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A Novel Modeling and Control Method

for Three-phase PWM Converters


Y. Ye
IEEE Student Member

M. Kazerani

V. H. Quintana

IEEE Member

IEEE Fellow Member

University of Waterloo
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G1
Phone: (519) 888-4567, Ext. 3737
Fax: (5 19) 746-3077
yve@,engmail.uwaterloo.ca

m.kazerani@ece.uwaterloo.ca

ABSTRACT- Pulse-width modulated (PWM) voltagesource converter (VSC) and current-source converter (CSC)
are the building blocks of most of the switch-mode power
electronic systems. Irrespective of the converter type, the
controller is supposed to fulfill two objectives: 1) real power
flow control which leads to the regulation of the dc quantity
(dc voltage in VSC and dc current in CSC) and 2) reactive
power flow control on the ac-side. The major difficulty in
control is caused by the nonlinearities in the converter model.
The existing control techniques are based on the design of the
PI-controllers without the knowledge of the converter model,
linearizing the nonlinear model, or splitting the original
system into linear and nonlinear parts and dealing with them
separately. In this paper, power balance equation and
nonlinear input transformation are used to derive a linear
model from the original nonlinear model. Then, decoupled
state-feedback control method is applied to the new model.
The accuracy of the new model and the performance of the
applied control method are evaluated using the simulation
results obtained from the PSCADKMTDC simulation
package. It is shown that as a result of using the new model
and applying the state-feedback control technique, the
dynamics of the system is considerably improved resulting in
short response times. It is also shown that the approach taken
in modeling and control results in excellent results even at
low switching frequencies making the scheme very suitable
for high-power applications.

I. INTRODUCTION
Thanks to many years of research and development,
switch-mode power converters have matured in both
structure of the power circuit and the method of control.
Irrespective of the topology, power converters are
controlled to realize two objectives: regulation of the dc
quantity (dc voltage in VSC and dc current in CSC) and
control of the ac-side reactive power. The most common
switching technique in switch-mode converters is Pulse
Width Modulation (PWM). As far as the fundamental
component of the ac quantity at the converter terminals (ac
voltage in VSC and ac current in CSC) is concerned, a
power converter under PWM behaves as a linear power

0-7803-7067-8/01/$10.00 02001 IEEE

quintand&kingcong.uwaterloo.ca

amplifier, in which the control input or the modulating signal is


amplified by a gain, which is equal to the ratio of the dc quantity
to the peak value of the triangular carrier signal. The condition
for the linear relationship between the control input and the
output is that the dc quantity must be a constant. However, the
dc quantity is normally the voltage across a capacitor (VSC) or
the current through an inductor (CSC) and thus is a variable to
be controlled. In this case, the relationship between the input
and the output becomes nonlinear. This nonlinearity is the
source of difficulty in the control of PWM converters.
The nonlinear behavior of PWM converters has been
reported in the literature and some measures have been proposed
to deal with it. In [l], two PI controllers are used to control the
dc quantity and the ac-side reactive power separately. The
advantage of this method is that no knowledge of the system
parameters is required. The disadvantages are the trial-and-error
based design that cannot be optimized and the slow response.
During a transient, it usually takes more than two cycles to
regulate the dc quantity and ac-side reactive power to the
desired values. In [2], state-space equations are used to describe
the converter. Then the equations are directly linearized and
based on the linearized equations, a linear controller is designed.
A common problem in all of the linearized systems is
dependence of the controller performance on the operating
point. In [3]-[5], the state-space equations are split into
nonlinear and linear parts. A PI-controller is then used to deal
with the nonlinear part, that is, to control the dc quantity. In the
linear part, the dc quantity is considered a constant and a statefeedback controller is designed to control the reactive power.
The advantage of this method is that the fast response of
reactive power control. The problem is still due to the PIcontroller for the dc variable. The controller parameters are
obtained through trial-and-error and the response time of the dc
quantity control is about two cycles.
This paper focuses on the modeling and control of the
converter. A new equation based on power balance is introduced
to replace the original nonlinear equation. Then, nonlinear input

102

transformation is applied to make the improved model


linear. State-feedback control method can then be applied
to the new model. Simulation results show considerable
improvement in the dynamics of the systems and speed of
response.

11. CONVENTIONAL
NONLINEAR
CONVERTER
MODELS

Fig. 1 shows the circuit diagram of a three-phase


current-source converter. The ac source is assumed to be
ideal and is denoted by [e]= [e, eb eCIT.R and L are the
resistance and inductance of the ac-side series R-L circuit
and C is the capacitance of the ac-side filter capacitors.
The source currents and capacitor voltages are denoted by
[i]=[i, ib i c J T and [v]=[vu V b v c l T , respectively.
The currents at the ac terminals of the CSC are pulsed and
denoted by [i']= [ii i; i:lT. Ldc is the smoothing
inductor on the dc-side and Rdc represents the dc load.
Finally, vdc and
are the dc-side voltage and current.
Since the modeling and control of.the converter is based
on the fimdamental components of the ac-side quantities,
[q, [v] and [il are assumed to represent the fundamental
components of the source currents, capacitor voltages and
the ac-side terminal currents. Using Park Transformation,
the ac-side quantities can be transformed into rotating
frame, dq. In the dq- kame, [ E ] = [ E ~
, [ I ] = [fd I,T ,

,E,P

[v]=[vd
v,p and

[I']= z[;

fir.

The dc-side and the

fundamental components of the ac-side quantities are


related through the following equations:

where [ 4 = [ m U mb mcp denotes the modulating signals of


the three legs of the CSC. In dq-frame, (1) and (2) become:
(3)

[ I / ] =[M]rdc

(4)

where [MI= [ M ~ M , . Writing KVL and KCL equations


on the ac-side and KVL equation on the dc-side, and
replacing for 1; , 1; and vdc from (3) and (4) results in

,1
c +wv, --MdIdc
C
1
1
-v
= - I , -wvd --M
c
4 I dc
dt
C
3
+-kfdvd

d
-Idc =-%Idc
dt

Ldc

2Ldc

3
+-kf4vq
2Ldc

d
-Id
dr

R
=--Id
L

R
= - w I ~ --I,

1
+ d ,--vd
L

--Vq

1
+-Ed

Fig. 1. Circuit diagram of a 3-phase


Current Source Converter.

B.

Fig. 2 shows the circuit diagram of a three-phase voltage


source converter. The ac source is denoted by
[e]=[e, f?b ec]' and is assumed to be ideal. [ j ] = [i, j b i C l r
and [v]=[v, vb vC]'
denote the source currents and ac-side
terminal voltages. R and L are the resistance and inductance of
the ac-side series R-L circuit. c d c is the smoothing capacitor on
the dc-side. Finally, v d c and id, are the dc-side voltage and
current. As in the case of CSC, [il and [VI are assumed to
represent the fundamental components of the source currents
and ac terminal voltages. The dq-frame representation of the
, [ I ]= [ I ~ I, ]' and
currents and voltages will be: [E]= [ E ~

E,T

[v]=[vdv,p'. The relationship between the dc-side and the


fundamental components of the ac-side quantities can be
expressed as:

[VI = 21 [m)'dc
Idc =

51 [,I* [il

(5)

(6)

[VI = [MP&

L
1

+-E,
L

VSCModel

where [m]=[mOmb mcp denotes the modulating signals of the


three legs of the VSC. (10) and (1 1) can be represented in dqframeas:

the following nonlinear model for CSC:

-I
dt

1
=-Id

where w is the angular frequency of the ac voltage source.

A. CSCModel

vdc

d
dt
d

-vd

103

(12)

where

[MI=

[ M ~M ,

y.

Writing KVL equation on the ac-

side and KCL equation on the dc-side and replacing for Vd,
V, and Idc from (12) and (13), the following nonlinear
model for VSC results:

where P,os, includes the power loss in the resistor R as well as


the switching and conduction losses in the CSC. The resistance
R is always very small and thus, it is practically reasonable to
neglect its power loss. The converter losses are larger than the
power loss in R, but still they count for a small portion of the
total power. Therefore, the converter losses can also be
neglected without noticeable loss of accuracy. If better accuracy
is desired, the converter losses can be represented by a small
resistor in series with Rdc.The total equivalent dc-side resistance
is still represented by Rdc. From PUc= P & , the following
dynamic results:

where o is the angular frequency of the ac voltage source.


which can be rearranged in the following form:

Taking ( I : ~ ) , instead of Id,, as the state variable, (21) will


become linear. Due to uni-directional nature of I&, choosing
(I:=) as the state variable does not cause any technical problem.
In the original nonlinear model, equations (7) and (8) show
that both input variables Md and Mq are coupled with the state
variable I&. Noting that I> = MdIdc and I ; = M41dc ,one can
see that there is no coupling between I> and Md, or I ; and Mq.
Through a nonlinear input transformation, I ; and I ; can be

Fig. 2. Circuit diagram of 3-phase


Voltage Source Converter.

made the new input variables, instead of Md and My. In order to


get standard linear state space equations, the new state variables
and input variables are defined as:

MODELS
111. IMPROVED
CONVERTER

Looking closely into the conventional CSC model


described by (5)-(9), one can see that the variable Id, is the
cause of nonlinearity. An alternate method for describing
the dynamics of dc-side current is to use the active power
balance equation. The active power delivered by the ac
source (Pa,) and the active power absorbed by the dc-side
(P&) can be expressed as:

3
3
Pur =-EdId +-E I
2

2 q 9
d

pdc = vdcldc = Ldcldc

(17)

Idc + Rdcl:c

Pacand Pd, are related in the following way:

(18)

U , = E q -V,
Iid = I'd -&E9

rjq= II,+&E~~
The improved
-((Idc)
d 2 =-3(I&)+-Id
Ldc
dt

d
-Id
dt
d
-1
dt

104

R
=--Id
L

thus becomes:
3Ed

+>Iq
3E

Ldc

Ldc

1
+dq
+-ud
L
R
1
=-@Id --I,
+-U
L
L 9

d
1
1
=--Id
C +@U, +-lid
C
dt
d
1
1
-U
=--I
-wud+-Iiq
d t q
C q
C
-ud

where

(Ijc), Id, I,,

ud,

(29)
(30)

and U, are the state variables, rid

and I , are the input variables, and ( I & ) and I, are the
output variables. R, L, C, Rdc, Ldc, Ed, E, and w are the
system parameters and are considered constant.

In the original nonlinear model, both input variables Md and


M, are coupled with the state variable vdc. The fact that v d =
MdVdc and V, = M,vdc, shows that there is no dynamics between
v d and Md, or V, and M,. Therefore, a nonlinear input
transformation can be used to modify the old input variables Md
and M, to the new input variables v d and-V,. In order to get the
standard linear state space equations, the input variables are
defined as:

ud

Now that the system is described by a linear model, the


design of a linear controller is straight forward procedure.
B. Improved VSC Model

VSC is caused by the dc quantity. Equation (16) describes


the dynamics of vdc. Power balance equation can be used
to derive an alternate equation for v d c dynamics. The
active power absorbed from the ac source (Put) and the
active power delivered to the converter dc -side (Pdc) are
expressed by:
3

pdc = vdc Idc = cdc vdc

(31)
d

vdc

-vi

(32)

(36)
(37)

Thus, the final improved model is:

d 2
-(&A=-

As in the case of CSC, the nonlinearity in the model of

3
=2

-vd

U , = E , -V,

dt

(&)

&gdc

drd
= --Id
R
dt
L

+3Ed
Id
cdc

(38)
cdc

+-ud
L

(39)

1
+-U

(40)

+w~q 1

3E

d
-1,
dl

= -01, --I,

where

(vjc),Id, and 1, are the state variables, u d and U, are the

L 4

input variables, and (Vjc) and I, are the output variables. R, L,

Rdc, and c d c , Ed, E, and w are the system parameters and are
considered constant.

RAp

With the VSC described by a linear model, a linear


controller can be easily designed for the system.

The relationship between Pucand Pdc is:


pm = pdc

As in the
Of csc7p'oss can be
without
loss of accuracy. For better accuracy, the converter loss
can be represented by a large resistor in parallel with Rdc.
The equivalent resistance is still called Rdc. From
Pa, = Pd, ,the following dynamic equation results:
cdcvdc-vdc
d

dt

+-Vdc=-EdId
1 2 3
Rdc
2

CONTROL
METHOD
IV. DECOWLED
STATE-FEEDBACK

(33)

+ ploss

+ z3E q I q

(34)

Equation (34) can be rearranged as:

Both models derived in section I11 are two-input two-output


linear time invariant (LTI) systems. An LTI system can be
expressed in the following matrix

X=Ax+Bu

y=cx
where x is the state variable vector, U is the input variable vector
and y is the output variable vector. A , B and C are constant
matrices. The state-feedback control regulation is:
U

= -Kx

+ Ryrej

(43)

(35)
By taking (vdc)as the state variable, instead of vdc?
(35) becomes a linear equation. Since Vdc is unipolar, the
as the state variable does not cause any
choice of
problem.

(vi)

where K is the state-feedback matrix, yrefis the reference input


and R is a diagonal matrix which is used to obtain a unity
steady-state gain.
For a multi-input multi-output system, it is desired to design a
decoupled controller so that each input variable is coupled with
one and only one variable. Thanks to the availability of

105

intelligent softwares, the design procedure is quite


straightforward. The closed-loop transfer hnction is:

where,
G , (s) = C(SI - A + BK)- B

(45)

In (45), A , B, and C are known. The entries of K can be


uniquely found based on the specified set of poles for
Cl($ and the criterion of making G&) a diagonal matrix
to decouple the system. After K is known, R can be easily
found as:

current is within the accepted range. That is why the switching


frequency of VSC is higher than that of CSC.
For each circuit, two sets of result are obtained. The first set
of result is shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, which show the result of
applying a step change in the reference value of dc current for
CSC and dc voltage for VSC, respectively. Fig. 3(a) shows how
Idc follows the step change in Idcre, Fig. 4(a) shows how Vdc
follows the step change in VdCre, Fig. 3(b) and Fig. 4(b) show
how Iq in both circuits responds to the changes. Fig. 3(c) and
Fig. 4(c) show the waveforms of io during the changes.
Idc & Idcref

(4
25

20
............................................

IS
10

0.

This R results in unity steady-state gain. The


calculations involved in the above procedure can be
performed using any mathematical software with symbolic
calculation functions, thus speeding up the design process.

(A)
10
8
6
4
2

0
0.08

0.1

0.12

RESULT
V. SIMULATION

The values of the reactive components and switching


frequencies in both circuits are designed to ensure a total
harmonic distortion of less than 5% in the ac-side current.
The design method is out of the scope of this paper and
will be presented in another paper. An interesting
conclusion is that the design of the ac current filter is more
difficult in VSC than in CSC. In CSC, the filter is just the
capacitors connected in shunt with the ac terminals of the
converter. As the dual structure of CSC, the filter of VSC
could be simply the inductors connected in series with the
ac terminals of the converter. However, if this method is
applied, the switching frequency has to be high enough to
make sure that for small series inductance, the harmonic

0.18

Ia

(A)

The decoupled state-feedback controller has been


simulated using PSCAD/EMTDC to test the performance
of CSC and VSC described by the improved models. The
structures of the power circuits of CSC and VSC are the
same as in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, respectively. In both circuits,
the ac source is an ideal balanced three-phase voltage
source with frequency of 60Hz. The phase to ground
voltage is llOV. The line resistor of each phase in both
circuits is 0.OlQ. The line inductance of each phase is
2.5mH in CSC and 27.5mH in VSC. The filter capacitor of
each phase in CSC is 150yF. The dc inductance is lOOmH
in CSC. The dc capacitor is 200pF in VSC. The dc load is
7.5Q in CSC and SOQ in VSC. In steady state, the dc
current is set to be 20A in CSC, and the dc voltage is set to
be 400V in VSC. The switching frequency for CSC is
900Hz. The switching frequency for VSC is 2340Hz.

0.16

0.14

(b)

0.08

0.1

0.12

(c)

0.16

O.I4

Fig. 3. Step response of Zdc in CSC

4M
350

- ................... ;....................
I

;....................

;....................

Iq & Iqref

(4
-2

_ ...................

;....................

, : .--4 -1
-6 _................... :.....................

-8

- ...................

....................

- . .

....................

.?!..............

;....................

:....................

:....................

Ia
I

0.1

0.12

0.14

-U)

0.08

- .

....................

(4
20-

....................

-:

0.16

(C)

Fig. 4.Step change of Vdcin VSC

106

0.18 (s)

From Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, it can be concluded that the dc


quantity follows the step change in the reference value in
less than one cycle, with very small influence on the
reactive power exchange, which is represented by I,.
The second set of results are shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6
which show the result of applying a step change in the
reference setting of Iq in both CSC and VSC. Fig. 5(a)
shows how Idc responds to the change of Iq. Fig. 6(a) shows
how Vdc responds to the change of Zq. Fig. 5(b) and Fig.
6(b) show how Zq in CSC and VSC follow the step changes
in of their reference values. Fig. 5(c) and Fig. 6(c) show
the waveforms of io in CSC and VSC during the changes.
(A)

Idc & Idcref

25

................. ;....................

;....................

-.

2Ll
15

....................

IO
0.2

......

0.22

026

0.24

0.28

0.3 (s)

(a)

Iq- & Iqref


-

(A)
IO

From Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, it can be concluded that the reactive


current I, follows the step change in the reference value in less
than half a cycle, with very small influence on the dc quantity.
V. CONCLUSION
In this paper, a major improvement is obtained in modeling
the converter. By using power balance equation and nonlinear
input transformation, the conventional nonlinear models can be
improved to linear models. This improvement makes the design
of the controller become straightforward. The controller can be
designed analytically and independently with the operating
point. Decoupled state-feedback controllers for both CSC and
VSC are designed in the paper. Simulation result shows that
very fast response can be achieved in both dc quantity and
reactive power control. Furthermore, in both CSC and VSC
circuits, with the very simple filtering circuit, the total harmonic
distortion (THD) of the ac side current can be restricted to less
than 5% with very low switching frequency. This implies that
the method is suitable for high power applications.

REFERENCE

6
4
2
0
0.2

0.22

0.24

0.26

0.28

0.3 (5)

0.26

0.28

0.3 (SI

R. Itoh, and K. Ishizaka, Series Connected PWM GTO Current/Source


Converter With Symmetrical Phase Angle Control, IEE Proceedings B
(Electric Power Applications), vol. 137, no. 4, July 1990, pp. 205-212.
C. Shen, Z. Yang, M. L. Crow, and S . Atcitty, Control of STATCOM
With Energy Storage Device, 2000 IEEE Power Engineering SocieQ
Winter Meeting, Conference Proceedings. 2000, pp. 2722-2728.
J. Espinoza, and G . Joos, State Variable Decoupling and Power Flow
Control in PWM Current-Source Rectifiers, IEEE Transactions on
Industrial Electronics, vol. 45, no. 1, February 1998, pp. 78-87.
J. R. Espinoza, G. Joos, and L. Moran, Decoupled Control of the Active
and Reactive Power in Three-phase PWM Rectifiers based on Nonlinear Control Strategies, 30th Annual IEEE Power Electronics
Specialists Conference, 1999, pp. 131-136.
Y. Ye, M. Kazerani, Decoupled State-Feedback Control of CSI-Based
STATCOM, 32nd Annual North America Power Symposium, Oct. 2324,2000, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
William L. Brogan, Modem Control Theory, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1985,
pp. 418-420.

(b)

--

0.2

0.22

0.24
(C)

Fig. 5 . Step response of I, in CSC

Vdc & Vdcref

(v)
450,

400

:v

350

- ...................

;....................

;....................

;....................

Iq & Iqref

(A)
0

................ ;.................... ;.................... ;.................... ;


............................................................................
.................................... !.................... j

-2

-8 - ...................
I
-10

0.2

0.22

0.24

026

0.28

.-

0.3

(S)

0.3

(S)

(b)

Ia

(4

.m

-a0
0.2

0.22

0.24

0.26

0.28

(C)

Fig. 6. Step response of Iq in VSC

107

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