/iet-pel.2019.0151
www.ietdl.org

Peter K. Joseph1, Elangovan Devaraj1

1School of Electrical Engineering, Vellore Institute of Technology, Vellore, Tamilnadu, India
E-mail: elangovan.devaraj@vit.ac.in

Abstract: The grid-connected electric vehicle charging stations are being integrated into renewable energy for preserving the
conventional energy resources as well as to ensure sustainable development of the society. In addition to the effortless
charging, the sudden demand variations in the grid can be met by the renewable energy storage system in the charging
stations. The main challenge in this concept is the unstable nature of renewable energy. As the energy storage system of
charging station is directly connected to the renewable energy source like a solar panel, according to the variable and deficient
input power condition, the converter should supply a regulated output at the required magnitude. If a conventional converter is
used for this purpose, the charging efficiency will be poor for higher gain conditions. This article presents a hybrid forward-boost
converter to overcome this challenge. By maintaining the power transfer efficiency higher, the gain can be varied to supply a
regulated voltage, even for very low input conditions in this proposed topology. The maximum overall efficiency of 95% is
achieved for a variable input condition of 30–50 V to provide an output voltage of 170 V. The concept is validated by
implementing a 150 W hybrid converter.

 Nomenclature directly from renewable energy sources, some challenges have to

be faced.
D duty cycle of switch The renewable energy supply is always flexible due to its
EV electric vehicle weather dependency. For solar-based energy generation, according
f switching frequency of converter to the solar irradiation, the output voltage varies. For higher
NP primary number of turns of transformer radiation, it will provide higher or optimum output. For shaded or
NS secondary number of turns of transformer cloudy conditions, it will provide minimum output. Similarly for
V in converter input voltage wind-based renewable energy generation, as per the availability of
VO converter output voltage wind, the output voltage of the harvesting system varies. As the
VP primary voltage of transformer converter is taking input from the renewable energy source directly,
VS secondary voltage of transformer the voltage regulation and required amplification should be
provided by the converter circuit itself. For medium power EV
charging applications, the DC–DC converter circuit should amplify
1 Introduction the input voltage to a higher value [11–14]. Several topologies [15–
The twenty-first century has witnessed a plethora of revolutionary 18] were suggested for this application. In the case of higher input
events in the transportation sector. Electrification of the vehicle variation, the charging efficiency is reducing rapidly in
stands in the first position among them. For the charging of these conventional topologies for ensuring the regulated output,
electric vehicles, charging stations were established throughout the especially during very low input conditions.
globe. The ultimate objective of vehicle electrification is to achieve To mitigate this research gap in conventional topologies, a
emission-free transportation. Since the electricity generation in hybrid converter is proposed here. As the conventional converters
most of the developing countries is from thermal power plants, the and hybrid converters for renewable energy powered EV charging
conventional grid-powered electric vehicle (EV) charging stations applications are concentrating on providing the regulated output
cannot claim pollution-free transportation [1, 2]. The only voltage for charging the EV battery [11–18], the overall loss and
advantage of such EV system is that it can converge the pollution voltage stress are inclining rapidly for minimum voltage
to a smaller area like power plants and the mitigation methods can conditions. The solution is to design different converters for these
be applied there. different conditions. The advantages of one converter should
To overcome this situation, the renewable energy integrated EV overcome the disadvantages of others. With a proper hybrid
charging stations were introduced [3, 4] to the EV sector. The integration of different converters, this goal can be achieved. The
initial implementations were based on grid-renewable hybrid proposed converter can ensure higher efficiency, even for very low
charging stations [5]. Here, the grid will supply energy to the EV in input voltage for supplying a regulated output voltage
the case of deficient renewable power. The advantage is that no simultaneously. The design, hardware implementation, and result
additional storage system is required in this case. Apart from that, analysis are discussed in the following sessions.
the surplus energy provided by renewable sources can be fed back
to the grid for power factor correction [6]. As a technical 2 Conventional converters
advancement, stand-alone renewable energy powered charging
stations were introduced into the transportation sector [7–10]. In In the selected application, the renewable energy source giving a
stand-alone renewable energy powered charging stations, the entire variable output in the range of 30–50 V. For the battery charging, a
power requirement will be met by renewable energy. The surplus nominal voltage of 170 V is required. As the input voltage is very
energy will be stored in a storage battery. For meeting the demand less compared to the required output voltage, a voltage step-up
in renewable energy deficient conditions, an energy storage battery action is inevitable. Different types of DC to DC step-up converters
is used here along with the former system. To charge this battery available, each having their own merits and demerits. The real

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© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
 appears across the primary (V P) of transformer Tr. Then, the
secondary voltage can be defined as

NS
VS = VP × (3)
NP

where NS and NP are the primary and secondary number of turns of

the transformer. Now the inductor voltage can be found using KVL
from Fig. 2 as

Fig. 1  Circuit diagram of a boost converter NS ΔiL

V L = V S − V O = V in × − VO = L × (4)
NP Δt

When the primary switches are in off condition, diodes D1 and

D2 will be conducting. Now, the secondary voltage V S in (3) will be
changed to

NS NS
VS = VP × = − V in × (5)
NP NP

Since D3 is not conducting and D4 is conducting, the voltage across

the inductor, V L becomes
Fig. 2  Circuit diagram of a forward converter
ΔiL
challenge is a high order of variation in the input. At maximum VL = − VO = L × (6)
Δt
input voltage conditions, a normal gain boost converter can be
used. For minimum input voltage conditions, a high gain converter From the steady-state analysis, the gain of the forward converter
needs to be selected without affecting the conversion efficiency. As can be found as
per these requirements, two conventional converters are chosen as
a boost converter for the first case and a forward converter for the NS
second case. V O = D × V in × (7)
NP

2.1 Boost converter The main advantage of the forward converter is that the gains
The boost converter is a fundamental non-isolated type step-up above and below unity can be achieved by just varying duty and
converter. For medium and lower duty conditions, high conversion turns ratio. Adding more number of turns to get more output
efficiency can be achieved with a gain less than unity. For higher voltage will reduce the efficiency of the system due to elevated
input conditions, the boost converter can be used in the battery winding copper losses. In addition, it may lead to the saturation of
charger circuit in charging station. The main elements of a boost the transformer core. Since both of the mentioned converter
converter are an inductor, capacitor, switch, diode, and load. techniques having the desired advantages and considerable
Fig. 1 shows the circuit diagram of a boost converter. When the disadvantages as per their operating mode, a combination of both
switch is ON, the input inductor L will get charged and it is may result in an optimised topology.
discharged along with the input supply voltage when the switch is
open [4]. The stored energy in the input inductor during ON state 3 Proposed hybrid converter
of the switch can be defined as Since forward converter can provide step-up action in low input
voltage conditions with high efficiency as well as boost converter
ΔiL can provide the step-up actions during medium and high input
V in = V L = L × (1)
ΔT on voltage conditions, a hybrid step-up converter can be designed by
combining the advantages of both converters for a wide input range
V in and V L are the input and inductor voltages and ΔiL and ΔT on are operation. There are different varieties of converters are available
the change in current and time during the turn-on time, [15–18] other than this two, though by considering various
respectively. The gain of the converter is given by the equation parameters like the number of components, compactness, transfer
efficiency, voltage stress over switch and gain factor, these two are
V in the best options for designing a hybrid converter in this context.
V out = (2)
1−D While designing a hybrid converter, various challenges have to be
considered. While integrating one converter with another, there
D is the duty of the converter. The advantages of the boost should not be a performance conflict between the converters.
converter are the simplicity of the circuit, high efficiency with low Simultaneously, the individuality should be maintained as well as
or medium duty cycle etc. A disadvantage of the boost converter is the disadvantages should be mitigated. A design circuit diagram is
the possibility of a short circuit at a higher duty cycle. The shown in Fig. 3.
converter efficiency is less at higher duties. The proposed converter consists of a controllable switch S1, one
mechanical switch S2, four capacitors, two inductors, four diodes,
2.2 Forward converter and one transformer. The function of a mechanical switch is to
jump from boost converter mode to forward converter mode or
The forward converter is a type of isolated type converter. As vice versa. There are two operating modes for this hybrid converter
forward converter can provide a gain more than unity without any according to the status of mechanical switch S2.
considerable decrease in efficiency, it can be used for lower input
operating conditions. The main components include four diodes,
3.1 Mode 1 (S2 is closed)
two switches, one transformer, one inductor, one capacitor, and a
load. In mode 1 operation, S2 is closed and the circuit exhibits the
Fig. 2 illustrates the circuit diagram of a forward converter. property of a forward converter. The detailed current flow diagram
During the ON condition of S1 and S2, the input voltage (V in) of mode 1 is illustrated in Fig. 4. Mode 1 can be again divided into
2016 IET Power Electron., 2019, Vol. 12 Iss. 8, pp. 2015-2021
© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
Fig. 3  Proposed hybrid converter circuit

four sub-modes accordingly, depending on S1 status and current

flow direction through C2. The operation in mode 1 is illustrated in
Fig. 4.
When S1 is closed as in Fig. 4a, the value of inductor current
can be found as

ΔiL1
V p = V in = L1
ΔT on
(8)
ΔT onV in
ΔiL1 =
L1

Considering Fig. 4b, the flow and rate of change of current through
L2 can be derived from the voltage across L2

NS ΔiL2
V L2 = V C1 − V in × − V O = L2 ×
NP ΔT on
(9)
V C1 − V in × NS /NP − V O
ΔiL2 = × ΔT on
L2

By applying the KVL in this condition, diode voltages V D1 and V D3

can be found out. D1 and C1 will come in parallel with same
voltage. Similarly, transformer secondary voltage will come across
diode D3.

V D1 = V C1
NS (10)
V D3 = V S = V in
NP

The second stage of mode 1 starts, when S1 is opened. Now V P and

V S can be found from

V P = V in − V C1
NS (11)
V S = V in − V C1 ×
NP

By analysing the current flow directions in Figs. 4c and d, the

voltage and current flow rate through L2 can be derived as

ΔiL2
V L = − V C2 = L2 ×
ΔT off Fig. 4  Mode 1 operation
(12) (a) S1 is ON, positive current flow in C2, (b) S1 is ON, negative current flow in C2, (c)
−ΔT off V C2
ΔiL2 = S1 is OFF, positive current flow in C2, (d) S1 is OFF, negative current flow in C2
L2
Equation (13) can be modified using the duty ratio analogy. With
For modelling the steady-state equation, the cumulative sum of rate the duty ratio analogy, the overall gain of the converter can be
of change of current flow through L2 should be zero. So add (9) and formed.
(12).
NS
V C1 − V in × NS /NP − V O −ΔT off V C2 −V C2 1 − D + V C1 + V in D + V OD = 0 (14)
× ΔT on =0 (13) NP
L2 L2
By applying KVL at the secondary side, V C2 can be obtained as

IET Power Electron., 2019, Vol. 12 Iss. 8, pp. 2015-2021 2017

© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
 V C2 = V O − V C1 (15) Equation (21) can be modified using the duty ratio analogy for
getting V C1. The duty ratio analogy can be used to derive the
Substituting (15) in (14), the succeeding equations can be obtained. overall gain equation of the proposed system.

NS V in
− V O − V C1 1 − D + V C1 + V in D + V OD = 0 V C1 = (22)
NP 1−D
(16)
NS
V O = V in + V C1
NP

Since the output performance of C2 is like a boost converter, the

voltage equation can be implied in the form of a fundamental gain
equation of boost converter.

V in
V C1 = (17)
1−D

By comparing (16) and (17) the gain equation of proposed hybrid

converter can be formed.

NS 1
V O = V in × D + (18)
NP 1 − D

So the gain of the proposed hybrid converter only depends on turns

ratio and duty in mode 1 operation. After getting the gain equation
of mode 2 operation, the overall gain of the proposed converter can
be formed.

3.2 Mode 2 (S2 is open)

In mode 2 operation, S2 is opened and the circuit performs like a
boost converter as the input voltage is relatively high. Now the
duty of switches can be chosen as less compared to mode 1 as
explained in the previous sessions. As a result, the voltage stress
over the switches will be minimum. The detailed current flow
diagram of mode 2 is illustrated in Fig. 5. Mode 2 can be again
divided into four sub-modes accordingly, depending on S1 status
and current flow direction through C2.
When S2 is opened, no current will flow through D2, which
indicates that the transformer primary current is magnetising
current. In addition, DC current flow through D3 in the boost
converter half of proposed circuit. As D3 conducts, the current
through L2 will be constant, which causes the voltage across C2 is
zero. So output voltage is equal to V C1.
To find V C1, transformer primary analysis is need to be done.
When S1 is conducting, the voltage across L1 can be found from
Figs. 5a and b as

ΔiL1
V L1 = V in = L1
ΔT on
(19)
ΔT onV in
ΔiL1 =
L1

When S1 is at off position as illustrated in Figs. 5c and d, only

magnetising current will flows through transformer primary.

ΔiL1
V L1 = V in − V C1 = L1
ΔT off
(20)
(V in − V C1)ΔT on
ΔiL1 =
L1

For modelling the steady-state equation, the cumulative sum of rate

of change of current flow through L2 should be zero. So add (19)
and (20).

ΔT onV in (V in − V C1)ΔT on
+ =0 (21)
L1 L1 Fig. 5  Mode 2 operation
(a) S1 is ON, positive current flow in C2, (b) S1 is ON, negative current flow in C2, (c)
S1 is OFF, positive current flow in C2, (d) S1 is OFF, negative current flow in C2

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© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
As mentioned earlier, the output voltage is same as V C1. So the
final gain equation of mode 2 will be

V in
VO = (23)
1−D

With these performance equations of Mode 1 and Mode 2, the

converter can be designed and implemented accurately.

4 Design of proposed converter for EV charging

The aim is to design a converter for EV (low power) charging
capable providing 200 W, 170 V at the output from a variable input
of 30–50 V. Turns ratio of the transformer is selected as 3 from
[10].

NS
=3 (24)
NP

To implement the proposed hybrid converter, the inductor values Fig. 6  Hardware test setup
should be more than the minimum required value. The value of
inductor L1 can be derived from the boost converter, which depends
on switching frequency (f), duty (D1) and load resistance (RL).

D1(1 − D1)2RL
L1min = (25)
2f

Substituting values as f = 100 kHz, D1 = 0.7 and RL = 145 Ω in

(25), L1min is obtained as 45.67 μH. Similarly L2min can be derived
from the forward converter as

NS D2
L2min = V in − V C2 × (26)
NP f ΔiL2

D2 is the duty of forward converter. By substituting the values as

Fig. 7  Proposed hybrid converter
D2 = 0.6, V in = 50 V, V C2 = 85 V, (NS /NP) = 3, ΔiL2 = 4 A and f = 
100 kHz in (26), L2min is obtained as 98 μ H. C1min can be derived Table 1 Hardware specification
from the boost converter by considering the ripple percentage Hardware parameters Specifications
(ripple %) as input voltage (V in) 30–50 V

D1 output voltage (V O) 170 V

C1min = (27) output power (PO)
f × RL × ripple % 148 W
load resistance (RL) 145 Ω
Considering a 5% of ripple, the C1min is obtained as 1 μF from (27). duty ratio (D1) 0.6
Similarly, C2min can be derived from the forward converter as duty ratio (D2) 0.7
inductance (L1) 50 μH
1 − D2
C2min = (28) inductance (L2) 100 μH
8 × L2 × f 2 × ripple %
capacitance (C1) 1 μF
By substituting a 5% ripple and 150 μH L2, the C2min is obtained as capacitance (C2) 1 μF
1 μF. capacitance (C3) 20 μF
capacitance (CO) 1 μF
5 Hardware and testing transformer turns ratio 1:3
As per the designed values of the proposed hybrid converter, a switching frequency (f) 100 kHz
hardware setup is implemented to analyse the performance. Fig. 6 MOSFET IRF640N
illustrates the test setup for the performance evaluation of the
proposed converter. Instead of the EV charging station, an
equivalent lamp load is connected to test the feasibility. Input is if the source voltage is above the designed input voltage of boost
taken from a programmable power supply to simulate the converter, then the hybrid mode will be OFF. If the source voltage
renewable energy input condition. The switching pulses are given is less than that, then the hybrid-mode will be ON. Thus, the
by dSPACE controller and a TLP 350 driver board. overall efficiency will be maintained high. The advantages of both
By varying the input voltage from 30 to 50 V and controlling converters brought together to obtain a precise and accurate output.
the mechanical switch, the performance is evaluated with the setup
shown in Fig. 6. As per the input variation, the hybrid converter The switching frequency of the proposed system is selected as
gives the required output with a precise transition between 100 kHz so that the magnetic size including transformers and
operating modes. inductors can be reduced. In the programmable DC source, a
Fig. 7 shows the implemented hybrid converter circuit. The random set of the voltage-current combination was uploaded with
specifications of the components and parameters used for hardware the voltage value varies from 30 to 50 V, to realise the instability of
implementation are enlisted in Table 1. As per the concept derived, renewable power sources. The execution time also set in the

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© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
 the converter performance in simulation. A reduced drain to source
resistance of 0.15 Ω will help to reduce the conduction losses of
the switch. The maximum duty of the proposed hybrid converter is
0.7, which will protect the switches from voltage stress as
discussed in the previous session.
Fig. 8 illustrates the current flowing through the inductors L1
and L2, respectively, in hybrid mode condition along with the
switching pulses generated from dSPACE microcontroller. As it is
illustrated, the pulses are oscillating at a switching frequency of
100 kHz. The same ripple frequency is visible on the inductor
currents of L1 and L2. The ripple current is coming in selected
percentage, yet it can be improved by choosing a higher inductor
value. As the inductor size increases, the ohmic loss of the system
increases. In addition, the system will be bulky. The performance
also can be improved by choosing a higher grade driver IC, which
Fig. 8  Inductor currents of L1 and L2 is more suitable for higher frequency operating conditions. With
the proper selection of an output capacitor, the load can be
protected from ripples.
Fig. 9 shows the voltage and current waveforms in the
transformer during hybrid mode condition. Compared to Fig. 8, the
voltage and current ripples are minimal across the transformer
primary and secondary due to optimised design and less effect of
source and load dynamics. Secondary current is relatively linear
due to the current flow through L2 and C2 in Mode 1 as illustrated
in Fig. 4.
Fig. 10 illustrates the comparison of hybrid mode and boost
mode performance. Though minute ripples are present in the output
voltage and output current, the presence of output capacitors helps
the proposed hybrid converter circuit to achieve steady DC output
waveforms. Fig. 10a represents the hybrid mode operation. Here,
mechanical switch is closed as the input is 30 V. An overall
Fig. 9  Transformer waveforms: brown-primary voltage; green-primary efficiency of 90% is achieved in this condition. Fig. 10b represents
current; blue-secondary voltage; pink-secondary current the boost mode, where the mechanical switch is open
corresponding to 50 V input. For both cases, the output voltage is
satisfying the required output voltage criteria of 170 V. Overall
efficiency of 95.4% achieved in this mode.
Fig. 11 illustrates the performance of the hybrid converter with
varying input from 30 to 50 V. The performance is tested for
different duty conditions. Duty is varied from 0.4 to 1. A maximum
efficiency characteristic is associated with the designed duty cycle
of 0.7. The efficiency is decreasing for the duty values which is
above and below the duty = 0.7.
Fig. 12 shows the performance comparison of conventional
forward and boost converter with the proposed hybrid converter. In
the selected range, the hybrid converter exhibits maximum
efficiency condition. Compared to all other hybrid converters
proposed for renewable energy powered EV charging applications
[15–18], the proposed topology is exhibiting high efficiency for
providing the rated voltage for the battery. After the testing of the
proposed converter, various advantages can be formulated over
conventional converters. Compared to a boost converter and
forward converter, the proposed topology is having high overall
efficiency throughout the operation. To get the required output
voltage, conventional converters are having limitation due to
voltage stress over switches for a higher duty. The issue is solved
up to an extent in this topology. The proposed topology will
provide a regulated output for a higher input voltage variation
interval, unlike conventional converters. As the required duty and
gain are relatively less for the switches in the proposed hybrid
converter, the switching stress is very less. According to the levels
of input voltages, the operating mode changes in proposed
topology, so that an optimum gain can be followed throughout the
operation.
Few disadvantages are also associated with the proposed
converter. As the proposed converter is formed by combining the
Fig. 10  Modes of operation features of conventional boost and forward converter, the number
(a) Hybrid mode, (b) Boost mode of components are high in it, which contributes to the size of the
converter. As a mechanical switch is required for the transition
programmable power supply, in order to make a real-time from one mode to another according to the input voltage variations,
simulation of instability. Since the minimum input voltage is 30 V, the wear and tear loss will be more for it. Presence of multiple
the converter is operated in hybrid mode initially. IRF640N inductors and higher frequency contributes more ripples to the
MOSFET has a maximum drain-to-source voltage of 200 V and current waveform. As the design depends on the multiple operating
maximum drain current capacity of 18 A, which is matching with modes, input voltage variations, and multiple passive elements, the

2020 IET Power Electron., 2019, Vol. 12 Iss. 8, pp. 2015-2021

© The Institution of Engineering and Technology 2019
 yet the conversion range – converter gain dilemma sustained well.
As a key to the quest, this paper presents a simple boost-forward
hybrid converter for an input voltage range of 30–50 V. Using the
forward converter principle in low input values and boost converter
principle in higher input values, the input variation range problem
is tackled. The maximum overall efficiency of 95.4% is achieved in
this range for a 148 W hybrid converter model.

7 Acknowledgments
This research work is funded by ‘VIT SEED GRANT’, 2018.

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