Modulation strategy with minimum switching losses for three-phase AC-DC matrix converters

Passive three-phase rectifier circuits are very popular for ac-dc power conversion. However, they do not have the capability to reverse the power flow, which is demanded by some recent potential smart-grid applications, such as vehicle-to-grid (V2G) power transfer. As an alternative, this paper analyzes the behavior of three-phase ac-dc matrix converters. Among the modulation strategies that minimize the switching losses, the one leading to the minimum output current ripple is chosen. The behavior of this modulation strategy is experimentally tested.