A Two-Switch SEPIC-Based Nonisolated Three-Port Converter Featuring High Step-Up Gain for Solar PV Applications

Abstract

A two-switch nonisolated DC–DC three-port converter (TPC) based on a modified SEPIC circuit with a high voltage gain is introduced and a unified power control strategy is proposed in this article. The proposed TPC is integrated with one low-voltage input and one high-voltage port and is suitable for photovoltaic (PV) applications. The operating principle of this TPC is analyzed in detail and then its static voltage gain is determined. In addition, the advantage of using a modified SEPIC circuit is that fewer components are employed compared to a similar topology. Furthermore, the state space method is adopted to analyze this multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system and then a small signal model is built to design an appropriate control strategy. Finally, the proposed 100 W TPC connects a solar PV energy storage system to a load demonstrating efficiency ranging from 85% to 94%. Moreover, the steady- and dynamic-state performances of this TPC are verified in the SimStar MT3200 HIL platform, which illustrates the feasibility of the proposed TPC and its power control strategy for solar PV applications.