Power quality improvements employing multipulse full-wave AC-DC converters

In this paper, a set of full-wave AC-DC converters are investigated for power quality improvement in AC mains and DC output. A detailed classification of these full-wave AC-DC converter configurations is made in different transformer connections and several new configurations of isolated and non-isolated full-wave AC-DC converters are developed to meet specific application requirements. The isolated full-wave converters are well-known for low-voltage high-current applications; however, non-isolated full-wave AC-DC converters are not known, mainly due to the popularity of bridge-based configurations and therefore investigated in this paper. These full-wave converters in six-pulse, 12-pulse, 18-pulse and 24-pulse are designed, modelled and simulated to compare their performance in terms of power quality parameters. The validation of design of these converters is carried out through test results on developed prototypes.

Keywords: power quality, 24-pulse AC-DC converters, full-wave AC-DC converters, star connection, zigzag connection, T-connection, quality improvement, transformer connections