Analysis and Experimentation of Quadratic Boost Converter for Photovoltaic Applications

Objectives: To design and analyze a high gain converter namely Quadratic Boost Converter which acts as an interface with the solar Photovoltaic power generation. Methods: The design and testing of the Quadratic Boost Converter is done using MATLAB and SIMULINK. The performance parameters such as voltage gain, output voltage ripple and stress across the switches are computed. The losses in the converter are calculated and listed. The hardware prototype for the converter is developed to highlight the important features of the converter. Findings: Currently, solar Photovoltaic generation plays an important role to satisfy the energy demand and it provides numerous benefits such as it operates without pollution, no fuel is required and basically a clean energy source without polluting the environment. Application: A single PV cell produces a low output voltage and therefore a suitable interface circuit is required for DC applications. The Quadratic Boost Converter is best suited because of its high gain, reduced voltage and current stress with high efficiency without increasing the number of active switches compared to the conventional boost converter. Also the limitation of switching frequency and voltage gain is overcome in this proposed topology.