A Minimal Harmonic Controller for a STATCOM

In this paper, a novel controller with fixed modulation index (MI) and variable dc capacitor voltage reference to minimize voltage and current harmonics is presented for a distribution static synchronous compensator (STATCOM). The STATCOM with the proposed controller consists of a three-phase voltage-sourced inverter and a dc capacitor and is used to provide reactive power compensation and regulate ac system bus voltage with minimum harmonics. A systematic design procedure based on pole-zero cancellation, root locus method, and pole assignment method has been developed to determine proper parameters for the current regulator, the dc voltage controller, and the ac voltage controller of the STATCOM. With the proposed STATCOM controller, harmonic distortions in the inverter output current and voltage can be reduced since the MI is held constant at unity in steady state. In addition, a fast adjustment in the STATCOM output reactive power is achieved to regulate the ac bus voltage through the adjustment of the dc voltage reference during the transient period. Simulation and experimental results for the steady-state operating condition and transient operating conditions for the system subjected to a reactive current reference step change, a three-phase line to neutral fault, and a step load change are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed controller.     

A high-power PWM quadrature booster phase shifter based on amultimodule AC controller

Pulse-width-modulated (PWM) phase shifters allow the smooth control of power flow in a transmission line. This paper analyzes a PWM quadrature booster phase shifter based on a multimodule AC controller structure to attain high voltage levels and improve the harmonic spectrum. The modules are based on a three-phase PWM AC controller topology that employs only four force-commutated switches and is controlled by duty-cycle variation. The PWM technique is carrier based and the individual modules are gated through phase-shifted triangular carriers. As a result, harmonic cancellation takes place in the input current and output voltage. Low-order harmonics are therefore eliminated and the amplitude of remaining components reduced. An additional operating mode with negligible harmonic generation and step-like control is identified. The feasibility and advantages of the proposed phase shifter are demonstrated by means of a power system simulator     

Parallel processing inverter system

A novel method of instantaneous voltage and power balance control of a parallel processing inverter system is proposed. It consists of a high-speed switching PWM (pulsewidth modulated) inverter with an instantaneous current minor loop controller, a voltage major loop controller, and a power balance controller. This system realizes the following functions with only one inverter: constant AC output voltage control with reactive power control, active filtering to absorb load current harmonics, DC voltage and current control as AC-to-DC converter, and uninterruptible power supply (UPS) for stand-alone operation. This system covers a wide application range, including UPS systems, new energy systems, and active filters with voltage control functions     

Performance investigation of a current-controlled voltage-regulatedPWM rectifier in rotating and stationary frames

Active front-end rectifiers with reduced input current harmonics and high input power factor will be required in the near future for utility interfaced applications. In order to meet the new and more stringent regulations with force-commutated switches, the voltage source inverter approach is superior to the conventional current source approach, in terms of number of components and control options. However, the straightforward power angle control of the rectifier is characterized by a slow response and potential stability problems. This paper proposes a current-controlled PWM rectifier as an alternative. It provides near sinusoidal input currents with unity power factor and a low output voltage ripple. Moreover, it produces a well-defined input current harmonic spectrum, exhibits fast transient response to load voltage variations, and is capable of regenerative operation. PWM pattern generation is based on a carrier technique and the current controller is implemented in the: (a) stationary (abc) frame; and (b) rotating (dqo) frame. The design and the performance of the two controller options are investigated and compared     

Model-based generation of low distortion currents in grid-coupled PWM-inverters using an LCL output filter

In this paper, a single phase inductance-capacitance-inductance (LCL) output stage for grid coupled inverters is designed and built. An accurate model and observer of the output filter and the distorted grid voltage are implemented. The paper deals with the construction of a 14-state model, and the feedback control loop to obtain adequate closed loop response. Simulations indicate a good performance of the controller, with a total harmonic current distortion (THD) below 1%. Experimental results confirm simulations, and illustrate the correct operation of the Kalman observer to estimate the distorted grid voltage (THD 3%). The observer only uses the inverter current measurement as input. The output filter effectively reduces the pulsewidth modulation harmonics in the grid current.     

A novel control scheme for the multilevel rectifier/inverter

A novel three-level pulsewidth modulation (PWM) rectifier/inverter is proposed: this single-phase three-level rectifier with power factor correction and current harmonic reduction is proposed to improve power quality. A three-phase three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter is adopted to reduce the harmonic content of the inverter output voltages and currents. In the adopted rectifier, a switching mode rectifier with two AC power switches is adopted to draw a sinusoidal line current in phase with mains voltage. The switching functions of the power switches are based on a look-up table. To achieve a balanced DC-link capacitor voltage, a capacitor voltage compensator is employed. In the NPC inverter, the three-level PWM techniques based on the sine-triangle PWM and space vector modulation are used to reduce the voltage harmonics and to drive an induction motor. The advantages of the adopted th-ree-level rectifier/inverter are (1) the blocking voltage of power devices (T1, T2, S_a1-S_c4) is clamped to half of the DC-link voltage, (2) low conduction loss with low conduction resistance due to low voltage stress, (3) low electromagnetic interference, and (4) low voltage harmonics in the inverter output. Based on the proposed control strategy, the rectifier can draw a high power factor line current and achieve two balance capacitor voltages. The current harmonics generated from the adopted rectifier can meet the international requirements. Finally, the proposed control algorithm is illustrated through experimental results based on the laboratory prototype.     

A pulsewidth-modulated inverter with parallel connected transistorsusing current-sharing reactors

A technique for parallel connection of transistors by using current-sharing reactors for the pulse-width-modulated (PWM) transistor inverter is reported. The technique not only increases current capacity, but also decreases the output harmonic contents. The output voltage waveforms of the proposed inverter have certain voltage levels during their half cycles, and thus it is anticipated that it will be difficult to analyze the output harmonics. For such waveforms, a frequency analysis approach is described, and its results are verified by experiments     

Input Current Harmonics in a Regenerative Multicell Inverter With Single-Phase PWM Rectifiers

Harmonics are a very important issue in the design and operation of medium-voltage inverter drives, due to restrictions imposed by regulations. This paper studies the harmonics generated by a three-phase multicell cascade inverter, with single-phase pulsewidth modulation rectifiers at the input side of each cell; thus, the entire topology is able to regenerate power to the net. This paper identifies accurately the harmonic generation process in the dc-link voltage, the input current of each cell, and, therefore, at the input side of the inverter. Moreover, this paper proposes a method to reduce and, in some cases, eliminate the input current harmonics, reaching a very high input power factor for any operation condition. Simulation and experimental results are provided to validate the theoretical analysis.      

Probabilistic voltage harmonic analysis of direct torque controlled induction motor drives

In high frequency motor-drives such as direct torque controlled (DTC) induction motor drives, the motor harmonic loss, and electromagnetic interference are largely affected by the spectrum of the motor input voltage. Nonlinear elements in the control loop of DTC drive make harmonic analysis of the drive very complex compared to classical pulsewidth modulated controlled drives. In this paper, a probabilistic method to study the harmonic contents of voltage in DTC of induction motors is presented. The DTC voltage chain is simulated with a random process. Then, the autocorrelation function of voltage vectors is calculated and its power spectrum density is obtained. The effect of flux and torque hysteresis controller bands, machine parameters, and inverter dc-link voltage on the motor voltage spectrum is investigated. Major harmonics in the DTC voltage spectrum are specified and their behaviors are described. Simulation and experimental results are presented to justify the theoretical analysis.     

Z-source inverter for motor drives

This paper presents a Z-source inverter system and control for general-purpose motor drives. The Z-source inverter system employs a unique LC network in the dc link and a small capacitor on the ac side of the diode front end. By controlling the shoot-through duty cycle, the Z-source can produce any desired output ac voltage, even greater than the line voltage. As a result, the new Z-source inverter system provides ride-through capability during voltage sags, reduces line harmonics, improves power factor and reliability, and extends output voltage range. Analysis, simulation, and experimental results will be presented to demonstrate these new features.     

High-performance programmable AC power source with low harmonicdistortion using DSP-based repetitive control technique

This paper proposes a new control scheme based on a two-layer control structure to improve both the transient and steady-state responses of a closed-loop regulated pulse-width-modulated (PWM) inverter for high-quality sinusoidal AC voltage regulation. The proposed two-layer controller consists of a tracking controller and a repetitive controller. Pole assignment with state feedback has been employed in designing the tracking controller for transient response improvement, and a repetitive control scheme was developed in synthesizing the repetitive controller for steady-state response improvement. A design procedure is given for synthesizing the repetitive controller for PWM inverters to minimize periodic errors induced by rectifier-type nonlinear loads. The proposed control scheme has been realized using a single-chip digital signal processor (DSP) TMS320C14 from Texas Instruments. A 2-kVA PWM inverter has been constructed to verify the proposed control scheme. Total harmonic distortion (THD) below 1.4% for a 60-Hz output voltage under a bridge-rectifier RC load with a current crest factor of 3 has been obtained. Simulation and experimental results show that the DSP-based fully digital-controlled PWM inverter can achieve both good dynamic response and low harmonics distortion     

Design method of single-phase inverters for UPS systems

This article presents the complete design of a low power voltage source inverter (VSI) dedicated for a UPS system. The analysis of the rectangular PWM-AC voltage spectrum allows for a choice of the basic architecture of the inverter. Output filter parameters were calculated to reduce the maximum amplitude of the output VSI voltage harmonics for the steady-state inverter mode. The choice of the feedback loop type was based on a discussion of the inverter output impedance using a continuous model of the inverter. The parameters of the inner loop digital control for the discrete inverter model were calculated using the Coefficient Diagram Method. The influence of the step load was modelled. The time constant of the inverter closed loop system was selected to ensure sufficient system robustness. An outer feedback loop with a plug-in repetitive controller, simplified owing to the properties of the PID/CDM inner loop control, was introduced to eliminate the periodic disturbances generated by the non-linear rectifier load and the deadtime influence. The experimental verification of the design method is presented.     

A cascade boost-switched-capacitor-converter - two level inverter with an optimized multilevel output waveform

Two structures, a switched-capacitor (SC)-based boost converter and a two-level inverter, are connected in cascade. The dc multilevel voltage of the first stage becomes the input voltage of the classical inverter, resulting in a staircase waveform for the inverter output voltage. Such a multilevel waveform is close to a sinusoid; its harmonics content can be reduced by multiplying the stage number of the SC converter. The output low-pass filter, customary after a two-level inverter, becomes obsolete, resulting in a small size of the system, as the SC circuit can be miniaturized. Both stages are operated at a high switching frequency, resulting in a high-frequency inverter output, as required by some industrial applications. A Fourier analysis of the output waveform is performed. The design is optimized with reference to the nominal duty-cycle for obtaining the minimum total harmonic distortion. Simulations and experiments on two prototypes, one with a five-level output and one with a seven-level output, confirm the theoretical analysis.     

Natural Harmonic Elimination of Square-Wave Inverter for Medium-Voltage Application

In this paper, a low-frequency square-wave inverter with a series-connected pulsewidth modulation (PWM) inverter is investigated for high-power applications. The series compensators produce only the desired harmonic voltages to make the net output voltage sinusoidal with small PWM switching harmonics only. An open-loop control strategy for the series compensator is proposed in this paper. This strategy indirectly sets the compensator DC bus voltage to the desired level. No external DC source or active power at fundamental frequency is required to control this dc bus voltage. Different variations of this basic strategy are presented in this paper for medium-voltage applications. Theoretical analysis of this strategy is presented in this paper with simulation and experimental results.     

An accurate approach of nonlinearity compensation for VSI inverter output voltage

An accurate nonlinearity compensation technique for voltage source inverter (VSI) inverters is presented in this paper. Because of the nonlinearity introduced by the dead time, turn-on/off delay, snubber circuit and voltage drop across power devices, the output voltage of VSI inverters is distorted seriously in the low output voltage region. This distortion influences the output torque of IM motors for constant V/f drives. The nonlinearity of the inverter also causes 5th and 7th harmonic distortion in the line current when the distributed energy system operates in the grid-connected mode, i.e., when the distributed energy system is parallel to a large power system through the VSI inverter. Therefore, the exact compensation of this nonlinearity in the VSI inverter over the entire range of output voltage is desirable. In this paper, the nonlinearity of VSI inverter output voltage and the harmonic distortion in the line current are analyzed based on an open-loop system and a L-R load. By minimizing the harmonic component of the current in a d-axis and q-axis synchronous rotating reference frame, the exact compensation factor was obtained. Simulations and experimental results in the low frequency and low output voltage region are presented.     

基于dsPIC的PV逆变器的一种改进结构及其实现

针对目前PV光伏并网发电系统的核心逆变器的现状、结构和控制方法进行了详细的分析,从电网、PV系统及用户的需求出发,指出传统的单级全桥逆变器普遍具有不能处理较宽的输入PV电压,且需要重型工频升压变压器等缺点。在此基础上,本文创新设计并实现了一种基于单级全桥逆变器的并联耦合改进结构。实测证明这种并联耦合反激结构可以有效地减小通过大容量输入电解电容的纹波电流的RMS,从而延长电容的寿命;还可减小输出电流的纹波,从而降低输出电流的THD（谐波失真）;还可适应较宽的输入电压,减小交流纹波,减小磁芯,同时可以提供较高的额定输出电流等优点。     

A new single-phase five-level PWM inverter employing a deadbeat control scheme

A single-phase five-level PWM inverter is presented to alleviate harmonic components of the output voltage and the load current. Operational principles with switching functions are analyzed. To keep the output voltage sinusoidal and to have the high dynamic performances even in the cases of load variations and the partial magnetization in filter inductor, the deadbeat controller is designed and implemented on a prototype. The validity of the proposed inverter is verified through simulation and experiments. To assess the proposed inverter, it is compared with the conventional single-phase three-level PWM inverter under the conditions of identical supply DC voltage and switching frequency. In addition, it is compared with the five-level cascaded PWM inverter.     

FPGA-based implementation of online selective harmonic elimination PWM for voltage source inverter

This paper presents a field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based real-time selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation (SHE-PWM) scheme for voltage source inverter (VSI). The proposed algorithm can generate the switching angles in real time through the approximation of the angles trajectories by simple variable coefficients-based polynomial equations. The proposed algorithm is first presented, analysed, and then its accuracy is checked through angle error analysis. Afterwards, an FPGA-based implementation is used and an induction motor drive is experimentally tested to validate the simulation results. Experimental results showed a good agreement with simulation and proved the validity as well as precision of the proposed algorithm. All intended selected harmonics are eliminated and simultaneously the fundamental is controlled. The output voltage and current present an excellent frequency spectrum with low harmonic distortion and power loss values.     

Z-source inverter for adjustable speed drives

This paper presents a Z-source inverter system and control for adjustable speed drives (ASD). The Z-source inverter employs a unique LC network to couple the inverter main circuit to the diode front end. By controlling the shoot-through duty cycle, the Z-source can produce any desired output AC voltage, even greater than the line voltage. As results, the new Z-source inverter system provides ride-through capability under voltage sags, reduces line harmonics, and extends output voltage range. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the new features.     

A method for reducing harmonics in output voltages of adouble-connected inverter

A new method for reducing the harmonics involved in the output voltages of a double-connected inverter is proposed. By adding four auxiliary switching devices and an interphase transformer with a secondary winding to the conventional 12-step inverter, output voltages of the proposed circuit can produce almost the same waveforms as a conventional 36-step inverter. In this paper, circuit performances and output voltage waveforms are discussed, and optimum parameters are derived. The effects on harmonic reductions are then clarified by theoretical and experimental results, and the ratings of system components are investigated