Stand-alone AC/DC converter for multiple inverter applications

The complete AC/AC converter systems are finding use in applications where the high dynamic operation with load energy regeneration is required. Since the AC/AC converter features unity input displacement factor and the input currents exhibit very low harmonic distortion, another application area of the complete AC/AC systems is in the environment where low harmonic impact on the utility is required. Due to the relatively high cost of the complete configuration today, a promising application area where these systems could become cost effective are the multi-inverter systems. This paper investigates one such multi-load application in which the single AC/DC converter feeds several inverters through the common DC bus. The paper provides analysis of the AC/DC converter operation, considerations about control design, advantages and limitations of such a multiple inverter arrangement. The complete simulation and experimental results are reported for a 7.5 kW prototype of a multi-load system.