Abstract

The composite converter allows integrating the high-efficiency converter modules to achieve superior efficiency performance, becoming a prominent solution for electric transport power conversion. In this work, the versatile buck–boost dc–dc converter is proposed to be integrated into an electric vehicle composite architecture that requires a wide voltage range in the dc link to improve the electric motor efficiency. The inductor core of this versatile buck–boost converter has been redesigned for high voltage applications. The versatile buck–boost converter module of the composite architecture is in charge of the control stage. It provides a dc bus voltage regulation at a wide voltage operation range, which requires step-up (boost) and step-down (buck) operating modes. The PLECS thermal simulation of the composite architecture shows a superior power conversion efficiency of the proposed topology over the well-known classical noninverting buck–boost converter under the same operating conditions. The obtained results have been validated via experimental efficiency measures and experimental transient responses of the versatile buck–boost converter. Finally, a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) real-time simulation system of a 4.4 kW powertrain is presented using a PLECS RT Box 1 device. The HIL simulation results verified the accuracy of the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.