Sensorless power factor control for mixed conduction mode boost converter using passivity-based control

In this study, a power factor (PF) control for an AC–DC boost converter operating in light load condition has been presented. A passivity-based current control able to operate in either continuous conduction mode (CCM) and in discontinuous conduction mode has been implemented. A voltage proportional integral-based control with input feed-forward has been implemented in order to increase PF and regulate the DC output. A current observer, suitable for both operating modes has been adopted in order to eliminate the need for expensive current sensor. The proposed mixed conduction mode control scheme has been numerically tested using a powerful software simulation platform and compared with classical CCM control scheme. Experimental tests have been finally performed on a real boost converter controlled by a Texas Instruments microcontroller in order to validate the results and to prove the feasibility of the algorithm.