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 capacitorclamped 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.