Three-phase power quality compensator under the unbalanced sources and nonlinear loads

A three-phase voltage-source inverter for a power quality compensator under the unbalanced mains and nonlinear loads is proposed to provide balanced three-phase source current and improve input power factor. The proposed converter is based on the conventional three-phase voltage-source inverter with three additional ac power switches to achieve three-level pulsewidth modulation. The voltage stress of three ac power switches is clamped to half the dc-link voltage. The balanced reference mains currents are estimated using the dc-bus voltage and load currents. A proportional-integral voltage controller is used in the outer loop to compensate the switching losses of the voltage-source inverter. To perform the integrated power quality compensation, a hysteresis current control scheme is adopted to track the balanced line current command in phase with mains voltage. Three voltage levels are generated on the ac terminal of the proposed inverter. Computer simulation and experimental results are provided to verify the effectiveness of the proposed control scheme.     

Optimal Predictive Control of Three-Phase NPC Multilevel Converter for Power Quality Applications

This paper presents the optimal control of the ac currents, the dc voltage regulation, and the dc capacitor voltage balancing in a three-level three-phase neutral point clamped multilevel converter for use in power quality applications as an active power filter. The ac output currents and the dc capacitor voltages are sampled and predicted for the next sampling time using linearized models and considering all the 27 output voltage vectors. A suitable quadratic weighed cost function is used to choose the voltage vector that minimizes the ac current tracking errors, the dc voltage steady-state error, and the input dc capacitor voltage unbalancing. The obtained experimental results show that the output ac currents track their references showing small ripple, a total harmonic distortion (THD) of less than 1%, harmonic contents that are 46 dB below the fundamental, and almost no steady-state error (0.3%). The capacitor voltages are balanced within 0.05%, and the balancing is assured even when redundant vectors are not chosen. Near-perfect capacitor dc voltage balancing is obtained while reducing current harmonic distortion. Some experimental evidence of robustness concerning a parameter variation was also found, with the optimum controller withstanding parameter deviations from $+$100% to $-$50%. Compared to a robust sliding mode controller, the optimal controller can reduce the THD of the ac currents or reduce the switching frequency at the same THD, being a suitable controller for power quality in medium-voltage applications.      

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.     

三相四线制无功与谐波全补偿的并联有源电力滤波器的研究

简要分析了并联有源电力滤波器的工作原理,选取含有裂相电容的三桥臂电压源型逆变器作为系统主电路,输出电流采用动态滞环控制。针对三相四线系统,且考虑到电网电压畸变和不对称的情况,给出了一种基于瞬时功率理论实现无功功率和谐波全补偿的控制策略,并使用Matlab对系统进行了仿真。     

三相四线制无功与谐波全补偿的并联有源电力滤波器的研究

简要分析了并联有源电力滤波器的工作原理，选取含有裂相电容的三桥臂电压源型逆变器作为系统主电路，输出电流采用动态滞环控制。针对三相四线系统，且考虑到电网电压畸变和不对称的情况，给出了一种基于瞬时功率理论实现无功功率和谐波全补偿的控制策略，并使用Matlab对系统进行了仿真。     

A grid-interfacing power quality compensator for three-phase three-wire microgrid applications

This paper proposes a grid-interfacing power quality compensator for three-phase three-wire microgrid applications with consideration of both the power quality of the microgrid and the quality of currents flowing between the microgrid and utility system. It is proposed that two inverters connected in shunt and series are used for each distributed generation (DG) system in the microgrid. In each inverter, both positive- and negative-sequence components are controlled to compensate for the effects caused by the unbalanced utility grid voltages. Specifically, the shunt inverter is controlled to ensure balanced voltages within the microgrid and to regulate power dispatches among parallel-connected DG systems, while the series inverter balances the line currents by injecting appropriate voltage components. A current-limiting algorithm is also proposed and integrated within the inverter control schemes to protect the microgrid from large fault currents during utility voltage sags. The proposed compensator has been tested in simulations and experimentally using a laboratory hardware prototype.     

Analysis of the Instantaneous Power Flow for Three-Phase PWM Boost Rectifier Under Unbalanced Supply Voltage Conditions

This paper proposes the analysis of the instantaneous power flow of three-phase pulse-width modulation (PWM) boost rectifier under unbalanced supply voltage conditions. An analytical expression for the instantaneous output power has been derived, which provides the link between the output dc link voltage and the instantaneous output power. A direct relationship between the dc link voltage ripples and the second harmonic component in the instantaneous output power has been established. Based on the input and output instantaneous power analytical expressions provided, the presence of the odd order harmonic components in the ac line currents can be explained. A simple cascaded PI control scheme has been developed for the dc output voltage control. The controller ensures that the dc link voltage is maintained constant and the supply side power factor is kept close to unity under the unbalanced supply voltage operating conditions. Simulation and experimental test results are provided on a 1.6-kVA laboratory-based PWM rectifier to validate the proposed analysis and control scheme.      

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.     

不平衡电网电压下三相PWM整流器控制策略的研究

在不平衡电网电压下三相电压型PWM整流器的优越性能受到了很大的影响,其原因是由于直流电压产生了奇次谐波以及交流的电流产生了偶次谐波。三相PWM整流器直流侧电压的二次谐波以及在交流侧电流所产生的负序分量都将对整流器负载性能产生影响,同时还将影响直流侧电容寿命。文章提出一种新型不平衡观测器及其控制策略可有效地对不平衡电压进行补偿。通过此控制策略可同时抑制直流侧电压的2次谐波以及减小网侧电流的不平衡度。分析及仿真结果证明了此控制策略的有效性。     

Loss-Free Balancing Circuit for Series Connection of Electrolytic Capacitors Using an Auxiliary Switch-Mode Power Supply

Most of today's power converters such as three-phase variable-speed drives, uninterruptible power systems, welding converters, and telecom and server power supplies are based on voltage-source converters equipped with bulky dc-link electrolytic capacitors. To be able to handle full dc bus voltage, the dc bus capacitor is arranged as series-connected electrolytic capacitors rated at lower voltage. An electrolytic capacitor, however, is not an ideal capacitor. It has significant leakage current that strongly depends on the capacitor temperature, voltage, and ageing conditions. To compensate large dispersion of the leakage current and ensure acceptable sharing of the total dc bus voltage among the series-connected capacitors, a passive balancing circuit is often used. Drawbacks of the ordinary passive balancing circuit, such as size, significant losses, and standby consumption are discussed in this paper. An active loss-free balancing circuit, which utilizes an auxiliary switch-mode power supply (SMPS) to equalize the capacitor voltages, is proposed. The capacitors midpoint (MP) is connected to the SMPS via two devices; namely a current injection device and a compensation device. The current injection device injects current into the capacitors MP, while the compensation device sinks the difference between the capacitor leakage currents and the injected current. As a result, the capacitor voltages are controlled and maintained in the desired ratio. The proposed balancing technique is theoretically analyzed and experimentally verified on a laboratory setup. The results are presented and discussed.      

A New Control Method for Input–Output Harmonic Elimination of the PWM Boost-Type Rectifier Under Extreme Unbalanced Operating Conditions

Under severe fault conditions in the distribution system, not only input voltages but also input impedances must be considered as unbalanced. This paper presents a new control method for input–output harmonic elimination of the pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) boost-type rectifier under conditions of both unbalanced input voltages and unbalanced input impedances. The range of imbalance in both input voltages and input impedances, for which the proposed method is valid, is analyzed in detail. An analytical approach for complete harmonic elimination shows that PWM boost-type rectifier can operate at unity power factor under extremely unbalanced operating conditions resulting in a smooth (constant) power flow from ac to dc side. Based on the analyses in open-loop configuration, a feedforward control method is proposed. Elimination of harmonics at ac and dc side of the converter affects the cost of dc link capacitor and ac side filter. The proposed method is very useful when the PWM boost-type rectifier is subject to extreme imbalance due to severe fault conditions in the power system. In addition, by using the proposed method, the PWM boost-type rectifier can be operated from the single-phase supply in cases where three-phase source is not available. Simulation results show excellent response and stable operation of the PWM boost-type rectifier under the proposed control algorithm. Experimental and simulation results are in excellent agreement.      

A New Control Technique for Three-Phase Shunt Hybrid Power Filter

This paper presents a nonlinear control technique for a three-phase shunt hybrid power filter (SHPF) to enhance its dynamic response when it is used to compensate for harmonic currents and reactive power. The dynamic model of the SHPF system is first elaborated in the stationary “abc” reference frame and then transformed into the synchronous orthogonal “dq” reference frame. The “dq” frame model is divided into two separate loops, namely, the two current dynamic inner loops and the dc-voltage dynamic outer loop. Proportional–integral (PI) controllers are utilized to control the SHPF input currents and dc-bus voltage. The currents track closely their references so that the SHPF behaves as a quasi-ideal current source connected in parallel with the load. It provides the reactive power and harmonic currents required by the nonlinear load, thereby achieving sinusoidal supply currents in phase with supply voltages under dynamic and steady-state conditions. The SHPF consists of a small-rating voltage-source inverter (VSI) in series with a fifth-harmonic tuned $LC$ passive filter. The rating of the VSI in the SHPF system is much smaller than that in the conventional shunt active power filter because the passive filter takes care of the major burden of compensation. The effectiveness of the control technique is demonstrated through simulation and experimentation under steady-state and dynamic operating conditions.      

A Model-Based Controller for A Three-Phase Four-Wire Shunt Active Filter With Compensation of the Neutral Line Current

This paper presents a model-based controller for a three-phase four-wire shunt active filter, which uses a three-leg split-capacitor topology to implement the voltage source inverter. The controller is aimed to compensate reactive power and harmonic distortion in the general case of distorted and unbalanced source voltages and load currents, including distorted loads connected between a phase and the neutral line. In addition, the controller is able to compensate for the homopolar component of the load current, that is, the current flowing to the source via the neutral line can be considerably reduced without modifying the actual topology. The complete model in (fixed frame) alphabetagamma-coordinates is presented. Special attention is given to the homopolar component (referred here as the gamma-component) of the line current, source voltage and control input, which are instrumental for the control design purpose. Experimental results in a 2 kVA prototype are provided to illustrate the benefits of the proposed solution.     

Implementation of a three-level rectifier for power factorcorrection

In this paper, a new single-phase switching mode rectifier (SMR) for three-level pulse width modulation (PWM) is proposed to achieve high input power factor, low current harmonics, low total harmonic distortion (THD) and simple control scheme. The mains circuit of the proposed SMR consists of six power switches, one boost inductor, and two DC capacitors. The control algorithm is based on a look-up table. There are five control signals in the input of the look-up table. These control signals are used to control the power flow of the adopted rectifier, compensate the capacitor voltages for the balance problem, draw a sinusoidal line current with nearly unity power factor, and generate a three-level PWM pattern on the AC side of adopted rectifier. The advantages of using three-level PWM scheme compared with two-level PWM scheme are using low voltage stress of power switches, decreasing input current harmonics, and reducing the conduction losses. The performances of the proposed multilevel SMR are measured and shown in this paper. The high power factor and low harmonic currents at the input of the rectifier are verified by software simulations and experimental results from a laboratory prototype     

Harmonic and reactive power compensation based on the generalizedinstantaneous reactive power theory for three-phase four-wire systems

This paper presents harmonic and reactive power compensation based on a generalized theory of instantaneous reactive power for three-phase power systems. This new theory gives a generalized definition of instantaneous reactive power, which is valid for sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal and balanced or unbalanced three-phase power systems with or without zero-sequence currents and/or voltages. The properties and physical meanings of the newly defined instantaneous reactive power are discussed in detail. A harmonic and reactive power compensator based on the new theory for a three-phase harmonic-distorted power system with zero-sequence components in the load current and/or source voltage is then used as an example to show harmonic and reactive power measurement and compensation using the new theory. Simulation and experimental results are presented     

Voltage-source active power filter based on multilevel converter and ultracapacitor DC link

A new topology for active power filters (APF) using an 81-level converter is analyzed. Each phase of the converter is composed of four three-state converters, all of them connected to the same capacitor dc link voltage and their output connected in series through output transformers. The main advantages of this kind of converter are the negligible harmonic distortion obtained and the very low switching frequency operation. The single-phase equivalent circuit is analyzed and their governing equations derived. The dc link voltage control, based on manipulating the converter's voltage phase, is analyzed together with the circuit's characteristics that determine the capability to draw or deliver active and reactive current. Simulation results for this application are compared with conventional pulsewidth-modulated (PWM) converters, showing that this filter can compensate load current harmonics, keeping better-quality sinusoidal currents from the source. The simulated configuration uses a 1-F ultracapacitor in the dc link, making it possible to store energy and deliver it during short voltage dips. This is achieved by applying a modulation control to maintain a stable ac voltage during dc voltage drops. A prototype of the filter was implemented and tested, and the obtained current waveforms showed to be as good as expected.     

Neural Network-Based Selective Compensation of Current Quality Problems in Distribution System

Active power filters (APFs) have been used to compensate harmonics, reactive current, and negative sequence fundamental frequency current drawn by nonlinear loads. The control of APF is the core issue for their proper operation. The flexibility of selective compensation embedded in the control scheme makes APF versatile for compensation of reactive power, harmonic currents, and unbalance in source currents and their combinations, depending upon the limited rating of voltage source inverter employed as APF. The proposed scheme utilizes neural network-based decomposition of the load current into positive and negative sequence fundamental frequency component, reactive component and harmonic components. The adaline-based current decomposer estimates the reference currents through tracking of unit vectors together with tuning of the weights. The implementation of the control scheme facilitates selective compensation which respects the limited rating of the APF. The simulated results using developed MATLAB model are presented and are validated by experimental results to depict the effectiveness of the proposed control method of APF     

A three-phase parallel active power filter operating with PCC voltage compensation with consideration for an unbalanced load

The performance and dynamic characteristics of a three-phase parallel active power filter (APF) with point of the common coupling (PCC) voltage compensation with consideration for an unbalanced load is presented and analyzed in this paper. The proposed scheme employs a pulse-width modulation (PWM) voltage-source inverter and has two operation modes. First, it operates as a conventional active filter with reactive power compensation when PCC voltage is within the 15% voltage drop range. Second, it operates as a voltage compensator when PCC voltage is not within the 15% voltage drop range. Both the APF and the voltage compensator compensate asymmetries caused by nonlinear loads. Finally, the validity of this scheme is investigated through the analysis of simulation and experimental results for a prototype APF system rated at 10 kVA.     

New control scheme of three-phase PWM AC/DC converter without phase angle detection under the unbalanced input voltage conditions

In general, three-phase PWM AC/DC power converters have been implemented in the synchronous frame model to eliminate steady state errors effectively and to obtain fast transient response characteristics. However, controllers designed in such way would have input current harmonics and DC-link voltage ripples under the unbalanced input voltage conditions due to the assumption of the balanced input voltage conditions. This paper describes a new control scheme to minimize harmonic distortions of the input current and DC-link voltage in the converter under the unbalanced input voltage. conditions. The synchronous frame input voltage, which is considered as the input side back-EMF component, is regulated pertinently according to the input voltage conditions. The current command is selected to eliminate the reactive power and the second order harmonic component of active power. In this case, the analysis of the input voltage is implemented in the synchronous frame without detecting the phase angle and magnitude of each phase voltage. The proposed control scheme is simple and effectively minimizing the harmonic distortions in the input and output system under the unbalanced input voltage conditions.     

A New Multilevel Conversion Structure for Grid-Connected PV Applications

A novel scheme for three-phase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) generation systems is presented in this paper. The scheme is based on two insulated strings of PV panels, each one feeding the dc bus of a standard two-level three-phase voltage-source inverter (VSI). The inverters are connected to the grid by a three-phase transformer having open-end windings on the inverter side. The resulting conversion structure performs as a multilevel power active filter (equivalent to a three-level inverter), doubling the power capability of a single VSI with given voltage and current ratings. The multilevel voltage waveforms are generated by an improved space-vector-modulation algorithm, suitable for the implementation in industrial digital signal processors. An original control method has been introduced to regulate the dc-link voltages of each VSI, according to the voltage reference given by a single maximum power point tracking controller. The proposed regulation system has been verified by numerical simulations and experimental tests with reference to different operating conditions.