A Novel More Electric Aircraft Power System Rectifier Based on a Low-Rating Autotransformer

Abstract

From a theoretical and practical point of view, to increase rating and decrease the cost and complexity of a multi-pulse rectifier (MPR), its pulse number has to be increased. In many industrial applications, a 20-pulse rectifier is suggested as the practical solution considering its simple structure and low weight. But the 20-pulse rectifiers, suggested in different studies, must use filters to satisfy the DO-160G requirements for 21st and 39th harmonics for ac–dc more electric aircraft (MEA) power systems. To overcome this problem, this article proposes a novel 20-pulse rectifier for the ac–dc MEA power system based on a low-rating autotransformer (LRA). Also, a passive harmonic reduction circuit (PHRC) is used on the dc side of the 20-pulse rectifier to suppress the harmonics up to the 40th order according to DO-160G without using any filter. In this article, simulations are provided to show the merits of this new rectifier over other proposed solutions. Then, an experimental prototype is implemented for evaluating and verifying the simulation results. By investigating the captured outcomes, this article concludes that the introduced design is practical and can simultaneously consider the trade-off among autotransformer structure, pulse number, complexity, rating, and cost.