Stairway control of buck power supplies in parallel configuration

• Main Author: Magsino, Elmer R.
• Format: text
• Published: Animo Repository 2019
• Subjects: DC-to-DC converters; Electric circuits, Parallel; Electrical and Electronics
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/faculty_research/2399
• Institution: De La Salle University

Power supplies are configured in parallel to provide higher current demand to the load, while achieving modularity by using low-power power converter modules. However, in some cases, redundancy of power converters is installed to provide safety in case of overload and breakdown of a module. In such case, the wear and tear of all modules vary depending on what the load side present. We present in this work a basic control for ensuring that power module utilization is approximately equal for all modules in the parallel configuration. Our proposed control methodology turns ON/OFF a module based on the current load scenario. By switching the utilization of these modules, our control can display a stairway waveform while regulating the output voltage and supplying the necessary current. We demonstrate our control structure through simulations of various static and dynamic loading conditions, while considering error in current sharing of working power modules. © 2006-2019 Asian Research Publishing Network (ARPN).