Integrated DC/DC Converter Topology Study for Fuel Cell Hybrid Vehicles with Two Energy Sources

Abstract

Conventional hybrid vehicles with two energy sources require two separate on-board DC/DC converters to connect the battery and the fuel cell, which have the disadvantages of large size, high cost, high losses and few applicable operating conditions. To address this situation, this paper proposes an optimized on-board integrated DC/DC converter with a non-isolated multi-port scheme that integrates a unidirectional port for the fuel cell and a bidirectional port for the battery and load. This can achieve a combined energy supply and recovery with a single integrated converter, effectively overcoming the above disadvantages. The optimized converter topology is relatively simple, and the magnetic losses of the transformer are removed. Furthermore, the switched capacitor is introduced as a voltage doubling unit to achieve high-gain output, so the fuel cell and battery voltage demand levels are reduced under the same load conditions. In addition, it has superior performance in system energy management for hybrid vehicles, which can distribute power and switch operating states by controlling the on/off of switching devices to make it suitable for five driving conditions. This paper discusses in detail the operating principles of the converter and analyzes its steady-state performance under five operating modes, derives its dynamic model, and proposes a proportional-integral control scheme. Finally, the simulation model of the topology is built by Matlab/Simulink software to verify the converter operation in each driving state, and the simulation experimental results verify the applicability of the proposed integrated DC/DC converter topology.