A Single-Phase Controlled-Current PWM Rectifier OMAR STIHI axb BOON-TECK OOI, seston MEMBER, IEEE Absrac—Theunayss atest results are given ofan experimental single-phase cantrolledcarrent PWM recier which operate at ny per factor with near snusldal curren waveforo® and which his Dower reversal capably. The twicedine frequency ac power iy den tied asa source of voltage harmonics in the de ink. The harmonics ‘ater into the voltage regulation feedback loop to ditort thee cure ‘raeform. These undesirable harmonies ean be removed by opus fier. The overall design must address the powsibility of instability to the low-pass ter inthe feedback pth 1. Istropuction "HE MAJOR polluters of power system harmonics are the diode bridge rectifiers and the phase-controlled thyristor bridge rectifiers [1]. The economic advantages that these rectifiers presently enjoy in the marketplace can change overnight by the imposition of stricter harmonic standards. With this threat in mind, many researchers have started to probe into the possibilities of active filters and improved rectifiers using PWM and other techniques [2]- 18] ‘The area of investigation pursued by the authors is een- tered around the controlled-current PWM modulator [9], [10]. A number of papers on the three-phase controlled current PWM rectifier have reported on its capability to function as a stand-alone regulated voltage source with fast power reversal capability while feeding near sinu- soidal input currents at unity power factor (11]-(14] ‘This paper is a continuation of this work, but the focus is placed on the single-phase case. AC the Outset, it needs to be stated that, if power reversibility is not an issue, then the single-phase rectifier of [6]. [7], which consists of a diode bridge and a single active switch for chopping, is likely to be cheaper than the circuit of Fig. 1 described in this paper. The application of Fig. 1 is orientated 10, wands electrified railroad operation where the locomotive is fed ac power from the single-phase catenary [15]. The rectifier of Fig. | would ride in the locomotive and the rectified power may drive a de traction motor through a chopper. Alternatively, the rectified power may be used to drive ac traction motors through a variable frequency Manosctp ressved November 21, 1986; revised May 1K, 1988 Tis work was supped in pan by the Naural Science and Emgnceing Re- Scare Count of Canad and a part hy the Mimsy of Educaon. Que University. Mooteal. PQ, Canada He is now with Boole Nationale Univemity 80 Unversiy Sets Montreal. PQ. Candas HA 2A7 inverter. For regenerative braking, Kinetic energy should bbe returned to the catenary Presently, the laboratory model of Fig. 1 is sated at 1 KW only. The plan isto use an affordable model to search ‘out any inherent weakness. Upscaling in size will be jus- tified only if it survives the technical evaluations, ‘The paper is organized a follows. Section II outlines the circuit configuration. Section III discusses the prop- erties ofthe single-phase rectifier without the voltage reg. ulator feedback. It calls attention tothe fact thatthe twice line-frequency ac power is a source of voltage harmonics in the de link. Section IV shows that the harmonics in the de link can distort the ac curtent waveform when the volt- age regulation feedback loop is closed. Section V de scribes a solution based on the use of a low-pass filter to remove undesirable harmonics in the feedback path. I. Circurr CoxriauraTion | shows the schematic of the system under study. ‘The single-phase voltage source is V,, with L, and R, rep: resenting the ac side inductance and resistance, The rec- tifer bridge consists of four bipolar transistors with anti parallel diodes. The ac line current i, is measured by a Hall-effect current transducer (CT), and itis made to track reference signal by the hysteresis-controlled on-off switchings of the bipolar transistor. The sinusoidal wave form of the reference signal is taken from the filtered and phase-shifted output of a voltage transformer (VT) placed ‘across the ac supply. In this study. the power factor is set to unity. The amplitude of the reference signal is incor porated by electronically multiplying the soidal waveform signal with the output of the block with ain K. ‘The switch S1 serves the expedient for reconfiguring Fig. 1 under the different situations for Sections I1I-V in the study. Under the open-loop case of Section III, $1 is ‘switched to position A where the variable de voltage Ve. controls the amplitude of the current i,.. Position B cot responds to the study of Section IV where the voltage reg- ulator loop is closed. The voltage ¥, across de link ca- pacitor is measured and compared with the reference Vn ‘The error is amplified by K and used as the amplitude of reference signal. In previous studies of the three-phase rectifier {12}-[14), this simple proportional feedback has excellent characteristics as 1) it maintains the de link volt- age V. well above the loss of control limit and the wave. form distonion limit; and 2) it enables the rectifier power to be matched almost instantaneously to the load power demand. It is found that low-order harmonics generated (0885-8993/88/1000-0453501.00 © 1988 IEEEase veer Fig. 1, Seber of single phase in the de link in the single-phase rectifier have adverse influence in the feedback loop. Section V of the study consists of the switch S1 being set to position C so thatthe harmonies of the de ink volt- age is removed by the low-pass (LP) filter in the voltage regulator feedback loop. “The switch $2 allows two kinds of load to be consid- ered, In position E, the load is the resistance R. In po- sition D, the load consists of a three-phase current-con- trolled pulsewidth modulator connected to a balanced three-phase ae voltage source, The power on the ac side ‘of the load is time invariant Il. OvEN-Loor Caracreristics This section examines the low-order voltage harmonics which are generated across the de link capacitor C be: cause of the inevitable twice-frequency power pulsation ‘of the single-phase modulator. It is assumed that the switch SI is in position 4 so that the amplitude control ‘consists of the variable voltage V4. The hysteresis width Js assumed to be so small thatthe ae side current is i, = V2, 608 wit (yy », = V2V, 008 wt (2) a_4/(l, a renrisit-£(Lat) Vly ~ REY + cos 20.1) +4 [(Len)asen2ao} ‘The output current i of the rectifier consists of switeh- ing spikes at high frequencies. When the switching fre- {quencies are very high, one can apply the concept of local average 110] which yields the same result as the power yseresicomtlied PWM tie, balanced equation: Pani «@) Pr Balanced Three-Phase Load ‘The first case under consideration is for the switch $2 tobe set in position D. The load P, is assumed to be time invariant. In the laboratory itis implemented by a three phase controlled-current PWM inverter connected to the three-phase line supply. In practice, the load can be @ ‘chopper driven de motor or a PWM inverter-driven three- phase ac motor. Mathematically, the de output of single- phase rectifier is [Equating (3)-(6) and integrating, one has: 4 (bor i Pah +S (5cv (3) Va? = Vio + Zh = RAE Pad (Ve RR) sin Dot [ Cc iL HE C08 2ut ac (6) ‘where V2y is the constant of integration evaluated at the initial condition. (One sees that the ramp function in (6) disappears when Vl, - RI — Py = 0 (7) and vn) (8) where ga We 7For & < 1, (8) can be expanded using the binomial theo- yt 1 Yany= vehi te 3(-2) 3\e JE} an Substituting (2) back into (10) and expanding the powers ofthe wigonometne functions, one cam compute the har moni components Vis theme average component and can be sto any ‘ale prior othe initial condition using the tmp function in (6) From (9), ome sees that the harmonics are reduced by Tage values of Vg, Cand by low vals of PI, Ry and The maximum vale of Fi limited by the vat ae limits of the semiconductor switching devices. For the discussion of this paper, (10) is truncated at the frst term & x 1d (-$ 2, 2 no erdi8 an Resistive Load Although, the application is envisaged to be for railway electrification, the authors have included the resistive load case for completeness. This consists of setting the switch S2 to position E. In the laboratory, this case isthe easier to control and measure precisely. For the switch S2 in position £, the de output of the eres Loy Go) Treating V2 = x as a variable (12) is a firsvorder dif- ferential equation in x, Equating (3) to (12), the steady- state solution (or particular integrator) (12) is vid wee Pen Rte (2) 2 yay [Mat Co RUE] Va = a+ eeserraal sin (20,¢ + §) (3) where Ri (Vole ~ Rel?) as) and Fra ~a (as) tan ay = RC (16) tan a = wee f a7) ‘The complementary function has a solution of the form P(e) = det 2/m Cm, (as) This term damps out to zero after a few time constant, Infeasible Operating Conditions ‘The resistive load case has infeasible operating regions hich are not found in the balanced three-phase load case, This is apparent when one solves for /, in the quadratic ‘equation of (14), which has the formula ¥, ooslee dle) Since J, cannot be & complex number, the square-root term in (19) cannot be negative. This requirement is sat isfied when (a9) fr, fr ¥, > 2H In the laboratory, the existence ofthe infeasible region is readily demonstrated by reducing the magnitude of V, below the inequality of (20). The de link voltage col lapses In practice, efficiency requirements ensure that the R,/Ry ratio is usually very small, s0 thatthe infeasible region is of academic interest only (20) IV. Digcr DC Link Voutace Fetrack In the research on the three-phase controlled-current PWM rectifier [10], 12|-[14], ithas been mentioned that for proper operation there are three techaieal problems which have to be solved 1) The antiparallel diodes have to be normally back- biased so thatthe switching actions ofthe transistors ean ‘contol the waveform of the ac current. This is done by ensuring thatthe de link voltage Vis always higher than the peak of the ae voltage (loss of control Timit) ¥, > v2¥,, 2) The de link volige must be suciently high so that the modulator is capable of tracking the current waveform references (current waveform distorion limit) ¥, > v2Y,, 3) The ac current amplitude must have fast response so that the rectifier power input matches almost instanta- neously the de link power demands Tt has been shown that the three problems are solved simply by making the de link into a regulated volage source using proportional negative feedback. This con- sists of measuring the instantaneous dlink voltage V, comparing it with the reference Vand using the error control the amplitude ofthe ac reference signal. “Applying the same idea tothe single-phase rectifier of Fig. I, the implementation ofthe direct volage feedback loop consists of setting the switch S1 to position B. Harmonic Feedback Interference Unfortunately, the harmonies in the voltage across the de link capacitor C get fed back so that the current refer- tence signal itself is not the desirable sinusoidal wave- form. To appreciate this, consider the case ofthe originalcurrent being given by (I). For the switeh $2 set in po- sition D, the de link voltage is given by (10). Substituting (9) imo the binomial series of (10) and expanding the power of (sin 2u,¢)" and (cos 20,19", it ean be shown that (10) can be written in the form of a Fourier series of even harmonics: velt) = Veo + 2, Ay 08 (2mat +f) (21) where A, and f, are the amplitudes and the phase angles of the Fourier components, Following the schematic of Fig. 1, the current refer ence signal, which is based on multiplying the amplitude error (Voy ~ V.) by the waveform template cos a, has the formula DE ing = K (Vag ~ Veo) €08 00 fo0s [(2n + owt + + cos [(2n — t)a,r + Ef (22) From (22), one sees that the first term isthe intended sinusoidal reference signal. However, this term is cor rupted by the contsbutions from the harmonics. The inner controlled-current feedback loop will switch the transis tors so that i, will track the reference of (22). Since i is no longer (1), there is @ new power balance in (3) and (4 [Atthis point, its not profitable to pursue the increasingly complicated analysis any further, since the purpose has been achieved in showing the origin of harmonic interfer- Experimental Results Fig. 2 shows the oscillogram of i for the case of a small value of C = 3 mF. The settings of switches S1 and S2 were at B and £, respectively. The test parameters were Vy = 110 V de, Iie = 1 A, V, = 45 V ems. The harmonic interference distortion is obvious. The distortion is aggra- vated by larger values of o L rom the coefficient of the sin (2,1 + $) term in (13), fone sees that the harmonic contribution decreases. with large values of C. This trend is experimentally demon- strated in the oscillograms of Fig. 3(a) for C = 6 mF. Fig. 306) for 12 mF, Fig. 3(6) for 24 mF, all for 250 ‘Apart from the cost factor in using large de link capac: there is the technical problem of slow time response. This is demonstrated in an experiment involving power reversal. Initially, the switch S2 is connected to D, in Fig. 1 the three-phase load is made to function as a rectifier. ‘The single-phase modulator operates in the inverter mode, absorbing the de current from the loud, Instantaneous re versal is implemented by switching $2 from D to E. In «drawing a de current for the resistive load R,. the voltage error becomes negative. This reverses the polarity of the amplitude in the current reference signal, making the sin- _le-phase modulator into a rectifier. Tea ER Yn a8nme, C= 3000 nF el, = 250.0) ‘Soa. taL = 1008 Fig. 3. Osillogran of a are. Switch sting in B rey ava. gk 250 C= Do nh) C= 28 OO aE Cea an on Fig. 4 is a record of this demonstration for C = 24 mF. Fig. 4(a) and (b) show the waveform of V, and i, respec tively. The current waveform shows a 180 phase shift as the modulator changes from inverter to rectifier mode of ‘operation. The slow time response is evident. This is be ‘cause of the large C which has be used to maintain good sinusoidal input current waveform,V. Feepeack Tukovan Low-Pass PiLreR ‘This section diseusses one method of overcoming the shortcomings by eliminating the de link voltage harmon ies in the feedback loop through the use of @ low-pass filter. The low-pass filter is introduced in the schematic of Fig. I by setting the switch SI to position C. ‘Thore are the usual contending requirements of the cut- off frequency of the low-pass filter. To minimize the har- ‘monic components entering the feedback loop, the cutofl frequency should be chosen as low as possible, On the other hand, the fast transient response of the rectifier to load changes can only be achieved by 2 high cutoff fre- quency The choice of the low-pass filter was determined by the availability in the laboratory of an active Butterwont fil- ter whose characteristic frequency «) can be set conve- niently by dials. This offered the possibility of pursuing ‘an experimental evaluation of the choice of the cutoftfre- ‘quency ‘As is well-known, the Butterworth filter has the advan. tage of a maximally flat monotonic gain in the passband However, its cull characteristic is inferior to that ofthe Chebyshev filer. The transfer Function of the second-or- der Butterworth filter in use is (23) jon of the Butterworth filter inthe feed back loop has proven to be highly successful. The labo ratory tess show thatthe size of the de link capacitor can be lowered from 24 mF in Section IV to 0.95 mF while retaining good sinusoidal current waveform in the input fac current of the rectifier. Power Reversal Test ‘The experiment of instantaneous power reversal from inversion to rectification described in association with Fig 4 was repeated with the following difference: 1) the voll- age feedback passed through the Butterworth filter with cutoff frequency set at 65 Hz, 2) the de link capacitance was reduced from 24 to 1.45 mE, Fig. Sta) and (b) show the ac phase voltage and current waveforms, respectively. ‘The current waveform of Fig. 5(b) should be compared. with those in Figs. 2-4. One sess clearly that in spite of the low capacitance value of 1.45 mF, good sinusoidal current waveform is achieved ‘The instant of power reversal is marked by the 180° change in current waveform in Fig. 5(b). This is followed by an overshoot of a positive and a negative peak. This transient is brief compared to that in Fig, 4(b) Feedback Instability In the course of experimentation, it was found that the current waveform began to distor’ again when the filter cutoff frequeney was reduced to low values. This trend runs counter to expectations because the interference from PTTTTTTTTTTTTTTITT| VW ert ana ser revonal fom inverter mage to rectier mode Switch Sin the second and higher even harmonies would be further reduced in the lowering of the cutoff frequency. ‘One possible explanation is that the observed distorto is really due to the onset of instability. From previous studies of the three-phase rectifier, it was shown that the direct voltage feedback system (switch SI in the position B in Fig. 1) isa firstorder system. With the second-order Butterworth filter (switch SI in position C), the closed loop system becomes a third-order system. As the thi order system becomes unstable when the overall gain is too large, it seems reasonable to pursue this line of inves tigation, Experimental Stability Boundaries ‘As such, the stability boundaries were measured and plotted in broken lines as shown in Fig. 6. The abscissa land the ordinate, respectively, represent the cutoff fre- ‘quency fy and the ems ac voltage V,. The family of curves are for different values of de link capacitor C. The param- eters used were: Vio = 110 V de, K = 3.2. The de link load i; = 0 in the experiment Theoretical Stability Boundaries (Approximation) Because of the harmonic interactions, the exact stability analysis is complicated and beyond the competence of at- thors. The approximate stability analysis which is de scribed here assumes that Butterworth filter succeeds in removing the harmonics and that the dynamics of the feedback loop is concerned only with the slowly time varying magnitude /,(¢) in (1). Neglecting the cos 20,1 terms in (3), the power balance equation is Vd = Rae dip : 41 pen 24 aa Cy ‘mall perturbation of (24) yields VA, — 2RLAl, ~ Leh 2 Mle = Vad * HAY, (2s)Fig. 6. Stability boundaries. AC voltage V, ver Tinex—theorys broken lins-experimentl, Vo ‘The capacitive current is a, Et (26) ‘Small perturbation of (26) yields a 4 ay, = an - a6 c4a¥.= ai ~ ais (an) One proceeds in taking the Laplace transform of (25) and (27), the variables in the Laplace domain being: A1,(3), AV.(s), Al's), and ALAS), Following the signal in the feedback loop through the filter of Fig. 1, one has Als) = ~KG(s) AV.(8) (28) where G(s) is the Butterworth filter transfer function of (23) and K is the transfer gain. By manipulating (28), the Laplace transform versions of (25) and (27), and elimi nating A ¥,(s) and AJ,(s) in the process, one obtains the transfer function ratio AL(s) kell Rua) sant onal where amet (30) a, = Vay + oer (31) 2 Bigg (Vile = RAE _ Kusblrde ob + Vig SRE) _ Ree (a9) 2fYe= 2Rih) | of Yel — BR, y= Kai EPR) «(HS E), (20) Asis wellknown, the system stability i determined by the roots in the denominator of (29). The system i asymptotically sable when all the rots have negative real parts Al this point one applies the well-known theorem Concerning the eubic polynomial Theorem: A necessary and sufcien condition that every root of the eubie equation ays? + a8? + a3 + a5 = O have negative real part, is that all the coefficients have the same sign and aja» — ayas > 0. Since in practice R, and L, ate both very small, the coef ficients of (30)-(33) are all positive. This leaves the cri terion based on Gay By substituting (31)-(33) in (34), one obtains an analyti- cel expression for the eriterion of stability, ‘The expres- sion is complicated and the stability boundary is better established by evaluating (34) numerically. yay ~ aya > 0. Comparison between Theory and Experiments Experimental data have been obtained under careful laboratory conditions to verify the stability criterion of G4). From the observational viewpoint, the onset of in- stability is seen as a current waveform distortion. A source of experimental error is inevitable in stability boundary ‘measurements. This is because the stability boundary is carefully approached without crossing it for fear of dam ‘aging equipment, The margin of safety constitutes the er From operating experience, it is found that the worst- cease from the stability point of view occurs when the ree: tifier is unloaded, i.e, i: = 0. This has the fortunate re- sult that (34) simplifies to yup CV, << (35) which is a handy rule of thumb. ‘The experimental points and the theoretical predictions of (35) are plotted in Fig. 6 for this worst case, f; = 0. AAs the discrepancies increase with fy and inversely with , one sees the effects of insutficiently attenuated har- ‘monies sneaking through the feedback loop. Other data for the loaded rectifier, i: # 0 (not shown here) show ‘agreement and discrepancies of a trend similar to Fig. 6. "The good correlation of the experimental data with the analytical predictions supports the hypothesis tha the ob- served current waveform distortion brought on by reduc ing the filter cutoff frequency is due to the onset of feed- back stability. As the experimental data have been carefully measured (subject to the aforementioned inevi table experimental error), the discrepancies in Fig. 6 give ‘an indication of the accuracy of the approximate analysis. ‘One sees thatthe approximation is good when the filtering is good Experimental Notes ‘The switching frequency of the rectifier was in excess of 10 kHz. Since Vig was set at 110 V de, to respect both the loss of control limit and the waveform distortion limit ¥, < (V./V2) = 77.8 V. Note that, from Fig. 6, V, has to be reduced further if fy and C are low values Inthe experiments, the porportional feedback gain used was K = 3.2 A/V. R, was estimated as 2 @. Depending ‘on the operating point and external parameters, the feedback gain was calculated using (29) with the coefficient dotermined by the formula in (30)-(33). VI. Conetusion It is shown that by incorporating a Butterworth filter im its voltage feedback loop, the single-phase coatrolled- current PWM rectifier can be made into a fast-response stand-alone system drawing near sinusoidal current wave- form at unity power factor with bidirectional power flow capability. The possibilty of feedback instability is iden- tified and an experimentally verifiable approximate theo- retical analysis is presented. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Mr. Omar Stihi is grateful to the Algerian Ministry of Education and Scientific Research for the scholarship which enabled him to pursue the M.Eng. degree. REFERENCES U1 “Power system harmonics, 2 pwr [2] DM. Divan andT. Rann, “Considerations onthe appiation ‘of improved power factor convener suctutes, IEEE Than. nd ‘Appl vl. A-21 p. 1076-1085 uy Aug. 1983. BE'P. Wiechmana, PD. Zigan, and V-R. Stefanovic, "A novel bila power conversion scheme for varie frequency stat sup pls EEE Trans Ind. Appl ol. 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Rec, CHIGR4 S79, pp. 314-338, na) ust ‘Omar Sih was tor om September 14 1960 i Ags Algsria He toseive the secre eng tering deper fom Ecole Nationale Plyce ues Alpes, Alen, in 984 andthe M.Eng. ‘egret trom McCa Univerty, Monreal PO. ‘Cenada n 1987| in 17 be Jolned Ecole Nationale Poytck sigue, Algo, wher he cently 4 Profesor [Riprver cence nda member fhe rear ‘Boon-Teck Oui (69-M'71-SHC8S) recived the BiEng. howe) depres fom the Unversity of ‘Adende, Aust. the SM. degre tom the Manechowt ltt of" Technology. Cam bride. andthe PD. cgi fom MEG) Un ‘ern, Montes, PQ, Cada Tis vescach itereats have cde eae in suction moton, lecadymamie mage evita thw wit spersndacing apets sub heh sour resonace phenoren, abit of ogc {ince power tanamasion, HVDC, thd power tlectonics. He it grestnty + Professor im the Departmen of Elsi! Engining, McG Univers. Canada