An integrated three-phase AC-DC wireless-power-transfer converter with active power factor correction using three transmitter coils

Abstract

Three-phase ac–dc converters are more commonly used for high-power applications compared with single-phase converters. For high-power wireless power transfer (WPT) applications, such as wireless electric vehicle chargers, usually a two-stage topology is applied, which consists of a three-phase ac–dc rectifier with power factor correction and a dc–dc converter for WPT. Recently, there are several studies on three-phase single-stage WPT solutions being proposed to reduce power conversion stages and, furtherly, increase the overall efficiency and reduce system cost. In this article, an integrated three-phase ac–dc WPT converter topology with active power factor correction is proposed. The count of power semiconductor devices is significantly reduced compared with the state-of-the-art three-phase single-stage topologies. Moreover, three transmitter coils are used to enhance the system power capacity. Topology description, operation analysis, control method, power loss analysis, and reference design guideline of the proposed topology are presented in detail. Finally, a laboratory prototype is built and evaluated. The functionalities, performances, and advantages are demonstrated by the corresponding experimental results.