directions. High-gain boost converters have
emerged as a hot research topic in power electronics
due to their increasing demand in various fields,
including fuel cell systems, distributed photovoltaic
generation systems, and uninterruptable power
supply systems. Applications such as fuel cell
systems, distributed photovoltaic generation
systems, and uninterruptable power supply systems
require a relatively high gain, Vout/Vin (where Vout
is the output voltage and Vin is the input voltage),
which has made the development of high-gain boost
converters a hot research topic in power electronics.
However, conventional boost converters have
limitations, such as the need for an extremely small
off-time for the switch, high-voltage stresses on the
switches, and low efficiency, making it challenging
to achieve such a high step-up gain. As a result,
there is a need for high-gain, high-efficiency
converters that do not have the limitations
mentioned above.
By adjusting the duty cycle or increasing the
turns ratio of the coupled inductor, the voltage gain
of a converter can be increased. However, many of
these converters suffer from significant input current
ripple. One alternative approach is the use of
quadratic converters, which have gained increasing
attention among power electronics researchers as
they can also increase the voltage gain of
conventional boost converters.
2.1 Electrolyzer
The Unipolar Stuart cell is a reliable and robust cell
that is both low maintenance and highly efficient.
This cell produces either H2 (cathode) or O2
(anode) from each electrode's single polarity. The
electrolyzer is composed of numerous cells that are
separated from one another within separate cell
compartments. The electrolyzer enables circulation
of the electrolyte through the channels between the
electrodes and cell separator by utilizing the H2 and
O2 gases that rise in those channels. The cell
voltage, which typically ranges from 1.7 to 1.9 V, is
maintained under normal operating conditions. The
material constraints in the electrolyzer are reduced
as its operating temperature does not exceed 70°C.
The H2 produced has a purity of 99.9%.
Additionally, the current efficiency is 100%,
resulting in a hydrogen production rate of:
(1)
The current between electrodes is represented by Ie,
and the produced H2 is stored in a tank at 3 bar
pressure. This stored hydrogen is utilized to supply
the load power when the insolation levels are low
and the fuel cell needs to be fed.
2.2 Fuel Cell
The system design should consider an important
factor that affects the electrolysis process. It is
important to note that when the electrolyzer current
reaches zero, it is necessary to maintain a protective
voltage to prevent excessive corrosion of the
cathodic potentials. The proposed electric storage
device is designed to address this issue by isolating
the electrolyte from the electrolysis cell and
introducing N2 into the electrolyzer. This helps to
protect the electrodes from corrosion when the
electrolyzer current drops to zero[13].
The system proposed utilizes air as the oxidant and
maintains a cell pressure at atmospheric conditions
with a temperature of 70°C. The electrical
performance of the fuel cell is related to the state
variables by the Nernst equation at atmospheric
pressure, considering the current density designed as
400 mA/cm2, which requires the use of 90 fuel cells
in a stack.
(2)
A detailed description of a PV generation system
with incremental conductance-based MPPT and fuel
cell with a DC-DC converter is presented in [14].
2.3 Quadratic Bidirectional Boost /Buck DC-
DC Converter
Figure 1 illustrates the power topology of the
Quadratic Bidirectional Boost/Buck DC-DC
converter. Unlike the classical Boost quadratic
converter, this topology does not require additional
passive components such as inductors and
capacitors. Additionally, it features a fixed voltage
gain with a quadratic function for both Boost and
Buck modes of operation. Furthermore, the charging
or discharging of the converter depends only on a
single transistor. To investigate, the bidirectional
DC/DC converter will be assumed to be in steady-
state operation. The power converter operates in two
different modes: The bidirectional DC/DC converter
operates in two modes: Boost mode and Buck mode.
In Boost mode, the converter transfers energy from
the input side to the output side. During this mode,
two IGBTs (T1 and T4) remain in the OFF state,
while IGBT T3 remains in the ON state. The
switching time of T2 can be controlled using PWM
with an output voltage control and inner current
control.
WSEAS TRANSACTIONS on CIRCUITS and SYSTEMS
DOI: 10.37394/23201.2023.22.7
G. Divya, Venkata Padmavathi S.