Electrolytic Capacitor-Less Dual-Half Active Bridge Resonant Converter With PSO-Based MPP Tracking

This paper proposes an isolated DC-DC resonant converter integrated with solar PV panels using a particle swarm optimization (PSO) based maximum power point tracking (MPPT) algorithm for partial shading conditions (PSCs). In DC-DC converters, electrolytic capacitors (ECs) are often used as smoothening filters, despite their vulnerability and unreliable operation. Also, the multi-peak PV characteristic caused by PSCs is one of the prime challenges in efficient solar PV integration. To avoid these issues, an isolated electrolytic capacitor-less dual half-active bridge resonant converter (DHABRC) is proposed and integrated with solar panels using a PSO-based MPPT algorithm for efficient power transfer under PSCs. The DHABRC utilizes two half-active bridges to reduce the switch count and replaces the ECs with film capacitors (FCs). So, the converter becomes simple, easy to control, reliable, and economical. For soft-switching and steady-state analysis of the DHABRC fundamental approximation analysis is used. For the validation of the proof of concept, a 500 W scaled-down laboratory prototype is developed and tested under steady-state and partial shading conditions using shading patterns of different voltage and power ratings. Also, the feasibility of using film capacitors is proved using different tests like startup transient, load dynamics, and changes in shading patterns.