Harmonic Reduction in A Three-phase Rectifier

With Sinusoidal Input Current

M. A. A. Younis, N. A. Rahim, and S.Mekhilef
Power Electronics Research Laboratory
D e p m e n t of Electrical Engineering,
Faculty of Engineering, University of Malaya
50603Kuala Lurnpur, Malaysia.
E-mail: mhl Wvahoa.com

Abstra--ln this paper, a new approach to reduce harmonics electronic equipment, increase losses, and more importantly
generated by a three-phase diode rectifier is proposed. The contributes to inefficient use of electric energy [2].
proposed approach uses the input filters, 6 controllable switches,
high frequency isolation transformer and the three-phase diode
rectifier. A novel Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) implemented I"
in an XC4006 field programmable gate array (FPGA) modulates
the switching of the controllable switches. This approach realizes
sinusoidal input current waveforms with low electromagnetic
interference and arbitrary output voltage. The output voltage can
he controlled hy variation of the modulation index between in the
range ( 0 S b f S 0.98 ). The experimental results to
compare performance with and without the proposal approach
are carried out to confirm its feasibility.
119"L-Tw
IC lclc
T d l m Q

Index Term-Converter, field programmable gate array (FPGA),

harmonics, rectifier, Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM). Figure I: Three-phasebridp rectifier

1. INTRODUCTION
Power electronics is one of the fastest growth areas in
electrical technology. The technology of power electronics is
associated with the efficient conversion control and
conditioning of electric power by static means from its
available input form into the desired electrical output form. In
power electronics, various pulse width modulation (PWM)
techniques are widely employed to control the output of static
power converters. The reason for using PWM techniques is
that they provide voltage a n d o r current wave shaping
customized to the specific needs of the application under
consideration [I]. By using Sinusoidal Pulse Width
Modulation (SPWM), which can be performed by a variety of
different methods, three-phase power converters can be
controlled.
I . Three-phasebridge recti@er
The three-phase bridge rectifier circuit, as shown in figure
1 has three-legs, each phase.is connected to one of the three
phase voltages. Alternatively, it can be seen that the bridge
circuit has two halves, the positive half consisting of the
diodes DI, D3 and Ds and the negative half consisting of the
diodes D2.D4and D6. At any time when there is current flow,
one diode from each half conducts.
2. Three-phase bridge rect$er limitation
The diode rectifier interface to the electric utility exhibits
nonlinear characteristics with poor input power factor. Further,
the nonlinear nature of the diode type switching devices
causes significant harmonic currents in the utility lines
resulting in increase distortion, malfunction of sensitive
Recent research reports state that with the increased use of
power electronic equipment, the power quality aspects (power
factor and harmonics) of power conversion need immediate
attention [3][4]. A possible solution to the three-phase rectifier
is to add a passive filter to remove the individual harmonics
and adding a LC filter in the front ofthe rectifier in addition to
the DC choke. Typically, the filter can be tuned to the 5"
harmonic as it is the most difficult to comply. Once the 5"
harmonic is suppressed, the rest of the harmonics can be
reduced substantially.
The ordinary three-phase rectifier produces about 50% 5"
harmonic. After adding 1% and 5% DC choke, 5" harmonic
reduces to 38% and 26% respectively. However the limit of
this reduction is 20 percent even if the infinite choke added.
Thus a harmonic filter in addition to the DC choke is
necessary to meet IEC 1000-3-4, which deals with all the
electromagnetic compliance [SI. Part 3 sets limit to the
harmonic current emission for the equipment input current less
than or equal to 16-A [6].
11. THE NEW APPROACH CONFIGURATION
The main circuit of the three-phase AC to DC converter
as shown in figure 2(a), consists of six bi-directional IGBTs
switches Sl-S6, six blockstate diodes Dt-D6, input LC filters,
a high-frequency transformer T, a diode bridge, and an output
LC filter. The diodes D1-D6 are to prevent the load voltage
reversing beyond the voltage-drop value. The high-frequency
transformer realizes the ohmic isolation between the source
and the load. Practical bidirectional switches for SI-S6 with
the blocking state diodes are shown in figure 2(b). The input
LC filters are used to eliminate high frequency components in

0-7803-7459-21021$17.000 2002 IEEE - 2251 -

the input current of the converter. The output filter LC
suppresses the high frequency components of the output
voltage of the converter. The switching of the IGBTs is
t
modulated by synchronous PWM. Figure 4 shows the block
diagram of the converter and its control circuit.

--
(a)

,-

(b)

Fipre 2: ( 8 ) Three-phase AC m DC converter (b) Practical bi-directional

switcher

111. PWM GENERATION USING FPCA (XC4006E)

The implementation of sinusoidal PWM with digital
signal processors or microprocessors is common because of
their flexibility and the elimination of problems associated
with analogue circuitry [7]. The regular sampling has certain
advantages when implemented using digital technique [SI.
Reductions in the size of power electronics equipment brought
about by improved devices and packaging technology can now
1 'p I PhaseA 1 PhaseB PhaseC 1
be matched even at moderate sales volumes by smaller control
circuits employing Specific Integrated Circuit (ASKS). A
digital ASIC is used to replace a microprocessor in a
sinusoidal PWM system. An encoded look-up table i s used to
greatly reduce the silicon area required and hence reduce
costs. A mixed technology ASIC is used to implement high
frequency, current-regulated PWM in a digital format with an
on-chip analogue interface. This brings advantages over its all-
analogue pre-cursor in terms. of reduced calibration, better
repeatability, precisely controllable modes of operation and
lower component costs [9]. Figure 3 shows the three-phase
waveform and the use of 60° to generate the PWM.

IV. OVERALL BLOCK DIAGRAM

The overall block diagram of the three-phase PWM
generator is shown in figure 4. The carrier wave is compared
with the multiplied signal from the look-up table. The data of
the look-up table is stored in ROM, which contains the data of
the t w o Phases. The third one is calculated by using VHDL
program. The multiplexer will send the three-phase PWM Table 1: Decoding the multiplexer by the selector
signals to six switches as shown in table 1.

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 V. THE PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION pnmmddc ei
m ePm5C
The switching of the power devices is divided into six
equal time intervals of the 360’ mains cycle. The waveforms
repeat a similar pattern in each interval. Since the waveform
patterns are similar throughout the cycles, explanation for one
sextant (0‘ to 60‘) is sufficient to illustrate the converter
function.

k
Figure 5:Mode I ofaperation
I tl I t2 I t3 I t4 I t5 I k
SI I Ta 1 Ta I Ta 1 OFF 1 OFF I OFF

Figurc 6: Mode 2 of operation

Table 2: PWM switching sequences for the converter
operation

1. Circuit Operation
The commutating processes during the converting are
.based on table 2. Taking the sextant between t, and t,, as an
example, V, > 0, VB < 0 and Vc > 0, converter operation can
be classified into 4 modes.

With switches S4 and S5 ‘ON’ modulated by Tb and Figure 7: Mode 3 of operation

Tc respectively, current flows in phase C, IC > 0, and phase B,
le c 0. The commutating process is shown in figure 5. The
... IldcJ

bridge output voltage VL,being connected to the main supply

is line voltage VcB. The line voltage Vcs opposed by VDc is
applied across the inductor. Current ILincreases in the
inductor.

Mode 2: With switches SI, S4 and S5 ’OFF’, the inductor

current freewheel flows as shown in figure 6 . The inductor Figure 8: Mode 4 of operation
current flow does not involve the supply and creates a short
circuit across the. bridge, VL= 0. The inductor current
decreases as VOc is applied across the inductor.
VI. Design of power circuit
With switches SI and S4 ‘ON’ modulated by Ta and
AC side filter Parameters for the AC side filter are as
Tb respectively, current flows in phase A, I, > 0 and phase B, follow:
Ie < 0. The commutating process is shown in figure 7. The
bridge output voltage VL,being connected to the main supply
L, = llmH
is line voltage Vm. The line voltage VABopposed by VDc is c, = 1pF (44OV,50160Hz)
applied across the inductor. Current IL increases in the The resonance frequency of the AC-side circuit is given by
inductor. equation I ,
1
-With switches SI, S4 and S5 ’OFF’, the current flows F, = 2zG Hz= 1517Hz
into a load loop as shown in figure 8. The inductor current
flow does not involve the supply and creates a short circuit
Bcross the bridge, VL= 0. The inductor current decreases as (1)
The carrier frequency has to be considerably higher than
V,c is applied across the inductor.
the filter resonance frequency in order to avoid resonance
effect and to ensure carrier attenuation. The capacitors are
arranged to bypass the commutating energy and to absorb high
frequency switching harmonics.

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 In the new approach, a PWM control method is used for a
switching mode rectifier (SMR), with a carrier frequency of
18kHq to allow the filtering of the harmonics by small input
filter. Modem semiconductor technology has provided a wide
variety of electronic switches that can be used for switching
power conversion.
the power factor correction filter. The voltage total harmonic
distortion is improved to be 1.17% in the power factor
correction filter case rather than 3.17% in the case without the
power factor correction filter. Table 3 shows the total
harmonic distortion (THD) of the both cases.

2. DC sidefilter
. , . .
The DC side filter components values are as follows:
L, =IImH
c, = 470 pF 400VDC
At the DC side, L, is used to maintain a near constant
current. Filter capacitor C, acts as a voltage source. The
inductance value is chosen with regard to a low ripple current
requirement. The inductor can be relatively small since the
ripple frequency will be related to the switching frequency and
not the line S O H z frequency. A large inductance facilitates
smooth current but detracts from the transient response of the
circuit.
Figure 9 (a): The positive halfcycle ofphax (A) with ill nlated PWM
VII. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS at M 4 . 9

The functional principle and controller performance was

verified through the experimental model realization. This
prototype was implemented with fixed frequency and with
Pulse Width Modulation. The carrier frequency was set up to
18 kHz. Using HW-FPGA demonstration board from XILINX
generated six PWM waveforms. The demonstration board
used includes an XC4006-PC84C device in the PLCC 84-pin
socket. The displayed measurements in this paper are obtained
by means of TDS-220 oscilloscope from Tektronix, which has
two modules are available with capabilities, which is not
possible on analog oscilloscopes
Figure 9 shows Phase (A) with its PWM, figure 9(a) .- .. .. ._
shows the positive half cycle of phase (A) with its related
P W M , and figure 9(b) shows the negative half cycle of phase
(A) with its related PWM. The modulation index is 0.98. The
current flow, to the load is controlled via three IGBTs SI, $3 Figure 9 (b): The negative halfcycle afphase (A) with itE nlated PWM
at M4.98
and S5; and the IGBTs S2, S4 and S6 provide the return
current path. The converter has been tested with the following
parameters:
The input voltage VL= 175V
Modulation index = 0.98
The load is = 100 0
The input filter parameters L = I ImH, C = 1pF (AC)
The output filter parameters Lo = 1 ImH, CO= 470pF (DC)
Figure 11 shows the input current (IA) and the voltage
(VA). The harmonic spectrum of converter input current is
shown in figure 12. Figure 13 shows the output voltage V,
and the output current lDc.Figure 14 shows the input current
(13 and the voltage (V,) of the bridge rectifier. Figure 15
illustrates the harmonic spectrum of the input current (IL). The
output voltage VDc and the output current Ioc is shown in
figure 16. . , . ,
- . . .
. E . ,
. E . ,

Comparison between the three-phase bridge rectifier with

power factor correction filter and without power factor
correction filter shows that the current total harmonic Figure 1I: The input voltage (V,) and current (la) waveform, the voltage
distortion is improved to be 25.52% in the power factor is SOVidiv, the current is 500 d d i v
correction filter case compare with 56.94% in the case without

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 between the three-phase bridge rectifier with power factor
correction filter and without power factor correction filter are
carried out to confirm its feasibility.

IX. REFERENCES
[ I ] N.A.Rahim,T.C. Green, B.W. Williams, “PWM ASIC Desip forthe
three phaseBidirectional Buck.Converter”. MT. 1.Electronics, 1996.
[2] S. Kiim, P. N.Enjeti, P. Packebush, and 1.1. pitel, -A new Approach to
improve power factor and reduce harmonics in a three-phase diode rectifier
type utility interface”
[3] C. K. Duffey and R. P. Stratford, “Update the harmonic standard IEEE
519 IEEE recommended practicer and requiremcnts for harmonic control in
power systems,” IEEE Trans. Ind. App., pp. 12-14, Sept 1988.
[4] A. Ametani and K. Tominaga, “Fourier analysis of c u m n t harmonic on
Figure IS: The harmonic spectrum for the bridge input current a.c. system generated from a s -d.c. conversion system, ’’ Science & Eng Rev.
I?oshishaUniv.,val. 12, pp. 1-24, 1971.
[ 5 ] Thomas S. Key, and Jih _Sheng Lai, IEEE and international harmonic
IC
1DC VDC standards impact on power electronics equipment design”
[O] R. Grctseh, “Harmonic distortion of the mains voltage by swached-
v . * -.:
. ~ . :
mode power supplies-assessment of the future development and possible
mitigation measures, ’’ in pmc. EPE Aachen, 1989, pp. 1255-1260.
[7] Q. Jiang D. G. Holmes, and D.B. Gieaner, “A method of linearising
optimal PWM switching strategies to enable their computation on-line in real-
.. . . . . time”. IEEE prweeding industry Application Society, October 1991, pp. 819-
.. .. .. . . . . 825.
Ref [SI Green, T.C. Mirkazmi-Moud, M. Gwdfellow, J.K, Williams, B.W.
“Programmable Gate-Arrays and SemiCustom Designs for Sinusoidal and
Current-Regulated P W - A S I C Technology for Power Electronics
. . . . Equipmen&IEE Colloquium on, 1992, pp 41 4 4 .
. . . i
. . i

Figure 16: The output voltage (V,) and cunent (I*),

the voltage is
3OV/div, and the current is IA/div

Nrsrudin Abd. -him was born in Ilohore,

Malaysia, on November 17, ” 1960. He
received the B.Sc. (Hons).and, M.Se. degree
Table 3: The total ofthe harmonic distortion from University of Strathclyde in 1984 and
1987 and the Ph.D. d e w from Heriot-Watt
VIII. CONCLUSION University in 1995. He is presently a Lecturer
with the Department of Electrical Engineering,
Power electronic converter user’s, always have problems Univeniti ”- Malaya’ Malaysia. His research
with the operation of this type of equipment due to the non- interests: include power electronics, real-time
linear nature of the conversion process, which produces control system,and elccmcal drives.
harmonics in both the supplies to and the load supplied by the
converter. All the necessary FPGA h a r d w a r d s o h a r e
techniques require implementing and generating three-phase
Pulse width modulation (PWM) is developed in detail, and Sard Mekhilef received the B. Eng(1‘ class)
demonstrated using practical result from an experimental degree in electrical engineering hom University
of Setif in 1994. and Master of Engineering
FPGA board. The prototype three-phase power converter science from university ofMalaya in 1998. AAer
design was tested in open-loop configuration. The current pdadustion, he joined Power electmnies research
generated is a satisfactory, continuous AC supply current with labaratory at Depamnent of electrical
low harmonics distortion. The smooth DC voltage is achieved engineering,University of Malaya as a Research
Engineer. He is currently working with Dept. of
with large filter component. The data required for the analysis Electrical Eng. a s LecNrer. Mr. Saad is actively
is obtained from the TDS-220 digital oscilloscope. The three- involved in industrial consultancy, for major
phase AC-DC converter realizes sinusoidal input current corporations in the power e:lectmnics projects.
waveforms with ,low electromagnetic interference and
arbitrary output voltage. The experimental results to compare

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