Hi guys!
Stumbled upon your forum while searchng for something on the net - looks like a great place! Laughed my head off with a thread on resistance-reactance-conductance - etc.
Anyway, I'd be very grateful for some help.
This is the problem:
In a classic linear power supply with standard rectifiers, the angle during which the diodes conduct, is quite small. This creates at least three problems:
(1) high peak currents v.s. moderate average values;
(2) the transformer is actually idling between current pulses and is (in my opinion) under-utilized;
(3) poor power factor.
I am referring to a typical off-the-mains setup @50/60 cps, involving a transformer, bridge rectifier, reservoir caps and a load.
Is there a way to increase the angle during which current is passed to the caps, possibly leading to a higher efficiency than the plain-vanilla setup?
The primary objective of this exercise would be to make better use of the transformer, possibly achieving a higher power to weight ratio, without reverting to a high-frequency SMPS. PWM-driven rectifiers probably? The typical power output would be say 2kW average, 5kW peak.
Can someone point me in the right direction?
p.s. hope I hit the right forum. If not, feel free to move this thread where appropriate.![Wink ;) ;)](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7)
Stumbled upon your forum while searchng for something on the net - looks like a great place! Laughed my head off with a thread on resistance-reactance-conductance - etc.
This is the problem:
In a classic linear power supply with standard rectifiers, the angle during which the diodes conduct, is quite small. This creates at least three problems:
(1) high peak currents v.s. moderate average values;
(2) the transformer is actually idling between current pulses and is (in my opinion) under-utilized;
(3) poor power factor.
I am referring to a typical off-the-mains setup @50/60 cps, involving a transformer, bridge rectifier, reservoir caps and a load.
Is there a way to increase the angle during which current is passed to the caps, possibly leading to a higher efficiency than the plain-vanilla setup?
The primary objective of this exercise would be to make better use of the transformer, possibly achieving a higher power to weight ratio, without reverting to a high-frequency SMPS. PWM-driven rectifiers probably? The typical power output would be say 2kW average, 5kW peak.
Can someone point me in the right direction?
p.s. hope I hit the right forum. If not, feel free to move this thread where appropriate.