Dual-Voltage-Rectifier-Based Single-Phase AC–DC Converters With Dual DC Bus and Voltage-Sigma Architecture for Variable DC Output Applications

Novel single-phase ac–dc converters based on dual-voltage-rectifier (DV-rectifier) and voltage-sigma architecture is proposed in this paper. Dual dc-buses, i.e., a constant dc voltage bus and an adjustable dc voltage bus, are provided by the DV-rectifier. Voltages of the two dc-buses are stacked together on the output port through down-stream dc–dc transformers (DCXs). The dc output voltage is controlled by regulating the voltage of the adjustable dc-bus of the DV-rectifier. Therefore, voltage regulation is not required for the DCXs, which can always operate at their optimized operation point to ensure high efficiency. Since the voltage of the adjustable dc-bus is lower than the constant dc-bus, multi voltage-level characteristics can be obtained with the DV-rectifier, which is benefit for reduction of switching losses and improvement of conversion efficiency. In order to achieve current regulation of ac input port and voltage regulation of the two dc-buses simultaneously, multimode operation, and smooth mode transition strategies are proposed for the DV-rectifier. Operation principles, control strategies, and characteristics of the DV-rectifier and DCX-based ac–dc converter are analyzed in detail. Feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed solutions are verified with experimental results.