New non-linear control strategy for non-isolated DC/DC converter with high voltage ratio

Abstract In this paper, a non-isolated DC/DC converter with high voltage ratio is proposed to allow the interface between a low voltage power source like fuel cell and a high voltage DC bus. To take into account the low voltage–high density characteristics of power sources, a cascaded structure composed of two sub-converters has been chosen and allows obtaining a high voltage ratio. The choice of each sub-converter is based on the requirements of the source and its performances. Consequently, we have chosen a three-interleaved boost converter as the 1st sub-converter whereas the 2nd sub-converter is a three-level boost converter. The control of the whole system is realized thanks to energetic trajectories planning based on flatness properties of the system. The control of both the current and the balance of voltage across the output serial capacitors of the three-level boost converter is ensured by non-linear controllers based on a new non-linear model. Experimental results allow validating the proposed power architecture and its associated control.