Research on Power Electronic Load: Topology，

Modeling, and Control

Xu She,student member, IEEE, Yunping Zou, Chengzhi Wang, Lei Lin, Jian Tang, Jian Chen, senior member, IEEE
Power Electronic Research Center, Huazhong University of Science and Technology
Email: shexu8511211@gmail.com

Abstract-A novel power electronic load (PEL) is introduced in Bus voltage, a mean filter is adopted to eliminate the
this paper. This equipment can simulate R,L,C load as well as
non-linear load. Furthermore, it can recycle the energy back to harmonics in DC voltage loop. Lastly, the efficiency diagram
grid. Topology for single phase AC PEL, three-phase AC PEL, is given to show that this equipment can save as much as
and DC PEL are presented firstly. Based on disadvantages of 80%-90% energy compared with traditional load. The
repetitive controller, an improved repetitive controller is topology and relative control method are verified with
presented to improve the dynamic performance of the system. simulation and experiments.
Relative problems in back to back system are analyzed and mean
filter is adopted to eliminate the harmonics in DC loop. The II.TOPOLOGY OF POWER ELECTRONIC LOAD
whole efficiency can be as high as 80%-90%. Simulation and
experimental results are carried out to validate the effectiveness
of the proposed control strategy. A. Basic topology
Fig.1 gives the basic topology of PEL which is used as a
I. INTRODUCTION single phase PEL. It is composed of five parts:
The trend of power electronic is cost-effective and 1. Tested power source
energy-efficient because the energy problem is crisis in the 2. Load Imitation Converter(LIC)
modern world. Most of the researches are emphasized on how 3. DC bus capacitor
to improve the efficiency of converter while less attention is 4. Grid Connected Converter(GCC)
paid to the energy consumption of the load. In 1990, Suresh 5. Grid
Gupta proposed a method that uses a transformer to adjust the idc1 idc2
active and reactive power outputted by power source so as to S11 idc_c
L1 r D11 S13 D13 S23
test the equipment [1]. The disadvantages of this idea lies in i1
D21 D23 L2 r2 is T
1
a1 udc + S21
that it is hard to get an accurate current for testing and it will a2 i2
b1 b2
feed the reactive power to grid. In the middle 1990s, Chu.C.L u1 C - S22 us
D12 S14 D14 D22 S24 D24
S12
proposed an idea that uses a PWM rectifier which can run in
four quadrants to recycle the energy to the grid [2]. However, 1 2 3 4 5
an uncontrolled rectifier was adopted in this method, so it can
only simulate limited load character. What is more, the DC Fig.1 Basic topology of PEL
bus voltage was not stabilized which is harmful to the stability Due to the advantage of controllable quality of input
of the whole system. In 2002, Huang.S.J proposed an current of the PWM rectifier, the phase difference between the
advanced topology which adopts a controllable AC/DC output voltage of tested power source and input current of
rectifier as the former-stage converter [3]. Unfortunately, LIC can be various. Thus it can simulate characteristic of any
there is no deeply research about the whole system. In 2007, load. Besides, this PWM converter can work both in the state
Chengzhi Wang introduced a novel power electronic load of rectifier and inverter, GCC can feed the energy back in to
(PEL) and proposed a repetitive controller applied in it [4][5], the grid to realize the goal of energy feedback.
a prototype of power electronic is designed which performs
well for both linear load and non-linear load. Repetitive B. Topology of DC PEL
controller performs well when considering about steady state
error, however, its dynamic performance is not good. Based on the basic topology of PEL, if S11 and S13 are off
In this paper, topology for three-phase AC PEL, single-
phase AC PEL, and DC PEL are given for the first time. Then,
and S14 is on for all the time. When control switch S12 , the
a novel improved repetitive controller which composed of
traditional repetitive controller paralleled with PI controller is
LIC is a boost converter and the system can be used as a DC
proposed to improve the dynamic response of the system.
Furthermore, when considering about the stability of DC PEL, as seen in Fig.2.

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 idc1 idc 2 LIC can be adjusted to simulate the approximate linear load R,
idc _ c S 23 RL and RC. According to Fig.1, the circuit model of PEL can
D21 D23 L2 is
udc + S 21
a2
be established as below [5].
i2
DC

udc_t
S12
C - S 22 b2
u2 For the part 1:
D22 S 24 D24
u1 = um sin(ωt + θ ) (1)

Fig.2 Topology of DC PEL di1

L1 = u1 − ua1b1 − i1r1 (2)
dt
C. Topology of three phase PEL
For the part 2:
In many application areas, three-phase power source has to
be tested under certain condition, for example, working with
unbalanced load. Based on this basic topology, three-phase Assuming that
PEL which can be applied either in both three-phase three-
⎧1 S11(D11 )、S14(D14 )on
wire system or three-phase four-wire system can be composed ⎪ (3)
as seen in Fig.3(a) and Fig.3(b). Because the system has been S1 = ⎨ 0 S11(D11 )、S13(D13 )orS12(D12 )、S14(D14 )on
⎪−1 S12(D12 )、S13(D13 )on
decoupled into single phase system, it can be controlled ⎩
separately. We can obtain that

ua1b1 = udc S1 (4)

A
a
idc1 = i1S1 (5)

b B For part 3:
dudc
c
C = idc1 − idc 2 = idc _ c (6)
dt
C
For part 4:
Assuming that

Fi g.3 Three phase PEL used in three phase three wire system
⎧1 S21(D21 )、S24(D24 )on
⎪ (7)
S2 = ⎨ 0 S21(D21 )、S23(D23 )orS22(D22 )、S24(D24 )on
⎪−1 S22(D22 )、S23(D23 )on
⎩
A We can obtain that
a
ua2b2 = udc S2 (8)

b B
idc 2 = i2 S2 (9)
c
For part 5:
C
di2
n
N L2 = ua2b2 − u2 − i2 r2 (10)
dt
Fig.3(b) Tree phase PEL used in three phase four wire system Based on the circuit model obtained above, certain control
strategy can be applied to the whole system.
III.MODELING OF POWER ELECTRONIC LOAD
IV.CONTROL OF POWER ELECTRONIC LOAD
As can be seen from discussion above, single phase PEL
PEL is composed of two PWM rectifiers connected by a
is the basic topology. The LIC tracks the current reference by
DC bus capacitor. According to the function of LIC and GCC
current controller and offers the operation power of the whole
discussed in part II and circuit model discussed in part III, the
system. The GCC is actually a rectifier which operates in
basic control scheme for LIC and GCC can be seen in Fig.4(a)
recycling mode. It holds the system with high power factor
and Fig.4(b)[5]. For LIC, there is only current loop to get the
and maintains the DC voltage constantly. With proper current
desired current used for imitating load character. For GCC,
reference and control scheme, the input power factor of the
two loop control scheme are adopted to stabilize the DC

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 voltage and to feed the current to grid at a power factor of -1.
What we need to consider is: is ( z ) = [O1 ( z ) + O2 ( z )]G ( z ) = O( z )G ( z ) (13)
1. What kind of current control strategy should be adopted
if better tracking performance is desired? O2 ( z )
2. What kind of filter should be adopted if an accurate = KP (14)
current reference signal wants to be obtained? ierror ( z )

u1 According to (11)-(14), we can obtain that

+ u1 (kTs ) +
iref 1 (kTs ) 1 i1
is (z) KpG(z)(zN − (Q(z)) + KrG(z)zk S(z) (15)
∑ − ∑ z −τ ua1b1 −∑ sL1 + r1 =
iref (z) (1+ K G(z))(zN − (Q(z) − K G(z) zk S(z)))
i1 (kTs ) p r
1+ KpG(z)
Fig.4(a) Control diagram of LIC
The characteristic equation of the system is
u2 S1
G( z)
iref 2 (kTs )
idc 2 + dc1
i Δ = (1+ K pG( z))(z N − (Q( z) − Kr zk S (z))) (16)
u*dc
+
∑
i2
∑ 1+ K pG( z)
−
− udc (kTs ) udc idc _ c
1/ Cs If all the characteristic roots locate in unit cycle, the system
is stable. This can be used for designing the parameters of the
Fig.4(b)Control diagram of GCC
A. Current control strategy system. Table.1 gives the parameters of LIC and GCC in PEL.
In paper [5], a repetitive controller combined with notch TABLE 1.PARAMETERS OF LIC AND GCC
filter was proposed in PEL. For LIC, it need to imitate linear
load including R,L,C load as well as non-linear load. When
imitating non-linear load, the harmonic components of current
are abundant. Considering the periodical character of
harmonic components, repetitive controller is a good
alternative compared with PI controller under this situation.
Even for the effect of dead time and system delay time, it can
be regarded as periodic disturbances too. Unfortunately, the
repetitive controller is known to have a slow speed of
response to dynamic variations of operating conditions such
as sudden change in the load due to its open-loop manner in
the first cycle of load change. So a PI controller is paralleled
with repetitive controller to improve the dynamic response of
the system. The structure of improved repetitive controller can
be seen in Fig.5. According to the design method of repetitive controller
PI
O2 ( z ) in PEL[5] and the stability demand discussed above,
iref + + + is improved repetitive controller can be designed as seen in
Σ Σ kr z −( N −k ) S ( z) Σ G( z)
− ierror + O( z )
Table.2. What needs to be paid enough attention to is that
O1 ( z )
+ −N when designing the controller, parameters disturbance should
Q( z ) z
be considered in order to keep the stability of the system.
Fig.6(a) and (b) give the bode diagrams of the improved
Fig.5 Structure of improved repetitive controller repetitive controller for both LIC and GCC compared with PI
According to the structure of improved repetitive controller, where Improved repetitive controller has a zero
controller, the following equations can be obtained: gain and zero phase shift characteristics in low frequency
region. It is obvious that the system has a much better
O1 ( z ) K z −( N −k ) S ( z ) tracking performance when an improved repetitive controller
= r (11)
ierror ( z ) 1 − Q( z ) z − N is adopted.

ierror ( z ) = iref ( z ) − is ( z ) (12)

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 1 1
+ U 2 I 2 s in ( 2 ω 2 t + 2θ ) + I 22 r2 s i n ( 2 ω 2 t + 2 θ )
TABLE.2 PARAMETERS OF CONTROLLER FOR LIC AND GCC 4ω 2 8ω 2

L 2 I 22 L I2 (17)
+ c o s ( 2 ω 2 t + 2θ ) + 1 1 c o s ( 2 ω 1t + 2 ϕ ) ]
4 4

0.0766 0.02587 When imitating linear load and w1 = w2 , there is only

z − 0.9617 z − 0.9871
z − 0.8085 z − 0.9612
0.1915 z − 0.1149 0.1294 z − 0.1035 second harmonic components in DC voltage. Under such a
0.09492 z + 0.07525 0.1889 z + 0.1331
situation, notch filter can be used to eliminate the harmonics
z 2 − 1.33 z + 0.4997 z 2 − 1.031z + 0.3532
[5]. While in all other situations, especially when imitating
non-linear load, the harmonic components in DC voltage are
abundant, the performance of notch filter is bad. When
considering about low pass filter, the filter effect is limited,
which is known to all of us. In order to eliminate as much
harmonics as possible, a mean filter was adopted. The
structure can be described as shown in Fig.7.
udc (k ) U DC U DC ( K )
udc
1 n
∑ udc (k )
n k =0

Fig.7 Structure of mean filter

Where, udc is the actual DC voltage, f s is switching

Fig.6(a) Bode diagram comparison of PI and improved competitive
controller for LIC
frequency, ZOH1is zero-order holder at switching frequency.

f NET is the frequency of grid, ZOH2 is zero-order holder at

frequency of 50hz. ZOH3 is zero-order holder at switching
frequency. For mean filter, its transfer function can be
described as:

Fig.6(b) Bode diagram comparison of PI and improved competitive 1 N −1 − K

controller for GCC F (z) = i∑ z (18)
N K =0
“*” stands for improved repetitive controller; “-”stands for PI controller

If this filter is designed as a FIR filter, then

B. Filters used in DC voltage loop ωN
PEL is composed of two single phase PWM rectifier. For sin( ) (19)
1 N −1 − jω K 1 − jω ( N2−1 )
F ( z ) = W R (e jω
) = i∑ e = e 2
a normal single phase PWM rectifier topology discussed N K =0 N ω
sin( )
above, there is second harmonic component in DC voltage. 2
When two loop control strategy is adopted, the harmonic
components in DC voltage will inevitably affect the current fs
Where, N = . The relationship between digital cut-off
reference signal. While for PEL, it is a back to back system. f NET
The harmonic components in DC voltage will depend on
working condition. Assuming that for LIC, the input voltage
is u1 = U1 sin ω1t and input current is i1 = I1 sin(ω1t + ϕ ) ; for frequency wc and the real cut-off frequency f c is
GCC, output voltage is u2 = U 2 sin(ω2 t + θ ) and output
current is i2 = I 2 sin(ω2 t + θ ) . By establishing power balance ωc = 2π f c / f s (20)
equation, we can obtain that:
1 1 1 2 1 Thus we can obtain the frequency response at cut-off
U dc = ξU dc 0 = [ I1 r1 sin(2ω1t + 2ϕ ) − U1 I1 sin(2ω1t + ϕ )
2 CU dc 0 8ω1 4ω1

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 good current tracking performance when used in PEL. It can
frequency wc : be seen from Fig.10 (f) that because of the high wave factor
of current, there is voltage sag for tested power source. This
fs
2π f c f s
f s f NET fs
testing condition is quite strict for power source.
−1 −1
2π f c f NET sin( ) 2π f c f NET
sin( πf NETfc )
jωc 1 − j( )( )
2 1 − j( )( )
WR (e )= e fs 2
2π f c
= e fs 2

N fs
N sin( πffsc )
sin( ) u1 u1
2
i1 i1

(21)

According to (21), if f c = Kf NET , then

90V/div 90V/div
18.5A/div T:5ms/div T:5ms/div
18.5A/div
jωc
WR (e )=0 (22)
(a). R load (b)RL load, 300
Fig.8 gives the bode diagram from 0-1000Hz of mean filter

and Fig.9 gives filter effect of mean filter, where Sin is a DC

u1
u1
i1
i1
signal with 100HZ harmonic component. The conclusion
can be drawn that mean filter can eliminate fundamental
signal and its double frequency signals well.
90V/div 90V/div
18.5A/div T:5ms/div 18.5A/div T:5ms/div

(c) RL load, 600 (d) RC load, 300

u1
i1
u1
i1

90V/div 240V/div T:5ms/div

18.5A/div T:5ms/div 18.5A/div
Fig.8 Bode diagram of mean filter

(e) RC load, 600 (f)non-linear load WF=3.0

Sin
Fig.10 Waveforms of PEL when imitating different load
S out

TABLE.3 TESTING DATAS OF PEL

T:0.02s/div

Fig.9 Filter effect of mean filter

V EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
A prototype of PEL was built in our laboratory to verify the Fig.11 gives the current and grid voltage for GIC when
effectiveness of proposed control method. The specifications
working in rated power (10KW). Because of the improved
of the prototype are as seen in Table.1. Fig.10 (a)-(e) give the
waveforms when imitating linear load and Fig.10 (f) gives the repetitive controller, the power factor can be as high as 0.997,
waveform when imitating non-linear load. By using THD is 3.2%.
WAVESTAR, we can get the relative data shown in Table.3,
which shows that the improved repetitive controller has a

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 VI.CONCLUSION
u2 i2 This paper introduces a novel power electronic load which
is a good alternative for traditional load. Topology for single
phase AC PEL, three-phase AC PEL and DC PEL are
presented. Based on repetitive controller used in PEL, an
improved repetitive controller was proposed. Furthermore,
mean filter was adopted to eliminate the various harmonics
caused by non-linear current of LIC. The whole work has
90V/div T:5ms/div been confirmed by simulations and experimental results. PEL,
18.5A/div
as new power electronic equipment, will contribute itself to
Fig.11 current and voltage waveforms of GIC the energy business of the whole world.
In order to give comparison of filters used in DC voltage
loop. Fig.12 (a)-(c) give the waveforms of PEL by using notch ACKNOWLEDGMENT
filter, low-pass filter, mean filter respectively. The THD of The authors would like to thank National natural science
current fed back to grid are 17.63%, 9.7%, and 5.14%. foundation of China and natural science foundation of Hubei
Obviously, mean filter is the best choice especially when because the research is supported by national natural science
imitating non-linear load. Fig.13 gives the efficiency of PEL foundation (50777026) and Hubei natural science foundation
which stands for the energy saved by it. The efficiency can be (2007ABA051).
as high as 80%to 90%.
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u1
i1
[1] Gupta S,Ruth R. Load bank elimination for UPS testing[C]. IEEE
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[2] Chu C L, Chen J F.Self-load bank for UPS testing by circulating current
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i1 [4] Chengzhi Wang, Yunping Zou Research on the Single-phase PWM
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i2 Rectifier Based on the Repetitive Control, IEEE ICIT, Chengdu, China,April
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[5] Chengzhi Wang, Yunping Zou Research on the Power electronic load
90V/div
18.5A/div
18.5A/div T:5ms/div based on repetitive controller, IEEE APEC , Austin, Texas, US, February
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(b) Waveforms by using low pass filter

u1

i2

i1

90V/div
18.5A/div T:5ms/div
18.5A/div

(c) Waveforms by using notch filter

Fig.12 effect comparison of filters used in PEL
η

i1

Fig.13 Efficiency of PEL

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