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Filter design for grid connected PV inverters

Conference Paper December 2008
DOI: 10.1109/ICSET.2008.4747165 Source: IEEE Xplore

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ICSET 2008

FILTER DESIGN FOR GRID CONNECTED PV INVERTERSG

G

Hyosung Kim

Kyoung-Hwan Kim

Kongju National University

School of Electrical Electronics Engineering
275, Budae, Cheonan, Chungnam, 330-717 Korea
e-mail: hyoskim@kongju.ac.kr

KACO Korea Inc.

1st Floor, Dongbang Rental Bldg
333-1, Sangdaeeon, Jungwon, Seongnam, Korea
e-mail: paul.kim@kacokorea.com

Abstract-This paper proposes filter design guideline for

single-phase grid-connected PV inverters. By analyzing the
instantaneous voltage applied on the filter inductor, the
switching ripple current through the filter inductor is
precisely calculated. Therefore, filter inductance can be
designed accurately which guaranties the switching ripple
current under the target value. Proposed filter design
method is verified by experiment.

switching of the utility inverters can be attenuated not by

controllers, but by passive filters [12-16]. The influence of
the ripple current on power quality can be evaluated by the
ripple factor (RF) defined by (3).
RFsw =

I (hsw )
100 [%]
I rate

(3)

Keywords: Grid-connected PV inverters, Single-phase

PWM inverters, Switching ripple current, Filter design

This paper analyzes the relation between the filter

inductance and the ripple factor according to the PWM
pattern of grid-connected single-phase inverters. Based on
I. Introduction
the analysis, this paper proposes design guideline to get
Distributed power generation systems (DPGS) are
precise filter inductance that satisfies given ripple factor
widely exploited according to the development of
limit for the grid injection current.
renewable energy systems [1,2]. DPGSs cover wide power
Proposed design guideline not only gets accurate filter
ranges from 1kW class residential applications to several
inductance in L-filter configuration, but also estimates
hundred MW class generation parks. Medium and small
precise ripple factor for the inverter side L-filter of LCLscale DPGSs are normally connected to grid systems
filter configuration which is necessary to get exact LCL
through utility interactive inverters that inject grid current
filter parameters [11]. Proposed design guideline also
by current control mode operation [3-7].
gives correct RMS value of the ripple current which
Since the power quality of the grid interface is
further can be used for the loss calculation of gridinfluenced by the quality of the injection current, the
connected PV inverters.
current quality is generally regulated by utility companies
Experiment validates the proposed theory and design
[8,9]. For example, the total demand distortion (TDD) of
guideline.
10-mininute averaged value for the injection current on a
DPGS should not goes over 5%, and the even harmonics
II. Analysis on ripple current
should be limited under 25% to the neighbored harmonic
limitation.
A) Inverter topology
Fig.1 describes a single-phase grid-connected inverter
using full-bridge topology. If the b-leg switch is not used
h= 2
and the node vn is directly connected to the DC spilt O,
Moreover, there exist higher order harmonics based on then the power circuit changes to a half-bridge topology.
Grid voltage ea is assumed ideal sinusoid. To simplify
the switching frequency of the utility inverters which
come from the circuit condition between the PWM the analysis, the fundamental component of the grid
switching pattern and the grid voltages. Thus to evaluate current in Fig.1 is assumed to be zero. Thus, the
the influence of utility inverters to the power quality on a fundamental component of the voltage applied on the filter
grid interface, not only the low order harmonics described inductor is also zero as (4)
by (1), but also the high order harmonics described by (2)
(4)
vL1 = vO1 ea = 0
should be considered [10,11].
As can be seen in Fig.2, single-phase full-bridge
400
(2) inverters normally use unipolar PWM, so that the inverter
I rms , sw = I 2 ( h) / I rate
h = 41
output voltage v0 has three step values; Vdc, 0, and -Vdc.
TDD =

40

(h) / I rate

(1)

The current ripples resulted from the high frequency

1201
c 2008 IEEE
978-1-4244-1888-6/08/$25.00 

during the switching period Ts.

Thus, the filter inductor current of grid-connected
single-phase full-bridge inverters during any switching
period has typical waveform as shown by the lower curve
in Fig. 2. In this case, the peak-to-peak value of the filter
inductor current ipp that results from the unipolar PWM
switching can be calculated as (5).
i pp = 2imax =
Fig. 1 Topology of a single-phase full-bridge inverter.

However, single-phase half-bridge inverters have to use

bipolar PWM as shown in Fig.3, so that the inverter output
voltage v0 has two step values; +Vdc/2, and -Vdc/2.
Thus, the characteristics of the ripple current are
different between the two inverter topologies. This paper
analyzes the switching ripple current on the filter inductor
according to the two topologies.

(Vdc vAV ) d1 T
L

(5)

Moreover, when the condition described by (4) is

applied to single-phase full-bridge inverters during the
interval of 0 < t < , equations (6) and (7) can be
deduced.
vAV (t ) = d1 (t )Vdc , ea (t ) = maVdc sin(t )

(6)

d1 (t ) = ma sin(t )

(7)

From (6) and (7), the peak-to-peak value of the filter

inductor current during 0 < t < can be calculated by
(8).
i pp (t ) =

VdcTs
(1 ma sin(t ))<ma sin(t )
2L

(8)

here, 0 < t < .

Fig.4 shows magnitude distribution of ipp of gridconnected single-phase full-bridge inverters according to
the parameter of modulation index ma during the angle
0 < t < . ipp() has minimum or maximum value when
the utility angle is ; Sin-1(1/2ma), /2, and -Sin-1(1/2ma)
Fig. 2 Output voltage and current waveform of typical single-phase
full-bridge inverters.
vo
X
V
Y DC

vAV

X
V
Y DC

i
Imax

Fig. 4 Magnitude distribution of Uipp of single-phase full-bridge

inverters.

W
Imax

Ts = 1/fs

G
G G Fig. 3 Output voltage and current waveform of typical single-phase
half-bridge inverters.

B) Analysis of ripple current

When the switching frequency fsw is much higher than

the utility frequency f0, the time average value of the
inverter output voltage vAV can be regard to be constant

1202

G Fig. 5 Magnitude distribution of Uipp of single-phase half-bridge

inverters.

As the same way, the peak-to-peak value of the filter

inductor current ipp that results from the bipolar PWM
switching can be calculated as (9).
i pp (t ) =

VdcTs
{1 ma2 <sin 2 (t )}
4L

(9)

here, 0 < t < .

Fig.5 shows magnitude distribution of ipp of gridconnected single-phase half-bridge inverters according to
the parameter of modulation index ma during the angle
0 < t < . ipp() has minimum or maximum value when

Since RMS value is related with only absolute value,

the RMS value of Fig.6 can be calculated equivalently by
the RMS value as Fig.7.
When the switching frequency fsw is assumed to integer
multiple of the utility frequency ie, fsw=nf0, the number of
triangle waves during the 1/4 period (T/4) of the utility
angle will be n. Fig.8 describes the distribution of triangle
waves, where the magnitude of any k-th triangle wave can
be calculated as (10).
imax ( k ) =

VdcTs
[1 ma sin ( k )]<ma sin( k )
4L

(10)

here, = (2k 1) , k=1,2, ..., n.

k
4n

the utility angle is; 0, /2, and .

Since the voltage and current waveforms are half-cycle
symmetry, the situation during < t < 2 repeats same
as that of during 0 < t < .

Since the RMS value of each triangle wave is

imax ( k ) / 3 as shown by Fig.8, the RMS value of the

ripple current Ir can be calculated as (11).

2

Ir =

C) RMS value of ripple current

The ripple current of utility-interactive single-phase
full-bridge inverters is consisted with tri-angle waves
bounded by ipp/2 as described by Fig.6.

I ( k )

s r

k =1

k =1

imax ( )2
3

(11)

When the switching frequency goes very high so that s

goes to infinitely small, equation (11) can be written by
integral form as (12).
Ir =

2
3

/2

(12)

2
imax
( )d

Substituting (8) to (12), equation (13) can be deduced.

Ir =
Fig. 6 Typical waveform of the filter inductor ripple current Ui of
single-phase full-bridge inverters when ma=1.0.

VdcTs
4L

2
3

/2

(13)

(1 ma sin ) 2 <ma2 sin 2 d

By calculating the integral in (13), the RMS value of the

switching ripple current in single-phase full-bridge
inverters can be obtained by (14).

Fig. 7 Equivalent waveform of the ripple current for RMS value.

Ir =

VdcTs
4L

2
3

VdcTs
4L

2ma2
3
4
(1 + ma2 ) ma
3 4
4
3

/2

(1 2ma sin + ma2 sin 2 )

ma2
(1 cos 2 ) d
2

(14)

In the same way, the ripple current through the filter

inductor of grid-connected single-phase half-bridge
inverters is consisted with tri-angle waves bounded by
ipp/2 as described by Fig.9.

G
Fig. 8 RMS calculation of the equivalent filter inductor ripple current Ui.

G Fig. 9 Equivalent RMS waveform of filter inductor ripple currentGUi of

single-phase half-bridge inverters.

1203

Thus, the RMS value of the switching ripple current in

single-phase half-bridge inverters can be calculated by
(15)G
Ir =

VTdcTs
8L

2
3 4 G
2
1 ma + ma
3 2
8

VTdcTs
8L

1
3 4
2
1 ma + ma
3
8

C) Filter design example

Table 1 describes circuit conditions for an example
grid-connected PV inverter.

G G G (15)G

Table 1 Circuit conditions for grid-connected PV inverters.

The fundamental component for the filter inductor

current of grid-connected single-phase full-bridge
inverters can be calculated as (16).
I1 =

maVdc
m TV
= a dc
2 Zbase 2 2 Lb

Thus, the switching ripple factor of grid-connected

single-phase full-bridge inverters (RFsw) is calculated by
(17).
(17)

Reversely, when the ripple factor of the injection

current is given by RFsw, the filter inductor must be
designed by (18).
1
3 2 4 Ts
L

[ pu ]
1 + ma ma
Lb RFsw 3 4 4 3 T

(18)

B) Filter design on half-bridge topology

The fundamental component for the filter inductor
current of grid-connected single-phase half-bridge
inverters can be calculated as (19).
I1 =

maVdc
m TV
= a dc
2 2 Z base 4 2 Lb

(19)

Rated Voltage V

220V
60Hz

Switching frequency fsw

6kHz

G G

2 (1 ma2 + 3ma4 / 8) Ts
6ma2

P
= 45.45[ A]
V

(22)

Zb =

V2
= 4.84[]
P

(23)

Lb =

Zb
= 12.84[ mH ]
2 f

(24)

Table 2 Filter inductance for single-phase full-bridge inverters.

[ pu ] G

Index

Filter inductance
Per-unit [pu]

Real [mH]

ma=1.0

0.02075

0.266

ma=0.8

0.03166

0.406

G G G (20)
Table 3 Filter inductance for single-phase half-bridge inverters.

When the ripple factor of the injection current is

given by RFsw, the filter inductor must be designed by (21).
L
1

Lb RFsw

Ib =

Modulation

2 (1 ma2 + 3ma4 / 8 ) Ts Lb
6ma2

10kVA

Thus when the switching ripple factor limitation is set

to 10%, filter inductance for single-phase PV inverter can
be designed by Table 2 and Table 3. Table 2 is for fullbridge inverters, and Table 3 is for half-bridge inverters.
Per-unit filter inductance data in Table 2 and Table 3 can
be applied to any power rating and any voltage rating.
When the modulation index is ma=1.0, the filter
inductance of single-phase half-bridge inverter is around
3.79 times to that of single-phase full-bridge inverter.
While, when the modulation index is ma=0.8, the filter
inductance of single-phase half-bridge inverter is around
3.63 times to that of single-phase full-bridge inverter.

Thus, the switching ripple factor of grid-connected

single-phase half-bridge inverters (RFsw) is calculated by
(20).
RFsw =

Rated Power P

The per-unit system for the circuit condition can be

calculated as follows;

(16)

3 2 4 Ts Lb
I
RFsw = r =
1 + ma ma
3 4 4 3 T L
I1

Condition

Utility frequency fo

III. Filter design guide line

A) Filter design on full-bridge topology

Item

G G G (21)

1204

Modulation

Filter inductance

Index

Per-unit [pu]

Real [mH]

ma=1.0

0.07854

1.008

ma=0.8

0.11489

1.475

IV.

same filter inductances used in the experiment. Then the

Experiment

To verify presented theory between the switching ripple

factor and the filter inductance of grid-connected singlephase inverters, experiment is proceed on 10kVA/ 220V
grid-connected PV inverter as described by Fig.10.

measured ripple factor RFsw,mes and the estimated ripple

factor RFsw,est are compared to verify proposed theory.
Table 4 Experimental results for proposed grid-connected single-phase
inverters.

Filter
Inductor
[mH]/[pu]

RFsw,est [%]

RFsw,mes [%]

Unipolar

0.27/0.021

15.0766

14.5

Bipolar

0.505/0.039

29.2351

28.4

PWM
topology
V dc
2
n

V dc
2

0.27mH

a'

io

Ripple Factor

vo
4.8Ohm
v rs

Table 4 demonstrates the experimental results by the

proposed filter design guideline for grid-connected singlephase full-bridge inverter and half bridge inverter
Fig. 10 Experimental system of grid-connected single-phase fullrespectively. Half-bridge inverter is implemented by
bridge inverter.
adopting bipolar PWM topology to the same experimental
system.
Fig.11 shows experimental waveform of the gridconnected single-phase full-bridge inverter with the filter
inductance of 0.27 [mH] whose per-unit value is 0.021
[pu]. As expected by the theory, the magnitude of the
ripple component varies quadruple during the utility cycle.
Applying the equivalent per-unit filter inductance,
equation (17) estimates the switching ripple factor of the
inductor current in the single-phase full-bridge inverter as
RFsw,est =15.0766 [%]. From FFT analysis for the
measured filter inductor current, the switching ripple
Fig. 11 Experimental waveform of grid-connected single-phase fullbridge inverters when ma=0.8.
factor RFsw,mes can be calculated to around 14.5 [%] to the
rated RMS current. This is 96.17 [%] against the estimated
switching ripple factor RFsw,est. Thus the error is about -4
[%].
Fig.12 shows experimental waveform of the gridconnected single-phase half-bridge inverter with the filter
inductance of 0.505 [mH] whose per-unit value is 0.0393
[pu]. As expected by the theory, the magnitude of the
ripple component varies twice during the utility cycle.
Applying the equivalent per-unit filter inductance,
equation (20) estimates the switching ripple factor of the
G
inductor current in the single-phase half-bridge inverter as
Fig. 12 Experimental waveform of grid-connected single-phase halfRFsw,est =29.2351 [%]. From FFT analysis for the
bridge inverters when ma=0.8.
measured filter inductor current, the switching ripple
factor RFsw,mes can be calculated to around 28.4 [%] to the
Experimental conditions are equal to Table 1. Here,
rated RMS current. This is 96.17 [%] against the estimated
modulation index is set to ma=0.8 through the experiment.
switching ripple factor RFsw,est. Thus the error is about -3
However, the experimental verification goes opposite
[%].
way. Since precise implementation of filter inductor is not
However, the error is expected to decrease further if the
easy, this paper first selects available filter inductor in the experimental system uses rated load resistor of 4.84 []
laboratory, then measure the switching ripple factor instead of presently used load resistor of 4.80 [] that is
RFsw,mes by the selected filter inductor. Next, estimates the 99 [%] to the rated resistance.
switching ripple factor RFsw,est by (17) or (20) applying the

1205

V. Conclusion
This paper has proposed design guideline for the filter
inductor of grid-connected single-phase PV inverters,
which was verified by experiment. RMS value of
fundamental component and ripple component for the
filter inductor current of grid-connected single-phase PV
inverters was analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively.
Based on the ripple current analysis, design guideline for
filter inductor against the limitation of ripple factor was
presented. Experiment verified that the proposed filter
design guideline is very precise with the error under 4 [%].
Proposed design guideline is useful not only to get
accurate filter inductance in L filter design, but also to get
necessary intermediate filter inductance in LCL filter
design. Proposed RMS calculation of the switching ripple
current can be used for loss calculation of grid-connected
single-phase inverter systems.

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