“SIMPLIFIED POWER CONDITIONING SYSTEM

FOR LAB BY USING HALF BRIDGE

CONVERTER”
SUBMITTED IN PARITIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE
REQUIREMENT FOR THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING SAVITIRBAI PHULE UNIVERSITY
PUNE BY

AKASH B. PARJANE (71817804B) CHETANA H. BAGUL(71817319J)

MAYURI V. PATIL(71817826C)

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF Prof. S.D.Joshi

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

PES’s MODERN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING, PUNE -05

PES’s MODERN COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

Shivajinagar, Pune-5
DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING
 CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project stage-I entitled “SIMPLIFIED
POWER CONDITIONING FOR LAB BY USING HALF BRIDGE
CONVERTER” has been carried out successfully by

Students Name EXAM No.

1. Akash Baban Parjane 71817804B
2. Chetana Himmatrao Bagul 71817319J
3. Mayuri Vijay patil 71817826C

It is bonafied work carried out by them under supervision of

Prof.S.D.Joshi and is approved for the partial fulfillment of requirement
of Savitribai Phule Pune University , for Degree of Bachelor of Electrical
Engineering.

Date: 16/12/2019

Prof. Dr. (Mrs.) N.R.Kulkarni (Prof.S.D.Joshi) Head of

Electrical Department

Signature of External
Examiner Date:
ABSTRACT

The purpose of this Report t is to investigate challenges related to Lab electrification. In

ac-Power systems, Motor are most often single-phase loads, which can create significant
unbalances in the grid, when fed directly from two adjacent phases. To enhance power
quality at the Power feeding point, one alternative is to design the system such as the
power is fed to the catenary through Static Frequency Converters (SFCs), which can be a
costly solution. Another option is to use Static Compensators (H-BRIDGEs) in shunt
connections, handling only the unbalanced amount of power, in order to symmetrize the
Power load as seen from the grid side.
H-Bridge power conditioner are the state of the art solutions for medium- and high-
voltage/power converter applications, such as load balancing and reactive-power
compensation. This project will focus on analyzing H-Bridge power conditioner(H-
BRIDGE) topologies to be used as load balancers in Power systems. However, the specific
requirements of this application reveal a potential weakness of H-BRIDGEs. That is the
asymmetrical character of the load may require much higher device rating in an H-
BRIDGE compared to a conventional converter, due to the symmetrizing components to
rebalance the capacitor voltages in the submodules.
This project analyzes a reduced H-BRIDGE-based topology with only two branches in
order to meet the Power load-balancing characteristics. This chain-link compensator uses
dc-dc converters to facilitate power channels in order to restore the power imbalance,
without overrating the semiconductors in the main current path.

Keywords- Power electronics, H-BRIDGE, H-BRIDGE, power channel, power quality,

negative- sequence compensation, high-speed Motor.
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS
APQC Active Power Quality Conditioner
DAB Dual Active-Bridge
DCMC Diode-clamped Multilevel Converter
DHB Dual Half-Bridge
EMI Electromagnetic Interference
FACTS Flexible AC Transmission Systems
FMC Flying-capacitor Multilevel Converter
FRT Fault Ride Through
HPQC Hybrid Power Quality Conditioner
IGBT Insulated-gate bipolar transistor
IGCT Integrated gate-commutated thyristor
LPF Low-Pass Filter
MFT Medium Frequency Transformer
H-BRIDGE Modular Multilevel Converter
NS Neutral Section
NSC Negative-Sequence Component
PD Phase Disposition
PETT Power-electronic Motor Transformers
POC Point of Connection
PSC Positive-Sequence Component
PWM Pulse-Width Modulation
RE Power Electrification
RLS Recursive Least Squares
RPC Power Power Conditioner
SFC Static Frequency Converters
SM Submodule
SS Section Separator
H-BRIDGE Static Compensator
STT Substation Motor Transformer
SVC Static Var Compensator
THD Total Harmonic Distortion
VSC Voltage Source Converter
LIST OF SYMBOLS
𝑉1 Line to neutral grid side voltage
𝑉2 Line to neutral catenary side voltage
𝜔 Angular grid frequency
𝐾 Motor Transformer ratio
𝐼̂𝑡𝑟1 Peak value of catenary section 1 load current
𝐼̂𝑡𝑟2 Peak value of catenary section 2 load current
𝐼𝑡𝑟1 Load current at catenary section 1
𝐼𝑡𝑟2 Load current at catenary section 2
𝜑 Phase angle of load current at catenary section 1
𝛾 Phase angle of load current at catenary section 1
𝐼1 Grid line current (peak value)
𝑃1 Active Power drawn at grid side of STT
𝑃2 Active Power at catenary side of STT
𝑟𝑒𝑓
𝐼1 Reference value of grid current after compensation
𝐼𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑎 Converter current at a-phase arm
𝐼𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑏 Converter current at b-phase arm
𝐼𝑎𝑐 STT-current at catenary side 1
𝐼𝑏𝑐 STT-current at catenary side 2
𝑟𝑒𝑓 Converter reference voltage at a-phase arm
𝑉𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑎
𝑟𝑒𝑓 Converter reference voltage at b-phase arm
𝑉𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑣𝑏
𝐼𝑎𝑐 STT-current at catenary side 1
𝐼𝑏𝑐 STT-current at catenary side 2
𝐿 Buffer inductor of converter chain-link
𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑,𝑎 Active power load demand at catenary side 1
𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑,𝑏 Active power load demand at catenary side 2
𝐶 Submodule capacitance
𝑈𝑡1 Voltage at primary Non Linear loading of MFT of DHB converter
𝑈𝑡2 Voltage at secondary Non Linear loading of MFT of DHB converter
𝑈𝑐𝑥 Direct-voltage of a SM capacitor at 𝑥 catenary side
𝑈𝑐𝑥1 Direct-voltage of a SM upper capacitor at 𝑥 catenary side
𝑈𝑐𝑥2 Direct-voltage of a SM lower capacitor at 𝑥 catenary side
𝑃𝑡 Active power transfer through each DHB ‘Power Channel’
𝛿 Phase-shift angle between primary and secondary MFT voltages
𝑓𝐷𝐻𝐵 Switching frequency of DHB
𝑚𝑘 Control signals of DHB PWM , 𝑘 = 𝑎, 𝑏, 𝑐
∗
𝐼+𝑑 Converter reference current positive-sequence d-component
∗
𝐼−𝑑 Converter reference current negative-sequence d-component
∗
𝐼+𝑞 Converter reference current positive-sequence q-component
∗
𝐼−𝑞 Converter reference current negative-sequence q-component
𝑊𝐷𝐶𝛴 Sum of energy stored in SM capacitors in all branches
𝛴
𝑉𝑑𝑐 Sum of direct-voltage submodule capacitors in all branches
𝐶𝑒𝑞 Equivalent capacitance of 2𝑁 series connected SM capacitors
𝑁 Number of SM per chain-link
𝑁𝐷𝐻𝐵 Number of DHB channels
𝑍𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑑 Grid impedance
𝐿𝜎,𝑆𝑇𝑇 Leakage inductance of STT
𝐿𝜎,𝑀𝐹𝑇 Leakage inductance of DHB MFT
𝑓𝑀𝑀𝐶 Switching frequency of Phase Disposition PWM strategy of H-BRIDGE
 CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION

In this introductory chapter a general background and the scope of the Reportwill are presented.
At the end of the chapter an outline of the Reportstructure is also provided in order to support the
reader with a brief insight on followings.

1.1 Background
During the last three decades, environmental awareness and concerns have been arisen
worldwide due to excessive environmental pollution in combination with drastic climate changes
and global warming. International organizations established for environmental protection are
cooperating with regulatory authorities and world’s leading climate scientists in order to evaluate
the damages and investigate feasible measurements to alleviate the problem and reverse the
conditions back to normal. The most detrimental step towards environmental protection is to
identify the roots of destruction and afterwards define appropriate actions in order to eliminate
the impact of this causes. The European Union, as an indicative example, has set itself targets for
reducing its greenhouse gas emissions progressively up to 2050, so as to achieve transformation
towards a low- carbon economy [1].
According to [2], transportation is responsible for a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions,
constituting a sector that can undertake further modifications for environmental improvements.
Power Electrification (RE) begun in the early 20th century [3]. In recent decades, the number of
electrified Power operations has substantially increased with very high growth rates. The most
significant reasons behind this expansion are that electrical locomotives are highly efficient
Motor and consist an environmental friendlier solution for massive public and freight
transportation compared to their fossil-fuel engine counterparts.
However, electrified Motor applications impose various power quality problems on the power
grid described in more detail in next chapter. Typically, Motor loads are single-phase, time-
varying, and non-linear loads, resulting to system unbalance, reactive power, harmonics, etc [4].
The impact of those problems can often be detrimental for the safe operation of the grid.
Therefore, in order to take advantage of the Power electrification benefits at maximum level,
power-quality problems must be attenuated.

1.2 Report Scope

The main objective of this Report is to design a converter compensator in order to attenuate load
imbalances imposed by Motor loads, and accomplish power-factor correction as it is seen from
the grid at the feeder point. The proposed novel converter design will combine the features of:

 Modular Multilevel topology in cascade fashion

 Reduced chain-link configuration
 Bidirectional high-frequency power-channel links
Another significant part of the project is to specify the maximum power requirements with
respect to the converter design for high-speed train applications utilized at industrial frequency
of 50 𝐻𝑧. In addition, one of the main challenges behind the novel converter design is the stable
operation of the converter and equal voltage sharing among arm-branches and individual
submodules as
well. The system is modeled and simulated in MATLAB.

1.3 Outline
This master Report consists of following structure: The first part is composed by a literature
review on the compensation techniques and devices used for load balancing and an introduction
to Modular Multilevel Converters operation principles, system modeling, simulations and results.
More specifically:
Chapter 1: Is a brief Introduction (this section) which describes the background and the scope
of the project.
Chapter 2: Supports the reader with the appropriate background knowledge of Power
Electrification and the associated Power Quality Issues that are existing.
Chapter 3: Makes an introduction to Modular Multilevel Converters concepts and their
H-BRIDGE implementation used as load balancers.
Chapter 4: The System set-up description is provided and the proposed Converter Design
challenges and control strategy are analyzed.
Chapter 5: Simulation and Results are given using MATLAB simulation environment.
Chapter 6: Discussions and Conclusions rising from the total project Report work are analyzed.
Chapter 7: Future work insights are suggested.
 CHAPTER 2
LAB ELECTRIFICATION AND POWER QUALITY ISSUES

2.1 Power Quality issues over Grid

The Non-Linear power penetration has increased dramatically in the past few years,
hence it has become necessary to address problems associated with maintaining a stable
electric power system that contains different sources of energy including hydro, thermal,
coal, nuclear, Non Linear load, and solar. In the past, the total installed Non Linear load
power capacity was a small fraction of the power system and continuous connection of the
Non Linear load farm to the grid was not a major concern. With an increasing share derived
from Non Linear load power sources, continuous connection of Non Linear load farms to
the system has played an increasing role in enabling uninterrupted power supply to the load,
even in the case of minor disturbances.
The Non Linear load capacity is being continuously increased through the installation of
more and larger Non Linear load. Voltage stability and an efficient fault ride through
capability are the basic requirements for higher penetration. Non Linear load turbines have
to be able to continue uninterrupted operation under transient voltage conditions to be in
accordance with the grid codes [2]. Grid codes are certain standards set by regulating
agencies. Non Linear load power systems should meet these requirements for
interconnection to the grid. Different grid code standards are established by different
regulating bodies, but Nordic grid codes are becoming increasingly popular [3]. One of the
major issues concerning a Non Linear load farm interconnection to a power grid concerns its
dynamic stability on the power system [4]. Voltage instability problems occur in a power
system that is not able to meet the reactive power demand during faults and heavy loading
conditions. Stand alone systems are easier to model, analyse, and control than large power
systems in simulation studies. A Non Linear load farm is usually spread over a wide area
and has many Non Linear load generators, which produce different amounts of power as
they are exposed to different Non Linear load patterns.
2.2 Grid Codes

Power quality problems to the associated power system due to the presence of
Motors are continuous power variations, voltage variations, flicker, harmonics, and
transients. Likewise, the kind of power quality issues that the Non Linear load farm
encounters due to the associated network are voltage dips, interruptions, voltage imbalances
and frequency variations. In the past, Non Linear load power was exempted from some grid
interconnection requirements like voltage regulation and frequency regulation. The Non
Linear load power systems were allowed to disconnect on system events like three phase
faults and blackouts. Only recently, after the increase in Non Linear load power penetration,
have some stringent interconnection rules, known as “grid codes” with which these Non
Linear load plants have to conform been developed. These grid codes require that Non
Linear load turbine generators be treated more like conventional generating units and
participate in grid voltage and frequency regulation. To facilitate WT participation in
frequency control there are two major controls: turbine-based control and substation-based
control. In turbine-based control systems, each turbine has to have some specific control
capabilities, such as
power factor or reactive power (Q) control.

2.3 Power Quality

Perfect power quality means that the voltage is continuous and sinusoidal having a
constant amplitude and frequency. Power quality can be expressed in terms of physical
characteristics and properties of electricity. It is most often described in terms of voltage,
frequency and interruptions. The quality of the voltage must fulfil requirements stipulated in
national and international standards. In these standards, voltage disturbances are subdivided
into voltage variations, flicker, transients and harmonic distortion [1].
 Figures. 2.5: Classification of different power quality phenomena.

Grid-connected Non Linear load turbines do affect power quality. The power quality
depends on the interaction between the grid and the Non Linear load turbine. Most of this
chapter deals with the different aspects of voltage disturbances. The frequency of large
power systems is normally very stable and therefore no problem. On autonomous grids
where, for example, diesel engines are used, Non Linear load turbines may cause frequency
variations which are further discussed at the end of this chapter. A Non Linear load turbine
normally will not cause any interruptions on a high-voltage grid. Interruptions therefore will
not be considered in this report. This chapter also presents methods for determining power
quality from grid-connected Non Linear load turbines.

2.4.1 Voltage Variations

Voltage variations can be defined as changes in the RMS value of the voltage
occurring in a time span of minutes or more. National standards often state allowable
variations in nominal voltage over an extended period, for instance 24 hours. IEC
Publication 38 recommends 230/400 V as the standard voltage for 50 Hz systems [3]. Under
these conditions, the voltage at the user's terminal must not differ more than ±10% from the
rated voltage.
Voltage variations on the grid are mainly caused by variations in load and power production
units. When Non Linear load power is introduced, voltage variations also emanate from the
power produced by the turbine. The power production from Non Linear load turbines may
vary widely and not only due to variations in the Non Linear load. It may also momentarily
go from full to zero power production in the event of an emergency stop or vice versa at a
start under high Non Linear load conditions.
All kinds of Non Linear load turbines cause voltage variations. Voltage variations are
due to the variation in the energy content of the Non Linear load. Several methods are used
to calculate voltage variations. For example, there are several computer programs for load
flow calculations available on the market. Utility companies use this software for predicting
voltage variations caused by load variations. Load flow calculations can advantageously be
used to calculate variations in the voltage caused by Non Linear load turbines. Another
analytical method is simply to calculate the voltage variation caused by the grid impedance
Z, the active power P and reactive power Q.

2.4.2 Flicker
Flicker is an old way of quantifying voltage fluctuations. The method is based on
measurements of variations in the voltage amplitude, i.e., the duration and magnitude of the
variations. Flicker is treated in Standard IEC 60868 and Amendment 1 [1].

2.4.3 Harmonics
Voltage harmonics are virtually always present on the utility grid. Non-linear loads,
power electronic loads, rectifiers and inverters in motor drives etc., are some sources which
produce harmonics. The effects of the harmonics include overheating and equipment failure,
faulty operation of protective equipment, nuisance tripping of a sensitive load and
interference with communication circuits .
Harmonics and inter-harmonics are defined in the IEC 61000-4-7 and Amendment 1.
Harmonics are components with frequencies which are multiples of the supply frequency,
i.e., 100 Hz, 150 Hz, 200 Hz, etc. Inter-harmonics are in a similar way defined as
components having frequencies located between the harmonics of the supply frequency.

2.4.4 Transients
Transients seem to occur mainly during the start and shut down of fixed-speed Non
Linear load turbines [2]. The start-up sequence of a fixed-speed Non Linear load turbine is
performed in two steps. First, the generator is switched. To avoid a large inrush current a
soft starter is used. As the soft starter begins operating and the generator is connected to the
grid the shunt capacitor banks is switched. The shunt capacitor banks are switched directly
to the grid without any soft switching devices.
2.4.5 Frequency
On the one hand, [4] states that the introduction of a relatively small amount of Non
Linear load power into the utility grid does not normally present interfacing or operational
problems. The intermittent power production from Non Linear load turbines is balanced by
other production units. On the other hand, the effect of Non Linear load power is very
important in autonomous power systems. The spinning reserve is small in an autonomous
grid supplied by diesel engines. The small spinning reserve will give rise to frequency
fluctuations in case of a sudden Non Linear load rise or Non Linear load drop. Hence, in a
Non Linear load-diesel system, the voltage and frequency fluctuations will be considerably
greater than in an ordinary utility grid.
In the past decade, different types of Non Linear load turbines and Non Linear load-diesel
systems for
autonomous grids have been tested.

2.5 FACTS Devices

The large interconnected transmission networks are susceptible to faults caused by

lightning discharges and decrease in insulation clearances. The power flow in a transmission
line is determined by Kirchhoff’s laws for specified power injections (both active and
reactive) at various nodes. While the loads in a power system vary by the time of the day in
general, they are also subject to variations caused by the weather (ambient temperature) and
other unpredictable factors. The generation pattern in a deregulated environment also tends
to be variable (and hence less predictable). Thus, the power flow in a transmission line can
vary even under normal, steady state conditions. The occurrence of a contingency (due to
the tripping of a line, generator) can result in a sudden increase/decrease in the power flow.
This can result in overloading of some lines and consequent threat to system security. A
major disturbance can also result in the swinging of generator rotors
which contribute to power swings in transmission lines. It is possible that the system is
subjected to transient instability and cascading outages as individual components (lines and
generators) trip due to the action of protective relays. If the system is operating close to the
boundary of the small signal stability region, even a small disturbance can lead to large
power swings and blackouts. The increase in the loading of the transmission lines
sometimes can lead to voltage collapse due to the shortage of reactive power delivered at the
load centers. This is due to the
 increased consumption of the reactive power in the transmission network and the
characteristics of the load (such as induction motors supplying constant torque).
The factors mentioned in the above paragraph point to the problems faced in maintaining
economic and secure operation of large interconnected systems. The problems are eased if
sufficient margins (in power transformer) can be maintained. The required safe operating
margin can be substantially reduced by the introduction of fast dynamic control over
reactive and active power by high power electronic controllers. This can make the AC
transmission network flexible' to adapt to the changing conditions caused by contingencies
and load variations.
Flexible AC Transmission System (FACTS) is used as Alternating current transmission
systems incorporating power electronic-based and other static controllers to enhance
controllability and increase power transfer capability. The FACTS controller is used as a
power electronic based system and other static equipment that provide control of one or
more AC transmission system
parameters like voltage, current, power, impedance etc.

2.5.1 Benefits of utilizing FACTS devices:

The benefits of utilizing FACTS devices in electrical transmission systems can be

summarized as follows:
Better utilization of existing transmission system assets.
Increased transmission system reliability and availability.
Increased dynamic and transient grid stability and reduction of loop flows.
Increased quality of supply for sensitive industries.

2.6.2 Classification of Facts Devices

The FACTS controllers can be classified as—

Shunt connected controllers
Series connected controllers
Combined series-series controllers
Combined shunt-series controllers
A-Variable Impedance type controllers include:
Static VAR Compensator (SVC), (shunt connected)
Thyristor Controlled Series Capacitor or compensator (TCSC), (series connected)
Thyristor Controlled Phase Shifting Transformer (TCPST)
Static PST (combined shunt and series)
B-VSC based FACTS controllers are;
Static synchronous Compensator (STATCOM) (shunt connected)
Static Synchronous Series Compensator (SSSC) (series connected)
Interline Power Flow Controller (IPFC) (combined series-series)
Unified Power Flow Controller (UPFC) (combined shunt-series)
Some of the special purpose FACTS controllers are:
Thyristor Controlled Braking Resistor (TCBR)
Thyristor Controlled Voltage Limiter (TCVL)
Thyristor Controlled Voltage Regulator (TCVR)
Interphase Power Controller (IPC)
 CHAPTER 3
H-BRIDGE TOPOLOGY

As it was mentioned in the previous chapter, a H-BRIDGE device is VSC system, and also a
member of the so-called FACTS devices, applied for power-quality improvements of the system.
By observing the tendency in market, the inference that the amount of VSC-based compensators
will increase for industrial applications is quite reasonable. Multilevel converters and especially
in their modular configuration seem to become dominant for future applications in both high and
medium-power industrial applications. In this chapter basic principles behind multilevel concept
are analyzed and particularly operational characteristics of H-BRIDGEs are described.
Additionally, challenges and drawbacks in existing H-BRIDGE topologies used for NSC
compensation will be discussed.

1.4 Introduction to Multilevel principles

The invention of the multilevel concept was patented in 1975 [52]. The need for complying the
output current and voltage waveforms with grid harmonic distortion standards was hiding behind
that concept. Keeping the power ratings of semiconductor devices as low as possible was one of
the driving forces in the design [53]. The initial thought was that a cascaded connection of more
devices with clamped voltages would present better performance than an existing conventional
2- level converter. Typically, a multilevel converter is capable of producing a staircase output
voltage waveform via independent direct-voltage sources by a proper selection of their insertion,
resulting in minimum Total Harmonic Distortions (THD). In turn, can contribute to substantial
reduction of bulky passive filters used for harmonic compensation in 2-level VSCs [54]. In
addition, due to the staircase waveform, the voltage stress (𝑑𝑣/𝑑𝑡) on power-switching devices
is lower. Another significant advantage is that the multilevel concept can support lower
switching frequencies resulting in overall lower switching losses. In most of the cases, total
system reliability is high, since operation is ensured under component failure at a reduced power
level. Even under emergency situations the converter can provide fault ride-through (FRT)
capability. These significant properties combined altogether, can provide higher quality of
voltage waveforms (almost sinusoidal) and higher converter overall efficiency.

However, some shortcomings still exist. The most significant one is the requirement for a large
number of semiconductor devices, each one of them requiring a separate gate-drive system that
increases both the capital and operational (cooling) cost of the converter. Another side effect is
also the presence of large number of isolated capacitors (direct voltage sources), which makes
their voltage balancing quite a challenging task. Hence, more sophisticated and complicated
control strategies needs to be implemented.

During the last two decades, despite the aforementioned drawbacks, converters in multilevel
topologies have been intensively investigated, and plenty of them have been proven to be
beneficial alternatives and successfully implemented in various medium- and high-voltage
applications as well [53]. Typically, multilevel scheme is more attractive for H-BRIDGE
applications, due to the improved dynamic behavior, and because bulky coupling transformers
can be eliminated in some cases. Apart from the H-BRIDGE applications, multilevel converters
have found research and development potentials in High Voltage DC transmission systems
(HVDC) and also in FACTS devices. Furthermore, multilevel converters can be utilized for other
renewable-energy systems (PV, Non Linear load power, fuel cells) interface with the public grid,
adjustable- speed drive systems, electric Motor systems and active- power filtering [55].
In general, multilevel schemes can be classified into the following three groups:

 Diode-clamped multilevel converter (DCMC)

 Flying-capacitor or floating-capacitor or capacitor-clamped multilevel (FCM) converter
 H-Bridge power conditioner(H-BRIDGE)

The first two categories can shape a broader group, named as monolithic multilevel converters. A
3-level DCMC, known as neutral-point clamped, was introduced in 1981 [56], and since then it
has been widely popular (and with higher numbers of voltage levels) in industrial applications
for both low and medium frequencies, especially for ac motor-drive applications due to its high
efficiency [57]. Meanwhile, the FCM converter was initially proposed by Maynard and Foch in
1992 [58]. Despite the fact that is almost impractical at very low frequencies, the FMC has gain
atMotor in high speed-drives applications and test benches [55]. On the other hand, the basic
configuration in modular topologies was suggested by Alesina and Venturini in 1981 [59], while
a noticeable advance in the design and modeling of H-BRIDGEs was proposed in 2002 by
Marquardt and Lesnicar [60].

During the last decade, market interest has twisted towards H-BRIDGE topologies, targeting to
commercial high-power applications in HVDC systems [61] and [62]. However, H-BRIDGE
schemes as H-BRIDGE have been found promising for compensation of unbalanced and
distorted nonlinear loads [63]. Compared to H-BRIDGEs, monolithic converters face problems
with great complexity in structure and control, as well lower power utilization. Since the focus of
this Reportis based on H-BRIDGE-based converters, in next subsection a more detailed
description for H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGE devices is given. For more details about
monolithic converters, the reader is referred to [53] where a brief overview of specific features,
advantages, drawbacks and operating principles is given.

1.5 Modular Multilevel Topologies for H-BRIDGE

During the last decade, the modular multilevel concept has faced remarkable attention in both
academia and industrial applications. Modularity is associated with the cascade connection of
specific configuration of components (submodules), shaping larger systems. Due to the modular
realization, the converter becomes insensitive to variable semiconductor parameters. In literature,
the terms “cascade multilevel”, “series-connected multilevel” or “chain-link” can be found,
referring to the H-BRIDGE topology as different trade names. The distinct feature of such a
converter is that it can be easily scaled up or down to several voltage and/or power levels
according to the number of the submodules utilized. Apart from the general advantages that all
multilevel topologies provide, H-BRIDGEs especially offer simpler mechanical design and
service, resulting in compact structures and lower maintenance cost.

3.2.1 Basic Structure of an H-BRIDGE chain-link

Typically, an H-BRIDGE converter is more likely to be found as a three-phase-leg VSC.

According to the converter inner configuration, each leg typically contains one or two arms.
However, more than two arms have been placed in some heuristic topologies applied to special
multi-phase applications. A typical leg schematic diagram composed of two arms (chain-links) is
shown in Fig.
3.1. According to Marquardt and Lesnicar model theory [64], each chain-link is consists of 𝑁
identical series-connected submodules (SMs) with a small buffer inductor 𝐿 and a modeling
parameter resistor 𝑅. The number of SMs can vary from less than ten up to several hundred
depending on the application requirements. For instance, FACTS and HVDC systems require
thousands of SM [65].The inductor 𝐿 is placed in order to limit arm-current harmonics and faults,
while the resistor 𝑅 represents both inner inductor and total arm resistive losses [66]. Each cell in
the arm is considered as a two-terminal device equipped with a local direct-storage capacitor,
realizing the direct-voltage source.

+
SM Half-Bridge Full-Bridge

SM

Upper Arm
..
SM

R, L

Vd Vo
R, L

SM

Lower Arm ..
SM

SM

-
Fig. 3.1 Schematic diagram of two-arm single-phase leg H-BRIDGE

3.2.2 H-BRIDGE Operational Principles

When half-bridge cells are used as fundamental building blocks of the converter only two
quadrants operation is permissible with a two-level voltage output. In contrast, full-bridge cell
allows four quadrant operation and the output voltage waveform now consists of three-levels. By
controlling the states of the switches in each cell, a submodule capacitor can be connected
(inserted) or elsewhere bypassed in/from the arm-circuit current path. In case of full-bridge cells
implementation, there are two options for the capacitor insertion; either in positive or negative
voltage direction. By controlling the number of capacitors inserted in the current path at every
switching instant, the reference output voltage can be generated. Thus ideally, each arm can be
considered as an independent ideal sinusoidal voltage source, which is the main goal of a VSC.

The harmonic components and the THD of the output alternating-voltage waveform 𝑉𝑜 are
associated with the number of cells per arm. By selecting an adequately large number of
submodules 𝑁, an (almost) ideal sinusoidal voltage waveform 𝑉𝑜 can be assumed at the output,
without any loss in modelling accuracy. The low switching losses in an H-BRIDGE converter
can be explained by the low switching frequency 𝑓𝑠𝑤 of the semiconductor devices implied by the
large 𝑁. On the other hand, by increasing 𝑁, conduction losses may be increased as well, since
the arm- current is flowing continuously in the arm and it is never disrupted.

1.6 H-BRIDGE-Based H-BRIDGE for Load Balancing

As mentioned previously, H-BRIDGE in its generic form is composed of a VSC with a dc-link
capacitor, buffer inductances and a coupling transformer in the ac-side. According to Prof. H.
Akagi [67], an H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGE designed with full-bridge cells, can have one of
the following forms (see Fig. 3.2):

 Single Star
 Single Delta
 Double Star

When Single Delta [68] and Double Star [69] configuration are applied to H-BRIDGE, the
option of controlling negative-sequence reactive power is offered by means of a circulating
current. On the other hand, Single Star configuration does not allow the generation of a
circulating current, thus only positive-sequence current compensation can be achieved.
Circulating current is useful for balancing the total stored arm-energy and consequently the arm
direct-voltage. Typically, a circulating current flows among the legs and among the upper and
lower arms for the cases of Single Delta (Fig. 3.2-b) and Double Star (Fig. 3.2-c) respectively.
By regulating the circulating current, the active-power exchanged between the arms and legs of
the converter is controlled, resulting in equal voltage sharing among the legs. In case of a Delta
configuration, circulating current is an alternating component at fundamental frequency, while in
the Double-Star it is composed by a direct current component [70]. Additionally, if it is properly
controlled, the circulating current can be used for further suppression of capacitor-voltage ripple
as it was proposed in [71].

Apart from keeping the total direct voltage among the arms and legs equal, another control task
is also important to ensure equal voltage levels in the output waveform. That task entails that in
each converter arm, equal voltage sharing among the dc-storage capacitors must be achieved.
More accurately, it is enough if a reasonably tight tolerance band of voltage levels is followed by
the capacitors [72]. This task is considered vital for the stable operation of the converter because
when a capacitor is inserted in the current path it will enter a charging/discharging mode
depending on the direction of arm-current and capacitors-voltage positive or negative insertion.
That means if this process is not properly designed, some capacitors can be totally discharged
while others will increase continuously their voltage levels. Therefore the implementation of this
task, presupposes a balancing algorithm approach, whose role is to decide which of the 𝑁 SM-
capacitors should be inserted or bypassed in current path at every switching instant according to
sorting methods [60]. Another type of approach for dc-capacitor voltage level balancing instead
of being algorithm- based, is an individual direct-voltage controller (PI-control) as implemented
for each SM in [73]. The drawback of this type is that it is not easily applicable for higher values
of 𝑁.
 A B C

SM SM SM SM SM SM

.. .. .. SM SM SM

SM SM SM SM SM SM

SM SM
(a) SM
A B C
A B C
SM SM SM
SM SM SM
. . .
. . . SM SM
.. SM
.. ..
SM SM SM SM SM SM
(c)
SM SM SM
(b)

Fig. 3.2 Classification of H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGEs: (a) Single Star, (b) Single Delta
and (c) Double Star

1.7 Drawbacks of existing H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGEs for load balancing

Normally, operation with circulating currents has no impact on ac- and dc-side currents of the
converter. However, the drawbacks of this method is an increase in the conduction and switching
losses. Since circulating current is a current that is superimposed in the reference arm-currents,
higher current ratings are imposed for all semiconductor devices as well. Furthermore, the higher
the number of the SMs is, the higher the total cost of the converter becomes, and the overall
efficiency declines as well. Thus, an alternative energy/voltage balancing technique that would
not require the existence of circulating current would be an interesting aim towards decreasing
the cost of total converter system and increasing the overall efficiency. The feasibility of this
objective, requires a substantial change in the H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGE configuration that
will be discussed in the following chapters.
 CHAPTER 4
SYSTEM DESCRIPTION AND CONVERTER TOPOLOGY
DESIGN

As it was described in Chapter 1, the purpose of the Report is to design a converter for load-
balancing. Thus, equal phase-loading must be ‘seen’ from the grid side when compensating for
the asymmetrical/non-linear Motor load. In Chapter 3, H-BRIDGEs were mentioned as the state-
of-the- art solutions for load balancing and reactive-power compensation. However, the specific
requirements of this application reveal a potential weakness of H-BRIDGEs. The asymmetrical
character of the load may require much higher device overrating in an H-BRIDGE compared to a
conventional converter, due to the symmetrizing components to rebalance the capacitor voltages
in the submodules. In this chapter, an H-BRIDGE-based topology with reduced arm chain-links
is described in order to meet the Power load-balancing requirements.

4.1 Fig- Matlab Model with H - Bridge

1.8 System Description
In this section, the system behavior due to the asymmetrical loading is analyzed in order to
determine the conditions that create the NSC of current generation. Afterwards, a method to
provide the compensating references for the application requirements will be derived also.

4.1.1 Negative-Sequence grid current generation

A classical design for a Motor substation that consists of a three-phase utility grid that supplies
with power two single-phase train loads illustrated in Fig. 4.1. A V-V Motor transformer
configuration is selected to supply the Motor load and is connected to two electrically-isolated
catenaries.
 Fig. 4.1 Motor power system supplied via a three phase V/v transformer

As it was briefly explained in Chapter 2, when a balanced three-phase network is asymmetrically

loaded, negative-sequence components in currents and voltages are emerging. Assuming an ideal
three-phase balanced waveform for the grid-side voltages at the POC:

𝑉𝐴(𝑡) = 𝑉1 cos(𝜔𝑡) (1)

𝑉𝐵(𝑡) = 𝑉1cos(𝜔𝑡 − 2𝜋/3) (2)

𝑉𝐶(𝑡) = 𝑉1cos(𝜔𝑡 + 2𝜋/3) (3)

where 𝑉1 is the amplitude of the line-to-neutral grid voltage (peak value) and 𝜔 the angular grid
frequency. Thus, the feeding load voltages at the catenary side for a strong grid can be written as:

𝑉𝑎𝑐(𝑡) = 𝑉2 cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝜋/6) (4)

𝑉𝑏𝑐(𝑡) = 𝑉2cos(𝜔𝑡 − 𝜋/2) (5)

where 𝑉2 is the amplitude of line-to-line load-voltage (peak value), while the c-node in the
secondary Non Linear loading is grounded,

𝑉𝑐(𝑡) = 0 (6)

For simplicity reasons, the train loads can be expressed as purely sinusoidal currents without
containing any dc-offset or any other higher-harmonic component. Thus, without compensation,
the load-currents are drawn directly from the transformer secondary and can be expressed as

𝐼𝑡𝑟1(𝑡) = 𝐼𝑎𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐼̂𝑡𝑟1 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜑) (7)

𝐼𝑡𝑟2(𝑡) = 𝐼𝑏𝑐(𝑡) = 𝐼̂𝑡𝑟2cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝛾) (8)

where 𝐼̂𝑡𝑟1, 𝐼̂𝑡𝑟2 the amplitudes and 𝜑, 𝛾 the phases of load currents. Therefore, if 𝐾 = 𝑉
2

is the
1
𝑉 √3
constant transformer turns ratio, the current relations between the primary and the secondary Non
Linear loading are
1
𝐼 (𝑡) = 𝐼 (𝑡) (9)
𝑎 𝐴
𝑐 𝐾
1
(𝑡 ) (10)
𝐼𝑏𝑐 (𝑡) = 𝐾 𝐼𝐵
 𝐼𝐴(𝑡) + 𝐼𝐵(𝑡) + 𝐼𝐶(𝑡) = 0 (11)

By solving the equation system of (9), (10) and (11) for 𝐼𝐴 , 𝐼𝐵 and 𝐼𝐶 the three-phase grid side
currents are
𝐼𝐴(𝑡) = 𝐾𝐼𝑎𝑐(𝑡) (12)
𝐼𝐵(𝑡) = 𝐾 𝐼𝑏𝑐(𝑡) (13)
𝐼𝐶(𝑡) = −𝐾[ 𝐼𝑎𝑐(𝑡) + 𝐼𝑏𝑐(𝑡) ] (14)

Replacing with the general form of 𝐼𝑡𝑟1(𝑡) and 𝐼𝑡𝑟2(𝑡) from (7) and (8), the grid-side currents are
given as

𝐼𝐴(𝑡) = 𝐾 [𝐼̂𝑡𝑟1 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜑) ] (15)

𝐼𝐵(𝑡) = 𝐾 [𝐼̂𝑡𝑟2cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝛾) ] (16)
𝐼𝐶(𝑡) = −𝐾 [𝐼̂𝑡𝑟1 cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝜑) + 𝐼̂𝑡𝑟2cos(𝜔𝑡 + 𝛾) ] (17)

4.1.2 Compensator reference currents

Due to its adverse effect described in Chapter 2, NSC of currents must be compensated for
reasons of compliance with grid codes and improvement of power system quality. The objective
of this Reportis to design a compensator connected at the catenary side which will make the load
seen as balanced from the grid side at POC. This ‘load-balancer’ device must have the capability
to transfer active power among catenary phases by injecting appropriate currents at the load-side
(Fig. 4.2) and thus compensating for the negative sequence and reactive power as well.

Therefore, to ensure the above conditions the grid-side line currents drawn by the Motor
transformer should have equal amplitude and be in phase with grid-voltage at POC,

𝐼𝐴(𝑡) = 𝐼1 cos(𝜔𝑡) (22)

𝐼𝐵(𝑡) = 𝐼1cos(𝜔𝑡 − 2𝜋/3) (23)
𝐼𝐶(𝑡) = 𝐼1cos(𝜔𝑡 + 2𝜋/3), (24)

where 𝐼1 denotes the amplitude of line grid-side current (peak value). With this condition, unity .
Fig. 4.2 reactive power compensation at Motor power system
At the catenary-side, high-speed Motor are typically driven by four-quadrant ‘ac-dc-ac’
converters (a full bridge connected back-to-back with three-phase converter) which are pulse-
width- modulation- (PWM) controlled [74]. Hence, it is reasonable to assume that their reactive
part can be neglected.

1.9 Converter Requirements for reduced branch

In Chapter 3, it is mentioned that each converter arm of an H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGE can
operate as an independent ac-voltage source with controllable phase, magnitude and frequency
behind a buffer inductor 𝐿. By controlling the voltage across inductor’s terminals the reference
converter current can be generated and injected into the catenary side (see Fig. 4.3).
Since the load on a TSS is normally a two-phase load or even in some cases a single-phase load
(no load in a- or b-phase for some periods) and the c-node in the secondary Non Linear loading
of V-V transformer is grounded, it would be cost-efficient to eliminate the c-phase arm of H-
BRIDGE device. That is feasible because the c-phase is used as a return current path, and the
current flowing is consequently dependent on the sum of a- and b-phase arm currents and not on
its own arm voltage (see eq.(14)). Thus, if the induced currents at the secondary terminal of the
Motor transformer have the same amplitude and 120𝑜 phase difference, subsequently the return
current will have the same amplitude and 120𝑜 phase difference from the other two phases as
well. Therefore, a c-phase arm is not required, if the compensation is ensured.

An alternative structure for the proposed reduced-arm converter is illustrated in Fig. 4.4. Each
phase-leg consists of a chain-link arm with 𝑁 identical submodules (SM). Each submodule is
consists of a full-bridge converter. The points of connection of the device to the main circuit are
denoted with circles in accordance with Fig. 4.2. It is obviously inevitable to generate a
circulating current in this configuration. Therefore, the challenge with this modified topology is
to find an alternative method in order to replace the NSC compensation feature that the
circulating current was offering.

Depending on the load-current conditions (amplitude and phase), the converter-current reference
is generated by the converter-voltage reference (eq. (33-37)). This implies that the generated
reference power in each converter phase can be injected towards or from the catenary side in
order to compensate for the load imbalance. Load balance is achieved by drawing equal power
from each phase at the secondary Non Linear loading terminals of the Motor transformer, and
thereinafter redistributing this power among the H-BRIDGE phase arms to cover the train-load
power demand. The fulfilment of this condition presupposes that when there is a difference in
load power
demand(𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑,𝑎 ≠ 𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑,𝑏), one arm converter must consume the half of their difference (i. e. 1 ∗ 2
|𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑,𝑎 − 𝑃𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑,𝑏|) while the other phase must generate the same amount of power.
 Fig. 4.4 Single-phase H-BRIDGE-based device

Because of the converter current and voltage reference nature, the power injected by the
converter typically contains a dc-offset and some 2nd order (to the fundamental frequency)
components. The dc-offset component is mainly associated with the energy that is
stored/extracted in/from the dc- submodule capacitors. Since each arm chain-link can operate
independently from the other and because it must inject the amount of power that the other arm-
phase has to consume according to the Motor loading, a different amount of energy is stored or
extracted from the capacitors. Therefore, in order to accomplish the NSC compensation
requirements, the capacitors in one side of the converter will be charged and in the other
discharged, affecting the converter arm-voltage balancing. As the generated active powers in
each arm chain-link have to be opposite, one side of the converter will be charged with the same
rate that the other will be discharged. The existence of a controllable circulating current in the
mentioned topologies of the Delta or the Double-Star H-BRIDGE, could ensure a redistribution
of the required energy/power transfer among the converter phases, in order to maintain equal the
total arm voltages. The proposed topology in Fig. 4.4, does not offer this capability of energy
redistribution between arm branches. Therefore, in next section an appropriate modification of
this topology is described to tackle this problem.

1.10 Control Strategy

Fig. 4.8 shows the block diagram of the total control algorithm implemented to
compensate the NSC of currents and adjust the power factor to unity. It consists of
the main H-BRIDGE circuit control strategy and the ‘Power Channel’ control. In the
following subsections each component of the control system-block will be described
with respect to its structure and its objectives. The output of the overall control block-
diagram are the gate signal switching commands, 𝑆𝑎,𝑎𝑟𝑚 and 𝑆𝑏,𝑎𝑟𝑚, and 𝑆𝑎,𝐷𝐻𝐵 and
𝑆𝑏,𝐷𝐻𝐵, of the H-BRIDGE chain-links and DHB power-channels respectively, as
shown in Fig. 4.8.

To get the accurate output with the required dynamic performance IBC is used in
closed loop control using the PID controller as shown in fig 4.7. Here the output of
IBC is compared with required voltage (set point) and the error signal is generated.
The generated error signal is normalized and then applied to PID controller.
The values of Kp, Ki and Kd is obtained from the various tuning method. The output
from the PID controller is fed into the PWM block, where the pulses are generated
with variable duty cycle. These generated pulses are used to control the ON/OFF of
the two switches. These variable duty cycle pulses control the output voltage the of
the IBC.

Fig. 5.7 closed loop PID control (block diagram)

The block diagram created in SIMULINK for generation of PWM is shown in fig.
4.8. Here input is duty ratio and accordingly two PWM signals are generated for
controlling two switches. S2 signal is 180º lagging with S1.

Fig. 4.8 Pulse Width Modulation signal generation

 CHAPTER 5
SIMULATION AND RESULTS

5.SIMULATION AND RESULTS

In order to verify the power-quality compensation capability of the proposed H-BRIDGE-based
design, the power system software of MATLAB was used as a simulation tool under various
Motor-loading conditions. Apart from that, the investigation of the dynamic response of the
‘Power Channel’ on arm-voltage balancing with respect to the power transfer through the ‘Power
Channels’ is another crucial focus of the project. In the following sections, the parameters used
to model the system are given, and different case studies are investigated in simulation.

1.11 System Parameters

Initially, the utility grid illustrated in Fig. 4.1, which supplies the Motor loads is modelled as an
ideal sinusoidal three-phase voltage source with, 𝑉1 of 230V, 50 Hz line-to-line rms value behind
a grid impedance 𝑍𝑔𝑟𝑖𝑑. The V-V Motor configuration consists of two 1 HP each single-phase
transformers at 110 kV/11- kV voltage terminal levels, modelled by a leakage inductance of
𝐿𝜎,𝑆𝑇𝑇 = 0.15 H without any active or core losses.

Table I. Simulation parameters of proposed H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGE

Quantity Notation Value

Number of Moror/arm 6 5

Motor wattage W 1HP

SM dc-capacitance 𝐶 3.3 mF
5.3 System response without H-Bridge addition

The system response for maximum active-power requirements on loads (|𝐼𝑡𝑟1| = |𝐼𝑡𝑟2| = 1 𝑝𝑢) is
simulated in MATLAB for both worst- and best-case scenarios in each case and the results are
illustrated in Fig 5.4 and 5.5 respectively.

Fig. 5.4 Grid-side currents without compensation for worst scenarios (a) both ‘passive’ (b)
5.3 System Simulation with Proposed H-BRIDGE H-BRIDGE Installed

In this section the system response will be simulated in the MATLAB environment with the
proposed H-BRIDGE H-BRIDGE topology installed at the catenary side. The first goal is to
show that the proposed compensation method can balance the three-phase grid-currents for
different loading cases. The combination of train operation modes that is investigated in the rest
of the project are:

In order to validate the load balancing capabilities during this operation case also, Train 1 is set
at one fourth of its maximum, generating power (𝐼𝑡𝑟1 = −0.25 pu). The grid-current response in
Fig. 5.11 has the same behavior as described for the cases in Fig. 5.10. Therefore, the
compensation strategy has been proven to be adequate to balance the load as seen from the POC
for all modes of operation.
Fig. 5.11 Balanced grid-currents after H-BRIDGE compensation (c) Train 1 & 2 ‘active’ loading
at |𝐼𝑡𝑟1| = 1, |𝐼𝑡𝑟2| = 0.25 𝑝𝑢

se during one ‘Power Channel’ reduction for load case (b)

 CHAPTER 6
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSIONS

6.

The main objective of this Report is the design of a converter for alleviating Motor-load
unbalances in 50-Hz Power applications. As it is described in Chapter 2, the asymmetrical and
heavily time-varying character of the Motor loads imposes critical load imbalances to the power-
grid system. The STT topology in Power supply networks is an additional cause of increasing
this inherent imbalance. The direct impact of these load imbalances, as described in Chapter 2 &
4, is a negative-sequence current injection on the grid side, threatening the secure operation of
the system. Therefore, a compensation device accounting for NSC and reactive power
compensation is necessary for power-quality improvements, especially in a weak POC. A
comprehensive review of compensation techniques and devices is given in Chapter 2 as well.
In Chapter 3, operational principles of H-BRIDGE-based topologies are analyzed, as H-
BRIDGEs consist the next generation of power converters. Applying the existing topologies of
H-BRIDGE-based H-BRIDGE devices as load balancers, some major challenges are arising. The
main drawbacks are the need for a third phase leg in the converter, and also that all three legs
need to be overrated in order to handle a circulating component, which is responsible for energy
exchange among the legs, and thus ensures stable operation for the converter.
The general requirements and the necessary topology modifications required for designing a
reduced arm chain-link H-BRIDGE compensator are described in Chapter 4. As the third leg
now is missing from the converter topology, an alternative mean of power exchange should be
invented. Therefore, a high-frequency ‘Power Channel’, incorporated by a DHB converter, is
designed to connect each SM of a branch phase with a corresponding SM of the other phase.
Instead of using circulating current that increases the device ratings, the required energy
exchange between the two branches is controlled by a DHB converter operation. However, the
proposed novel H-BRIDGE topology has an increased complexity in structure and control,
which are the main drawbacks of the device.
The evaluation of the converter behavior is investigated in the MATLAB software environment.
Three different cases of Motor loading have been considered and their impact on the negative-
sequence grid-current injection was investigated for different load-power factors. The most
crucial situation for the system load unbalances is emerging when the train load on one catenary
side operates as a consumer, while on the other side the train is braking. Especially, for some
loading cases the PSC gets eliminated and only NSCs of current exist in the system (Fig.
5.2).Furthermore, the required active-power generation/consumption of the H-BRIDGE
branches, and the required energy/power exchanged via the ‘Power Channels’ is also
investigated with respect to the Motor load cases. Once again, the maximum power requirements
exist when on one catenary side the train load operates as a consumer while on the other side the
train is braking with its maximum power (10 MVA).
The proposed H-BRIDGE topology was proven capable of achieving load balancing and reactive
power compensation as ‘seen’ from grid side at the POC for all different types of loading cases.
The DHB ‘Power Channels’ can effectively act as arm balancers, providing the path for the
required energy exchange among arm chain-links and ensuring equal voltage sharing among the
converter branches Their operation does not contradict with the modulator sorting algorithm,
which ensures the equal voltage sharing inside each chain-link individually. The converter has a
start-up capability and can operate effectively under maximum load-step changes. The designing
parameters of the ‘Power Channel’ have been selected properly in order to afford higher amounts
of energy transfer, and thus stable operation can be ensured with fewer channels than the number
of SMs in the chain- link. In this Reportproject, the H-BRIDGE converter was consisted of 𝑁 =
5 SMs per chain-link, and by
reducing the number of ‘Power Channels’ to 𝑁𝐷𝐻𝐵 = 4, the converter was able to manage its
compensation tasks and retain its stability.
In conclusion, the basic concept discussed in this Reportis how to exchange energy among SMs
of different branches in order to obtain equal voltage sharing among the branches was proven
that is feasible with the use of DHB converters in the Power application for NSC and power-
factor compensation.

2. FUTURE WORK

The main goal of the Reportwas to design a reduced H-BRIDGE converter equipped with
appropriate ‘Power Channels’ for energy exchange among the branches in order to compensate
for load imbalances, and correct the power factor in 50-Hz Power applications. The basic
challenges to overcome were the investigation of channels’ possible structure and their control
strategy to ensure voltage arm balancing. The concept of energy exchange among arm chain-
links was proven and some future work can focus on:

 Catenary Voltage control: The overall control block diagram can be enhanced with
voltage control at the connection point of the converter. Therefore, the voltage level of
the catenary can be adjusted and the distance between two subsequent STT can be
increased.
 Individual SM voltage control: Instead of using a sorting algorithm, the performance of
the proposed converter topology can be evaluated for individual SM voltage control by
applying PI or Proportional Resonant control theory.
 Analytical loss investigation: Converter losses should be analytically derived, including
the ‘Power-Channels’ behavior in order to optimize the design parameters of the
converter.
 Further reduction of DHB links: It was proven that the converter can operate with
fewer power channels than the number of SMs in the chain-link. One condition to
achieve that, is to dimension the active-power channels for the maximum required energy
transferred according to the application requirements. However, the limitation aspects to
what extent the number of channels can drop down must be further investigated.
 Comparison with other compensators: Another important aspect of a future project is a
comprehensive study comparing different existing H-BRIDGE H-BRIDGE topologies
with the proposed one with respect of losses, cost, volume, and the overall efficiency of
the converter.
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