Lab Session 5: Boost converter

MAKHLOUF Abd Elkrim

MECT 2
 boost converter
A boost converter (step-up converter) is a DC-to-DC power converter with an output voltage greater than its input
voltage. It is a class of switched-mode power supply (SMPS) containing at least two semiconductor switches (a diode
and a transistor) and at least one energy storage element, a capacitor, inductor, or the two in combination .Filters
made of capacitors (sometimes in combination with inductors) are normally added to the output of the converter to
reduce output voltage ripple.

Overview :
Power for the boost converter cancome
from any suitable DC sources ,such as
batteries, solar panels,rectifiers and DC
generators. A process that changes one
DC voltage to adifferent DC voltage is
called DC to DC conversion. A boost
converter is aDC to DC converter with an
output voltage greater than the source
voltage .A boost converter is sometimes
called a step-up converter since it “steps up ”the source voltage. Since power ( ) must be
conserved, the output current is lower than the source current.

APPLICATION :
Battery powered systems often stack cells in series to achieve higher voltage. However, sufficient stacking
of cells is not possible in many high voltage applications due to lack of space. Boost converters can
increase the voltage and reduce the number of cells. Two battery-powered applications that use boost
converters are hybrid electric vehicles(HEV) and lighting systems. The NHW20 model Toyota Prius HEV uses
a 500 V motor. Without a boost converter, the Prius would need nearly417 cells to power the motor.
However, a Prius actually uses only 168 cells and boosts the battery voltage from 202V to 500 V. Boost
converters also power devices at smaller scale applications, such as portable lighting systems. A white LED
typically requires 3.3 V to emit light, and a boost converter can step up the voltage from a single 1.5 V
alkaline cell to power the lamp. Boost converters can also produce higher voltages to operate cold cathode
fluorescent tubes (CCFL) in devices such as LCD backlights and some flashlights.
A boost converter is used as the voltage increase mechanism in the circuit known as the 'Joule thief'. This
circuit topology is used with low power battery applications, and is aimed at the ability of a boost converter
to 'steal' the remaining energy in a battery. This energy would otherwise be wasted since the low voltage of a
nearly depleted battery makes it unusable for a normal load. This energy would otherwise remain untapped
because many applications do not allow enough current to flow through a load when voltage decreases.
This voltage decrease
occurs as batteries become depleted, and is a characteristic of the ubiquitous alkaline battery.
Since ( )as well, and R tends to be stable, power available to the load goes down significantly
as voltage decreases.

Circuit analysis :
Operating principle
The key principle that drives the boost converter is the tendency of an inductor to resist changes in current.
In a boost converter, the output voltage is always higher than the input voltage. A schematic of a boost
power stage is shown in Figure 1.
(a) When the switch is closed, current flows through the inductor in clockwise direction and the inductor
stores the energy. Polarity of the left side of the inductor is positive.
(b) When the switch is opened, current will be reduced as the impedance is higher. Therefore, change or
reduction incurrent will be opposed by the inductor. Thus the polarity will be reversed (means left side of
inductor will be negative now). As a result two sources will be in series causing a higher voltage to charge
the capacitor through the diode D.
If the switch is cycled fast enough, the inductor will not discharge fully in between charging stages, and the
load will always see a voltage greater than that of the input source alone when the switch is opened. Also
while the switch is opened, the capacitor in parallel with the load is charged to this combined voltage. When
the switch is then closed and the right hand side is shorted out from the left hand side, the capacitor is
therefore able to provide the voltage and energy to the load. During this time, the blocking diode prevents
the capacitor from discharging through the switch. The switch must of course be opened again fast enough
to prevent the capacitor from discharging too much.
The basic principle of a Boost converter consists of
2distinct states (see figure 2):

• in the On-state, the switch S (see figure 1) is

closed,resulting in an increase in the
inductor current;
• in the Off-state, the switch is open and
the only path offered to inductor current is
through the flyback diode D, the capacitor C
and the load R. This results in transferring the energy accumulated during the On-state into the
capacitor.
• The input current is the same as the inductor current as can be seen in figure 2. So it is not
discontinuous as in the buck converter and the requirements on the input filter are relaxed
compared to a buck converter.
Continuous mode :
When a boost converter operates in
continuous mode, the current through
the inductor ( ) never falls to zero.Figure 3
shows the typical waveforms of currents and
voltages in a converter operating in this
mode. The output voltage can be calculated
as follows, in the case of an ideal converter
(i.e. using components with an ideal
behavior) operating in steady conditions:
During the On-state, the switch S is closed,
which makes the input
voltage( ) appear across the inductor
,which causes a change in current ( )
flowing through the inductor during a time
period (t) by the formula:

At the end of the On-state, the increase of IL is therefore:

D is the duty cycle. It represents the fraction of the commutation period T during which the switch is On.
Therefore D ranges between 0 (S is never on) and 1 (S is always on).
During the Off-state, the switch S is open, so the inductor current flows through the load. If we consider zero
voltage drop in the diode, and a capacitor large enough for its voltage to remain constant, the evolution of Il
is:
Therefore, the variation of IL during the Off-period is:

As we consider that the converter operates in steady-state conditions, the amount of energy stored in each
of its components has to be the same at the beginning and at the end of a commutation cycle. In particular,
the energy stored in the inductor is given by:

So, the inductor current has to be the same at the start and end of the commutation cycle. This means the
overall change in the current (the sum of the changes) is zero:

Substituting and by their expressions yields:

This can be written as:

Which in turn reveals the duty cycle to be:

The above expression shows that the output voltage is always higher than the input voltage (as the duty
cycle goes from 0 to 1), and that it increases with D, theoretically to infinity as D approaches 1. This is why
this converter is sometimes referred to as a step-up converter.
Discontinuous mode
Fig. 4:Waveforms of current and voltage in a boost
converter operating in discontinuous mode.
If the ripple amplitude of the current is too high, the
inductor may be completely discharged before the
end of a whole commutation cycle. This commonly
occurs under light loads. In this case, the current
through the inductor falls to zero during part of the
period (see waveforms in figure 4).Although slight,
the difference has a strong effect on the output
voltage equation. It can be calculated as follows:
As the inductor current at the beginning of the cycle
is zero, its maximum value at ( )
Is
During the off-period, IL falls to zero after

Using the two previous equations, δ is:

The load current Ionis equal to the average diode current (ID ). As can be seen on figure 4, the diode current
is equal to the inductor current during the off-state. Therefore the output current can be written as:

Replacing ILmax and δ by their respective expressions yields:

Therefore, the output voltage gain can be written as follows:

Compared to the expression of the output voltage for the continuous mode, this expression is much more
complicated. Furthermore, in discontinuous operation, the output voltage gain not only depends on the duty
cycle ,but also on the inductor value, the input voltage, the switching frequency, and the output current.
theoretical part:
Formulas
• Mean Voltage Across the Load (Vmean): Vmean = Vin /(1 − D 2.)
• RMS Voltage Across the Load (Vrms): Vrms = Vmean
• Mean Current Across the Load (Imean): Imean = Vmean/ R
• RMS Current Across the Load (Irms): Irms = Imean
• RMS Voltage Across the Inductor (VL,rms): VL,rms = Vin · (1 − D)

Table 1 (D = 0.6, L = 76 µH, C = 400 µF, α = 50◦)

R(Ω) 12 50 60 100

VL,eff(V) 12 12 12 12

Irms(A) 6.25 1.50 1.25 0.75

Iavg(A) 6.25 1.50 1.25 0.75

Vrms(V) 75 75 75 75

Vavg(V) 75 75 75 75

Table 2 (D = 0.7, L = 2 mH, α = 85◦,C = 1.2 mF )

R(Ω) 12 50 60 100

VL,eff(V) 9 9 9 9

Irms(A) 8.33 2.00 1.67 1.00

Iavg(A) 8.33 2.00 1.67 1.00

Vrms(V) 100 100 100 100

Vavg(V) 100 100 100 100

Graph 1: Vavg as a function of (VL,ef)

Graph 1: Iavg as a function of (Irms)

 Practical Part :

we used MATLAB Simulink to model and simulate a bandpass filter circuit.

Key Elements in the Practical Part:

MOSFET:

Pulse Generator:

Circuit in Mtalab(similink)
Similation in Mtalab(similink)

Table 1 with C = 400 µF, α = 50◦ , L = 76 µH

R(Ω) 12 50 60 100
VL,eff(V) 0.244 1.424 0.9445 0.8192
Irms(A) 4.781 0.004416 0.003349 0.002837
Iavg(A) 124.3 123.1 122.9 122.3
Vrms(V) 29.44 99.43 109.8 141.8
vavg(V) 52.96 105.3 114.5 144.3

Table 2 with C = 1.2 mF, α = 85◦ , L = 2 mH

R(Ω) 12 50 60 100
VL,eff(V) 0.008377 0.0001972 0.0002706 0.000145
Irms(A) 0.01427 0.005117 0.004506 0.003232
Iavg(A) 105.0 101.9 101.4 100.0
Vrms(V) 261.5 383.3 401.9 667.9
vavg(V) 85.68 260.1 289.7 381.4
Graph 1: Vavg as a function of VLrms

Graph 2: Iavg as a function of Irms

Conclusion:
The experimental findings from the Boost Converter lab session highlight the challenges and
discrepancies observed when transitioning from theoretical models to real-world
applications. Although the theoretical analysis offers a solid basis for understanding the
Boost Converter’s behavior, the actual measurements demonstrate notable differences,
particularly in the output voltage and current. These variations can be attributed to several
factors, including component tolerances, parasitic effects, and real-world inefficiencies that
are often neglected in idealized models.