Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Name ID NO
Ayele Adula……………......3598/00
Eyuael Getnet………..…...3795/00
Muluken Demissie……....3813/00
Nebil Ahmed…………..……3633/00
Project advisor
Mr Sherwin Catolos
JUNE 2012
Harmonic reduction in an inverter
Declaration
We the undersigned, declare that this project is original work, has not been presented in this or
any other university, and all sources of materials used for the paper have been fully
acknowledged.
NAME
AYELE ADULA __________________________________
EYUAEL GETNET __________________________________
MULKUEN DEMISSIE __________________________________
NEBIL AHMED __________________________________
Signature
Place: JIMMA
Date of Submission:
This project paper has been submitted for examination with our approval as a university advisor.
Acknowledgement
For our project to reach this final step we would like to acknowledge our advisor Eng. Sherwin N. Catolos
and the Electrical and computer engineering department for providing us the necessary materials
(computers with broadband internet connection) located in the departments laboratory all next to the
Almighty GOD.
Abstract
The main aim of this project is to explain the effects of Harmonics in the Power System and steps to
reduce the effects of Harmonics. This project will also explain how Harmonic distortion is one of the
most important problems associated with power quality and creates several disturbances to the Power
System. It includes the Harmonic reduction techniques to improve the power quality and it also includes
the simulation for the same.
In an inverter DC voltage is converted into an AC output. During this transformation from DC to AC,
harmonics affect the power quality a lot and hence the design of an inverter and the basics of harmonics
including Fourier analysis are explained briefly. How harmonic reduction will improve the power quality
is explained in detail.
Contents
1 –The problem and its background......................................................................................................... 1
1.1 Introduction...................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.2 Project Objectives ............................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.3 Scope and Delimitation ..................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
1.4 Significance of the Project ................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.
2 – Related literature and Studies ............................................................................................................ 3
2.1 Harmonics ..................................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.1-Linear loads ............................................................................................................................ 3
2.1.2-Non – linear load .................................................................................................................... 3
2.1.2-Problems caused by harmonics ............................................................................................... 5
2.2-INVERTER .......................................................................................................................................... 9
2.2.1-POWER SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES ........................................................................................ 9
2.2.2-H-BRIDGE .............................................................................................................................. 11
2.2.3 MOSFET Drivers .................................................................................................................... 13
2.2.4-Circuit Protection and Snubbers ............................................................................................ 13
2.3 Filter ............................................................................................................................................ 14
2.3.1-Introduction:......................................................................................................................... 14
2.3.2Roles of Filters in Power System: ............................................................................................ 14
2.3.3 -Passive Filters: ..................................................................................................................... 14
2.3.4- Active Filters: ....................................................................................................................... 18
Figure 11 and 12 shows single phase active filters in shunt and series configuration respectively. ...... 19
2.4 – Research Paradigm.................................................................................................................... 21
3.1 Inverter Design ............................................................................................................................ 22
3.1.1 Pulse Width Modulations ...................................................................................................... 22
3.1.2 Carrier Wave Generator ........................................................................................................ 22
3.1.3 SINE WAVE generator ........................................................................................................... 23
3.1.4 PWM Gate Controller ............................................................................................................ 23
3.1.5 INVERTER .............................................................................................................................. 24
3.1.6 MOSFET Bridge ..................................................................................................................... 24
Beside the generating and distribution of power, power quality is attracting a major attention in
commercial and industrial power system designs. Since, nowadays with the use of complex designs
power distortion becomes a major treat. Major causes of power distortion are transients, sagging,
variations in voltage and Harmonics. Of the above causes of power disturbances that result in low power
quality of the system this project briefly explains the causes and methods of reduction for the harmonics
distortion.
Ideally, the electrical supply should be a perfect sinusoidal waveform without any kind of distortion. If
the current or voltage waveforms are distorted from its ideal form it will be termed as harmonic distortion.
This harmonic distortion could result because of many reasons which actually are mentioned briefly later
in this project.
This project explains the reduction of Harmonics in an inverter. This project will also explain how
harmonic distortion is one of the most important problems associated with power quality and creates
several disturbances to the System. It includes the Harmonic reduction techniques to improve the power
quality and it will also include the simulation for the same.
This project also explains inverters in the Power System and the methods used to get almost accurate
signal on the output of inverter.
The main objective of our project is to study the effects of harmonics caused in an inverter and hence
to perish those effects. Harmonics caused in an inverter can be divided in to harmonic current and
harmonic voltage. Harmonic currents can be of overloading of neutrals, overheating of transformers,
nuisance tripping of circuit breakers, over-stressing of power factor correction capacitors and skin
effect while harmonic voltages can be of voltage distortion, induction motor and zero-crossing noise
as each of these areas are discussed briefly in the upcoming sections.
After discussing briefly the causes of harmonics we go to the methodology part where we examine
how it is possible to perish the harmonics in an inverter.
Even though harmonics is a major treat for almost all types of power system: this project particularly
studies the causes, effects and means of reduction of harmonics in an Inverter. This is due to the time we
have got to do the project, that is starting from the day we submitted our title to the day we submitted this
project to the department of electrical and computer engineering.
Harmonics present in power system has non-integer multiples of the fundamental frequency and have a
periodic waveform. Harmonics cause distortion in current and voltage waveforms resulting into
deterioration of the power system. It changes the wave shape of the current and voltages resulting in
unwanted wave shape. To analyze and study harmonics first we have to see different types of loads. But
harmonics are generated in a power system from two distinct types of loads. That’s linear loads and non-
linear loads as explained briefly below.
2.1.1-Linear loads
Linear loads are those loads where the current waveform conforms to the waveform of the applied voltage
or loads where a change in current is directly proportional to a change in applied voltage. The linear time-
invariant loads are characterized such that application of sinusoidal voltage results in sinusoidal flow of
current. Even if the flux wave in air gap of a rotating machine is not sinusoidal, under normal load
conditions transformers and rotation machines pretty much meet this definition. Also, in a transformer
the current contains odd and even harmonics including a dc component. More and more use of magnetic
circuits over a period of time may get saturated and result into generation of harmonics. In power
systems, synchronous generators produce sinusoidal voltages and the loads draw sinusoidal currents. In
this case, the harmonic distortion is produced because of the linear load types for sinusoidal voltage is
small as compared to non-linear loads.
Examples of linear loads are:
Resistance heating
Incandescent lighting
Water heater
heating effect in electrical equipments, capacitor overloads, etc. There can be two types of filters that are
used in order to reduce the harmonic distortion, Active filters and the Passive filters. Active harmonic
filters are electronic devices that eliminate the undesirable harmonics on the network by inserting
negative harmonics into the network. The active filters are normally available for low voltage networks.
The active filters consist of active components such as IGBT-transistors and eliminate many different
harmonic frequencies. The signal types can be single phase AC or three phase AC. On the other hand,
passive harmonic filters consist of passive components such as resistors, inductors and capacitors. Unlike
the active filters which are used only for low voltages, the passive filters are commonly used and are
available for different voltage levels.
temperatures and have a reduced service life. Forced cooling should be reserved for emergency use only
and never relied upon for normal running.
Induction Motors
Harmonic voltage distortion causes increased eddy current losses in motors in the same way as in
transformers. However, additional losses arise due to the generation of harmonic fields in the stator, each
of which is trying to rotate the motor at a different speed either forwards or backwards. High frequency
currents induced in the rotor further increase losses.
Where harmonic voltage distortion is present motors should be de-rated to take account of the additional
losses.
Zero-crossing noise
Many electronic controllers detect the point at which the supply voltage crosses zero volts to determine
when loads should be turned on. This is done because switching reactive loads at zero voltage does not
generate transients, so reducing electromagnetic interference (EMI) and stress on the semiconductor
switching devices. When harmonics or transients are present on the supply the rate of change of voltage at
the crossing becomes faster and more difficult to identify, leading to erratic operation. There may in fact
be several zero-crossings per half cycle.
2.2-INVERTER
It is Dc to Ac converter. Here the input is dc wave form and the output is an ac wave form. The inverter is
widely used in uninterruptible power supply, variable speed ac motor and so on. Keep in mind that the
term ac does not mean a perfect sinusoidal wave form; rather it refers to wave form that has positive and
negative portion in each cycle. This inverter circuit is composed of semiconductor devices.
switch is shown in Fig. (c). the power terminals of the switch are labeled 1 and 2. The arrow shows the
direction of state current through it. The control input is across ON terminals.
Directional Properties of Static Switches
Current direction of the power diode is a static uncontrolled switch with only one direction for current
flow. The general circuit symbol that we have chosen and shown in Fig. 1.2(c) is for a controlled switch,
which is also unidirectional.
The unidirectional power semiconductor switches are,
1. Power diode,
2. Bipolar power transistor,
3. Insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT),
4. Thyristor, also known as the silicon controlled rectifier (SCR),
5. Asymmetrical silicon controlled rectifier (ASCR),
6. Gate turn off thyristor (GTO)
7. MOS controlled Thyristor (MCT).
The switches with bi-directional current capability are:
1. Power MOSFET,
2. Reverse conducting thyristor,
3. Thetriac.
Of these, the power MOSFET and the reverse conducting thyristor function as controlled switches in the
forward direction and as uncontrolled switches in the reverse direction Fig. (d). Thetriac works as a
controlled switch in both directions.
Directional Voltage Capabilities of Static Switches
A distinction must be drawn between directional current flow capability and directional voltage blocking
capability for a static power semiconductor switch. The bipolar power transistor is a static switch that can
only switch current in the "forward" direction. This does not mean that it has the ability to block reverse
voltages. In contrast, the thermistor, which is also unidirectional switch, has asymmetrical voltage
blocking capability in that it can block approximately the same voltages in both forward and reverse
directions.
2.2.2-H-BRIDGE
In our case we choose power semi-conductor with unilateral current direction with H-bridge
configuration. H-Bridge or full bridge converter is a switching configuration composed of four switches
in an arrangement that resembles an H. By controlling different switches in the bridge, a positive,
negative, or zero potential voltage can be placed across a load. When this load is a motor, these states
correspond to forward, reverse, and off states. The use of an H-Bridge configuration to drive a motor is
shown in Figure below. As shown in Figure 2, the H-Bridge circuit consists of four switches
corresponding to high side left, high side right, low side left, and low side right. There are four possible
switch positions that can be used to obtain voltages across the load.
Our inverter power circuit consists of four switches labeled S1-S4. The input is a DC voltage source of
magnitude 12v connected to the input terminals of the inverter. Therefore the input DC voltage appears at
the output terminals with terminal a positive. During the next interval switch 1 and 4 are kept at OFF state
while Switch 2 and 3 are kept ON. Therefore, during this interval, the input DC ON voltage appears at the
output terminals with reversed polarity (negative). This sequence of switching is repeated, and in this way
the input voltage V of fixed polarity is presented at the output terminals as an AC square wave voltage as
shown in Fig. This type of power conversion is called inversion, and the circuit itself is called an
Inverter. These positions are outlined in Table 1 below. Note that all other possibilities are omitted, as
they would short the circuit power to ground, potentially causing damage to the device or rapidly
depleting the power supply.
High Side Left High Side Right Low Side Left Low Side Right Voltage Across Load
The switches used to implement an H-Bridge can be mechanical or built from solid state transistors.
Selection of the proper switches varies greatly. The use of P-Channel MOSFETs on the high side and
N-Channel MOSFETs on the low side is easier, but using all N-Channel MOSFETs and a FET driver,
lower “on” resistance can be obtained resulting in reduced power loss. The use of all N-Channel
MOSFET requires a driver, since in order to turn on a high side N-Channel MOSFET; there must be a
voltage higher than the switching voltage. This difficulty is often overcome by driver circuits capable of
charging an external capacitor to create additional potential.
2.2.3MOSFET Drivers
When utilizing N-Channel MOSFETs to switch a DC voltage across a load, the drain terminals of the
high side MOSFETs are often connected to the highest voltage in the system. This creates a difficulty, as
the gate terminal must be approximately 10V higher than the drain terminal for the MOSFET to conduct.
Often, integrated circuit devices known as MOSFET drivers are utilized to achieve this difference through
charge pumps or boot strapping techniques. These chips are capable of quickly charging the input
capacitance of the MOSFET quickly before the potential difference is reached, causing the gate to source
voltage to be the highest system voltage plus the capacitor voltage, allowing it to conduct. A diagram of
an N-Channel MOSFET with gate, drain, and source terminals is shown below in Figure 4.
Figure 3N channel
There are many MOSFET drivers available to power N-Channel MOSFETs through level translation of
low voltage control signals into voltages capable of supplying sufficient gate voltage. Advanced drivers
contain circuitry for powering high and low side devices as well as N and P-Channel MOSFETs. In this
design, all MOSFETs are N-Channel due to their increased current handling capabilities. To overcome the
difficulties of driving high side N-Channel MOSFETs, the driver devices use an external source to charge
a bootstrapping capacitor connected between Vcc and source terminals. The boot strap capacitor provides
gate charge to the high side MOSFET. As the switch begins to conduct, the capacitor maintains a
potential difference, rapidly causing the MOSFET to further conduct, until it is fully on. The name
bootstrap component refers to this process and how the MOSFET acts as if it is “pulling itself up by its
own boot strap”.
One of the major factors in any electronic device is its ability to protect itself from surges that could
damage the circuitry. In the case of the inverter, inductive loads can cause special problems because an
inductor cannot instantly stop conducting current, it must be dampened or diverted so that the current
does not try to flow through the open switch. If not dampened the surges can cause trouble in the
MOSFETs used to produce the output sine wave; when a MOSFET is turned off the inductive load still
wants to push current through the switch, as it has nowhere else to go. This action can cause the switch to
be put under considerable stress, the high dV/dt, dI/dt, V and I associated with this problem can cause the
MOSFETs to malfunction and break.
2.3 Filter
2.3.1-Introduction:
Presence of harmonics has been a lot since the 1990’s and has led to deterioration in the quality of power.
Moreover, there has also been an increase in use of devices and equipments in power system also
including the nonlinear loads and electronic loads used in residential areas there by loading the
transmission and the distribution systems. This is because they operate at very low power factors which
increases the losses in line and also causes poor regulation in voltage further leading the power plants to
supply more power. Also, some nonlinear loads and electronics equipment are such that instead of
drawing current sinusoidal they tend to draw current in short pulses thus creating harmonics. Some of
the examples of nonlinear loads would be rectifiers, inverters, etc. Some of the examples of electronics
equipments would be computers, scanners, printers, etc.
Some of the major issues concerned with harmonics in nonlinear loads are overheating, temperature
increase in generators, etc. These effects may result into permanent damage of the devices.
One of the way out to resolve the issue of harmonics would be using filters in the power system.
Installing a filter for nonlinear loads connected in power system would help in reducing the harmonic
effect. The filters are widely used for reduction of harmonics. With the increase of nonlinear loads in the
power system, more and more filters are required.
As explained earlier, passive filters consists of resistors, inductors and capacitors. They are not expensive
and are often used to restrict the harmonic currents from entering the power system there by minimizing
the effect of harmonics due to nonlinear loads. Also, the passive filters are kept close to the source of
harmonic generation i.e. the nonlinear loads. Doing so, the passive filters produce better results in
reducing the harmonic effect. Figure 4 below shows a single phase representation of distribution system
with the nonlinear load and passive shunt filter.
Figure 4Single Phase Representation of Non Linear load and Passive Shunt filter
One of the most important aspect of installing the passive filters in the power system is that they should
be installed based on the order of the harmonics that are supposed to be filtered. For example, in order to
install a filter for the 3rd order of harmonics, it is required that the filter of 1st order of harmonics is
already installed.
In order to reduce the harmonic effect, the passive filters create a resonance frequency. This resonance
frequency is kept away from the nonlinear load’s harmonic distortion. Also, the passive filters are
calibrated at a point which is a bit lower than the point at which the harmonics is supposed to be reduced
so that, if there is any change in the parameters there is still margin for improvement. If this is not done,
then there might be a condition in power system due to capacitance and inductance of filter that the
resonance is shifted causing unfavorable conditions in the power system.
Figure 7 and Figure 8 shows three phase three wire passive filter for shunt and series configuration
respectively.
Figure 7Three Phase, Three Wire Passive Filter for Shunt Configuration.
Figure 8Three Phase, Three Wire Passive Filter for Series configuration.
Normally more than 3 filters are connected in a system to reduce the harmonics. The first two filters are
connected in order to reduce the effect of harmonics which are less effective and then a high pass filter is
used.
Figure 9 and 10 shows shunt and series connected passive filters respectively.
Figure 11 and 12 shows single phase active filters in shunt and series configuration respectively.
Electronics Reduced
DC supply
devices and harmonic in
materials the output
Inverter signal
Filter
Load
Performance
simulation
Feedback
3-Research methodology
PWM control requires the generation of both reference and carrier signals that feed into a comparator
which creates output signals based on the difference between the signals. The reference signal is
sinusoidal and at the frequency of the desired output signal, while the carrier signal is often either a saw
tooth or triangular wave at a frequency significantly greater than the reference. When the carrier signal
exceeds the reference, the comparator output signal is at one state, and when the reference is at a higher
voltage, the output is at its second state.
Output voltage from an inverter can also be adjusted by exercising a control within the inverter itself.
The most efficient method of doing this is by pulse-width modulation control used within an inverter.
In this method, a fixed dc input voltage is given to the inverter and a controlled ac output voltage is
obtained by adjusting the on and off periods of the inverter components. This is the most popular method
of controlling the output voltage and this method is termed as Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) Control.
(i) The output voltage control with this method can be obtained without any additional components.
(ii) With the method, lower order harmonics can be eliminated or minimized along with its output
voltage control. As higher order harmonics can be filtered easily, the filtering requirements are
minimized.
PWM inverters are quite popular in industrial applications. PWM techniques are characterized by
constant amplitude pulses. The width of these pulses is however modulated to obtain inverter output
voltage control and to reduce its harmonic content.
Generating a sine wave at 50Hz requires both the reference sine wave and a carrier wave at the switching
speed of the power supply. Carrier waves can be either saw tooth or triangular signals; in this case, a
triangular wave will be used. This wave will be at 1KHz as determined in optimal power loss simulations.
The generation of the triangular carrier wave will be done with analog components. The circuit for the
construction of the triangle wave generator consists of a square wave generator and integrator, as shown
The above circuit will oscillate at a frequency of 1/4RtC, and the amplitude can be controlled by the
amplitude of R1 and R2. Using the TL084 op amp, with R1=R2
+ A
SINE
R1 B
1 AM FM
- C
The PWM Gate Controller, shown in Figure 16, inputs sine wave and a triangle wave. The output of the
comparator is then sent to the gates with varying duty cycles. The triangle wave frequency is set to 1kHz,
much greater than the approximate 50Hz frequency of sine wave, so that the low-frequency wanted 50Hz
component will dominate the output of the inverter.
The high-frequency triangle wave is compared to the sine wave many times per sine wave cycle. The
comparator output is a PWM signal whose duty cycle is related to how long the sine-wave amplitude is
greater than the triangle wave. In other words, as the sine wave reaches its crest, the switching mosfet’s
are held closed longer to develop a greater voltage across the load.
V1
3 U1A R1 R2
12 V 5 1kΩ 1kΩ
JIT (2012-01-29): 2
SINE WAVE
5
0 1 4
12 MC3302D
3 U2B
JIT (2012-01-29): 7
TRIANGLE WAVE 1 3
2 6
12 MC3302D
3.1.5 INVERTER
The inverter consists of the MOSFET Bridge and the PWM Gate Controller. The varied duty cycle
produces an output voltage of either 12V or negative 12V for amounts of time that vary with the varying
duty cycle. The output is then stepped up to 220v and sent to the line switching.
Generating a sine wave centered on zero volts requires both a positive and negative voltage across the
load, for the positive and negative parts of the wave, respectively. This can be achieved from a single
source through the use of four MOSFET switches arranged in an H Bridge configuration. To minimize
power loss and utilize higher switching speeds, N Channel MOSFETs were chosen as switches in the
bridge. Level translation between PWM signals and voltages required to forward bias high side N
Channel MOSFETS, the IR2110 MOSFET driver integrated circuit was chosen. A diagram of the H
Bridge circuit with MOSFETS and drivers is shown
Operation of the IR2110 device will be controlled through generated PWM signals. The PWM signal will
be fed to the HIN and LIN pins simultaneously. If the internal logic detects a logic high, the HO pin will
be driven; if a logic low is detected, the LO pin will be driven.
Figure 17 Inverter
3.2-HARMONIC ANAYSIS
Harmonics voltage is created by non-linear loads that generate non-sinusoidal Voltage on distribution
power system. However, because of the increased popularity of electronic and other non-linear loads, the
voltage waveform quite often became distorted. To understand the distortion phenomena, it is necessary
to analyze the distorted waveform by a process called harmonic analysis. It allows us to express the
distorted waveform as a sum of dc component, fundamental sine wave of the distorted waveform and a
series of pure sine waves. These sinewaves have different magnitudes and their frequencies are integer
multiple of the fundamental distorted waveform. This chapter provides a quantities discussion of
harmonics analysis. Distorted waveform, effective value, Total Harmonics Distortion (THD), effect of
harmonic for power and power factor are analyzed and presented using Fourier series. Harmonics are
usually defined as periodic steady state distortions of voltage and current waveforms in power system.
Initially, the Fourier series and analysis method that can be used to interpret waveformphenomenon is
reviewed. The general harmonics theory, the definitions of harmonic quantities, harmonic indices in
common use, and power system response are then described.
y(t) = a0+
where wo is the fundamental frequency and w =nwo is the nth harmonic of the periodic
function.
The orthogonality property of the sine and cosine functions gives the following expression for
the Fourier coefficients an and bn:
ao = 2/T
ao = 2/T(6T-6T)
ao = 0
an +
an = 2/T
an=2/T( - + )
w=2π/T
an=2/T( ) n=0,1,2…………………….
dt
bn=
bn=24/nwT( )
for n=odd
=1
There fore
For n= even
bn=24/nwT (2-2)
bn=0
For n=odd
bn=96/nwT
Tw=2π
bn=48/nπ
an = 0, n=0,1,2,3………..
bn=
y(t)= + + +…….)
an
The ladder filters are networks that are composed of alternating series and shunt element. Notice that the
same source and load resistances are assumed. This is called doubly terminated filters. All of our filter
will be doubly filter. A circuit designer can achieve a sharper frequency roll off with ladder filters than
with simple RL or RC circuit. Additionally, doubly terminated ladder filters have a low sensitivity to
component variation. The most common ladder filters are Butterworth filter and Chebyshev filter. First
and probably best-known filter approximation is the Butterworth or maximally-flat response. Itexhibits a
nearly flat passband with no ripple. The rolloff is smooth and monotonic, with a low-pass or high-pass
rolloff rate of 20 dB/decade (6 dB/octave) for every pole. The Chebyshev response is a mathematical
strategy for achieving a faster roll-off by allowing ripple in thefrequency response. The Chebyshev
response is an optimal trade-off between these two parameters. In our case we choose Butterworth filter
by considering the following advantages:
Advantages:
• Maximum flat magnitude response in the pass-band.
• Good all-around performance.
• Rate of attenuation better than Bessel.
This filter has the flattest possible pass-band magnitude response. Attenuation is -3dB at the design cutoff
frequency. Attenuation beyond the cutoff frequency is a moderately steep -20dB/decade/pole. Ones we
select this type of filter it depends on the specifications then you can synthesize the filter.
The required filter specifications are: cut-off frequency, order of the filter, impedance level for source and
load. With this specification, you can calculate the specific inductor and capacitor values needed to
realize the filter.It is complicated procedure to drive the formulas for these component values. Instead of
deriving these formulas designers often simply use filter tables. These are tabulated values for
normalization suspectance and reactance.
N g1 g2 g3 g4 g5 g6 g7 g8 g9
1 2.0000 1.0000
2 1.4142 1.4142 1.0000
3 1.0000 2.0000 1.0000 1.0000
4 0.7654 1.8478 1.8478 0.7654 1.0000
5 0.6180 1.6180 2.0000 1.6180 0.6180 1.0000
6 0.5176 1.4142 1.9318 1.9318 1.4142 0.5176 1.0000
7 0.4450 1.2470 1.8019 2.0000 1.8019 1.2470 0.4450 1.0000
8 0.3902 1.1111 1.6629 1.9615 1.9615 1.6629 1.1111 0.3902 1.0000
Table 2 – Element values for Maximally flat (Butterworth) LPP (g0 = 1, ωc =1).
Source - G.L. Matthaei, L. Young and E.M.T. Jones, “Microwave filters, impedance-matching
networks, and coupling structures”. Artech House 1980.
3.3.1 Low pass filter
As described above the ladder filter consists of high pass, band pass as well as the low pass filter but in
our design we have chosen the low pass filter instead of the other two.
In order to eliminate the switching frequency and all multiples of the switching frequency, alow pass filter
had to be inserted after the output of the 555 inverter. A low pass filter only allows frequencies below the
cut-off frequency to pass the filter will reject any frequency above the cut-off frequency.
An LC low-pass filter was chosen for the power inverter. The cut-off frequency can be set by the formula;
fc = 1/(2π )
L1=g1 =g1
L2=g2
C1 =
C2 =
R1 L1
50 101.514mH
C1(1)
C1
75.015uf
f(s)= =
f(s)=
R=50
Wc=60
f(s)=
Figure 22 The bode plot and phase angle of second order low pass filter
B- Forth order low pass filter analysis and its transfer function
When two second order filters are cascaded it gives us a fourth order filter. Consequently its transfer
function becomes the multiple of the two filters. i.e
The value of impedance and cutoff frequency is the same as the above value. i.e
R=50hom
Wc=60hz
L1=0.101514H
L2=0.245099H
C1=0.0000980394f
C2=0.0000406057f
F2(s)=
F1(s)=
F(s)=
R1 L1 L2
50 101.514mH
245.099mH
R2
C1(1) C2 50
6840.6uf
C1
98.0394uf
F(s)=
Figure 24 The bode plot and transfer function of third order low pass filter
Harmonic Magnitude
frequency
48hz 0.84234
152hz 0.154
248hz 0.05845
352 0.029056
Table 2 effect of harmonics for second order
Harmonic Magnitude
frequency
48hz 0.9253
152hz 0.024263
248 hz 0.0034249
352 hz 0.00084388
THD= in our case odd rectangle wave and only up to seventh harmonics
only our THD becomes
THD=
S0THD for second and the fourth harmonic filter calculated by using the above formula
For the second order filter
THD=0.198567HZ
For the fourth harmonic filter
THD =0.026497 HZ
As we can see in the above result total harmonic distortion is much smaller in fourth order filter than
second order. This is due to the fact that, as the order of the filter increases the effect of the harmonics
decreases. Also as the order increases roll off become steeper.
4 Simulation
Two second-order low pass filters can be cascaded together to produce a fourth-order low pass filter, and
so on. Although there is no limit to the order of the filter that can be formed, as the order increases so
does its size and cost, also its accuracy declines but in our case the harmonics in the 2nd order is much
greater than harmonics in 4th order (harmonics is much more reduced in the 4th order than in the 2nd order)
as shown in the figure below and its full circuit diagram
As we can see wave form of the 4th order sharper than wave form of the 2nd order filter
Figure 25 inverter circuit with the 2nd order low pass filter
Table 4
N g1 g2 g3 g4 g5 g6 g7 g8 g9
1 2.0000 1.0000
2 1.4142 1.4142 1.0000
3 1.0000 2.0000 1.0000 1.0000
4 0.7654 1.8478 1.8478 0.7654 1.0000
5 0.6180 1.6180 2.0000 1.6180 0.6180 1.0000
6 0.5176 1.4142 1.9318 1.9318 1.4142 0.5176 1.0000
7 0.4450 1.2470 1.8019 2.0000 1.8019 1.2470 0.4450 1.0000
8 0.3902 1.1111 1.6629 1.9615 1.9615 1.6629 1.1111 0.3902 1.0000
Table 6 – Element values for Maximally flat (Butterworth) LPP (g0 = 1, ωc =1).
Source - G.L. Matthaei, L. Young and E.M.T. Jones, “Microwave filters, impedance-matching
networks, and coupling structures”. Artech House 1980.
5 Conclusion
So far in our project we have tried to analyze the inverter and harmonics in an inverter.
In the first section of our project problem and background of our project is written and has been analyzed
and within section introduction, project objective, scope and delimitation and the significant of the project
are included.
In the next chapter of our project related literature of our project has been studied. This section includes
theoretical analysis of the systems that we have used. This includes Harmonics where the linear loads
have been included under it. Also power semiconductor devices and the MOSFE are studied under the
inverter section. Filters were the studied, their roles and their types have been studied in detail. At last but
by no means at least we have drawn our research paradigm.
In the third section of our report we have written the methodology. Inverter design, Harmonic analysis
using Fourier transforms and filter selection and design of it are included in this part. In power system, it
is necessary to control power quality by harmonic mitigating techniques. Among them, low pass filter are
used to reduce harmonics because of economics and usefulness. From the simulation, the output of the
inverter is square wave; the filter reduced the harmonics generated from inverter, the second order higher
total harmonic distortion than the second order filter. We have found the reduced harmonic from the
output of inverter.
In our last section we have tried to show the simulation for our project.