Design and analysis of PV fed single-stage AC-DC bi-fold converter for onboard charging applications

Abstract

Traditional electric vehicle (EV) chargers typically employ a dual-stage configuration to achieve a significant step-down in voltage, which results in discontinuous input current and compromised efficiency. This paper has proposed a single-stage, single-phase high step-down bifold converter featuring synchronous rectification and ripple mitigation to address these challenges. By regulating the intermediate bus voltage (IBV) to provide only half of the output voltage, the converter ensures continuous input current with a near-unity power factor. A highly efficient 1.55KW prototype, converting from 230V AC and PV panel to 48V DC, has been developed, simulated and analyzed using MATLAB. The charger’s performance has been rigorously analyzed and harmonic compensator has been introduced to eliminate ripple components causing improvements in efficiency and reduction in THD along with operational stability.