An Interleaved Half-Bridge Three-Port Converter With Enhanced Power Transfer Capability Using Three-Leg Rectifier for Renewable Energy Applications

In this paper, an interleaved half-bridge (IHB) three-port converter (TPC) is proposed for a renewable power system. The IHB-TPC is used to interface three power ports: 1) one source port; 2) one battery port; and 3) one isolated load port. The proposed IHB-TPC is derived by integrating two half-bridge TPC modules. A parallel configuration is adopted for the primary side of the two half-bridge modules, while a parallel–series configuration is adopted for the secondary side of the two modules. The power can be transferred from the source and the battery to the load within the whole switching cycle with the proposed IHB-TPC. It means there are no additional conduction losses caused by the circulating current or the free-wheeling operation stage. Hence, the voltage gain can be extended, and the output filter can be reduced. Zero-voltage switching is realized for all the four main switches to reduce the switching losses. Two of the three ports can be tightly regulated by adopting pulsewidth modulation plus phase-shift control, while the third port is left unregulated to maintain power balance for the system. The operation principles and the performances of the proposed converter are analyzed in detail. The experimental results are given to verify the feasibility and the effectiveness of the proposed converter.