Variable Phase-Shift Switching Strategy For Multi-Input Interleaved Boost Converters in Solar Energy Systems

Interleaved boost converters have been widely used to reduce input and output current ripple for different applications, from solar energy systems to electric vehicles and charging systems. In interleaved power converters, the traditional approach is to use a constant phase shift based on the number of interleaved phases; however, this method is not necessarily ideal for multi-input interleaved converters with variable input voltages. This paper proposes a new phase-shift switching strategy for multi-input interleaved boost converters that aims to reduce output voltage ripple. The proposed method employs an algorithm to minimize the output current ripples by altering the phase difference between the first and subsequent switching signals of two interleaved converters. The switching strategy is targeted for use with on-vehicle integrated solar arrays, where two different arrays on different surfaces (hood, roof) may have different shading patterns and/or solar radiation, leading to different input voltages. However, the concept can also be applied to wider applications such as stationary solar systems. The algorithm is implemented in MATLAB, and circuit simulation results are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy in reducing the output capacitor’s voltage ripple.