Performance Evaluation of a Novel Hybrid Multipulse Rectifier for Utility Interface of Power Electronic Converters

This paper presents an improved analysis of a novel programmable power-factor-corrected-based hybrid multipulse power rectifier (PFC-HMPR) for utility interface of power electronic converters. The proposed hybrid multipulse rectifier is composed of an ordinary three-phase six-pulse diode-bridge rectifier (Graetz bridge) with a parallel connection of single-phase switched converters in each three-phase rectifier leg. In this paper, the authors present a complete discussion about the controlled rectifiers' power contribution and also a complete analysis concerning the total harmonic distortion of current that can be achieved when the proposed converter operates as a conventional 12-pulse rectifier. The mathematical analysis presented in this paper corroborate, with detailed equations, the experimental results of two 6-kW prototypes implemented in a laboratory.     

Analysis and Implementation of a Hybrid High-Power-Factor Three-Phase Unidirectional Rectifier

This paper describes the conception and analysis of a unidirectional hybrid three-phase rectifier suitable for medium- and high-power applications. The rectifier is composed of a single-switch diode bridge boost-type rectifier in parallel with a pulsewidth modulation (PWM) three-phase unidirectional boost rectifier. The objective is to obtain a structure capable of providing sinusoidal input currents with low harmonic distortion and dc output voltage regulation. The diode rectifier operates at low frequency and has a higher output power rating. Therefore, the PWM unidirectional rectifier is designed to operate with a small power rating and at a high switching frequency. The total harmonic distortion of the proposed structure varies between 0% and 32%, depending only on the amount of power processed by the PWM three-phase unidirectional rectifier. The rectifier topology conception, principle of operation, control scheme, and simulation and experimental results of a 20-kW laboratory prototype are also presented in this paper.     

A novel unity power factor input stage for AC drive application

In this paper, a new method of improving the input current total harmonic distortion (THD) as well as power factor of a three-phase suppressed-link rectifier-inverter is presented. This proposed method makes use of a novel controlled diode rectifier. The technique involves the use of bidirectional switches across the front-end rectifier, and a dSPACE based intelligent control algorithm. The operation of the converter is fully analyzed and design example provided. The main feature of the topology is low cost, small size, high efficiency and simplicity, and is excellent for retrofitting front-end rectifier of existing ac drives, UPS etc.     

A novel instantaneous power control strategy and analytic model forintegrated rectifier/inverter systems

This paper is concerned with the design and implementation of an integrated pulse width modulation (PWM) rectifier/inverter for three-phase induction motor drives. Two identical PWM converters are used to serve as power regulator with unity power factor and servo motor drive using field-oriented control, respectively. A new input-output instantaneous power balancing approach is proposed to improve the dynamic response of input power regulation during output load change in order to minimize the DC-link capacitance. By using the synchronous rotating-frame current regulators, both the input and output currents of the integrated system are characterized with fast current response and low harmonic distortion. The effects of the dynamic response using different input power control methods are compared and the systematic design and analysis of the proposed method are also presented. Theoretical results of the analysis are verified experimentally     

A digitally controlled switch mode power supply based on matrix converter

High power telecommunication power supply systems consist of a three-phase switch mode rectifier followed by a dc/dc converter to supply loads at -48 V dc. These rectifiers draw significant harmonic currents from the utility, resulting in poor input power factor with high total harmonic distortion (THD). In this paper, a digitally controlled three-phase switch mode power supply based on a matrix converter is proposed for telecommunication applications. In the proposed approach, the matrix converter directly converts the low frequency (50/60Hz, three-phase) input to a high frequency (10/20kHz, one-phase) ac output without a dc-link. The output of the matrix converter is then processed via a high frequency isolation transformer to produce -48V dc. Digital control of the system ensures that the output voltage is regulated and the input currents are of high quality under varying load conditions. Due to the absence of dc-link electrolytic capacitors, power density of the proposed rectifier is expected to be higher. Analysis, design example and experimental results are presented from a three-phase 208-V, 1.5-kW laboratory prototype converter.     

VSS control of unity power factor

Three-phase pulsewidth modulation (PWM) converters, specifically, voltage-source inverters (VSI), are possibly the most frequently used power converters for applications such as industrial motor control, robotics, air conditioning and ventilation, uninterruptible power supplies, electric vehicles, etc. With the introduction of standards on limiting harmonic pollution of electrical power distribution systems, three-phase PWM converters are being considered as prime candidates for interfacing high-power electronic equipment to power supply lines. In these applications, converters can provide input currents without distortion and with unity power factor. In this paper, the idea of using variable-structure system (VSS) control strategy of a boost rectifier in sliding mode is described. A new discrete-time control algorithm has been developed by combining VSS and Lyapunov design. It possesses all the good properties of the sliding mode and avoids the unnecessary discontinuity of the central input, thus eliminating chattering, which has been considered a serious obstacle to applications of VSS. A unified control approach for output DC voltage and input AC currents based on discrete-time sliding mode is developed. The reference tracking performance is demonstrated in terms of transient and steady-state characteristics by simulation and experimental results. The invariance and the robustness features of the proposed control method are verified by experiment in the presence of large uncertainty in parameters and external perturbations     

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。     

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     

A zero-voltage switched, three-phase isolated PWM buck rectifier

A novel three-phase, single-stage, isolated PWM rectifier is proposed, which is capable of achieving unity power factor, and low harmonic distortion of input currents, and at the same time realizing zero-voltage switching for all power semiconductor devices. Operation of the proposed circuit is thoroughly analyzed. Design equations and trade-offs are provided. The performance of the proposed circuit is demonstrated through a 2 kW, 100 kHz, digital signal processor controlled prototype. The conversion efficiency is around 93%     

A simple input current wave-shaping technique for three-phase diode and SCR converters

Three-phase converters using diode or silicon-controlled rectifier (SCR) are widely employed to convert the commercial AC supply to DC. Such converters inject harmonics into the power supply system and thereby distort supply system voltage waveform. A simple input current wave-shape improvement technique using a shunt-connected harmonic current compensator is presented in this work, intended to reduce the total harmonic distortion (THD) of input current of three-phase diode and SCR phase-controlled rectifiers operating with inductive loads, by matching them to the specific converter as a combined package. The compensator proposed here comprises of a three-limb voltage source converter using insulated-gate bipolar transistor, working on instantaneous current and voltage measurements of the compensator only and not of the load. The technique uses a simple feedforward control for AC source current harmonic compensation of rectifiers without monitoring the AC line currents, i.e. use of online computation. The proposed system is simulated and tested on a laboratory prototype. The measured input current THD values without additional line filters are found to be below 8.3%, which is within acceptable limits, proving that the new technique is capable of compensating predetermined current harmonics of diode or SCRs.     

Single-stage three-phase buck-boost type AC-DC converter with highpower factor

A new control process for single-stage three-phase buck-boost type AC-DC power converters with high power factor, sinusoidal input currents and adjustable output voltage is proposed. This converter allows variable power factor operation, but this work focus on achieving unity power factor. The proposed control method includes a fast and robust input current controller based on a vectorial sliding mode approach. The active nonlinear control strategy applied to this power converter, allows high quality input currents. Given the comparatively slow dynamics of the DC output voltage, a proportional integral (PI) controller is adopted to regulate the converter output voltage. The voltage controller modulates the amplitudes of the current references, which are sinusoidal and synchronous with the input source voltages. Experimental results from a laboratory prototype show the high power factor and the low harmonic distortion characteristics of the circuit     

New single-switch three-phase high-power-factor rectifiers usingmultiresonant zero-current switching

A new family of single-switch three-phase high-power-factor rectifiers, which have continuous input and output currents, is introduced. By using a multiresonant scheme, the transistor operates with zero-current switching (ZCS), and the diodes operate with zero-voltage switching (ZVS). These multiresonant rectifiers with a single transistor are capable of drawing a higher quality input-current waveform at nearly unity power factor and lower stresses than quasi-resonant rectifiers. Buck-type converters are used for the power stage, and, hence, the output voltage is lower than the input voltage. Moreover, these rectifiers have a wide load range and low stresses on semiconductor devices. From the analysis, normalized characteristics of the rectifier are derived. The design and breadboard implementation of the rectifier delivering 147 V_dc at 6 kW from a 3φ 240-V _rms(LL) input is described. The total harmonic distortion (THD) of the line current is less than 5%, and the system efficiency is about 94% at the full load     

Novel high-power-factor ZCS-PWM preregulators

This paper introduces novel zero-current-switching (ZCS) pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) preregulators based on a new soft-commutation cell, suitable for insulated gate bipolar transistor applications. The active switches in these proposed rectifiers turn on in zero current and turn off in zero current-zero voltage. In addition, the diodes turn on in zero voltage and their reverse-recovery effects over the active switches are negligible. Moreover, based on the proposed cell, an entire family of DC-to-DC ZCS-PWM converters can be generated, providing conditions to obtain naturally isolated converters, for example, derived buck-boost, Sepic and Zeta converters. The novel AC-to-DC ZCS-PWM boost and Zeta preregulators are presented in order to verify the operation of this soft-commutation cell. In order to minimize the harmonic contents of the input current, increasing the AC power factor the average-current-mode control is used, obtaining preregulators with AC power factor near unity and high efficiency at wide load range. The principle of operation, theoretical analysis, design example, and experimental results from test units for the novel preregulators are presented. The new boost preregulator was designed to nominal values of 1.6 kW output power, 220 V_rms input voltage, 400 V_dc output voltage, and operating at 20 kHz. The measured efficiency and power factor of the new ZCS-PWM boost preregulator were 96.7% and 0.99, respectively, with an input current total harmonic distortion (THD) equal to 3.42% for an input voltage with THD equal to 1.61%, at rated load     

Characteristics of load resonant converters operated in ahigh-power factor mode

The performance of the parallel resonant power converter and the combination series/parallel resonant power converter (LCC converter) when operated above resonance in a high power factor mode are determined and compared for single phase applications. When the DC voltage applied to the input of these converters is obtained from a single phase rectifier with a small DC link capacitor, a relatively high power factor inherently results, even with no active control of the input line current. This behavior is due to the pulsating nature of the DC link and the inherent capability of the converters to boost voltage during the valleys of the input AC wave. With no active control of the input line current, the power factor depends on the ratio of operating frequency to tank resonant frequency. With active control of the input line current, near-unity power factor and low-input harmonic currents can be obtained     

A multilevel buck converter based rectifier with sinusoidal inputs and unity power factor for medium voltage (4160-7200 V) applications

A novel rectifier topology for high power (0.5 to 10 MVA) current source based AC motor drives is proposed. This rectifier is composed of a multi-winding transformer, a multi-level diode rectifier and a modified multi-level buck converter. The rectifier produces near unity input power factor and sinusoidal input current under any operating conditions. In addition, the proposed rectifier features reliable operation and low manufacturing cost. In this paper, the operating principle of the proposed rectifier is introduced. A number of design issues are investigated, which include PWM switching patterns, input power factor and line current harmonic distortion. Some design considerations such as the effect of the line inductance discrepancy on system performance are addressed. Experiments on a 5 kVA/208V four-level prototype are carried out for verification.     

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.     

Single-switch 3φ PWM low harmonic rectifiers

Existing 3φ AC-DC low-harmonic rectifiers are costly and require complex control schemes to minimize input current harmonics. Introduced here are two new classes of low cost 3φ AC-DC high power factor/low harmonic controlled rectifiers. These are derived from parent DC-DC converter topologies containing boost-type inputs and buck-type inputs. With a single active switch in addition to the diode bridge rectifier, the converters are capable of drawing a high-quality input current waveform naturally at nearly unity power factor. Thus, a simple 3φ AC-DC high power factor rectifier is obtained. Two algorithms are introduced in this paper for constructing a 3φ AC-DC high-quality rectifier. These algorithms depend on the simple switched-mode boost-type input converter and buck-type input converter modified by an input filter. For most known DC-DC converters which belong to these classes, there are corresponding 3φ AC-DC high power factor topologies, which use the same number of transistors and use six additional fast diodes. Analytical and simulation results are supplied to demonstrate the validity of the concept     

Control techniques for a high power factor multilevel rectifier based on double boost converter

In this paper three novel control schemes for the single-phase ac/dc converter with two-level or three-level pulse width modulation are proposed to improve the power quality. A diode rectifier with two power switches is adopted as a power factor correction circuit to achieve high power factor and low harmonic distortion. The proposed control schemes are based on look-up tables with a hysteresis current controller instead of the conventional complex control algorithm. The proposed control scheme can (1) draw a sinusoidal line current, (2) achieve a unity power factor and (3) improve voltage unbalance problem on the dc bus capacitors. The software simulations and experimental results are shown to verify the proposed control algorithms. It is shown that the measured harmonic currents and input power factor satisfy the international standard requirements such as International Electrotechnical Commission 1000-3-2.     

A high-performance single-phase rectifier with input power factorcorrection

In this paper, a high-performance single-phase AC-to-DC rectifier with input power factor correction is proposed. The proposed approach has many advantages, including fewer semiconductor components, simplified control, and high-performance features, and satisfies IEC 555 harmonic current standards. Simulation and experimental results obtained on a laboratory prototype are discussed. A hybrid power module of the proposed approach is also shown     

Integrated active rectifier and power quality compensator withreduced current measurement

This paper describes a three-phase integrated active rectifier and shunt power quality compensator (IPQC). The measurement of only three currents is required, and the control algorithm can be implemented using a low-cost controller. The IPQC improves the harmonic content of the supply current, displacement power factor, supply current balance, and can serve as a four-quadrant active rectifier for motor drives and other DC-link loads. The operation of the IPQC is experimentally verified using a conventional three-phase insulated gate bipolar transistor voltage-source inverter. A low-cost fixed-point DSP-based controller with fixed-band hysteresis current regulation is used for the implementation of the control algorithms