ISSN (Print) : 2320 – 9798 ISSN (Online): 2320 – 9801 International Journal of Innovative Research in Computer and Communication Engineering Vol. 1, Issue 5, July 2013 Copyright to IJIRCCE www.ijircce.com 1109 Simulation and Implementation of High Gain Interleaved Boost Converter for Fuel cell applications Dr.R.Seyezhai 1 , R.Anitha 2 , S.Mahalakshmi 3 , M..Bhavani 4 Associate Professor, Department of EEE, SSN College of Engineering, Chennai, India 1 Final Year Students, Department of EEE, SSN College of Engineering, Chennai , India 2,3,4 ABSTRACT: The objective of the paper is to design and implement a high gain interleaved converter using switched capacitors for fuel cell systems. Fuel cell is one of the promising technologies for distributed generation. For designing high efficiency fuel cell power systems, a suitable DC-DC converter is required. Among the various topologies, interleaved converters using switched capacitor are considered as a better solution for fuel cell systems due to high conversion efficiency. In the proposed interleaved converter, the front end inductors are magnetically cross-coupled to improve the electrical performance and reduce the weight and size. Also, switched capacitors are used to improve the voltage gain of the converter. The proposed converter has been performed. Simulation study of interleaved converter using switched capacitors interfaced with fuel cells has been studied using MATLAB/SIMULINK.A prototype has been developed to verify the simulation results. Keywords: Fuel cell, Interleaved Boost converter with cross coupled inductors and switched capacitors I. INTRODUCTION Fuel cell is one of the promising energy technologies for the sustainable future with its high energy efficiency and environment friendly nature when the world is facing the global warming problem. Comparison with the other types of fuel cells, the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell (PEMFC) shows charming attraction with its advantages such as low temperature, high power density, faster response and zero emission if it is running with pure hydrogen. There are many applications of fuel cells. Fuel Cells are powering buses, boats, trains, planes, scooters, forklifts, even bicycles. There are fuel cell –powered vending machines, vacuum cleaners and highway road signs. Miniature fuel cells for cellular phones, laptop computers and portable electronics are on their way to market. The possibilities are endless. Modeling of fuel cell is essential in order to predict the accurate output characteristics. The voltage drop due to activation, concentration and ohmic losses should be taken into account while modeling the fuel cell mathematically. The output of a single fuel cell is about 0.7 V. Many cells are stacked in series to get a higher voltage. The fuel cell stack output can be boosted to the required level using a boost converter which converts a DC voltage to a higher DC voltage. Interleaving, adds additional benefits such as reduced ripple current in both input and output circuits. Higher efficiency is realized by splitting the output current „n‟ paths, substantially reducing I2R losses and inductor losses. The DC output voltage of the fuel cell is given to a high gain interleaved converter using switched capacitors [1] with cross coupled windings. The output of interleaved converter using switched capacitors is given to resistive load. II. INTERLEAVED CONVERTER WITH CROSS COUPLED INDUCTORS AND SWITCHED CAPACITORS A normal boost converter converts the DC voltage to a higher DC voltage. Interleaving adds additional benefits such as reduced ripple currents in both input and output circuits. Higher efficiency is realized by splitting the output current into „n‟ parts, substantially reducing I2R losses and inductor losses. The switched capacitors are included in order to improve the voltage gain of the converter [2]. The advantages of interleaved boost converter are minimized current ripple, increased efficiency, faster transient response, reduced electromagnetic emission and improved reliability [3,4]. The proposed isolated high gain interleaved converter with winding-cross-coupled inductors (WCCIs) and switched capacitors (SCs) is shown in Fig.1.The coupling method of the coupled inductors is marked by “o” and “*”.The second