Theoretical Comparison, Real-Time Emulation, and Experiment Validation of DC/DC Converter for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle

Abstract

In this study, an Interleaved Boost Converter constructed with six cascade parallel connected phases is proposed for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle (FCEV). Silicon Carbide (SiC) semiconductors are selected help gain high efficiency, high compactness and better thermal ability. Inverse coupled inductors are used to reduce the volume, weight and core losses of magnetic components. The proposed topology reduces significantly the AC amplitude of fuel cell current and therefore the operating life of the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) can be extended. Hardware-in-the-Loop (HIL) real-time emulation of the proposed converter has been addressed. Finally, a 1kW prototype of the proposed converter has been established and experiments have been launched for the validation. Depending on theoretical comparison analysis, HIL real-time verification and experimental validation, the PEMFC system combined with the proposed converter can own high reliability, high system efficiency and high compactness.

Keywords

• Fuel cell electric vehicle
• proton exchange membrane fuel cell
• hardware-in-the-loop real-time emulation
• DC/DC converter