Optimal design of power electronics converters using the extended harmonic domain

This paper proposes the use of the extended harmonic domain as modeling framework in the formulation of optimization problems to compute optimal designs in terms of specific characteristics of the system, such as power losses, cost, size, among others. The overall advantages of use this modeling tool are the explicit consideration of the switching process and its harmonic effects in the formulation. As result, an optimization problem, in which the operating conditions and power quality requirements are explicitly stated as nonlinear restrictions of the problem, is obtained. A case study aimed to minimize the losses of an L-filter based active rectifier is presented, in order to give more detail in the implementation of this proposal. The obtained results show the evolution of the variables involved in the optimal design for several cases as the switching frequency varies. From these results, the optimal switching frequency could be selected along with its optimal design characteristics.