Single and Three Phase Rectiers with Active Power Factor

Correction for Enhanced Mains Power Quality

Andreas Lindemann Johann W. Kolar
IXYS Semiconductor GmbH Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich
Power Electronics and Electrometrology Laboratory
Postfach 1180 ETH-Zentrum/ETL H24
D { 68619 Lampertheim CH { 8092 Zurich
www.ixys.net [email protected]
Abstract
The major drawbacks of conventional diode or thyristor rectiers are overcome by active
power factor correction; this further provides additional benets. Operating princi-
ples and features of single and three phase rectiers with active power factor correction
are explained in this paper. Calculations referring to the various power semiconductor
switches in dierent topologies permit to derive ratings of this kind of mains rectiers,
being equipped with power semiconductor components that partially or totally integrate
the circuit.

1 Introduction active power is available through a given mains

fuse.
Standard rectier bridges, consisting of diodes, are
rugged, simple and cheap. Their use however
leads to problems of electromagnetic compatibili-
ty (EMC) due to harmonic distortion of the mains  Voltage or current of the DC link on the sec-
input currents, typically being shaped as peaks. ondary side are controlled; thus the output is
The recent standardization [1] [2] species limits independent from mains voltage over a wide
for harmonic distortion which may be met with a range. This helps to overcome possible prob-
standard rectier circuit, complemented by passive lems of unstable supply voltage. Additionally,
lter components towards mains. These however the rectier is suitable for wide mains voltage
are rather large and expensive. Further, in EMC range | there is no necessity to manually pre-
sensitive applications, such as power supplies for select the input voltage.
telecommunications or computers, the occurrence
of harmonics in the rectier, although ltered to-
wards the grid, may disturb the operation of the  Only few and small passive components are
whole system. required.
As an alternative, rectiers with active power fac-
tor correction may be used. They outperform the
standard rectiers with the following characteris-
tics: So this type of controlled rectiers does not only
help to meet the requirements of the EMC stan-
 The occurrence of harmonics in mains current dards, but it oers signicant additional benets.
is actively minimized. Dierent types of controlled rectiers for a vari-
 In operation, the intermediate circuit is ety of applications are presented in the following.
charged during the whole mains period with The general description of single phase rectiers
rectied sinusoidal mains current in phase in section 2 can further be applied to three phase
with mains voltage; this way, the maximum rectiers as described in section 3.
2 Single and Three Phase Rectiers with Active Power Factor Correction

2 Single Phase Power Factor

Correction
2.1 Mode of Operation
The schematic of a single phase rectier with pow-
er factor correction in boost topology is shown in
gure 1. Its operation is discussed with reference
to gures 2 and 3:

Figure 3: typical boost chopper waveforms of sin-

gle phase rectier with power factor correction
(Pn = Un
In = 3600W)

to gure 1, the previously negative half-waves of

voltage and current ideally have been folded to the
rst quadrant according to:
Figure 1: schematic of single phase rectier with ud (t) = jun (t)j (1)
power factor correction id (t) = jin (t)j (2)
Finally gure 3 depicts current waveforms taken at
the chopper in a magnied time interval: The solid
line represents the command variable iw (t) for the
boost chopper's input current id (t); the slightly ris-
ing slope corresponds to a section of the sinusoidal
half-wave of the rectied input current id (t) accord-
ing to gure 2 and equation 2. This desired wave-
form is approximated by the boost chopper, com-
posing the sinusoidal half-waves of id (t) according
to id (t) = iT (t) + iZ (t). The boost chopper's pulse
pattern is documented below the time axis of gure
3: When the transistor T is turned on, it will carry
a current iT (t) according to the broken line; cur-
Figure 2: typical input waveforms of sin- rent rises, because the voltage ud (t) is applied to
gle phase rectier with power factor correction the inductor L which will further magnetize. Hav-
(Pn = Un
In = 3600W) ing turned the transistor T o, the diode D11 will
turn on and thus cause the inductor to demagne-
Figure 2 depicts the waveforms of mains voltage tize by a decreasing current iZ (t) (dotted) into the
un (t) (solid) and mains current in (t) (dotted). Due intermediate circuit, with the voltage of interme-
to the | ideally | sinusoidal shape of current diate circuit being larger than rectied mains volt-
in (t), there would be no harmonic content; further- age at any time UZ > ud (t). This way, the sum
more, the phase angle zero between mains voltage id (t) = iT (t) + iZ (t) represents a waveform with an
un (t) and current in (t) avoids the occurrence of average value according to the desired sinusoidal
rst harmonic reactive power. At the same rec- current iw (t) and an additional triangular ripple
tied power, the power factor corrected rectier's due to boost chopper operation.
mains input current has a signicantly lower am- The latter's switching frequencies typically are in
plitude and RMS value compared to a standard the range of 50kHz  fT  100kHz, which mini-
rectier's. mizes size and cost of the inductor L and possible
On the secondary of the diode bridge according additional lter components. The control method
PCIM Conference | Power Quality, Nurnberg, 2001 3

for this kind of power factor corrected rectiers An optimum match between the various power
is implemented in a variety of integrated circuits, semiconductor switches within the rectier topolo-
which signicantly faciliates the formers' design | gy is achieved, if their T J is equal.
see for example [3] [4] [5].
2.3 Other Requirements on Power
2.2 Calculation of Power Semicon- Semiconductors
ductor Ratings In addition to the electrical ratings as derived in
While the voltage ratings are determined by the section 2.2, the following aspects should be consid-
operating voltage on primary and secondary side ered, choosing power semiconductor components
and the circuit, the current ratings depend on the for a power factor corrected single phase rectier
power losses in operation as previously described; with a topology according to gure 1:
they may not lead to a junction temperature ex-
ceeding the maximum allowable value:  The rectier diodes D1 to D4 must be able
Conduction losses are caused by the forward volt- to stand the inrush current peak at power on,
age drop when the power semiconductor switch has mainly determined by mains voltage and in-
been turned on: ductor L. Further, fast switching behaviour
is advantageous to reduce the emission of dis-
PC = Uforward (I)
I (3) turbances during commutation at zero transi-
where I is the current carried and Uforward is the tion of mains current. Special mains rectier
current dependant forward voltage drop. diodes with fast switching behaviour are re-
Switching losses occur during the transients, where ferred to as semifast diodes in the following.
voltage across the switch u(t) rises and current  The transistor in the boost chopper T
through the switch i(t) falls or vice versa; assuming should be a fast switching device | either a
the switching operation to start at t0 and to last high voltage MOSFET or an IGBT with op-
for ton=off leads to: timized switching speed | to operate at the

t +t
 0 on=off

 high switching frequency as mentioned in sec-
 Z 
tion 2.1. The use of a component with low
Eon=off = 


u(t)
i(t)
dt


(4) gate charge QG is benecial, because it helps
 t0 
to minimize the required drive power.
Neglecting blocking and control losses, total power  The free wheeling diode of the boost
losses, averaged over one period of switching fre- chopper D11 must be optimized for high
quency which is assumed to be constant, are given switching speed, particularly at turn o in
by: switched mode operation. Fast recovery epi-
PV = PC
a + fT
(Eon + Eoff ) (5) taxial diodes | FREDs | should be used;
where fT is the switching frequency and a with their performance can additionally be im-
0  a  1 the duty cycle | the device is turned proved using a series connection of two diodes.
on for faT . Average power loss during one mains If the free wheeling diode is correctly sized for
period thus approximately is operation at nominal power and high switch-
fT ing frequency, it generally stands the inrush
current at power on as mentioned above.
P V = ffn
PV i
Xfn
(6)
T i=1  Several requirements refer to the package:
where PV i are the losses in the i-th interval of The power circuit must be isolated from the
switching frequency fT within one mains period heatsink for safety reasons; thus the package
1 should provide an internal isolation. This, to-
fn . Average junction temperature in steady state gether with the integration of several power
can then be calculated using semicondcutors in the same package, leads to
T J = P V
RthJC + TC (7) low mounting eort. Integration further is in-
dispensable to achieve a good operational be-
where TC is a constant case temperature and RthJC haviour of the chopper, particularly with re-
the thermal resistance junction to case. Junction spect to high frequency fast switching, requir-
temperature must be lower than the rated value ing low parasitic inductance. Finally, packag-
T J  TJmax (8) ing has a strong impact on reliability.
4 Single and Three Phase Rectiers with Active Power Factor Correction

2.4 Examples of Integrated Power 3 Three Phase Power Factor

Semiconductors Correction
Dierent sets of power semiconductor components There are several topologies and control methods
to build the topology in gure 1 are listed in table to implement power factor correction as described
1 together with their major ratings and character- in section 1 for three phase systems; a survey of
istics as explained in sections 2.2 and 2.3: techniques is given in [7].
Dierent types of three phase power factor correct-
 The left columns give IXYS' type designa- ed rectiers with continuous mains current will be
tions: Either one type is mentioned, integrat- discussed in the following sections.
ing all components | or two types, the rst
incorporating the rectier bridge D1 to D4 ,
the second the boost chopper T and D11 ac- 3.1 Combination of Three Single
cording to gure 1. Phase Rectiers
 The next column names the package type. All Ittoriscorrected
possible to connect one single phase power fac-
rectier as shown in gure 1 and as
packages are isolated. The outline of so called explained in section 2 between each of the three
Isoplus i4TM is shown on the left in gure 4; mains phases and the neutral conductor. However
this new package combines features of discrete this solution is hardly used because of its draw-
components | it looks similar to | with fea- backs: Often no neutral conductor is available.
tures of modules | such as isolation and re- Furthermore the rectied power is transferred to
liability, see [6]. Veridul module package is three DC links | one per phase; additional DC-DC
depicted on the right in gure 4. Eco-Pac is a converters with galvanic isolation would be needed
similar module, however with a smaller foot- to make the rectier a single DC voltage source as
print of 30; 3mm
47mm. commonly required.
True three phase rectier systems as outlined in
 Features of the chips | rectier D1 to D4 , the next sections prove to be better solutions.
boost chopper transistor T and free wheeling
diode D11 are outlined in the three following
columns of table 1. 3.2 Three Phase "Vienna" Rectier
The topology of "Vienna" rectier is shown in g-
 Power ratings Pn of rectiers composed of ure 5; it can be characterized as follows:
the listed components are given in the right On the mains side, there is one inductor for each
columns. They have been calculated accord- phase L1 , L2 , L3 . There is no need for a neutral
ing to the approach in section 2.2 for dierent conductor. The circuit will operate with wide input
international mains voltages Un . voltage range.
The output of the rectier is an intermediate cir-
cuit with controlled DC voltage between L+ and
L; with center point MP. It is advantageous that
| due to this division of the output voltage |
switches with lower blocking voltage and thus bet-
ter conduction characteristics can be used.
There is one controllable switch per phase | MOS-
FETs are depicted. Together with the surrounding
four diodes bridges, they operate as bidirectional
switches: When turned on, they connect the re-
spective mains phase to the DC center point via
two diodes and the inductor, which makes the lat-
ter magnetize. When turned o, the inductor de-
Figure 4: left: outline of Isoplus i4TM pack- magnetizes into the DC link via the free wheeling
age: dimensions  20mm
21mm; right: outline diodes connected to L+ or L; respectively.
of Veridul package: dimensions 31; 6mm
63mm It is obvious that this operational principle is simi-
lar to the one described for the single phase power
PCIM Conference | Power Quality, Nurnberg, 2001 5

Table 1: components for single phase power factor correction: type designations, features and rat-
ings for voltage of intermediate circuit UZ = 400V , switching frequency fT = 75kHz, case temperature
TC = 80C
type designation features Pn at Un
rectier chopper package(s) rectier transistor diode 110V 240V
VUI9-06N7 Eco-Pac module semifast fast IGBT ser. FRED 900W 2100W
FBO16-08N FID35-06C Isoplus i4TM standard fast IGBT ser. FRED 950W 2600W
FBO16-08N FMD21-05QC Isoplus i4TM standard QG MOS. ser. FRED 1400W 3100W
VUM24-05N Veridul module standard MOSFET FRED 2200W 2800W
VUM33-05N Veridul module standard MOSFET FRED 3300W 4200W

Figure 5: schematic of three phase rectier with power factor correction | "Vienna" rectier

factor corrected rectier in section 2.1. Further de- Table 2: typical nominal three phase mains power
tails about operation and control of the circuit can P of "Vienna" rectiers; conditions: mains volt-
be found in [8] [9] [10] [11]. n
age U
n = 400V , case temperature TC = 80C
type Pn package options
In particular, the method explained in [8] permits VUM25-05 10kW V1-Pack
the calculation of the power ratings of the "Vi- VUM85-05A 30kW V2-Pack soft start thyr.
enna" rectier analogous to the approach for the
power factor corrected single phase rectier as de-
scribed in section 2.2. Basic ratings and charac- 3.3 Three Switch, Three Phase Uni-
teristics of "Vienna" rectiers built with dierent
modules are listed in table 2. A "Vienna" rectier
ty Power Factor Rectier with
will use one of the indicated modules per phase. Variable Voltage DC Link
As could be expected, its range of rectied pow- The circuit in gure 6 is again connected to three
er is higher, compared to single phase rectiers phase mains via one inductor per phase. Contrary
as rated in table 1. The components in table 2 to the "Vienna" rectier, capacitors are located on
again are isolated modules, where V1-Pack has the mains side of the converter and a direct current is
same footprint as Veridul package | see gure 4 controlled to ow between the terminals I+ and I ;
(right) | while V2-Pack is bigger with a footprint on the secondary side. It may for example be condi-
of 40; 4mm
93mm according to the higher nomi- tioned by a following boost chopper and inverted to
nal power. The VUM85 module additionally pro- drive a motor. The circuit again uses bidirection-
vides a soft start thyristor for limiting the inrush al switches consisting of diodes and transistors |
current at power on, as already discussed in section IGBTs are depicted. Operational principle, control
2.3. methods and calculation of ratings are comprehen-
6 Single and Three Phase Rectiers with Active Power Factor Correction

sively described in [12]. Table 3 gives ratings of a

module, again comprising the power semiconduc-
tors for one phase as indicated by the dashed lines
in gure 6.

Figure 7: schematic of three phase full bridge

Anyway, this topology is frequently applied in pow-

er electronics. Many control methods are known
and implemented in integrated circuits. A variety
of integrated power semiconductors for a wide pow-
er range is available. Without claiming complete-
ness, table 4 lists some suitable IGBT modules with
Figure 6: schematic of three switch, three phase their most important ratings.
unity power factor rectier with variable voltage
DC link Table 4: self commutated full bridges for three
phase power factor correction; blocking volt-
age UCEs and DC ratings at case temperature
Table 3: typical nominal three phase mains power TC = 80C of IGBTs (IC 80 ) and diodes (IF 80 )
Pn of three switch, three phase unity power fac-
tor rectier with variable voltage DC link; condi- type designation UCEs IC 80 IF 80
tions: mains voltage U
n = 400V , switching fre- MWI30-06A7 600V 30A 24A
quency fT = 15kHz, case temperature TC = 80 C MWI50-06A7 600V 50A 45A
MWI75-06A7 600V 60A 85A
type Pn package MWI100-06A8 600V 88A 88A
VUI30-12N1 15kW V1-Pack MWI150-06A8 600V 130A 130A
MWI200-06A8 600V 165A 165A
MWI15-12A7 1200V 20A 17A
MWI25-12A7 1200V 35A 33A
MWI35-12A7 1200V 44A 33A
3.4 Three Phase Full Bridge MWI50-12A7 1200V 60A 70A
Finally the self commutated three phase full bridge MWI75-12A8 1200V 100A 100A
shown in gure 7 should be mentioned to be suit- MWI100-12A8 1200V 120A 130A
able for three phase power factor correction: Mains
would be connected via inductors to the phase ter-
minals L1 , L2 , L3 , while L+ and L; represent the
constant voltage DC link. The self commutated
three phase full bridge can be used as rectier and
4 Conclusion
inverter; thus it permits bidirectional energy trans- Power factor correction is introduced to avoid
fer, which is useful for applications with energy mains disturbances caused by the increasing num-
recovery. However, the circuit contains twice the ber of mains rectiers, suppliing all kinds of electri-
amount of controllable switches | six IGBTs in cal devices. The mode of operation of single phase
gure 7 | compared to the rectiers as described rectiers with active power factor correction has
in sections 3.2 and 3.3; consequently driving ef- been described; based on its knowledge, the rat-
fort is somewhat higher. In the end, the particular ings of this kind of mains rectiers and of power
requirements of the actual application will decide semiconductor components they are equipped with
which solution to prefer. respectively have been calculated. Further, several
PCIM Conference | Power Quality, Nurnberg, 2001 7

circuits and components for three phase rectica- [10] J. W. Kolar, U. Drofenik, F. C. Zach:
tion with active power factor correction have been Space Vector Based Analysis of the Varia-
presented. It can be expected, that this technique tion and Control of the Neutral Point Poten-
which up to now is used rather seldom, will gain tial of Hysteresis Current Controlled Three-
importance in the near future because it will be Phase/Switch/Level PWM Rectier Systems;
applied to innovative power supplies for sensitive International Conference on Power Electron-
loads with high power consumption, such as for ics and Drive Systems, Singapore, Feb. 21-24,
telecommunication equipment or computers. 1995
[11] J. Minibock, F. Stogerer, J. W. Kolar: A
References Novel Concept for Mains Voltage Proportion-
al Input Current Shaping of a Vienna Recti-
[1] IEC61000-3-2: Grenzwerte fur Oberschwin- er Eliminating Controller Multipliers; APEC
gungsstrome (Gerate-Eingangsstrom <16A je Conference, Anaheim/CA, March 4-8, 2001
Leiter) [12] M. Baumann, F. Stogerer, J. W. Kolar, A.
[2] IEC61000-3-4: Grenzwerte fur Oberschwin- Lindemann: Design of a Novel Multi-Chip
gungsstrome (Gerate-Eingangsstrom >16A je Power Module for a Three Phase Buck and
Leiter) Boost Unity Power Factor Utility Interface
Supplying the Variable Voltage DC link of a
[3] M. Herfurth: Power Factor Controller Square Wave Inverter Drive; APEC Confer-
TDA4862 Applications; Siemens HL applica- ence, Anaheim/CA, March 4-8, 2001
tion note AT 2 9402 E
[4] B. Andreycak: UC3854A and UC3854B Ad-
vanced Power Factor Correction Control ICs;
Unitrode Corporation, application note DN-
44, 1994
[5] P. C. Todd: Boost Power Factor Corrector De-
sign with the UC3853; Unitrode Corporation,
application note U-159, 1999
[6] A. Lindemann: Combining the Features of
Modules and Discretes in a New Power
Semiconductor Package; PCIM Conference,
Nurnberg, 2000
[7] J. W. Kolar, H. Ertl: Stand der Technik
netzruckwirkungsarmer dreiphasiger Gleich-
richterschaltungen; VDE-ETG-Tage, Essen,
1995
[8] J. W. Kolar, H. Ertl, F. C. Zach: IXYS-
VUM25-E | A New Isolated Power Mod-
ule for Low-Cost/Weight/Volume High Per-
formance Three-Phase Sinusoidal Input Cur-
rent Power Conditioning; Power Quality Con-
ference, Nurnberg, 1995
[9] J. W. Kolar, U. Drofenik, F. C. Zach:
DC Link Voltage Balancing of a Three-
Phase/Switch/Level PWM (Vienna) Recti-
er by Modied Hysteresis Input Current Con-
trol; 29th PCIM Conference, Nurnberg, June
20-22, 1995