Staggered phase controlled rectifier: a novel structure to achieve high power factor

This paper proposes a staggered phase controlled rectifier. The converter achieves a high input power factor throughout the whole output range. Reduces the reactive power consumption by 75 % and the input filter's rating by 85% compared to industry standard rectifiers. These while keeping a low input current total harmonic distortion. It also eliminates the need for a reactive power controller, as it requires a single fixed capacitor bank for filtering. The paper presents the converter's design procedure, simulation and experimental results, together with a full evaluation performed in an electrowinning plant. These prove the converter's excellent performance.