Implementation of a hybrid AC/AC direct power converter with unity voltage transfer ratio

A novel hybrid approach for direct power conversion (DPC) based on two-stage matrix converter (2-stage MC) topology is proposed, which has practically proven advantages of improved voltage transfer ratio and higher robustness against supply voltage unbalances over the conventional matrix converters (CMC). The hybrid approach also has inherent advantages of the CMC such as: controllable supply power factor, sinusoidal supply currents and no bulky energy storage elements which reduce the life time of the converter. The proposed converter can theoretically have more than unity voltage transfer ratios; even in the case the supply voltage is highly unbalanced. Important aspects of design and implementation of the new hybrid direct power converter (HDPC) are presented with theoretical analysis and simulations. Experimental waveforms using a laboratory prototype is presented to confirm the viability of the proposed idea in practice