Efficiency Improvement of Fuel-Cell Vehicles based on a New DC-DC Boost Converter

Abstract

Power converters have many applications in different industry due to their wide advantages. High step-up DC-DC converters work as an interface to improve output voltage in electric vehicles, medical equipment, servo-motors and renewable energies. The main challenges in fuel-cell (FC) vehicles are the inconstant input voltage and output power, so the efficiency analysis of DC-DC converter in a new topology is vital for an optimal operation. This paper analyzes the power loss and efficiency of a new non-isolated boost converter designed for FC vehicles considering different variables such as frequency, duty-cycle, and input voltage. The performance of the proposed converter is evaluated using dynamic analysis. The proposed converter is analyzed in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM), and an efficiency analysis is performed in different situations. Moreover, the proposed converter is compared with some recent topologies to show its superiority. The validity of the analysis was confirmed by using a simulation in Matlab software. The results shown, the proposed converter has a low voltage stress on components, high efficiency, and wide voltage gain range.

Keywords

• fuel-cell
• electric vehicles
• dc-dc converter
• power loss
• energy efficiency