Control of a three-port converter for human power

Abstract

In the Netherlands alone, 1.1 million people have been diagnosed with diabetes, and per week 1200 people are diagnosed. Obesity is also a serious problem of our modern society. These health issues can be reduced by promoting a healthy lifestyle, incorporating regular exercise. To make the exercise even more attractive, the output energy of the workout is converted to electricity and stored for later use. This concept of clean energy should appeal to the customer. The presented platform does not only promote human health, it also spreads awareness about the amounts of energy we use every day. The envisioned platform consists of a bike-stand with generator and a user interface, which keeps track of the energy going in and out of the system and instructs the user how to use the system properly. It controls the power flow in the generator, the battery and to the system output by controlling the voltages on the peripherals. This project extends existing work with energy storage by designing, building and controlling a three-port converter, providing both theory and a demonstration of health and electrical factors: human health through cycling, human power because of extracting optimum power from the leg muscles, and research into a three-port converter that connects rectification to battery and grid-connection.