Fixed-frequency space-vector-modulation control for three-phase four-leg active power filters

Abstract

The paper presents a three-dimensional space-vector-modulation scheme for three-phase four-wire active power filters. The focus is on the implementation of a fixed frequency pulse width modulation (PWM) scheme with a minimum number of switch commutations per period and maximum DC bus voltage utilisation. For three-wire applications, space vector modulation is known to provide better utilisation of the DC voltage compared to a sinusoidal PWM approach. This concept is extended to four-wire applications by employing a four-leg active power filter. The largest symmetrical region in which the active filter's voltage space vector may reside is identified. Restricting the voltage space vector to this region avoids over-modulation and thereby prevents the production of low order harmonics. A digital controller is employed to provide deadbeat current control. The combination of the digital controller and the modulation scheme gives the four-leg active power filter the capability to independently track reference current waveforms in the three phases within one switching period. The four-leg active power filter may be used for harmonic compensation, reactive power compensation, load balancing, and neutral current compensation. Experimental results obtained from a 5 kVA laboratory active power filter validate the proposed modulation scheme as well as the control design.