Design and analysis of solitary AC-AC converter using reduced components for efficient power generation system

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Power Electronics
• Energy Management Systems

Background:

• AC-AC power conversion is crucial for energy management systems with diverse power and voltage needs.
• Existing converters often involve numerous components, leading to increased losses and reduced efficiency.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose an isolated AC-AC converter with a minimal component count.
• To enhance system efficiency and reduce power losses in AC-AC power transmission.

Main Methods:

• A single-phase direct buck-boost AC-to-AC converter topology was designed.
• The converter utilizes two dual Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) control units, an inductor (Lf), and a capacitor (Cf).
• Simulations were conducted using MATLAB/Simulink for analysis and design validation.

Main Results:

• The proposed converter achieved a voltage gain (G) of 2.13.
• A high power factor of 0.97 was obtained.
• An overall efficiency of 98% was demonstrated with only 4 switches, 2 inductors, and 1 capacitor.

Conclusions:

• The proposed minimal-component AC-AC converter offers superior performance compared to existing technologies.
• This design significantly reduces losses and enhances efficiency in AC-AC power conversion.
• The validated simulation results confirm the effectiveness and potential of the proposed converter for energy management applications.