INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

CHAPTER 1

1
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

INTRODUCTION
In the traditional method of conversion of ac line voltages a combination of
rectification unit and a large capacitor is used. The rectification unit may be either controlled
or uncontrolled. Since the utility voltage is a sinusoidal, which alternates as a function of
time, the first task is to convert it into a useful and reliable constant (dc) voltage for the
successful operation of electronic circuits and direct -current machines. The conversion
process is called the rectification. Although there are other semiconductor devices suitable
for rectification, diodes are frequently employed. A single-phase voltage is converted into a
unidirectional voltage using a single diode for a half-wave rectification, and two or four
diodes for a fullwave rectification. The maximum value of a rectified voltage is equal to the
maximum value of the input time-varying voltage minus the forward voltage drop across
each diode in the rectifying circuit.
Simply defined, rectification is the conversion of alternating current (AC) to 22direct
current (DC). This almost always involves the use of some device that only allows one-way
flow of electrons. Sometimes, the method of rectification is referred to by counting the
number of DC "pulses" output for every 360o of electrical "rotation". A single-phase, halfwave rectifier circuit, then, would be called a 1-pulse rectifier, because it produces a single
pulse during the time of one complete cycle (360 o) of the AC waveform. A single-phase,
full-wave rectifier (regardless of design, centre-tap or bridge) would be called a 2-pulse
rectifier, because its output is two pulses of DC during one AC cycle's worth of time. A
three-phase full-wave rectifier would be called a 6-pulse unit. In polyphase circuits it is
possible to obtain more pulses than twice the number of phases in a rectifier circuit. Through
the creative use of transformers, sets of full-wave rectifiers may be paralleled in such a way
that more than six pulses of DC are produced for three phases of AC. A 30 o phase shift is
introduced from primary to secondary of a three-phase transformer when the winding
configurations are not of the same type. In other words, a transformer connected either Y-
or -Y will exhibit this 30o phase shift, while a transformer connected Y-Y or - will not.
This phenomenon may be exploited by having one transformer connected Y-Y feed a bridge
rectifier, and have another transformer connected Y- feed a second bridge rectifier, then
parallel the DC outputs of both rectifiers. Since the ripple voltage waveforms of the two
rectifier outputs are phase-shifted 30o from one another, their superposition results in fewer
ripples than either rectifier output considered separately i.e., 12 pulses per 360 o instead of
just six. A connection with more pulses on the output voltage has lower ripple and harmonic
content, however; they are proportionally more costly.

1.1 Three-Phase Uncontrolled Rectifiers

Rectifiers employing diodes are called uncontrolled rectifiers, because its average
output voltages are fixed dc voltages depending on input supply voltage magnitude. The
value of output dc voltage is not controlled; its amplitude can vary with variation in the ac
power supply.

1.1.1 Three-Phase six-pulse full bridge rectifiers

A three phase 6 pulse full wave bridge rectifier is shown in Fig.1.1. A six-pulse
rectifier is composed of six or multiple of six diodes configured to form a three-phase
double-way bridge for AC to DC conversion.

2
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

3-Phase AC
source

Load

Fig.1.1: Three-phase six- pulse uncontrolled bridge rectifier

The output of this configuration has six pulses per ac cycle and a dc voltage ripple
content of 4.17%. The waveforms of the source voltage and the output voltage are shown in
Fig.1.2 and Fig.1.3.

Fig.1.2 Input voltage waveform

Fig. 1.3 Output voltage waveform

1.1.2 Three-Phase 12-pulse full bridge rectifier

A three-phase 12-pulse full wave bridge rectifier is shown in Fig.1.4. A twelve-pulse
rectifier is comprised of essentially two six-pulse bridges connected in parallel through an
interphase transformer to insure proper current balance between the two bridges. The inputs
to the two bridges are provided by two separate windings of the rectifier transformer. One of
the windings is connected delta while the other is connected wye; this provides the necessary
phase shift to produce the six phases. When these six phases are rectified this produces the
twelve pulse output. This connection provides a ripple in the dc voltage of 1.02%.

3
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

Y
Vo

B
N

Fig.1.4: Three-phase 12-pulse full wave bridge rectifier

1.2 Three-Phase Controlled Rectifiers

Rectifiers employing thyristors are called controlled rectifiers. Here, the average
output voltage can be controlled. Three-phase controlled rectifiers have a wide range of
applications, from small rectifiers to large High Voltage
Direct Current (HVDC) transmission systems. They are used for electro-chemical
process, many kinds of motor drives, traction equipment, controlled power supplies, and
many other applications.

1.2.1 Three-phase Half-wave rectifier

The Fig.1.5 shows the three-phase half-wave rectifier topology. To control the load
voltage, the half wave rectifier uses three, common-cathode thyristor arrangement .
T1
A
T2
B
T3
C

Vo

Load

Fig.1.5: Three-phase half-wave controlled rectifier.

4
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

The thyristor will conduct, when the anode-to-cathode voltage is positive, and a
firing current pulse is applied to the gate terminal. Delaying the firing pulse by an angle
does the control of the load voltage. The firing angle is measured from the crossing point
between the phase supply voltages, as shown in Fig.1.6. At that point, the anode-to-cathode
thyristor voltage begins to be positive.

Fig.1.6: Instantaneous dc voltage with firing angle

The Fig.1.7 shows that the possible range for gating delay is between =0 and =180,
but in real situations, because of commutation problems, the firing angle is limited to a range
of 5 to 170.

Fig.1.7: Possible range for gating delay in angle

5
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

Figure 1.8: DC current waveforms

In Fig1.8, when the load is resistive, the current id has the same waveform of the load
voltage.
As the load (R and LD) becomes more and more inductive, the current flattens and
finally becomes constant. The thyristor goes to the non-conducting condition (OFF state)
when the following thyristor is switched ON, or the current, tries to reach a negative value.
With the help of Fig.1.6, the load average voltage can be evaluated, and is given by:

Vo

Vm
2

cos tdt Vm

sin

3 cos 1.17V cos

rms

(1.1)

Where, Vm is the secondary phase-to-neutral peak voltage, Vrms rms value, and is the
angular frequency of the mains power supply. It can be seen from equation (1.1) that
changing the firing angle , the load average voltage Vo is modified. When is smaller
than 90, Vo is positive, and when becomes larger than 90, the average dc voltage
becomes negative. In such a case, the rectifier begins to work as an inverter, and the load
needs to have the capability to generate power reversal by reversing its dc voltage. The
currents of the half-wave rectifier are shown in Fig.1.9. This drawing assumes that the dc
current is constant (LD very large). Each valve conducts during 120 per period. The
secondary currents (thyristor currents also) present a dc component that is undesirable, and
makes this rectifier not useful for high power applications. The primary currents show the
6
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

same waveform, but with the dc component removed. This much distorted waveform
requires an input filter to reduce harmonics contamination.

For this rectifier the power transformer has to be oversized 21%

Figure 1.9: AC current waveforms for the half-wave rectifier

at the primary side, and 48% at the secondary side. Then, a special transformer has to be
built. In terms of average VA, the transformer needs to be 35% larger that the rating of the
dc load. The larger rating of the secondary respect to primary is because the secondary
carries a dc component inside the windings. Besides, the transformer is oversized because
the circulation of current harmonics, which do not generate active power. The core
saturation, due to the dc components inside the secondary windings, also needs to be taken
in account for iron over sizing.

1.2.2 Three-phase Six-pulse Full-wave rectifier

Parallel connection via interphase transformers permits the implementation of
rectifiers for high current applications. Series connection for high voltage is also possible, as
shown in the full wave rectifier of Fig. 1.10.

7
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

T1

T3

T4

T6

T5

A
B
C

T2

Fig. 1.10: Three-phase full-wave rectifier

With this arrangement, it can be seen that the three common cathode valves generate
a positive voltage respect to the neutral, and the three common anode valves produce a
negative voltage. The result is a dc voltage twice the value of the half wave rectifier. Each
half of the bridge is a three-pulse converter group. This bridge connection is a two-way
connection, and alternating currents flow in the valve-side transformer windings during both
half periods, avoiding dc components into the windings, and saturation in the transformer
magnetic core.
The configuration does not need any special transformer, and works as a six-pulse
rectifier. The series characteristic of this rectifier produces a dc voltage twice the value of
the half-wave rectifier. The load average voltage is given by:

Vo

sin

2Vm
3 cos 2.34V cos
cos tdt 2Vm
rms
2

3
3
3

(1.2)

where Vm is the peak phase-to-neutral voltage at the secondary transformer

terminals, Vrms its rms value. The Fig.1.11 shows the voltages of each half wave bridge of
this topology The double star rectifier presents a maximum anode-to-cathode voltage of 2 Vm
.
The Fig.1.12 shows the currents of the rectifier, which assumes that LD is large enough
to keep the dc current smooth. The secondary currents do not carry any dc component,
avoiding the over design of windings, and transformer saturation. The perfect symmetry of
the currents in all windings and lines is one of the reasons why this rectifier is the most
popular in its type. Here the transformer only needs to be oversized 5%, and both, primary
and secondary windings have the same rating. Hence it makes an excellent use of the power
transformer.

8
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

Fig.1.11: Voltage waveforms for the three-phase full-bridge rectifier

Fig.1.12: Current waveforms for the three-phase full-bridge rectifier

9
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

Power factor
The displacement factor of the fundamental current, obtained from Fig.1.12 is:
cos 1 cos

(1.3)

The power factor can be expressed as follows:

I a1rms
cos
I arms

(1.4)

This equation shows clearly that due to the non-sinusoidal waveform of the currents, the
power factor of the rectifier is negatively affected both by the firing angle and by the
distortion of the input current. In effect, an increase in the distortion of the current produces
an increase in the value of I arms in equation (1.4), which deteriorates the power factor.

1.2.3 Twelve-pulse rectifier

The twelve-pulse configuration consists of two sets of converters connected as shown in
Fig.1.13.

Fig.1.13: Twelve-pulse rectifier configuration

The resultant ac current is given by the sum of the two Fourier series of the star connection
(equation 1.9) and delta connection transformers (equation 1.10):

iA

2 3

1
1
1
I D (cos t cos 5t cos 7t cos11t .......

5
7
11

iA

2 3

1
1
1
I D (cos t cos 5t cos 7t cos11t .......

5
7
11

(1.9)

(1.10)

The series only contains harmonics of order 12k 1. The harmonic currents of
orders 6k 1 (with k odd), i.e. 5th, 7th, 17th, 19th, etc., circulate between the two
converter transformers but do not penetrate the ac network. The resulting line current for the
twelve-pulse rectifier is shown in Fig.1.14, which is closer to a sinusoidal waveform than

10
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

previous line currents. The instantaneous dc voltage also results smoother with this
connection.

Fig.1.14: Line current for the twelve-pulse rectifier

The twelve-pulse is obtained with a 30 phase-shift between the two secondary
transformers. Another solution for harmonic reduction is the utilization of active power
filters. Active power filters are special Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) converters; able to
generate the harmonics the converter requires.

1.3 Drawbacks of traditional method

The traditional method of ac to dc conversion (using either uncontrolled or controlled
rectifiers) leads to pulsed current being drawn from the ac distribution networks. These
current pulses cause the following problems:

Poor use of the ac source and distribution wiring volt-ampere capacity because of the
high harmonic contents of line current;
Distortion of line voltage waveforms caused by harmonic currents and the nonzero
source impedance of the distribution network (constructive combination of harmonic
currents in neutral return lines can, in particular, lead to such distortion);
Injection of noise into equipment which operates from the line voltage.
In conventional thyristor phase-controlled converters the power factor decreases as
the firing angle increases and that harmonics of the line current are relatively high.

1.3.1 Harmonic distortion

In the following figure the three phase full wave rectifier is shown.
T1

T3

T5

T6

T2

A
B
C

T4

Fig.1.15: Three-phase full-wave rectifier

11
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

Input and Output Characteristics

For the three phase full wave rectifier during one complete line cycle, the DC output
current is produced by the sequential conduction of each rectifier. Each rectifier conducts for
one third of the line cycle or 120. Therefore, during each line cycle the top "positive"
rectifiers will each take their turn providing the output current, 1/3 + 1/3 + 1/3. The bottom
"negative" rectifiers likewise conduct 120 each, yet their conduction is skewed 60 ahead of
the positive rectifiers. The net effect is that the output current is sequenced though 6
conducting pairs of rectifiers during each line cycle. The effects of these 6 "pulses" can be
seen in both the input and the output waveforms, shown below. The ideal wave shape, in
each case is shown as a dotted line.

Fig1.16: Input waveform

Fig1.17: Output waveform
Depending upon the situation, the pulse, or ripple effect on the output waveform may
have little consequence. The 6-pulse conduction of the rectifiers is also apparent in the input
waveform. An ideal input wave would like to be completely sinusoidal. The waveform of
the rectifiers however, contains many harmonics. Analysis of the input, however show that
the lowest harmonics is not the 6th. Even number harmonics, such as the 6th cannot exist in
any waveform that is symmetrical in its positive and negative half cycles. The predominant
harmonic is the 5th and the 7th. Following is a table showing the theoretical amplitudes of
various harmonics.

12
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

Harmonic

6-pulse

12-pulse

18-pulse

24-pulse

0.200

0.143

11

0.091

0.091

13

0.077

0.077

17

0.059

0.059

19

0.053

0.053

23

0.043

0.043

0.043

25

0.040

0.040

0.040

Table 1.1: Theoretical amplitudes of various harmonics

These input harmonics are much more difficult to filter than output harmonics. Although a
low pass filter might be used, it becomes difficult to design a filter that attenuates the
harmonics, while still passing the fundamental line frequency.

1.3.2 Mitigating the Harmonics

In any rectifier, it always produces better input and output characteristics by
increasing the pulse number. A facility full of 12, 18 or 24-pulse rectifiers will have lower
harmonics than one full of 6-pulse units. Referring to the above table, it is apparent that
higher pulse numbers directly translates in to elimination of lower order harmonics. When
looking at 12, 18, or 24 pulse rectifiers, schematically, it becomes readily apparent that the
higher pulse numbers are achieved by combining 6 pulse rectifiers so that their inputs are
skewed from each other. By skewing multiple 6-pulse rectifiers, relative to one another, the
6 pulses become intertwined. This is most commonly done using phase shifting
transformers. Two transformers, identical in all other regards, yet with delta windings or
wye windings, exhibit a 30 phase shift. Be means of even more winding configurations,
almost ant phase shift can be achieved. A 24 -pulse rectifier, for example, uses 4
transformers, evenly shifted. Compared with a 6 -pulse converter, there is a multifold
improvement of the input and output waveforms. The units become more like an ideal ACDC converter! While the input and the output characteristics improve with increasing pulse
numbers, so does the circuit complexity.

1.4 PWM RECTIFIER

In recent years, there has been a tendency to operate ac/dc converters with pulse
width-modulated (PWM) switching patterns to improve the input and output performance of
the converter. Many researchers have shown that the PWM ac/dc voltage-source converter,
as compared with the widely used phase-controlled converter, merits attention because of its
ability to deliver near-sinusoidal currents at unity power factor.

13
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

An increasing part of the generated electric energy is converted through rectifiers,

before it is used at the final load. In power electronic systems, especially, diode and thyristor
rectifiers are commonly applied in the front end of DC-link power converters as an interface
with the AC line power (grid) Fig. 1.18.

LOAD

Fig.1.18: PWM rectifier

1.4.1 Main features of PWM rectifiers

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

bi-directional power flow,

nearly sinusoidal input current,
regulation of input power factor to unity,
low harmonic distortion of line current (THD below 5%),
adjustment and stabilization of DC-link voltage (or current),
reduced capacitor (or inductor) size due to the continues current.

Furthermore, it can be properly operated under line voltage distortion and notching, and line
voltage frequency variations.
The PWM rectifier has a complex control structure; the efficiency is lower than the
diode rectifier due to extra switching losses. A properly designed low-pass passive filter is
needed in front of the PWM rectifier due to EMI concerns.
The rectifiers are nonlinear in nature and, consequently, generate harmonic currents
in to the AC line power. The high harmonic content of the line current and the resulting low
power factor of the load cause a number of problems in the power distribution system like:
voltage distortion and electromagnetic interface (EMI) affecting other users of the power
system, increasing volt-ampere ratings of the power system equipment (generators,
transformers, transmission lines, etc.).
Therefore, international organizations have introduced new standards which limit the
harmonic content of the current drown from the power line by the rectifiers. As a
consequence a great number of new switch-mode rectifier topologies that comply with the
new standards have been developed. In the area of variable speed AC drives, it is believed
that three-phase PWM boost AC/DC converter will replace the diode rectifier.
Pulse width-modulated (PWM) ac-to-dc voltage-source converters have been
presented to overcome the problems associated with the traditional method. They have the
merits of nearly sinusoidal input current, good power factor, and regeneration ability. Here
the control strategies achieve the same steady-state characteristics, but with different
implementations, dynamic response, PWM patterns, and harmonic contents. The optimal
ac/dc converter is one in which the output is a pure dc voltage (or current) and the input

14
INTRODUCTION

INVESTIGATION OF DC LINK PWM RECTIFIER

draws a pure sinusoidal current at unity power factor from the ac line. However, a converter
with these requirements cannot be realized in practice.
In this chapter different types of rectifiers along with their performances have been
presented. Rectifiers employing diodes are called uncontrolled rectifiers, the value of output
dc voltage is not controlled; its amplitude can vary with variation in the ac power supply.
Drawbacks of the traditional method of ac-to-dc conversion such as harmonic distortion and
advantages of the PWM rectifiers have been discussed. The traditional method of ac to dc
conversion leads to poor use of the ac source, distortion of line voltage waveforms caused by
harmonic currents, injection of noise into equipment which operates from the line voltage,
decrease in the power factor with increase in firing angle and hence the harmonics of the
line current are relatively high. The theoretical amplitudes of various harmonics for the
various rectifiers have been presented. PWM ac/dc voltage-source converter, as compared
with the widely used phase-controlled converter, merits attention because of its ability to
deliver near-sinusoidal currents at unity power factor. Main features of PWM rectifiers e.g.,
bi-directional power flow, nearly sinusoidal input current, regulation of input power factor to
unity, low harmonic distortion of line current are also explained.

15
INTRODUCTION