Filtering of harmonics

and reactive power

compensation

Read the additional material in MyCourses,

Kjeld Thorborg, Power Electronics, chapter
on filters
Content
 Filtering of the output of an inverter
 Filtering of line currents
 Passive filters
 Active filters
 Static reactive power compensation
 Solutions based on power electronics
 Filtering of dc-link
 Six-pulse rectifier
 Load is resistance
 Load is voltage sourced inverter

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 2

Why filtering
 Converters are producing both voltage and
current harmonics
 Filters are based on inductors and capacitors
 Efficiency as high as possible
 Filter resistances should be small
 Risk for not wanted resonances
 Filters are enhancing voltage and/or current
properties of the converter

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 3

Voltage Filter
 Output voltage of self-commutated
inverters contains harmonics (PWM)
 When the voltage is sinusoidal enough?
 THD less than 10%
 Often required less than 5% or even 3 %

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 4

Filtering factor (damping)
U 2 n  Z´´n  1
f n   
 Voltage divider U1 n  Z´´n  Z´n  1  Z´n Y´´n 

 Phase-shiftis not often interesting

=> RMS value is enough
 At fundamental there should be no
damping f   1
1

 At harmonics high damping

𝑓𝑛 → ∞

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 5

Series and parallel resonance
 Fundamental
1
X ´  L´ 
 Series impedance must be zero C´

 Parallel impedance must be infinite 1

Y ´´ C´´ 
L´´
 At harmonics n
1 ´ 1
Z´n  jL´n  j  jX  n  
C´n  n

1  1
Y´´n  jC´´n  j  j Y ´´ n  
L´´´n  n

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 6

Filtering
 Using the previous impedances
1 1
f n  
´ 1  1 2
 1 
1  jX  n   jY ´´ n   1   n   X ´Y ´´
 n  n  n
 Results is infinite if
1 
2
 1 ´ 1 1
1   n   X Y ´´ 0  n     4 
 
´ ´´
n 2  X Y X ´Y ´´ 

 Harmonics at these frequencies are amplified

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 7

Filter current
 Current

U1 n  Y´´n  1
I1 n    U1 n   U1 nY ´´ n  f
Z´´n   Z´n  1  Z´n Y´´n  n  n

 Oftenper unit values are used when

discussing filters
 It
is based on rated voltage U and rated
apparent power S or current I

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 8

Example

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 9

Filter without series resonance
 Series capacitor is a risk
for resonances if load is
inductive
 Without series capacitor
 Output voltage depends on
load current
 To compensate this
converter output voltage
must be changes according
to the load current

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 10

Short-ciruit link

 Output quality can be improved further by

filtering individual harmonics
 Series resonant filter tuner for specific
frequency, e.q. third harmonic U  RI  3  3
 At fundamental capacitive
 At harmonic frequency only resistance
 Filter quality factor should be high, i.e. resistance
should be small

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 11

Current filtering
 Source of current harmonics
 Filtering of currents
 Passive harmonic filters
 Series and parallel resonances
 Reactive power compensation
 Active filters

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 12

Thyristor rectifiers
 Rectifiersare causing harmonics based
on the pulse number of the converters
n = pk ± 1 (k = 1, 2, ...)
 Amplitude I(n) = I(1)/n

 Commutation is assumed to be infinite

fast and dc current ideally smooth

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 13

Commutation angle and ripple
 In practice current is
not ideal
 Commutation reduces
harmonics in line
current
 Ripple in dc-current
increases fith harmonic
in line current

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 14

AC-regulators
 Very harmful for the
supply system
 Two control principles

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 15

Zero-crossings
 Thyristors are conducting full line-cycles
 Also sub-harmonics, ie lower than 50 Hz

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 16

Control using delay angle
 Similarto rectifiers
 Always higher harmonics than 50 Hz

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 17

Reactive power
 Alsoneed for
reactive power
because of the
delay

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 18

Harmonic voltages
 Converter (rectifiers) are sources of current
harmonics for the supply system
 Harmonic voltage is created by the harmonic
impedance and current U n  Z N  n I n

 Defining the ac system impedance exactly is

difficult
Z N  n  nX 1
 Often approximated by a reactance
 Fundamental reactance is calculated from the
sort-circuit power U2
X 1 
Sk

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 19

 Voltage distortion
 Supply system and the
transformer are creating 20kV
Fundamental and
harmonic impedance Zh harmonic currents
Harmonic
voltages
 Load creates harmonic current Z U5 U7 Un

Ih Fundamental and
400V harmonic currents
 Voltage distortion
Uh
U THD  *100% Load I5 I7 In
U rms
Frequency converter
U h  U 3  U 5  U 7  ...  U n
2 2 2 2

U rms  U1  U 3  U 5  U 7  ...  U n
2 2 2 2 2

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 20

 Voltage distortion, example
U 5  3 * Z5 * I 5  3 *44 m *500 A  38 V
Initial values:
U rms  U1  U 5  4002 *382 V  402 V
2 2

5. Harmonic current: 500 A

Transformer values : U5 38
Un = 20/0,4 kV U 5th THD  *100%  *100%  9,5%
Sn = 1000 kVA U rms 402
Zk = 5,5 %
Voltage waveform
Transformer impedance at 250 Hz is 600

44 m
400

200

-200

-400

-600

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 21

Harmonic filters
 Currentfiltering is done with LC-circuits
tuned to specific frequencies
 Normally parallel connected circuits for
different frequencies
 Additionally a wide band filter for higher
harmonics
 Single- and three-phase connections

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 22

 Principle of a filter

IMPEDANCE AS FUNCTION OF FREQUENCY

Capacitive Inductive
Z

250Hz f/Hz

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 23

Principle of filter bank
20 kV

10 - 20%

400V

80 - 90%
100%

5. 7. 11.

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 24

Single-phase equivalent circuit

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 25

Tuning
 Capacitor
 At fundamental frequency filter produces reactive
power, impedance of capacitor dominant
 Size is selected based on the required
compensation,i.e. reactive power
 Inductance is selected based on the series
resonance
 Low impedance circuit for 5., 7., 11. etc harmonics
 Over-current protection of the filter is needed

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 26

Principle of filter
 Harmonic current of the converter is
divided based on the impedances of the
filter and power system I   Z     I   I    Z  
N n N n n N n F n

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 27

Network voltage and current
harmonics
 Harmonic current in network
Z F  n 1
I N  n = I n = In
Z F n  Z N n 1 + YF  n  Z N  n 
I n
Un 
 And voltage Y n 

 Admittance seen by the current harmonics

is the sum of filter and network
1
Y n   YF  n  
Z N  n

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 28

Filter tuned to harmonic p
 Capacitor admittance jC at fundamental is
jYp p.u.
 Reactances at the tuning frequency p
 Capacitor -1/pYp, inductor 1/pYp
 At resonance the sum is zero
 Filter admittance at frequency n
1
YF  n  
n 1
j 
p 2Yp jnYp
n
 jnYp 2
n
1  
 p

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 29

Effect of network impedance
 Network model is reactance XN

j
Z N  n   jnX N YN  n  
nX N

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 30

Example
 Filter tuned for the fifth harmonic
n
YF  n   0, 2
1   n 5
2
 Yp = 0,2, n = 5
 Filteradmittans
 n < 5, filter is capacitive

 n > 5, filter is inductive

 Network reactance assumed XN = 0,1

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 31

Admittance seen by harmonics
 Admittance is zero
when filter and network
are in parallel
resonance
 In the example n is close
to four
 Currents with that
frequency are amplified
in theory to be infinite
1
Y n   YF  n  
Z N  n

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 32

Tuning of the filter
 Parallel resonance
 Should be as far from all existing harmonics as
possible
 Filter is not tuned exactly on harmonics
because of tolerances etc.
 Inductive network (normal)
 Tuning few percent below ideal
 => filter remains inductive at tuning frequency
 Capacitive network
 Tuning few percent above ideal
 => filter remains capacitive at tuning frequency

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 33

Two filters in parallel
 Tuning frequencies p and q
n n 1
Y n   jYp  jYq 
1 n p 1 n q
2 2
jnX N

1  n2 n2 
 Yp X N  Yq X N  1
1 n p 1 n q
2 2
jnX N  
 Parallel resonance when admittance is zero
1 1
Yp X N  Yq X N 1
1 n   1 p  1 n   1 q 
2 2 2 2

 1  1  1
2
1 1 Yp X N Yq X N
 
 2  p N q N
Y X Y X   2  2
   2 0
n  
2 2 2 2
p q n pq q p

 Result is two positive values of n

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 34

Example
 Filter for fifth + filter for
seventh harmonic with
Yq = 0,1

 Two resonances, n = 3,9 and

6,36

n n 1
Y n   j0, 2  j0,1 j
1   n 5 1  n 7
2 2
0,1n

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 35

Losses
 Previously filters were
assumed to be ideal
 In practice losses,
series reistance Rp
 Quality factor 1 1 1 1
Qp   
 Two filters Rp C p Rp pC p RpYp
1 1 1
Y n    
jn  p 2Yp   1 jnYp  R p jn  q 2Yq   1 jnYq  Rq jnX N  RN
 jf  n   g  n 
 At series resonance adimittance is not infinite, i.e. not perfect
filtering result
 At paralle resonance admittance is not zero, i.e. no risk of
infinite gain

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 36

Broadband filter
 Previously damping at high frequencies was small
 Broadban filter, tuned e.g. for n = r = 11
 Resistance is selected to be the inductance value at
resonance

1
Y n  
1 1

jnYr rYr   r 2Yr  jn

1  j r n 
3

 rYr
r n  r n 1
4 2

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 37

Example
 Ratio of network and converter harmonics
 Filter is effective even at high frequencies
 Parallel resonance at n = 3,90 ja 6,36

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 38

Active filters
 Active filters are dc-ac converter that are
connected in parallel with network and
rectifier
 Current reference is based on the
fundamental component and harmonics of
the rectifier
 Active filter produces harmonics of the current,
reversed
 Ideally total current is sinusoidal

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 39

 Active filter 400A

200A
200A

100A

0A

0A

-100A

-200A

-200A
20ms 30ms 40ms 50ms 60ms
I(I1)
Time

-400A
20ms 30ms 40ms 50ms 60ms
Imains
Time

ILOAD
3 3
M
CT
IMAINS
2 3
Principle
Filter is active current source. Creates 3
the harmonics of the rectifier 180 MaxSine
degrees phase-shifted. ISAF

Sum of currents is sinusoidal 200A

100A

0A

-100A

-200A
20ms 30ms 40ms 50ms 60ms
Isaf
Time

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 40

Result
•

Network current of a DC-motor drive a) without active filter and

b)with active filter

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 41

Reactive power compensation
 Traditionally capacitor banks are used
 Stepwise, fixed capacitors
 Mechanical, slow
 Power Electronics
 Fast and steples adjustment
 Thyristor controlled inductor or capacitor
 Self-commutated rectifier without active power
transfer

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 42

TCI, thyristor controlled
inductor (1/2)
 Inductor and
its current is
controlled with
thyristos
 Reactive
power
consumed is
adjusted

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 43

TCI, thyristor controlled inductor (2/2)
 Fundamental current component is
Us 1
I1   2π  2  sin 2  π   π
π L 2
 And reactive power consumed
Q1  U s I1

 Fixed capacitor is connected in parallel and it

produces fixed amount of reactive power
 Reactive power of the combination is
adjusted by adjusting inductor current

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 44

Thyristor controlled capacitors
 Mechanical switches replaced by thyristors
 On-off, no stepless control

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 45

Self-commutated rectifier
 Active rectifier
 No load connected,
only dc-capacitor
 Produces or
consumes reactive
power
 Active power is
needed only to
compensate losses
 Sinusoidal network
current

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 46

Filtering of dc-voltage
 Six-pulse rectifier
 Filtering of current, inductoc
 Filtering of voltage, capacitor
 Together a low-pass filter, -40 dB/decade

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 47

Equivalent circuit,
superposition
 For simplicity load is
assumed to be a
resistor
 No harmonics
because of load
 Circuit divided to dc
and ac

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 48

DC-voltage and -current
 Figure shows that p/3 +  < t < 2p/3 +
 and inductor voltage is
3 2
uv  ud  U d  2U sin  t  U cos 
π
 3 
 2U  sin  t  cos  
 π 
 Integrating
 π 3
2U  3 
iv   cos  t   t cos    iˆ1
L π t

 Current increases from its minimum

to maximum during integration
interwall
 π 3
2U  3  3cos 
iˆ  iˆ1  iˆ2   cos  t   t cos   x0  arcsin
L π π  x0 π

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 49

RMS value of current (1/2)
 RMS values is needed to
dimension inductor and
capacitor
 Current can be approximated
with 6*network frequency
 Amplidute a bit smaller than
half of the peak value

1 iˆ
I v  0,9  0,32iˆ
2 2

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 50

RMS value of current (2/2)
 E.g. at control angle 45o
Iv
 0,32  0, 095  0, 030
2U L
 Capacitor dimensioning is based on this
 Inductor dimensioning is based on I  I
2 2
d v

 If load is not passive, resistor(R)

 But a frequency converter
 Harmonics caused by it needs to be taken into
account

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 51

Frequency converter as a load
 DC-bus is combining both the rectifier
and inverter currents

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 52

Current in dc-bus
 Three different currents
 Supply side dc link current
 Motor side dc link current
 Average corresponds to the transferred power,
harmonics are from the PWM
 Dc link capacitor current
 Harmonics caused by the rectifier and by the inverter

 Next pages show these currents

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 53

Output current and motor side
dc-link current, PWM-harmonics
 Average dc current corresponds to the power

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 54

Line-current and supply side
dc-link current


ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 55

Capacitor current
 No dc component
 Harmonics
 Switching frequency harmonics from motor
currents
 Line-frequency harmonics from rectifier

ELEC-E8403 Converter Technique, JK 56