Superconductor application to relieve voltage collapse in synchronous boost DC-DC converters

Abstract EN

Fuel cells are the most appropriate power suppliers for mobile and portable minute electronic devices, yet they provide intrinsically low power source in practice.

As a consequence, influential equipment which can improve output voltage of fuel cells is synchronous DC-DC boost converter.

However, voltage collapse is the major drawback in this type of converters, and it occurs when load power increases substantially.

Increase of current throughout the region of Mass Transport polarization of fuel cells appears as a dramatic voltage drop in the both fuel cell and converter, and this current yields a low output voltage.

Accordingly, MOSFET switches of the converters would not be driven by the low output voltage, and voltage collapse appears.

In this paper, it is devised that use of superconductor technology can limit the increased current and alleviate voltage collapse in synchronous converters.

Hence it is introduced as a novel potential concept of superconductor application.

To satisfy the Authors’ aim, the superconductor is installed in series with the load after the node in which output voltage is sampled in order to derive MOSFETs by the controller circuit.

By tuning the operation current of the superconductor in the value corresponding with the beginning point of the Mass Transport region of polarization curve, superconductor would be able to halt the current and cease voltage collapse.