Original Article

International Journal of Electrical Engineering

& Education
Design and development 0(0) 1–21
! The Author(s) 2019
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converters for DC DOI: 10.1177/0020720919845152
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micro grid

S Sivarajeswari1 and D Kirubakaran2

Abstract
DC microgrids are attractive owing to the incorporation of renewable energy sources such
as solar photovoltaic and fuel cell. Due to the low output voltage of these DC sources,
voltage lift DC–DC converters are necessary to connect the DC sources with the DC
microgrids. Conventional enhanced self-lift and re-lift Luo converters perform the voltage
lifting operation using inductor, diode, and capacitor. In order to reduce the component
usage and to increase the efficiency, modified and enhanced self-lift and re-lift topologies are
proposed. In these topologies, the combination of diode and capacitor provides increased
output gain and also the inductor is eliminated compared to the conventional topologies.
This newly developed converter can be adopted in power electronics courses to help
undergraduate and postgraduate students implement this type of modified circuits.

Keywords
Increased voltage gain, modified Luo converter, engineering education, voltage lift
technique

Introduction
Voltage lift technique is a significant approach of lifting the output voltage. It has
also been widely applied in many electronic circuit designs.1 In the industrial

1
EEE, Sri Sai Ram Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, India
2
EEE, St Joseph’s Institute of Technology, Chennai, India
Corresponding author:
S Sivarajeswari, EEE, Sri Sai Ram Institute of Technology, Anna University, Chennai, India.
Email: mercygowtham@gmail.com
2 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

application and research, this method has been productively used in DC–DC con-
version technique.2 Through this method, the output voltage can be easily elevated
from ten to hundreds of times. Voltage lift converters are classified as self-lift, re-
lift, triple-lift, quadruple-lift, and high-stage lift converters.1–4
VL technique has been applied in the periodical switching circuit. Generally, a
capacitor gets charged during switch-on by certain voltages, e.g. source voltage.
This charged capacitor voltage can be arranged to top-up some parameters during
switch off, e.g. output voltage. Hence, the output voltage is lifted higher. As a
result, this circuit is known as a self-lift circuit. The saw-tooth-wave generator with
self-lift circuit is a typical example. By continuing this process, another capacitor
can be charged by a certain voltage and it may possibly be the input voltage. The
second capacitor charged voltage is also perhaps arranged to top-up certain
parameters, especially output voltage. Hence, the output voltage becomes higher
than that of the self-lift circuit and this circuit is known as re-lift circuit.4
In general, this process can be done many times. Moreover, the series circuits
are called triple-lift circuits, quadruple-lift circuits, and so on. Voltage lift tech-
nique is utilized to enhance the characteristics of circuit.Three series Luo convert-
ers, which are developed from prototypes using VL technique, are the DC–DC
converters.5–11 High efficiency is produced by these converters, and they possess
cheap topology with simple structure. They are dissimilar from any other DC–DC
step up converters and they also have many advantages including high output
voltage along with small ripples. In the field of power electronics, conversion
technique is one of the major research areas.12 The equipment involved in conver-
sion technique has many applications in industry, research and development, var-
ious organizations, and in daily life.13 The existing DC–DC converters have been
designed to meet the requirements of certain applications only.14 The boost con-
verter is utilized in a large number of applications like hybrid electric vehicles,
lighting systems, tramways, and railway electrification.
Different boost techniques like voltage, super, and ultra lift are used in DC–DC
converters. Among the techniques voltage lift method is easy to realize and cost
effective. Many voltage lift converters can be added in series to realize higher
voltage gain.15–20 The voltage is boosted up arithmetically. These voltage lift con-
verters are classified as Luo converters.21,22 The proposed converter can be used to
achieve high output voltage.
With increase in usage of boost converters in various applications, the need to
learn and adapt the boosting techniques becomes essential. When these techniques
become a part of student curriculum, it becomes a mandatory requirement to learn
the concepts. The work realized in this paper caters to both undergraduate and
postgraduate electrical and electronic engineering students curriculum. The work
explains the fundamental difference between existing techniques and the proposed
technique which is essential for the students to appreciate the need to learn the
proposed technique. Adapting the proposed modified enhanced self-lift and re-lift
converters in the student’s curriculum is easy, as it imparts step-by-step approach
with scientific methods imbedded into it. It encourages the students to think
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 3

creatively by triggering the optimization ideas on the base circuit to reflect the cost
out improvements. Basic design supported by simulation can become the part of
curriculum in “Power electronics” subject for third year undergraduate electrical
engineering students. The proposed design can be taught in the class and the
corresponding simulations can be realized using MATLAB/SIMULINK toolbox
in the Power Electronic Simulation Lab. This approach will set the baseline to
learn and adapt quickly. Students can perform mathematical modeling and ana-
lytical calculations in the class to become familiar with the proposed technique.
At the end the students can appreciate increase in voltage gain with reduced
number of components. Further, they can understand the impact on voltage
stress, circuit efficiency, and loss budget by performing simulations for various
conditions in the lab.
The same learning can be leveraged for the postgraduate students in their third
semester curriculum, as a part of mini project implementation. Postgraduate stu-
dents can do the hardware implementation of the modified enhanced self-lift and
re-lift converters by sizing the circuit components, determining the exact switching
frequency, load conditions, and PCB board design. Thus, the paper reflects direct
contribution to educational curriculum benefiting larger set of student community
by bringing them advanced voltage lift methods.

Modified enhanced self-lift Luo converter

The modified enhanced self-lift positive output Luo converter circuits and its
equivalent circuits during switch-on and switch-off conditions are depicted in
Figures 1 to 3. They have been derived from the enhanced self-lift positive
output Luo converter by adding one diode and capacitor. In this topology, high
voltage transfer gain has been attained. The mathematical modeling of this topol-
ogy is derived and verified by using MATLAB/SIMULINK.

Circuit description
The proposed scheme comprises an improved Luo converter which provides high
voltage gain. The functionality of the circuit shown in Figure 1 aims to boost the
output voltage up to four times the input voltage. The MOSFET’s ON and OFF
cycle determines the operation of the circuit. Additional capacitors are used to top-
up the output voltage to meet the high output voltage demand. The capacitor
voltage increases the voltage gain thereby cumulating the output voltage up to
four times. The S, D, D1, D2, C, C1, C2, C0, L, and L0 are the components of the
proposed Luo converter. They help to achieve an output of low ripple with high
voltage transfer gain.
Figure 2 explains the MOSFET’s ON condition. During switch-on period, the
inductor L absorbs energy from the source and the capacitor C charges to source
voltage. Inductor L0 absorbs energy from the source and capacitor. The inductor
4 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 1. Circuit diagram of modified enhanced self-lift Luo converter.

Figure 2. Modified enhanced self-lift Luo converter when switch S is ON.

Figure 3. Modified enhanced self-lift Luo converter when switch S is ON.

current gradually increases during the MOSFET ON period to ramp up the

output voltage

Vc1 ¼ V1 ¼ Vi (1)
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 5

diL
VL ¼ L (2)
dt

VL ¼ Vi ¼ V1 (3)

V1 DTs
DiL ¼ (4)
L

Figure 3 explains the MOSFET’s OFF condition. During switch-off period, the
stored energy in the inductor L is transferred to the capacitor C1 through the diode
D1. Capacitor C discharges through the (C0  R0) circuit and through C2

VL ¼ Vc  V1 (5)

Inductor voltage

diL
L ¼ Vc  V1 (6)
dt

ðVc  VÞð1  DÞTs

DiL ¼ (7)
L

V1 D ¼ ðVc  V1 Þð1  DÞ (8)

By solving equation (8)

V1
Vc ¼ (9)
1D

The output voltage, current, and the voltage transfer gain becomes

Vc1 ¼ 2V1 þ Vc (10)

VL ¼ V1 (11)

VC2 ¼ VO (12)

The voltage transfer gain

VO 3  2D
¼ (13)
V1 1D
6 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 4. Simulink diagram of modified self-lift converter.

Simulation results
Figure 4 shows the Simulink diagram of modified self-lift converter. The simulation
results of the proposed scheme focus that this scheme produces higher output volt-
age. The simulation is performed with same parameter values such as supply voltage
Vin ¼ 95 V, inductors being 1000 mH, capacitors being 20 mF, switching
frequency ¼ 50 kHz, load resistance RLl ¼ 28 X, Input power Pi ¼ 5 kW, and duty
ratio ¼ 0.5. For the input voltage of 95 V, a DC output voltage of 380 V is obtained.
As a result, the obtained value of the output voltage is higher than that of the expected
value. All the simulations are performed with the parameter values mentioned above.
The output wave forms of voltage, current, and power are presented in Figure 5.
The waveform for the voltage of capacitors C, C1, C2, and C0 are shown in Figure
6. The waveform for the current of diode D, D1, and D2 are shown in Figure 7and
current of capacitors C, C1, C2, and C0 are shown in Figure 8. The waveform for the
currents of inductor L and L0 are shown in Figure 9 and the voltage and current of
switch S are shown in Figure 10. The waveform for the voltage of diode D, D1, and
D2 and inductor L and L0 are shown in Figures 11 and 12.

Modified re-lift Luo converter

Modified re-lift circuit and its switch-on and switch-off equivalent circuits are
presented in Figures 13 ,14 and 15. They comprise two static switches S and S1,
four diodes D, D1, D2, and D0, three inductors L1, L2, and L0; and five capacitors
C, C1, C2, C3, and C0. Further, one capacitor C3 and one diode D are added with
the modified re-lift circuit. They get large values, when the power is on, whereas the
values become small, when VC1 ¼ VC2 ¼ VI in steady state.

Circuit description
While the switches S and S1 are turned on, the source instantaneous current
iI ¼ iL1 þ iL2 þ iC1 þ iL0 þ iC2þiC3. The inductors L1 and L2 absorb energy from
the source whereas the inductor L0 gets energy from the source and capacitor C.
Three currents iL1, iL2, and iL0 augment. When the switches S and S1 are turned
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 7

Figure 5. Output voltage, current, and power.

Figure 6. Capacitor voltage.

8 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 7. Diode current.

off, the source current iI becomes 0. Current iL1 flows through the capacitor C1,
inductor L0, capacitor C2, and diode D to charge the capacitor C, capacitor C1,
inductor L2, capacitor C2, and diode D in order to keep it consistent. Both the
currents iL1 and iL2 diminish. In order to analyze the working process of the circuit,
the equivalent circuits during switch-on and switch-off status are shown in
Figures 14 and 15. It is assumed that the capacitors C1, C2, and C3 are sufficiently
large, and the voltages VC1 and VC2 across them are equal to VI in steady state.
Voltage VL2 is equal to VI during the switch-on state. The peak-to-peak variation
of current iL2 is equal to iL1.
During both the switches are ON

VC1 ¼ VC2 ¼ Vi ¼ V1 (14)

diL1
VL1 ¼ L1 (15)
dt

V1 DTs
DiL1 ¼ (16)
L1
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 9

Figure 8. Capacitor current.

iL1 ¼ iL2 (17)

L1 ¼ L2 (18)

Thus, during both the switches in off states, the voltage drop across inductor
L2 is

VL2 ð1  DÞTs
DiL2 ¼ (19)
L2

V1 DTs ¼ VL2 ð1  DÞTs (20)

V1 D
VL2 ¼ (21)
1D

When S and S1 are ON

diL1
VL1 ¼ L1 (22)
dt
10 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 9. Inductor current switch.

Figure 10. Current and voltage.

Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 11

Figure 11. Diode voltage.

V1 DTs
DiL1 ¼ (23)
L1

Voltage equation, when S and S1 are OFF

VL1 ¼ Vc  2V1  VL2 (24)

When S and S1 are OFF

ðVc  2V1  VL2 Þð1  DÞTs

DiL1 ¼ (25)
L

V1 D ¼ ðVc  2V1  VL2 Þð1  DÞ (26)

By simplifying equation (26)

V1
Vc ¼ (27)
1D
12 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 12. Inductor voltage.

Figure 13. Circuit diagram for modified re-lift converter.

VO ¼ 2V1 þ VL2 þ V1 þ Vc (28)

The voltage transfer gain is given by

VO 4  ð2DÞ
¼ (29)
V1 1D
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 13

Figure 14. Modified re-lift converter when switch S and S1 ON.

Figure 15. Modified re-lift converter when switch S and S1 OFF.

Simulation results
Figure 16 shows the Simulink diagram of the modified re-lift converter. The sim-
ulation results show that the proposed scheme is an efficient one to produce higher
output. During the simulation with same parameter values such as supply voltage
Vin= 66.66 V, capacitors being 20 mF, inductor being 1000 mH, switching
frequency ¼ 50 kHz, and duty cycle ¼ 0.5, for the input voltage of 66.66 V, a DC
output voltage of 380 V DC is obtained. As a result, the gain of the output voltage
achieved is greater than the expected value. All the simulations are performed with
the parameter values that are mentioned earlier. The output wave form is shown in
Figure 17 for voltage, current, and power of modified re-lift converter. The wave-
form for the voltage of the inductors L1, L2, and L0 ,diodes D, D1, D2, and D0 and
capacitors C, C1, C2, C3, and C0 are shown in Figures 18,19 and 20.The waveform
for the voltage and currents of switches S1 and S2 are shown in Figure 21.The
waveform for the current of the diodes D, D1, D2, and D0, capacitors C, C1, C2, C3,
and C0 and inductors L1, L2, and L0 are shown in Figures 22, 23 and 24. In
general, the output of the converter is a nonlinear function of duty cycle. To
achieve better voltage ratio, optimum duty cycle should be selected. A duty
cycle toward 1 will lead to conduction loss across the Rds resistor in the
14 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 16. Simulink diagram of modified re-lift converter.

Figure 17. Output voltage, current, and power of modified re-lift converter.

MOSFET reducing the converter efficiency. Sufficient OFF period is required to

transfer the energy from source to the load without discontinuous operation. The
optimum duty cycle selected to achieve better output voltage. The diode conduc-
tion period plays a crucial role in transferring the energy to the load. It also
determines the converter efficiency.
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 15

Figure 18. Inductor voltage.

Figure 19. Diode voltage.

16 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 20. Capacitor voltage.

Figure 21. Switch voltage and current.

Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 17

Figure 22. Diode current.

Figure 23. Capacitor current.

18 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Figure 24. Inductor current.

Figure 25. Hardware layout.

Experimental verification
The positive output modified re-lift Luo converter has been created and
tested at 12 V. The experimental setup of the modified re-lift Luo converter is
illustrated in Figure 25. A 230 V supply is considered. It is decreased to 12 V
AC with the assistance of 230/12 V step down transformer and it is provided
to the bridge rectifier and capacitive filter for pure DC conversion. Then,
it is offered to the converter circuit. The modified re-lift converter converts
the 66.66 to 367 V DC for the duty cycle K ¼ 0.5. The circuit parameters are
Sivarajeswari and Kirubakaran 19

Figure 26. Gate pulses.

Figure 27. Output voltage and current.

R0=28 X; L0=1000 mH; C0=20 mF. Amega 8 micro controller has been used to
generate driving pulses for the MOSFET switches. The ATMEGA 8-based gate
pulses are shown in Figure 26. The experimental waveform of the output voltage is
shown in Figure 27. From the experimental results, it is evident that the proposed
converter can provide high voltage gain with reduced voltage stress on the switches
and diodes. The variation in the output voltage is minimum for different loading
condition. The converter offers 90% efficiency with minimal efficiency deviation of
0.5% between the simulation and experimental results.
20 International Journal of Electrical Engineering & Education 0(0)

Conclusion
An improved Luo converter is designed and it offers high output voltage. The
proposed scheme comprises improved self-lift and re-lift converter. This modifica-
tion does not cause the system as bulky, and lots of additional benefits are
obtained from the system. The enhanced self-lift technique converter has been
designed to lift the input voltage of 95 into 380 V and re-lift technique converter
has been designed to lift the input voltage of 66.66 into 380 V for the duty cycle 0.5.
This process is done by adding a diode–capacitor pair. From the simulation eval-
uation, it can be observed that the proposed converter has been designed and
verified using MATLAB. The results of the experiments are close to the results
of simulation.

Future scope
The present work focuses on open loop self-lift and re-lift converter. Input voltage
variation is not regulated in the current study. The renewable sources feeding the
converter circuits are highly variable in nature and thus require precise regulation.
Future scope of the work will focus on closed loop PI control and fuzzy logic
control for self-lift and re-lift converters to maintain the constant output for the
varying input voltages.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, author-
ship, and/or publication of this article.

Funding
The authors received no financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication
of this article.

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