Designing a Model Reference Adaptive
Controller for a DC – DC Boost Converter
Rasool Kahani
dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, Canada
rkahani@mun.ca
Abstract— This work presents a linear state space model of
a DC – DC boost converter by considering both switching state
of the converter. The transfer function is obtained by using the
state space averaging technique where the duty cycle is the
input, and the capacitor voltage is the output. In the next step,
the PID controller is used to regulate the output voltage at a
fixed level, which is essential for correct power injection when
the DC – DC boost converter is connected to the grid, and the
outer loop is designed for implementation of MIT rule for a
model reference adaptive control. Hence, a model reference
direct adaptive strategy is obtained to update the parameters of
the PID controller in real-time to force the actual system to
behave like the desired reference model. Mentioned controller is
far more successful at dealing with unknown parameter
fluctuations and environmental changes that is common in DC
– DC boost converter where is connected to the grid. The
controller and the model are tested in MATLAB/SIMULINK
for load disturbances. The controller tracked the model
reference output and eliminated any steady state error, so the
introduced converter controller can be used for different
applications.
Keywords— boost converters, adaptive control, steady state
error
I. INTRODUCTION
The converter is a fundamental module in a power
electronics conversion system. In general, converters are
divided into the following categories, Controlled Rectifiers
(AC to DC), Inverter (DC to AC), Chopper (DC to DC), AC
voltage controllers (AC to AC). For grid-connected systems,
the aforementioned converter, chopper provide high
efficiency, smooth control, and quick dynamic response [1].
Many DC-DC converter topologies such as the boost
topology [2], the buck topology, buck-boost converters,
single-ended primary inductor converter (SEPIC) topology
[3]. The boost converters are involved in increasing the
voltage. The buck converters are applied to lower the voltage.
Then, buck-boost and SEPIC are competent to step up and
step down the output voltage. Boost converters are used as
front-end converters for battery sources, photovoltaic solar
systems, and fuel cells to get greater output voltage in contrast
to the input DC voltage. In [4] research has been done over
step-up DC- DC converters in various configurations. In [5]
the authors analyzed boost and SEPIC converters, considering
output voltage ripple, total harmonic distortion, power factor
for both converters, and Boost converters produced better
results.
Because these converters display poor voltage regulation
and inadequate dynamic response when run in open loop, they
are often equipped with closed loop control for output voltage
XXX-X-XXXX-XXXX-X/XX/$XX.00 ©20XX IEEE
Mohsin Jamil
dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Memorial University of Newfoundland
St. John’s, Canada
mjamil@mun.ca
regulation [6]. The most common controllers are linear PID
and PI controllers. The design is based on linear control
theory, such as the Ziegler-Nichols method [7], the bode plot,
and so on. These control methods, which are based on the
converter's linearized small signal model, perform well around
the operating point. The duty cycle determines the poles and a
right-half-plane zero, as well as the amplitude of the frequency
response. As a result, PID controllers have a hard time
respecting changes in operating point, and they function
poorly when the system is subjected to substantial load
fluctuations. There are several PID tuning methods
introduced. Despite the necessity of a step input application
with halted process, the Ziegler-Nichols technique is an
experimental one that is extensively utilised. One downside of
this technique is that it necessitates prior understanding of
plant models. When the controller is adjusted using the
Ziegler-Nichols technique, a decent but not optimal system
response is achieved. If the plant dynamic changes, the
transient reaction might be considerably worse.
In this research, the voltage control system is essentially
containing two loops, which are the inner loop for a separate
PID controller to regulate the output voltage at a fixed level,
which is vital for correct power injection to the grid [1], and
the outer loop for implementation of MIT rule for a model
reference adaptive control. Hence, a model reference direct
adaptive strategy is obtained to update the parameters of the
PID controller in real-time to force the actual system to behave
like the desired reference model.
II. MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND
The boost converter consists of a dc input voltage source,
an inductor L, a controlled switch S, a diode, a filter capacitor
C and a load resistance R. The current in the inductor grows
linearly when the switch is turned on, but the diode remains
off. When the switch is turned off, the energy stored in the
inductor is released to the output RC circuit through the diode.
The output voltage is always greater than the input voltage.
The circuit for analysing the boost converter in ON and OFF
states is illustrated in the figures below.
Fig. 1. Boost converter when the switch is OFF.
 1
0 0 0 − 1 1
𝐿
𝐴1 = [0 −
1 ] 𝐴2 = [
1 ], 𝐵1 = [ 𝐿 ] 𝐵2 = [ 𝐿 ]
1
𝑅𝐶 − 0 0
𝐶 𝑅𝐶

utilising the matrices in (9) and (10) to get at

𝑑𝑖𝑙 (1−𝑑)
𝑑𝑡
0 − 𝑖 1
𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝐿 ] 𝑣𝑖𝑛
Fig. 2. Boost converter when the switch is ON.
[𝑑𝑣 ] = [1−𝑑 ()
𝑐
−
1 𝑣𝑐 0
T is the switching period, and the switch is closed for time 𝑑𝑡 𝐶 𝑅𝐶
𝐷𝑇 and open for (1 − 𝐷)𝑇, where 𝐷 is the steady-state duty
cycle. “ON” mode state: Where 𝑑 is duty cycle at any time t. The boost converter's
steady state model may be calculated from (11) by letting
𝑑𝑖𝑙 𝑑𝑖𝑙
𝑣𝑖𝑛 − 𝐿 =0 () 𝑑𝑡
𝑑𝑡 [𝑑𝑣𝑐
] = 0 and 𝑑 = 𝐷. In this case (11) becomes
𝑉𝑐 𝑑𝑣𝑐 𝑑𝑡
+𝐶 =0 ()
𝑅 𝑑𝑡
(1−𝐷)
0 0 − 𝑖 1
Defining the state vector as 𝑥 = [𝑖𝑙 𝑣𝑐 ]𝑇 and the output [ ] = [1−𝐷 𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝐿 ] 𝑣𝑖𝑛 (12)
voltage 𝑣𝑜 = 𝑣𝑐 , the above two equations can be written in 0 −
1 𝑣𝑐 0
𝐶 𝑅𝐶
the following form:
𝑑𝑖𝑙
The steady state relationship between 𝑣𝑜 and 𝑣𝑖𝑛 may be
𝑑𝑡
0 0 𝑖 1 expressed as using (12) and (8).
[𝑑𝑣 ] = [0 1 ] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝐿 ] 𝑣𝑖𝑛 ()
𝑐 − 𝑣𝑐 𝑉𝑜 1
𝑑𝑡
𝑅𝐶 0 = (13)
𝑉𝑖𝑛 1−𝐷

𝑖 To get the boost converter's transfer function, the model

𝑣𝑜 = [0 1] [ 𝑙 ] () given by (12) must first be linearized around a particular
𝑣𝑐
operating point. To this end, we assume that the inductor
“OFF” Mode state: During the OFF state, the energy stored current 𝐼𝑙 , capacitor voltage 𝑉𝑐 , duty cycle D, and input
in the inductor is released to the output RC circuit through the voltage 𝑉𝑖𝑛 determine the steady state operating point. Now by
diode. The voltage equations are as follows: considering small perturbations of the operating point, the
variables associated with the average model can be written as
𝑑𝑖𝑙
𝑣𝑖𝑛 − 𝑣𝑐 − 𝐿 =0 () 𝑖𝑙 = 𝐼𝑙 + 𝑖̃𝑙 , 𝑣𝑐 = 𝑉𝑐 + 𝑣̃𝑐 , 𝑣𝑖𝑛 = 𝑉𝑖𝑛 + 𝑣̃ ̃
𝑖𝑛 and 𝑑 = 𝐷 + 𝑑
𝑑𝑡

𝑉𝑐 𝑑𝑣𝑐 Therefore (11) becomes

𝑖𝑙 − −𝐶 =0 ()
𝑅 𝑑𝑡 (1−𝐷)
𝑑 𝐼 + 𝑖̃𝑙 0 − 𝐼
We can derive the following state equations for the OFF [ 𝑙 ] = [1−𝐷 𝐿
][ 𝑙] +
𝑑𝑡 𝑉𝑐 + 𝑣̃𝑐 −
1 𝑉𝑐
mode by rearranging equations 𝐶 𝑅𝐶
(1−𝐷) 𝑑̃
𝑑𝑖𝑙 1
0 − 𝑖̃ 0 𝐼 1
0 − 𝑖 1 [1−𝐷 𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝑑̃ 𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝐿 ] [𝑉𝑖𝑛 + 𝑣̃
𝑖𝑛 ] (14)
𝑑𝑡 𝐿 1 𝑣̃𝑐 𝑉𝑐
[𝑑𝑣 ] = [1 ] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝐿 ] 𝑣𝑖𝑛 () − − 0 0
𝑐
−
1 𝑣𝑐 0
𝐶 𝑅𝐶 𝐶
𝑑𝑡 𝐶 𝑅𝐶
It's worth noting that the steady-state portion of (14) is
𝑖 given by
𝑣𝑜 = [0 1] [ 𝑙 ] ()
𝑣𝑐 (1−𝐷)
0 − 𝐼 1
To get a converter model across one switching period, a [1−𝐷 𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] + [ 𝐿 ] [𝑉𝑖𝑛 ] = 0
state space averaging approach is utilised. To put it another −
1 𝑉𝑐 0
𝐶 𝑅𝐶
way, the state space descriptions of the two modes must be
replaced with a single state-space description that And
approximates the behaviour of the circuit across the whole 𝑑̃ 𝑉𝑐
time T. By using state space averaging technique, the 0 𝐼
[ 𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] = [ 𝐿𝐼𝑙] [𝑑̃] (15)
averaged modified model is given by 𝑑̃ 𝑉𝑐 −
− 0 𝐶
𝐶
𝐴 = 𝐴1 𝑑 + 𝐴2 (1 − 𝑑) () Hence, (14) is reduced to
(1−𝐷) 1 𝑉𝑐
𝐵 = 𝐵1 𝑑 + 𝐵2 (1 − 𝑑) () 𝑖̃ 0 − 𝑖̃ 𝑣̃
𝑑
[ 𝑙 ] = [1−𝐷 𝐿
] [ 𝑙 ] + [𝐿 𝐿
𝐼𝑙 ] [
𝑖𝑛
] (16)
Where 𝐴1 , 𝐴2 , 𝐵1 and 𝐵2 are given by
𝑑𝑡 𝑣̃𝑐 −
1 𝑣̃𝑐 0 − 𝑑̃
𝐶 𝑅𝐶 𝐶

Finally, the output voltage perturbation may be expressed

directly as
 𝑖̃
̃𝑜 = [0 1] [ 𝑙 ]
𝑣 (17)
𝑣̃𝑐
The state space model of (16) and (17) are given by
𝑥̇ = 𝐴𝑥 + 𝐵𝑢, 𝑦 = 𝐶𝑥
(1−𝐷) 1 𝑉𝑐
0 − 𝐿 𝐿
𝐿
𝐴 = [1−𝐷 1 ], 𝐵 = [ 𝐼𝑙 ], 𝐶 = [0 1]
− 0 −
𝐶 𝑅𝐶 𝐶

The following matrix equation may be used to calculate

the transfer function of the small signal model of boost Fig. 3. Model reference adaptive control system.
converter.
The MIT rule was initially created in 1960 by
𝑋(𝑠) = (𝑠𝐼 − 𝐴)−1 𝐵𝑈(𝑠), 𝑌(𝑠) = 𝐶𝑋(𝑠) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) academics and
𝑣̃(𝑠) was used to construct aviation autopilot systems. For every
𝐺11 (𝑠) = 𝑜
= (𝑠𝐼 − 𝐴)−1 𝐵1 (18) system, the MIT rule may be used to build a controller with
𝑖𝑛 (𝑠)
𝑣̃
𝑣̃(𝑠) the MRAC scheme. A cost function is defined as follows in
𝐺12 (𝑠) = 𝑜
= (𝑠𝐼 − 𝐴)−1 𝐵2 (19) this rule:
𝑑̃ (𝑠)

Where 𝐵1 and 𝐵2 are the columns of the matrix B. In this 𝐽(𝜃) = 𝑒 2 /2 (19)
research, we design a controller to generate duty cycle Where 𝑒 is the difference between the plant's outputs and
correction 𝑑̃ in such a way that the output voltage remains the model's outputs, and 𝜃 is the variable parameter. The
constant. In this regard, we consider the transfer function parameter is changed in such a way that the cost function may
given in 19, which may be expressed as follows in terms of be reduced to zero. As a result, the change in the 𝜃 parameter
converter parameters: is maintained in the direction of 𝐽 's negative gradient, i.e.
𝑣̃(𝑠)
𝑜 (1−𝐷)𝑉𝑜 −(𝐿𝐼𝑙 )𝑠
= 𝐿 (20) 𝑑𝜃
= −𝛾
𝜕𝐽
(20)
𝑑̃ (𝑠) (𝐿𝐶)𝑠 2 + 𝑠−(1−𝐷)2
𝑅 𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝜃

III. CONTROLLER DESIGN AND SIMULATION From (19)

𝑑𝜃 𝜕𝑒
A. Model Reference Adaptive Controller = −𝛾𝑒 (21)
𝑑𝑡 𝜕𝜃
In this research the method used to design the controller is
Here 𝛾 is a positive number that represents the controller's
model reference adaptive control (MRAC) method which
adaptation gain. Assume the process is linear, with the transfer
update the PID controller parameters. MRAC is a direct
function 𝐾𝐺(𝑠), where 𝐾 is an unknown parameter and 𝐺(𝑠)
adaptive method with certain adjustable controller settings
is a known second-order transfer function. Our objective is to
and an adjusting mechanism. Adaptive controllers are far
create a controller that will allow our process to monitor the
more successful at dealing with unknown parameter
reference model using the transfer function 𝐺𝑚 (s) = 𝐾𝑜 𝐺(𝑠),
fluctuations and environmental changes than the well-known
with 𝐾𝑜 being a known parameter. From Eq. (18)
and easy structured fixed gain PID controllers. The outer loop,
or regular feedback loop, and the inner loop, or parameter 𝐸(𝑠) = 𝐾𝐺(𝑠)𝑈(𝑠) − 𝐾𝑜 𝐺(𝑠)𝑈𝑐 (𝑠) (22)
adjustment loop, make up an adaptive controller. This work
deals with designing of adaptive controller with MRAC Defining a control law,
scheme using MIT rule to control a DC-DC boost converter. 𝑢(𝑡) = 𝜃 ∗ 𝑢𝑐 (23)
A controller is generally characterised by a collection of
parameters that may be changed. Only one parameter is From (22) and (23), and taking partial differentiation,
utilised to define the control law in this article. The value of is 𝜕𝐸(𝑠) 𝐾
= 𝐾𝐺(𝑠)𝑈𝑐 (𝑠) = 𝑌 (𝑠) (24)
mostly determined by the amount of adaption gain. 𝜕𝜃 𝐾𝑜 𝑚
Adjustment Mechanism component is used to change the
From (21) and (24), we will get,
controller's settings so that the real plant can follow the
reference model. The adjusting mechanism can be developed 𝑑𝜃 𝐾
= −𝛾𝑒 𝑦 = −𝛾′𝑒𝑦𝑚 (25)
using mathematical techniques such as the MIT rule, 𝑑𝑡 𝐾𝑜 𝑚
Lyapunov theory, and theory of augmented error. In this work,
we are using MIT rule approach.
B. Simulation results
Fig.3 depicts the MRAC system's fundamental block
diagram. As indicated in the diagram, 𝑦𝑚 represents the To simulate an electrical system, such as a DC-DC
output of the reference model, whereas y is the output of the converter, one must enter equations for various blocks in the
real plant, with 𝑒 denoting the difference between them. system and use icons in Simulink to create an analogous block
diagram. Individual icon settings can be defined for the
𝑒(𝑡) = 𝑦(𝑡) − 𝑦𝑚 (𝑡) (18) process. Referring back to the equations for boost converter in
its two switch positions in the previous section, a Simulink
model can readily be constructed. In this work, the inductor is
𝐿 = 100 × 10−6 𝐻, the capacitor is 𝐶 = 3000 × 10−6 𝐹, the
resistor is 𝑅 = 150 𝛺, and the input voltage source is
considered to be 𝑉𝑖𝑛 = 120 𝑉. Therefore, the transfer function
 of boost converter which gives the output voltages in term
of duty ratio is:
𝑣̃(𝑠) (1−0.5)320−(100×10−6 )(640)𝑠
𝑜
= 100×10−6
(26)
𝑑̃ (𝑠) (100×10−6 )(3000×10−6 )𝑠 2 + 𝑠−(0.5)2
150
Where the reference input is 320V, and the model
reference block of the adaptive method is a 1st order transfer
function with a pole far enough from the origin. The
mentioned block is shown in the following figure.
Fig. 4. Model reference Simulink block.
Fig. 5. The Block diagram of the Boost converter and the model reference adaptive controller
We can see from the simulation results that our controller
is working properly, as the voltage deviation drops to zero in
less than 0.05 second and the voltage returns to its steady state
value without any error. Controller generates the desired value
of duty cycle so as to obtain the desired voltage and connected
to the Pulse Width Modulator (PWM).
Fig. 6. The simulation results
The adjustment mechanism block, which is illustrated in
fig.5, has two inputs which are the error and the output of
model reference block, and only has one output 𝜃 which
multiply to the PID parameters to adjust the controller.
Finally, the whole Simulink diagram of the DC – DC
boost converter system and the designed controller is shown
in the following figure. As it can be seen in Fig. 8 there is a
PWM generator to produce pulses which is vital as an input
of the switching component.
This change of duty cycle changes the out put voltage to
reduce the error signal to zero. In the following figure the
yellow curve shows the error, the green curve shows the
adjustment mechanism output which is updated by MIT rule
and the red curve is the DC – DC boost converter out put
which is tracking the model reference out put in last
simulation result.

Effectiveness and the robustness of the proposed
controller are validated through case studies when subjected
to load variations. In the following cases the load is changed
from 𝑅 = 150 𝛺 to 𝑅 = 200 𝛺 . The output of the closed
loop system related to each load is simulated and the results
Fig. 7. The The Model reference vs Converter out put in case of load is 𝑅 = 150 𝛺
Fig. 8. The The Model reference vs Converter out put in case of load is 𝑅 = 200 𝛺
IV. CONCLUSION
This work presents a linear state space model of a DC –
DC boost converter by considering both switching state of the
converter. The transfer function is obtained by using the state
apace averaging technique. In the next step, the PID controller
is used to regulate the output voltage at a fixed level, which is
essential for correct power injection when the DC – DC boost
converter is connected to the grid, and the outer loop is
designed for implementation of MIT rule for a model
reference adaptive control. The controller and the model are
tested in MATLAB/SIMULINK for load disturbances. The
controller tracked the model reference output and eliminated
any steady state error, so the introduced converter controller
can be used for different applications.
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