Selection of Coupling Factor for Minimum Inductor Current Ripple in Multi-winding Coupled Inductor Used in Bidirectional DC-DC Converters

A bidirectional dc-dc converter is used in battery energy storage systems owing to the growing requirements of a charging and discharging mode of battery. The magnetic coupling of output or input inductors in parallel-connected multi modules of a bidirectional dc-dc converter is often utilized to reduce the peak-to-peak ripple size of the inductor current. This study proposes a novel design guideline to achieve minimal ripple size of the inductor current under bidirectional power flow. The newly proposed design guideline of optimized coupling factor is applicable to the buck and boost operation modes of a bidirectional dc-dc converter. Therefore, the coupling factor value of the coupled inductor does not have to be optimized separately for buck and boost operation modes. This new observation is explained using the theoretical model of coupled inductor and confirmed through simulation and experimental test.