< Back to previous page

Publication

DC/DC Converters for Electric Vehicles

Book Contribution - Chapter

The large number of automobiles in use around the world has caused and continues to
cause serious problems of environment and human life. Air pollution, global warming, and
the rapid depletion of the earth's petroleum resources are now serious problems. Electric
Vehicles (EVs), Hybrid Electric Vehicles (HEVs) and Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs)
have been typically proposed to replace conventional vehicles in the near future. Most
electric and hybrid electric configurations use two energy storage devices, one with high
energy storage capability, called the "main energy system" (MES), and the other with high
power capability and reversibility, called the "rechargeable energy storage system" (RESS).
MES provides extended driving range, and RESS provides good acceleration and
regenerative braking. Energy storage or supply devices vary their output voltage with load
or state of charge and the high voltage of the DC-link create major challenges for vehicle
designers when integrating energy storage / supply devices with a traction drive. DC-DC
converters can be used to interface the elements in the electric power train by boosting or
chopping the voltage levels. Due to the automotive constraints, the power converter
structure has to be reliable, lightweight, small volume, with high efficiency, low
electromagnetic interference and low current/voltage ripple. Thus, in this chapter, a
comparative study on three DC/DC converters topologies (Conventional step-up dc-dc
converter, interleaved 4-channels step-up dc-dc converter with independent inductors and
Full-Bridge step-up dc-dc converter) is carried out. The modeling and the control of each
topology are presented. Simulations of 30KW DC/DC converter are carried out for each
topology. This study takes into account the weight, volume, current and voltage ripples,
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and the efficiency of each converter topology.
Book: Electric Vehicles - Modelling and Simulations
Pages: 309-332
Number of pages: 24
ISBN:978-953-307-477-1
Publication year:2011
Keywords:dcdc converter, electric vehicle