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Active Power Factor Correction:
From a New Theoretical Concept to Commercialization
Ilya Zeltser
Shmuel Ben-Yaakov
Green Power Technologies Ltd.
Ben-Gurion University
Abstract
The need for Power Factor Correction (PFC) is driven by the worldwide concern for
the quality of the power line supplies. Injection of high current harmonics into the
power line and poor Power Factor (PF) in general, are known to cause many power
distribution problems.
In the light of the practical importance of PFC, many countries have adopted, or are
in the process of adopting, voluntary and mandatory standards concerning current line
harmonics injection
Active Power Factor Correction (APFC) converters that are based on switch mode
technology, are preferred today as a solution to PFC due to their small size and light
weight – as compared to passive PFC network. . The prevailing control method of
common APFC requires the sensing of the line voltage as a reference for the current
control loop. This need for input voltage sensing has a negative impact on the
system’s performance and power dissipation capability.
The presented method, developed at BGU, eliminates the need of the line sensing increasing thereby the system’s robustness and flexibility.
The theoretical foundation of the new APFC control method and the practical
aspects of the approach will be described and discussed.
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