TY - JOUR
T1 - Impulse commutated high-frequency soft-switching modular current-fed three-phase DC/DC converter for fuel cell applications
AU - Sree, K. Radha
AU - Rathore, Akshay Kumar
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 1982-2012 IEEE.
PY - 2017/8
Y1 - 2017/8
N2 - Current-fed converters offer enormous potential as power conditioning units for fuel cell applications, owing to precise fuel cell stack current control, short-circuit protection, voltage gain, and stiff fuel cell dc current. Aspects such as low current ripple and smaller input current slope ensure energy efficient operation and better fuel utilization, and enhance the lifetime of the fuel cell stack. However, the demerits of turn-off voltage spike across semiconductor devices limits the operating frequency. This paper proposes, analyzes, and implements a simple and cost-effective impulse commutated modular three-phase circuit to eliminate and solve the associated turn-off spike problem. Impulse commutation permits soft turn-off of devices and clamps the device voltage. The converter efficiently handles the variations in the fuel cell stack voltage and current with variable frequency modulation. Detailed steady-state operation, analysis, and performance of the proposed modular converter with impulse commutation are reported. The proposed impulse commutated three-phase circuit is a potential candidate for high-current applications. The validation of the converter operation on a 1-kW proof-of-concept hardware prototype is performed to substantiate the claims.
AB - Current-fed converters offer enormous potential as power conditioning units for fuel cell applications, owing to precise fuel cell stack current control, short-circuit protection, voltage gain, and stiff fuel cell dc current. Aspects such as low current ripple and smaller input current slope ensure energy efficient operation and better fuel utilization, and enhance the lifetime of the fuel cell stack. However, the demerits of turn-off voltage spike across semiconductor devices limits the operating frequency. This paper proposes, analyzes, and implements a simple and cost-effective impulse commutated modular three-phase circuit to eliminate and solve the associated turn-off spike problem. Impulse commutation permits soft turn-off of devices and clamps the device voltage. The converter efficiently handles the variations in the fuel cell stack voltage and current with variable frequency modulation. Detailed steady-state operation, analysis, and performance of the proposed modular converter with impulse commutation are reported. The proposed impulse commutated three-phase circuit is a potential candidate for high-current applications. The validation of the converter operation on a 1-kW proof-of-concept hardware prototype is performed to substantiate the claims.
KW - Current-fed converter
KW - dc/dc power converter
KW - fuel cells
KW - impulse commutation
KW - zero-current switching (ZCS)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85029381184&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1109/TIE.2016.2620423
DO - 10.1109/TIE.2016.2620423
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85029381184
SN - 0278-0046
VL - 64
SP - 6618
EP - 6627
JO - IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
JF - IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics
IS - 8
M1 - 7636978
ER -