Reactive power compensation and power factor improvement using fast active switching technique

Abstract

Power factor improvement for nonlinear loads is the point of interest for researchers in recent scenario. Power factor plays a major role in efficiency of electrical system. The Purpose of this paper is to show the effectiveness of Magnetic Energy Recovery Switch (MERS) for power factor improvement by using proper control strategy. The MERS is characterized by simple configuration of four active switching devices with one DC capacitor, per phase. The three modes of operation are discussed. Simulation on MATLAB/ Simulink environment is conducted with resistive inductive load and results are compared with and without MERS to show the effectiveness of proposed switch for power factor improvement.