Improved Direct Power Control of Grid-Connected DC/AC Converters

This paper proposes new direct power control (DPC) strategies for three-phase dc/ac converters with improved dynamic response and steady-state performance. As with an electrical machine, source and converter flux, which equal the integration of the respective source and converter voltage, are used to define active and reactive power flow. Optimization of the lookup table used in conventional DPC is outlined first so as to improve power control and reduce current distortion. Then, constant switching frequency DPC is developed where the required converter voltage vector within a fixed half switching period is calculated directly from the active and reactive power errors. Detailed angle compensation due to the finite sampling frequency and the use of an integral controller to further improve the power control accuracy are described. Both simulation and experimental results are used to compare conventional DPC and vector control, and to demonstrate the effectiveness and robustness of the proposed control strategies during active and reactive power steps, and line inductance variations.      

Novel Direct Current-Space-Vector Controlfor Shunt Active Power Filters Basedon the Three-Level Inverter

The growing number of electric drives with non-sinusoidal line currents has given increased interest in active power filters (APF), to avoid grid problems caused by harmonic distortions. In this paper, a novel direct current-space-vector control scheme (DCSVC) is presented for a three-level, neutral-point-clamped voltage source inverter, which is employed as an active power filter. The proposed method generates the compensation current reference indirectly generating an equivalent ohmic conductance for the fundamental component by means of the APF's dc-link voltage control. Based on the fast Fourier transform the compensation of the reactive fundamental current and selectable harmonics can be cancelled, confining the operation to only harmonic compensation and thus saving the APF's apparent power. The novel DCSVC, operating in synchronously rotating coordinates is implemented in a field programmable gate array, realizing the switching states from switching tables. The proposed control reduces the average switching frequency and thus, the switching power loss significantly, compared with a previous DCSVC, operating in stationary coordinates. Simulation and experimental results validate the feasibility and highly dynamic performance of the proposed control, both for harmonic and total non-active current compensation.      

Seven-Level Shunt Active Power Filter for High-Power Drive Systems

In high-power adjustable-speed motor drives, such as those used in electric ship propulsion systems, active filters provide a viable solution to mitigating harmonic related issues caused by diode or thyristor rectifier front-ends. To handle the large compensation currents and provide better thermal management, two or more paralleled semiconductor switching devices can be used. In this paper, a novel topology is proposed where two active filter inverters are connected with tapped reactors to share the compensation currents. The proposed active filter topology can also produce seven voltage levels, which significantly reduces the switching current ripple and the size of passive components. Based on the joint redundant state selection strategy, a current balancing algorithm is proposed to keep the reactor magnetizing current to a minimum. It is shown through simulation that the proposed active filter can achieve high overall system performance. The system is also implemented on a real-time digital simulator to further verify its effectiveness.      

A study of active power filters using quad-series voltage-sourcePWM converters for harmonic compensation

An active power filter using quad-series voltage-source pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converters to suppress AC harmonics by injecting compensating currents into the AC system is described. The circuit used to calculate the compensating current references, the compensation characteristics, and the capability of the DC capacitor are discussed theoretically and experimentally. A control circuit for the DC capacitor voltage is proposed. The discussions focus on transient states, based on the instantaneous reactive power theory. A passive LC filter is designed to remove the switching voltage and current ripples caused by the PWM converters at the AC side. Some experimental results that illustrate the details of the study are shown     

Three-Level Inverter-Based Shunt Active Power Filter in Three-Phase Three-Wire and Four-Wire Systems

This paper presents a direct current-space-vector control of an active power filter (APF) based on a three-level neutral-point-clamped (NPC) voltage-source inverter. The proposed method indirectly generates the compensation current reference by using an equivalent conductance of the fundamental component using APF's dc-link voltage control. The proposed control can selectively choose harmonic current components by real-time fast Fourier transform to generate the compensation current. The compensation current is represented in a rotating coordinate system with chosen switching states from a switching table implemented in a field-programmable gate array. In addition, a three-phase four-wire APF based on a three-level neutral-point-clamped inverter is also presented. The proposed APF eliminates harmonics in all three phases as well as the neutral current. A three-phase three-wire NPC inverter system can be used as a three-phase four-wire system since the split dc capacitors provide a neutral connection. To regulate and balance the split dc-capacitor voltages, a new control method using a sign cubical hysteresis controller is proposed. The characteristics of the APF system with an LCL-ripple filter are investigated and compared with traditional current control strategies to evaluate the inherent advantages. The simulation and experimental results validated the feasibility of the proposed APF.      

A Single-Phase Active Filter Using an H-Bridge PWM Converter With a Sampling Frequency Quadruple of the Switching Frequency

This paper presents a digital current regulator for H-bridge pulsewidth modulation (PWM) converters, whose sampling frequency equals quadruple of the switching frequency. The current regulator detects the ac current and manipulates the voltage reference not only at the upper and lower peaks of the PWM triangle carrier but also at its zero crossings. This paper theoretically discusses the switching sequence of the H-bridge PWM converter, and reveals the amount of the voltage error and the condition where the voltage error occurs. A modified deadbeat current regulator is proposed to suppress the current oscillation induced by the voltage error, based on the theoretical analysis. Experimental results are shown to verify the control performance of the proposed current regulator. Moreover, a proposed current regulator is applied to a single-phase active power filter to demonstrate the effectiveness in harmonic compensation.     

A new active common-mode EMI filter for PWM inverter

This paper presents a new active common-mode electromagnetic interference (EMI) filter for the pulse-width modulation (PWM) inverter application. The proposed filter is based on the current sensing and compensation circuit and it utilizes a fast transistor amplifier for the current compensation. The amplifier utilizes an isolated low-voltage DC power supply for its biasing and it is possible to construct the active filter independent of the source voltage of the equipment. Thus the proposed active filter can be used in any application regardless of its working voltage. The effectiveness of the proposed circuit has been verified by experimental results.     

Shunt active filter for reactive power compensation

A simple control technique for three-phase shunt active filters without computation of the reactive current component is presented. A current controller with fast dynamics for an active filter is described. Reactive current is directly controlled without the need for sensing and computing the reactive component of the load current, thus simplifying the control system. Current compensation is done in the time domain, allowing a fast time response. The dc voltage control loop keeps the voltage across the dc capacitor constant. High power factor control by an active filter is described. All control functions are implemented in software using a singlechip microcontroller, thus simplifying the control circuit. Any current-controlled synchronous rectifier can be used as a shunt active filter through only the simple modification of the software and the addition of current sensors. It is shown through experimental results that the proposed controller gives good performance for the shunt active filter.     

Simple direct power control of three-phase PWM rectifier using space-vector modulation (DPC-SVM)

This paper proposes a novel and simple direct power control of three-phase pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) rectifiers with constant switching frequency using space-vector modulation (DPC-SVM). The active and reactive powers are used as the pulse width modulated (PWM) control variables instead of the three-phase line currents being used. Moreover, line voltage sensors are replaced by a virtual flux estimator. The theoretical principle of this method is discussed. The steady-state and dynamic results of DPC-SVM that illustrate the operation and performance of the proposed system are presented. It is shown that DPC-SVM exhibits several features, such as a simple algorithm, good dynamic response, constant switching frequency, and particularly it provides sinusoidal line current when supply voltage is not ideal. Results have proven excellent performance and verify the validity of the proposed system.     

A digital power factor correction (PFC) control strategy optimized for DSP

A predictive algorithm for digital control power factor correction (PFC) is presented in this paper. Based on this algorithm, all of the duty cycles required to achieve unity power factor in one half line period are calculated in advance by digital signal processors (DSP). A boost converter controlled by these precalculated duty cycles can achieve sinusoidal current waveform. One main advantage is that the digital control PFC implementation based on this control strategy can operate at a high switching frequency which is not directly dependent on the processing speed of DSP. Input voltage feed-forward compensation makes the output voltage insensitive to the input voltage variation and guarantees sinusoidal input current even if the input voltage is distorted. A prototype of boost PFC controlled by a DSP evaluation board was set up to implement the proposed predictive control strategy. Both the simulation and experimental results show that the proposed predictive strategy for PFC achieves near unity power factor.     

New hybrid active power filter for harmonic current suppression and reactive power compensation

In the case of undistorted and balanced grid voltages, low ratio shunt active power filters (APFs) can give unity power factors and achieve current harmonic cancellation. However, this is not possible when source voltages are distorted and unbalanced. In this study, the cost-effective hybrid active power filter (HAPF) topology for satisfying the requirements of harmonic current suppression and non-active power compensation for industry is presented. An effective strategy is developed to observe the effect of the placement of power capacitors and LC filters with the shunt APF. A new method for alleviating the negative effects of a nonideal grid voltage is proposed that uses a self-tuning filter algorithm with instantaneous reactive power theory. The real-time control of the studied system was achieved with a field-programmable gate array (FPGA) architecture, which was developed using the OPAL-RT system. The performance result of the proposed HAPF system is tested and presented under nonideal supply voltage conditions.     

A new hybrid active power filter (APF) topology

In this paper, a new hybrid active power filter topology is presented. A higher-voltage, low-switching frequency insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) inverter and a lower-voltage high-switching frequency metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) inverter are used in combination to achieve harmonic current compensation. The function of the IGBT inverter is to support utility fundamental voltage and to compensate for the fundamental reactive power. The MOSFET inverter fulfills the function of harmonic current compensation. To further reduce cost and to simplify control, the IGBT and MOSFET inverters share the same DC-link via a split capacitor bank. With this approach harmonics can be cancelled over a wide frequency range. Compared to the conventional APF topology, the proposed approach employs lower dc-link voltage and generates less noise. Simulation and experimental results show that the proposed active power filter topology is capable of compensating for the load harmonics     

A three-phase active power filter operating with fixed switchingfrequency for reactive power and current harmonic compensation

The performance and dynamic characteristics of a three-phase active power filter operating with fixed switching frequency is presented and analyzed in this paper. The proposed scheme employs a PWM voltage-source inverter and has two important characteristics. First, it operates with fixed switching frequency, and second, it can compensate the reactive power and the current harmonic components of nonlinear loads. Reactive power compensation is achieved without sensing and computing the reactive component of the load current, thus simplifying the control system. Current harmonic compensation is done in time domain. The principles of operation of the proposed active power filter along with the design criteria of the power and control circuit components are discussed in detail. Finally, experimental results obtained from a 5 kVA prototype confirm the feasibility and the features of the proposed system     

A Single-Phase DG Generation Unit With Shunt Active Power Filter Capability by Adaptive Neural Filtering

This paper deals with a single-phase distributed generation (DG) system with active power filtering (APF) capability, devised for utility current harmonic compensation. The idea is to integrate the DG unit functions with shunt APF capabilities, because the DG is connected in parallel to the grid. With the proposed approach, control of the DG unit is performed by injecting into the grid a current with the same phase and frequency of the grid voltage and with an amplitude depending on the power available from renewable sources. On the other hand, load harmonic current compensation is performed by injecting into the alternating current system harmonic currents like those of the load but with an opposite phase, thus keeping the line current almost sinusoidal. Both detection of the grid voltage fundamental and computation of the load harmonic compensation current have been performed by two neural adaptive filters with the same structure, one in a configuration ldquonotchrdquo and the other in the complementary configuration ldquoband.rdquo The ldquonotchrdquo filter has been used to compute the compensation current by eliminating only the contribution of the fundamental of the load current, whereas the ldquobandrdquo configuration is able to extract the fundamental of the coupling point voltage. Furthermore, because the active power generation and the APF features require current control of components at different frequencies, respectively, a multiresonant current controller has been adopted. The methodology has been tested successfully both in numerical simulation and experimentally on a suitably devised test setup. The stability analysis of the proposed control approach has been performed in the discrete domain.     

Neural Network and Bandless Hysteresis Approach to Control Switched Capacitor Active Power Filter for Reduction of Harmonics

This paper proposes a combination of neural network and a bandless hysteresis controller, for a switched capacitor active power filter (SCAPF), to improve line power factor and to reduce line current harmonics. The proposed active power filter controller forces the supply current to be sinusoidal, in phase with line voltage, and has low current harmonics. Two main controls are proposed for it: neural network detection of harmonics and bandless digital hysteresis switching algorithm. A mathematical algorithm and a suitable learning rate determine the filter's optimal operation. A digital signal controller (TMS320F2812) verifies the proposed SCAPF, implementing the neural network and bandless hysteresis algorithms. A laboratory SCAPF system is built to test its feasibility. Simulation and experimental results are provided to verify performance of the proposed SCAPF system.     

Hysteresis describing method for control of an active power filter

A hysteresis describing method is proposed to control and design an active power filter. The describing function used to develop this method consists of the linearisation of the non-linear current control loop. The linearisation is done by deriving the hysteresis complex describing function to find the stability condition of the closed-loop current. Under this condition, the frequency and amplitude values of the error signal correspond to the maximum switching frequency and the current ripple, respectively. The proposed method permits calculation of these parameters in a simple algebraic equation as a function of the hysteresis band, dc bus voltage and inductive filter value. Moreover, the compromise between the dc bus voltage and inductor value can be evaluated easily as a function of both switching frequency and ripple requirements. Two design examples are worked out. Experimental results validate the theory.     

Unity power factor ZVS AC-to-DC converters with an active filter

Unity power factor zero-voltage-switched (ZVS) AC-to-DC power converters with an active filter are proposed. The line voltage is supplied to AC-to-DC power converters through a rectifier circuit with an input filter, to reduce high-frequency ripple components. The line current is almost synchronized to the line voltage, due to the low impedance of the input filter. Forward ZVS multiresonant power converters (ZVS-MRCs) are utilized for high-frequency operation and lossless switching. An active filter is introduced to minimize the twice line-frequency ripple component of the output voltage without large-size passive filters. Experimental results show that the proposed scheme gives good steady-state performances of the AC-to-DC power converters     

Integrated power factor compensator without load current measurement

A simple strategy and low cost control for the switching mode rectifier to work simultaneously as a power factor corrector and an active power filter (APF) to reduce current harmonics drawn from the nonlinear load are analysed and presented in this paper. The principal component of the control circuit is an Intel 80196MC microcontroller that performs the dc bus voltage and line current control. The sliding mode control is used in the current loop to achieve fast line current dynamics. The source currents only are measured in the proposed control scheme instead of both the source and load currents needed in the conventional control approach. A simple proportional-integral control is adopted in the voltage loop to achieve slow dc bus dynamics. The proposed control strategy can achieve a high power factor and low current harmonics. No dedicated APF is needed in the proposed control strategy. To demonstrate the effectiveness of the integrated power factor compensator for elimination of reactive power and current harmonics, software simulation and hardware tests are performed.     

One-Step Modulation Predictive Current Control Method for the Asymmetrical Dual Three-Phase Induction Machine

Multiphase (more than three phases) drives exhibit interesting advantages over conventional three-phase drives. Over the last years, topics related to the extension of control schemes to these specific drives have been covered in depth in the literature. Direct torque control and predictive current control are normally used in conventional ac drives when fast electrical dynamic performance is required. In this paper, a one-step modulation predictive current control technique is proposed for asymmetrical dual three-phase ac drives. Based on the use of a predictive model including the motor and the inverter, the control algorithm determines the switching state which minimizes errors between predicted and reference state variables. The period of application of the selected switching state is then obtained, resulting in a submodulation method. The proposed predictive current control algorithm uses a prediction horizon of one sampling period; however, two switching states are applied during the sampling period. The switching states are the selected optimum active vector and a null voltage combination. Simulation and experimental results are provided to examine the features of the control method. Performances, advantages, and limitations are also discussed.      

Modeling and Small-Signal Analysis of a Switch-Mode Rectifier With Single-Loop Current Sensorless Control

The conventional multiloop control with one inner current loop and one outer voltage loop is often applied to a single-phase boost-type switch-mode rectifier where the output of the voltage loop is a current amplitude signal. In the duty phase control (DPC) proposed recently, the output of the voltage loop is a phase signal used to generate the switching signals without current loop and sensing current. To improve the clamped current waveform of DPC, a single-loop current sensorless control (SLCSC) with some nominal parameters had also been proposed to compensate for the voltage drops across the switch, diodes, and inductor resistance. In this paper, the effect of the differences between nominal and real circuit parameters on the input current waveforms of SLCSC are addressed in detail. The results are helpful in the design of SLCSC. From the simulated and experimental results, we can find that the output voltage is well regulated by the only voltage loop and the input current harmonics are significantly improved.