Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344

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Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rser

Rectifier topologies for permanent magnet synchronous generator

on wind energy conversion systems: A review
Tiara R.S. de Freitas, Paulo J.M. Menegáz, Domingos S.L. Simonetti n
Power Electronics and Drives Laboratory - Department of Electrical Engineering Federal University of Espírito Santo, Av. Fernando Ferrari, 514, Goiabeiras,
Vitória, ES CEP 29075-910, Brazil

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: A review of wind energy conversion topologies to permanent magnet synchronous generator is pre-
Received 16 January 2015 sented in this paper. The use of wind energy as a promising renewable energy in actual world con-
Received in revised form juncture and its use on distributed generation is summarized. A comparison between the main gen-
7 August 2015
erators used in wind energy production related to the advantages of each one is also shown. For PMSG,
Accepted 21 October 2015
the integration generator-grid is accomplished usually by ac–dc–ac electronic conversion. This paper
focuses on the ac–dc stage of the connexion. Main rectifier topologies are included, along with their
Keywords: advantages and disadvantages. Considering the rectifiers’ behavior, it can be seen that as power goes up,
PMSG multilevel converters are a tendency. For low-power generators, high-power-factor DCM boost con-
Power electronic converter
verters are a good choice. According to generator power rate, rectifier topology can be pointed out.
Wind energy
& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
WECS.

Contents

1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1334
1.1. Wind Energy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1334
1.1.1. Wind energy on distributed generation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1335
2. Wind energy conversion system. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1335
3. Power electronic rectifiers for PMSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1336
3.1. Diode Bridge . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1336
3.2. Six-switch rectifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1337
3.3. Multilevel converters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1337
3.4. Reduced-part number converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
3.5. Matrix converters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
3.6. Converters for open-end-winding PMSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1339
3.7. The Vienna rectifier . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
3.8. DCM rectifiers for low power PMSG. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
3.9. CCM rectifiers for low power PMSG . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
4. Comparative study on power electronic rectifier topologies and its control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1340
5. Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342
Acknowledgment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1342

n
Corresponding author. Tel.: þ 552740092681; fax: þ552740092644.
E-mail addresses: tiara@ele.ufes.br (T.R.S. de Freitas), p.menegaz@ele.ufes.br (P.J.M. Menegáz), d.simonetti@ele.ufes.br (D.S.L. Simonetti).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2015.10.112
1364-0321/& 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344
1. Introduction
1.1. Wind Energy
Face to the growth of energy demand in the world, attempts
are increasingly focused on energy production in a sustainable,
efficiently and profitably way, and with the least possible pre-
judice to the environment. Thus renewable energies have been an
alternative to meet society demands regarding to quality and
safety on electricity supply.
Given this, the energies considered clean – those that do not
result in emission of greenhouse gases – are subject to intense
scientific research and technological development. It is observed
that there is an increasing encouragement coming from different
areas, promoting research for its development.
Such studies have received great encouragement in the world.
After the nuclear problems suffered by Japan, occurred in March
2011 due to the earthquake and consequent tsunami that deva-
stated part of the country, countries that at that time had nuclear
energy as its main source have been stimulated to produce
renewable energy [1]. Nuclear power, until that time considered
safe, showed that the world still fears the consequences if an
accident occurs. The need for improvement in security conditions
and waste disposal on nuclear plants has raised costs and made
nuclear energy too expensive, enabling new renewable sources to
be used.
In this context the wind energy has been outstanding and
demonstrates the potential to contribute significantly in attending
the requirements on the costs of production, supply security and
environmental sustainability [1]. Worldwide, wind energy has
been receiving encouragement from governments to the wind
farm growth. According to published data of the GWEC (Global
Wind Energy Council) – Global Wind Report Annual Market
Update 2014, more than 51 GW installed in a single year (2014)
bringing the global total close to 370 GW. Even in countries like
Brazil, where the main energy source is also renewable (hydro-
electric energy), wind energy has grown significantly. At the end
of 2014, Brazil's cumulative wind capacity stood at 5.9 GW with
237 wind farms, of which 202 (5005 MW) were fully operational
and grid-connected, and a further 23 wind farms (600 MW) grid-
connected under “test operation phase”; 12 wind farms totaling
334 MW are waiting to be connected. The Brazilian government’s
Decennial Energy Plan (PDE 2022) sets a goal to reach 12% of
national electricity consumption by 2023 [3].
1.1.1. Wind energy on distributed generation
Even with the widespread access to energy provided by gov-
ernment policies, many communities still have poor supply of
electricity or suffer from the lack of that. The production of energy
through alternative sources, besides the contribution to the clean
energy production also provides the installation of small networks
in remote communities or the integration of the energy generated
by alternative sources to existing networks, promoting the dis-
tributed generation (DG), providing greater reliability and security
on electrical energy supply, as various power sources work toge-
ther to attend the power demand in peak periods or even outside
them. Power generation by wind turbines has been widely used in
the composition of micro-networks, usually associated with pho-
tovoltaic panels [4,5–7], forming hybrid systems that are more
robust than single-source systems [8].
In this scenario power electronic converters are the key to
efficient network integration of different sources, storage systems
[9] and loads [10], providing the voltage and frequency control to
maintain the system stability, avoiding waste.
Multipole permanent magnet synchronous generators (PMSG)
have increased participation in wind energy conversion systems
1335
(WECS) as the generator machine within variable speed. The
generated energy is rectified and then inverted and connected to
the grid.
This paper presents the state of the art of converter topologies
as the port-end converter (machine side converter, MSC) con-
nected to PMSG wind systems. The focus of the paper is on the ac–
dc stage of the generator-grid connexion. The rectifier topologies
most cited in the literature are presented, highlighting their main
characteristics and power range application. The work is organized
as follows.
Section 2 provides a brief description of the structure of a wind
energy conversion system, emphasizing the generators and power
electronic converters. In Section 3 the converter topologies
employed as the rectifier stage of PMSG in wind systems along
with their main characteristics are presented. Section 4 brings a
brief comparison among these converters, while in Section 5
conclusions are presented.
2. Wind energy conversion system
Wind generators and power electronic converters compose
part of the WECS structure. The generators are responsible for
converting the mechanical energy (removed from the wind
through wind turbines) into electrical energy, and power electro-
nic system operates to match the generated power to the receiver
parameters, whether the power grid, a battery bank, a dc bus, for
example.
The mostly used generators in variable speed wind energy
conversion are doubly fed induction generators (DFIG), and syn-
chronous generators. In the case of induction generators, the stator
is directly connected to the network and the rotor is mediated by
the electronic converter, the reason why they are inserted in sys-
tems with partially rated power electronics. The possibility to
control the frequency and the amplitude of the generated voltage
through the rotor circuit, independent of the speed rotation, made
for many years the DFIG the main choice in variable speed WECS
of great size directly connected to grid as it can be seen in Fig. 1
[7,11,12].
Synchronous generators are completely decoupled from the
grid [7]. That is why they are considered part of the systems with
full-scale power electronics. In recent years multipole PMSG is the
preferable choice, because a gearbox is not necessary, which
reduces the losses on the WECS, minimizing maintenance
requirements and increasing the system reliability and efficiency
[13] . Fig. 2 shows its configuration [12].
A chopper circuit is commonly used in the dc-link to dissipate
power in case of grid-side faults [14]. PMSG has advantages when
compared to DFIG [11] like: external excitation current is not
required; light weight; small size; high reliability; low main-
tenance; high efficiency.
DFIG
GRID
GEAR
~ =
= ~
Fig. 1. Partially rated power electronics conversion system.
1336 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344
MSC GSC
~ =
GRID
= ~
PMSG
Fig. 2. Full-scale power electronics conversion system.
Formerly, the use of permanent magnet synchronous generator
was appreciated only in small wind turbines but it was not
extended to large-scale power because it involves the use of big
and heavy permanent magnets [11,15–17]. With developments in
semiconductor switching devices and increased reliability and
efficiency the use of PMSG-based wind turbine is rapidly growing
[18]; besides, the development of materials used in the generator
rotor has also allowed the PMSG to be used in high power [19–21].
Furthermore, the variable speed, directly driven avoids the
installation of a gearbox, which is essential for medium and large-
scale wind turbines [7]. The direct-drive WECS with PMSG as the
most promising system [22] currently is a tendency to be used in
wind energy system, due to its simplicity. Wind turbines manu-
facturers currently are employing PMSG for high power wind
farms, such as VESTAS (V164-8.0 MW), VENSYS (VENSYS 3.0 MW),
SIEMENS (LOHER DD, up to 10 MW), ABB (greater than 3 MW),
GAMESA (G128-5.0 MW), ALSTOM (Haliade™ 150-6 MW), AREVA
(Multibrid M5000, 5 MW).
After converting the mechanical wind energy into electrical
energy by the generator, the power electronic converters will
operate on the system. They may act in the conversion of ac to dc
voltage, for storing energy in batteries, for example, or in ac–dc–ac
systems, playing an essential role in WECS, particularly within
variable speed turbines generation. Besides contributing to the
system adequacy even with variable wind speed, converters allow
control of active and reactive power if necessary, as well as provide
the system to operate at maximum power point (MPP). With wind
fluctuations and the generator's ability to operate at variable
speed, power electronic converters operate with the role of
maintaining constant the voltage and frequency on the network, in
the case of an ac–dc–ac conversion, or only maintain the voltage
constant in case of an ac–dc conversion.
Thus, various topologies of converters have been employed to
make this conversion at low cost and high efficiency. This paper
focuses on main ac–dc topologies found in literature.
3. Power electronic rectifiers for PMSG
The development of power electronics and their applicability in
wind energy extraction allowed for variable-speed operation of
the wind turbine [11].
Many possible technical solutions of wind turbine electrical
systems are related to power electronics, since they can improve
dynamic and steady-state performances, help to control the wind
turbine generator, and decouple the generator from the electrical
grid [23]. Following the most cited topologies in the literature
employed as the rectifier stage of PMSG (MSC) will be discussed.
3.1. Diode Bridge
A diode rectifier is widely found as ac-dc converter. There is a
dc-link element, which can be a capacitor in voltage source con-
verters (VSC) as in [24–35], Fig. 3(a), or an inductor in current
source converters (CSC) as shown in [36–38], Fig. 3(b). Dc-current
GRID
SIDE
INVERTER
PMSG
GRID
SIDE
INVERTER
PMSG
GRID
SIDE
CF INVERTE
R
PMSG
Fig. 3. Conversion system based on diode rectifier. (a) voltage output, (b) current
output, (c) with a dc–dc stage boost.
link is not usual as the rectifier stage of wind PMSG, and will not
be considered here. But can be a useful solution in a back-to-back
connection if the dc-link contains large cables with significant
inductances [39].
A single three-phase diode bridge Fig. 3(a) is a cheap solution,
but works only at high wind speeds. At low-speed the rectified
voltage is lower than grid voltage. Besides, the generator current
presents low frequency pulsations even in multi-pulse rectifiers.
To produce power over all wind speed, a dc–dc boost converter
is used to control the dc-link voltage to a level higher than the
amplitude of the grid voltage [40–41]. This is a simple, cost
effective and higher-power-density solution [42]. But some
drawbacks are reported [41,43,44] mainly due to high harmonic
current distortions in the generator windings, such as: increasing
heating; reduction in machine efficiency; torque oscillations. An
arrangement of a three-output phase-shift transformer, an 18-
pulse rectifier and three reconfigurable boost choppers is pro-
posed by [45] to improve generator current.
Some authors [46–51] use a filter capacitor – CF - at the output
of diode bridge, as in Fig. 3(c); others connect the boost inductor to
the bridge without filtering the rectified voltage [11,12,52,53].
For high power and voltage levels, a three-level boost con-
verter, as shown in Fig. 4, is a solution used by VENSYS in its
Gearless Technology [54]. The equivalent switching frequency is
twice a single boost, reducing high-frequency ripple. The topology
also applies if using three-level NPC as GSC (grid side converter)
[55].
A four-level boost converter is presented in [56], which mat-
ches a four-level diode-clamped inverter connect to the grid-side.
Topologies employing a diode bridge are found in power levels
from tens of W up to MW.
 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344
PMSG
Fig. 4. Three-level boost converter.
GRID
SIDE
INVERTER
PMSG
Fig. 5. Conversion system based on six-switch rectifier.
3.2. Six-switch rectifier
The six-switch converter operating as a rectifier is the pre-
dominant choice to be used as MSC [14,55–60]. Fig. 5 shows a
basic schematic of this topology. In general it is a back-to-back
(B2B) two-level topology (two VSI-PWM converters connected by
a storage capacitor) that connects the generator to grid
[11,12,55,57–79].
The PMSG with back-to-back voltage source converter provides
full controllability of the system [78]. It can completely regulate
the generator speed, power factor, and electromagnetic torque
with low current THD. The dc-link provides decoupling between
the generator and grid and thus the transients in the generator do
not appear on the grid-side [80]. Also, the net dc-bus voltage
should be maintained higher than the peak of grid line–line vol-
tage to ensure proper operation of grid-side converter [80]. The
need of six controlled switches makes this configuration a more
expensive solution, with higher power losses and lower reliability
[43,44]. This structure is used starting on dozens of kW till 2–
3 MW.
For high-power wind generators, higher than 3 MW, parallel/
series connections of converters are employed [80,81]. Also, it can
be necessary series association of diodes and/or switches as the
voltage level of the full-scale power conversion increases [39]. A
similar solution can be seen on [82] and [83], but the dc-link
element is an inductor, configuring a CSC.
In two-level parallel configuration, the dc-link is configured as
a common element for all converters, reducing cost and space [84].
Besides it offers energy efficiency and increases redundancy, but in
this configuration the circulating currents exist in both the gen-
erator and grid-side converters. This problem can be solved using
individual dc-link, which leads to higher system cost [80].
3.3. Multilevel converters
Multilevel topologies are converters which deliver an output
voltage having several levels of voltage, enabling smaller output
filter. They commonly are classified as neutral-point clamped
converter (NPC), flying capacitor converter (FC), and the cascaded
H-bridge modular multilevel converter (HB-MMC). The three-level
diode clamped NPC converter [21,67,85–88] shown in Fig. 6, is the
most commercialized multi-level topology on the market [89]. The
1337
GRID
SIDE
INVER-
TER
PMSG
Fig. 6. Machine side converter based on 3-level NPC converter.
P
Vdc
PMSG
Vdc Vdc Vdc
2Vdc
Vdc
N
Fig. 7. Machine side converter based on 3-level FC converter.
topology is employed by ABB in its PCS 6000 converters family,
full-scale converters up to 9 MVA [90]. It presents lower voltage
stress on switches, but unequal current stress between the outer
and inner switching devices in a switching arm. The switching
actions of the semiconductor switches lead to the drift in the
capacitor voltages. If the capacitor voltages are not balanced, it
leads to higher stress on the semiconductor switches and damages
them [80]. To solve the unbalanced voltage, adequate control
strategy is necessary – explored in [91–95] – or an external
hardware may be used [56].
An active NPC topology (ANPC) was presented by [81,96],
where inner diodes were replaced by bi-directional switches,
giving more redundancy to maintain equal switching frequency
(and thus switching losses) among all the controlled switches [97],
getting an alternative control of dc-link split capacitors and on the
power semiconductor loss distribution.
The FC converter [98] presents a capacitor linking the medium
point of upper and lower pair of switches, instead of the diodes
present in the NPC. The clamping capacitors in FC are less reliable
compared to the diodes in NPC converter [80]. The topology is
shown in Fig. 7. Its relevant feature is that flying capacitors can be
balanced regardless of the load current, because the topology
presents multiple state redundancies [99,100]. As occurs for the
NPC, FC converter presents unequal current stress on semi-
conductors. Flying capacitor lifetime would be a limiting factor for
the FC [101]. This configuration has not found its commercial
application in the wind energy industry yet [80].
Modular multilevel converters (MMC) can be summarized as a
series-connection of known converters which approaches any
required voltage waveform by voltage steps, each one supplied by one
converter. Doing so, high-voltage levels can be attended by lower-
voltage converters and redundancy is easily implemented. Besides,
1338 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344

Fig. 8. Machine side converter based on MMC. (a) Cascaded H-bridges; (b) Chopper cells.

this converter features low size, modular structure, transformer-less and high efficiency [102,103]. As higher the cell number as lower the
operation, enhanced reliability, less deration of semiconductor switching frequency of each cell can be. Conceptually any inverter can
switches, fault-tolerant operation, near sinusoidal output waveforms be used, but cascaded H-bridge – Fig. 8(a), or chopper cells – Fig. 8(b),
 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344 1339

Table 1
MMC: Components number per cell.

Topology Half-bridge Full-bridge

PMSG
Switches Diodes Capacitors Switches Diodes Capacitors

H-Bridge 2 2 1 4 4 1
NPC/3 levels 4 6 2 4 6 2
FC/3 levels 4 4 3 4 4 3
GRID

Fig. 10. Conversion system based on matrix converter.

GRID
GRID
SIDE
PMSG INVER-
TER

PMSG
Fig. 9. Conversion system based on back-to-back two-level converter with
reduced-part number.

are adopted solutions, because employs less components (see Table 1).
A more efficient usage of switching devices is obtained with less Fig. 11. Conversion System based on three single-phase converters.
series-connected capacitors [39]. If the cell is fed by independent dc
sources voltage unbalance does not occurs. However, if floating cells
are employed, some unbalance control algorithm is necessary.
The main technical challenge of an MMC, with a large number
of submodules, is the requirement for measurement of the large
number of its submodule capacitor voltages and consequently, its
control complexity [104]. Multilevel converters are indicated for PMSG
MW power levels.

3.4. Reduced-part number converters

Reduced-part number converters – Fig. 9 – also can be used

[11,105–107] allowing converter cost reduction. The split-capacitor
voltage unbalance is of concern. Although presents some research
interest, the PMSG and the grid are not completely decoupled,
which is an important disadvantage of the topology. Reported
prototypes are under 6 kW.

3.5. Matrix converters Fig. 12. Half-controlled bridges for open-end-winding PMSG.

In such converters [61,86,108–110] no energy storage compo-
nents are required due to the direct ac–ac operation. The size,
weight, volume, and premature failure of the dc-link capacitor is a
problem on conventional ac–dc–ac converter, so the absence of it
is a great advantage, bringing more reliability. Also, it provides the
flexibility of more control levels for independent control on fre-
quency, voltage magnitude, phase angle, and input power factor
[111]. However, the lack of reactive component brings sensitivity
to distortion in input power supply. However, the buck operation
of the converter and high cost are disadvantages. Also, PMSG and
grid are not decoupled, so the variations in the generator-side
variables strongly affect the grid-side variables and vice versa
[112]. Another drawback is the large number of semiconductor
devices and gate drivers, although [111] presents a new current
source matrix converter with less semiconductor devices. Fig. 10
shows a conventional matrix topology.
Currently, matrix converters are used in low power and low
voltage industrial applications, but not practiced in WECS yet
[112]. The complexity of the control may provide a commutation
problem, which explains the reason why this topology has not yet
been well accepted for industrial applications [86], [113]. A
review of control technics applied to matrix converters is pre-
sented on [112].
3.6. Converters for open-end-winding PMSG
Multi-winding generator is becoming a tendency for high-
power PMSG. The total power is easily distributed among several
lower power converters [42]. Many topologies are being proposed
for open-end winding generators. For a traditional three-winding
generator, the topology as shown in Fig. 11 was proposed in [114].
Three single-phase unidirectional converters are used as rectifier
stage, operating as boost converter.
Other solutions have been proposed: [42] connects each set of
three-phase terminals to a full bridge rectifier followed by a boost
converter; [115] makes use of half-controlled bridges (Fig. 12);
[116] proposes to connect each winding to a MMC cell, avoiding
voltage unbalance. In [117] one side of the generator is connected
to rectifier, the other side is connected to VSC for output voltage
regulation. In fact, any of the rectifiers for PMSG here presented
can be applied to multi-winding generators. Employing many low
power converter cells, a high power level is achieved.
1340 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344

3.7. The Vienna rectifier
An alternative for a rectifier in a WECS with a reduced number
of switches is the Vienna rectifier. This three-level unidirectional
rectifier has been pointed as a good solution for PMSG rectifiers
[14,41,118]. It provides two equal output dc voltages with high
input current quality meaning lower PMSG torque ripple. It is
employed only three switches, with half voltage stress. The
reduced number of active switches results in not only improve-
ment of reliability but also reduction of costs, and less conduction
losses. The topology is shown in Fig. 13. Its main drawback is the
high number of diodes. Simulation results for a 1.5 MW generator
is available [14], however experimental results are for low power
[14,118].
3.8. DCM rectifiers for low power PMSG
For low power PMSG, discontinuous conduction mode (DCM)
boost rectifiers have been considered. Two approaches are avail-
able: single-switch solution [119–122] as shown in Fig. 14(a), and a
semi-controlled boost rectifier as it can be seen in Fig. 14(b) [12]. In
[123] the semi-controlled boost rectifier is associated with a buck
converter. THD of the generator current is low because the DCM
boost rectifier works as a high-power-factor rectifier. The DCM
boost rectifier is a good solution for power levels up to 10 kW.
A three-phase DCM SEPIC also has been presented [124], per-
forming simple control (DCM operation), sinusoidal input current
C
V /2
Sa
Sb
PMSG
Sc
C
V /2
for all wind speeds, and generator power without low-order har-
monics. However, switches suffer high voltage stress. The con-
verter is shown in Fig. 15. Simulation results were for a 3 kW
generator.
3.9. CCM rectifiers for low power PMSG
The topology shown in Fig. 14.b can also be operated at con-
tinuous conduction mode (CCM), indicated for micro and small
turbines. A hysteresis control for the semi-controlled boost has
been proposed [12], but the current distortion is high due the fact
that the negative current cannot be controlled. A combination of
CCM–DCM can be used [125] improving the generator current
waveform.
The use of a 3 kW three-phase diode bridge boost rectifier
employing a split dc-bus, shown in Fig. 16, is explored in [126],
evaluating both average current control and hysteresis current
control. The rectifier presents a good performance, although the
cost is high due to the semiconductors number.
4. Comparative study on power electronic rectifier topologies
and its control
The first topology presented in this paper (a diode rectifier)
brings simplification and reduces the cost [20]. The applicability of
this topology occurs because there’s no need of external excitation,
since the generator is self-excited [11]. It provides many options
for the secondary stage of conversion and its control, as shown in
Fig. 3. Its use turns the grid-side inverter control more difficult,
since it needs to provide adjustment over the dc stage to regulate
the generator speed [20]. This problem is overcome using an
intermediate dc–dc converter stage. Due its step-up characteristic
this converter is able to provide the generated energy even for low
wind speed [48]. As a disadvantage, there are always three semi-
conductors in the current path from the generator to the dc-link
side, which reduces the efficiency of this topology [12]. Switching
losses are increased in DCM operation if the capacitor CF is not
used. Some improvement is achieved using a three-level boost
converter in high power and voltage applications.

Fig. 13. Vienna rectifier applied to PMSG.

L1 C1
Co GRID
SIDE
INVERTER

PMSG
L L GRID L2
SIDE

INVERTER
Fig. 15. A DCM SEPIC three-phase rectifier for PMSG.
PMSG

C
D1 D3 D5 Ca
PMSG +
Va La ia
Vb Lb ib Ro
M Vdc
Vc Lc ic
GRID
L L
Cb -
SIDE D4 D6 D2

INVERTER

PMSG Sa
Sb
Sc
C Bi-directional
switches
Fig. 14. (a) Conversion system based on single-controlled rectifier – boost con-
verter. (b) Conversion system based on semi-controlled rectifier – boost converter. Fig. 16. Three-phase diode bridge boost rectifier employing a split dc-bus.
 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344 1341

According to [20], the most popular topology in variable-speed
wind turbines is the six-switch rectifier. Its use allows active and
reactive power control, achieving high power factor in the gen-
erator side with low current THD. Usually this converter uses a
PWM modulation, which enables the control of the generator side
by a PI controller associated to a maximum power point tracking
(MPPT) algorithm to obtain maximum rotor power [11]. In [86] the
control strategy uses a PWM by space vector modulation asso-
ciated with sliding mode control. Additional care must be taken to
avoid a leg short circuit. By using six controlled switches, this
configuration is more expensive and presents higher power losses
[43,44].
Decreasing the number of switches by using a reduced-part
number converter is an alternative to the conventional two-level
six-switch rectifier. The use of fewer semiconductors decreases the
final cost [116], but requires an extra capacitor at the dc-link,
presents higher semiconductor stress and a more complex control.
Additionally, the PMSG and the grid are not completely decoupled.
Multilevel converters have some advantages when compared
with the conventional two-level topology, which make them a
good choice in applications where high voltage rating is necessary
[116]. It decreases output harmonic distortion and, consequently,
output filter size. In counterpart, it may present unbalanced dc-
link capacitors voltage, which makes the necessity of voltage
monitoring and a complex control strategy to solve this [87,95].
The control scheme of a FC multilevel converter requires a greater
number of sensors to send feedback signals from the FC's and
these add cost and complexity to the system [80]. Modular mul-
tilevel converters allow the use of lower-voltage components in
each cell but require a higher number of components in total.
For low power PMSG applications, DCM rectifiers have some
advantages as simpler command circuit and control loop. The DCM
three-phase boost rectifier presents a higher harmonic content
when compared to the traditional six-switch topology, but har-
monics can be reduced by the use of duty-cycle modulation
techniques [127]. The semi-controlled rectifier presents only the
equivalent of two semiconductors in the current path, reducing
the losses due to commutation at high frequency as well as con-
duction losses. A DCM three-phase SEPIC converter imposes a
sinusoidal current at the PMSG with low harmonic content and a
simple control, but it suffers from higher voltage stress on the
switches.
The semi-controlled rectifier can also be used on CCM using a
simple hysteresis current control circuit, but it presents higher
current distortion, whereas the CCM split dc-bus three-phase
boost rectifier operates with hysteresis current control or average
current control, giving a high-quality PMSG current. Although, the
semiconductors part number is high.
The matrix converter eliminates the need of a dc-link stage,
providing a smaller converter and promoting more reliability. Its
main disadvantages are: the buck operation of the converter, high
control complexity (once it has 18 switches), high cost and the fact
that the PSMG and the grid are not decoupled.
For open-end-winding generators, the total power is dis-
tributed among several lower power converters. The use of mul-
tiphase machines also reduces the phase currents for the same
power rating. This solution needs a high number of components.
A three-level unidirectional rectifier, known as the Vienna
rectifier, presents high input current quality and lower PMSG
torque ripple. In counterpart, the topology uses a high number of
diodes (six-times the number of switches).
The main characteristics of pointed converters discussed before
are summarized on Table 2.

Table 2
Rectifier topologies summary.

Converter Topology Advantages Disadvantages Semiconductors

Diode rectifier
Diode rectifier with dc–dc
converter
Diode rectifier with three-
level boost converter
Six-switch rectifier
Reduced-part-number
converters
Multilevel converters
DCM single-switch or
semi-controlled boost
rectifier
DCM SEPIC converter
CCM semi-controlled
boost rectifier
Split dc-bus three-phase
boost rectifier
Matrix converter
Converters for open-end-
winding PMSG
Vienna rectifier
No external excitation; low cost More difficult dc control;current distortion on 6 Diodes
generator side
Able to provide the generated energy Generator current distortion; three power 8 Diodes 1 switch
even for low wind speed semiconductors in the current path; higher
switching losses in DCM if no CF
Improved power density, efficiency and Generator current distortion 10 Diodes 2 switches
cost;lower input current ripple and out-
put voltage ripple
Active and reactive power control at both Risk of a leg short-circuit; more expensive; 6 Switches 6 diodes
sides;low current THD high power losses; lower reliability
Fewer semiconductors Higher semiconductors stress; control com- 4 Switches 4 diodes
plexity; extra dc capacitor; PMSG and the grid
are not completely decoupled
Lower harmonic distortion; operation at Capacitors voltage unbalanced; complex 12 Switches 18 diodes (3-level NPC) 12
higher dc voltage control switches 12 diodes (3-level FC) 4 switches
4 diodes each cell (H-bridge MMC)
Very simple command circuit High harmonic content; input filter 8 Diodes 1 switch
Simple control; sinusoidal input current; High voltage stress on switches 9 Diodes 3 switches
low harmonics content
Only two semiconductors conducting Medium harmonic content; requires current 6 Diodes 3 switches
each time sensors
Sinusoidal input current High semiconductors number 18 Diodes 3 switches
Eliminates the dc-link stage Buck operation; complex control; high cost; 18 Switches, 18 diodes, typically
PMSG and the grid are not completely
decoupled
Independent converters operation Needs a control circuit at each phase; compo- 12 Diodes 6 switches
nents number
High input current quality; lower torque High number of diodes 18 Diodes 3 switches
ripple; lower voltage stresses on switches
1342 T.R.S. de Freitas et al. / Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 54 (2016) 1334–1344
5. Conclusions
Wind energy conversion systems are becoming more and more
popular, and the solution to integrate it to the power grid has
experienced a great development. The technological advances on
materials and converters have allowed the use of PMSG not only
on low power applications but also on medium and large power
generators. In this context, power electronics plays a fundamental
role as the generator-grid interface element. The main power
converters used as the rectifier stage with multipole PMSG wind
systems have been summarized in this paper. Their topology,
power range application, advantages and drawbacks were some of
the presented characteristics.
Concerning the front-end stage from the PMSG viewpoint, a
diode bridge rectifier is the simplest solution, but it is not able to
use low wind power level and presents a significant low-order
harmonic content. It requires a dc–dc converter in an intermediate
stage to enlarge variable wind-speed operation with some
improvement on generator current harmonics.
A six-switch rectifier allows high power factor rectification over
all the wind-speed range. For low power generators is an expen-
sive solution, and it is more appropriate for medium power PMSG.
Higher power PMSG requires series/parallel converters connection
or multilevel converters.
Matrix converter is an expensive solution even for high power,
and its control complexity does not stimulate its use yet. Besides,
generator and grid are not decoupled. This also occurs for reduced-
part-number converters.
Nowadays is becoming a tendency to use multi-winding PMSG
for extra high power, each one with its own converter.
Finally, for low power PMSG, discontinuous conduction mode,
single or three switch high power factor boost rectifiers as well as
three-phase SEPIC converters are good options. Hysteresis current
control can be applied, but requires current sensors and the cur-
rent distortion is high.
Considering the rectifiers' behavior aspects discussed before,
some conclusions arise. For low power levels (a few kW), high-
power-factor DCM boost rectifiers are a good choice. From low to
medium power levels the six-switch rectifier best fits the appli-
cation, and from medium to high power multilevel rectifiers are
indicated. Finally, as power goes up, multi-winding machines and
any rectifier which matches the winding power is a tendency.
Acknowledgment
The authors are thankful to the joint grant of CNPq and FAPES
number "PRONEX 48508675/2009".
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