No abstract

Abstract-A new digital control technique for power factor correction is presented. The main novelty of the method is that there is no current sensor. Instead, the input current is digitally rebuilt, using the estimated input current for the current loop. Apart from that, the ADCs used for the acquisition of the input and output voltages have been designed ad-hoc. Taking advantage of the slow dynamic behavior of these voltages, almost completely digital ADCs have been designed, leaving only a comparator and an RC filter in the analog part. The final objective is obtaining a low cost digital controller which can be easily integrated in an ASIC along with the controller of paralleled and subsequent power sections.

Synchronization with the utility voltage is naturally carried out by a diode bridge stage in single phase active rectifiers, while an active synchronization is included in the control algorithms applied to modern bridgeless topologies. Sensorless line current rebuilding algorithms also need synchronization with the line voltage to compensate at least for part of the current estimation error. The PLL circuits employed in single phase AC-DC converters are reviewed and a new digital PLL algorithm, based on the synchronous reference frame, is proposed. It is implemented in a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to utilize the parallelism and superior time resolution. Considering a restricted frequency variation of the line voltage around the central frequency, the orthogonal signal is obtained by a discrete differential operator designed to ensure unity gain at the central frequency. Its performance, including the memory and computational cost, versus previously consolidated algorithms implemented in the same device is analyzed. Simulations and experimental results prove its suitable behavior in steady-state at different line frequencies and under line voltage and frequency transients.

The proliferation of non-linear loads and the increasing penetration of Distributed Energy Resources (DER) in Medium-Voltage (MV) and Low-Voltage (LV) distribution grids, make it more difficult to maintain the power quality levels in residential electrical grids, especially in the case of weak grids. Most household appliances contain a conventional Power Factor Corrector (PFC) rectifier, which maximizes the load Power Factor (PF) but does not contribute to the regulation of the voltage Total Harmonic Distortion (T HDV) in residential electrical grids. This manuscript proposes a modification for PFC controllers by adapting the operation mode depending on the measured T HDV. As a result, the PFCs operate either in a low current Total Harmonic Distortion (T HDI) mode or in the conventional resistor emulator mode and contribute to the regulation of the T HDV and the P F at the distribution feeders. To prove the concept, the modification is applied to a current sensorless Non-Linear Controller (NLC) applied to a single-phase Boost rectifier. Experimental results show its performance in a PFC front-end stage operating in Continuous Conduction Mode (CCM) connected to the grid with different T HDV .

No abstract