A multi-port converter topology with simultaneous isolated and non-isolated outputs

DC based Nanogrids are being increasingly implemented in modern residential applications for realizing smarter and greener energy efficient systems. The total power requirement for these applications can be realized by small localized generation systems (typically, renewable sources), which serve a wide variety of consumer loads. Some of the loads in these applications may be critical in nature and may require being galvanically isolated to the input supply. This paper proposes a multi-port power converter architecture which can provide two outputs - isolated as well as non-isolated from a single DC input. Thus, both isolated and non-isolated loads can be served by a single converter topology in a Nanogrid. The salient features for the converter include its inherent shoot-through protection and the ability to regulate both the outputs independently using integrated control architecture. The characteristics of the converter have been studied in this paper and a PWM scheme developed for the purpose of controlling both the outputs. The proposed operation has been verified using experimental results obtained from a laboratory prototype.