A passive EMI filter with access to the ungrounded motor neutral line: direct connection of a general‐purpose inverter to a three‐phase grounded voltage source

This paper proposes a small‐sized passive EMI filter for the purpose of eliminating high‐frequency shaft voltage and ground leakage current from an AC motor. The motor is driven by a general‐purpose PWM inverter connected to a three‐phase grounded voltage source. The passive EMI filter requires access to the ungrounded neutral point of the motor. This unique circuit configuration makes the common‐mode inductor effective in reducing the high‐frequency common‐mode voltage generated by the PWM inverter with a carrier frequency of kHz. As a result, both high‐frequency shaft voltage and ground leakage current can be eliminated very efficiently. However, the common‐mode inductor may not play any role in reducing the low‐frequency common‐mode voltage generated by the diode rectifier, so that a low‐frequency component still remains in the shaft voltage. Such a low‐frequency shaft voltage may not produce any bad effect on motor bearings. The validity and effectiveness of the EMI filter are verified by experimental results obtained from a 200‐V 5‐kVA laboratory system. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 159(2): 80–87, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20243