Optimised design and analysis of a non-isolated multi-port converter for hybrid energy applications

Hybrid energy renewable systems (HERS) employ a dedicated interfacing power electronic converter for individual sources. With an increase in the number of sources, the number of interfacing converters, semiconductor switches, diodes, and passive elements (inductor and capacitor) also increases. As a result, the overall cost, volume, and losses will increase. Therefore, a multiport converter (MPC) is proposed in this paper to integrate multiple sources, a battery energy storage system (BESS), and a load with less component count. The proposed single-inductor MPC has multiple input ports, an output port, and one bidirectional port. The proposed configuration minimises the number of components, thereby reducing losses and improving converter efficiency. The MPC operates in boost, buck, and buck – boost modes with three different battery operating cases, such as idle, charging, and discharging. This allows the proposed MPC to have flexible modes of operation, which include individual or simultaneous input sources supplying the load as well as charging the battery. The mathematical analysis is carried out to derive the steady-state equations for detailed analysis of efficiency, power losses, and device stresses under various operating scenarios. The experimental results validate the operation of the proposed MPC in different modes. The comparative analysis proves the superiority of the proposed MPC in comparison with the reported similar works.