Fuzzy Logic Controller for DC/DC Boost-VSC
Converters
Sergio Alejandro Godı́nez1 , José Luis Monroy1 , Máximo Hernández1 , Juan José Flores2
Instituto Tecnológico de Morelia1 , Universidad Michoacana de San Nicolas de Hidalgo2
Abstract—This paper presents a fuzzy logic controller (FLC)
applied to dc voltage control to supply a Voltage Source Converter
(VSC). The main purpose to FLC is to control a boost DC/DC
converter to improve the performance of a required DC link
voltage. Thus the VSC output voltage can be controlled in
two ways, by varying the gain of the converter or by varying
the supply voltage of the boost converter. Simulation studies of
changes reference DC voltage have been carried out. The fuzzy
controller was able to achieve a good response in the tests. The
simulation results are shown that voltage output is controlable
in steady state conditions for boost DC/DC converter using this
control.
Index Terms—Fuzzy Logic Controller, Boost Converter,
DC/DC Converter.
I. I NTRODUCTION
The power electronic converters have become an essential
part of modern energy conversion in power systems networks
due to the fast development of power electronics devices.
Various power electronic devices have been incorporated in
order to improve the operation of electric networks such as
flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) and transmission
technologies of high voltage direct current (HVDC). These
technologies are based on the use of power electronic con-
verters AC-DC, DC-AC and especially the VSC [1-3]. These
devices significantly impact on the power control, flexibility,
efficiency of the networks and facilitate the integration of
wind and photovoltaic systems to the grid. The VSC have
flexibility features that make them particularly suitable for
DC/AC control applications of energy conversion in power
systems [4]. The DC/DC boost converters can be used to be
located between a DC source, like a PV array, and the VSC
to maintain the DC appropriate voltage magnitude.
The development of fully controlled switching electronic
devices as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) and gate
turnoff thyristor (GTO) has made possible to implement mod-
ern VSC. The advantages of using VSC are its flexibility,
fast transient response, ability to compensate reactive power
and reduce or eliminate harmonics. They can be used in
electrical machines speed control, FACTS devices, and in low
and medium power HVDC systems [5].
Nowadays, the control systems for power electronic appli-
ances have been increasing widely. The performance of a VSC
converter depends mainly on their modulation algorithm which
is based mostly on PWM. Modulation technique determine
the switching semiconductor power stage. These modulation
techniques use a current linear regulator; the most important
are the sinusoidal pulse wide modulation (SPWM) and space
vector modulation (SVPWM).
Conventionally, PI, PD and PID controller are most popular
controllers and widely used in most power electronic closed
loop appliances. However, recently many researchers reported
successfully Fuzzy Logic Controllers (FLC) to alleviate the
dependency on the mathematical model [6]. It does not require
precise mathematical model, is very robust, and has excellent
immunity to external disturbances [7]. Design of fuzzy con-
trollers is based on expert knowledge of the plant, instead
of a precise mathematical model [8]. Controllers based on
fuzzy logic have been applied to a broad range of engineering
problems [9], particularly those having nonlinear dynamics.
Numerous motor drive problems, FACTS, and renewable en-
ergy systems have been solved using fuzzy principles [10-15].
Fuzzy controllers can be designed to adapt to the nonlinear
properties of DC/DC converters to feed a VSC under varying
operating conditions [16].
In this paper, a fuzzy logic controller is designed to regulate
the output voltage magnitude of a voltage source converter via
the DC input voltage. The FLC main objective is to control
the DC/DC converter to ensure desired VSC voltage output.
So that, the VSC output voltage can be controlled efficiently in
two ways, by varying the gain of the converter and by varying
the supply voltage of the boost converter.
II. DC/DC B OOST C ONVERTER -VSC C ONVERTER
The DC/DC boost converter circuit is shown in Figure 1,
its main objective is to obtain a regulated output voltage VS
higher than the input voltage Vi [4,3], this is possible due
charge and discharge of the inductor L and the capacitor C,
which are storing energy temporarily depending on the state
of the switch Qi .
L D1
+ +
Vs
Qi
Vi
m1
C R
- -
Figure 1: DC/DC Boost Converter
 The DC/DC boost converter can work in two different Small changes in the duty cycle can maintain constant
modes: output voltage to changes in the input voltage Vi . Finally the
1) Continues Mode output voltage is expressed by:
2) Discontinuous Mode
Vi
In continuous mode the DC/DC converter can work in two Vs = (3)
states, when the switch Qi is on state and when Qi is off. 1−D
When the switch Qi is conducting, that is short circuit, so
two meshes are generated which causes the inductor L gain
energy as electromagnetic field while C is discharged through t on t off
R. Figure 2 shows the stated above. I2

i L(t)
L a)
I1
+ +

Vs t
Vi
C R
I2-Ia

i C(t) b)
- -
I1-Ia

Figure 2: Equivalent circuit when Qi is on t

The output voltage, when Qi is on, is defined as follows:

Vs = L
I2 − I1
=L
∆IL
(1) Vs c)
ton ton
where ton is the duty time when Qi is on and ∆IL define
the current increase in the inductor L at ton . Figure 4a shows
the commented.
0 t
When the switch Qi is off, the diode is polarized directly D
and the powered of the main source is completely applied to
the load and the capacitor is charged it is showed in Figure Figure 4: Currents and voltages in the DC/DC Boost
3. Figure 4b shows that the charging current of the capacitor
begings to decrease linearly when output voltage Vi begings to A voltage source converter, or inverter, is an electrical
increase linearly, producing a ripple voltage ∆Vo . The ripple device that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current
voltage is shown in Figure 4c and can be calculated with the (AC); the converted AC can be at any required voltage and
following equation: frequency with the use of appropriate transformers, switching,
and control circuits. With the advances in fully controlled
semiconductor switches in the last two decades, the VSC has
L D1
become the cornerstone for industrial power conversion, while
+ + emerging as a viable option for electrical systems control.
Vs Solid-state inverters have no moving parts and are used in
Vi a wide range of applications, from small switching power
C R
supplies in computers, to large electric utility high-voltage
direct current applications that transport bulk power. Inverters
- - are commonly used to supply AC power from DC sources
such as solar panels or batteries.
The technology of VSC systems is based on commutated
Figure 3: Equivalent circuit when Qi is in off state
converters semiconductor devices using high-frequency
switching, such as IGBT; which allow PWM modulation
Ia D techniques used to produce the AC voltage with a fast
∆Vo = (2) switching between two fixed voltages. With the PWM
fs C
modulation it is possible to produce a voltage to the output of
where D is the value of the duty cycle. any phase angle and amplitude. The VSC is shown in Figure 5.
 as sine-triangle comparison or space vector modulation. Then
+ Q1 Q2 Q3 the phase voltage is:
C1
m1 m2 m3
Vphase = Vdc mcos(ωt) (6)
Z Va Vb Vc By incorporating SPWM modulation technique in control-
Vdc ling two levels converters, on and off states of a branch or
Q4 Q5 Q6
C2 phase converter are defined by comparing three sinusoidal
m1 m3
m2 reference signals out of phase 120o :

- Vaz = Vo cos(ωo t) = mVdc cos(ωo t) (7)

Figure 5: Voltage Source Converter (VSC)
2π 2π
Vbz = Vo cos(ωo t) − = mVdc cos(ωo t) − (8)
3 3
The sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) is accom-
plished using a sinusoidal signal Vcontrol controlling the de- 2π 2π
sired output frequency f1 , which is compared with a triangular Vcz = Vo cos(ωo t) + = mVdc cos(ωo t) + (9)
3 3
carrier wave to generate the trigger signals, Figure 6.
Where: Vo is the magnitude of the peak voltage output and
m = VVDC
o
is modulation index.

III. F UZZY L OGIC C ONTROL OF DC-DC-VSC

C ONVERTER
Fuzzy logic controller (FLC) is composed of four parts,
wich perform the coding, processing, analysis, and decoding
each of the states belonging to the variables of interest in the
control process. These parts are showed in Figure 7.

Knowledge Base
(Linguistic Rules)

Figure 6: Scheme sinusoidal pulse width modulation
The modulation index is:
Vcontrol
ma = (4)
Vtri
where Vcontrol is the peak amplitude of the control signal
and Vtri is the peak of the triangular carrier wave. The
frequency modulation ratio is:
fs
mf = (5)
f1
The fully controlled switches used in the VSC are accom-
panied by an anti-parallel diode which allow for bidirectional
current flow. This added flexibility allows the VSC to operate
in all four quadrants making the control of real and reactive
power possible.
The VSC phase voltage may be expressed analytically by
means of a dc voltage, modulation index (m) and an averaged
time-varying modulating function as described in (3). The
modulation index m is typically limited to be under unity and
is often determined in conjunction with PWM techniques such
Input
Variable Inference Output
Fuzzification Desfuzzification
Process
Figure 7: Fuzzy Logic Controller (FLC)
Initially, control design defines fuzzy logic membership
functions belonging each fuzzy sets of each variable, wich
represents the system difference between the actual voltage
and the desired output value with this error value e(t) and
error derivative ė(t), it is possible to determine a compensation
value that modulates the duty cycle of Qi switch of Figure 1.
Figure 8 shows the proposed fuzzy sets.
These input and output fuzzy sets are named Negative (N ),
Zero (Z), and Positive (P ), respectively. Each of the entries
are defined in a range of [−1, 1] due to the error value may
be in these range with respect to the desired reference value.
Output fuzzy sets are defined in the range of [0, 1] because the
switch control Qi is defined within this range, thus controlling
the output to a desired reference value.
Table I defines the knowledge base used in the process of
inference, called array of association. The inference method
used is based on the Mamdani method proposed [17], wich:
If xi and yi then zi
 Error E(r)

N Z P
1

-1 -0.8 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.8 1

Derivative Error dE(r) Figure 9: Isometric plane of the control rules

N Z P
1
where St is the output compensation value.

Figure 10 shows the fuzzy PD controller designed applied

to DC/DC boost converter, the controller is able to follow the
voltage refence to get the same value at the boost converter
output by varying the duty cycle of the switch Qi .

-1 -0.8 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.8 1 L D1

+ +
Compensator Output
Qi
Vs
N Z P Vi
1 C R

- -

e(t)
-
PD Fuzzy Vref
Logic Controller +
e(t)
0 0.1 0.2 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 1
Figure 10: FLC applied to DC/DC boost converter
Figure 8: Fuzzy sets for the inputs and outputs
IV. S IMULATIONS RESULTS
The proposed system is shown in Figure 11, which is
composed of a DC/DC Boost converter supplying the VSC
converter. The output voltage VSC converter is controlled
through the DC link to the Boost converter, whereby it is
possible to obtain variable magnitude AC voltage output.
Figure 12 shows the line to line voltages, phase to neutral
voltage and output current of the VSC converter and voltage
variations Boost power converter.
The boost converter designed obtain a maximum output
voltage of 120v from a constant power supply whose value is
40v, control is performed entirely by changes in the reference
The isometric plane obtained by defining knowledge base voltage, as shown in the Figure 12. The test values for
is shown in Figure 9. variations in the reference voltage are 120v, 50v, 100v, 120v
The defuzzification method used in the decoding of the and 60v.
compensation value is the center of gravity, which is expressed The VSC converter is controlled by a SPWM technique,
in the following equation: such control is designed to operate in open loop, in this case
Pb the amplitudes of the modulating signals remain constant as
x=a µ(x) · x shown in Figure 13. The pulses m1, m2 and m3 correspond
St = P (10)
b to the switches Q1 , Q2 and Q3 respectively.
x=a µ(x)
 L D1 C1 Q1 Q2 Q3

+ + m1 m3
m2

Qi Vs
Vi
C R
Q4 Q5 Q6
- C2
- m1 m2 m3

e(t)
-
PD Fuzzy Vref
Logic Controller +
e(t)

Figure 11: DC-DC-AC converter circuit with Fuzzy Control

Figure 12: Changes applied to the system proposed Figure 13: SPWM control signals for VSC

When energizing the circuit of Figure 11 and when changing
the value of the reference voltage a higher value a transient
peak is generated due to the sudden change of current in the
inductor L and the capacitor C the boost circuit, as can be
seen in Figure 12. These peaks can be reduced by smoothing
the sudden change of the duty cycle of the switch Qi with
gradual changes in its modulation to obtain the desired output
voltage. Figure 14 shows the transient peak when the reference
value changed from 50v to 100v voltage, such as line-line
voltages are stabilized in the value of the reference voltage in
approximately 0.2 seconds may be observed.
Figure 15 shows the change in the duty cycle switch Qi
boost converter circuit to change the reference voltage of 50v
to 100v output.
Furthermore it can be seen that when the value of output
voltage decreases by a change in the desired reference value
no transient peak occurs, this is because the energy stored in
the inductor L and the capacitor C is required to support the
change in the duty cycle of switch Qi . Figure 16 shows a
change in the value of the output voltage of 120v to 50v, this
sudden voltage change of magnitude is less compared to the
graphs of Figure 14.
Figure 14: Transient peak when the reference value change
from 50 to 100v.
Figure 15: Change in the duty cycle of switch Qi
V. C ONCLUSIONS
The voltage sourced converter (VSC) has become the cor-
nerstone for industrial power conversion, while emerging as
a viable option for DC/AC control applications of energy
conversion in power systems. With the advances in fully
controlled semiconductor switches in the last two decades,
as insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) and gate turnoff
thyristor (GTO), it’s possible to implement VSC and DC/DC
boost converters. The VSC can produce a desired voltage and
frequency output using SPWM techniques, and this can be
supplied with a DC to DC Boost converter.
The fuzzy controllers were designed based on an in-depth
knowledge of the plant so that regulate the output voltage
Figure 16: Change in the value of the output voltage from 120
to 50v.
magnitude of a voltage source converter via the DC input
voltage. Thus, fuzzy controllers are based on expert knowledge
of the plant instead of a precise mathematical model. FLC
design main objective is to control the DC/DC converter to
ensure desired VSC voltage output. The control can be used
in photovoltaic systems, which are one of the most widely
used renewable energy, and therefore it is required to have a
constant voltage DC in the supply source.
Hence, the VSC output voltage can be controlled efficiently
in two ways, by varying the gain of the converter or by varying
the supply voltage of the boost converter. The simulation
results show the proper fuzzy logic controller operation, as it
can be inferred controller compensate the voltage dc changes
in system fairly.
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