Reliability Assessment of High Gain Coupled Inductor-Based Boost Converter for Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Using Markov Analysis

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEVs) are sustainable solutions to modern transportation challenges. Power electronics converter plays a crucial role in the operation of FCEVS. The Coupled Inductor Boost Converter (CIBC) is essential in elevating voltage levels between the fuel cell stack and the DC link. The advantages of CIBC over the conventional boost converter (CBC) are its high gain and reliability. The reliability of the CIBC is impacted by operational conditions, component ageing, and environmental factors, all of which influence system performance and lifespan. This paper calculates the Mean Time To Failure (MTTF) of CBC and CIBC. In addition, the relation between the reliability and temperature of semiconductor elements is discussed and analysed through a Markov model. A comprehensive comparison is provided in various scenarios, and the operation of CIBC is also included. The performance of CIBC is verified through simulation using MATLAB Simulink.