INPUT CURRENT HARMONIC REDUCTION IN

HIGH POWER AC/DC RECTIFIERS

* **
Ali I. Maswood, Member IEEE M. H. Rashid, Senior Member IEEE

* **
Department of Electrical Department of Engineering
and Electronics Engineering, hlrdue-Indiana University at
Nanyang Technological Fort Wayene, F o r t Wayene
University, Nanyang Avenue Indiana 46805 U. s. A.
Singapore.

ABSTRACT Table: 1.
Input current harmonic spectra of a phase
Specifications related to the maximum controlled rectifier (Line inductance
allowable amplitude of individual current neglected).
harmonics generated by converters are
becoming more stringent. This paper shows Harmonic (% of fundamental,
that if the maximum allowable amplitude is order Without filter)
5% or below, the widely used approach in
high power AC/DC conversion, employing 'of 5 20
the typical diode and phase controlled 7 14.2
thyristor rectifier, and harmonic filters 11 9.1
may not be the most economical. Therefore, 13 7.6
t b p a p e r proposes as an alternative a PwM 17 5.8
GTO rectifier with selective harmonic 19 5.2
elimination of 5th and 7th components. 23 -
Additional filtering requirements, 25 -
implemented through low pass filters, are
discussed. - :Less than 5%.

As it is evident from the table, this

harmonics will yield a relatively high THD
INTRODUCTION of the input current. In many circumstances
Due to the presence of the internal a PCC may also be shared by users unable to
impedance of the utility source, which is tolerate the resulting high harmonic
mostly inductive in nature, the current content in the voltage. Therefore standards
harmonics generated by AC/DC converters may are required to safeguard such users. One
m u s e substantial voltage distortion at the such standard is the IEEE guide for
point of common coupling (PCC). Severe Harmonic control and Reactive compensation
voltage distortion, which may be amplified of static Power converters, ANSI/IEEE Std.
by resonance, will lead to 519-1981 [5]. This standard among others,
overvoltage/malfunction in utility restricts the harmonic currents a user is
components, transmission and distribution allowed to inject into the PCC and
ewipment connected to the PCC, and consequently to the utility system. Table 2
malfunction/interference with the control shows the specific limitations on the
signals, telecommunication signals etc. in individual current harmonic components for
the vicinity of the harmonic generator. a system short circuit current (Isc) to
Phase controlled rectifiers are fundamental rectifier input current (I1)
usually employed as front end rectifiers ratio (Isc/I1) between 20-50 which is
for voltage source (VSI) and Current source
inverters (CSI) because of their simplicity typical for medium and high power
and their appropriateness in high power rectifiers fed from the AC mains.
applications. A phase controlled rectifier Table: 2
has the well known input current harmonic
spectrum shown in Table 1. Current harmonic distortion and THD
in percentage of the fundamental current
(Isc / I1 ) between 20-50.

Harmonic Order (n)

n<ll ll<n<17 17<n<23 23<n<35 n>35

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 To meet the above requirements,
multiple harmonic traps consisting of tuned
and low pass filters are required. In a
phase controlled rectifier, because of the 0 %
presence of 5th and 7th harmonic
components, the L-C components of the tuned
filter are large and may be uneconomical.
In addition to the 5th and the 7th harmonic i
trap, tuned filters are also to be designed ILS
to trap the 11th and 13th harmonics. The PU
remaining of the high order harmonics can
be filtered out through a low pass filter. -0 c
Hence a combination of at least 3 tuned and
a low pass has to be employed.
Additionally, such a combination has the
following disadvantages:
(a) Unless very carefully designed, the
filter bank can have resonance
problems with AC system. Filter design
is a difficult task when so many
constraints are involved.
0.e
(b) The kVa ratings of all these filters
designed to meet the restrictions in
table 2 will be very high.
0 6

In spite of some of the aforementioned

disadvantages, bank of tuned filters are ILS
still used in HVDC installations. To
examine this possibility, filters tuned to PU '
5th, 7th, and 12th harmonics along with a
low pass filter have been designed. The 0 ;
design procedure is based on the
suggestions and equations given by Kimbark
for rectifier input filters [l]. The design or
meets the requirements of table 2. This is 0
summarized in Appendix 1. The schematic
diagram of these multiple harmonic traps
and the low pass filter is in Fig. 1. Fig. Fig. 2 Input line current (IL) for
2 (atb) shows the input line current ( 1 ~ 1
a m c l it's harmonic spectrum for phase 1. phase 1 of the phase angle
controlled rectifier.
(a) Waveform .
(b) Harmonic spectrum.

....................... ..... . .. ... .

kVA RATINGS OF THE INPUT
4 TUNED AND A LOW-PASS FILTER
The total kVa of the filter is
calculated as:
.. ........ . ..
TkVA = pLkVA + CkVA (1)
Stl. VI..

The constant p is the price ratio of the

unit cost of capacitor to that of the
inductor ( p is unknown and is assumed to be
Fig. 1 Input' filters for a phase angle 1). The inductor kVA (LkVA) and capacitor
controlled rectifier for high kVA (CkVA) are defined as:
quality input current (tuned to
5th, 7th, and 12th harmonics and
a low pass filter). LkVA =n=1n.I:,rms.XL1
-3

m n.vL
and, CkVA = 1
n=l '~1

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 The TkVA of the 3 tuned and one low (a) No PWM is allowed in the center 60°
pass filters including the line inductance width of each half cycle.
is found to be 0.5145 pu. Hence, -it is
clear that such a combination is -large, (b) The waveform must have an inverse
expensive and may not be the best choice if mirror image of a 30° interval on the
alternatives are available.
either side of the 30' and 150° axes.
A good alternative is a GTO rectifier The width of the pulses el through eN
with a pattern that selectively eliminates are derived based on this assumption.
the 5th L 7th harmonic components. This
removes the requirement for 5th and 7th (c) The current waveform has quarter wave
harmonic trap. The switching patterns will and half wave symmetry. Hence, the
result in the amplification of higher order minimum number of switching angles
harmonics. These can be reduced by needed is (Np-1)/2.
employing a single tuned and a low pass
filter. Such a combination will make the
design task easier and TkVA lower compared
to the standard rectifier using passive where: Np- number of pulses/half cycle.
filters. Figure 3 shows such a PWM GTO

f?!
rectifier with the tuned and low pass The details of the solutions of the
filters employed to give high quality input above equation are described in [ 3 ] , [ 8 ] .
current. This work [ 8 ] serves as a guideline to
choose a particular type of programmed PWM
L.
L ....................... JTfs!::*:ozc. pattern to serve a particular need.
Apart from certain modulated PWM, when
. the switching frequency and hence the
v.
0.07% w .
, ]If
~I)m4s~onmm~
; switching losses are high, the programmed
PWM techiques optimize a function to
.
.,do w soh=>
." .
I ) .
2,s w
0.02. .U
....................... : I achieve minimum switching losses [9].
' 0.1.
z -
z Previous work showed that about 50%
"etch lIl1.r Lor-...
tL1t.r
switching frequency reduction is possible
compared to conventional carrier modulated
Sine PWM technique. This is an important
Fig. 3 Complete circuit diagram of the gain especially in high power conversion
proposed rectifier and filter schemes. Moreover, the following advantages
configuration. make the Programmed PWM scheme even more
attractive:
(a) Due to the high quality of the input
with the recent improvements in the line current, a substantial reduction
current and voltage ratings of the GTO in the size of the input filter is
switches and the simplicity of the gating possible.
ctrcuitry, GTOs have become attractive .for (b) Absence of the lower order harmonics
high power applications. At reasonably low prevents any possible resonance with
switching frequency ( up to 1 H z ) , the the input filter.
switching losses are low [6].
(c) A reduction in switching frequency and
the associated losses lets the
PRINCIPLE OF THE ADOPTED designer to use GTOs as switching
PWM SWITCHING PATTERN devices.
The switching pattern of the Th.e switching frequency represents the
programmed PWM to eliminate the 5th and the number of line current (for line to line
7t3 harmonic can be obtained by assuming switching function) interruption cycles per
the load current to be continuous and second per switch [ 8 ] . This is expressed
ripple free. Under such constraints, the as :
input current becomes identical to the
switching function. The switching function
will eliminate (Pn-1)/2 harmonic fSW =
(2Np + 1).fs (5)
components, where Pn is the number of
pulses per half cycle. This gives a system Where: fS - Supply ,frequency.
of equations: In order to eliminate the 5th and the
7th harmonic current, a switching function
of 5 pulses/half cycle is chosen. 5 pulses
S (a).sin (nu) du = 0 (4) per half cycle gives a switching frequency
of 660 Hz. At this switching frequency, the
switching losses are low even for high
power conversion. The adopted switching
The derivation of the switching instants function is shown in Fig. 4 ( a ) . It is
involves the following constraints: evident from the Figure that because of the
quarter wave symmetry and the above

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 individually. The filter attenuates
sufficiently both the 11th and 13th input
current harmonics in order to meet the
adopted restrictions on the input current
. ') harmonics. The transfer function
characteristics of the notch filter of Fig.
5 shows that the 11th and the 13th harmonic
currents fall within the half-power
bandwidth ( Imax /0.707). The design
criteria and equations for the filter have
been described in detail by Kimbark [l].

Frequency
Fig. 5 Transfer function Characteristic
of the notch filter tuned to the
Fig. 4 PWM switching pattern to 12th harmonic.
eliminate the 5th and 7th
harmonics.
(a) Switching pattern.
(b) Harmonic spectrum. Finally the pu values of the
capacitor, inductor and resistor are found
to be:
constraints, finding the switching angles
u1 and a2 will necessarily yield other Cnf= 9.3 pu
switching angles necessary to create this Lnf= 0.075 pu
pattern. Switching angles a l and a2 can be Rnf= 0 . 0 2 8 pu
found from Eqn. 4 by setting it to zero and
solving it for I5 and 17. The -solution The break frequency of the low pass filter
is set at 17 times the fundamental
yields u1 = 7.93O, and. a2 = 13.75O (it may frequency in order to be able to
also be noted that other possible eliminate/reduce harmonics of orders
combinations of- u l and u 2 also exist). Fig. greater than 13th. The pu values of the R-C
4 (b) shows the harmonic spectrum of the components of the low pass filter are:
developed switching function. The switching
function clearly indicates the absence of Cfl' 2.5 pu
the 5th and the 7th harmonic components. In Rfl= 0.14 pu
situations where rectifier output voltage
control is required, a programmed PWM
pattern with 7- pulses/half cycle can be The line inductance (Ls) is chosen to
adopted [6] o r phsse shifting of the be 0.10 pu. Havinq chosen the Ls, the
pattern may be used.
low-pass filter capacitor has been selected
in such a way so that it's resonant
frequency (fR) in conjunction with the line
THE PROPOSED FILTER CONFlGURATION inductance ( L ~ )lies at a point where it
The input notch filter is tuned at the cannot resonate with any of the harmonic
12Q3 harmonic component. This is based on components o f the input line current. This
the fact that the kVA rating of one notch zone lies .between the fundamental and the
filter will be lower than the kVA ratings 11th harmonic components, since the typical
of two filters tuned to the 11th and 13th 5th and the 7th harmonic components are

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 absent due to the specific switching of the switching function, forcible change
pattern. This is shown in the transfer of the inpht current occurs. The high line
function ( Zs/ZF) characteristic of fig. 6 . and the transformer inductances cannot
tolerate such instantaneous changes of
current and respond by huge voltage spikes.
This large voltage spikes may destroy the
semiconductor switches unless proper
protections are taken. Usual snubber
circuits across the switches may not be
enough. Properly designed shunt filter
banks at the rectifier input will absorb
such voltage spikes. However, in our
configuration tuned and low-pass input
filter capacitors serve the purpose of the
-3 otherwise required capacitor bank, and
LO
37.7 S 37700
additional capacitor bank is not necessary.
1

Phase angla (b)

0.d q
kVA RATING OF THE INPUT
TUNED AND LOW-PASS FILTER

The kVA ratings of the notch filter

tuned to the 12th harmonic component is
found to be:
TkVA = 0.161 pu.
-180.d.9
36 I 36000 The kva rating of the low pass filter
1
is 0 . 0 6 4 pu. The total kVA rating of the
tuned and low pass filter including the
line inductance is 0.264 pu. Comparing this
Fig. 6 Frequency response of the with the kVA ratings of the tuned filters
complete filter. and the low pass filter designed for the
(a) Magnitude of the frequency phase angle controlled rectifiers, it is
response. evident that choosing the PWM scheme has
(b) Phase angle of the frequency reduced the kVA rating by about 50%,
response. compared to the total filter kVA rating of
the phase angle controlled rectifier. This
is achieved by adopting PWM topology and
shifting the input current harmonic
In selecting the transformer magnetizing components to higher orders ( first
inductance (L,) , care has been taken to harmonic component is llth ) .
create a parallel resonant tank at 60 Hz
with the low-pass filter capacitor. This
reduces the reactive kVA supplied by -the INPUT LINE CURRENT WITH
3-phase AC mains. Lm is found to be 2.5 pu. THE HARMONIC ELIMINATION METHOD
This value of 2.5 pu is the actual
transformer magnetizing inductance plus The input line current to the
some added inductance necessary to create rectifier (IL) is shown in Figure 7 (a).
the parallel resonance. The current approximates a sinusoidal form
with very little ripple. The line current
The inductive (4JF) and capacitive is practically in phase with the voltage
and consequently the displacement factor is
(CNF) components of the tuned filter close to unity.
resonate with each other producing a series Fig. 7 (b) shows the harmonic spectrum
resonance at frequency 12 times fundamental of the current. It is evident that no
frequency. The damping resistor of the sF individual harmonic is bigger than 5% of
the fundamental component. The harmonic
tuned filter has been chosen in such a way spectrum is shown up to 1.3 kHz. The 17th
so as to have enough band-width to component has the highest peak. However, it
sufficiently attenuate both the llth and is approximately 3.2% of the fundamental
13th harmonics. For higher harmonic component. This is below our specified
currents, the low pass filter provides a value of 5% and also below the limit set by
low impedance path to circulate. Hence, table 2.
currents with frequencies higher than 7 8 0 The THD of the input line current is
Hz, which are amplified due to the PWM also evaluated. The THD is calculated using
switching, are also absent from the input the expression- [ 8 J :
line current.
At this-point, it is important to
emphasize that due to the specific nature

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 modulated ,Sine PWM pattern are discussed.
Although similar restrictions could have
been met in phase angle controlled
converters by employing multiple harmonic
traps and a low pass filter, high kVA
rating and a risk of resonance may not make
this the best solution.
For high power applications, GTO
switches are appropriate for the PWM
rectifier because of their high current
commutation capability and recent
advancements in high voltage blocking
capability. At our adopted switching
frequency (660Hz), the switching losses are
low.

REFERENCES
E. D. Kimbark, "Direct current
transmission" vol. 1, a Wiley
interscience publications, John Wiley
and sons, inc. 1971. pp. 340-390.
S. B. Dewan, R. S . Segsworth & P. P.
Biringer, "Input filter design with
static power converters" -
IEEE
Transactions on Industry and General
Applimtfons, vol. IGA-6, no. 4,

. . .
July/Aug. 1970. pp. 378-389.
' i
P.C Sen and G. Premchandran, "Improved
PWM control strategy for inverters and
induction motor drives", IEEE
-
Transactions on Industrial Electronics,
Vol. IE -31, No. 1, February 1984, pp.
43-50.
Fig. 7 AC mains line current (IL) with
the proposed filter Ziogas P. D., Kang Y. and Stefanovic V.
configuration. R., "PWM control for rectifier filter
(a) Waveform. , IEEE PESC Conference
minimization1#
(b) Harmonic spectrum. Record, 1984, pp. 353-362.

Where : Ned Mohan, Tore M. Undeland, Willam P.

In - nth component of the rms Robbins, I1PowerElectronics, converter,
applications and design1* , John Wiley
input line current. and Sons, inc. 1989. pp. 409-412.
I1 - fundamental component of the
rms input line current. Michio Iwahori and Kenji Kousaka,
"Three phase current source GTO
The THD is calculated to be 2.72%. This is rectifier adopting new PWM control
below our sptcified value of THD (8% in techniques" IEEE IAS annual conference,
table 2) and confirms the high quality of 1989, pp. 855-860.
the input current. The input line current
THD of the phase angle controlled 'rectifier A. I. Maswood, G. Joos, P. D. Ziogas
with the three tuned and a low pass filter and J. F. Lindsay, "Problems and
was found to be 3.78%. Without the input solutions associated with the operation
filters, the THD was 15.34%. of phase-controlled rectifiers under
unbalanced input voltage conditions",
IEEE APEC confer'ence record, 1990, pp.
CONCLUSIONS
512-520.
This pape? shows that strong
restrictions on individual current harmonic P. Enjetti, P. D. Ziogas, and J. F
can be met by using a programmed selective Lindsay. IIProgrammed PWM Techniques to
harmonic elimination PWM switching pattern Eliminate Harmonics, A Critical
for the rectifier, and a properly-designed Evaluatiorr;" IEEE Transactions on
filter bank. The advantages. of programmed Industry Applications, Vol. 26, No. 2,
PWM switching over-the conventional carrier
MarchIApril 1990, pp. 302-316.
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 [ 9 ] I. Takahashi and H. Mochikawa, "A new where :
control of PWM inverter waveform for #m- sdurce impedance (assumed 90° for
minimum loss operation of an induction an inductive line), and
motor drive" , IEEE Transactions on 6m- Tuning accuracy = .02 (standard)..
Industry Applications , vol. 1 ~ - 2 ,i NO.
4 , May/June 1985, pp. 580-587. A Q of 25 is found. The required filter
resistance is:

APPENDIX 1

The cost of a shunt filter tuned to a

particular harmonic varies directly with
the amplitude of the fundamental component
and inversely due to the harmonic
component.

Cost = A. (kVA) + 2 (A1

B. (kVA)
Where :
Cost = Total filter cost,
kVA = Total filter size in kVA.
Constants A and B are found as follows:

where :
Pc- unit cost of capacitors
PL- unit cost of inductors
n - order of harmonic to be
eliminated
VLG- supply line to ground voltage,
and
IL- supply line current.

Substituting values of A ana B in

equation 1, a dependency between cost and
size of the filter is obtained from which
the size of the filter is chosen for
minimum cost. Knowing the filter size, the
filter capacitor and inductor are chosen as
f01lows :

c = size(min.
2 ( A4
wl'vLG
1
and , 2 L = (A5
C.(nol 1
The 'optimum, Q of the system is found as:

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