IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 5, NO.
4, DECEMBER 2017 1771
A New Three Input DC/DC Converter for
Hybrid PV/FC/Battery Applications
Faezeh Kardan, Rana Alizadeh, and Mohamad Reza Banaei
Abstract— In this paper, a new three-port dc/dc converter
is presented for hybrid photovoltaic (PV)/fuel cell (FC)/battery
applications. The proposed structure comprises a conventional
buck-boost and a boost converter. Four power switches and four
diodes are employed in the proposed converter. The voltage gain
of the presented converter is more than the conventional boost
converter. This advantage and having two unidirectional and a
bidirectional inputs make the structure a suitable power elec-
tronic interface for hybrid generation applications. In addition,
there are no limitations in switching the modulation. Therefore,
tracking the maximum power of the PV source, setting the
FC power, controlling the battery power, and calibrating the
output voltage can be equipped by controlling duty ratios of
the switches. The input power sources can provide power to
the load and either charge or discharge the battery individually
or simultaneously. The steady-state analyses of the presented
converter are discussed thoroughly in this paper. Finally, in order
to validate the feasibility of the presented converter, experimental
results are provided.
Index Terms— DC/DC boost converter, hybrid photo-
voltaic (PV)/fuel cell (FC)/battery power generation, multi-input
converter (MIC).
I. I NTRODUCTION
D EPLETION of fossil fuel reserves and environmental
consequences of using them have made it necessary
to seek for clean and sustainable energy resources. In past
years, applications with renewable energy have increased
significantly. Therefore, substantial increase of demand for
clean and sustainable energy resources recently has attracted
researchers’ attention to suitable interface converters. In addi-
tion, the hybrid systems based on fuel cells (FCs), solar cell
array, and wind turbines as environmentally renewable energy
systems have been applied in many fields, such as isolated
microgrids, uninterruptible power supply, hybrid electric vehi-
cles, and so on. Therefore, for the hybrid power systems
with a low-output terminal voltage, such as PV, a multi-
input type dc/dc converter is essential. Recently, different
circuit topologies for multi-input dc/dc converters have been
proposed to combine different types of clean energy to obtain
the regulated dc output voltage. Photovoltaic (PV) energy is
Manuscript received November 29, 2016; revised February 27, 2017 and
May 31, 2017; accepted July 5, 2017. Date of publication July 25, 2017;
date of current version October 30, 2017. Recommended for publication by
Associate Editor Marta Molinas. (Corresponding author: Faezeh Kardan.)
The authors are with the Electrical Engineering Department, Faculty
of Engineering, Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, Tabriz 5375171379,
Iran (e-mail: f.kardan@azaruniv.edu; ralizade@email.uark.edu; m.banaei@
azaruniv.edu).
Color versions of one or more of the figures in this paper are available
online at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/JESTPE.2017.2731816
2168-6777 © 2017 IEEE. Personal use is permitted, but republication/redistribution requires IEEE permission.
See http://www.ieee.org/publications_standards/publications/rights/index.html for more information.
Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
one of the clean energy sources that are noiseless, pollution-
free, flexible by scale, and with little maintenance require-
ments [1]. Dependence of the extracted power from the PV
on environmental specifications, such as the sun irradiation
level, an ambient temperature, and unpredictable shadows,
makes PV systems to be intermittent, unpredictable, and
unreliable [2]. The output voltages of the PV modules are
variable because of the changes in temperature and sunlight.
As a result, the low variable voltage of these clean energy
technologies requires high-ratio dc/dc converters. Therefore,
several types of dc/dc converters are suggested in papers to
obtain high conversion ratio [3]–[6]. Some converters have
been proposed recently as interfaces for PVs and renewable
energies [2], [7]–[9]. The FC can be utilized as a supple-
mentary power supply because of being pollution-free, and
having high efficiency and high reliability. But, high cost
and poor transient performance are the main problems of
FCs. However, low dynamic response and long startup period
result in the need of a storage element (battery). Batteries are
usually used as a storage element for smoothing output power,
startup transition, and various load conditions [10]. Combining
such energy sources introduces a PV/FC/battery hybrid power
system. In comparison with single-sourced systems, the hybrid
power systems have the potential to provide high-quality,
more reliable, and efficient power. In these systems with a
storage element, the bidirectional power flow capability is a
key feature at the storage port. Furthermore, the input power
sources should have the ability to supply the load individually
and simultaneously. In order to supply backup power from
the battery, a bidirectional port is needed to charge and
discharge the battery between generated power and demanded
energy [4], [11], [12]. A multi-input converter (MIC) can
provide power to the load from different energy sources
simultaneously or individually [13]. Such combined multiport
solutions can be very beneficial in electric vehicles or iso-
lated small renewable energy generation-based power supplies.
In recent years, the use of MICs, which combine different
power sources in a single power structure for hybrid power
systems, is suggested. These converters have received more
attention in the literature because of compactness, centralized
control, bidirectional power flow for the storage element, and
low manufacturing cost. Different types of MICs have been
proposed in papers [1], [2], [9]–[34]. A systematic approach
to synthesize MICs has been proposed in [16]. In this paper,
six conventional nonisolated dc/dc converters (buck, boost-
buck-boost, CUK, SEPIC, and Zeta) have been used to design
MICs. The proposed MICs in this paper can deliver power to
 1772 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017
the load either individually or simultaneously. However, the
voltage gain of these converters is low. Therefore, they cannot
be applied in the applications, which need high voltages. In
order to achieve high voltage gain, transformer-based convert-
ers have been proposed [17]–[26]. These converters achieve
high voltage gain by adjusting the turn ratio of the transformer.
These isolated converters could achieve galvanic isolation
and bidirectional capabilities [28]. However, employing many
switches makes their driving circuits more complicated. Also,
high implementation cost is the other disadvantages of these
converters. In [17], a dual-input isolated dc/dc converter based
on a full-bridge converter has been proposed. A distributed
multi-transformer structure with a novel transformer winding-
connecting strategy is used in this converter to decouple the
inputs in order to achieve high voltage gain with both inputs
separately or simultaneously. However, because of employing
many switches and using as many gate drivers, the implemen-
tation cost of this converter is high. In [25] and [26], two
isolated two-input PV/battery bidirectional dc/dc converters
have been proposed, which have fewer switches. Different
types of two-input nonisolated converters have been proposed
in [10], [15], [27]–[29], and [31]–[33]. A high-efficient dual-
input interleaved dc/dc converter is also proposed in [27]. This
converter is made up of two bidirectional interleaved ports and
can charge one another. However, these nonisolated converters
have low voltage gain. In [28], a two-input grid-connected
high step-up dc/dc converter is proposed. In this converter, two
coupled inductor and five switches are used to achieve high
voltage gain. Another coupled inductor-based two-input high
step-up dc/dc converter is proposed in [31]. This converter
has three switches and one coupled inductor. Although the
number of electric components in this converter is lower,
the voltage gain of this converter is high. However, in some
applications, an additional power supply is required to increase
the reliability of the PV systems. Therefore, a three-input
dc/dc converter is needed. The main drawbacks of traditional
MICs are more complex system, higher number of semicon-
ductor devices, higher power losses, and higher cost [1]. Many
MICs for hybrid power systems have been proposed recently.
A three-input dc/dc boost converter is proposed in [30]. The
main disadvantage of this converter is that the battery can be
charged by one of the inputs and discharged by the other one.
Therefore, if one of the inputs is unavailable, the converter
cannot work properly. In [1], another three-input dc/dc boost
converter is proposed. This converter is more reliable than the
converter proposed in [30]. Because, the power sources can
supply the output load and charge or discharge the battery
individually or simultaneously. In [9], a multi-input dc/dc/ac
boost converter is proposed. This converter has an appropriate
controlling range, but the voltage gain of these two converters
is lower and equal to the conventional boost converter.
In this paper, a novel three-input step-up dc/dc boost con-
verter is presented for hybrid power systems. More the state
of the art on converter topologies presented so far can accom-
modate only one renewable source and a one energy storage
element, whereas the proposed topology is capable of inter-
facing two renewable sources and an energy storage element.
The suggested topology consists of two unidirectional ports
Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
Fig. 1. Circuit configuration of the presented converter.
for power sources and a one bidirectional port for battery.
The proposed converter is a conventional boost converter
and a buck-boost converter. The FC is connected to a boost
configuration to decrease its input current ripple. It is impor-
tant to note that because of the low dynamic response of
the FC, rapid changes of this boost converter duty cycle
might not be possible. It is worth mentioning that the floating
switch at the PV side ensures the isolation of the produced
dc current of the PV panel from system facilities when the
system is being installed during daylight. Such an isolation is
necessary for the facilities, i.e., employees’ safety during the
installation work [35], [36]. The suggested converter offers no
limitations for switching modulation. It only has two switching
conditions that have to be prevented, which will be explained
and analyzed in the next sections. The supplied power of PV,
and FC and charge/discharge of the battery are controlled by
controlling duty ratios of the switches. Furthermore, the dc
voltage gain is enhanced in respect of conventional converters.
However, the high number of semiconductors and passive
elements reduce the efficiency, but the high voltage gain
of the converter makes the converter suitable for low input
voltage applications. In addition to the input power sources,
the proposed MIC can deliver power to the load and either
charge or discharge the battery individually or simultane-
ously. As a matter of fact, the objective of this paper is
to propose a compact multi-input dc/dc converter for hybrid
power systems. This paper is organized as follows. Section I
introduces the research background and the contribution of this
paper. Section II gives the operation principles and steady-state
analysis. In section III, the design approach and experimental
results from the laboratory prototype are presented. Finally,
the conclusion is given in Section IV.
II. O PERATION P RINCIPLE AND I TS
S TEADY-S TATE A NALYSIS
A. Circuit Configuration and Description
This section introduces the proposed three-port topology
and its circuit analyses. The structure of the proposed dc/dc
converter is shown in Fig. 1. Four power electronic switches
are used in the proposed topology that operate independently.
Hence, the separate control of input sources is achieved by
independent control of duty ratios of d1 , d2 , d3 , and d4 . The
proposed converter is a suitable topology for dynamic loads.
The single-input converter cannot provide the requirements of
 KARDAN et al.: NEW THREE INPUT DC/DC CONVERTER FOR HYBRID PV/FC/BATTERY APPLICATIONS 1773

Fig. 2. Current-flow paths of different operation modes of the proposed converter.

loads like electrical vehicles or all-electric ferries. Because
of the dynamic behavior of such loads, compact multiport
converters can play an important role in fulfilling their hybrid
generation requirements. Three operation modes are consid-
ered in this paper, and related analyses are provided in the
following section.
The current-flow path of all three operation modes is shown
in Fig. 2.
B. Steady-State Operational Analysis
1) First Operation Mode (Input Sources v1 and v2 Are
Supplying Energy to the Load While the Battery Is Bypassed):
The battery can be bypassed if its state of charge is within
the appropriate range and the generated power from the
sources equals the load demand. This feature prevents per-
manent battery charge/discharge state and also the battery
overcharge/undercharge condition. Hence, it extends the bat-
tery life. It is important to note that the batteries have
different methods of charge/discharge, such as constant volt-
age, constant current, and pulsed charge/discharge. In a
pulsed charge/discharge, the charging rate can be controlled
accurately by controlling the pulsewidth. It is claimed that
some unwanted chemical reactions can be reduced using this
method [37]; however, a small time between two charging
pulses has to be given to the battery for chemical stabi-
lization. Since the switching frequency is high in the pro-
posed converter, such a stabilizing time might be difficult
to implement. The modulation scheme proposed for each
mode and the current waveforms of inductors are shown
in Fig. 3. To fulfill switching operation, a saw-tooth wave
as a carrier is compared with signals d1, d2, d3, and d4,
which can independently control ON state of power switches.
Without considering the utilized output voltage power of each
sources, PV, FC, and battery can be controlled using d1, d2,
d3, and d4 signals. According to Fig. 3(a), in this operation
mode, duty ratios of switches S3 and S4 are always 0 and 1,
respectively. The steady-state analyses are provided by apply-
ing the voltage-second and current-second balance across the
inductors, L 1 and L 2 , and the capacitor, respectively.
Switching Mode 1 [t0 < t < t1 ; see Fig. 2(a)]: In this mode,
switches S1 is turned ON while S2 is OFF. Inductor L 2 is
demagnetized to capacitor C, while inductor L 1 is magnetized
by input source V1 and the energy stored in capacitor C.
Capacitor C O is discharged to the load.
Switching Mode 2 [t1 < t < t2 ; see Fig. 2(b)]: In this
mode, switch S2 is turned ON while S1 is still ON. Input
source V1 magnetizes inductor L 2 through switches S2 and S4
and diode D3 . Capacitor C is in series with inductor L 1 and
input source V2 . Hence, capacitor C is discharged by i L1 .

Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 1774 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

Fig. 3. Switching pattern and inductors current waveform for three operation modes. (a) First operation mode. (b) Second operation mode.
(c) Third operation mode.

The required energy of load is supplied by the output
capacitor C O .
Switching Mode 3 [t2 < t < t3 ; see Fig. 2(a)]: This stage
is the same as mode 1 of this operation mode. This mode ends
when switch S1 is turned off.
Switching Mode 4 [t3 < t < t4 ; see Fig. 2(c)]: In this
mode, all switches are turned OFF and diodes D2 and D1
are turned ON. Capacitor C is charged by the energy stored in
inductor L 2 . Input source V1 and inductor L 1 charge capac-
itor C O , and provide energy to the load. According to
Fig. 2 and using the volt-second balance principle on the
inductors and ampere-second balance on capacitor C, the fol-
lowing equations can be obtained:
d2 v 2
L 2 : d2 TS v 2 − (1 − d2 )TS v C = 0 → v C =
1 − d2
L 1 : d1 TS (v 1 + VC ) + (1 − d1 )TS (v 1 − v O ) = 0
 
d2 v 2
v 1 + d1 1−d
→ vO =
1 − d1
i L2 d1
C : (1 − d2 )TS i L2 − d1 TS i L1 = 0 → = (3)
i L1 1 − d2
where TS is the switching period. d1 and d2 are the duty ratios
of switches S1 and S2 , respectively. In this operation mode,
the aim of controlling method is tracking maximum power
point in PV and regulating output voltage using FC.
2) Second Operation Mode (Input Sources v1 and v2 and
the Battery Is Supplying the Load): In this operation mode,
both power supplies are producing energy to the load while
the battery is being discharged. When the input sources
cannot provide the required energy of the load, the bat-
tery should be discharged. As shown in Fig. 2(d), when
switch S3 is turned ON, the battery is discharged. Comparing
Fig. 2(b) and (d), the main difference between bypassing
and discharging battery is the state of switch S3 . Therefore,
by controlling the duty ratio of switch S3 , the energy obtained
from the battery can be controlled. In this operation mode,
the duty ratio of switch S4 is 1. The modulation scheme
proposed for this mode and current waveforms of inductors
are shown in Fig. 3(b).
Switching Mode 1 [t0 < t < t1 ; see Fig.2(d)]: In this mode,
switches S1 , S2 , and S3 are turned ON. The inductor currents
flow through all switches and the battery. Therefore, the battery
is discharged to the inductors. Capacitor C is also discharged
to inductor L 1 . Capacitor C O is discharged to the load.
Switching Mode 2 [t1 < t < t2 ; see Fig.2(b)]: This stage is
the same as mode 2 of the first operation mode.
Switching Mode 3 [t2 < t < t3 ; see Fig.2(a)]: This stage is
the same as mode 3 of the first operation mode.
Switching Mode 4 [t3 < t < t4 ; see Fig.2(c)]: This stage is
(1) the same as mode 4 of the first operation mode. According
to Fig. 2 and using the volt-second balance principle on
the inductors and ampere-second balance on capacitor C,
2
the following equations can be achieved:
(2)
L 2 : d2 TS v 2 + d3 TS (v batt ) − (1 − d2 )TS v C = 0
d2 v 2 + d3 v batt
→ vC = (4)
1 − d2
L 1 : d1 TS (v 1 + v c ) + d3 TS (v batt ) + (1 − d1 )TS (v 1 − v o ) = 0
v 1 + d1 ( d2 v 21−d
+d3 v batt
) + d3 v batt
→ vo = 2
(5)
1 − d1
i L2 d1
C : (1 − d2 )TS i L2 − d1 TS i L1 = 0 → = (6)
 i L1 1 − d2
i Batt = d3 (i L1 + i L2 )
Battery (7)
PBatt = v batt (d3 (i L1 + i L2 ))
where d3 is duty ratio of switch S3 .
3) Third Operation Mode (Both the Input Sources Are Sup-
plying Energy to the Load and the Battery): In this operation
mode, the energy provided by the input sources is more than
demand. Therefore, the battery is charged by the excess energy.
Thus, the battery charging condition should be provided in

Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 KARDAN et al.: NEW THREE INPUT DC/DC CONVERTER FOR HYBRID PV/FC/BATTERY APPLICATIONS 1775

TABLE I
C OMPARISON B ETWEEN P ROPOSED C ONVERTER AND O THER S TRUCTURES

order to charge the battery. The inductors’ currents i L1 and other converters. The device number and voltage gain of the
i L2 flow through diodes D3 and D4 and turned them ON. structures are given in Table I.
Therefore, switch S3 will be turned OFF. In this operation
mode, the duty ratio of switch S4 is 0. The modulation scheme III. D ESIGN AND E XPERIMENTAL R ESULTS
proposed for this mode and current waveforms of inductors A. Design Considerations
are shown in Fig. 3(c). This operation mode includes four A laboratory implementation is done to assess the perfor-
switching modes as follows: mance of the proposed converter. Supposing just continuous
Switching Mode 1 [t0 < t < t1 ; see Fig. 2(e)]: In this mode, conduction mode (CCM) area for, the following inequality
Switches S1 , S2 , and S3 and diode D4 are turned ON. Input must be satisfied for both the inductors:
source V2 magnetizes inductor L 2 through switches S2 , S3 and i L
diode D4 . Inductor L 1 is also magnetized by input source V1 I L1 ≥ . (12)
2
and capacitor C through switches S1 , S3 and diode D4 . By applying the ampere-second balance principle on the
Switching Mode 2 [t1 < t < t2 ; see Fig. 2(f )]: In this mode, output capacitor, the average current of inductor L 1 can be
switch S1 and S2 are still ON while switch S3 is turned OFF. approximately obtained as follows:
The inductors currents i L1 and i L2 flow through diodes D3
(1 − d1 )TS I L1 − I O TS 1
and D4 and turn them ON. Therefore, the battery is charged. i CO  = 0 = → I L1 = IO .
Thus, the inductor currents are decreased in comparison with TS 1 − d1
the first switching mode. (13)
Switching Mode 3 [t2 < t < t3 ; see Fig. 2(g)]: In this mode, From (3), (6), and (10), the average current of inductor L 2
the switch S2 is turned OFF while S1 is still ON. Inductor can be found as
L 2 is demagnetized to capacitor C. The inductor current i L1 d1
flows through diodes D3 and D4 and charge the battery. Thus, I L2 = IO . (14)
(1 − d1 )(1 − d2 )
the slope of i L1 is the same as the second switching mode.
Capacitor C O is discharged to the load. The possibility of discontinuous conduction mode operation
Switching Mode 4 [t3 < t < t4 ; see Fig. 2(c)]: This stage in the second operation mode is more than the other modes.
is the same as mode 4 of the first operation mode. According This is because in this mode of operation, the power supplies
to Fig. 2 and using the volt-second balance principle on generate the least energy in comparison with the other modes.
the inductors and ampere-second balance on capacitor C, Therefore, if CCM can be obtained for this mode of operation,
the following equations can be achieved: the converter will operate in CCM for all the other conditions.
The current ripples of the inductors can be found as follows
L 2 : d3 TS v 2 − (d2 − d3 )TS v batt − (1 − d2 )TS v C = 0 in the second operation mode:
d3 v 2 − (d2 − d3 )v batt
→ vC = (8) d1 v 1 + d3 v batt
1 − d2 i L1 max = (15)
L 1 : d1 TS (v 1 + v C ) − (d1 − d3 )TS (v batt ) L1 fS
 +(1 − d1 )TS (v 1 − v O ) = 0 d2 v 2 + d3 v batt
d2 v 2 −(d2 −d3 )v batt i L2 max = . (16)
v 1 + d1 1−d2 + (d3 − d1 )v batt L2 fS
→ vO = (9) Therefore, the minimum value of inductors can be calcu-
1 − d1
i L2 d1 lated as follows:
C : (1 − d2 )TS i L2 − d1 TS i L1 = 0 → = (10)
 i L1 1 − d2 (d1 v 1 + d3 v batt )(1 − d1 )2 R L
L1 ≥ (17)
i = (d1 − d3 )(i L1) + (d2 − d3 )(i L2 ) (v 1 + d1 ( d2 v 21−d
+d3 v batt
) + d3 v batt ) f S
Battery Batt
PBatt = v batt ((d1 − d3 )(i L1) + (d2 − d3 )(i L2 )). 2
(d2 v 2 + d3 v batt )(1 − d1 )2 (1 − d2 )R L
(11) L2 ≥ . (18)
d1 (v 1 + d1 ( d2 v 21−d
+d3 v batt
) + d3 v batt ) f S
In order to show the total device number and voltage gain 2

of the proposed converter, converters in references [1], [9], From these inequalities, the minimum values of inductors
[10], [27], [30], and [31], and conventional boost converters, required for the implemented circuit are 166 and 70 μH
a comparison is made between the proposed topology and for L 1 and L 2 , respectively. Hence, the chosen inductors

Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 1776 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017

Fig. 4. (a) Changes in L 1 with d2 = 0.65 and d1 at the range from 0.3 to 0.8. (b) Changes in L 2 with d2 = 0.65 and d1 at the range from 0.3 to 0.8.
(c) Changes in L 1 with d1 = 0.73 and d2 at the range from 0.3 to 0.8. (d) Changes in L 2 with d1 = 0.73 and d2 at the range from 0.3 to 0.8.

Fig. 5. Experimental results of the first operation mode.

Fig. 6. Experimental results of the second operation mode.

TABLE II
S PECIFICATIONS OF THE I MPLEMENTED P ROTOTYPE
guarantee the CCM operation of the proposed converter. The
size of an inductor is related to the switching frequency and
the current flowing through the inductor. However, in order to
be able to work in a CCM mode, a limitation for the inductor
size with regard to the duty cycles has to be considered in the
proposed converter.
B. Experimental Validation
In order to verify the performance of the proposed converter,
a 152-W prototype version of the circuit is built and tested in
the presented three operation modes. The specifications of the
implemented prototype are given in Table II. As mentioned
earlier, the proposed converter has the capability of being
used for hybrid applications. Ignoring the transient time of the
power sources, they could be replaced by dc power supplies
to obtain experimental results. A 36-V Lithium battery is
used as an energy storage element. Due to high switching
frequency, ferrite cores are chosen for the both inductors.
Fig. 4 shows the required minimum inductance regarding
changes in d1 , d2 , and d3 . These figures are calculated with
the experimental information of V1 , V2 , Vbatt , and switching
frequency. First operation mode results are shown in Fig. 5.
Fig. 5(a) shows the inductors current in this operation mode.
Output and capacitor C voltage is shown in Fig. 5(b). The
voltage across the semiconductor devices and the diodes are
shown in Fig. 5(c) and (d). In this operation mode, the output
voltage is about 291 V. Also, experimental results for the
second operation mode are shown in Fig. 6. Fig. 6(a) shows
the currents of the inductors and the battery in this operation
mode. As shown in this figure, the battery is discharged at
the beginning of the switching period. The output voltage
and the voltage on capacitor C are shown in Fig. 6(b). The
voltages on the semiconductor devices and the diodes are
shown in Fig. 6(c) and (d), respectively. In this operation
mode, all switches are being switched while diode D4 is
always OFF. This results in lower efficiency of the converter
in this mode. In this operation mode, the output voltage is
about 285 V. The experimental results in the third operation

Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
 KARDAN et al.: NEW THREE INPUT DC/DC CONVERTER FOR HYBRID PV/FC/BATTERY APPLICATIONS
Fig. 7. Experimental results of the third operation mode.
Fig. 8. Experimental efficiency of the proposed converter. (a) First operation mode. (b) Second operation mode. (c) Third operation mode.
mode are shown in Fig. 7. Fig. 7(a) shows the currents of
the inductors and the battery in the third operation mode.
As shown in this figure, the battery is charged at the end of
the switching periods. The current of the battery is about 5 A.
In addition, voltage of capacitor C and the output voltage of
the proposed converter are shown in Fig. 7(b). The output
voltage is about 102 V in this operation mode. Fig. 7(c) and (d)
shows the voltage on the semiconductor devices and the
diodes. Results validate the promising performance of the con-
verter in each state. Fig. 8 shows the efficiency of the exper-
imental results in three operational modes. As shown in this
figure, the proposed converter efficiency in first operation
mode is more than the others. The least efficiency of the
proposed converter is about 86%, which occurs in the second
operation mode, because the switches used in this mode are
more than the others. Therefore, the switching loss in this
mode is more than other modes.
According to these figures, the experimental results validate
the steady-state analyses of the proposed converter.
IV. C ONCLUSION
A three-input single-output dc/dc boost converter for hybrid
applications is presented in this paper. Four diodes and four
semiconductor devices were employed in this converter. The
voltage gain of the proposed converter is more than the
conventional boost converter. A bidirectional topology within
this multiport converter brings the capability of using a
storage element in this configuration. The storage element
improves the dynamic response of the converter. The input
power sources can provide power to the load and either
charge or discharge the battery individually or simultaneously.
The steady-state analyses of the proposed converter are done in
this paper. Finally, a hardware prototype for all three operation
modes was implemented. The experimental results validate the
steady-state analyses and prove the feasibility of the presented
converter topology.
Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
1777
R EFERENCES
[1] F. Nejabatkhah, S. Danyali, S. Hosseini, M. Sabahi, and S. Niapour,
“Modeling and control of a new three-input DC–DC boost converter
for hybrid PV/FC/battery power system,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
vol. 27, no. 5, pp. 2309–2324, May 2012.
[2] M.-R. Banaei, H. Ardi, R. Alizadeh, and A. Farakhor, “Non-isolated
multi-input–single-output DC/DC converter for photovoltaic power gen-
eration systems,” IET Power Electron., vol. 7, no. 11, pp. 2806–2816,
Jun. 2014.
[3] M.-R. Banaei and H. A. F. Bonab, “A novel structure for single-switch
nonisolated transformerless buck–boost DC–DC converter,” IEEE Trans.
Ind. Electron., vol. 64, no. 1, pp. 198–205, Jan. 2017.
[4] H. Ardi, A. Ajami, F. Kardan, and S. N. Avilagh, “Analysis and
implementation of a nonisolated bidirectional DC–DC converter with
high voltage gain,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 62, no. 8,
pp. 4878–4888, Aug. 2016.
[5] E. Salary, M. R. Banaei, and A. Ajami, “Design of novel step-up boost
DC/DC converter,” Iranian J. Sci. Technol., vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 13–22,
Mar. 2017.
[6] E. Salary, M. R. Banaei, and A. Ajami, “Step-up DC/DC converter
based on partial power processing,” Gazi Univ. J. Sci., vol. 28, no. 4,
pp. 599–607, Nov. 2015.
[7] L.-W. Zhou, B.-X. Zhu, and Q.-M. Luo, “High step-up converter
with capacity of multiple input,” IET Power Electron., vol. 5, no. 5,
pp. 524–531, May 2012.
[8] A. Ajami, H. Ardi, and A. Farakhor, “A novel high step-up DC/DC
converter based on integrating coupled inductor and switched-capacitor
techniques for renewable energy applications,” IEEE Trans. Power
Electron., vol. 30, no. 8, pp. 4255–4263, Aug. 2015.
[9] S. Danyali, S. H. Hosseini, and G. B. Gharehpetian, “New
extendable single-stage multi-input DC-DC/AC boost converter,”
IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29, no. 2, pp. 775–788,
Feb. 2014.
[10] R.-J. Wai, C.-Y. Lin, J.-J. Liaw, and Y.-R. Chang, “Newly designed
ZVS multi-input converter,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 58, no. 2,
pp. 555–566, Feb. 2011.
[11] B. Zhao, Q. Song, W. Liu, and Y. Sun, “Overview of dual-active-
bridge isolated bidirectional DC-DC converter for high-frequency-link
power-conversion system,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29, no. 8,
pp. 4091–4106, Aug. 2014.
[12] J. Park and S. Choi, “Design and control of a bidirectional resonant
DC-DC converter for automotive engine/battery hybrid power gener-
ators,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29, no. 7, pp. 3748–3757,
Jul. 2014.
[13] C. W. Chen, C. Y. Liao, K. H. Chen, and Y. M. Chen, “Modeling and
controller design of a semiisolated multiinput converter for a hybrid
PV/wind power charger system,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 30,
no. 9, pp. 4843–4853, Nov. 2014.
 1778 IEEE JOURNAL OF EMERGING AND SELECTED TOPICS IN POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 5, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2017
[14] A. Nahavandi, M. T. Hagh, M. B. B. Sharifian, and S. Danyali,
“A nonisolated multiinput multioutput DC–DC boost converter for
electric vehicle applications,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 30,
no. 4, pp. 1818–1835, May 2014.
[15] L. Kumar and S. Jain, “Multiple-input DC/DC converter topology
for hybrid energy system,” IET Power Electron., vol. 6, no. 8,
pp. 1483–1501, Mar. 2013.
[16] Y. C. Liu and Y. M. Chen, “A systematic approach to synthesizing multi-
input DC–DC converters,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 24, no. 1,
pp. 116–127, Jan. 2009.
[17] Z. Zhang, O. C. Thomsen, M. A. E. Andersen, and H. R. Nielsen,
“Dual-input isolated full-bridge boost dc-dc converter based on
the distributed transformers,” IET Power Electron., vol. 5, no. 7,
pp. 1074–1083, Mar. 2012.
[18] D. Gunasekaran and L. Umanand, “Integrated magnetics based multi-
port bidirectional DC–DC converter topology for discontinuous-mode
operation,” IET Power Electron., vol. 5, no. 7, pp. 935–944, Mar. 2012.
[19] W. Hu, H. Wu, Y. Xing, and K. Sun, “A full-bridge three-port converter
for renewable energy application,” in Proc. IEEE Appl. Power Electron.
Conf. Expo., Mar. 2014, pp. 57–62.
[20] J. Zeng, W. Qiao, and L. Qu, “An isolated three-port bidirectional
DC–DC converter for photovoltaic systems with energy storage,” IEEE
Trans. Ind. Appl., vol. 51, no. 4, pp. 3493–3503, Feb. 2015.
[21] H. Krishnaswami and N. Mohan, “Three-port series-resonant DC-DC
converter to interface renewable energy sources with bidirectional load
and energy storage ports,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 24, no. 10,
pp. 2289–2297, Oct. 2009.
[22] L. Wang, Z. Wang, and H. Li, “Asymmetrical duty cycle control
and decoupled power flow design of a three-port bidirectional DC-DC
converter for fuel cell vehicle application,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron.,
vol. 27, no. 2, pp. 891–904, Feb. 2012.
[23] S. Falcones, R. Ayyanar, and X. Mao, “A DC–DC multiport-converter-
based solid-state transformer integrating distributed generation and stor-
age,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 28, no. 5, pp. 2192–2203,
May 2013.
[24] Z. H. Ding, C. Yang, Z. Zhang, C. Wang, and S. J. Xie, “A novel
soft-switching multiport bidirectional DC–DC converter for hybrid
energy storage system,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29, no. 4,
pp. 1595–1609, Oct. 2013.
[25] Y. Hu, W. Xiao, W. Cao, B. Ji, and D. J. Morrow, “Three-port
DC-DC converter for stand-alone photovoltaic systems,” IEEE Trans.
Power Electron., vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 3068–3076, Jun. 2015.
[26] Z. Qian, O. Abdel-Rahman, H. Al-Atrash, and I. Batarseh, “Modeling
and control of three-port DC/DC converter interface for satellite appli-
cations,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 25, no. 3, pp. 637–649,
Mar. 2010.
[27] R. J. Wai and B. H. Chen, “High-efficiency dual-input interleaved
DC-DC converter for reversible power sources,” IEEE Trans. Power
Electron., vol. 29, no. 6, pp. 2903–2921, Jun. 2014.
[28] Y. M. Chen, A. Q. Huang, and X. Yu, “A high step-up three-port DC–DC
converter for stand-alone PV/battery power systems,” IEEE Trans. Power
Electron., vol. 28, no. 11, pp. 5049–5062, Nov. 2013.
[29] R. J. Wai, C. Y. Lin, and B. H. Chen, “High-efficiency DC-DC converter
with two input power sources,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 27,
no. 4, pp. 1862–1875, Apr. 2012.
[30] S. H. Hosseini, S. Danyali, and F. Nejabatkhah, “Multi-input DC boost
converter for grid connected hybrid PV/FC/battery power system,” in
Proc. IEEE EPEC, Canada, Aug. 2010, pp. 1–6.
[31] L.-J. Chien, C.-C. Chen, J.-F. Chen, and Y.-P. Hsieh, “Novel three-port
converter with high-voltage gain,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 29,
no. 9, pp. 4693–4703, Sep. 2014.
[32] K. Gummi and M. Ferdowsi, “Double-input DC-DC power electronic
converters for electric-drive vehicles—Topology exploration and synthe-
sis using a single-pole triple-throw switch,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron.,
vol. 57, no. 2, pp. 617–623, Feb. 2010.
Authorized licensed use limited to: NUST School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (SEECS). Downloaded on February 13,2022 at 17:56:00 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply.
[33] L. Kumar and S. H. Jain, “A novel dual input DC/DC converter
topology,” in Proc. IEEE PEDES, Dec. 2012, pp. 16–19.
[34] J. Zeng, W. Qiao, L. Qu, and Y. Jiao, “An isolated multiport DC–DC
converter for simultaneous power management of multiple different
renewable energy sources,” IEEE J. Emerg. Sel. Topics Power Electron.,
vol. 2, no. 1, pp. 70–78, Mar. 2014.
[35] S. M. Chen, T. J. Liang, L. S. Yang, and J. F. Chen, “A boost
converter with capacitor multiplier and coupled inductor for AC module
applications,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 60, no. 4, pp. 1503–1511,
Apr. 2013.
[36] S. M. Chen and T. J. Liang, “A safety enhanced, high step-up DC-DC
converter for AC photovoltaic module application,” IEEE Trans. Power
Electron., vol. 27, no. 4, pp. 1809–1817, Apr. 2012.
[37] A. C.-C. Hua and B. Z.-W. Syue, “Charge and discharge characteristics
of lead-acid battery and LiFePO4 Battery,” in Proc. IEEE IPEC,
Jun. 2010, pp. 21–24.
Faezeh Kardan was born in Tabriz, Iran, in 1991.
She received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engi-
neering from Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University,
Tabriz, in 2013, and the M.Sc. degree in power
electronics from the Renewable Energy Genera-
tion Research Laboratory, Engineering Department,
Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University, in 2016.
Her research interests include power quality,
designing and controlling of power electronic con-
verters, and renewable energy systems.
Rana Alizadeh was born in Iran in 1990. She
received the B.Sc. degree in electrical engineer-
ing from Azarbaijan Shahid Madani University,
Tabriz, Iran, in 2012, the M.Sc. degree in power
electronics from the Renewable Energy Generation
Research Laboratory, E. E. Department, Azarbaijan
Shahid Madani University, in 2015. She is currently
pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the University of
Arkansas, USA, with a focus on high-power density
converter in electric vehicles applications.
Her current research interests include transporta-
tion electrification and renewable energy generation systems.
Mohamad Reza Banaei was born in Tabriz, Iran.
He received the M.Sc. degree in control engineering
from the Poly Technique University of Tehran, Iran,
in 1999, and the Ph.D. degree in power engineering
from the Electrical Engineering Faculty, Tabriz Uni-
versity, in 2005.
Since 2005, he has been a Professor with the Elec-
trical Engineering Department, Azarbaijan Shahid
Madani University, Iran. His main research interests
include the designing and controlling of power elec-
tronic converters, renewable energy systems, model-
ing and controlling of FACTS, and custom power devices.