Design of Boost-Type Power Factor Correction With Stepped Air-Gap Ferrite Inductor for Peak-Power-Load Condition

This paper presents the designed method and the implementation of stepped air-gap ferrite inductor applied in power factor correction (PFC). Conventionally, the input inductor of the PFC has a designed consideration on the maximum output power; thus, designing the PFC for peak-power-load conditions results in a very large inductor. The proposed designed method improves the load-carrying capability without increasing the volume of the inductor when the PFC is operating in peak-power-load conditions. The stepped air-gap ferrite inductor maintains the inductance in the rated-full-load and sustains the peak-power-load conditions with the lower inductance. Compared with the conventional ferrite inductor, the proposed method can maintain the size and the efficiency of the power supply, and promote the power-carrying ability. The detailed analysis and the design of the proposed method are described. Experimental results are recorded and evaluated by a prototype PFC with an AC input voltage of 110–264 VAC and a DC output voltage of 384 VDC. Finally, the volume of input inductor is kept with 40950 mm², the efficiency is also same compared with the conventional inductor, and the load-carrying capability of the converter is promoted from the normal rated power of 1 kW to the peak power load of 2 kW.