Active power decoupling for a boost power factor correction circuit

• Main Author: Williams, David
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2016
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2429/59145

During AC-DC conversion, the ripple power at the input of the converter must be filtered from the output. This filtering can be easily done by placing a capacitor on the DC bus. For systems with power output of hundreds of Watts or more, this capacitor must be quite high to effectively perform the filtering, and in order to be cost effective, an aluminum electrolytic capacitor (Al e-caps) needs to be used. The lifespan of Al e-caps is notoriously short, so for long lifespan systems, their use is not advisable. Film capacitors have longer lifespans than Al e-caps but are more expensive on a cost per Farad basis. Methods have been proposed to reduce the required capacitance so that film capacitors can be cost effectively used. One of these methods is to use a separate decoupling port in the circuit that can filter the ripple power without the limitation of being connected directly to the DC bus. The first contribution is a method of using an active power decoupling (APD) port with a buck-based circuit that does not require direct measurement of the AC input signal for controlling the ripple power to the port. This APD port requires only two extra switches and some simple signal processing circuitry to generate a reference signal and control the voltage to the APD port capacitor. The second contribution is a design guide for a sliding mode control (SMC) system for the APD port. SMC shows promise as a control system for power electronics circuits and has never been demonstrated on an APD port before. The proposed circuit and control system is used in a 700 Watt AC-DC converter with power factor correction and is compared in simulation to a benchmark converter using a passive capacitor on the DC bus. The capacitance is reduced from 300μF to a 35μF and a 75μF capacitor without any effect on performance as indicated by measures of the voltage ripple, power factor and total harmonic distortion. The capacitance reduction results in a cost savings of $175 on capacitors when using prices that were current at time of publication. === Applied Science, Faculty of === Engineering, School of (Okanagan) === Graduate