Bi-directional power management and fault tolerant feature in a 5-kW multilevel dc-dc converter with modular architecture

A 5-kW multilevel modular capacitor-clamped DC-DC converter (MMCCC) with bi-directional power management and real-time fault bypassing capability will be presented in this study. The modular structure of the MMCCC topology was utilised to build this 5-kW converter with necessary redundancy and hot swap feature for industrial and automotive applications including a future plug-in hybrid or fuel-cell powered all electric vehicles. Moreover, the circuit has flexible conversion ratio that leads to establish bi-directional power management for automotive applications mitigating the boost voltage for the fuel-cell or dual battery architecture. In addition, the MMCCC exhibits better component utilisation compared to many capacitor-clamped or classical DC-DC converters based on inductive energy transfer mechanism. Thus, the MMCCC circuit can be made more compact and reliable compared to many other DC-DC converters for high-power applications.