A Diode Bridge Rectifier With Improved Power Quality Using the Capacitive Network

Widely distributed single-phase power electronic rectifier loads are an increasing source of harmonics in the power distribution system. These harmonics have many well-known adverse impacts on the power system, so it is necessary to improve the power quality of the rectifiers. This paper presents a novel single-phase rectifier in which capacitors are used in parallel with diodes in one leg of the rectifier. Ageneral analyticalmodel of the proposed topology is obtained. The closed-form expressions for the rectifier waveforms are utilized in parameter selection that leads to optimal performance in terms of input current total harmonic distortion (THD). Different topologies of rectifiers are compared in terms of the input voltage, current waveform distortion, output dc voltage ripple, and desired target for the dc output voltage. The proposed topology reduces the THD from 145% in a normal rectifier to 63% while maintaining voltage ripple less than 0.3%. The proposed topology keeps dc bus ripple small while simultaneously providing better THD. The passive components considered for improving harmonic injection are two small capacitors. The additional cost required for the proposed rectifier is low, and the proposed rectifier also has a higher efficiency than the other commonly used diode rectifier topologies