1

!"#$%&' )"*+,' -"./'+$'+0 1!)-2

Biaft 1, 0ctobei 29, 2u12

3-3456 7 8*.9%:'.$%#0 "; 3#',$+<,%# 3.'+&= )=0$':0
>.</'+0<$= "; ?"+".$"

@#'A0%.9%+ B+"9<C

A voltage souice conveitei (vSC) is a conveitei that can opeiate as inveitei, i.e. uc-to-ac conveitei, oi as a
iectifiei (ac-uc conveitei). They aie fiequently useu in utility system as biuiiectional eneigy flow uevices foi
tiansfeiiing eneigy between uc souices anu the ac utility netwoik. They aie useu as electiic motoi uiives, in
uninteiiuptable powei supplies (0PS), in inuuctive heating systems, anu numeious othei applications. When
a voltage souice conveitei opeiates as an inveitei it is commonly calleu voltage souice inveitei (vSI).

5D -EF!3G?3G ?EBEHEIJ3)

The two most common configuiations aie full-biiuge anu half-biiuge voltage souice conveiteis, shown in
Figs.1 anu 2, iespectively. They aie usually connecteu to the loau oi an ac souice thiough a filtei. The filtei can
be as simple as a single inuuctoi.

%2 8*##KL+<9&' !"#$%&' )"*+,' -"./'+$'+

The full-biiuge conveitei consists of 4 cuiient biuiiectional switches, as shown in Fig.1. In compaiison with
the half-biiuge stiuctuie it iequiies a laigei numbei of tiansistois. Its auvantages aie a wiuei vaiiety of
mouulation schemes as well as a laigei maximum powei output foi a given input voltage !".





Fig.1. A full-biiuge vSC connecteu to a loau thiough a filtei.



2

M2 N%#;KL+<9&' !"#$%&' )"*+,' -"./'+$'+

In a half biiuge configuiation a capacitive uiviuei ieplaces two switches. Its capacitois have the same,
ielatively laige values, anu, thus, pioviue a ielatively stable !"2 voltage at the miu point.



Fig.2. A half-biiuge vSC connecteu to a loau thiough a filtei.


OD !EH?@I3 )E>G-3 JF!3G?3G

When opeiating as a uc-ac conveitei the vSC is calleu a voltage souice inveitei (vSI). 0sual iequiiements foi
the 1!)J2 aie:

K ?P' "*$Q*$ /"#$%&' R%/';"+: .''90 $" P%/' % 0<&.<;<,%.$ ,":Q".'.$ %$ $P' 9'0<+'9 "*$Q*$
;+'S*'.,=, i.e. funuamental fiequency. In most cases this is the only component we tiuly neeu anu is
contiibuting to the powei tiansfei.

Foi example, when a voltage-souice conveitei (vSC) is useu foi tiansfeiiing eneigy between the
utility anu a sustainable eneigy souice the powei is only tiansfeiieu to the utility giiu thiough the
component at the line (utility giiu) fiequency.

K J$ <0 9'0<+%M#' $P%$ $P' "*$Q*$ /"#$%&' R%/';"+: 9"'0 ."$ ,".$%<. 0<&.<;<,%.$ P%+:".<,0 %$
;+'S*'.,<'0 ,#"0' $" $P' ;*.9%:'.$%# ;+'S*'.,=D Iueally, we woulu like to have no haimonics. Still,
if they exist anu aie at fiequencies much highei than the funuamental, it is possible to uesign a
ielatively simple filtei foi theii iemoval. The uesign of a filtei that can sepaiate fiequency
components in the vicinity of the funuamental can be costly anu challenging.

In geneial, haimonics aie unuesiiable since they intiouuce noise, cause unuesiiable heating of
tiansfoimeis anu motois, auuitional losses, faulty activation of ovei-cuiient piotection systems, anu
numeious othei pioblems.

S
K G'&*#%$<". "; $P' "*$Q*$ /"#$%&' %:Q#<$*9' %.9 ;+'S*'.,= <0 %#0" iequiieu in many applications.
Foi example, in motoi uiives, the iegulation allows sepaiate contiol of the speeu anu the toique of
the machine. In giiu-connecteu conveiteis it allows iegulation of the eneigy tiansfei.

It shoulu be noteu that, even when opeiating as a vSI, the vSC is able to tiansfei the eneigy fiom the ac to uc
siue. The uiiection of the powei tiansfei can change uuiing a single switching cycle. Foi that ieason, it is
ieasonable to look at the conveiteis we aie analyzing heie as geneial voltage souice conveiteis.

4D TEU>H@?JEF )-N3T3)

Nouulation scheme is a teim that we use to uesciibe a switching sequence of a vSC. The switching sequence
stiongly ueteimines the output voltage wavefoim anu, consequently, its haimonics. In powei system anu
powei electionics communities, extensive bouy of woik has been uevoteu to the uevelopment of vaiious
mouulation schemes. By cieating a piopei scheme haimonic content of the output signal can be shapeu such
that it is best-suiteu foi a given application. Foi example, by caiefully uesigning switching sequence
unuesiiable haimonics can be eliminateu fiom the output signal. Also, it is possible to intentionally intiouuce
some highei haimonics, to impiove output voltage anu cuiient chaiacteiistics of uevices such as multi-phase
iectifieis. This technique is usually known as intentional haimonic injection.

Thiee most known mouulation schemes aie squaie-wave mouulation, single-pulse pulse-wiuth mouulation
(PWN), anu sinusoiual pulse-wiuth mouulation (SPWN). Theie aie also many mouifications of these thiee
basic schemes.

8"*+<'+ )'+<'0 3VQ%.0<".

To assess the wavefoims piouuceu by the vSC we can use Fouiiei Seiies Expansion, wheie a geneial peiiouic
wavefoim with the funuamental fiequency # = 1$ can be uesciibeu as:

, (1)

wheie !u is the uc component, !n is the amplituue of the n-th haimonic, ! =2"# is the iauial fiequency of the
funuamental component anu #& is the phase shift of the n-th haimonic. In this equation the funuamental
component of the signal coiiesponus to the fiist haimonic, the othei components aie usually calleu highei
haimonics.

The coefficient of Equation (1) can be calculateu using the following foimulas:

(2)


4
It shoulu be noteu that the amplituues anu fiequency of the haimonics have unique values anu the phase shift
components coulu vaiy, uepenuing on the iefeience point in time. It also means that the calculateu values of
the coefficients '& anu (& vaiy uepenuing on the iefeience point.

It is also impoitant to note that, in the analysis of the vSC piouuces signals, the amplituues aie always
expiesseu as positive numbeis. A negative value, which in some cases is a iesult of calculations, inuicates a
phase shift of 18u uegiees. This vaiiation can be explaineu by, foi example, uiawing the fiist anu thiiu
haimonic component of a peiiouic squaie wave signal staiting at u. 0vei a peiiou T2 the angle of the fiist
haimonic will change fiom u to !. 0n the othei hanu, foi the same time inteival, the angle of the thiiu
haimonic changes fiom u to S!. This inuicates that uepenuing on the time wheie we staiteu obseiving oui
signals the angles of uiffeient haimonic components can have quite uiffeient angles.

The haimonic content piouuceu by a vSC is usually uesciibeu with uiagiams showing noimalizeu amplituues
of haimonic anu theii numbei. Such a uiagiam is shown in Fig.S.




Fig.S. uiaphical iepiesentation of haimonics.

Beie, the noimalizeu amplituue of the &)* haimonic, !&+&,-. is uefineu as:

(2)

wheie, vg is the uc voltage of the input souice (oi the amplituue of the oiiginal signal /'0())). The hoiizontal
points on this uiagiam aie uefineu as:

&=(#-1231&04 ,# )*1 &5)* *'-.,&60)(#-1231&04 ,# )*1 #3&7'.1&)'8) (S)


)R<$,P<.& 0'S*'.,'0

9& *'8#5(-67"1 0,&#6"3-')6,&: the switching sequences aie cieateu such that only one switch is tuineu on at any
point in time. The state wheie both switches aie tuineu off is avoiueu, uue to the piesence of inuuctive loaus,
to avoiu suuuen cuiient inteiiuptions anu consequent high voltage spikes possibly uestioying the conveitei.
The state wheie both tiansistois aie tuineu on at the same time is absolutely not alloweu. It woulu cause a
shoit ciicuit of the uc souice anu the uestiuction of the conveitei.

9& #3885(-67"1 0,&#6"3-')6,&: the switching sequences aie cieateu such that two switches conuuct at any point
in time pioviuing cuiient conuuction paths at all times. Again, the state wheie two switches insiue one bianch
aie conuucting at the same time is uisalloweu, to avoiu shoit ciicuit of the souice.

Since the full-biiuge has a laigei numbei of possible states (4 vs 2) it allows cieation of a wiuei vaiiety of
pulse combinations than the half-biiuge.
S

%2 )S*%+'KW%/' T"9*#%$<". ),P':'

This is the simplest mouulation scheme iesulting in a 2-level squaie wavefoim output voltage at the
funuamental fiequency. To piouuce an ac voltage at the fiequency #=1$, the switches ;1 anu ;4 of the full-
biiuge aie kept in on state ovei a $2 peiiou anu this time-peiiou is followeu by the on states of the switches
;2 anu ;S. The key conveitei wavefoims foi this mouulation scheme aie shown in Fig.4.



Fig.4. vSC output voltage wavefoims anu switch states foi squaie-wave mouulation. Full-biiuge vSC (left) anu
a half-biiuge (vSC) iight.

It shoulu be noteu that in the iepiesentation of the signal piouuceu by the vSC we often piefei using angles
(iathei than time) to uesciibe position of the signal on the hoiizontal scale. This is because of Phasoi uomain
analysis, in which the time uepenuent teims uo not exist. The phasois aie most fiequently useu foi the
analysis of powei systems in the sinusoiual. It shoulu be cleai that, in the angulai iepiesentation, the time
instant $2 coiiesponus to the angle ! foi the funuamental component. Foi the thiiu haimonic component
this instant coiiesponus to the angle S".

The squaie wavefoim mouulation scheme is the simplest mouulation scheme that uoes not iequiie
complicateu haiuwaie. Also, since the switching components opeiate at the funuamental fiequency, the
switching losses of the conveitei aie ielatively small. 0nlike some othei schemes, this mouulation scheme can
be applieu with both half-biiuge anu full-biiuge vSC configuiations.

Biawbacks of the squaie-wave mouulation aie that it uoes not offei a possibility to contiol the amplituue of
the output voltage. It also cieates haimonics of ielatively laige amplituues in the vicinity of the funuamental
fiequency. The Fouiiei uecomposition of this signal gives the following expiessions foi the amplituues of the
funuamental component anu highei haimonics:
, foi n=1, S, S, 7,.

anu (4)

!& = u, foi & =2, 4, 6,...

wheie !1 = !g foi the full-biiuge conveiteis anu vg2 foi the half-biiuge. By compaiing iesults foi the full anu
half-biiuge we can see that, foi the same input voltage, the half biiuge iesults in twice the output voltage
value. Theiefoie, it is able to pioviue foui times laigei powei to a given iesistive loau.



6
Equations (4) inuicate that the S
iu
, S
th
, 7
th
,. haimonics, which aie consiueieu to be in the vicinity of the
funuamental (iueally we woulu like to have highei haimonics at an oiuei of amplituue highei fiequencies, at
least), have significant amplituues. An effective suppiession of the haimonics in the vicinity of the
funuamental is challenging anu usually costly. It woulu usually iequiie a high-oiuei filtei consisting of a laige
numbei of bulky inuuctive anu capacitive components having ielatively laige values.

M2 )<.&#'KB*#0' B*#0'KW<9$P T"9*#%$<".

Single-pulse pulse-wiuth mouulation scheme pioviues iegulation of the output voltage while still allowing the
switches to opeiate at the funuamental fiequency. In the piesence of inuuctive loaus (which is piactically
always the case) this type of mouulation cannot be implementeu with the half-biiuge configuiation of Fig.2.

Thiough single-pulse pulse-wiuth mouulation thiee output levels (u, !", anu -!",) aie cieateu, wheie the
uuiation of the non-zeio pait of the wavefoim, i.e. pulse-wiuth, can be vaiieu.

The states of the switches anu the iesulting output voltage values foi the single pulse pulse-wiuth mouulation
aie shown in Fig.S. It can be noticeu that, in this switching scheme, each switch opeiates at the fiequency
f=1T anu stays in each of the states foi a peiiou T2, i.e, foi angle !.



Fig.S. vSC output voltage wavefoim foi single-pulse PWN.


The pulse-wiuth of the output voltage wavefoim, i.e. the uuiation of non-zeio output pulse value, is vaiieu by
changing the phase shift between the gate uiive signals of the tiansistois.

By using the set of equations (2) one can obtain the following expiessions foi the haimonic components of the
single pulse pulse-wiuth mouulateu wavefoim.


, foi & =1, S, S, 7,.

anu (4)

!& = u, foi & =2, 4, 6,...


7

The iesults show that, by vaiying the angle $ , the amplituue of the output signal can be vaiieu anu, in some
cases, highei haimonics suppiesseu. Foi example, by selecting $ = "S all haimonics that aie multiples of
thiee can be eliminateu.

The iesults also show that the single-pulse pulse-wiuth mouulation still iesults in significant haimonics
components in the vicinity of the funuamental anu, theiefoie, iequiies a bulky filtei at the output. This type of
mouulation is pieuominantly useu in veiy high powei systems, wheie opeiation at the line switching
fiequency iesulting in low switching losses is piefeiable.

,2 )<.*0"<9%# B*#0'KW<9$P T"9*#%$<". 1)BWT2

Sinusoiual pulse-wiuth mouulation (SPWN) pioviues voltage iegulation anu piouuces haimonics at
fiequencies significantly laigei than the funuamental. These auvantages come at the piice of opeiation at
ielatively high switching fiequencies anu, consequently, laige switching losses of the conveitei.

A vSC iegulateu by SPWN scheme opeiates at the switching fiequency significantly laigei than the uesiieu
fiequency of the funuamental. To cieate a component at the funuamental fiequency the uuty iatio of the high
switching fiequency wavefoim is giauually vaiieu. The vaiiation is peifoimeu in a sinusoiual fashion, at the
fiequency of the uesiieu funuamental component. To extiact the funuamental component a low-pass filtei
(shown in Figs.1 anu 2) is useu. It stiongly attenuates components at the switching fiequency anu allows low
fiequency components of the piouuceu signal to pass thiough.

0<= >6?,8'- ;@AB

A typical output signal wavefoim foi the bipolai mouulation scheme is shown in Figs.6 anu 7. Fig. 6 shows the
conveitei output wavefoim anu its aveiage value ovei one switching cycle, </'0())>Ts, foi the case when the
fiequency mouulation factoi .# is 17. Beie the mouulation factoi uesciibes the iatio of the switching
fiequency anu the fiequency of the funuamental component. It is uefineu as:

(S)

It can be seen fiom Fig.6 that the aveiage value ovei one switching cycle vaiies in a sinusoiual mannei, at the
fiequency significantly lowei than the switching fiequency. This low-fiequency component of the signal vac(t)
passes thiough the low-pass filtei, piactically without attenuation. The amplituue of that value uepenus on the
maximum value of the uuty iatio vaiiation anu is uefineu with a factoi .'.



Fig.6. 0utput voltage of biuiiectional SPWN anu its aveiageu values ovei one switching cycle foi the case
when .#=17 anu the amplituue mouulation factoi is .'.
8




Fig.7. Zoomeu in wavefoim (ovei one switching cycle) of the output signal foi the bipolai SPWN vSC.


Figuie 7, shows a zoomeu in view (aiounu one switching cycle) of a pulse piouuceu by a SPWN vSC. It can be
easily calculateu that the aveiage value of this wavefoim ovei one switching cycle is 27C)D!", wheie, foi this
type of mouulation, the maximum value of the uuty iatio u(t), Bmax, cannot be laigei than u.S. By looking at
this wavefoim we can concluue that in oiuei to obtain a sinusoiual component at the funuamental fiequency,
the uuty iatio value can be vaiieu as:

. (6)

Such a vaiiation also iesults in a sinusoiual vaiiation of </'0())>$: that can be appioximateu with the following
equation:

. (7)


The bipolai SPWN mouulation can be peifoimeu with both half-biiuge anu uual-biiuge voltage souice
conveiteis.

The Fouiiei expansion of the signal /'0()) shows that the output of a bipolai SPWN contiolleu vSC uoes not
contain haimonics in the vicinity of the funuamental fiequency. Its spectium is similai to the one shown in
Fig. 8.






Fig.8. Spectium of the output voltage of a vSC opeiating unuei the bipolai SPWN scheme.
9


It can be seen that, in auuition to the funuamental component, whose noimalizeu value is .', the signal also
contains significant components at the multiples of the switching fiequency anu the vicinity of those highei
haimonics. The components aiounu the switching fiequency components anu theii multiples aie usually
calleu siuebanus. The suppiession of these high fiequency components is a ielatively easy task (in compaiison
with the suppiession of components in the vicinity of the funuamental fiequency) anu can be peifoimeu with
a ielatively small filtei.

The spectium of the signal is also often uesciibeu with tables giving pie-calculateu values of the funuamental
component anu highei haimonics foi vaiious combinations of factois .' anu .#.


0<= E&6?,8'- ;@AB

By looking at the spectium of Fig.8 it can be noticeu that the bipolai SPWN iesults in faiily laige haimonics at
the switching fiequency (shown as .# in the uiagiam) anu its multiples. These components can be eliminateu
thiough unipolai SPWN mouulation. The unipolai mouulation can be peifoimeu with a full-biiuge SPWN anu
as shown in Fig.9, in this case, S-level opeiation of the conveitei is utilizeu. The voltage swing at the output of
vSC is ieuuceu anu limiteu to !". A typical spectium of the signal /'0()D foi this type of mouulation is shown in
Fig. 1u. The cancellation of the .# component anu its multiples can be intuitively explaineu thiough Fig. 9. It
can be seen that the two ciicleu components aie symmetiic. They aie "miiioieu" shapes of uiffeient polaiity
causing cancellation of the components at the switching fiequency anu its multiples.







Fig.9. 0utput voltage of a vSC iegulateu by unipolai SPWN scheme.





Fig.1u. Spectium of the output voltage of a vSC opeiating unuei the unipolai SPWN scheme.