Analysis of Advanced Nonisolated Topologies for Vehicle-Integrated Photovoltaic (ViPV) Systems in Urban Electric Transport Buses

The integration of vehicle-integrated photovoltaic (ViPV) systems enhances the sustainability of urban public transportation and reduces reliance on the electrical grid. However, irradiance variability and partial shading pose significant challenges to system stability and efficiency. This study evaluates three advanced nonisolated dc–dc converter topologies: interleaved boost, quadratic boost, and multi-input/single-output (MISO) under maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control using the perturb and observe algorithm. Simulations were conducted in Simulink using real irradiance and temperature data collected in a high solar irradiance place, such as Antofagasta, Chile. The system comprises 600 photovoltaic cells (<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$350\, \mathrm{V}$</tex-math></inline-formula>) connected to a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$540\,\mathrm{ V}$</tex-math></inline-formula> dc-Link bus and a <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$50\, \text{kWh}$</tex-math></inline-formula> LiFePO<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$_{4}$</tex-math></inline-formula> battery bank. Key performance metrics, such as voltage gain, efficiency, current ripple, and duty cycle behavior, were analyzed under three solar scenarios. Under favorable irradiance, all topologies delivered over <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$3.2\, \text{kW}$</tex-math></inline-formula> with ideal efficiencies above 98.4%. The interleaved topology demonstrated strong steady-state performance but limited transient regulation. The quadratic converter operated with a low duty cycle yet showed greater sensitivity to disturbances. In contrast, the MISO converter consistently maintained a stable output, low ripple, and high efficiency even under minimal irradiance conditions (70 W/m<inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><tex-math notation="LaTeX">$^{2}$</tex-math></inline-formula>). These results position the MISO topology as the most robust solution for variable urban environments, ensuring reliable energy delivery and supporting the efficient deployment of ViPV systems in electric mobility applications.