Highly Efficient SiC-based Active Infeed Converter for Industrial DC Conductor Systems

In this paper a highly efficient 5 kW three-phase power factor correction (PFC) converter used as an active infeed converter (AIC) for an industrial DC grid is addressed. The converter operates at 100 kHz and the nominal DC bus voltage is 650 V. The DC grid the AIC is designed for is a conductor system with distributed DC link capacitors and intelligent energy storages alongside the conductor. Due to the use of intelligent energy storages, which meet the energy demand when load transients occur, it is possible to optimize the AIC for a lower power to ensure maximum system efficiency. The design of the hardware and controller is described and measurements of characteristic currents and voltages, efficiency over the whole load range and controller responses on load transients are shown.