IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 6, NO. I.
JANUARY 1991
An Active Power Factor Correction Technique for
Three-phase Diode Rectifiers
A. R. Prasad, Member, IEEE, Phoivos D. Ziogas,
Abstract-A novel active power factor correction method for power
supplies with three-phase front-end diode rectifiers (Fig. 1) is proposed
and analyzed. The implementation of this method requires the use of
an additional single switch boost chopper. The combined front-end
converter draws sinusoidal ac currents from the ac source with nearly
unity input power factor while operating at a fixed switching fre-
quency. Moreover this paper shows that when the active input power
factor correction stage is also used to regulate the converter dc bus
voltage, the converter performance can improve substantially in com-
parison with the conventional three-phase ac to dc converters. These
improvements include component count reduction, simplified input
synchronization logic requirements, and smaller reactive components.
Finally selected theoretical results are verified experimentally.
I. INTRODUCTION
T RADITIONALLY, conversion of ac line voltages from
utilities has been dominated by phase controlled or diode
rectifiers. The non-ideal character of the input current drawn by
these rectifiers creates a number of problems for the power dis-
tribution network and for other electrical systems in the vicinity
of the rectifier including:
1) phase displacement of the current and voltage fundamen-
tals requires that the source and distribution equipment
handle reactive power increasing their volt-ampere rat-
ings;
2) high input current harmonics and low input power factor;
3) lower rectifier efficiency because of the large rms values
of the input current;
4) input ac mains voltage distortion because of the associ-
ated higher peak currents;
5) high reactive components size.
To combat these disadvantages system designers are increas-
ingly incorporating active input power factor correction meth-
ods [2]-[4]. For medium to high power applications the input
rectifier is fed from a three-phase ac source. Application of the
bang-bang hysteresis control method to improve the input power
factor of a three-phase ac to dc converter has been discussed by
several authors [2]-141. In these references the three-phase ac
to dc converter has been realized using three single-phase ac to
dc converters (Fig. 2) using suitable input and output connec-
Manuscript received April 4, 1989. This paper was presented at the 1989
IEEE Power Electronics Specialists Conference, Milwaukee, WI, June 26-
29.
A. R. Prasad is with MPB Technologies, Inc., 1725 North Service Road,
Trans-Canada Highway, Domal, Quebec, Canada H9P 1J1.
P. D. Ziogas is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Concor-
dia University, 1455 De Maisonneuve Boulevard W., Montreal, Canaa H3G
1M8.
S . Manias is with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National
Technical University of Athens, 42, 28 October Street, Athens 10682,
Greece.
IEEE Log Number 9040458.
0885-8993/91/0100-0083$01.OO
83
Senior Member, IEEE, and Stefanos Manias
tions. This topology yields unity input power factor and is
clearly much superior than the original phase controlled ac to
dc topologies. However it also exhibits some disadvantages in-
cluding;
1) it requires complicated input synchronization logic;
2) owing to the variations in power circuit control parame-
ters among the three individual converters, a complete
triplen harmonic elimination from the input line current
( Iia)cannot be achieved;
3) the switching frequency is load dependent;
4) the number of components required for three-phase ac to
dc converter is three times the single-phase ac to dc con-
verter;
5) the advantages of using a three-phase inverter and trans-
former (better transformer core and copper utilization,
etc.) cannot be achieved.
This paper addresses the analysis and design of a three-phase
ac to dc converter which draws high quality input current wave-
forms from the ac source and exhibits none of the above men-
tioned disadvantages. However it has the disadvantages of
substantially increasing the current stresses of the switching de-
vices and the high frequency ripple content of the pre-filtered
ac input currents. The principles of operation of the proposed
converter are discussed in the next section.
OF OPERATION
11. PRINCIPLES
The proposed three-phase ac to dc converter (Fig. 1) consists
of two main power conversion stages. The first stage is a three-
phase ac to dc rectifier consisting of an input filter, a boost in-
ductor, a three-phase diode rectifier, an active power factor cor-
rection stage, and a dc link filter capacitor. The second stage
can be modeled as any type of load requiring a regulated or
unregulated dc bus such as general purpose single-phase or
three-phase inverters or dc-dc converters with high frequency
isolation. The active waveshaping of the input current wave-
form is obtained through the use of the three boost chopper
components L,,, eh, and D b . as shown in Fig. 1. The boost
switch, Qb, is turned on at constant frequency. The duty cycle
of eh,is varied for load variation only and it is such that the
input current is always discontinuous. During the ON period of
the boost switch all three input ac phases become shorted
through inductors L,,, Lib, Li,, the six rectifier diodes and the
boost switch. Consequently the three input currents I,,, l i b , and
Ii,begin simultaneously to increase at a rate proportional to the
instantaneous values of their respective phase voltages. More-
over the specific peak current values during each ON interval
(Fig. 3(c)) are proportional to the average values of their input
phase voltages during the same ON interval. Since each of these
voltage average values varies sinusoidally the input current
0 1991 IEEE
84 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 6, NO. 1. JANUARY 1991

RC
SOURCE
INPUT
FILTER
BOOST
INDUCTOR
RECTIFIE R r CTIVE
.F.
CORRE-
CTION
1'54
CAPAC
LORD

A C SOURCE BOOST ACTIVE DC

FiND I N PU T INDUCTOR RECTIFIER P.F. FILTER LOAD
FILTER CORREC- CAPRC-
TION ITOR
(b)
Fig. 1 . (a) Proposed three-phase ac to dc converter. (b) Single-phase equivalent circuit of (a).

peaks also vary sinusoidally (Fig. 3(c)). Moreover since the
current pulses always begin at zero, it means that their average
values also vary sinusoidally. Consequently all three input ac
currents consist of the fundamental (60 Hz) component and a
band of high frequency unwanted components centered around
the switching frequency (fb) of the boost switch. Since this
frequency ( fb) can be in the order of several tens of kHz, fil-
tering out of the unwanted input current harmonics becomes a
relatively easy task. From Fig. 3 it is also seen that input power
control (or output voltage regulation) can be achieved through
pulse width modulation of the boost switch ON interval at con-
stant frequency ( f b ) . Incidently fb can be easily locked to the
mains 60 Hz frequency to avoid beat frequency effects in the
input currents.
Finally, under the operating conditions described here the
displacement input power factor (cos (4, )) before filtering is
unity. Consequently, the overall input power factor (before fil-
tering) becomes equal to the harmonic input power factor and
 85

I1

LOflU

FILTER

Fig. 2. Conventional three-phase ac to dc converter.

it is given by switch ( Q b ) ON period. During the period when the boost switch
( Q b ) is off the current through the inductor decreases at a rate
determined by the input voltage ( V a n ) ,output dc voltage ( V d ) ,
power factor = and the inductor (Lis). The single phase equivalent circuit un-
der this condition is shown in Fig. 4(b). Regarding Fig. 4(b)
from the boost converter theory the rectifier input phase voltage
(Ve,,) when the boost switch is off is given by
where
1
is the Fourier component of the nth harmonic com- Ven(wt)= -VU, ( u t ) (3)
zia, n 1-D
ponent of current Ziu.
cos 6, is the displacement factor. where D is the duty cycle of the boost switch ( Q b ) .The current
It is noted that the current harmonics associated with this
( Z i a ) through the inductor (Lis) during the period when the boost
switch is off, t , 1 t 5 t,, is given by
power factor can be suppressed by a relatively small input ca-
pacitor ( Cia)and inductor (Lil ) because of their high frequen-
dt +
dIiU
cies. Therefore the overall input power factor after filtering (i.e., Vu, sin ( u t ) = Liu - Veri. (4)
at the ac source) is very close to unity.
Solving (4) for Zia and substituting the initial condition ria( wt)
111. INPUTCURRENTANALYSIS = Zia ( wt, ) when t = tl yields
Regarding Fig. 1 during the period when the boost switch
van ( peak ) Ven
( Q b ) is turned on, the equivalent single-phase circuit becomes ha(wt) = ~ [cos ( u p ) - cos ( u t ) ]- - ( t - t l ) .
as shown in Fig. 4(a). The input current ( Z i u ) rises at a rate wLia Liu
determined by the input source voltage ( V a n )and the inductor (5)
( Lis). The current ( Zia) through the inductor during this period
(/3 5 t 5 t , ) is given by For the designer the worst operating point is switching on the
boost switch ( Q b ) at the peak input voltage ( van(peak)). Under
dzia
E = Vansin ( u t ) = Lia-. this condition the current through the inductor ( Lia) increases
dt at its maximum rate and reaches its maximum value at the end
oft, . Also under this condition, the time required for the current
Solving the above equation for ria and substituting the initial
conditions, Ziu(wt) = 0, when t = yields (Zia) to fall to zero is maximum. Therefore, the frequency of
the boost switch ( Q b ) is a function of ac input voltage (van)
'an (peak) and output dc voltage ( V d ) .Substituting = 90" and r = (90"
lja(Wf) = -[cos ( u p ) - cos ( u t ) ] .
uLiu
+ t ) in (2) yields

Where 0 is the angle at which the boost switch ( Q b ) is turned

on, with reference to the input voltage Vu, and t , is the boost
86 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 6. NO. I. JANUARY 1991

w t

‘t
1 8 28 38 4 8 5 8 68 7 8 0 8

98 le8 . . 278 . 368

1 W t

Fig. 3 . Simulated waveforms. (a) Three-phase ac source phase voltages. (b) Boost switch ( Q b ) gating signals. (c) Rectifier
input current (Iia)and its spectrum. (d) Rectifier output current ( I d c ) and its spectrum. (e) Three-phase diode rectifier switching
function and its spectrum. ( f ) Boost diode ( D b )switching function and its spectrum. (g) Voltage across boost switch (eb).
 87
PRASAD er a l . : CORRECTION TECHNIQUE FOR THREE-PHASE DIODE RECTIFIERS

(e)

't ( 1 .I3

I I I I
.I2I AI I I ~ ~ ~
P I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I
I I 1 I I I -I I I I I I

Fig. 3. (Continued)

In practice the boost switch switching frequency, fb, is on the At time t , the inductor current ( Z t a ) reaches its maximum value
order of 20-40 kHz and the boost switch ON period ( t , ) is small and the boost switch ( Q b ) is turned off by its appropriate control
in comparison to the input source voltage ( Van)time period. signal. Substituting /3 = 90" and t = (90" + t ) in ( 5 ) yields
For small values of ut, sin w t is approximately equal to w t .
Consequently, (6) becomes van(peak) Ven
Z,,(wt) = ___ sin ( u t ) - - ( t - t , ) (8)
0-L L,,
V a n ( peak )
I,, ( a t ) = t 0 5 t l t l . (7) and substituting at for sin ( u t ) ,the above equation becomes
~

&a
88 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 6, NO. I . JANUARY 1991

f l l l l l l : i ( l
. I .2 .3 . 4 .5

Duty cycle of the boost swltcll

Fig. 5 . Variation of minimum dc output voltage ( V d ) with the boost switch
duty cycle.

(b) I..
I I I l I I I 1 I I I
Fig. 4. (a) Equivalent single-phase circuit when the boost switch is on. (b) E’) . I .2 .J . 4 .5
Equivalent single-phase circuit when the boost switch is off. Boost swltch duty cycle
Fig. 6 . Variation of power factor (without input filter) with boost switch

Zi,(ur)
ve,
van(peak)
= ___ r - - ( r - r l ) t , It It2.
duty cycle.
(9)
Lia Lia
The current Zi,( u t ) = 0 at time t = t2. Substituting this con- The values of C, and 0, depend upon the value of the operating
dition in the above equation yields frequency of the boost switch for a given inductor value ( L z , ) .
The variation of the input power factor (without input filter)
with a boost switch duty cycle is shown in Fig. 6. The low input
power factor is due to the presence of the high frequency har-
Therefore, the minimum output dc voltage, monic components in the current (i,,). These high frequency
current harmonics can be filtered easily with a small input filter
v d = v,, * (11) thus providing a nearly unity input power factor. The peak in-
If the dc output voltage (V,) is less than the above value then ductor current ( Z , a ) depends upon the value of the inductor ( L , , ) ,
the rate at which the inductor current (Z,,) falls to zero de- the operating frequency, and the duty cycle of the boost switch.
creases. Consequently, the boost switch frequency has to be
decreased to a value at which the inductor current (Z,,) becomes IV. SYSTEM ANALYSIS
zero before turning on the boost switch (eb)
again. In other
In this section the proposed converter is analyzed under
words the duty cycle of the boost switch must be decreased for
a given boost switch switching frequency (fb). Therefore the steady-State conditions. The expressions derived are subse-
switching frequency of the boost switch (eb) is a function of quently used to obtain the information necessary for proper con-
the dc output voltage ( v d ) . The variation of the minimum dc verter design. The converter is analyzed under the following
bus voltage (V,) with duty cycle of the boost switch is shown assumptions:
in Fig. 5. 1) all power switching devices are ideal and the forward drop
From the description presented above, the simulated inductor and reverse leakage cuvents of the diodes are negligible;
current (Z,,) and its spectrum, the diode rectifier switching 2 ) filter components are ideal;
function ( S d ( u t ) )and its spectrum, and the diode ( D b ) switch- 3) the local voltage is ripple free.
ing function (Sdl( ut))and its spectrum, are derived and shown
in Fig. 3. Evaluation of Fig. 3 clearly shows the eiiminatiop of Moreover, the rated input rms voltage, and rated out-
the low frequency components from the rectifier input and out- put power, P d , are assumed to be
put currents (Z,,, Idc).
The input current ( Z J a ) can be expressed in terms of the Fou-
rier series as
m

II,(Wr) = C [ A , cos ( n u t ) + B, sin ( n u t ) ] . Further assuming the ac source angular frequency is 1 .O pu,
fl= 1.3 from Fig. 3(c) the value of the peak current ZJa(peak) for L,, =
Where A , and B, are the Fourier coefficients of the current Z,,. 0.1 pu is given by
The above expression can be further simplified to
01

I,,(ut) = C
n=1,3
C, sin (nut + e,) (12)
Where Tb is the boost switch time period. The amplitude of the
where fundamental component of current Z,,, I is 0.62. From (13) the
and On = tan-’&. peak value of current Z,, depends upon the values of L,,,
C, =
Bn v,an(peak),and Tb. From Fig. 3(c) the ratio of current I,,, I ( p e a k )
 -

PRASAD et a l . : CORRECTION TECHNIQUE FOR THREE-PHASE DIODE RECTIFIERS 89

to l j a ( p e a k ) is 0.418. Therefore the general expression for the

current Zia, (peak) is given by
-
Iia, I(peak) - Iia(peak) * 0.418 L
1

From (14) the maximum value of the inductor L, for any boost
switch switching frequency can be calculated.

A . Derivation of Rectijier Output Current and Output Filter

Design
Regarding Fig. 3(e) the rectifier output current, Idc, is given
by

where Sd( u t ) is the diode rectifier switching function shown in

Fig. 3(e) and it can be expressed in Fourier series as
m
A close examination of (18) reveals that the dominant harmonic
component of the rectifier output current (Idc) is at fb. If the
&(ut) = C [D, COS (nut) + E,
n = 1.3
sin (nut)]
boost switch switching frequency is not a multiple of six then
the dominant frequency of the rectifier output current ( Zdc) is a
m
multiple of six around fb since the harmonics of frequency fb
sd(ut)= C
n = 1,3
F, sin (nwt + +,,) (16) cancel on the dc side. Evaluation of Fig. 3(c) shows that the
dominaqt harmonic compoQent of the current ( I,a) is at fb - 1,
where where fb is the boost switch switching frequency. Furthermore,
the swifching function (Sdl) of the diode, Db, shown in Fig.
3(f) can be expressed by the Fourier series
Fn = and +,, = tan-' %.
En m

sdl[ut) = Go + n=l
[Hncos (nut) + Kn sin (nut)]
Substituting (12) and (16) into (15) the diode rectifier output
current is given by m

= Go + c L, sin (nut + v n )
n= I (19)

where
Hn
m
L, = and vn = tan-' -
Kn
The dominant harmonic component of the diode (Db) switching
function (sdl) is fb. Therefore !he dominant harmonic compo-
nent of the output current ( Ib2) before output filter capacitor is
given by

IbZ,fb(peak) = * Idc(O) + Go(o) * Ffb. (20)

+ C3 sin (3wt - 2 k a + e,) +
* (Fl sin (ut -
+ F3sin (3ut - 2 k a + +3) + .
.
) The converter output current ( Ib2(u t ) ) consists of a modu-
lated train of pulses and consequently some form of filtering is
necessary to separate the dc component from the undesired har-
+ $1) monic components. Furthermore, the amplitude of the fbth-or-
der voltage harmonic component across the output filter
capacitor (cd) is given by
* *

(17)
Since the harmonic components of I d c ( u t ) are all multiples of where
-
six (i.e., 6, 12, 18 * .) (17) becomes (assuming the boost Ibz, fb(peak) is the amplitude of the fbth harmonic component
switch switching frequency, fb, is also a multiple of six): of current I b 2 .
90 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 6, NO. I . JANUARY 1991

Moreover by assuming that the ripple voltage across the filter

capacitor, Cd, is less than 0.01 % (i.e., less than 30 mV at the
load terminals at v d = 300 V ) the output voltage (vd) ripple
can be defined by

Oo vd, fb( rms)

ripple % =
vd, 0

Substituting (22) into (21) the value of the output filter capacitor
( c d ) is given by

Fig. 7. Single-phase equivalent circuit for input filter design.

Substituting (3) and (1 1) into (23) yields

IbZ,fb(peak) * loo * ( l -D, 1) Inductor L,;

cd = Ji * (ripple %) * fb * w * * J3 '
(24) value of Li,:0.1;
rms current: 0.41 pu;
peak current: 1.13 pu.
B. Input Filter Design 2) Rectifier Diode;
In most specifications for power supplies the total harmonic average current: 0.28 pu;
distortion (THD) content of the input line current (I,,) is 5 5 % . rms current: 0.532 pu;
Also it can be shown that if the amplitude of the dominant har- peak current: 1.13 pu.
monic component of I l l is reduced to 3% of the amplitude of 3) Boost switch Qb;
the respective fundamental then THD 5 5 % can be ensured. peak forward voltage: 4.898 pu;
Therefore for the PWM method shown in Fig. 3 the order of peak current: 1.O pu;
the dominant harmonic component of the inductor current ( I i , ) rms current: 0.652 pu.
is fb - 1 . The harmonic equivalent circuit per Phase for the 4) Boost diode Db;
input filter is shown in Fig. 7 . Regarding Fig. 7 the filter in- peak reverse blocking voltage: 4.898 pu;
ductor current harmonic components, is given by rms current: 0.652 pu;
average current: 0.42 pu;
peak current: 1.0 pu.
5) DC filter capacitor cd;
value: (24);
where rms ripple current: 0.65 pu;
peak voltage: 4.898 pu.
n is the order of the harmonic;
XC,<,] is the filter capacitor (Cia) reactance at fundamental
frequency ; V. DESIGNEXAMPLE
X , , , , is the filter inductor ( L , , ) reactance at fundamental
frequency. To illustrate the significance and facilitate the understanding
Equation (25) can be further simplified as of theoretical results obtained in preceding sections the follow-
ing design example is given:
r 7

ac source rms voltage ( V u n ( m s )=) 50 V = 1 .O pu;

supply frequency = 60 Hz;
rated output power = 1.0 kW = 1.0 pu;
The dominant harmonic component of the current Ii, is atfb - input ac source angular frequency = 377 rad/s;
1 therefore (24) reduces to boost switch switching frequency ( fb) = 24 kHz.

from these values:

1 pu cumnt = -'O0O - 6 . 6 6 A ;
Evaluation of (25) reveals that size of the filter components is 3 * 50
a function of the boost switch switching frequency (fb). The
size of the filter components becomes smaller and smaller for 50
1 pu impedance = - = 7.50 52;
higher switching frequency ( fb). Consequently all the harmon- 6.66
ics of the input current ( Iil ) becomes smaller and smaller and
the input power factor is nearly unity. 1 pu angular frequency = 27rf = 377 rad/s;
7 50
C. Component Ratings 377 = 0.023 H;
1 pu inductance = -
From the aforementioned assumptions and derived analytical
expressions the voltage and current ratings of the various sys- 1
1 pu capacitance = ____ = 353.66 pF.
tem components are as follows. 377 * 7.5
PRASAD ef (I/ : CORRECTION 'TECHNIQLIE FOR I HRbF-PH,ZSF 1 ) l O D t RF.,CTIbIERS

( p)
Fig. 8. Experimental wavetornis. ( a ) Input current ( I , , ) and ac source phase voltage. (b) Input current ( I , , ) spectrum.
( e ) Rectifier input current (I,,,j ( d ) Expanded \er\lon of ( c ) ( e ) Rectifier output current ( I , , , 1. ( f ) Expanded version of ( e ) .
( g ) Voltage acrocs input voltape at reduccd input \ oltagc
92 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 6, NO. I , IANUARY 1991

Using (14) the maximum value of the inductor L,, required at from the source with unity power factor. Moreover, the pro-
24 kHz to deliver 1.0 pu (rms) current ( Z j a ) is given by posed method eliminates the complicated synchronization logic
requirement, reduces the number of components, and reduces
L. fi * S o
=-*-*- 1 0.418
the filter reactive components size. Finally, theoretical results
lo di * 6.66 24000 2 are verified experimentally. However the proposed method has
the disadvantage of increasing the switching stresses of the
= 65.37 pH.
switching devices in comparison with the conventional three-
Using (3) and (1 1) the following values are computed: phase ac to dc converter shown in Fig. 2.
duty cycle of the boost switch = 0.5;
REFERENCES
50 * &
rectifier input phase voltage V,, = ~ = 141.4 V; [ I ] S. Manias, A. R. Prasad, and P. D. Ziogas, “Three-phase induc-
1 - .5 tor fed SMR converter with high frequency isolation high power
density and improved power factor,” in Proc. IEE, vol. 134, pt.
minimum output voltage V,
B, no. 4 , July 1987, pp. 183-191.
[ 2 ] M. J . Kocher and R . L. Steigerwald, “An ac to dc converter with
= h * V,, = 141.4 * h = 244.91 V; high quality input waveforms,’’ IEEE Trans. Ind. A @ . , vol.
choosing an input filter capacitor ( Cj,) value of 0.1 pu and using IA-19, no. 4, pp. 586-599, July/Aug. 1983.
131 W . P. Marple, “Low distortion three-phase power regulator,” IBM
the (27) the value of the input filter inductor ( L j l) value is ob- Technical Disclosure Bulletin,” vol. 22, no. 3 , pp. 970-971, Aug.
tained. 1979.
The dominant ripple frequency = 24000 - 1 = 23.99 kHz = [4] D. Gauger et a / ., “A three-phase off line switching power supply
399.98 pu: with unity power factor and low TIF,” in Conf. Rec. 1986 IEEE
INTELEC, pp. 115-121.

LlI.1 =
0.1
1
* (399.98)’
[”+
0.03
I ] = 0.00152 pu
= 34.96 pH.
Using (24) the value of the filter capacitor is obtained:
0.7 * 100 * 0.5
c -
- fi *0.01 *400 * 1 * & *6
= 2.53 PU = 893.63 pF.
VI. EXPERIMENTAL
RESULTS
To verify the selected predicted results a 1.0 kVA experi-
mental converter has been implemented using power MOSFET
switch with the following circuit parameters:
operating frequency of the boost switchf, = 25.64 kHz;
input ac source rms phase voltage ( V,,,) = 50 V;
rectifier input ac rms current Ila = 11.4 A;
duty cycle of the boost switch Q,, = 0.5;
inductor ( L l o )= 45 pH;
dc bus voltage ( V , ) = 300 V;
rectifier output dc average current I,, = 4.0 A.
experimental waveforms obtained with this prototype are shown
in Fig. 8. In particular, evaluation of the input current (I,,)
shown in Fig. 8(a) is in phase with the ac voltage as predicted.
Furthermore the inductor current (I,,), rectifier output current
( I , , ) , and the voltage across the switch are in close agreement
with the simulated results shown in Fig. 3(c), 3(d), and 3 ( g ) ,
respectively. However with the conventional method (Fig. 2 )
the rectifier input rms current to deliver 1200 W is 8.0 A
(1200/3 * 50). Moreover with the proposed method the recti-
fier rms input current drawn from ac the source ( 11.4 A ) is
higher in comparison with the conventional three-phase ac to
dc converter shown in Fig. 2.
VIT. CONCLUSION
In this paper a novel active power factor correction method
for three-phase diode rectifiers is proposed and analyzed. With
the proposed method the rectifier draws sinusoidal ac current
A. R. Prasad (S’87-M’89) received the
B.Tech. degree from the J.N.T. University, In-
dia in 1979, the M.Tech. degree from the In-
dian Institute of Technology, Madras, India, in
1981 and the Ph.D. degree from the Concordia
University, Montreal, PQ, Canada, in 1989.
From 1981 to 1985 he was employed by the
Tata Electric Companies, Bombay, India. He
joined MPB Technologies Inc. in 1989 as a Se-
nior Engineer, where he is involved with the
design, and development of dc-dc converters.
Phoivos D. Ziogas (S’75-M’78-SM’89) re-
ceived the B.S., M.S., and Ph.D. degrees from
the University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Can-
ada, in 1973, 1974, and 1978, respectively.
Since 1978 he has been with the Department
of Electrical Engineering, Concordia Univer-
sity, Montreal, PQ, Canada, where he is en-
gaged in teaching and research in the area of
static power converters. He has also partici-
pated as consultant in several industrial proj-
ects.
Stefanos Manias received the B.E. (honors),
M . E . , and Ph.D. degrees from Concordia Uni-
versity, Montreal, PQ, Canada, in 1975, 1980,
and 1984, respectively.
From 1975 to 1979 he worked as a Project
Engineer for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor-
poration. From 1979 to 1981 he was employed
by the Northern Telecom., Montreal, where he
was involved with the design of switch mode
power supplies. From 1984 to 1985 he was a
Dostdoctoral fellow at Ecole Polvtechniaue de
Montreal. He was a fill time researcher at Ecole Pol;techni<ue de
Montreal from 1986 to 1987, and from 1987 to 1989 he was with the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Demokritus University of
Thrace, Greece. Since 1989 he has been with the Department of Elec-
trical Engineering, National Technical University of Athens, where he
is engaged in research and teaching in the area of static power con-
verters.