Game Theoretic Approach for Achieving Optimum Overall Efficiency in DC/DC Converters

Power electronic converters are often used in parallel both for efficiency and reliability improvement. Numerous approaches have been documented, but so far, to the best knowledge of the authors, there is no general proof demonstrating if a given configuration would lead to maximum overall efficiency throughout the whole load range. Finding a general answer is complicated by the large number of topologies and load sharing strategies that are used. This paper endeavors to find a generic solution to the question, Which current sharing technique yields best results in terms of overall efficiency?, by using a game theoretic approach and a generalized form of efficiency load current characteristic. The authors start from the assumption that each converter in parallel can be modeled as an agent endowed with intelligence, able to choose a strategy in order to achieve a target. The method is applied to dc/dc converters in general and as an example to the buck converter. Nevertheless, the results can be generalized to other converter types (in the case of ac, additional dimensions will appear, such as reactive power, phase, or frequency) or to other energy conversion or transmission devices.