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ecause the incdence of harmonic-related

problems in utility and industrial power
systems is increasing, active power filters
have attracted great attention and have been expected to be an effective remedy. Generally, an active filter has been considered to be a current source
connected in parallel with the load (harmonic
source). The approach is based on the principle of
injecting harmonic current into the ac system, of
the same amplitude ancl reverse phase to that of the
load current harmonic:;. It has been wrongly believed that the active filter is an ideal harmonic
compensator whose compensation characteristics
would not be influenced by the source impedance
(as happens with a pas:,ive filter). In this article it
will be shown, however, that such active filters
(designated here as parallel active filters) are only
effective for those nonlinear loads which can be
considered as current -source type of harmonic
source (harmonic currmtsource herein), such as
phase-controlled thyrktor rectifiers with large dc
inductance for dc drives, etc.
Parallel active filters have been studied by many
contributors since 1970s [l}-[9], and have been put
into practical use [lo]-[ 121. Unfortunately, no paper
has discussed the charact:eristics and application considerations of parallel aci:ive filters when they are applied to nonlinear loads that are voltage-source type
of harmonic source (harmonicvoltage source),such
as diode rectifiers with direct smoothing dc capacitors for ac drives, etc. This may be because traditional
harmonic sourceswere mainly phase-controlled thyristor rectifiers and cycloconverters, which can be regarded as current-sourceloads.
On the other hand, since more and more diode
rectifiers with smoothing dc capacitors are used in
electronic equipment, household appliances, and ac
drives, harmonics generated by these loads have become a major issue. Naturally, attempts have been
made to use parallel active filters for harmonic compensation of these diode rectifiers. However, it has
been found in the field that the parallel active filters

not only cannot cancel the harmonics completely

but also cause problems, such as enlarging the dc
volt-age ripples and ac peak current of the rectifier.
This is because a diode rectifier with smoothing dc
capacitors behaves like a harmonic voltage source
rather than as a harmonic current source. Another
aspect is that there may be LC passive filters or
power-factor correction capacitor banks connected
on the load side (downstream) from the point where
an active filter is connected. In this case, the equivalent circuit downstream seen from the connection
point of active filter would not be a current source
even ifthe main loads are a harmonic current source.
When a conventional parallel active filter is applied
to compensate a diode rectifier or a power system
such that downstream contains passive filters and/or
capacitor banks, the current injected by the active
filter will flow into the diode rectifier or the load
side that presents low impedance. As a result, harmonics of the source current cannot be completely
canceled. Moreover, harmonic current flowing into
the diode rectifier or the system downstream increases greatly, and overcurrent may occur due to
the injected current.
A series active filter has been proposed to compensate for harmonics of diode rectifiers [ l b ] ,[17].
Although the series active filter is not found in common practical use, [16] and E171 have shown that
the series active filter is more suitable for harmonic
compensation ofdiode rectifiers, i.e., harmonic voltage sources. This paper puts more emphasis on the
application issues of both parallel and series active
filters in power systems. Their features and required
operation conditions are clarified analytically and
demonstrated through real field testing.

Two Types of Harmonic Sources

Current-Source ,Type of Harmonic Sources
(Hurmonic Current Sources)
As is well-known, thyristor converters are a com-

mon source of harmonic currents. The distortion of

This article was presented in its original firm at the 7th Intl Conference on Harmonics and Quality of Power, Las
Vexas, Nevada. Pen(: is with Oak Ridge National Laboratory, P.0. Box 2009, Bldg. 91 02-1, Oak Ridge, T N
37831 -8038. He is a Stnior Member of the I E E E .
1077-2618/98/$10.00O1998 IEEE

/E hdustry Applications Mogozine = September/Ocfober I 998

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!I

Voltage-Source Type of Harmonic Sources

(Harmonic Voltage Sources)

/L

AC Source

Current-SourceType
Harmonic Source

(b)
Fig. I . Typical current-source type of harmonic source. ( d j Thyristor rectifier
for dc drives, heater drive, etc. (b) Per-phase equivalent circuit of thyristor

Nowadays, another common harmonic source is

that of diode rectifiers with smoothing dc capacitors as shown in Fig. 3(a). Fig. 4 shows the current
and voltage waveforms. Although the current is
highly distorted, its harmonic amplitude is greatly
affected by the impedance of the ac side, whereas
the rectifier voltage (i.e., the voltage at the rectifier
input terminal as shown in Fig. 4(b)) is characteristic and less dependent upon the ac impedance.
Therefore, a diode rectifier behaves like a voltage
source rather than a current source. Fig. 3(b) shows
the equivalent circuit of the diode rectifier system,
where the diode rectifier is represented as a voltage-source type of harmonic source (or harmonic
voltage source). Accordingly, the harmonic current originates from the rectifier voltage, and its
contents are determined by, and dependent, upon
the rectifier voltage and the ac impedance.

Characteristic Andysis of farale/ Active Filters

A parallel active filter is a pulse-width modulation
(PWM) inverter to be placed in parallel with a load
(or a harmonic source) to inject a harmonic current
with the same amplitude as that of the load into the
ac system. Its control is implemented through adetection and extraction circuit of the load harmonic
current. In order not to lose generality, the harmonic current source is represented as Nortons
equivalent circuit, and the harmonic voltage
source as Thevenins equivalent circuit, respectively, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. A pure current-source type of harmonic source is a special case
of the Nortons equivalent with ZL-+W. A pure
voltage-source type of harmonic source is a special
case of Thevenins equivalent with ZL--+O.

For Harmonic Current Sources

Fig. 5 shows the basic p,rinciple of a parallel active

Fig. 2. Typical voltage and current waveforms of thyristor rectifier.

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the current waveform, i.e., the generation of har-

monics, results from the switching operation.

Fig.l(a) shows a typical thyristor rectifier, where a
sufficient dc inductance produces a constant dc
current. Fig.2 shows the source voltage and rectifier current waveforms. Because the harmonic current contents and characteristics are less dependent
upon the ac side, this type of harmonic source behaves like a current source. Therefore, they are
called current-source type of harmonic source (or
harmonic current source) and represented as a current source shown in Fig. l(b).

/ F E lndusfry Applicutions Muguzine a September/October 1998

I

filter compensating for a harmonic current source,

where the harmonic source is represented as Nortons equivalent, 2 s is the source (line) impedance,
ILO is the equivalent harmonic current source, Z L is
the equivalent impedance on the load side which
may include passive filters and power-factor correction capacitors, and G is the equivalent transfer
function of the active filter including the detection
circuit of harmonics and the delay of the control
circuit. In general, G has the function of notching
the fundamental component, that is, IGlf=O at the
fundamental, and IGlh= 1 for harmonics. In the following analysis, all equations are represented in
per unit (pz).From Fig. 5 , the following equations
are obtained.

I , =GI,

(1)

z,
I, =

lGG

z,+- ZL

(3)
.I,,,

+-.

vs

z,+Z--I

1-G

1-G

Focusing on harmonics, when the followingequation

(4)
VL

is satisfied, (l), (2) and (3) can be rewritten as

Voltage-SourceType
Harmonic Source

AC Source

(b)
Fig. 3, Typical voltage-source type of harmonic source. (a)Diode rectifier for
ac PWM drives, electronic equipment, etc. (b) Per-phase equivalent circuit of

where, the subscripts, h and f, represent the harmonic components and the fundamental components respectively. ''I'/'' represents the magnitude
of a transfer function.
Equation (6) shows that the source current becomes sinusoidal because of l-Glh=O for harmonics when ( 4 )is satisfied. Therefore, ( 4 )is the
required operating condition for the parallel active filter to cancel the load harmonic current.
From ( 4 ) , i t is seen t h a t only G can be
pre-designed and determined by the active filter
while Zs and ZLare determined by the system,
i.e., the ac source imprdance and the load charac;
teristics. Therefore, compensation characteristics
of the active filter are determined not only by the
active filter itself but also by the ac source and
load impedance just like the case of conventional
passive filters'. O n the other hand, we have
IZLI>>IZ~I
for a pure current-source type of harmonic source such as a thyristor rectifier with a
large dc inductance. So (2) and (4)can be reduced
to the following equations, respectively.

Fig. 4. Typical current a n d voltage waveforms of diode rectifier, (a)line

current, (b) line-to-neutral voltage and line-to-line voltage at the rectifier
inbut.

zs

's,

k
+

AC Source
1 LO

Equation (8)shows that compensation characteristics of the active filter are not influenced by the

Parallel AF

Harmonic Source

Fig. 7. B a s k primipZe ofparazzeel active filter for harmonic current source.

source impedance, Zs. So far, this property has been

alleged as the advantage the active filter, making it
superior to the passive filter. However, this superior
property holds true only under the condition of
/FEE Industry Applitotions Mogozine

m September/O[tober

I 998

bl

For Harmonic Voltage Sources

Fig. 6 shows the basic principle of parallel active
filter compensating for a harmonic voltage source,
where the load is represented as Thevenin's equivalent, i.e., a voltage source VL with an impedance
ZL.
From Fig. 6, we have the following equations.

I , =GI,

z,+-

(10)

L L

1-G

Fig. 6. Basic principle of parallel active filter for harmonic voltage source.
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lZ~l>>lZsl.
Equation (9) can be easily satisfied by
the active filter. G is determined by the active filter,
and mainly dominated by the detection circuit of
harmonics, delay time of the control circuit, and
current response of the PWM inverter of the active
filter. Ingeneral, ll-Glb=0.1-0.3, so the compensation rate of harmonics, which is defined as (1-11s
/I~0/).100%,
ranges over 90% - 70%.
However, the load impedance, ZL, will become
very low for harmonics when a parallel (or shunt)
passive filter or power-factor improvement capacitor bank is connected on the side of the thyristor
rectifier. Consequently, compensation characteristics of the active filter are influenced by the source
impedance, Zs, because the condition, ~ZLI>>1Zsl,
is no longer satisfied [13]. Moreover, it is clear
from (7) that the current flowing into the passive
filter 'connected on the load side is equal to ILhILOh=VSh/ZL. This current may be devastatingly
large when the ac source is stiff and has appreciable
voltage distortion, VJh. This means that ambient
harmonics upstream will flow into the passive fil,
be enter. The load harmonic current, I L O ~will
tirely compensated by the active filter but not by
the passive filter and the passive filter will absorb
all ambient harmonics upstream instead. Therefore, special considerations are needed when a parallel passive filter and a parallel active filter are
placed in the same power system. If one tries to use
a combined system of parallel active filter and parallel passive filter to compensate load harmonics,
the compensation responsibility of both the active
filter and passive filter should be clear and well
controlled. For example, using an active filter to
compensate for the fifth- and seventh-order harmonics and a passive filter for higher order harmonics is a good responsibility-sharing of
harmonic compensation, since an active filter is
better for lower order harmonic compensation and
a passive filter is better for higher order harmonic
compensation. In this case, only the fifth- and seventh-order harmonics of the load current should be
extracted as the reference of the active filter so that
the active filter would not inject higher order harmonic current into the line.
/E lndustry Applications Muguzine a Sepfember/Ottober I998

Therefore, when the following equation

is satisfied, the source current will become sinusoidal. That is,

I,

=o

Equation (13) is the required operating condition that should be satisfied when a parallel active
filter compensates for a harmonic voltage source.
However, it is difficult for a parallel active filter to
satisfy (13 ) , because a harmonic voltage source usually presents a very low internal impedance, ZL.
For example, considering a diode rectifier with a
large smoothing electrolytic dc capacitor, we have
12,= 01 as long as no series reactor is placed on the
ac side of the rectifier. So (13) cannot be satisfied
only with the source impedance, Zs, which is usually under 10 percent (0.1 pu).
Providedthat lZjl=?%=O.O3pu,/l-G/h=O.l for
the fifth-order harmonic, a series reactor of o.06pu
(i.e., 6 percent) has to be placed on the ac side ofthe
diode rectifier to let lZs+ZL/(l-G)I=3pu.
Moreover, it is evident from (12), (14)and (16) that (i)
the parallel active filter makes the source impedance equivalent to zero as seen from the load side,
thus lowering ac impedance to the load, (ii) harmonic current injected by the parallel active filter
will flow into the load, and (iii) distortion of the
source voltage, vsb, also causes a large harmonic

current to flow into the load. These effects will

largely increase the load harmonic current and the
required volt-ampere (VA) rating ofthe parallel active filter, especially when ZL is small. These problems will be shown later, in the discussion of field
testing results.

Characferisfic Analysis of Series Active Filters

A series active filter, as discussed in this paper, is to
be placed in series between the ac source and the
load (or harmonic source) to force the source current to become sinusoidal. The approach is based
on a principle of harmonic isolation by controlling
output voltage of the series active filter. In other
words, the series active filter is to present high impedance to harmonic current, therefore blocking
harmonic current flcw from the load to the ac
source and from the ac source to the load side. As in
the preceding section, characteristics of series active filters are developed for harmonic current
sources and harmonic voltage sources.

For Harmonic Curvent Sources

Fig. 7 shows the basic principle of a series active filter compensating for a harmonic current source,
where Vc represents output voltage ofthe series active filter and the load (or harmonic source) is represented as Nortons equivalent. If the series active
filter is controlled as

V, =KGI, ,

where G is the equivalent transfer function of a detection circuit of harmonic current, including delay
time of the control circuit. G is supposed to equal
zero at the fundamental and approximately equal to
1 for harmonics, that is, IGk=O and / G / h = l .K is a
gain with the dimension of ohms inpu. Distortion
voltage of the ac source, V S h , usually is much
smaller than harmonic current of the harmonic
source. So when

is satisfied, we have

=o,

AC Source

Harmonic Source

Fig 8. Racic PrinciBle of ceriec a c h e filter for a harmonic uoltage source.

(17)

then we get the source current as follows,

Is

Fig. 7. Basic principle of series active f i l t e r f o p a harmonic current source

(21)

that is, the source current becomes sinusoidal.

Here, (19) is the required operating condition for
the series active filter 1-0compensate for a harmonic
current source. Equation (19) requires that the gain,

K , should be large and the impedance of the load

side, IZ&, be small for harmonics, in order to suppress the source harmonic current. However, for a
conventional phase-controlled thyristor rectifier, Z L
is almost infinite, so (19) cannot be satisfied.
It is clear from (20) that the required output
voltage of the series active filter, Vc, also becomes
infinite. As a result, the series active filter cannot
compensate for a current-source type of harmonic
source theoretically. If a parallel passive filter is
placed with the thyristor rectifier, however, Z L
will become very small, (19) can be easily satisfied,
and the required output voltage, Vc, becomes very
small as well. This case is the combined system of
series active filter and parallel passive filter, which
has been discussed in 1141. In addition, it should be
noted that the series active filter has a very important feature, that is, it provides harmonic isolation
between the source and load. Equations (20) and
(21) indicate that neither the source harmonics,
VSh, will appear on the load side, nor the load harmonics, ILO, will flow into the ac source.

For Harmonic Voltage Sources

Fig. 8 shows the basic principle of series active filter compensating for a harmonic voltage source. If
the series active filter is controlled as

V, = K G I S ,
IFF IndustryApplications Mogozine

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September/Ocfober I998

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in Fig. 9, can be adapted. In this case, we have almost K=-. Also, the ramp (or triangular wave)
comparison control method shown in Fig. 10 can
be used, where the reference of output voltage, Vi,

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is given by
Fig. 9. Hysteresis control method for series active filter.

V,* = G ( K I , - V L ) .

(27)

Hence, assuming that the active filter follows its

reference bona fide, i.e.,V, = V i , the source current
becomes

I
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Fig. 10. Ramp-comparison control method for series

active filter.

the source current becomes

I, =

V,

- (1-

G)V,

Z , + Z L +KG

When Vxi, is relatively small and

ll-Glb < < l

I
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is satisfied, the source current becomes sinusoidal

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that is,
even with K= lpu and IZ~+ZLIK,

Therefore, when (24)is satisfied, we have ( 2 5 ) and

(26) as:

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(29)

I,

=o

(25)

Equation (24) is the required operating condition for the series active filter to compensate for a
harmonic voltage source. To realize a large gain, K ,
the hysteresis-comparator control method shown

Basit Operating Printiple

Adaptive loads

Equation (29) is the required operating condition for the series active filter to compensate for a
harmonic voltage-source load, which depends only
on the series active filter itself. It is also clear from
(30) that the compensation characteristics of the series active filter are independent from the source imHence the
pedance Zs and the load impedance ZL.
series active filter can suppress harmonics of the
source current effectively.These conclusionsregarding the series active filter compensating for a
harmonic voltage-source load are completely
equivalent to those of the parallel active filter com-

Operates os a current source

Inductive or current-source loads or harmonic
e.g., phase-controlled thyristor rectifiers of dc drives

Operates us a voltage sourte

SOUrceS,

Capacitive Or voltage-source loads

Or harmonic
e.g., diode rectifiers with direct smoothing capacitors for ac
drives

Compensation Characteristics

Excellent and independent of the source impedance, Z, for current-source loads, but depend on Z, when the load impedance,
Z, , is IOW

Excellent and independent of the source impedance, Z, and the

load impedance, Z,, for voltage-source loads, but depend on Z,
when the loads are a current-source tvue

Application Considerations

Iniected current flows into the load side and may cause
overcurrent when applied to a capacitive or voltage-source load

A low impedance parallel branch (parallel passive filter or

power-factor improvement capacitor bank) is needed when apdied to an inductive or current-source load

Ilndustry Applications Magazine

September/October 1998

pensating for a harmonic current-source load. Experimental verificationis shown two sectionshence.

Comparison of P a d e l Active Filters

and Series Active filters
In the previous sections, compensation characteristics of parallel active filters and series active filters
were analyzed theorerically. The corresponding required operation conditions of both parallel active
filter and series active filter for harmonic current
sources and harmonic voltage sources, respectively,
were derived. In circuit configurations, duality relationships exist between the parallel active filter
and the series active filter, that is, Fig. 5 is the dual
ofFig. 8, and Fig. 6 is the dual ofFig.7. Therefore,
the properties of the corresponding adaptive loads
(harmonic sources) are each the dual of the other.
Table 1 summarim comparisonsofparallel active
filters and series active filters, where their respective
features and application considerations are listed.

Fig. 11. System configuration of parallel active filter.

40

(dB-pu)

Field Testing Results of Compensation

for Harmorric Voltage Sources
For a harmonic current-source load as shown in
Fig. 5 , compensation characteristics of the parallel
active filters have been frequently discussed in the
literature. This configuration has been considered
as a typical case for studying active filters. The
combined system ofa series active filter and aparalle1 passive filter, which is the case in Fig. 7, has
been presented in [14] and 1151. However, compensation character]stics for harmonic voltage
sources have not been studied and reported so far.
In addition, the author has found the difficulties
and problems mentioned in previous sections when
installing a parallel active filter to compensate for
harmonics generated from ac drives. Therefore, for
the typical harmonic voltage-source load-an
ac
drive's diode rectifier with smoothing dc capacitor-charactetistics Df both parallel active filter
and series active filter are discussed in this section
by simulation and experiment.

Parallel Active Filters

Fig. 11 shows the practical system configuration
discussed here by simulation and experiment,
where the circuit constants are indicated in detail.
L,, C, and Rr form a small passive filter to reduce
the pulse width modulation (PWM) switching ripples generated from the inverter of the active filter.
The load is a 60 k W ac drive and the active filter is a
50 kVA commercial product. The equivalent
transfer function of the parallel active filter, G, is
given by

where k is the equivalent gain (k=1+0.01-1k0.1,

the error results from the precision of current sen-

0
-20

-49

Fig. 12. Compensation characteristics of parallel active filter for a harmonic

voltage source w i t h different load impedances.
I

sors and current control), G, is the equivalent

transfer function of the harmonic detection circuit
(in the experimental system, first-order high-pass
filter with cutoff frequency,fc=SOHz, is used on
the synchronous reference frame, see [l5f and [ 8 ]
for details), z is the delay time of the control circuit
(a DSP digital control is used in the practical system, T = 30 psec), andaol(s+oo) is the transfer
function of the isolation amplifier used in the control circuit. From (1 l), the compensation characteristics can be obtained as

I"Ll",=O

Iz,

+&I

Fig. 12 shows the calculated values plotted in

the solid lines. It is clear that, the smaller the load

impedance, the worse are the compensation charac-

teristics. Fig. 13 shows the simulation waveforms

with Z ~ = 0 . 2 4 %(i.e., a small series ac reactor, as
shown in Fig. 11, is placed). Harmonics remained
in the source current after the parallel active filter
was started. In addition, harmonic current of the
load, especially the peak value, increases largely
IFF Industry Applications Mogozine

September/Ortober I998

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Fig. 13. Simulated waveforms of parallel active filter for a harmonic

voltage source (diode rectifier) w i t h ZL=O.24%.

due to the injected harmonic current from the active filter, which may cause overcurrent. When the
series inductance ZLis reduced to zero, the parallel
active filter will form a positive feedback, because
the injected current will completely flow into the
load side and then will be picked up by the active
filter itself as its current reference.
With the same conditions, experiments were
performed in the field. The experimental waveforms are shown in Fig. 14, which exactly agree
with the simulation waveforms shown in Fig. 13.
The FFT results of the experimental waveforms are
plotted as X in Fig. 12, which agree with the calculated results very well. In Fig. 14, the dc voltage
of the parallel active filter was 8OOV, the rms VA
rating and the peak VA rating of the active filter
were 76% and 123% of that of the load, respectively. (The peak VA rating is defined as the product of peak voltage value and peak current value,
divided by 2, that is, the peak VA rating =
(V, /
.(I, /
Therefore, it is not economi-

fi

(4

(b)

Fig. 14. Field testing results ofparallel active filter for a harmonic
voltage source (diode rectifier) w i t h ZL=0.24%, IS, IC, and IL: 2OOAldi6
time: Smsldiv.

Fig. 15. Field testing results of parallel active filter for a harmonic
voltage source (diode rectifier) w i t h ZL=7.30%, IS, IC, and IL: 2OOAldiv,
time: Smsldiv.

fi.

cal and practical for a parallel active filter to compensate for a harmonic voltage-source load,
especially when the load-side impedance is low,
because the required VA rating of the parallel active filter may be even larger than that ofrhe load.
In the case of applying a parallel active filter to a
harmonic voltage source, a large series reactor must
be placed on the load side to enhance the load impedance. Fig. 15 shows experimental waveforms
with larger series inductance, Z ~ = 7 . 3 %In
. this
case, the source current, Is, becomes sinusoidal,
and the rms and peak VA ratings of the parallel active filter were 33% and 49% of that of the diode
rectifier, respectively. To compensate for a harmonic voltage source, therefore, a minimum 6% of
series inductance should be placed on the load side
to meet the required operation conditions as mentioned previously in the discussion of parallel active filters for harmonic voltage sources.

Series Aciwe Filters

Fig. 16. System configuration of series active filter for harmonic

compensation of a diode rectifier.
I

/FEE Industry Applications Magazine

September/October 1998

From the above-mentioned analytical and experimental results, it is evident that the injected harmonic current from a parallel active filter flows
into the load side rather than into the source side
for a harmonic voltage-source load, and is thus unable to cancel the harmonic current of the source
and enlarging harmonic current of the load instead. To solve the above problems, a large series
reactor should be placed on the load side. However,
a large series reactor is bulky, increases costs, and
causes a fundamental voltage drop, hence it is undesirable. Since it has been shown in the previous
analysis that series active filters are better suited for
harmonic compensation of a harmonic voltage
source, a series active filter is applied to harmonic
compensation of the diode rectifier in this section.
The validity is corroborated by experiment.

Fig. 16 shows the system configuration of a series active filter used to compensate for the diode
rectifier. The series active filter is placed between
the ac source and the load through a three-phase
transformer, the main circuit of which is the same
circuit used in the parallel active filter shown in
Fig. 11, composed of three-phase bridge PWM inverter. Lr, Cy, and R, form a switching ripple trap
just like the switching ripple filter used in the parallel active filter. The hysteresis control method
shown in Fig. 9 is usvd, the average switching frequency is 4 kHz, and the dc voltage of the series active filter is 340V, which is much lower than that
of the parallel active filter of Fig. 11.
Figs. 17, 18, and 19 show experimental and
simulated waveforms under the same conditions.
Note that no series reiwtor is placed on the rectifier
side, that is, ZL=O.After the series active filter was
started, the source current became sinusoidal. The
output voltage of the series active filter, Vc, was
65V. Without the aforementioned problems of the
parallel active filter, ]:he series active filter has excellent compensation characteristics. The rms VA
rating of the series active filter was 25% of that of
the load. Also, it is clear that since the current (in
this case, the source current is equal to the load current) becomes sinusoidal, the peak value of the load
current, and the tipples ofthe dc voltage of the rectifier, are minimized. In addition, the series active
filter and the diode rectifier can share the same dc
capacitor (source)by selecting an appropriate turns
ratio for the isolation rransformer [l8]. In this way,
the dc voltage control will become very easy.
Futher, the switching ripple filtering inductor, L,,
can be incorporated into the transformer to reduce
component count.

(b)

(a)

Fig. 17. Field testing results of series active filter, VTa: 635Vldiv, ISa:
ZOOAldiu, VCa: 254Vldiv, time: Smsldiv. (a) before being started, (b) aft6
being started.

(a) Before Started

(b) After Started

Fig. 18. Field testing results of series active filter, upper trace=VLab:
63SVldiq middle trace=ISa:2OOAldiv, lower trace=VCa:254Vldiv, time:
Smsldiv.
I

Cctnclusions
In this article, comm'm nonlinear loads have been
characterized into two types of harmonic sources,
current-source type of harmonic source and voltage-source type of harmonic source. Compensation
characteristics of both parallel active filters and series active filters have been discussed analytically
and experimentally for these two types ofharmonic
sources. The corresponding required operation
conditions, features, application issues, and adaptive harmonic sources of both filters have been presented. The fact that the traditional active filter,
the parallel active filter, is not panacea to harmonic
compensation, and that and one cannot use it
blindly, has been clearly addressed. The parallel active filter will increase harmonic current and may
cause overcurrent of the load when the load is a harmonic voltage source. Instead, it has been verified
that the series active filter is better suited for compensation of a harmonic voltage source such as a diode rectifier with smoothing dc capacitor. The
conclusions of this article also imply that when a
parallel active filter is installed in a power system

Fig. 19. Simulated results of series active filter.

network such as at a point of common coupling,

the network impedance and main harmonic
sources downstream from the installation point
should be investigated in order to get good petformance and to minimize influence to the loads
downstream. In some cases, a combined system of
parallel active filter and series active filter may be
necessary by utilizing the harmonic isolation function of the series active filters. No doubt active filters are superior to passive filters if used in their
niche applications.

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References

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harmonic currenrs by magnetic compensation-considerarions on basic design," l E E E Tram P A S , Vo1.90, no. 5, p.
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121 L. Gyugyi and E. C. Strycula, "Active AC power filters,"
IEEEIIAS Annu. Meeting, 1976, p. 529.

Ifflndustry Applirotions Mogozine

September/Ortober 1998

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J J Vithayathil, Active filters for AC harmonic suppression, IEEE PES Wznter Meeting, A77 026-8, 1977
C4] H Akagi, A Nabae, and S Atoh, Control strategy ofactive
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[5] K Komatsugi andT Imura, Harmonic current compensator composed ofstatic power converter, IEEEIPESC, 1986,
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[6] K Hayafune, T Ueshiba, E Masada, and Y Ogiwara, Microcomputer controlled active power filter, ZEEEIZECON,
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[7] S Bhattacharya, A Veltman, D M Divan, and R D
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[I11 M Kohata, S Atnh, and H Akagi, Practical active power
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on active power filters using PWM converters (in Japanese), I E E ofJapan>PE-86-154, 1986.
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