Cascaded Adaptive Super Twisting controller for DC/DC converters in electrical vehicle applications

During the past decade, power electronics research has focused on the development of DC/DC power converters for electric vehicle (EVs) applications, and it is estimated that there is still a huge potential for this field during the coming years. In this paper, an enhanced super twisting sliding mode controller is presented, discussed and tested experimentally for DC/DC converters in electric vehicle applications. An interesting point comes from the proposed strategy which reduces by half the number of gains to adjust, ensures a chatter-free response, gives finite-time convergence and improved accuracy. The proposed controller is compared with different controllers such as PI and conventional super twisting sliding mode. The comparison is performed at variable supply voltages and output currents to show the effect of these variables on the converter performance. The experimental results show that the dynamic response of the DC/DC converter is significantly improved compared to classical controls.