Modified Non-isolated Bidirectional DC–DC Converter for Regenerative Braking for Electric Vehicle Applications

Abstract

Electric vehicles (EVs) have a driving range constrained by space and weight. Regenerative braking using a bidirectional converter in EVs can increase the driving range by efficiently using the energy stored in the battery bank. A modified non-isolated bidirectional DC–DC converter is proposed in this paper. The modified converter operates basically in two modes, viz. motoring (boost) mode and regenerative braking (buck) mode. The voltage gain of the proposed converter is found to be twice of the conventional bidirectional DC–DC converter in motoring mode, whereas it is half of the conventional bidirectional DC–DC converter in braking mode. It is also envisaged that as the gain performance of the modified converter is much better than the conventional converter, it can work in a wide voltage range. Closed-loop operation of the modified converter is demonstrated feeding a permanent magnet DC (PMDC) motor, and its energy recovery due to regenerative braking is demonstrated. A laboratory prototype is developed to validate the operation of the proposed converter. © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.