This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been
fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TIE.2017.2682041, IEEE
Transactions on Industrial Electronics
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS
Start-up Scheme for a Three-Phase Isolated
Full-Bridge Boost PFC Converter with the
Passive Flyback Auxiliary Circuit
Tao Meng, Member, IEEE, Yilin Song, and Hongqi Ben
 simplicity and low cost [4]-[6]. Presently, many low power
Abstract—In this paper, a start-up scheme is proposed
and investigated for a three-phase isolated full-bridge
boost power factor correction (PFC) converter with the
passive flyback auxiliary circuit. Configuration derivation
in ac side of the PFC converter has been done, and the
three boost inductors are replaced by three
coupled-inductors with flyback inductors. In starting state,
the PFC converter operates in flyback mode, and the
charging of its output filter capacitor can be realized with
the help of the adding flyback inductors. Operational
principles of the PFC converter are discussed in both
steady and starting states. Furthermore, design
considerations of the key parameters in starting state are
analyzed through comparing with the characteristics of
the PFC converter in steady state. Finally, experimental
study of the proposed start-up scheme has been done on
a 1.7kW laboratory-made three-phase PFC prototype, and
feasibility of the presented method and validity of the
theoretical analysis are verified by the experimental
results.
Index Terms—Boost, flyback, passive auxiliary circuit,
start-up, three-phase power factor correction (PFC).
I. INTRODUCTION
OWER factor correction (PFC) is an important researching
P orientation in power electronics field, and it is one of the
most effective methods to reduce harmonics current and
increase power factor [1]-[3]. PFC technique can be divided
into two categories due to the different circuit structures:
two-stage and single-stage approaches. Compared with
two-stage PFC, single-stage PFC integrates the functions of
PFC and isolated dc/dc conversion into a single power
converter, and it has the advantages such as high efficiency,
Manuscript received October 1, 2016; revised November 27, 2016,
January 9, 2017 and February 14, 2017; accepted February 21, 2017.
This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science
Foundation of China under Grant 51107017 and Grant 51377036, in
part by the Natural Science Foundation of Heilongjiang Province under
Grant E2016052, and by the Heilongjiang University Science
Foundation for Distinguished Young Scholars under Grant JCL201604.
T. Meng, and Y. Song are with the School of Mechanical and
Electrical Engineering, Heilongjiang University, Harbin 150080, China
(e-mail: mengtao@hit.edu.cn; syl@hlju.edu.cn).
H. Ben is with the School of Electrical Engineering and Automation,
Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin 150001, China (e-mail:
benhq@hit.edu.cn).
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single-stage PFC converters have been investigated, however,
fewer medium and high power schemes, but very few the
three-phase schemes [6]-[9].
In medium or high power field, the isolated full-bridge
boost topology is attractive in applications such as isolated
dc/dc converter and single-stage PFC converter. It has the
advantages including electrical isolation, soft switching, and
inherent short-current protection. However, the reasons why it
has not been widely used can be mainly attributed to the
following two problems: 1) due to the existence of the
transformer leakage inductance, there is a large voltage spike
across the bridge leg, and 2) it cannot achieve starting-up
normally, so an additional starting-up circuit is required to
establish an initial output voltage [10]-[13].
For the conventional dc/dc converter, as well as
single-phase or three-phase single-stage PFC converter based
on the isolated full-bridge boost topology, the problem of large
voltage spike has been solved through many effective methods.
The typical methods are as follows. A lossy
resistor-capacitor-diode (RCD) snubber is used in [14]. The
active clamping techniques are introduced in [15]-[17], which
can also achieve soft-switching of the switches. The passive
snubbers are proposed in the single-phase and three-phase
single-stage PFC converter in [18] and [19] respectively,
which have the advantages of simplicity and high reliability. In
[20] and [21], a family of multilevel passive clamp circuits and
a passive flyback auxiliary circuit are used in single-phase and
three-phase single-stage PFC converter respectively, which
can overcome the limitation of the LC parameters in these
snubbers.
To achieve normal starting-up of the isolated full-bridge
boost converters, some methods have also been proposed and
investigated. For example, a direct starting scheme of the dc/dc
converter is presented in [22], which can only be used when
the converter is in the state of no load. A lossy RCD snubber is
connected in parallel with the bridge leg of dc/dc converter in
[23], and a lossy starting method which connects a resistor in
series with the output filter capacitor is used in a three-phase
single-stage PFC converter in [24], however, adoption of these
two lossy methods will result in low efficiency and long
starting time for the PFC converter during starting state. In [13]
and [25], a flyback winding is coupled with the boost inductor,
which can realize the normal starting-up of the dc/dc converter,
however, there are three boost inductors in the conventional
three-phase PFC converter, and the current in these boost
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DL1 CC2 D1 D2 D3 D1 D2 D3
van La D1 D2 D3 S1 S3 T La1 Lb1 Lc1 La1 Lb1 Lc1
L1
DC R +
vbn Lb Df Vo
Tf Llk van vbn vcn van vbn vcn
vcn Lf C _
Lc L2 n:1 La2 Lb2 Lc2 La2 Lb2 Lc2
nf:1
D4 D5 D6
CC1 DL2 S2 S4 D4 D5 D6 D4 D5 D6
(a) (a) (b)
van van

0 t
t
iLa1
iLa

0 iLa2 t
t

π2π 2π π t
(b) (c)
Fig.1. Three-phase isolated full-bridge boost PFC converter with the Fig.2. Configuration derivation in ac side of the PFC converter. (a)
passive flyback auxiliary circuit. (a) Configuration. (b) Input theoretical Configuration derivation 1. (b) Configuration derivation 2. (c) Input
waveforms of phase A. theoretical waveforms of phase A of the two configurations.

+
inductors flows bi-directionally, so this method cannot be used D1 Daf1 D2 Dbf1 D3 Dcf1 Vo
_
in the conventional three-phase PFC converter directly. In [24], La1 Lb1 Lc1
a lossless starting method is also proposed for a three-phase Laf1 Lbf1 Lcf1
single-stage PFC converter, and in [26], a buck starting-up van vbn vcn
La2 Lb2 Lc2
scheme is presented in a single-phase single-stage PFC Laf2 Lbf2 Lcf2
converter, which can also be used in three-phase PFC D4
nF:1 Daf2
D5
nF:1 Dbf2
D6
nF:1 Dcf2
converter. But these two schemes have a common (a)
disadvantage: their final output voltage in starting state cannot +
be large enough for the PFC converter to operate in boost D1 D2 D3 Vo
_
mode, as a result, the input over-current cannot be eliminated La1 Lb1 L Lc1 L
Laf
completely. bf cf

van Daf vbn Dbf vcn Dcf

In this paper, a start-up scheme suitable for the three-phase
isolated full-bridge boost PFC converter is proposed, which is
analyzed and verified based on a three-phase isolated boost
PFC converter with the passive flyback auxiliary circuit in [21].
The proposed start-up scheme can also be suitable for the
three-phase PFC converter with the voltage spike suppression
circuits in [16]~[19]. The rest of this paper is organized as
follows. In section II, configuration derivation of the
three-phase isolated full-bridge boost PFC converter is
introduced, based on which the start-up scheme is proposed. In
section III, the operational principles of the PFC converter in
both steady and starting states are presented. Design
considerations for the proposed start-up scheme are discussed
in section IV. The proposed method and theoretical analysis
are verified by the experimental results in section V. Finally,
conclusions are given in section VI.
II. CONFIGURATION DERIVATION OF THE PFC
CONVERTER
Fig.1 (a) shows the three-phase isolated full-bridge boost
PFC converter with the passive flyback auxiliary circuit
proposed in [21]. van, vbn, vcn are the input phase voltages, La, Lb
and Lc (La=Lb=Lc=L) are the boost inductors, and Llk and n are
the equivalent leakage inductance and turns ratio of the
transformer T respectively. The auxiliary circuit is composed
of CC1, CC2 (CC1=CC2), DL1, DL2, DC, Df and the flyback
transformer Tf, where L1 and L2 (L1=L2) are the equivalent
inductance in primary side, Lf is the inductance in secondary
La2 nF:1 Lb2 nF:1 Lc2 nF:1
D4 D5 D6
(b)
Fig.3. Start-up schemes. (a) Start-up scheme based on configuration
derivation 1. (b) Start-up scheme based on configuration derivation 2.
side, and nf is the turns ratio. Fig.1 (b) shows the input
theoretical waveforms of phase A in this PFC converter.
The voltage spike of the PFC converter in Fig.1 (a) has been
suppressed efficiently after adoption of the auxiliary circuit.
However, in this configuration, three boost inductors (La, Lb
and Lc) are in ac side of the PFC converter, and their current
flows bi-directionally as shown in Fig.1 (b). As a result,
over-current in these boost inductors is difficult to control in
starting state, and it still cannot achieve starting-up normally.
Configuration derivation in ac side of the PFC converter is
shown in Fig.2 (a), where the boost inductors La, Lb and Lc are
replaced by La1, La2, Lb1, Lb2 and Lc1, Lc2
(La1=La2=Lb1=Lb2=Lc1=Lc2=L). Taking phase A for example,
when van>0, the input current flows through La1, and when
van<0, the input current flows through La2. As shown in Fig.2
(b), the structure in ac side of the PFC converter can also be
changed into another equivalent configuration, where the two
inductors of each phase are made on a common magnetic core,
and a coupled-inductor is adopted in each phase. The input
voltage and current waveforms of the above two

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configurations are shown in Fig.2 (c), it can be seen that the S1 on

current in each inductor is unidirectional. S2 on on
t
To solve the starting problem, the flybcak inductors are S3 on
t
added on the boost inductors. As shown in Fig.3, the flyback S4 on
t
inductors Laf1, Laf2, Lbf1, Lbf2, Lcf1, Lcf2 and Laf, Lbf, Lcf are added iLc1 iLc1
t
on the boost inductors for the configurations of Fig.2 (a) and (b) iLa1/Lb2/Lc1 iLa1 iLa1 t
respectively, as well as the diodes Daf1, Daf2, Dbf1, Dbf2, Dcf1, iLb2 iLb2
Dcf2 and Daf, Dbf, Dcf, where nF is the turns ratio. In starting iL1/L2 iLf iL1/L2 iLf
state, the PFC converter operates in flyback mode, and the iL1/L2/Lf
t
t0 t1 t2 t3 t4 T
output filter capacitor is charged by these flyback inductors.
Fig.4. Theoretical waveforms in steady state.
The two structures in Fig.3 are equivalent, however, the
structure in Fig.3 (a) is much more complex than that in Fig.3
(b), therefore, the structure in Fig.3 (b) is selected in ac side of Daf Dbf Dcf DL1 CC2
the PFC converter here. D1 D2 D3
L1 S1 S3 T
La1 Laf Lb1 Lbf Lc1 Lcf DC R +
Tf Df Vo
Llk
III. OPERATIONAL PRINCIPLES La2 Lb2 Lc2 Lf C _
L2 n:1
nf:1
To simplify the analysis, it is assumed that: 1) all devices are D4 nF:1 D5 nF:1 D6 nF:1
ideal, 2) during one charging period of the boost inductors (T), van vbn vcn CC1 DL2 S2 S4
the change of van, vbn and vcn are negligible because T is much (a)
shorter than the line period, and 3) the capacitors CC1, CC2 and
Daf Dbf Dcf DL1 CC2
C are large enough, so their voltages can be considered as
D1 D2 D3
constant values during each charging period. The following is L1 S1 S3 T
La1 Laf Lb1 Lbf Lc1 Lcf R +
operational process during one charging period of the PFC DC
Tf Df Vo
Llk
converter in steady and starting states respectively, and the La2 Lb2 Lc2 Lf C _
L2 n:1
analysis is during the time phase of 0≤ωt≤π/6, in which the D4 nF:1 D5 nF:1 D6 nF:1
nf:1
relation of three-phase voltage is vbn≤0≤van≤vcn, where van vbn vcn CC1 DL2 S2 S4
van=Vsinωt, vbn=Vsin(ωt-2π/3) and vcn=Vsin(ωt+2π/3).
(b)
A. Operational Process in Steady State Fig.5. Equivalent circuits in steady state. (a) Stage 1. (b) Stage 2.
In steady state, the PFC converter operates in boost and
discontinuous current mode (DCM), and the current of Laf, Lbf From (3), the current of La1, Lb2 and Lc1 in this stage can be
and Lcf falls to zero value. During one charging period, there calculated:
are two basic stages in steady state, and the theoretical  van nVo  3van
waveforms and the equivalent circuit of each stage are shown iLa1 (t  t1)  L DT  3L
(t  t1 )
 2nVo  3vbn
in Fig.4 and Fig.5 respectively.  vbn
iLb2 (t  t1 )  DT  (t  t1) (4)
Stage 1 (t0~t1): In this stage, the bridge leg switches are  L 3L
shorted (it is assumed that S1, S2 are turning on). The current of i (t  t )  vcn DT  nVo  3vcn (t  t )
La1, Lb2, Lc1 and L1, L2 increases from zero with the charging of  Lc1 1
L 3L
1

van, vbn, vcn and CC1, CC2, and the output current is only where D=(t1-t0)/T is the duty cycle of the PFC converter in
provided by capacitor C. The current of La1, Lb2, Lc1 and L1, L2 steady state, and Vo is the output voltage of the PFC converter
in this stage can be obtained: in steady state.
van/bn/cn In the auxiliary circuit, the current of L1 and L2 is zero, and
iLa1/Lb2/Lc1(t  t0 )  (t  t0 ) (1)
L their energy is transferred to the load through Lf. From (2), the
V current expression of Lf in this stage can be calculated:
iL1/L2 (t  t0 )  Cc (t  t0 ) (2)
L1 2VCc DTnf Vo
iLf (t  t1 )   (t  t1 ) (5)
where VCc is the voltage of CC1 and CC2 in steady state. L1 Lf
At t1, the current of each inductor reaches the maximum In the beginning of this stage, CC1 and CC2 are connected in
value of the whole charging period. series, which are charged by La1, Lb2 and Lc1, and the increasing
Stage 2 (t1~T): At t1, S2 are turned off, and S4 are turned on. energy of CC1 and CC2 is equal to the decreasing energy of CC1
The energy is transferred from input side to the load, and the and CC2 in stage 1. Furthermore, the energy in the leakage
current of La1, Lb2 and Lc1 decreases. In this stage, the inductor of Tf is also absorbed by CC1 and CC2. The energy that
following relationships can be obtained: transferred through the auxiliary circuit is much less than that
 diLa1 diLb2 transferred through the main circuit, so this charging duration
van  L dt  nVo  L dt  vbn is very small, and the current decreasing of each inductor in
 this duration is ignored.
 diLc1 di
vcn  L  nVo  L Lb2  vbn (3)
 d t dt At t2, iLa1 reduces to zero. After t2, the following
van  vbn  vcn  0 relationships can be obtained:
iLa1  iLb2  iLc1  0

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S1/S2 on
 van DFTnF VoF
t iLaf (t  tF1)   (t  tF1 )
S3/S4 on  L Laf
t  vbn DFTnF VoF
iLcf
iLa1/Lb2/Lc1
iLc1 iLc1 iLcf
iLbf (t  tF1 )    (t  tF1 ) (10)
 L Lbf
iLaf/Lbf/Lcf iLa1 iLaf iLa1 iLaf t
iLb2 iLb2  vcn DFTnF VoF
-iLbf -iLbf iLcf (t  tF1)  L

Lcf
(t  tF1 )
iL1/L2 iL1/L2 
iLf iLf
iL1/L2 2VCcF DFTnf VoF
iLf
tF0 tF1 tF2 tF3 tF4 tF5T t iLf (t  tF1)   (t  tF1) (11)
L1 Lf
Fig.6. Theoretical waveforms in starting state.
where DF=(tF1-tF0)/T is the duty cycle of the PFC converter in
starting state, and VoF is the output voltage of the PFC
Daf Dbf Dcf DL1 CC2
D1 D2 D3
converter in starting state.
L1 S1 S3 T In the beginning of this stage, CC1 and CC2 are connected in
La1 Laf Lb1 Lbf Lc1 Lcf DC R +
Tf Df Llk
VoF series, which are charged by La1, Lb2 and Lc1, and the increasing
La2 Lb2 Lc2 Lf C _ energy of CC1 and CC2 is equal to the decreasing energy of CC1
L2 n:1
nf:1
D4 nF:1 D5 nF:1 D6 nF:1 and CC2 in stage 1. Furthermore, the energy in the leakage
van vbn vcn CC1 DL2 S2 S4 inductor of Tf is also absorbed by CC1 and CC2, as well as the
energy in leakage inductor of the coupled-inductor in each
Fig.7. Equivalent circuits of stage 2 in staring state. phase. The energy that transferred through the auxiliary circuit
is much less than that transferred through the main circuit, so
this charging duration is very small, and the current decreasing
 di di of each inductor in this small duration is ignored.
vcn  L Lc1  nVo  L Lb2  vbn
 dt dt (6) The current iLaf, iLf , iLcf and iLbf reduces to zero at tF2, tF3, tF4
iLb2  iLc1  0
and tF5 respectively.
From (6), the current expressions of Lb2 and Lc1 in this stage
can be calculated: IV. DESIGN CONSIDERATIONS
vbn  nVo  vcn
iLb2 (t  t2 )  iLc1(t  t2 )  iLb2 (t2 )  (t  t2 ) (7) Design considerations of the PFC converter in steady state
2L
are mainly presented in [21], which are not discussed here. In
The current iLf and iLb2 (or iLc1) reduces to zero at t3, t4 this section, the design considerations of the PFC converter in
respectively. starting state are analyzed, as well as the design considerations
B. Operational Process in Steady State of the devices in ac side of the PFC converter, which may be
In starting state, the PFC converter operates in DCM and changed after the configuration derivation.
flyback mode, the switching frequency is the same as that in A. The Output Voltage in Starting State
steady state, and the input energy is transferred to the load In starting state, the average value of iLa1, iLb2 and iLc1 during
through the flyback inductors Laf, Lbf, Lcf and Lf. During one one charging period can be obtained from (8):
charging period, there are two basic stages in starting state, and
 1 v D 2T
the theoretical waveforms of each stage are shown in Fig.6.  I La1-avg  iLa1(tF1 ) DF  an F
Stage 1 (tF0~tF1): The equivalent circuit of this stage is the  2 2L
same as that in Fig. 5 (a). In this stage, the bridge leg switches  1 vbn DF2T
 I Lb2-avg  iLb2 (tF1 ) DF  (12)
are shorted (it is assumed that S1, S2 are turning on). The  2 2L
current of La1, Lb2, Lc1 and L1, L2 increases from zero, and the  1 vcn DF2T
output current is only provided by capacitor C. The current of  I Lc1-avg  2 iLc1(tF1 ) DF  2 L

La1, Lb2, Lc1 and L1, L2 in this stage can be obtained:
The energy that transferred through the auxiliary circuit is
van/bn/cn
iLa1/Lb2/Lc1 (t  tF0 )  (t  tF0 ) (8) much less than that transferred through the main circuit.
L Therefore, the average input power of the PFC converter
V during one charging period can be calculated approximately:
iL1/L2 (t  tF0 )  CcF (t  tF0 ) (9)
L1
3V 2 DF2T
where VCcF is the voltage of CC1 and CC2 in starting state. PiF  van I La1-avg  vbn I Lb2-avg  vcn I Lc1-avg  (13)
4L
At tF1, the current of each inductor reaches the maximum The output power of the PFC converter is equal to its
value of the whole charging period. average input power if the power losses are ignored. So it can
Stage 2 (tF1~T): The equivalent circuit of this stage is shown be obtained that:
in Fig. 7. At tF1, S1, S2 are turned off. The energy of La1, Lb2 and 2
Lc1 is transferred to the load through Laf, Lbf and Lcf, the energy VoF
PiF  PoF  (14)
of L1 and L2 is transferred to the load through Lf, and the R
current of Laf, Lbf, Lcf and Lf is decreasing. From (8) and (9), it From (13) and (14), the output voltage of the PFC converter
can be calculated that: in starting state can be obtained:
3RT
VoF  DFV (15)
4L

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It can be seen from (15) that: in starting state, the output VCcF V
DFmaxT  Cc DmaxT (25)
voltage of the PFC converter will increase as the duty cycle L1 L1
increases. From (24) and (25), the fourth and fifth limitations of DFmax
B. The Maximum Duty Cycle in Starting State are obtained:
DFmax  Dmax (26)
In steady state, the PFC converter operates in boost mode,
so the following relationship must be achieved: a
DFmax  Dmax (27)
nVo b
M 1 (16)
3V C. The Turn Ratio nF
where M is the voltage ratio of the PFC converter.
In steady state, the current of Laf, Lbf and Lcf is zero, so to
In starting state, the PFC converter operates in flyback mode.
avoid the turning-on of Daf, Dbf and Dcf, the voltage of Laf, Lbf
However, the PFC converter can be transferred to boost mode
and Lcf must be lower than Vo in stage 2 of steady state.
normally only if the following relationship is achieved:
Therefore, from (4) and (7), the following relationships must be
nVoFmax
1 (17) achieved:
3V
 1 anVo
From (15) and (17), the first limitation of DFmax can be  (  van )  Vo
calculated:  nF 3
 1 2anVo
1 4L  (  vbn )  Vo (28)
DFmax  (18)  nF 3
n RT  1 anVo
In starting state, coupled inductors (La1, La2, Lb1, Lb2 and Lc1,  n ( 3  vcn )  Vo
 F
Lc2) operate in DCM, so the following relationship must be
achieved from (10): vbn  nVo  vcn
 Vo (29)
 van 2nF
V
 DFTnF  oF (1  DF )T From (16), (28) and (29), the first three limitations of nF can
 L Laf
 vbn VoF
be calculated that:
 DFTnF  (1  DF )T (19)  a
 L Lbf nF  n
 vcn  3
V
 DFTnF  oF (1  DF )T  2a 1
L Lcf n
 F  (  )n (30)
 3 2 M

From (15) and (19), the second limitation of DFmax can be  3 n
obtained: nF  (1  2M ) 2
1 4L In starting state, the input energy is mainly transferred to the
DFmax  1  (20)
nF 3RT load from Laf, Lbf and Lcf, so the following relationships must be
In starting state, Tf also operates in DCM, so the following achieved:
relationship must be achieved from (11): van  VLa1-F2  VLb2-F2  vbn  2VCcF
v  V (31)
2VCcF DFTnf VoF  cn Lc1-F2  VLb2-F2  vbn  2VCcF
 (1  DF )T (21)
L1 Lf where VLa1-F2=VLb2-F2=VLc1-F2=nFVoF are the voltage of La1, Lb2
From [21], it can be seen that: 1) nf2=L11/Lf, where L11=L1/2 and Lc1 in stage 2 of starting state.
is the self-inductance in primary side of Tf, and 2) in steady From (15) and (31), the second limitation of nF can be
state, the voltage stress of each switch is: 2VCc=anVo (a>1). obtained:
However, the voltage stress of each switch in starting state is: bM  1 L
nF  (32)
2VCcF. Here, it is defined that 2VCcF=bnVo. Compared to the DFmax RT
voltage stress in steady state, if the over-voltage in starting From the above analysis, it can be seen that the key
state is limited within 20%, the limitation of b is as follows: parameters in starting state (DFmax and nF) should be designed
b  1.2a (22) according to the limitations of (18), (20), (23), (26), (27), (30)
From (15), (16), (21) and (22), the third limitation of DFmax and (32).
can be obtained:
D. Specifications of Diodes and Capacitors in Primary
bM L
DFmax  1  (23) Side of the Transformer T
nf RT
From the above analysis, it can be seen that after the
From the analysis in section III, it can be seen that the configuration derivation, the PFC converter can achieve
charging process of La1, Lb2, Lc1 and L1, L2 in starting state is starting-up normally, and its operational principle in steady
the same as that in steady state, so to avoid over-current of La1, state isn’t changed. Voltage and current of the diodes and
Lb2, Lc1 and L1, L2 in starting state, the following two capacitors in the auxiliary circuit are also the same as that
relationships must be achieved from (1), (2) and (8), (9) before the configuration derivation.
respectively:
van/bn/cn v
DFmaxT  an/bn/cn DmaxT (24)
L L

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TABLE I iLa1 iLa1+iLa2

SPECIFICATIONS OF DIODES AND CAPACITORS IN PRIMARY SIDE OF THE La1
TRANSFORMER T. L
Laf
Voltage stress Current stress Laf
La2
M VDT
D1~D6 2V or 3(1  )V iLa2
3 L
(a) (b)
VDFTnF Fig.8. Structure scheme of the coupled-inductors (La1, La2). (a) Scheme
Daf, Dbf, Dcf Vo  nFV
L 1. (b) Equivalent structure of scheme 1.
anVo anVo DT
DL1, DL2
2 2 L1 decreasing) of the voltage stress of D1~D6 is determined by the
DC anVo
VDT anVo DT
 values a and M.
L L1 For the diodes Daf, Dbf, Dcf, the maximum current are iLaf(tF1),
anVo nf anVo DTnf iLbf(tF1) and iLcf(tF1), as shown in (10). The maximum voltage
Df Vo 
2 L1 occurs in stage 1 of steady state, which can be calculated:
anVo VDT anVo DT VDaf  Vo  nFvan
CC1, CC2  
2 L 2 L1 VDbf  Vo  nFvbn (38)
VDcf  Vo  nFvcn
From (38), it can be obtained that the voltage stress of Daf,
For the diodes D1~D6, input current of the PFC converter Dbf and Dcf is: Vo+nFV.
still flows through each diode respectively, so the current According to the above analysis and the analysis in [21],
stress isn’t changed, however, the voltage stress may be specifications of diodes and capacitors in primary side of the
different after the configuration derivation. transformer T of this PFC converter can be obtained in Table I.
For the PFC converter in Fig.1 (a), when the bridge leg
switches are shorted, the voltage of D1~D6 is zero, and when E. Design Consideration of the Coupled-Inductors
the bridge diagonal-leg switches turn on, the maximum Generally, for the coupled-inductor La1 and La2 (taking
voltage of D1~D6 is equal to the bridge leg voltage. So the phase A for example) in Fig.3 (b), the magnetic structure can
voltage stress of D1~D6 in Fig.1 (a) is: be designed in Fig.8 (a). From Fig.2 (c), it can be seen that La1
VSD  2VCc  anVo  3aMV (33) and La2 are operating alternatively during each line period,
As shown in Fig.5 (a), the voltage of D4, D2 and D6 in stage when La1 is operating, La2 is equal to be open, and when La2 is
1 can be obtained: operating, La1 is equal to be open.
Therefore, the coupled-inductor La1, La2 can be designed
VD4  VLa1-1  VLa2-1  2van
 according to another equivalent structure as shown in Fig.8 (b),
VD2  VLb1-1  VLb2-1  2vbn (34)
VD6  VLc1-1  VLc2-1  2vcn of which La1, La2 are replaced by a single-inductor L
(La1=La2=L), and the current of L is iLa1+iLa2. It can be obtained
where VLa1-1, VLa2-1, VLb1-1, VLb2-1 and VLc1-1, VLc2-1 are the from Fig.2 (c) that: 1) the maximum value of iLa1 (or iLa2) is
voltage of La1, La2, Lb1, Lb2 and Lc1, Lc2 in stage 1 of steady equal to that of iLa1+iLa2, and 2) the average value of iLa1 (or iLa2)
state. is half of that of iLa1+iLa2. Accordingly, the AP value of the
From (34), it can be seen that the maximum voltage of coupled-inductor La1, La2 can be calculated as follows:
D1~D6 in stage 1 of steady state is:
LI max 2 (VDmaxT ) 2
VSD-2  2V (35) AP  Aw Ae   (39)
BJK BJKL
As shown in Fig.5 (b), the voltage of D4, D2 and D6 in stage
where Aw and Ae are window area and cross-sectional area of
2 of steady state can be calculated from (4) and (16):
the magnetic core, B is the maximum magnetic induction
 nVo 3MV intensity of the magnetic core, J is the current density in the
VD4  nVo  (VLa1-2  VLa2-2 )  2van  V 
 3 3 winding of La1 (or La2), and K is the utilization of the window
 nVo 3MV area.
VD2  nVo  (VLb1-2  VLb2-2 )  2vbn   2V  (36)
 3 3 Laf, Lbf and Lcf are only used in starting state (transient state)
 nVo 3MV of the PFC converter, so the current density in their windings
VD6  nVo  (VLc1-2  VLc2-2 )  2vcn  3  3V  3 can be much higher then that of La1, La2, Lb1, Lb2 and Lc1, Lc2,

where VLa1-2, VLa2-2, VLb1-2, VLb2-2 and VLc1-2, VLc2-2 are the and in the magnetic core, the window area occupied by the
voltage of La1, La2, Lb1, Lb2 and Lc1, Lc2 in stage 2 of steady windings of Laf, Lbf and Lcf will be much less than that of La1,
state. La2, Lb1, Lb2 and Lc1, Lc2. Therefore, the influence on the
From (36), the maximum voltage of D1~D6 in stage 2 of volume of the magnetic core of each coupled-inductor is very
steady state can be obtained: small after adding of the flyback inductor. Furthermore, Daf,
M Dbf and Dcf are also only used in starting state (transient state),
VSD-2  3(1  )V (37) so the heat dissipation problem of them isn’t considered here.
3
Therefore, the volume increasing of the PFC converter is also
From (33), (35) and (37), it can be obtained that after the
very small after the adding of these diodes.
configuration derivation, the changing (increasing or

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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TIE.2017.2682041, IEEE
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Fig.9. Photo of the coupled-inductor.

Data selector
X1A1 Driving
Phase X2 O1 circuit S1 PWM
A2
shift X3
distributor A3 Driving x1/x2 (a)
X4A4 O2 circuit S2
PWM x1 x3/x4
& B Driving
Output x2 1 O3 circuit S3 X1
voltage B
x3 2
& B
controler x4 3 O4 Driving X2
(TL494) B 4 circuit S4
X3
VoF
Vo Vo-ref Comparator
VoF-ref X4
(a) (b)
Fig.10. Control scheme of the PFC converter. (a) Control principle of
the changing in starting and steady states. (b) The related logic signals.
(b)
Fig.11. Input voltage and current of phase A in starting state. (a)
Waveforms of van, iLa1, iLa2 and iLa1+iLa2. (b) Waveforms of iLa1 and iLaf.
V. EXPERIMENTAL VERIFICATIONS
To verify the proposed method and theoretical analysis, the
experimental study has been done on a laboratory-made
prototype of the three-phase isolated full-bridge boost PFC
converter. The main utilized components and the key
parameters of the prototype are nearly the same as that in [21]:
La1=La2=Lb1=Lb2=Lc1=Lc2=76μH, nF=1.1 (structure of the
coupled-inductor is shown in Fig.9), S1-S4:
BSM75GB120DN2 the switching frequency is 20kHz,
Dmax=40%, DFmax=33%, n=2, Llk=6μH, C=1000μF,
CC1=CC2=5.4μF, L1=L2=1080μH, nf=0.75, and
van/bn/cn=110Vrms±10%, Vo=220V.
The basic control scheme of this prototype is shown in (a)
Fig.10, where a traditional voltage mode controller (TL494) is
adopted, from which a pulse width modulation (PWM) signal
is generated. x1~x4 and X1~X4 (x1=x2= X1·X2, x3=x4=X3·X4) are
the switching signals of S1~S4 when the PFC converter
operating in starting and steady states respectively, which are
generated from the phase-shift distributor with the PWM
signal input. Here, the phase-shift distributor is implemented
by a double D trigger (the easy design method isn’t discussed
here). In starting state, the output voltage VoF is increasing
from zero, x1~x4 are selected by the data selector for the
driving circuits of S1~S4, and the PFC converter operates in
flyback mode. When the output voltage is increased to a
suitable value (VoF=VoF-ref), X1~X4 are selected by the data (b)
selector for the driving circuits of S1~S4, and the PFC Fig.12. Input current of phase A and output voltage in starting process.
(a) Waveforms during the whole starting process. (b) The transitional
converter is transferred to boost mode. waveforms between the flyback and boost modes.
A. Experimental Results in Starting State
Fig.11 shows the input voltage and current of phase A when converter, which isn’t given here.
the PFC converter operating in starting state. It can be seen that Fig.12 shows the input current of phase A and the output
the converter operates in DCM, and the PFC function can also voltage of the PFC converter in starting process. It can be seen
be realized. The duration of starting state is very small, so the that the PFC converter achieved starting-up normally, and
power factor value in starting state isn’t important to the PFC there are no over-current appearing in the whole starting
process.

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TABLE II
EFFICIENCY OF THE PFC CONVERTER.

Po/kW 0.5 0.7 0.9 1.1 1.3 1.5 1.7

η/%
(before the 79.3 81.2 83.1 85.2 87.3 90.1 91.8
derivation)
η/%
(after the 79.2 81.5 83.0 85.1 87.4 90.3 92.1
derivation)

Fig.13. Input voltage and current of phase A in steady state.
PFC converter also operates in DCM, and the PFC function are
almost the same.
Fig.14 shows the driving, current and voltage waveforms of
S1 and S2 in steady state. Compared to the experimental results
in Fig.9 of [21], it can be seen that after the configuration
derivation, the related features of the PFC converter such as
soft-switching and voltage spike suppression are almost the
same.
Table II shows the efficiency according to output power
variation of this PFC converter before and after the
configuration derivation. It can be seen that efficiency of this
PFC converter is almost not affected after the configuration
derivation. Moreover, the energy of the auxiliary circuit is not
determined by the current (-iLb) of the PFC converter but the
voltage (nVo) of the PFC converter, so if the converter was
used in much larger application, its efficiency will be
improved furthermore.

(a)
(b)
Fig.14. Voltage and current waveforms of S1 and S2 in steady state. (a)
Driving, current and voltage waveforms of S1. (b) Driving, current and
voltage waveforms of S2.
B. Experimental Results in Steady State
Fig.13 shows the input voltage and current waveforms of
phase A when the PFC converter operating in steady state,
where ia is the input current of phase A when a simple LC
low-pass filter is introduced and the testing power factor value
is about 0.99. Compared to the experimental results in Fig.7 of
[21], it can be seen that after the configuration derivation, the
VI. CONCLUSION
In this paper, aiming at the three-phase isolated full-bridge
boost PFC converter, a start-up scheme is proposed and
investigated. To achieve normal starting-up, the configuration
derivation in ac side of the PFC converter has been done, and a
flyback inductor is added on the coupled-inductor of each
phase. The PFC converter operates in flyback mode in starting
state, and its output filter capacitor is charged by the adding
flyback inductors. The investigation is based on a three-phase
isolated full-bridge boost PFC converter with the passive
flyback auxiliary circuit, and from the operational analysis of
the PFC converter in both steady and starting states, the design
principles of the key parameters have been given. The
theoretical analysis and experimental results show that the
three-phase PFC converter realizes starting-up normally, and
the operational principle of the PFC converter in steady state
isn’t changed after the configuration derivation of the PFC
converter for the proposed start-up scheme.
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This article has been accepted for publication in a future issue of this journal, but has not been fully edited. Content may change prior to final publication. Citation information: DOI 10.1109/TIE.2017.2682041, IEEE
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