16 - Power Factor Correction Circuits

Abstract

This chapter presents an overview of various active harmonic reduction and power factor correction (PFC) techniques applied in single-phase power supply feeding DC-DC conversion stage that have been presented in the open literature up to date. The primary objective of writing this chapter is to give a brief introduction of these techniques and the basic topologies of DC-DC converters based on switched-mode topologies, especially those used in low and medium power level, where the main aim is to provide references for future researchers in this area. The discussion here includes some important points that are essential for understanding the PFC circuits in single-phase dedicated for DC power supply. This chapter starts with the presentation of the definition of total harmonics distortion (THD) and power factor (PF), the classical passive power factor correctors, and the basic circuit topologies of active power factor correctors. The second part of this chapter deals with the commonly used control strategies of active power factor correctors such as continuous conduction mode (CCM) shaping techniques, the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) input technique, and the critical conduction mode (CRM) technique, where some applications on various types of converter topologies are presented. Finally, the possible future research trends are stressed in the summary section, and some selected literature references are presented for further reading.