Implementation of a three-level rectifier for power factorcorrection

In this paper, a new single-phase switching mode rectifier (SMR) for three-level pulse width modulation (PWM) is proposed to achieve high input power factor, low current harmonics, low total harmonic distortion (THD) and simple control scheme. The mains circuit of the proposed SMR consists of six power switches, one boost inductor, and two DC capacitors. The control algorithm is based on a look-up table. There are five control signals in the input of the look-up table. These control signals are used to control the power flow of the adopted rectifier, compensate the capacitor voltages for the balance problem, draw a sinusoidal line current with nearly unity power factor, and generate a three-level PWM pattern on the AC side of adopted rectifier. The advantages of using three-level PWM scheme compared with two-level PWM scheme are using low voltage stress of power switches, decreasing input current harmonics, and reducing the conduction losses. The performances of the proposed multilevel SMR are measured and shown in this paper. The high power factor and low harmonic currents at the input of the rectifier are verified by software simulations and experimental results from a laboratory prototype     

Programmable input power factor correction method for switch-moderectifiers

A programmable method for single- and three-phase switch-mode rectifiers (SMRs), operating with discontinuous current conduction to control input power factor close to unity, is presented. Single-phase SMR operation is based on variable turn-on time, while three-phase SMR operation is based on constant turn-on time     

Minimum-loss strategy for three-phase PWM rectifier

In this paper, the conduction and switching losses of a voltage-fed three-phase pulsewidth modulation (PWM) rectifier are analyzed for various PWM schemes. On the basis of this result, a novel PWM strategy which minimizes the loss of a three-phase PWM rectifier is developed. This minimization result is derived from the following two factors: (1) less switching frequency ratio; and (2) the absence of switching in the vicinity of peak input current. As a result, it is anticipated that the switching loss of the rectifier is reduced by 46%, compared with continuous space-vector PWM rectifiers, and 20% compared with conventional discontinuous space-vector PWM rectifiers. Moreover, the proposed PWM scheme can produce the highest available output voltage because it is based on the concept of the voltage space vector. The effectiveness of the proposed PWM strategy is verified by experiments     

Mixed-mode operation of boost switch-mode rectifier for wide range of load variations

A mixed-mode input current sensorless predictive current control at constant but two different switching frequencies for a single-phase boost type switch-mode rectifier (SMR) with single switch topology is proposed. The SMR operates in continuous input current mode (CCM) or in discontinuous input current mode (DCM) depending upon the load. This load dependent operating mode selection avoids the operation of the SMR in the dual mode, where the input current harmonic distortion is maximum. The closed loop output voltage regulation is achieved without the need of an input current sensor. The control scheme is optimized to result in an economic size of the boost inductor along with the compliance of IEC 1000-3-2 harmonic limits for input current.     

Low-harmonic, three-phase rectifier that applies current injection and a passive resistance emulator

A new three-phase diode bridge rectifier that provides low harmonic distortion of the input currents applying current injection technique is proposed in this paper. The rectifier applies a novel passive resistance emulator consisting of four diodes and a transformer with the volt-ampere rating of 3.57% of the rectifier-rated power. Optimization of the transformer turns ratio is performed in order to minimize the input current total harmonic distortion (THD). It is shown that with the optimal turns ratio the input current THD equals 3.72%. Dependence of the input current THD on the load current is analyzed, and it is shown that at low load currents the rectifier operates in the discontinuous conduction mode with the THD of 7.79%. The analytical results are experimentally verified on a 2 kW rectifier, indicating that the input current THD lower than 8% is provided within a wide range of the load current variations applying simple circuitry.     

A three-phase ZVS PWM DC/DC converter with asymmetrical duty cycle associated with a three-phase version of the hybridge rectifier

This paper proposes the use of a three-phase version of the hybridge rectifier in the three-phase zero-voltage switch (ZVS) DC/DC converter with asymmetrical duty cycle. The use of this new rectifier improves the efficiency of the converter because only three diodes are responsible for the conduction losses in the secondary side. The current in the secondary side of the transformer is half the output current. In addition to this, all the advantages of the three-phase DC/DC converter, i.e., the increased frequency of the output and input currents, the improved distribution of the losses, as well as the soft commutation for a wide load range, are preserved. Therefore, the resulting topology is capable of achieving high efficiency and high power density at high power levels. The theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental results obtained from a 6-kW prototype, and also a comparison of the efficiency of this converter with the full-bridge rectifier are presented.     

A high-power-factor, three-phase isolated AC-DC converter using high-frequency current injection

A single-stage, three-phase AC-to-DC converter topology is proposed for high-frequency power supply applications. The principal features of the circuit include continuous current operation of the three AC input inductors, inherent shaping of the input currents, resulting in high power factor, a transformer isolated output, and only two active devices are required, both soft-switched. Resonant conversion techniques are used, and a high power factor is achieved by injecting high-frequency currents into the three-phase rectifier, producing a high frequency modulation of the rectifier input voltages. The current injection principle is explained and the system operation is confirmed by a combination of simulation and experimental results.     

单周期控制三相电压型PWM整流器

文章对基于单周期控制的三相PWM高功率因数整流器进行了研究,推导了单周期控制三相电压型PWM整流器的控制规律。它不需要乘法器更不需要对输入电压进行检测,其控制逻辑简单并且以恒定频率工作,可以在每个开关周期控制输入电流跟踪正弦参考量,从而实现低电流谐波畸变和高功率因数。基于Multisim2001软件平台,建立了基于单周期控制的三相电压型PWM整流器的仿真模型,完成了6kW三相PWM整流器的设计和实验研究,仿真和试验结果都验证了理论分析的正确性。     

Programmable PFC based hybrid multipulse power rectifier for ultra clean power application

A novel hybrid three-phase rectifier is proposed. It is capable to achieve high input power factor (PF) and low total harmonic input currents distortion (THD/sub I/). The proposed hybrid high power rectifier is composed by a standard three-phase six-pulse diode rectifier (Graetz bridge) with a parallel connection of single-phase Sepic rectifiers in each three-phase rectifier leg. Such topology results in a structure capable of programming the input current waveform and providing conditions for obtaining high input power factor and low harmonic current distortion. In order to validate the proposed hybrid rectifier, this work describes its principles, with detailed operation, simulation, experimental results, and discussions on power rating of the required Sepic converters as related to the desired total harmonic current distortion. It is demonstrated that only a fraction of the output power is processed through the Sepic converters, making the proposed solution economically viable for very high power installations, with fast investment payback. Moreover, retrofitting to existing installations is also feasible since the parallel path can be easily controlled by integration with the existing dc-link. A prototype has been implemented in the laboratory and it was fully demonstrated to both operate with excellent performance and be feasibly implemented in higher power applications.     

A comparative evaluation of SMR converters with and without activeinput current waveshaping

A comparative evaluation is presented of high-frequency voltage-source fed (VSF) and current-source fed (CSF) switch-mode rectifier (SMR) converters supplied from single-phase AC mains and operating under large input voltage and load fluctuations. For medium power applications (i.e. 3 kW), VSF SMR converters use passive waveshaping techniques. CSF SMR converters, on the other hand, use active waveshaping techniques. Use of active waveshaping techniques increases the input power factor from approximately 0.5 to 0.9-1.0. It is shown that when the active input current waveshaping stage is also used to regulate the SMR DC bus voltage, the converter performance can improve substantially. These improvements include reduction in switching stresses of the power semiconductor switches and reduction in the size and ratings of associated reactive components. Key theoretical results are verified experimentally     

Three-Phase Rectifier With Near Sinusoidal Input Currents and Capacitors Connected on the AC Side

An analysis of a three-phase low-harmonic diode rectifier equipped with inductors, capacitors connected on the ac side, and diodes is presented. Inductors and capacitors are used in conjunction with the three-phase diode bridge rectifier to improve the waveform of the currents drawn from the utility grid. The operation of the proposed converter is analyzed, and on this basis, design considerations are commented. The converter characteristics are determined as a function of the load current. Comparisons between the studied converter and other rectifiers (classical rectifiers with passive or active filters, three-phase rectifiers with near sinusoidal input currents and capacitors connected on the dc side, and three-phase low-harmonic rectifiers applying the third harmonic current injection) are also presented. Several possible applications of the two variants of the three-phase rectifiers with near sinusoidal input currents (with capacitors connected on the dc side or on the ac side) are mentioned. Analytically derived results are experimentally verified     

An analysis of three-phase rectifiers with near-sinusoidal input currents

An analysis of a three-phase low-harmonic diode rectifier equipped with inductors, capacitors, and diodes is presented. Inductors and capacitors are used in conjunction with the three-phase diode rectifier bridge to improve the waveform of the currents drawn from the utility grid. The operation of the proposed converter is analyzed and, on this basis, design considerations are commented upon. The converter characteristics are determined as a function of the load current. Comparisons between the studied converter and other rectifiers (classical rectifiers, with passive or active filters, and three-phase low-harmonic rectifiers applying the third-harmonic current injection) are also presented. Several possible applications of the three-phase rectifiers with near-sinusoidal input currents are mentioned. Analytically obtained results are experimentally verified.     

Unified constant-frequency integration control of three-phase standard bridge boost rectifiers with power-factor correction

In this paper, a three-phase six-switch standard boost rectifier with unity-power-factor correction is investigated. A general equation is derived that relates the input phase voltages, output DC voltage, and duty ratios of the switches in continuous conduction mode. Based on one of the solutions and using one-cycle control, a unified constant-frequency integration controller for PFC is proposed. For the standard bridge boost rectifier, a unity power factor and low total harmonic distortion can be realized in all three phases with a simple circuit that is composed of one integrator with reset along with several flips-flops, comparators, and some logic and linear components. It does not require multipliers and three-phase voltage sensors, which are required in many other control approaches. In addition, it employs constant-switching-frequency modulation that is desirable for industrial applications. The proposed control approach is simple and reliable. All findings are supported by experiments.     

A Novel Variable Hysteresis Band Current Control of Three-Phase Three-Level Unity PF Rectifier With Constant Switching Frequency

A Simple and novel variable hysteresis band current control technique for three-phase three-level unity power factor (PF) rectifier is proposed in this paper. The hysteresis band is controlled as variations of the rectifier input voltage and output dc link voltage to achieve constant switching frequency at any operating conditions, i.e., at rated and below and above the rated conditions. The rectifier has the characteristic of easy implementation, and draws a nearly sinusoidal current at unity input PF. Theoretical and predicted results of its analysis are verified initially through digital simulation, and confirmed by using an experimental prototype     

A new space-vector-modulated control for a unidirectionalthree-phase switch-mode rectifier

A unidirectional three-phase switch-mode rectifier that delivers sinusoidal input currents in phase with the corresponding input phase voltages is proposed and analyzed in this paper. In the proposed topology, three AC switches are placed before the bridge rectifier and, respectively, across two power lines. A simple control scheme combing space-vector modulation and hysteresis current control is presented. Sinusoidal input line currents are observed in experimental results     

Operating a three-phase diode rectifier with a low-input currentdistortion using a series-connected dual boost converter

This paper describes a technique for shaping the input current to a three-phase diode rectifier using a two-switch series-connected dual boost converter and a three-phase bidirectional switch circuit. Circuits are described for generating a single voltage DC output, “single DC-rail”, or a dual output DC voltage using center-tapped capacitors, “split DC-rail”. Both rectifier types can be operated with the boost inductors located either on the DC or the AC side of the rectifier. The resultant rectifier circuit configurations have an excellent immunity to the “shoot-through” fault condition and use active switching elements with low per-unit current ratings and low switching losses. These features increase the reliability factor and lower the cost penalty associated with unity fundamental power factor three-phase rectifiers. Test results are presented for the rectifiers using simulation and experimental results     

Three-phase single-stage four-switch PFC buck-boost-type rectifier

This paper proposes a new three-phase single-stage power-factor corrector buck-boost-type rectifier topology. The typical topology uses a bridge configuration with six switches. This new topology only requires four switches, improving the rectifier efficiency as only one reverse-blocking power semiconductor conducts at any time. A vector-based sliding-mode control method for the three-phase input currents is also proposed. This fast and robust technique uses sliding mode to generate /spl alpha//spl beta/ space-vector modulation, which forces the input line currents to track a suitable sinusoidal reference. A near-unity power-factor operation of the rectifier is obtained using a sinusoidal reference in phase with the input source voltages. A proportional-integral controller is adopted to regulate the output voltage of the converter. This external voltage controller modulates the amplitude of the current references. The characteristics of the new rectifier are verified with experimental results.     

Interleaved three-phase boost rectifiers operated in thediscontinuous conduction mode: analysis, design considerations andexperimentation

Interleaved discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) three-phase boost rectifiers provide current ripple cancellation and increase the effective frequency of the input current ripple. As a result, the size and cost of the differential mode (DM) input filter is reduced. This work presents a detailed analysis of the input current ripple of interleaved three-phase DCM boost rectifiers. The design curves derived from the analysis are used to determine the DM input filter parameters. The experimental results are shown for two interleaved three-phase DCM boost rectifiers rated at 8 kW of total power and operated at 40 kHz with IGBTs as the main power switches. The results show that the interleaved rectifiers comply with the IEC 61000-3-2 Class A harmonic standard for this power level     

Exact Analysis of Three-Phase Rectifiers With Constant Voltage Loads

In this paper, an exact solution of a circuit model for a three-phase rectifier with constant-voltage load and ac-side reactance that operates in the continuous conduction mode is presented. Obtained results are compared to the results provided applying sinusoidal approximation, published previously. It is shown that the sinusoidal approximation provides acceptable results at low output voltages, with the accuracy being decreased for the output voltages approaching to the discontinuous conduction mode boundary. Computational complexity of the exact solution is about the same as for the solution obtained applying sinusoidal approximation.      

A constant output current three-phase diode bridge rectifier employing a novel "Electronic Smoothing Inductor"

This paper presents an improvement of the well-known conventional three-phase diode bridge rectifier with dc output capacitor. The proposed circuit increases the power factor (PF) at the ac input and reduces the ripple current stress on the smoothing capacitor. The basic concept is the arrangement of an active voltage source between the output of the diode bridge and the smoothing capacitor which is controlled in a way that it emulates an ideal smoothing inductor. With this the input currents of the diode bridge which usually show high peak amplitudes are converted into a 120/spl deg/ rectangular shape which ideally results in a total PF of 0.955. The active voltage source mentioned before is realized by a low-voltage switch-mode converter stage of small power rating as compared to the output power of the rectifier. Starting with a brief discussion of basic three-phase rectifier techniques and of the drawbacks of three-phase diode bridge rectifiers with capacitive smoothing, the concept of the proposed active smoothing is described and the stationary operation is analyzed. Furthermore, control concepts as well as design considerations and analyses of the dynamic systems behavior are given. Finally, measurements taken from a laboratory model are presented.