A Review of Front End AC-DC Topologies in Universal Battery Charger for Electric Transportation

Electric transportation is the future; the role of power electronics will help achieve better performance. One of the most crucial systems in the electric vehicles (EVs) and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) is the charging system, in which the front end ac-dc converter connects the grid and the vehicle with high power quality. In North America and Europe, all automotive companies are equipped with level I and level II residential charging for vehicles. Failure to maintain power quality will result in significant impact on customers. Therefore, the charger must achieve high efficiency, power density and low harmonic content. This paper presents a survey of different topologies of power factor correction (PFC) converters in the vehicle on-board charging system.The drawbacks for all the topologies, and their corrective actions in the PFC boost converter, are also briefly discussed.