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ANALYSIS OF A THREE-PHASE RECTIFIER OPERATING WITH A SIX-SWITCH

CURRENT PRE-CHARGE CIRCUIT

Conference Paper · September 1999

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1640.8963

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Domingos S L Simonetti Jose Luiz Vieira

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 ANALYSIS OF A THREE-PHASE RECTIFIER OPERATING
WITH A SIX-SWITCH CURRENT PRE-CHARGE CIRCUIT

Domingos Simonetti and José Luiz F. Vieira

FEDERAL UNIVERSITY OF ESPÍRITO SANTO
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
PO Box 01-9011 - Vitória - ES - 29060-970 - BRAZIL
d.simonetti@ele.ufes.br fax: (5527) 3352650

Joost Peeter Rey

NOORDELIJKE HOGESCHOOL LEEUWARDEN
Dept. of Electrical Engineering
Tesselschadestr. 12, 8913 HB - Leeuwarden - HOLLAND
rey@tem.nhl.nl fax: (3158)137613

Acknowledgements
We thank the students Rafael C. Souza and Wallas G. Thomas for the experimental results. We are also
thanked to CST and CNPq/PIBIC/UFES due to the scholarships given to the mentioned students.

Keywords
Power factor correction, Emerging topologies, Harmonics

Abstract
A new approach to improve the input current profile of three-phase rectifiers is presented in this paper. To
achieve this aim, an auxiliary circuit is used to impose current circulation during the time intervals that the
rectifier does not absorb current. The additional switches are of low current capacity. Design equations are
presented, as well as the operating characteristics. Experimental results corroborate the analysis carried out
here.

Introduction
Single and three-phase uncontrolled diode-bridge rectifiers present an input current rich in low-order
harmonics, and its output voltage changes along with load variations. To smooth the input current, and
decrease its harmonic content, input inductors are usually employed. Such structure is shown in Fig. 1.a,
whereas its typical input current and harmonic levels are shown in Figs. 1.c and 1.b, respectively.
In/I1

va ia D1 D3 D5
L

vb L ib Co Ro

vc L ic
D2 D4 D6

(a) n
(b)
 va (c)
Fig. 1 – (a) Three-phase diode rectifier with input
inductor; (c) Typical input current, and (b) its harmonic
ia content.

High switching frequency rectifiers are usually employed whenever a precise output voltage regulation is
required, and reduced weight and size are of interest. For applications where the volume is not a restriction,
line-frequency commutated rectifiers can be employed with some advantages as very small switching losses,
reduced noise emission and control simplicity.

On the other hand, current pre-charge rectifiers are rectifiers which incorporate an extra circuit to improve
the shape of the input current. The aim is to provide line current circulation during the time interval the
respective bridge rectifier input is not doing so. The Fig. 2 illustrates the expected input current of a three-
phase rectifier incorporating current pre-charge.

va
S1 S1 S1

S4 S4 S4
ia

Fig. 2 - Expected input current of a three-phase rectifier incorporating current pre-charge circuit.

Recently the analysis of such converters have presented an increasing interest. Some examples of such
converters are discussed in [1-4]. Although it must not be considered a general rule, usually a current pre-
charge rectifier operates at low switching frequency. In the following sections the operation of the proposed
current pre-charge rectifier is carried out, presenting its operating analysis, design equations and main
characteristics.

The Proposed 3 Current Pre-Charge Rectifier

The proposed 3 current pre-charge rectifier is shown in Fig.3. It can be seen that it is a 3 inverter
topology operating as rectifier (the input voltages are the 3 mains, whereas the output voltage is the DC
voltage Vo). The auxiliary switches S1~S6 operate during a small time interval, and their current rating is low
respect the converter power.

Vo

Fig. 3 – The proposed 3 current pre-charge rectifier.

 v vb va

t

vc

S4  
30o

30o 
S2 

Fig. 4 – The delay angle  and the conduction angle .

Operation Analysis
The converter operation analysis was carried out considering two control approaches (others are possible):
in the first one, the switch is turned on always the respective input voltage cross the zero value. The output
voltage is controlled adjusting the conduction angle  between 0o and 30o, as the load changes. For rated
power, the conduction angle  is equal to 30o. In the second approach, the operation was optimised to
deliver maximum power factor by delaying the switch turn-on. It was found that the best results are obtained
doing  +  = 30o (= delay angle;  = conduction angle). Also here the conduction angle  is equal to 30o
for rated power. Fig. 4 clarifies both control strategies. The first control approach (= 0o) is presented in
details in this paper, for loads between 40%Prated and Prated. In this range, nine operation stages occur. It is
considered the angle interval between t=0o and t=180o (the process is cyclic). The Fig. 5 shows all
operation stages, which are described below. The phase sequence considered in this analysis is acb.

First stage (0o,): The switch S4 is turned on along with the zero-cross positive transition of va
(t=0o). The current ia starts increasing and D2 and D6 diodes are conducting.
Second stage  (,(60o- )): At t=, the switch S4 is turned off, and diode D1 starts conducting
the current ia. Diodes D1, D2, and D6 are conducting.
Third stage  ((60o- ),60o): The current ib cross-over the zero value, turning D2 off. Diodes D1 and
D6 keep conducting. During this stage ib is equal zero.
Fourth stage  (60o,(60o+)): At t=60o the voltage vb cross down the zero value, and the switch
S2 is turned on. The current ib starts to increase negatively. Diodes D1 and D6 keep conducting.
Fifth stage  ((60o+),(120o- ): At t=60o+, the switch S2 is turned off, and diode D5 starts
conducting the current ib. Diodes D1, D5, and D6 conduct.
Sixth stage  (120o- ),120o): The current ic cross the zero value, turning D6 off. Diodes D1 and D5
keep conducting. During this stage ic is equal zero.
Seventh stage  (120o,(120o+)): The switch S6 is turned on along with the zero-cross positive
transition of vc (t=120o). The current ic starts increasing and D1 and D5 diodes keep conducting.
Eighth stage ((120o+),(180o- ): The switch S6 is turned off and the current ic flows throw D3. D1
and D5 are also conducting.
Ninth stage ((180o- ),180o): At t=180o- the diode D1 turns off (ia reaches zero). Diodes D3 and
D5 still conduct.
 (a) first stage (b) Second stage

(c) Third stage (d) Fourth stage

(e) Fifth stage (f) Sixth stage

(g) Seventh stage (h) Eighth stage

(i) Ninth stage

Fig. 5 – The basic operation stages of the proposed rectifier.
The ia current during half of a line period is shown in Fig. 6.
 va

ia

  180o


0o
 60 o o
60 + 120 o o
120 +

Fig. 6 – The ia current during half of a line period.

For rated power, =30o and the third, sixth and ninth stages do not occur (=0o). Doing an equivalent circuit
for the active stages under rated load, and after mathematical analysis of the current evolution in a line
period, the inductance value is obtained as given by eq. (1):
V12
L  0.909 (1)
Prated

where V1 is the peak value of line-to-neutral AC voltage, and  is the angular line frequency. The converter
output voltage only depends on the input voltage and is given by:

Vo 1.91 V1 (2)

The eq. (2) shows an important feature of this converter: it operates as a boost converter. By adjusting the
control angle  (first control approach,  =0o), or  and  (second control approach, see Fig. 4), it is possible
to maintain the output voltage constant along with load variations.

 = 0o

 = 30o

Fig. 7 – Control angles  and  for both control strategies.

Using a numerical tool (like MATHCAD or MATLAB), the control angles  and  can be calculated for a
given power range (40%Pratec<P<Prated). The result is shown in Fig. 7, whereas the Fig. 8 shows the power
factor (PF), total harmonic distortion (THD), and 5th and 7th harmonic values for both control strategies. A
similar analysis can be performed for P<40%Prated, but more operation stages will appear.

 = 30o 30%

1,00 25% = 30o
0,96 20%

THD
PF

0,92 15%
0,88  = 0o 10%
5%  = 0o
0,84
0%
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 100 90 80 70 60 50 40

% of rated power % of rated power

(a) (b)
25% 20%
20%
15%  = 30o
 = 30o
15%
I7/I1
I5/I1

10%
10%
5% 5%
 = 0o  = 0o
0% 0%
100 95 90 85 80 75 70 65 60 55 50 45 40 100 90 80 70 60 50 40
% of rated power % of rated power
(c) (d)

Fig. 8 – Theoretical values for (a) Power factor; (b) Total harmonic distortion;
(c) 5th harmonic; (d) 7th harmonic.

From the analysis presented , it is possible to conclude that in fact the optimum power factor control strategy
leads to a better PF, but low order harmonics are worse (except for a little power range) as well as the THD.
The power factor improvement is due to an improvement in the displacement factor.

Experimental Results
In order to experimentally verify the proposed current pre-charge rectifier, a prototype was built according
to the following characteristics:

V1 = 180 V (V1, rms = 127 V) f = 60 Hz Prated = 1.2 kW

Using the design equations presented, it was found that L=65 mH and V o=343 V. The Fig. 9 presents
voltage and current results for (a) rated power and (b) 50% of rated power, employing optimum power factor
strategy. The output voltage was kept constant and equal to 340 V.

Conclusions
This paper has presented an interesting alternative to improve input current profile of three-phase rectifiers
using current pre-charge circuits. The proposed converter uses an structure similar to the three-phase
inverter and leads to a better input current waveform respect a diode bridge rectifier. The output voltage can
be controlled adjusting the conduction angle, and the converter looks like a boost converter (the output
voltage is greater than the peak of the line-to-line input voltage). The additional switches (the current pre-
 charge circuit) are of low current rating and switching losses are negligible. Experimental results have
corroborate the analysis carried out in the paper. The structure can be employed in high-power converters
such as those used in HVDC transmission lines or railway feeders.

(a) (b)

Fig. 9 – Experimental results for (a) Rated power; (b) 50% of rated power (optimum PF strategy).

References
[1] I. Barbi, J.C. Fagundes and C.M.T. Cruz, “A low cost high power factor three-phase diode rectifier with
capacitive load”, IEEE APEC’94, pp. 745-751.
[2] E.L.M. Mehl and I. Barbi, “An improved high power and low cost three-phase rectifier”, IEEE
APEC’95, pp. 835-841.
[3] F. Daniel, R. Chaffai and K. Al Haddad, “Three-phase diode rectifier with low harmonic distortion to feed capacitive
loads”, IEEE APEC’96, pp.932-938.
[4] A.S. Lima, C. Cruz, F. Antunes, “A new low-cost AC-DC converter with high input power factor”, IEEE
IECON’96, pp.1808-1813.

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