Control of LCL Filter Based Voltage Source

Converter

Erdal EHRL
*
and Meral ALTINAY

*
Vocational High School of Kastamonu University/Electronic Technology, Kastamonu, Turkey,
e-mail: esehirli@kastamonu.edu.tr

Technical Education Faculty of Kocaeli University/Electric Education, Kocaeli, Turkey,

e-mail: meral.altinay@kocaeli.edu.tr


Abstract In this paper, the control of Voltage source
converter which consists of six IGBT power switches is
realized. Grid connection of VSC is provided through LCL
filter and sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM)
technique which has 9 kHz switching frequency, is used for
switching. Three different way of control including a b
c, d q and input output linearization nonlinear control,
are analyzed and achieved with simulations in
Matlab/Simulink. The effects of control methods to the grid
and dc link are examined.
Keywords Voltage Source Converter (VSC), Converter
control, Vector control, Non linear control, Simulation.
I. INTRODUCTION
Three phase voltage source ac/dc pulse width
modulation (PWM) rectifiers compared to phase
controlled rectifiers have lots of advantages such as
controllable power factor, lower current harmonics and
sinusoidal line currents on the grid side and controllable
dc link voltage on the output side. For the grid connection,
PWM rectifiers can use L and LCL filter. Using L filter
has some drawbacks; one of them is to use higher value of
inductance providing to decrease the harmonics of line
currents. The other one is necessity of higher switching
frequency to achieve desired dynamic performance. On
the other hand, when using LCL filter, the size of passive
elements and switching frequency can be lower. However,
using LCL filter may cause instability problems at zero
impedance occurred by its resonance frequency. To avoid
this instability problem, two methods that are called as
active damping and passive damping are used. In passive
damping, resistors in series with the filter capacitors are
used but this causes power losses. Nevertheless, active
damping, changing the control algorithm without
increasing power losses can be realized, but control
become more complex.
References [1 6] realize direct, indirect and indirect
dc current control of L filtered PWM rectifier at three
phase (a b c) systems. Mathematical model based on
coordinate transformations between (a b c), stationary
( ), synchronous (d q) reference frames is derived
and the control in d q reference frame achieved, as in
[7]. References [7 10] show the application of the vector
control algorithm to voltage source converter (VSC). The
design and d q control of LCL filtered VSC carried out,
as in [11 13]. Reference [14] examines the performance
of active and passive damping with the use of LCL filter.
Feedback linearization technique including input output
linearization is applied to L filtered VSC, as in [15 17].
In this paper, three different current control algorithms
which include a b c, d q and input output
linearization nonlinear control are applied to the LCL with
passive damping filtered voltage source rectifier through
simulations. All the simulations are carried out with
Matlab/Simulink. The effects of the control methods to the
grid and dc link are examined.
II. MATHEMATICAL MODEL
A power circuit of LCL filtered three phase PWM
rectifier is shown in Fig. 1. Since I
u1
and C
s
part of filter
has influence only the high frequency component, in the
calculation of controller parameters it can be neglected.
On the other hand, LCL filter behaves like I
u1
+ I
u2
in
the lower frequency as in [14]. Therefore, I = I
u1
+ I
u2

and R = R
u1
+ R
u2
are used to derive the mathematical
model. Furthermore, assuming a balanced three phase
system without the neutral connection and neglecting the
resistance of power switch, the VSC can be modeled
(1 4), as in [4, 18]. In equations, d is defined as
switching function.

Fig. 1. LCL filtered Voltage Source Rectifier


d
c
dt
= -
R
L
i
u
- I
dc
[J
u
-
1
3
J
k
c
k=u
+ I
u
(1)

d
b
dt
= -
R
L
i
b
-I
dc
[J
b
-
1
3
J
k
c
k=u
+ I
b
(2)

d
c
dt
= -
R
L
i
c
- I
dc
[J
c
-
1
3
J
k
c
k=u
+ I
c
(3)

dv
dc
dt
=
1
C
(i
u
J
u
+ i
b
J
b
+ i
c
J
c
) -
1
C
i
dc
(4)

Applying the Park transform to (1 4), d q model of
VSC is derived with (5 7), as in [7, 18].


d
d
dt
= -
R
L
i
d
+ i
q
-
1
L
I
dc
J
d
-
0
d
L
(5)

d
q
dt
= -
R
L
i
q
-i
d
-
1
L
I
dc
J
q
-
0
q
L
(6)

dv
dc
dt
=
1
C
(i
d
J
d
+ i
q
J
q
) -
1
C
i
dc
(7)
14th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference, EPE-PEMC 2010
978-1-4244-7855-2/10/$26.00 2010 IEEE T3-172
III. CONTROL
Three different types of control techniques are
explained in this section. These control methods are direct
control in a b c system, vector control in d q frames
and nonlinear control with input output linearization in
d q frames. As a switching technique, SPWM is used for
all control methods.

A. Direct control of VSC in a b c systems
In a b c system, there are generally three types of
control methods which are direct, indirect and indirect dc
control [5].
Fig. 2 shows the control structure of direct control of
VSC in a b c systems. In this control; dc link voltage
I
dc
is measured and compared with reference voltage
I
c]
. By means of this comparison, an error signal is
obtained, by the use of controller 0
c
three phase current
command magnitude I
m
is produced. To get sinusoidal
reference current, I
m
is multiplied with a sine function,
with the same frequency of the grid and the desired phase
shift angle and this procedure also provides to have
unity power factor. After obtaining sinusoidal reference
currents, they are compared with line currents to produce
PWM pattern for switching [5, 19].


Fig. 2. Direct control in a b c systems

B. Control in synchronous references (d q ) frame
There are two types of d q control which are direct
power control (DPC) and voltage oriented control (VOC)
[9].
Fig. 3 shows the control structure of VOC. This control
algorithm needs to transformation between a b c,
and d q coordinates. d axis reference current i
dc]
is
produced from the error signal obtained by comparison of
dc link voltage I
dc
and reference dc voltage I
c]
. This
i
dc]
current is compared with d axis line current i
d
which
is produced by the applying of a b c to d q
transformation to the line currents. q axis reference current
i
qc]
is also compared with the q axis line current. After
the comparison of currents in d q frame, inverse
transformation d q to a b c coordinates is realized to
produce PWM pattern when using the method of SPWM.
The angles that are required for transformations between
a b c to d q coordinates are obtained by means of the
phase locked loop circuit (PLL) or transformation.
To obtain unity power factor, i
qc]
current is set to 0
and transformation angles are provided by line voltages.


Fig. 3. Voltage oriented control in d q frames
Fig. 4 shows the relation between the vector diagrams
of coordinates.

Fig. 4. Vector diagrams of the coordinates
Since (5 6) have a coupling term, the control diagram
in Fig. 3 cannot achieve desired performance, therefore
decoupling control structure which is shown in Fig. 5 are
used, as in[9,20].
Fig. 5. Decoupling control structure of d q control

VOC has some advantages such as 0 steady state
error on dc link voltage and the controllability of active
and reactive components separately [10].
T3-173
C. Input output linearization and control of VSC in
d q frames
In input output linearization theory, it is considered a
systems like (8 9) and firstly the system outputs y are
differentiated until inputs u appear, then new inputs :
which cancel the nonlinearity and guarantee tracking
convergence, are chosen [15,16,21].

X

= (x) + g(x)u (8)

y = b(x) (9)

If (5-6) are written with the form of (8), (10) - (11) are
derived.

(x) =
l
l
l
l
l
-
R
L
i
d
+ i
q
+
v
m
L
-i
d
-
R
L
i
q
1
C
i
dc 1
1
1
1
1
(10)
g(x) =
l
l
l
l
l
-
1
L
I
dc
u
u -
1
L
I
dc
1
C
i
d
1
C
i
q 1
1
1
1
1
(11)

The main purpose of this control method is to regulate
I
dc
voltage by setting i
d
current and to provide unity
power factor by controlling i
q
current. Therefore, y
outputs variables and reference values are chosen with
(12), as in [17].

y = j
y
1
y
2
[ = _
b
1
(x)
b
2
(x)
_ = _
i
d
i
q
_ , y
-
= j
I
d
-
u
[ (12)

Differentiating outputs of (12), (13) is obtained. The
order of derivation process, finding a relation between y
outputs and u inputs, is called as relative degree. It is also
seen that the relative degree of our system is 1.

y = _
t
d

t
q

_ = _
-
1
L
I
dc
u
u -
1
L
I
dc
_ u
+_
-
R
L
i
d
+ i
q
+
v
m
L
-i
d
-
R
L
i
q
_ (13)

System inputs u are chosen as J
d
and J
q
which are
switching functions, as in [17]. It can be seen that inputs
u are found in outputs by the first differentiation. After
finding the new inputs and adding error dynamics, (14)
has been obtained.
j
u
d
u
q
[ = _
J
d
J
q
_ = _
-
L
v
dc
u
u -
L
v
dc
_.
__
R
L
i
d
-i
q
-
v
m
L
i
d
+
R
L
i
q
_ +_
-k
1
(i
d
-I
d
-
)
-k
2
i
q
__ (14)
Fig. 6 shows block diagram of the control algorithm, as
in d q control, nonlinear control also needs to coordinate
transformation.

Fig. 6. Input output linearization nonlinear control of VSC
d axis reference current i
dc]
is produced from the error
signal, obtained by comparing squares of dc link voltage
I
dc
and reference dc voltage I
c]
. To control of zero
dynamics, squares of I
dc
and I
c]
are used, as in [17].
After obtaining J
d
and J
q
switching functions by means
of equation (14), they are transformed to a b c system
for using in SPWM. To provide unity power factor, the
reference of q current i
qc]
is set to 0 and also
transformation angles are taken from line voltages.
IV. SIMULATIONS
Simulations are realized with Matlab/Simulink
software. The input voltage is 220 V, 60 Hz, the load is
100 and the switching frequency is 9 kHz. References
[11] and [22 - 24] uses switching frequency as 5-7 kHz,
5-10 kHz, 5-8 kHz and 5 kHz, respectively. By means of
the simulations, the effects of control algorithms to the
grid side and dc link with respect to line currents
harmonics, unity power factor and sinusoidality of the line
currents and to the steady state error and settling time are
investigated. All the simulations achieved under reference
and load change.
A. Simulation of Direct current control of VSC in
a b c systems
The simulation diagram of direct control is shown in
Fig. 7. Reference dc link voltage is 550 V at the
beginning, after 0.5 s it is changed to 700 V. The load is
also changed at 0.8. s, with additional 100 .

Fig. 7. Simulation diagram of direct current controller in a b c
system
2
V-
1
V+
Discrete,
Ts = 5e-006 s.
a
b
c
gri d
currents
v olt ages
I m
pulses
di rect current
control l er
v
+
-
Iabc
Vabc
La
Lb
Lc
Lla
Llb
Llc
LCL filter, measurement
g
A
B
C
+
-
IGBT bri dge
Vref
Vdc
Im
Dc control l er
T3-174
Parameters of LCL filter and controller are shown in
Table I and Table II.
TABLE I.
VALUES OF PASSIVE COMPONENTS
Passive Components
LCL Filter Dc-Link
R
u1

()
I
u1

(mH)
R
u2

()
I
u2

(H)
R
s

()
C
s

(F)
R
L
()
C
dc
(F)
2 0.0001 0.01 0.003 0.15 0.0025 100 0.002
TABLE II.
VALUES OF CONTROLLER
Controller
Dc-link controller Current controller
K
p
K

K
p
K

5 115 5 100

Fig. 8 shows the dc link voltage. It is easy to see that
the dc-link provides reference voltages.

Fig. 8. Dc-link voltage in direct current control
Fig. 9 shows steady-state error of dc link voltage. The
error changes between 4 V.

Fig. 9. Steady-state error of dc-link voltage in direct current control.
It is seen in Fig. 10 that unity power factor is provided.

Fig. 10. Voltage and current of one phase in direct current control.

Fig. 11 also shows that line currents are not sinusoidal
as desired.

Fig. 11. Three phases line currents in direct current control.

Fig. 12 shows harmonic spectrum of line currents. Total
harmonic distortion (THD) of line currents are %4.41,
%4.30, %4.52.










Fig. 12. Harmonic spectrum of line currents in direct current control

B. Simulation of Control in synchronous references (d
q ) frame
The simulation diagrams of d q control is shown in
Fig. 13.

Fig. 13. Simulation diagrams of d q control
Parameters of LCL filter and controller are shown in
Table III and Table IV.
TABLE III.
VALUES OF PASSIVE COMPONENTS
Passive Components
LCL Filter Dc-Link
R
u1
()
I
u1
(H)
R
u2
()
I
u2
(H)
R
s

()
C
s

(F)
R
L
()
C
dc
(F)
0.01 0.001 0.2 0.001 2 0.005 100 0.002


0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
time(s)
v
o
lt
a
g
e
(
V
)


dc voltage
0.9 0.905 0.91 0.915 0.92 0.925
695
696
697
698
699
700
701
702
703
704
time(s)
v
o
lt
a
g
e
(
V
)


dc voltage
0.4 0.41 0.42 0.43 0.44 0.45 0.46 0.47 0.48 0.49 0.5
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
time (s)
m
a
g
n
it
u
d
e
,
(
V
o
lt
a
g
e

(
V
)
,

C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)
)


voltage
current
0.9 0.905 0.91 0.915 0.92 0.925
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80


phase a
phase b
phase c
2
V-
1
V+
Discrete,
Ts = 5e-006 s.
powergui
a
b
c
gri de
V*
V
id*
da controller
iq
id
vabc1
iabc1
Pulses
d-q controller
v
+
-
In1
In2
v ia
v ib
v ic
a
b
c
A
B
C
LCL fi lter, measurement
g
A
B
C
+
-
IGBT bridge
[V]
[I] [Ge]
[Ak]
0
T3-175
TABLE IV.
VALUES OF CONTROLLERS
Controller

Dc Controller
d-q current controller
d controller q controller
K
p
K

K
p
K

K
p
K

5 100 8 0.00001 4.769 0.000001

Fig. 14 shows that reference values of dc link voltages
are provided.

Fig. 14. Dc-link voltage in d q control.
It is shown in Fig. 15 that steady state error of dc link
voltage is between 2V.

Fig. 15. Steady-state error of dc link voltage in d q control.
It can be seen in Fig. 16 that unity power factor is
obtained.

Fig. 16. Voltage and current of one phase in d q control.






Fig. 17 shows that sinusoidal line currents are obtained.

Fig. 17. Three phases line currents in d q control.
Fig. 18 shows the harmonic spectrum of line currents.
The THD of line currents are %3.04, %3.16, %3.34.











Fig. 18. Harmonic spectrum of line currents in d q control

C. Simulation of input output linearization nonlinear
control

The simulation diagram of input output linearization
nonlinear control method is shown in Fig. 19.


Fig. 19. Simulation diagram of input output linearization nonlinear
control
Parameters of LCL filter and controller are shown in
Table V and Table VI.
TABLE V.
VALUES OF PASSIVE COMPONENTS
Passive Components
LCL Filter Dc-Link
R
u1
()
I
u1
(mH)
R
u2
()
I
u2
(H)
R
s

()
C
s

(F)
R
L
()
C
dc
(F)
2 0.0001 0.01 0.003 0.15 0.0025 100 0.002
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
time (s)
d
c

v
o
lt
a
g
e

(
V
)


dc voltage
0.9 0.905 0.91 0.915 0.92 0.925
697.5
698
698.5
699
699.5
700
700.5
701
701.5
702
time (s)
d
c

v
o
lt
a
g
e

(
V
)


dc voltage
0.4 0.42 0.44 0.46 0.48 0.5
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
time (Sn)
m
a
g
n
it
u
d
e
,
(
V
o
lt
a
g
e

(
V
)
,

C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)
)


voltage
current
0.9 0.905 0.91 0.915 0.92 0.925
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
time (s)
c
u
r
r
e
n
t
s

(
A
)


phase a
phase b
phase c
input - output controller
2
V-
1
V+
Discrete,
Ts = 5e-006 s.
powergui
a
b
c
grid
iq
id
vdc
vabc1
iabc
Pulses
v
+
-
I
V
via
vib
vic
a
b
c
A
B
C
LCL filter,measurement
g
A
B
C
+
-
IGBT bridge
[V2]
[I2]
[V1]
[I1]
0
V*
V
id*
vdc
T3-176
TABLE VI.
VALUES OF CONTROLLER
Controller
Dc-link controller Input-output controller
K
p
K

k (1u
3
) K (1u
5
)
10 0.01 30 50

Fig. 20 shows that reference voltage values are
provided.

Fig. 20. Dc-link voltage in input output control.

Fig. 21 shows that steady state error of dc link voltage
is between 15V.

Fig. 21. Steady-state error of dc link voltage in input output control.

Fig. 22 shows that unity power factor is provided.

Fig. 22. Voltage and current of one phase in input output control.
It can be also seen in Fig. 23 that sinusoidal line
currents are obtained.

Fig. 23. Three phases line currents in input output control.
Fig. 24 shows the harmonic spectrum of line currents
and the THD of line currents are %1.66, %1.49, %1.56.












Fig. 24. Harmonic spectrum of line currents in input output control.

V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, three different control techniques which
are direct control in a b c coordinates, vector control in
d q frames and input output linearization nonlinear
control in d q frames, of LCL filtered voltage source
rectifier are carried through with simulation in
Matlab/Simulink. By means of the simulation results,
d q control has nearly 0 steady state error. On the
other hand, in input output linearization nonlinear
control line currents have lower harmonics and their
shapes are more sinusoidal. Besides, settling time is
shorter than the others. However, line currents are
unbalanced after load changes. In addition to simulation
results, direct control in a b c coordinates gives poorer
results. In all control methods, line currents harmonics are
under the boundary that is defined by standards.

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0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1
0
100
200
300
400
500
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700
800
time (s)
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670
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680
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705
710
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c

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(
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0.4 0.42 0.44 0.46 0.48 0.5
-300
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
time (Sn)
m
a
g
n
it
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d
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o
lt
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g
e

(
V
)
,

C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)
)


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current
0.9 0.905 0.91 0.915 0.92 0.925
-80
-60
-40
-20
0
20
40
60
80
time (s)
C
u
r
r
e
n
t

(
A
)


phase a
phase b
phase c
Ib Ia
Ic
T3-177
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