Coupled inductor-based buck power factor correction (PFC) converter with soft switching

Abstract

In this study, couple inductor-based buck power factor correction (PFC) converter is designed to mitigate dead zones of the converter. To minimize switching losses, all switches are controlled using a soft switching method, eliminating the need for snubber circuits. The circuit is controlled by an analog UC3843 pulse width modulation (PWM) integrated circuit (IC), providing natural PFC capability, which simplifies control and offers advantages in terms of size and cost compared to conventional ones. Simulation studies and prototype implementation are carried out to evaluate performance of the topology. The converter operates within a voltage range of 90-280 Vrms and has a power rating of 150 W. The results from both simulation and experimental analyses indicate that power factor (PF) of the circuit exceeds 98% and total harmonic distortion (THD) of the input current is found to be below 5% under various input voltage and load conditions. Furthermore, proposed topology demonstrated high efficiency, with measurements of 93% at full load and 95.6% at half load under 220 Vrms input voltage and 80 Vdc output voltage conditions. Outcomes highlight that the proposed topology achieves pure sinusoidal input current and exhibits competitive performance compared to other topologies used in the industry. A new couple inductor-based AC-DC buck power factor correction (PFC) topology for nonisolated power applications is presented in this paper. The topology consists of two switches and a couple inductor with different winding numbers. The topology provides a great advantage over conventional buck PFC circuits by reducing passive and active components to ensure low total harmonic distortion (THD) and high power factor (PF). image