• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.220-233
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• 2019

This work aims to study and analyze the various operating modes of universal power converter which is powered by solar and thermoelectric generators. The proposed converter is operated in a DC-DC (buck or boost mode) and DC-AC (single phase) inverter with high efficiency. DC power sources, such as solar photovoltaic (SPV) panels, thermoelectric generators (TEGs), and Li-ion battery, are selected as input to the proposed converter according to the nominal output voltage available/generated by these sources. The mode of selection and output power regulation are achieved via control of the metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) switches in the converter through the modified stepped perturb and observe (MSPO) algorithm. The MSPO duty cycle control algorithm effectively converts the unregulated DC power from the SPV/TEG into regulated DC for storing energy in a Li-ion battery or directly driving a DC load. In this work, the proposed power sources and converter are mathematically modelled using the Scilab-Xcos Simulink tool. The hardware prototype is designed for 200 W rating with a dsPIC30F4011 digital controller. The various output parameters, such as voltage ripple, current ripple, switching losses, and converter efficiency, are analyzed, and the proposed converter with a control circuit operates the converter closely at 97% efficiency.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.254-260
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• 2019

The failure rate of bidirectional dc-to-dc converter is predicted through the failure mode and effect analysis (FMEA) and the fault-tree analysis (FTA) considering the operational risk. In order to increase the driving voltage of the electric vehicle efficiently, the bidirectional converter is attached to the front of the inverter. It has a boost mode for discharging battery power to the dc-link capacitor and a buck mode for charging the regenerative power to the battery. Based on the results of the FMEA considering the operating characteristics of the bidirectional converter, the fault-tree is designed considering the risk of the converter. After setting the design parameters for the MCU for the electric vehicle, we analyze the failure rate of the capacitor due to the output voltage ripple and the inductor component failure rate due to the inductor current ripple. In addition, we obtain the failure rate of major parts according to operating temperature using MIL-HDBK-217F. Finally, the failure rate and the mean time between failures (MTBF) of the converter are predicted by reflecting the part failure rate to the basic event of the fault-tree.