CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

Control strategy for hybrid power filter to compensate unbalanced and

non-linear, three-phase loads
S. P. Litrn, P. Salmern, J. R. Vzquez, R. S. Herrera, A. Prez
ESCUELA POLITCNICA SUPERIOR. UNIVERSITY OF HUELVA
Electrical Engineering Department, Ctra. de Palos de la Frontera s/n
Palos de la Frontera, Huelva, Spain
Tel.: +034 959 21 75 85
Fax: +034 959 21 73 04
E-Mail: salvador@uhu.es; patricio@uhu.es; vazquez@uhu.es; reyes.sanchez@dfaie@uhu.es;
aperez@uhu.es
URL: http://www.uhu.es

Acknowledgements
This work is part of the projects "A new technique to reduce the harmonic distortion in electrical
systems by means of equipment of active compensation", ref. DPI2004-03501, sponsored by the
Comisin Interministerial de Ciencia y Tecnologa, CICYT, del Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnologa
of Spain, and Design and implementation of a new equipment of active compensation with series
connection for the improvement of the electrical waveform quality, ref. P06-TEP-02354, sponsored
by the Consejera de Innovacin, Ciencia y Empresa de la Junta de Andaluca, Spain.

Keywords
Active power filters, harmonics, instantaneous reactive power, power quality, hybrid filters

Abstract
A control algorithm is proposed for a three-phase hybrid power filter constituted by a series active
filter and a shunt passive filter. The control strategy is based on the dual formulation of the vectorial
theory of electrical power, so that the voltage waveform injected by the active filter is able to
compensate the reactive power, to eliminate harmonics of the load current and to balance
asymmetrical loads. An experimental prototype was developed and experimental results presented.

Introduction
Many social and economic activities depend on electrical energy quality and its efficiency. Both
industrial and commercial users are interested in guaranteeing the signal quality which feed their
electric systems, therefore, the mitigation of the current harmonics or voltage harmonics generate by
the load is necessary.
Traditionally, a passive LC power filter is used to eliminate current harmonics when it is connected in
parallel with the load [1]. This compensation equipment has some drawbacks [2-4], because of which,
the passive filter cannot provide a complete solution. Shunt active power filter, series active power
filter and combined systems with passive filter and active filter have been proposed to improve the
behavior of passive filters [5-16]. A configuration with an active filter connected in series to the
source and passive filter in parallel to the load (Fig. 1) is analyzed in this work [11-14]. In this
topology, the shunt passive filter suppresses the prevalent harmonics currents produced by the load,
while the active filter connected in series with the source acts as a harmonic isolator between the
source and the load, besides it compensates the reactive power and balances asymmetrical loads. The
used control strategy is based on the instantaneous power theory [17-20]. The active power filter
designed consists of a three-phase PWM (pulse With Modulation) voltage source inverter (VSI),
which is connected in series with the ac source impedance and load, through three single phase

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ISBN: 9789075815009

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

transformers (Fig. 1). A small rate passive filter to suppress switching ripples is connected between the
transformers and the inverter.
The control is verified through an experimental prototype, and measured are carry out to corroborate
the theoretical analysis.
iS

Ideal behavior

vPC

iL

vC -

LS

iC
CR

LR

Vdc

L5
C5

L7
C7

-Vdc

Fig. 1. Scheme of series active filter combined with shunt passive filter

Control strategy
Electrical companies try to generate electrical power with sinusoidal and balanced voltages. It has
been obtained as a reference condition in the supply. Due to this fact the compensation target is based
on an ideal reference load which must be resistive, balanced and linear. It means that the source
currents are collinear to the supply voltages and the system will have unity power factor. Therefore at
the point of common coupling the following expression is satisfied
v = Re i

(1)

Re is the equivalent resistance, v the voltage vector at the connection point and i the load current
vector. According to Fig. 2 both vectors can be defined as
vb

a
b

v c ]T

i = [i a

ib

i c ]T

(2)

ia
ib

va

c
0

ic

vb
vc

Load

v = [v a

i0

Fig. 2. Three-phase four-wire system

When the currents are unbalanced and non-sinusoidal, a balanced resistive load can be considered the
ideal reference load. So, the active power supplied by the source will be
PS = I 1+2 Re

(3)

Here, I1+2 is the norm of the positive sequence fundamental component of the current vector. This
norm is defined by

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

I 1+ 2 =

1
T

(i
T

0'

+T
1

LITRAN Salvador P.

i 1+ dt

(4)

Where i+1 is the positive sequence fundamental component of the instantaneous current vector.
Compensator instantaneous power is the difference between the total real instantaneous power
required by the load and the instantaneous power supplied by the source. It is,
pC = p L p S

(5)

When the average values are calculated in this equation and taking into account that the active power
exchanged by the compensator has to be null, the following expression is satisfied
0=

1
T

dt I 1+ 2 Re

(6)

Therefore, the equivalent resistance can be calculated by

1
p L dt = PL
Re = T + 2
I1
I 1+ 2

(7)

Here, PL is the load average power. It can be obtained by means of

PL =

1
T

dt =

1
v TL i dt
T

(8)

Being vTL the transpose voltage vector at the load side.

The aim is that the compensation equipment and load have ideal behavior from the point of common
coupling (PCC). The voltage at the connection point of the active filter can be calculated as follows
v PCC =

PL
I 1+ 2

(9)

The reference signal for the output voltage of the active filter is
v *C = v PCC v L =

PL
I 1+2

i vL

(10)

When the active filter supplies this compensation voltage, the set load and compensation equipment
will behave as a resistor with a Re value.

Control scheme
The control scheme to determine the reference signal is shown in Fig. 3. The input signals are the
voltage vector, measured at the load side and the current vector measured at the source side, before the
coupling transformer. Both vectors are multiplied to obtain the instantaneous power. A low pass filter
let the load active power to be obtained. This power will be divided by the norm of the positive
sequence fundamental component of the current vector. Thus, the direct sequence component of the
current vector has to be calculated. For it, the following expression is implemented in a calculation
block

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

i+ =

1
3

(i

+ a ib + a 2 ic

LITRAN Salvador P.

(11)

Here, a operator is defined as a = e j 2 / 3 , what supposes a 120 phase shift. This operator is
implemented by an all pass filter.

vL

pL(t)

PL

LPF

+
Direct i+ Fund. i1 Inverse
Sequence
Harm.
Transf.
componen

i 1+

Re

+2

Instant.
norm

I1

vC*

vPCC

Fig. 3. Reference voltage calculation

The fundamental harmonic of direct sequence component is determined with a block which uses the
scheme shown in Fig 4. Each component of the source current vector is multiplied by sint and cost
where is the fundamental frequency in rad/s. The average values of the results are obtained using
two low pass filters. They are multiplied by sint and cost again and then by 2. This allows the
fundamental harmonic of current direct sequence component to be obtained.
sin

LPF

+
+

i1+

LPF

cost
Fig. 4. Fundamental component calculation
The Fortescue inverse transformation allows current vector of direct sequence fundamental component
to be obtained. It is calculated by means of the expression
G
i 1+ = i1+a

i1+b

i1+c

] = [i
T

+
1a

a 2 i1+a

a i1+a

(12)

Where, i1a+, i1b+ and i1c+ are the fundamental components of the direct sequence current vector.
G
To calculate the norm of the i1+ vector is possible to use the equation
I1+2 = i1+a2 + i1+b2 + i1+c2

(12)

G
Instead of (4). It is due to i1+ vector is a balanced three-phase vector with sinusoidal components.

The compensation voltage has to be generated by a voltage source inverter (VSI), which uses power
transistors, therefore, a PWM (pulse With Modulation) generator is necessary, Fig. 5. So, a hysteresis

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

band control was developed. The gating signals are generated comparing the reference signal with the
inverter output voltage (vinv) considering a hysteresis band. In this method the transistors switch when
the error exceeds a fixed magnitude: the hysteresis band. This technique has a variable switching
frequency, so, the IGBTs maximum switching frequency could be reached. The sampling clock signal
limits the switching frequency.
Hysteresis
comparator

v C*

++

2VRef
Vdc+

DQ

PWM

+
+

PI

Vdc

vinv
i 1+

Sampling
clock

Fig. 5. Control DC-link and PWM generator scheme

Fig. 5 includes a control loop with PI controller to ensure the capacitor voltages to remain constant at
the inverter DC side. Here, VRef is the reference voltage to remain in the capacitors; Vdc+ and Vdc- are
the measured voltage. The difference between the reference value of the DC-link voltage and the
monitored DC-link voltages serves as an input signal to the PI controller. The output controller is
multiplied by direct sequence fundamental component vector which is calculated with the voltage vC*.
It corrects the reference voltage calculated by means of (10).

Experimental prototype
The experimental prototype scheme is shown in Fig. 6. The power circuit is a three-phase system
supplied by a sinusoidal balanced three-phase 100 V source and 50 Hz frequency with a source
inductance of 2.8 mH and a source resistance of 1.8 . The inverter consists of an IGBT (Insulated
Gate Bipolar Transistor) bridge. It is a Semikron SKM50GB123-type IGBT bridge. Two 2200 F
capacitors are connected at the DC side. The reference voltage at the capacitors is 100 V. An LC filter
has been included to eliminate the high frequency components at the output of the inverter. The
selection criteria for ripple filter have been the following: for low frequency components the inverter
output voltage must be almost equal to voltage across Crf. However, for high frequency components
the dropped voltage in Lrf must be higher than in Crf capacitor. Furthermore, Lrf and Crf values must be
selected to not exceed the transformer burden. Table I includes their values. This set is matched to the
power system by means of three single-phase transformers with a turn ratio of 1:1 to ensure galvanic
isolation.
The passive filter is constituted by two LC branches tuned to the 5th and 7th harmonics. Element
values are included in Table I.
Table I. Passive element values
Source
Passive filter
Ripple filter

Ls= 2.8 mH; Rs=1.8

L5= 13.5 mH
C5= 30 F
L7=6.75 mH
C7= 30 F
Lrf= 13.5 mH
Crf= 50 F

The control strategy was implemented in a control and general application data acquisition cards
compatible with Matlab-Simulink and developed by dSPACE. Real-Time Interface (RTI) from
dSPACE together with Real Time Workshop (RTW) from Mathworks automatically generate real
time code. It allows the processor board to be programmed and I/O boards to be selected. It is based

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

on the DS 1005 PPC placed in a dSPACE expansion box. The input board was the dSPACE DS 2004
A/D and the output board the DS 51001 DWO. The control board has a PowerPC 750GX processor
running at 1 GHz. For developed experimental prototype the sampling rate is limited to 50 s in order
to avoid overrun errors.
Ls

vb

Ls

vc

Ls

T1
iSa

vLa

T2

iSb

vLb

T3

iSc

Vdc+

Non-linear
Load

va

vLc

Crf

Crf
Lrf

Crf
Lrf

Lrf
L5 L5 L5
C5 C5 C5

Vdc-

L7 L7 L7
C7 C7

C7

Fig. 6. Series active power and passive filter

The non-linear unbalanced load consists of three single-phase uncontrolled rectifiers with an inductor
and a resistor connected in series at the DC side. The inductor is the same for the three phases, 55 mH.
However, the resistor was different for each phase; it was 8.3 for a phase, 12.5 for b phase and
16.6 for c phase. Fig. 7 shows the three source currents without compensation equipment. A threephase power quality meters, Fluke 434, was used to measure the THD, harmonics and powers. The
measured rms values for a, b and c phase are 8.7 A, 6.1 A and 5.0 A and the THD 28.5%, 27.6 % and
25.6 %. The power factors are 0.91, 0.91 and 0.92 for each phase.

Phase a
Phase b

Phase c

Fig 7. Source currents, system without compensate. 4 A/div. 5ms/div

The neutral current is shown in Fig. 8. The rms value is 5.4 A. The fundamental harmonic rms value is
3.3 A and the third harmonic is 4.1 A. They are most significant harmonics.
Fig. 9 shows the source current in phase a, b and c when the passive filter is connected. The rms
values are similar to previous case, they are of 8.6 A, 6.1 A and 5.0 A. However the THD values have
risen to 34.9 %, 32.4 % and 28.9 %. Although, the 5th and 7th harmonic is lower than previous

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

situation, the 3rd harmonics has gone up. It is due to the presence of this harmonic in the voltage at the
point connection common, what do to flow this component through the passive filter.

Fig. 8. Neutral current without compensating. 10 A/div. 5ms/div

Phase a
Phase b

Phase c
Fig. 9. Source currents, system with passive filter. 4 A/div. 5ms/div
With the passive filter the neutral current has 6.7 A rms value, being the fundamental component of
3.3 A, the same value that without passive filter, however, the 3rd harmonic rises from 4.1 to 5.8 A. Fig
10 shows the neutral current waveform.

Fig. 10. Neutral current with passive filter. 10 A/div. 5ms/div

When the active filter is connected the source currents waveforms are sinusoidal and balanced, Fig.
11, which is the aim of the control strategy. The power factor measured is the unit for the three phases.

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

The rms values are 5.7 A, 5.6 A and 5.7 A. The unbalance is due to outliers in the measured sensors
and modulation technique. The current THD are reduced to 2.6 %, 2.6 % and 2.9%.
Phase a

Phase b

Phase c

Fig. 11. Source currents, with passive and active filter. 4 A/div. 5ms/div
The neutral current is shown in Fig 12. When active and passive filter are connected, the rms value is
reduced to 0.5 A. The fundamental component is reduced to 0.3 A and the 3rd harmonic to 0.4 A.

Fig. 12. Neutral current with passive and active filter. 4 A/div. 5ms/div
Fig. 13 shows the voltage and current of the a phase. They are practically sinusoidal and in phase. It
demonstrates the resistive behaviour of the set compensation equipment-load. Similar results are
obtained to the b and c phase.

Fig. 13. Voltage and current at the PCC, a phase. Voltage 48V/div and current 10 A/div. 5ms/div

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

Table II summarizes the most important results. Harmonics, THD, powers and power factors are
included. The THD voltage at the point of common coupling is improved with the active filter. This
voltage is distorted by the nonlinear load.
The power factor is raised from 0.91 to 1. With the passive filter, the power factor is improved;
however, the THD current and THD voltage are worse than without passive filter. It is due to the
reactive power compensation with LC branches.

Without
compensation

Table II. Measured value in different situations

Phase a
Phase b
Phase c

With active and

passive filter

With passive filter

Neutral
Phase a
Phase b
Phase c
Neutral
Phase a
Phase b
Phase c
Neutral

V
I
V
I
V
I
I
V
I
V
I
V
I
I
V
I
V
I
V
I
I

THD(%)
12.4
28.5
9.1
27.6
7.2
25.9
11.3
34.9
7.6
32.4
5.6
28.9
1.0
2.6
1.0
2.6
1.2
2.9

RMS
96
8.7
97.1
6.1
98.2
5.0
5.4
97.8
8.6
98.9
6.1
100
5.0
6.7
98.5
5.7
98.5
5.5
98.8
5.7
0.5

Fund.
95.8
8.3
96.7
5.9
97.9
4.8
3.3
97.1
8.2
98.6
5.8
99.8
4.8
3.3
98.4
5.7
98.4
5.5
98.8
5.7
0.3

H3
6.7
2
4.4
1.3
3.1
1.0
4.1
9.4
2.8
6.1
1.8
4.2
1.3
5.8
0.5
0.1
0.5
0.1
0.5
0.1
0.4

H5
5.8
1.1
3.9
0.7
3.0
0.6
0.5
3.3
0.6
2
0.4
1.3
0.2
0.3
0.2
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.0

H7
4.8
0.6
3.6
0.5
2.7
0.4
0.4
1.2
0.2
0.6
0.1
0.5
0.1
0.1
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.0

H9
3.8
0.4
3.1
0.3
2.5
0.3
0.9
2.3
0.2
1.6
0.2
1.3
0.1
0.5
0.1
0.0
0.1
0.0
0.2
0.0
0.0

P(kW)

S(kVA)

PF

0.79

0.91

0.57

0.91

0.47

0.92

0.79

0.93

0.57

0.94

0.78

0.94

Q(kvar)
0.23
(ind)
0.17
(ind)
0.13
(ind)
0.05
(ind)
0.02
(cap)
0.07
(cap)
-

0.56

0.01

0.56

0.54

0.01

0.54

0.56

0.01

0.56

0.76
0.54
0.45
0.79
0.57
0.47

Conclusion
A control algorithm for a hybrid power filter constituted by a series active filter and a passive filter
connected in parallel with the load is proposed. The control strategy is based on the dual vectorial
theory of electric power. The new control approach achieves the following targets:
-

The compensation characteristics of the hybrid compensator do not depend on the system
impedance.
- The hybrid filter and load set are resistive behavior. This fact eliminates the risk of overload
due to the current harmonics of non-linear loads close to the compensated system.
- This compensator can be applied to loads with random power variation as it is not affected by
changes in the tuning frequency of the passive filter. Furthermore, the reactive power variation
is compensated by the active filter.
- Series and/or parallel resonances with the rest of the system are avoided because
compensation equipment and load are resistive behavior.
- The active filter improves the harmonic compensation features of the passive filter and
compensates the reactive power, achieving unit power factor.
- -The proposed control algorithm allows balancing asymmetrical loads.

Experimental results are presented. This allows the verification of the developed theoretical analysis.

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CONTROL STRATEGY FOR HYBRID POWER FILTER TO COMPENSATE

UNBALANCED AND NON-LINEAR THREE-PHASE LOADS

LITRAN Salvador P.

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