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A solid-state AC-to-AC converter converts an AC waveform to another AC waveform, where the output voltage and frequency can be set arbitrarily.
Referring to Fig 1, AC-AC converters can be categorized as follows:
There are two types of converters with DC link:
Any dynamic braking operation required for the motor can be realized by means of braking DC chopper and resistor shunt connected across the rectifier. Alternatively, an anti-parallel thyristor bridge must be provided in the rectifier section to feed energy back into the AC line. Such phase-controlled thyristor-based rectifiers however have higher AC line distortion and lower power factor at low load than diode-based rectifiers.
An AC-AC converter with approximately sinusoidal input currents and bidirectional power flow can be realized by coupling a pulse-width modulation (PWM) rectifier and a PWM inverter to the DC-link. The DC-link quantity is then impressed by an energy storage element that is common to both stages, which is a capacitor C for the voltage DC-link or an inductor L for the current DC-link. The PWM rectifier is controlled in a way that a sinusoidal AC line current is drawn, which is in phase or anti-phase (for energy feedback) with the corresponding AC line phase voltage.
Due to the DC-link storage element, there is the advantage that both converter stages are to a large extent decoupled for control purposes. Furthermore, a constant, AC line independent input quantity exists for the PWM inverter stage, which results in high utilization of the converter’s power capability. On the other hand, the DC-link energy storage element has a relatively large physical volume, and when electrolytic capacitors are used, in the case of a voltage DC-link, there is potentially a reduced system lifetime.
A cycloconverter constructs an output, variable-frequency, approximately sinusoid waveform by switching segments of the input waveform to the output; there is no intermediate DC link. With switching elements such as SCRs, the output frequency must be lower than the input. Very large cycloconverters (on the order of 10 MW) are manufactured for compressor and wind-tunnel drives, or for variable-speed applications such as cement kilns.
In order to achieve higher power density and reliability, it makes sense to consider Matrix Converters that achieve three-phase AC-AC conversion without any intermediate energy storage element. Conventional Direct Matrix Converters (Fig. 4) perform voltage and current conversion in one single stage.
There is the alternative option of indirect energy conversion by employing the Indirect Matrix Converter (Fig. 5) or the Sparse matrix converter which was invented by Prof. Johann W. Kolar from the ETH Zurich. As with the DC-link based VSI and CSI controllers (Fig. 2 and Fig. 3), separate stages are provided for voltage and current conversion, but the DC-link has no intermediate storage element. Generally, by employing matrix converters, the storage element in the DC-link is eliminated at the cost of a larger number of semiconductors. Matrix converters are often seen as a future concept for variable speed drives technology, but despite intensive research over the decades they have until now only achieved low industrial penetration. However, citing recent availability of low-cost, high performance semiconductors, one larger drive manufacturer has over past few years been actively promoting matrix converters. [11] [12]
In electrical engineering, the power factor of an AC power system is defined as the ratio of the real power absorbed by the load to the apparent power flowing in the circuit. Real power is the average of the instantaneous product of voltage and current and represents the capacity of the electricity for performing work. Apparent power is the product of root mean square (RMS) current and voltage. Due to energy stored in the load and returned to the source, or due to a non-linear load that distorts the wave shape of the current drawn from the source, the apparent power may be greater than the real power, so more current flows in the circuit than would be required to transfer real power alone. A power factor magnitude of less than one indicates the voltage and current are not in phase, reducing the average product of the two. A negative power factor occurs when the device generates real power, which then flows back towards the source.
A rectifier is an electrical device that converts alternating current (AC), which periodically reverses direction, to direct current (DC), which flows in only one direction.
Pulse-width modulation (PWM), also known as pulse-duration modulation (PDM) or pulse-length modulation (PLM), is any method of representing a signal as a rectangular wave with a varying duty cycle.
A power inverter, inverter, or invertor is a power electronic device or circuitry that changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). The resulting AC frequency obtained depends on the particular device employed. Inverters do the opposite of rectifiers which were originally large electromechanical devices converting AC to DC.
A switched-mode power supply (SMPS), also called switching-mode power supply, switch-mode power supply, switched power supply, or simply switcher, is an electronic power supply that incorporates a switching regulator to convert electrical power efficiently.
In electrical engineering, power conversion is the process of converting electric energy from one form to another.
Power electronics is the application of electronics to the control and conversion of electric power.
A rotary converter is a type of electrical machine which acts as a mechanical rectifier, inverter or frequency converter.
A variable-frequency drive is a type of AC motor drive that controls speed and torque by varying the frequency of the input electricity. Depending on its topology, it controls the associated voltage or current variation.
A frequency changer or frequency converter is an electronic or electromechanical device that converts alternating current (AC) of one frequency to alternating current of another frequency. The device may also change the voltage, but if it does, that is incidental to its principal purpose, since voltage conversion of alternating current is much easier to achieve than frequency conversion.
An H-bridge is an electronic circuit that switches the polarity of a voltage applied to a load. These circuits are often used in robotics and other applications to allow DC motors to run forwards or backwards. The name is derived from its common schematic diagram representation, with four switching elements configured as the branches of a letter "H" and the load connected as the cross-bar.
A phase converter is a device that converts electric power provided as single phase to multiple phase or vice versa. The majority of phase converters are used to produce three-phase electric power from a single-phase source, thus allowing the operation of three-phase equipment at a site that only has single-phase electrical service. Phase converters are used where three-phase service is not available from the utility provider or is too costly to install. A utility provider will generally charge a higher fee for a three-phase service because of the extra equipment, including transformers, metering, and distribution wire required to complete a functional installation.
Doubly fed electric machines, also slip-ring generators, are electric motors or electric generators, where both the field magnet windings and armature windings are separately connected to equipment outside the machine.
The Vienna Rectifier is a pulse-width modulation rectifier, invented in 1993 by Johann W. Kolar at TU Wien, a public research university in Vienna, Austria.
The Sparse Matrix Converter is an AC/AC converter which offers a reduced number of components, a low-complexity modulation scheme, and low realization effort. Invented in 2001 by Prof Johann W. Kolar , sparse matrix converters avoid the multi step commutation procedure of the conventional matrix converter, improving system reliability in industrial operations. Its principal application is in highly compact integrated AC drives.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to electronics:
A Z-source inverter is a type of power inverter, a circuit that converts direct current to alternating current. The circuit functions as a buck-boost inverter without making use of DC-DC converter bridge due to its topology.
This glossary of electrical and electronics engineering is a list of definitions of terms and concepts related specifically to electrical engineering and electronics engineering. For terms related to engineering in general, see Glossary of engineering.
Switching Control Techniques address electromagnetic interference (EMI) mitigation on power electronics (PE). The design of power electronics involves overcoming three key challenges:
This glossary of power electronics is a list of definitions of terms and concepts related to power electronics in general and power electronic capacitors in particular. For more definitions in electric engineering, see Glossary of electrical and electronics engineering. For terms related to engineering in general, see Glossary of engineering.