Search

The extra-LC auxiliary-resonant-snubber-based converter (ELCARSC), as a soft-switching converter, has the advantages of low switching loss, low electromagnetic interference noise, and low-output distortion caused by the dead-time effect. However, the dead-time effect is still the main problem in a high-precision application. Besides, the traditional control and compensation methods rely on the accuracy of the circuit parameters, especially the junction capacitance, thus resulting in compensation error. Therefore, this paper proposed a novel high-precision control method through modulating the initial resonant current to eliminate the dead-time effect of ELCARSC. The method does not need complicated online calculation and reduces the dependence on the accuracy of the circuit parameters, especially the influence of the junction capacitances of the switches. In this paper, the dead-time effect of the ELCARSC is analyzed. The output voltage error with the conventional variable-timing control method is analyzed. Subsequently, the proposed modulated initial resonant current control is introduced. Finally, a prototype was developed that verified the effectiveness of the control method. The quality of the output current and voltage is improved by utilizing the proposed control method. However, the peak current of the auxiliary switch is increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tap changers are commonly used to maintain the limits in medium-voltage lines. Initially based on electromechanical switches, efforts have been made since the 1990's to reduce maintenance expenses with thyristor-based versions. Among the methods to limit the short-circuiting current in commutating taps, the multiwinding coil has demonstrated, during decades of use in the low-voltage field, to be reliable and cheap. Two previous papers showed that multiwinding changers can be applied to medium-voltage lines up to 34.5 kV, 15 MVA with no parallel or series thyristor association. This paper proposes a new topology, based on a double array of tap switches per phase, allowing for step-up the power from 15 to 36 MVA and insertion in any point of the line with no connection to the head transformer. A comparative cost analysis gives technical and economical results for a typical 10 MVA, 34.5 kV stabilizer demonstrating the advantages of the proposed circuit over the electronic single array topology and the classic mechanical solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a voltage sensorless controller is developed for a two-switch single-phase rectifier that involves power factor correction and active pulsating power buffering without electrolytic capacitors. While a two-switch rectifier normally requires four sensed signals for control, only one current sensor is required in this proposal, thereby offering advantages such as low cost, high compactness, isolation between control and power circuits, and improved reliability. While the basic operating principle follows that of a conventional voltage sensorless controller for single-switch converters, several critical design considerations are the key to the success of the implementation which is explained in detail. The feasibilities of the controller are experimentally testified with a 100-W rectifier prototype regarding both steady state and dynamic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For photovoltaic applications, the flyback microinverter with pseudo-dc-link is popular as a simple topology but brings large transformer turns ratio and thus large leakage inductance, which would deteriorate the converter efficiency. To solve this issue, based on the nonisolated pseudo-dc-link structure, this paper proposed a hybrid boost–flyback/flyback (BF/F) microinverter. This new topology is operated at the BF mode for the most segment of a half grid cycle and the F mode for the rest. During the BF mode, high voltage gain with low voltage stress is easily available in minimized transformer turns ratio. Besides, the leakage energy is recycled and the turn-off voltage spike of the main switch is clamped, as a result of a passive snubber inherently contained in this mode. Given that the BF mode is lack of step-down function, the F mode is developed to regulate the output voltage even for values lower than the input voltage. The operation and characteristic of the hybrid BF/F microinverter in boundary conduction mode are analyzed in detail, and the mathematical expression of reference current is derived theoretically to guarantee high power quality. Finally, a 240 W prototype was implemented to validate the theoretical analysis and the benefits of the proposed topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-Z-source modular cascaded converter (qZS-MCC) is proposed for dc integration of high-power photovoltaic (PV) systems. The qZS-MCC comprises series-connected front-end isolated qZS half-bridge (HB) dc–dc converter submodules (SMs). With the front-end isolation, the qZS-MCC achieves high-voltage dc capability, while maintaining modularity and PV panel grounded. The post-stage qZS-HB handles the PV voltage and power flows, dc-link voltage balance, and output-series power integration. Whereas, the front-end isolation converters of all SMs perform a constant duty cycle, lowing the control complexity. There is no double-line-frequency power flowing through the dc-side PV panels, qZS inductors, and qZS capacitors in the qZS-MCC, so small qZS impedance is possible compared to the existing qZS cascaded multilevel inverter. The configuration, operating principle, power loss evaluation, and passive components design of the proposed system are investigated in this part of the paper. The system control, modeling, and corresponding verifications are stated in Part II of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, an input-series flyback converter with the coupled-inductor-based passive snubber is proposed, where the input-series converter is based on transformer integration, and the passive snubber is composed of inductors, capacitors, and diodes. The inductors of the snubber in various series modules are made on a common magnetic core, and the coupled-inductor scheme is adopted. With the help of the coupled inductor, active input voltage sharing of the input-series converter can also be achieved after the switches are turned off, and voltage sharing of the switch in each series module can be ensured, which overcome the shortcomings of the existing input-series flyback converter. Active voltage sharing processes caused by the coupled inductor are analyzed in detail. Furthermore, the design guideline of the passive snubber is discussed. Finally, the experimental study has been done on a 1500 Vdc/60 W laboratory-made prototype composed of three flyback series modules, and the feasibility of the proposed method and the theoretical analysis is verified by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single-stage ac–dc converter with high power factor (PF) usually suffers from a significant output voltage ripple at double line frequency. In order to suppress such low-frequency output voltage ripple and maintain high PF, a series compensation circuit (SCC), which generates the same magnitude but 180° phase shifted low-frequency voltage ripple, is connected in series with the output of a power factor correction (PFC) converter. In this paper, an output impedance model of the SCC is established and the relationship between the output impedance of the SCC and the low-frequency output voltage ripple of an ac–dc converter is analyzed. Based on the proposed output impedance model, a low-frequency output voltage ripple can be evaluated. To further reduce the low-frequency output voltage ripple, an output impedance shaping method with a virtual impedance is presented. The implementation of the virtual impedance of the SCC with average current mode control is studied. A flyback PFC converter with a buck SCC is implemented for the study of the suppression of the low-frequency output voltage ripple. A prototype is designed to verify the analysis results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-phase bridge converter is popular in ac–dc power conversion. The conventional sensor control with inner current loop and outer voltage loop is often used to control the three-phase bridge converter. Many three-phase sensorless control methods had been proposed to control the bridge converter with considering the inductance and inductor resistance. In this paper, the voltage drop of the power semiconductor is first considered in the proposed three-phase current sensorless control method. At first, the dynamic behaviors of three-phase bridge converter for power factor correction (PFC) applications are studied, and its equivalent three-switch model is developed. Based on this developed model, three-phase current sensorless control with only voltage controller is proposed. Additionally, the voltage-loop transfer function of PFC bridge converter controlled by the proposed method is modeled, and the result is helpful to obtain the controller parameter. The proposed control method is implemented on the DSP-based platform for evaluation. Finally, the provided simulation and experimental results demonstrate the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Voltage balance control of dc capacitors is the key problem of multilevel diode-clamped converters (DCCs). In this paper, a novel hybrid voltage balance method is proposed for five-level DCCs. First, to balance the upper or lower two capacitors, a novel flying-capacitor-based voltage balance circuit (VBC) is proposed, and the time-domain average model of the VBC is established. Then a state-machine-based control strategy is developed to balance capacitor voltages as well as to limit overcurrent of inductors in a transition process. To keep the midpoint voltage stable, a zero-sequence injection method is proposed, which inherently ensures the improved modulation signals locate within the linear modulation ranges. With the flying capacitor transferring energy between dc capacitors, the device voltage stresses of the VBC are equalized, and the steady-state current ripples of the inductors are much smaller than those of the conventional chopper-based VBCs, which can reduce the volume and weight of the inductor. Simulation and experimental results for both inverter and rectifier operations prove that the proposed hybrid voltage balance method can balance dc capacitors of five-level DCCs in both steady states and transition states, and the inductor currents of VBCs can also be restricted within safe ranges. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper studies different circulating current references for the modular multilevel converter. The circulating current references are obtained from the instantaneous values of the output current and modulation signal of the phase leg. Therefore, the determination of the amplitude and phase of the output current is not needed, which is a significant improvement compared to other methods such as those based on injecting specific harmonics in the circulating currents. Among the different methods studied in this paper, a new method is introduced, which is able to reduce the capacitor voltage ripples compared to the other methods. A closed-loop control is also proposed which is able to track the circulating current references. With the discussed methods, the average values of the capacitor voltages are maintained at their reference while the voltage ripples are kept low. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed and discussed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Electric bicycles (EBs) are becoming increasingly popular in some regions such as China and Europe. However, wireless power transfer (WPT) for charging massive EBs poses a challenge related to the cost of WPT system (WPTS), especially in China, where EBs application is so sensitive to the product price. This paper presents an optimization method of the passive components for the S-LCC topology to decrease the cost of the overall system. With the novel method, the number of passive components can be optimized to the minimum and still with constant current and constant voltage outputs. A novel compensation method with an inductor array is also proposed to guarantee an inductive input impedance of WPTS, achieving soft switching and reducing the high switching losses of the high-frequency inverter (HFI). To demonstrate the validity of the proposed methods, an experimental setup is built. The performance of two WPTS indicates that massive EBs can be charged with only one HFI, and the cost of the overall system decreases accordingly. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, the design and development of a novel interleaved tri-state boost converter (ITBC), which produces lower ripple and exhibits better dynamic response, is discussed. Boost converters are frequently connected in parallel and operate in an interleaving mode for the reduction of ripple content in source current and in output voltage. In this way, interleaved boost converter (IBC) is conceived, which improves the power handling capabilities and increases the overall system rating. It also has the advantage of reduction of the ripple content in source current and output voltage, but when control-to-output transfer function of IBC is derived under continuous conduction mode of operation, then a right-half-plane (RHP) zero appears in the transfer function. Due to the presence of RHP zero, IBC has nonminimum phase problem, which deteriorates the dynamic performance. The tri-state boost converter (TBC) is the best choice for RHP zero elimination, but due to the extra freewheeling mode, ripple content will also be increased. The proposed converter is a parallel combination of two TBC and operates in an interleaving mode. Therefore, the proposed converter has both of the advantages of TBC and IBC. The performance analyses of ITBC, TBC, and IBC have been studied based on simulation and experimental results. From the comparative analysis, it is observed that ITBC is performed better than other two converters. The ripple comparisons between three converters have also been done. It is found that the ripple content in ITBC is slightly greater than IBC but is less than TBC. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Due to the relatively low output voltage of photovoltaic (PV) source, a high step-up converter with high efficiency is needed when the PV source is connected to the power grid. A novel high step-up converter based on two switched capacitors and a coupled inductor is proposed in this paper. The operating principle is analyzed and the voltage gain is derived. A 100-W prototype is fabricated in the laboratory to verify the theoretical analysis, and the highest efficiency is 96.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper extends the trans-Z-source concept to ac–ac power conversion and proposes a novel single-phase trans-Z-source ac–ac converter. The proposed converter retains the advantages of its existing Z-source/quasi-Z-source counterparts in which the output voltage can be boosted and in-phase with the input voltage or bucked/boosted and out-of-phase with the input voltage. Meanwhile, a coupled inductor is introduced into the proposed converter, and the turns ratio of the coupled inductor become another control variable beside the duty cycle to obtain extreme voltage gain. Importantly, the input voltage and output voltage share the same ground, and the input current could be continuous, which is a benefit for reducing input current harmonics. Most important of all, the safe-commutation strategy for the proposed converter is deep developed, and analytic expression between the switches state and loop circuit voltage/current condition is derived out. Hence, the current/voltage ripple can be avoided without a loss snubber circuit, which benefits a reduced cost and enhanced reliability. The performance analysis is discussed in consideration of parasitic resistance, and system parameter design is optimized based on theoretic calculation. A laboratory prototype is fabricated, and experiments are performed to verify the validation of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper highlights the limitations of the dynamic response of a grid-tied inverter connected through an inductor $L$ when it is controlled using a proportional+resonant controller. Then, a new resonant current controller structure is proposed. This structure can be used to control the current injected by a grid-tied inverter through an $L$ filter. When compared to the classic design, the proposed controller has better transient response, both to current reference and grid voltage changes. This is verified through simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a power factor correction (PFC)-based switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive is proposed. Generally, the SRM drive is fed with a simple diode bridge rectifier followed by a bulky capacitor, which draws peaky current at low power factor and high-input-current total harmonic distortion (THD). Here, a dual output converter is proposed to control the SRM and to provide power quality improvement as well. This converter is a combination of Cuk and SEPIC converters, which produces two equal output voltages with neutral point N, to feed a midpoint converter of the SRM drive. The converter is designed to operate in discontinuous conduction mode of operation to obtain inherent PFC at supply side. The motor control is attained by regulating dc link voltage over a wide range. Test results on a prototype of the SRM drive demonstrate the excellent performance with high power factor and reduced input current THD. The observed power quality indices depict the improved power quality as per the standard IEC 61000-3-2. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a single-stage light-emitting diode (LED) driver based on an inverted buck topology, using current path control switches. The proposed circuit consists of a control circuit, a bridge diode, and an inverted buck converter with multiple switches connected to the LED segments in parallel. Whereas the typical buck LED driver operates with a fixed LED forward voltage, the proposed driver operates with a variable LED forward voltage, according to the input voltage level. Because of this capability to adjust the LED forward voltage, it can reduce the current ripple and the switching frequency with a small inductance value. In addition, it enables operation with LED lamps of a wide voltage range, while simultaneously achieving small dead-angles. The detailed operation principles are described, and the design considerations for the proposed driver are discussed. The proposed driver circuit and control operation are verified experimentally using a 7 W hardware prototype with four LED segments. The obtained experimental results show that under a 110 Vrms input voltage, the proposed driver achieves a power factor of 0.94 with a small dead-angle and an efficiency of 94%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new type of matrix converter (MC) also called a single-phase high-frequency transformer isolated (HFTI) buck MC is proposed. The proposed converter can provide step-down operation of the input voltage with various types of output voltages such as in-phase and out-of-phase output voltages, rectified (or positive) output voltage, and output voltage with step-changed frequency. By incorporating HFT isolation, the proposed MC saves an extra bulky line frequency transformer, which is required for the conventional MCs to provide electrical isolation and safety, when used in application such as dynamic voltage restorers, etc. Two different circuit variations of the proposed HFTI MC are presented with and without continuous output currents, with the latter having less passive components. The safe-commutation strategy is also employed for the proposed HFTI MC to provide current path for the inductor during dead-time, which avoids switch voltage spikes without adding any snubber circuits. The operation principle and circuit analysis of the proposed MC are presented, and switching strategies are also developed to obtain various output voltages. Moreover, a prototype of the proposed MC is fabricated, and experiments are performed to produce in-phase/out-of-phase and rectified output voltages, and output voltage with step-changed frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new buck–boost converter. Unlike the single-switch buck–boost converter, the proposed converter has low-voltage stresses on semiconductors. Moreover, although both the conventional two-switch buck–boost (TSBB) and the proposed converters have the same number of passive and active components, and the proposed converter can reduce the conduction loss as a result of having fewer conducting components. Therefore, the proposed converter obtained a higher efficiency than the TSBB converter. A 48-V output voltage and 150-W output power prototype was fabricated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed converter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper introduces a novel maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique aimed at maximizing the power produced by photovoltaic (PV) systems. The largest part of the MPPT approaches presented in the literature are based on the sensing of the PV generator voltage. On the contrary, in this paper, a current-based technique is proposed: the sensing of the current in the capacitor placed in parallel with the PV source is one of the innovative aspects of the proposal. A dual control technique based on an inner current loop plus an outer voltage loop allows to take profit of the fast current tracking capability of the inner current loop while the voltage loop benefits from the logarithmic dependency of the PV voltage on the irradiation level. The features of the proposed algorithm, particularly in terms of tracking of irradiation variations and disturbance rejection, are supported by theoretical analysis, simulations, and experimental results. The technique described in this paper is patent pending. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper addresses the zero-sequence circulating current control in the multiparalleled three-phase voltage-source inverters. The model of the zero-sequence circulating current in the N-paralleled (N\;\geq\;3) inverters is derived. It is shown that the circulating current is not only susceptible to the mismatches of circuit parameters, but it is also influenced by the interactions of circulating current controllers used by other paralleled inverters. To eliminate these adverse effects on the circulating current control loop, a coordinate control strategy for the N-paralleled inverter is proposed based on the zero-vector feedforward method with the space-vector pulse width modulation. Moreover, a virtual inverter method is introduced to facilitate the implementation of the proposed controller, which decouples the interactions of circulating current controllers in the paralleled inverters. Finally, experimental results obtained from three-paralleled, grid-connected inverters validate the effectiveness of theoretical analysis and proposed approach. An effective mitigation of the circulating current is demonstrated for the paralleled inverters under the unequal operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a new dual-switch control structure for an ac/dc noninverting cascaded buck–boost power factor correction converter. The proposed converter operates at a discontinuous capacitor voltage mode providing an inherent high-power factor and a zero voltage turn-off switching. Additionally, the proposed control structure enables for a nondistorted sinusoidal current for a wide range of output voltage levels. Unlike the conventional methods, a mode detector is not required and consequently there is no hard transition between buck and boost modes. Although both converter switches are controlled, only one feedback control loop is required to obtain the desired power flow at a unity power factor. The principle of operation, theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental results of a 1.6-kW prototype grid-connected converter are presented. The results confirmed the validity of the proposed system under various operating conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Semiactive quadrupler rectifiers (SAQRs) are proposed in this paper to serve as the secondary rectification circuits, which make the secondary-side voltages to be controllable and help reduce current stress and conduction losses. An interleaved isolated boost converter is developed based on the proposed SAQRs. By utilizing the pulse-width modulation (PWM) plus phase-shift (PPS) control strategy, the primary- and secondary-side voltages are well matched to reduce the current values and circulating conduction losses. With the proposed SAQRs, the voltage gain is extended and the voltage stresses on power devices and passive components used in rectification circuits are reduced to the half of the high output voltage. Hence, the efficiency is improved by using a transformer with a smaller turns ratio and reduced parasitic parameters, and by employing low-voltage rating devices with better switching and conduction performance. With optimal design, lower voltage, and current stresses on the primary-side switches, minimized input current ripple can be realized. Moreover, the zero-voltage turn on switching of the active switches and the zero-current turn off switching of the diodes can be achieved over a wide load and voltage range by the proposed SAQR-based converter and the control strategy. Meanwhile, the higher voltage gain, the lower voltage, and the current stresses on power devices can be obtained with the proposed SAQR-based converter compared with passive quadrupler rectifier-based converter. The feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed SAQRs and the derived converter are verified by a 380-V output prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Compared with constant duty cycle-controlled discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) boost power factor (PF) correction (PFC) converter, constant duty cycle-controlled quadratic DCM–DCM boost PFC converter features with much lower second-order line frequency output voltage ripple, and however, it suffers from low PF. To increase PF of quadratic DCM–DCM boost PFC converter, a variable duty cycle control technique for quadratic DCM–DCM boost PFC converter is presented in this paper. An approximation equivalent for the variable duty cycle is employed to simplify the implementation circuit. The corresponding expressions of PF and output voltage ripple are analyzed. For input voltage range of 100–240 Vac, quadratic DCM–DCM boost PFC converter with variable duty cycle control benefits with very high PF, and tradeoff between PF and output voltage ripple of this converter is analyzed. Experimental results from 100-W prototypes are given to verify the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

For discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) dc–dc converters with digital sensorless current mode (DSCM) control, an observed current error occurs, owing to a low-accuracy current observer. Moreover, a reference current error occurs due to a low-accuracy current controller or a finite dc gain of current loop. Conventionally, the observed current is compensated to increase current regulation accuracy, whereas the reference current error is neglected. However, for charge balance principle (CBP)-based DSCM (CBP-DSCM) control, this paper proves that the reference current should be compensated in a same quantity to that of observed current. Otherwise, single or unequal compensation leads to output voltage steady-state error. For this reason, a dual current error compensation strategy for CBP-DSCM control is proposed. It compensates the errors in a same quantity through a current error observer, which considers parasitics and calculates the current errors without approximation. To verify the proposed strategy, small-signal models with parasitics for both the converter and the controller are constructed by differential functions of key variables. Furthermore, converter stability is analyzed at typical operation condition, while the stability at various operation conditions is verified through robustness analysis. Finally, simulations and experimental results verify the analysis and the improved transient response of the converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isolated resonant converters (RCs) based on a novel resonant-voltage-multiplier rectifier (RVMR) are proposed in this paper. Output voltage regulation is achieved by using simple dual-phase-shift control, through which all of the switches can operate at a constant resonant frequency. Theoretical analysis indicates that, by using the proposed RVMR, the proposed RC can realize zero-voltage switching for all of the active switches and zero-current switching for all of the diodes within the entire operating range without introducing additional circulating current and conduction loss. In addition, the converter is suitable for a wide range of voltage applications due to its isolated buck–boost conversion capability. Furthermore, the output voltage can be increased with the RVMR, which benefits the reduction of the turns ratio of the transformer. The operational principles and characteristics of the proposed converter are presented in detail. The analysis and performance have been fully experimentally validated on a 400-V/400-W-output hardware prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Bulky electrolytic capacitors, which are often needed in dc systems to filter out voltage ripples, considerably reduce power density and system reliability. In this paper, a ripple eliminator, which is a bidirectional buck–boost converter terminated with an auxiliary capacitor, is adopted to replace bulky capacitors in dc systems. The voltage ripples on the terminals (i.e., the dc bus) can be transferred to the auxiliary capacitor, and the ripples on the auxiliary capacitor can vary in a wide range. Moreover, the average voltage of the auxiliary capacitor can be controlled either lower or higher than the dc-bus voltage, which offers a wide operational range for the ripple eliminator and also the possibility of further reducing the auxiliary capacitance. Hence, the total capacitance required can be much smaller than the originally needed. After proposing a control strategy to transfer the voltage ripples to the auxiliary capacitor, three control strategies are proposed to regulate the auxiliary-capacitor voltage to maintain proper operation. Intensive experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conventional matrix converters (MCs) have limited voltage gain that is less than 0.866, whether for direct MC (DMC) or indirect MC (IMC). Existing Z-source (ZS)/discontinuous quasi-Z-source (qZS) DMCs and ZS IMCs achieved larger than 0.866 voltage gain; however, the former inherited the complex commutation from DMC, and the latter involved a ZS network in dc link and led to non-all-silicon solution. In this paper, ZS and discontinuous qZS networks of existing ZS/qZS DMCs are used for an IMC topology for simplifying commutation and having high voltage gain, but they require extra input filter to reduce current harmonics. A new continuous qZS IMC is proposed, where a qZS network integrates the filtering function of the grid side; hence, additional input filter is avoided in the proposed continuous qZS IMC. Three new IMCs are compared in detail, in terms of voltage gain, current ripple, voltage ripple, inductor current and capacitor voltage stresses, ZS/qZS switch current and voltage stresses, filtering function, input current total harmonic distortion (THD), output voltage THD, and efficiency. Their control and modulation methods are presented to achieve the desired performances. Experimental comparisons verify the theoretical analysis and that the proposed continuous qZS IMC is a promising topology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The quasi-Z-source cascaded multilevel inverter (qZS-CMI) presented many advantages over conventional CMI when applied in photovoltaic (PV) power systems. For example, qZS-CMI provides the balanced dc-link voltage and voltage boost ability, saves one-third modules, etc. However, current research studies only disclosed control of single-phase qZS-CMI-based PV power systems, and there was no literature related to control of three-phase qZS-CMI-based PV power systems. In this paper, for the first time, three-phase qZS-CMI's control is proposed and demonstrated for application to PV power systems. The models of PV-panel-fed qZS H-bridge module and qZS-CMI-based PV power system are built to accurately design control algorithms for each module and the whole system. The proposed control method includes the distributed maximum power point tracking for each module, dc-link peak voltage balance control for all modules, and grid-tie control for the whole system; moreover, a new multilevel space vector modulation method is proposed for the three-phase qZS-CMI. Simulation and experimental results on a test bench with a three-phase seven-level qZS-CMI-based PV power system verify the proposed control and modulation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes an adaptive low-dc-link-voltage-controlled LC coupling hybrid active power filter (LC-HAPF) with a neutral inductor, which can compensate both dynamic reactive power and current harmonics in three-phase four-wire distribution power systems. Due to its adaptive low-dc-link-voltage characteristic, it can obtain the least switching loss and switching noise and the best compensating performances, compared with the conventional fixed and newly adaptive dc-voltage-controlled LC-HAPFs. The design procedures of the dc-link voltage controller are discussed, so that the proportional and integral gains can be designed accordingly. Moreover, the general design procedures for the adaptive dc-voltage-controlled LC-HAPF with a neutral inductor are also given. The validity and effectiveness of the adaptive dc-link voltage-controlled LC -HAPF with a neutral inductor are confirmed by experimental results obtained from a 220-V 10-kVA laboratory prototype compared with the conventional fixed and adaptive dc-link voltage-controlled LC-HAPFs without a neutral inductor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pulse-train (PT) control technique for switching dc–dc converters is simple to design and benefits from excellent control performance. Up to now, almost all of the works on PT control are focused on switching dc–dc converters operating in discontinuous conduction mode, with few works reported on PT control of switching dc–dc converters operating in continuous conduction mode (CCM). In this paper, a PT-controlled CCM buck converter is studied and a unique low-frequency oscillation phenomenon is revealed, which results in large undesired inductor-current and output-voltage variations. The effect of equivalent series resistance (ESR) output-capacitor on the low-frequency oscillation is examined. The results indicate that such oscillation occurs when the ESR output-capacitor is relatively small and disappears when it is relatively large. However, a larger ESR will result in a large output-voltage ripple. In order to avoid the low-frequency oscillation and, at the same time, to ensure a small output-voltage ripple, the ICRIF circuit is applied. In this way, a small ESR output-capacitor can be used to decrease the output-voltage ripple. Simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the feedforward schemes of grid voltages for a three-phase LCL-type grid-connected inverter. The full-feedforward functions of grid voltages are derived for the stationary \alpha - \beta frame, synchronous d - q frame, and decoupled synchronous d - q frame-controlled three-phase LCL-type grid-connected inverters. The derived full-feedforward functions mainly consist of three parts which are proportional, derivative, and second derivative parts. The use of the traditional proportional feedforward function in the three-phase LCL-type grid-connected inverter will result in the amplification of the high-frequency injected grid current harmonics. With the proposed full-feedforward schemes, the injected grid current harmonics and unbalance caused by grid voltages can be greatly reduced. The effectiveness of the proposed feedforward schemes is verified by the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Equivalent series resistance (ESR) of output capacitor has a significant effect on the control performance of constant on-time (COT) controlled switching dc-dc converters. In this paper, a discrete-time model of COT-controlled buck converter, with variable sampling frequency, is established. Based upon which, the dynamical effects of the ESR of output capacitor on COT-controlled buck converter are revealed and analyzed. The time-domain numerical simulations of the exact switched state equations, the bifurcation diagrams, and maximal Lyapunov exponents of the discrete-time model are obtained. These results verified by experimental circuit indicate that the ESR of output capacitor is a critical factor for COT-controlled buck converter, which can eliminate the unique pulse bursting phenomenon and shift operation mode from discontinuous conduction mode to continuous conduction mode, as well as control stability. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A simple current sharing control technique for the switching power supply is presented herein, whose basic concept is that the control effort created from the voltage loop is finely tuned by the control effort created from the current sharing loop based on the proposed phase link so as not only to obtain the desired output voltage but also to make the load current distributed among phases as evenly as possible. Such a control method is not only without any current sharing bus as compared with the traditional current sharing methods, but also suitable for multiple phases under the condition that any one phase among multiple phases fails. Moreover, based on phase link, there is no divider used, as compared with the traditional average current method, and hence, the number of logic elements in the field-programmable gate array (FPGA) can be reduced. In this paper, the detailed basic operating principles, together with new mathematical deductions based on the superposition concept, are firstly described, and secondly some experimental results, based on the FPGA to realize the fully digitalized control of the overall system using one-comparator counter-based sampling without any analog-to-digital converter (ADC), are provided to verify the effectiveness of proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel pseudo-continuous conduction mode (PCCM) boost power-factor-correction (PFC) converter and its corresponding control strategy are proposed in this paper. Connecting a power switch in parallel with the inductor makes the boost converter operate in PCCM, which provides an additional degree of control freedom to realize PFC control. Therefore, a simple and fast voltage control loop of the PCCM boost PFC converter can be designed to realize output-voltage regulation. The additional degree of control freedom introduced by inductor current freewheeling operation of the PCCM boost PFC converter has been exploited through the dead-zone control technique, which can be dynamically adjusted in accordance with the output-voltage ripple. Compared with continuous conduction mode (CCM) boost PFC converter, the controller of the proposed PCCM boost PFC converter is much simpler. Moreover, the PCCM boost PFC converter benefits with reduced inductor-current ripple and improved power factor compared with boost PFC converter operating in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Analysis, simulation, and a 400-W prototype of the PCCM boost PFC converter have been presented and compared with those of boost PFC converters operating in conventional CCM and DCM. The results show that the dynamic response of the PCCM boost PFC converter is significantly faster than the existing boost PFC converter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple current-sharing control technique for the switching power supply is presented herein, which is based on the concept of the differential-mode transformer and which makes the load current evenly shared well among phases all over the line voltage and load current ranges. This current-sharing structure is very simple, and it makes the efficiency relatively high at light load, which is quite suitable for industrial applications with standby power considered. In this circuit, a synchronously rectified switch is used to further upgrade the efficiency, and the coupling output inductors in copolarity are utilized to decrease the phase current ripples. In this paper, the detailed basic operating principles, together with mathematical deductions, are first described, and second, some simulated and experimental results are provided to demonstrate the proposed control strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a twin-buck converter with zero-voltage transition (ZVT). The converter comprises two identical buck conversion units employing power MOSFETs as the active power switches with an interleaved inductor. The ZVT is accomplished by resonating the currents between the interleaved inductor and the parasitic capacitances of the power MOSFETs. The detailed circuit operations and analysis are provided. A laboratory circuit rated at 300 W is designed and tested. Experimental results show that the switching losses can be effectively reduced by ZVT of the active power switches, accompanied by the reduced reverse recovery loss of freewheeling diodes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the design considerations for a redundant parallel multiphase voltage regulator module (VRM) system. The VRMs are modulated to achieve a controlled current source property, which helps in achieving good current sharing among modules with true redundancy. The steady-state, small-signal, and large-signal characteristics of the control are discussed. A novel local sense feedback is used to improve the large-signal dynamics of the parallel system. Two 3.3-V/140-A prototypes are used to validate the design concepts. Experimental results show good correlation with the theoretical models. The current sharing between the parallel modules is within 10%, and the dynamic voltage response improvement is 33%, as a result of the local sense feedback. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Constant power loads (CPLs) are very common in multiconverter power system applications. Buck converters loaded by CPLs have different start-up and step-response processes from the resistive load. This paper analyzes the start-up process and step response of an average current-controlled buck converter with CPLs based on the phase portrait method. Design criteria rules have been proposed to achieve system stability during start-up and load transient processes. The proper current-limiting value is proposed accordingly to avoid the instability during the start-up and load change dynamics. Simulation and experimental results verify the analysis and the proposed proper current-limit value. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a robust digital voltage-mode controller (DVMC) is proposed for a fifth-order boost point-of-load converter. Salient features of the proposed topology are compared with a conventional boost converter. Mathematical models are formulated using a discrete-time modeling technique and then employed in the compensator design, which uses the digital direct design approach. The DVMC is designed to ensure load voltage regulation. Robustness theory is applied directly in the digital domain, and then, various robust stability criteria describing sensitivity functions are formulated. The controller is designed to satisfy robustness criteria and then evaluated over a range of disturbances in spite of the fact that it maintains regulation. To confirm this, design simulations have been carried out on a 25-W 12–36-V converter system. Experimental results are provided to validate the concept and also to verify the range over which the designed controller is robust. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]