Design and control studies of six-phase interleaved boost converter for integrated energy efficiency improvement of green ship

The operation of offshore vessels is characterized by stable loads during normal voyages and significant load variations when leaving port or docking. Conventional ships emit large amounts of greenhouse gases during navigation. In the development of the modern shipbuilding industry, how to effectively reduce gas emissions during ship sailing is a challenging task that still remains under-explored. Green ships equipped with new energy power systems have a greater potential for application. They are equipped with fuel cells and lithium batteries as energy sources, and such a hybrid system requires a comprehensive energy management system to achieve the power distribution between the two energy sources. In this paper, a powerful 10kW six-phase interleaved boost converter (IBC) for the hybrid power generation system of ships is designed to manage the output power of the fuel cell. Firstly, the new circuit topology design principle and construction process are introduced. Later, a step-by-step current adjustment controller is designed for the converter to progressively enforce output current and a maximum limitation of the fuel cell. Afterwards, LTspice simulation is performed to verify the ripple suppression effect and stable anti-interference performance. Finally, the designed IBC has been experimentally constructed, including the input/output current and voltage sampling, temperature control and sampling, and other functions, significantly benefiting real-world marine high-power fuel cells. The stability, reasonableness and effectiveness of the designed IBC are further evaluated through the extensive experimental analyses.