Modeling and Control of a <i>DC-DC</i> Buck–Boost Converter with Non-Linear Power Inductor Operating in Saturation Region Considering Electrical Losses

Abstract

The present work proposes a nonlinear model of a buck–boost DC-DC power converter considering the nonlinear magnetic characteristics of the power inductor and electrical losses of the system. The Euler–Lagrange formalism is used for formulating the proposed model. Previous research works have reported mathematical models to describe power inductor dynamics. However, a gap in the literature remains regarding modeling this kind of element when it operates within power converters. Also, a linear-based controller scheme is proposed to regulate a non-ideal buck–boost DC-DC power converter. A methodology for tuning the proposed controller is presented, which considers the nonlinear model structure of the power converter, the linearization procedure based on an identification process, and a frequency domain analysis based on the approximated linear model. Finally, the tuned control scheme is tested on the nonlinear model of the power converter under several operational conditions showing excellent performance by effectively regulating the output voltage. The results are compared with those derived from alternative control strategies, and a better performance is generally obtained.

Keywords

• <i>DC-DC</i> power converter
• power inductor
• magnetic saturation
• linear controller
• nonlinear model