A bidirectional high step-up multi-input DC-DC converter with soft switching

With the advancement of technology in renewable energy resources, the researchers and engineers have been more interested in utilizing such energy resources in various types of applications. To utilize commercial loads, the produced energy should be transferred to a high voltage (HV) DC link. In this paper, a double input HV gain DC-DC converter is proposed. The soft switching capability and bidirectional power flow are achieved in the proposed topology using a coupled inductor structure. Thanks to an improved switching strategy for different power flow modes, soft switching operation of four main switches is achieved in low voltage (LV) to HV power flow direction. In HV to LV power transfer, the soft switching of the half of switches still exists. Moreover, a HV gain is achieved due to utilizing the coupled inductor. To validate the operation of proposed converter in different operation modes, a laboratory prototype was tested, which its results is presented in the paper.