A generic topology derivation method for single-phase converters with active capacitive DC-links

Many efforts have been made to improve the single-phase power converters with active capacitive DC-link. The purpose is to reduce the overall DC-link energy storage and to achieve a reliable and cost-effective capacitive DC-link solution. A few review papers have already discussed the existing capacitive DCDC- link solutions, but important aspects of the topology assess-ment, such as the total energy storage, overall capacitive energy buffer ratio, cost, and reliability are still not available. This paper proposes a generic topology derivation method of single-phase power converters with capacitive DC-links, which derives all existing topologies to our best knowledge, and identify a few new topologies. A reliability-oriented design process is applied to compare the cost of different solutions with the lifetime target of 10 years and 35 years, respectively. It reveals that the most cost-effective solutions varies with the lifetime target.