Improved Dynamic Performance of the Fuel Cell-Fed Boost Converter Using Super Twisting Sliding Mode Control Strategy

Nonlinear controllers are useful if the equations governing the system dynamics are nonlinear. The fuel cell (FC)-fed boost converter is a nonlinear system as the VI characteristics of the fuel cell and the output voltage to duty cycle transfer function of the boost converter are nonlinear. The choice of a nonlinear controller depends on the dynamic performance of the FC-fed boost converter for wide load variations. This paper compares the performance of the system using conventional sliding mode control (CSMC) and super twisting sliding mode control (STSMC) strategies for tight voltage regulation for the load disturbance and reference voltage tracking. Simulation and experimental results of the fuel cell-fed 600 W boost converter prove the supremacy of STSMC strategy over CSMC strategy in terms of overshoot, undershoot, settling time and chattering reduction.