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Bidirectional DC-DC converter in Solar PV

System for Battery Charging Application
Seema Jadhav, Neha Devdas, Shakila Nisar and Vaibhav Bajpai

Department of Electrical Engineering,

Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology,
Vashi, Navi Mumbai.

Abstract—With the increase in demand for generating power applications, where weight or size is the main concern. In
using renewable energy sources, energy storage and interfacing isolated topologies, isolation is normally provided by a
the energy storage device with the grid has become a major transformer. The addition of transformer implies increased cost,
challenge. Energy storage using batteries is most suitable for size and losses. However, transformer provides galvanic
the renewable energy sources like solar, wind etc. A bi-directional
isolation between the two voltage sources [3]. These converters
DC-DC converter provides the required bidirectional power flow
for battery charging and discharging. The duty cycle of the are available in full-bridge, half-bridge or push-pull topologies.
converter controls charging and discharging based on the state They converters can provide high step-up and step-down
of charge of the battery and direction of the current. In this voltage gain by adjusting the turns ratio of the transformer [4].
paper, a non-isolated bi-directional DC-DC converter is designed
and simulated for energy storage in battery and interfacing it The basic configuration of power system with BDC is shown
with DC grid. The power extracted from solar panel during the
in Figure 1. The PV panel supplies power to DC grid. The
daytime is used to charge the batteries through the DC-DC
bidirectional converter operates in two modes; in the presence
converter operating in buck mode and when solar power is
unavailable, the battery discharges to supply power to DC load of DC grid, the battery is being charged, and in the absence of
through the converter operating in boost mode. The simulated the DC grid, the battery supplies power to the grid.
non-isolated power converter topology is transformer-less,
simple, low cost, light weight and has better efficiency and high
reliability than isolated BDC. These converters are preferred in
the high power applications. It uses bidirectional switches like
MOSFET's or IGBT's. The simulation is done in
matlab/simulink and results are presented.

Keywords—Buck mode, Boost mode, Bidirectional converter,

state of Charge. Fig 1. Basic configuration of BDC system [5]

I. INTRODUCTION This paper presents a non-isolated bidirectional buck-boost

There is a rapid growth in energy consumption and need
generating for power using renewable sources of energy.
These sources are intermittent in nature hence there is a need
for energy storage system. The integration of photovoltaic and
energy storage system with grid is one of the most popular
schemes in renewable power generation technology [1]. The
power generated using solar energy is stored in battery during
the sunshine hours and is consumed during night time. In such
applications using a bi-directional DC–DC converter (BDC). is
used to transfer the power between two sources in either
direction. These converters are widely used in applications,
such as hybrid electric vehicle energy systems, uninterrupted
power supplies, fuel-cell hybrid power systems, PV hybrid
power systems, and battery chargers. These converters also
improve the power supply stability and reliability [2].
Bidirectional DC-DC converters are of two types: non-
isolated and isolated topologies. Transformer-less, non-isolated
topology is simple and has reduced number of components
with efficiency than isolated BDC. They are preferred in the
high power or spacecraft power system
DC–DC converter topology for a battery charging and
discharging application. This topology requires only one energy
storage element ie inductor. It provides the required bidirectional
power flow for battery charging and discharging using two
bidirectional switches like MOSFET's or IGBT's
[6]. The advantages of this topology are less no of components,
low cost, light weight and high efficiency. The paper is arranged
as follows: Section II describes design of bidirectional DC-DC
converter in buck mode and boost mode, Section III presents
simulation results of the topology for bidirectional operation,
Section IV summarizes the conclusion. The working and design
of the BDC is explained briefly in the next section.
II. DESIGN OF BIDIRECTIONAL CONVERTER
Fig.2 shows the non-isolated bidirectional DC-DC converters
selected in our project. First let us understand the working of
this converter in two modes. Here, the diodes are replaced by
the controlled switches for the bidirectional operation.
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A) Buck mode:
i) Duty cycle: The duty cycle of the switch with estimated
efficiency of 90% to 95% [7] is given by equation (1).

where = input voltage, = desired output voltage, ÿ = efficiency

of the converter, eg estimated 90% to 95%.
ii) Selection of Inductor: The inductor ripple current is
Fig.2 Circuit for Bidirectional DC-DC Converter
taken as 10% to 20% of the output current [7]. The ripple in
For Buck mode (forward operation), switch S1 is triggered inductor current is given by equation (2).
and for Boost mode (backward operation), switch S2 is
triggered. The converter operation is as follows:
A) Buck mode (Forward operation): In Buck mode, the
output voltage is less than the input voltage. To charge the
where = output current necessary in the application.
battery from the DC grid, switch S1 is triggered and S2 is kept
off as shown in Figure 3. When switch S1 is ON, the input Higher the inductor value, higher is the maximum output
current rises and flows through S1 and L. When S1 is OFF, current because of the reduced ripple in output current. The
the inductor current falls until the next cycle. The energy stored inductor value is calculated using equation (3).
in inductor L is supplied for charging the battery [6].

iii) Selection of Output Capacitor: Best practice is to use

low ESR capacitors to minimize the ripple in the output voltage.
Generally output ripple voltage is taken as 10% of output
voltage [7]. Output capacitor values for a desired output
voltage ripple is calculated as in equation (4)
Fig 3. Circuit of BDC in Buck mode

B) Boost mode (Backward Operation): In Boost mode,

the output voltage is more than the input voltage. The battery
discharges power to the load with switch S2 is triggered and
S1 is off. The operation of this mode is shown by Figure 4.

where = output capacitance, voltage = desired output

ripple.
B) Boost Mode:
i) Duty cycle: The duty cycle of the switch with estimated
efficiency of 90% to 95% is given by equation (5).

Fig 4. Circuit for BDC in Boost Mode

When switch S2 is ON, the input current rises through

inductor L and S2. When S2 is OFF, the inductor current falls
until the next cycle. The energy stored in inductor L flows
through the load [6]. where = input voltage, = desired output voltage, ÿ =
In this paper, the DC grid voltage is assumed to be 24 V efficiency of the converter.
and battery voltage is 12 V The design of converter is as
shown below:
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ii) Selection of Inductor: Inductor ripple current of 10% to 20% is simulation has been carried out in Matlab Simulink. The Simulink model
assumed. Hence the ripple in inductor current is given by equation (6). of complete system working in buck mode is shown in Fig. 5.

Where = input current. The inductor value is calculated using equation

(7).

Fig 5. Simulink model of Buck converter

The waveforms of inductor current, output voltage, output current,

switch voltages and currents are shown in Figures 6 and 10. It is observed
that the ripple in the inductor current is 0.1A the output voltage is 12 V
and output current is 2A as per the design. The switch voltages and
currents are with in limit with a duty ratio of 0.5 as indicated in Table 1.
iii) Selection of output Capacitor: Output capacitor is chosen with
10% ripple in output voltage. Output capacitor values for a desired output
voltage ripple is calculated as in equation (8)

Fig 6. Waveform of Inductor current

where = output capacitance, = desired output voltage ripple [7].

Table 1 shows the design values of the selected BDC.

Fig 7. Waveform of Output voltage

Table 1. Calculated values of Components for BDC Circuit

Sr. no. Parameters Values

first
Duty Cycle 0.5
2 Switching Frequency 25 kHz
3 Output Power 24W
Figure 8. Waveform of Output current
2 DC Grid Voltage 24V
3 Battery Voltage 12V
4 Inductor 1.2mH
5 Ripple in Inductor current 0.2A

6 8.33ÿF and
Input and Output Capacitor Fig 9. Waveform of Switch 1 voltage and current
83.33 ÿF
7 Ripple in Capacitor Voltage 5%

The simulation results of BDC in Boost mode and Buck mode are
discussed in the next section.
Fig 10. Waveform of Switch 1 voltage and current
III. SIMULATION RESULTS
A) Buck mode (Forward Mode): In this mode, the power is transferred B) Boost converter (Backward mode): In this mode, the power is
from the grid to the battery. The converter operation is in continuous transferred from the battery to the grid. The converter operation is in
conduction mode (CCM). The continuous conduction mode (CCM). The
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Simulink model of complete system working in boost mode is
shown in Fig. 11.
Fig 11. Simulink model of Boost converter
The waveforms of inductor current, output voltage, output
current, switch voltages and currents are shown in Figures 12
and 16. It is observed that the ripple in the inductor current is
0.1A the output voltage is 24 V and output current is 1A as per
the design. The switch voltages and currents are with in limit
with a duty ratio of 0.5 as indicated in Table 1.
Fig 12 Waveform of Inductor Current
Fig 13. Waveform of output voltage
Figure 14. Waveform of output current
Fig 15. Waveform of Switch 1 Voltage and Current
Fig 16. Waveform of Switch 2 Voltage and Current
IV. CONCLUSION
Solar PV system with storage devices like battery can
solve the present energy crisis. The power output from a solar
panel can be fed to the DC grid and/or can be stored in
batteries for later use. In this project, a bidirectional DC-DC
converter is designed and simulated to facilitate the energy
storage at low voltage. For the grid voltage of 24 V and battery
voltage of 12 V, the bidirectional converter is simulated for
boost mode and buck mode. The topology provides bidirectional
power flow from grid to battery.
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