Interleaved Coupled DC/DC Converter Design for an Aircraft Supercapacitor-based Energy Storage System

This paper investigates the integration of a Supercapacitor (SC) energy storage system with a four-channel interleaved bidirectional DC/DC converter employing coupled inductors for aircraft applications. Due to the high peak power demand during the aircraft take-off phase, a high-power energy storage system is required to meet this requirement. The SC energy storage system, owing to its high-power density despite its low energy capacity, is considered suitable for high-power pulsed load applications. Various SC packs designs are investigated to achieve an optimal energy storage weight. A four-channel interleaved bidirectional DC/DC converter with coupled inductors is interfaced with the SC pack. The interleaved configuration is intended to provide equal current sharing among the channels while potentially reducing current ripple and current stress within the converter. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the charging and discharging operation of the bidirectional DC/DC converter over a wide range of SC pack voltages. Experimental results are also provided to validate the simulation findings.