Review of Active Power Decoupling Topologies in Single-Phase Systems

TLDR

Active power decoupling methods mitigate twice‑grid‑frequency ripple in single‑phase systems and are widely applied in PV, LED drivers, fuel‑cell power systems, and EV battery chargers. This review surveys active power decoupling circuit topologies. The topologies are grouped into independent and dependent types, with the former operating separately from the main converter and the latter sharing semiconductor devices; their evolution is explained through duality, switch‑sharing, and differential‑connection principles, with special cases noted. The paper guides researchers, engineers, and designers in developing new decoupling circuits and selecting appropriate existing ones for particular applications.

Abstract

Active power decoupling methods are developed to deal with the inherent ripple power at twice the grid frequency in single-phase systems generally by adding active switches and energy storage units. They have obtained a wide range of applications, such as photovoltaic (PV) systems, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) drivers, fuel cell (FC) power systems, and electric vehicle (EV) battery chargers, etc. This paper provides a comprehensive review of active power decoupling circuit topologies. They are categorized into two groups in terms of the structure characteristics: independent and dependent decoupling circuit topologies. The former operates independently with the original converter, and the latter, however, shares the power semiconductor devices with the original converter partially and even completely. The development laws for the active power decoupling topologies are revealed from the view of “duality principle,” “switches sharing,” and “differential connection.” In addition, the exceptions and special cases are also briefly introduced. This paper is targeted to help researchers, engineers, and designers to construct some new decoupling circuit topologies and properly select existing ones according to the specific application.