Three-Phase Power Factor Correction Front-End for Motor Drive Applications

Adjustable-speed drives (ASD) are extensively adopted in industrial power systems due to their ability to enhance overall efficiency by supplying optimal power to motors based on specific speed and torque requirements. While much existing research focuses on conventional diode rectifiers or voltage-source inverters as front-end solutions, this paper introduces a three-phase power factor correction (PFC) approach using a common DC-link voltage for motor drive applications. This innovative method significantly reduces input current harmonics and improves power factor with minimal active switching components and straightforward control strategies. Furthermore, the DC-link bus can be utilized for multiple motor drives as well. Both analytical and simulation studies validate the effectiveness of the proposed system, demonstrating that the input currents achieve a sine wave form with a unity power factor, while total harmonic distortion of the input current (THDi) is minimized to approximately 2% at the rated power level.