Input-parallel output-parallel (IPOP) three-level (TL) DC/DC converters with minimized capacitor ripple currents
This paper proposes input-parallel output-parallel (IPOP) three-level (TL) DC/DC converters with the interleaving control strategy, which is composed with two four-switch half-bridge TL (HBTL) DC/DC converters featuring with simple and compact circuit structures. Due to the IPOP structure, the component current stresses in the proposed converters are reduced. More significantly, the combination of the proposed IPOP TL circuit structure and the interleaving control strategy can largely reduce the ripple currents on the two input capacitors not only by doubling the frequencies of the ripple currents on two input capacitors but also by counteracting part of these ripple currents according to the operation principle of the proposed converters. Therefore, the proposed IPOP TL DC/DC converters with the interleaving control strategy can improve the performances of the converters in increasing the lifetimes of the input capacitors and minimizing the sizes of the input capacitors. Finally, the simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed converters combined with the interleaving control strategy.