MPPT Boost Converter Research and Design
Status | In progress |
Contributors | @Aleena Khatum @Erika Feller @Isaac Neideffer |
Approver | [Not Completed] |
Due date | -- |
On this page |
Previous Design
Standard boost converter layout, swapping diode for GANFET on node from inductor to battery, which is a pretty standard edit.
Iteration 1
Purpose: Make a viable product that can boost the array voltage to the battery voltage. Less concern about efficiency than final product will have.
Design is a standard asynchronous boost converter with a simple feedback system.
Used a standard, over-specced silicon MOSFET and diode to ensure robustness. The past design had problems with flyback voltage spikes and MOSFETS exploding. Mine should be very resistant to this since the switches should be very resistant to high voltages, and I implemented a varistor and tvs diode on the output side.
Because it is asynchronous, the gate driver needs no bootstrapping scheme and is only for the low-side switch.
This boost converter design should be very robust and have a low likelihood of component failure. Assuming this iteration works, the next step in the project will be to make the converter half-bridge to improve efficiency. I don’t think it is a good idea to use GANFETs at this stage of the project. They may be able to improve efficiency marginally, but their tendency to fail under high-voltage conditions makes them difficult to effectively implement in a board as important to the car's function as the MPPT. Reliability > Efficiency
Engineering Diary
Check out Dr. Hanson's paper on a ZVS resonance converter design he made:
https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7749103
Good video that explains Zeta Converters:
Video that explains Boost Converter: