Electrical Power Quality Improvement

using a DSP Controlled Active Power Filter

Constantin Pătraşcu, Dan Popescu Ana Iacob

Faculty of Automation, Computers and Electronics Research-Development and Testing National Institute for
University of Craiova Electrical Engineering – ICMET Craiova
Craiova, Romania Craiova, Romania
[email protected], [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract— The quality of the electrical current becomes a major system, in order to implement and test it on the active power
concern. The power electronic equipments induce harmonic filter. The simulation results are presented and discussed showing
disturbances in the power distribution systems. They typically the effectiveness of the control algorithm.
draw non-sinusoidal currents from the utility, causing
interference with adjacent sensitive loads and limit the utilization
of the available electrical supply. The quality of the electrical Keywords-component; power quality improvement; active power
current thus becomes a significant concern for the distributors of filters; fixed point DSP control
energy and their customers.
In this paper a parallel active filter prototype capable of I. INTRODUCTION
reducing the total harmonic distortion in the supply for most
current source or adjustable speed drive type loads is presented. In a modern power system, increasing of loads and non-
A 45 kVA active power filter was developed for harmonic and linear equipment's have been demanding the compensation of
reactive power compensation based on the instantaneous power the disturbances caused for them. These nonlinear loads may
theory. The active power filter, is controlled by a Texas cause poor power factor and high degree of harmonics. The
Instruments TMS320F2812 32 bits fixed point DSP, the newest simplest method of eliminating line current harmonics and
member of the TMS320C2000 DSP platform. It is source code improving the system power factor is to use passive LC filters.
compatible to the 24x/240x DSP devices and, additionally, the However, bulk passive components, series and parallel
C28x is a very efficient C/C++ engine, enabling users to develop resonance and a fixed compensation characteristic are the main
not only their system control software in a high-level language, drawbacks of passive LC filters.
but also enables math algorithms to be developed using C/C++.
It is presented a simplified block diagram of the proposed Active power filters are an up-to-date solution to power
active power filter and of the control circuit, designed around the quality problems [3]. They can be divided in two classes: series
DSP. The control algorithm is based on the instantaneous and parallel (shunt) active filters. Shunt active power filters
reactive power theory. Due to the computing power of the DSP (Fig. 1) allow the compensation of current harmonics and
the algorithm can be developed and tested in Matlab/Simulink, unbalance, together with power factor correction, and can be a
and then generate the C/C++ code for the control blocks of the
much better solution than conventional approach (capacitors transformation is commonly called the reverse Park
and passive filters). transformation and can be digitally calculated by equations:
An active power filter can solve problems of harmonic and   2πn   2πn 
reactive power simultaneously. Active power filter’s consisting p + = iLα sin  N  − iLβ cos  N 
of voltage-source inverters and a DC capacitor have been      (3)
researched and developed for improving the power factor and 
stability of distribution systems. Active power filters have the q + = iLα cos  2πn  + iLβ sin  2πn 
ability to adjust the amplitude of the synthesized ac voltage of   N   N 
the inverters by means of pulse width modulation or by control
of the dc-link voltage, thus drawing either leading or lagging and the digital sinusoidal reference signal is given by formula:
reactive power from the supply.
 2πn  = sin  2πfSnTS 
sin     (4)
 N   N 
IS IL l
3~ where: n – index of the current sample.

IC APF Signal p+ represents instantaneous active power and signal

Load q+ instantaneous reactive power. The DC components of signals
L p+ and q+ are removed by a high-pass digital IIR filter.
Cdc For stabilizing the DC voltage a proportional controller is
used, response of it is calculated by equation [2]:
∆UC12 = kP (UR-(UC1+UC2)) (5)
Figure 1. Block diagram of a shunt active power filter
where:
UC1, UC2 – voltage on capacitor C1 and C2, respectively,
II. CONTROL ALGORITHM kP – gain of voltage controller,
UR – DC reference voltage.
In active power filter design and control, instantaneous
reactive power theory was often served as the basis for the Signal ∆UC12 is subtracted from the component p+
calculation of compensation current [1]. In this theory, the
pC+ = p+ − ∆UC12 . (6)
mains voltage was assumed to be an ideal source in the
calculation process. The pq theory, since its proposal, has been In the next step components pC+ and q+ are transformed by
applied in the control of three-phase active power filters. Park transformation to the two-phase representation:
The digital signal processor is synchronized with the mains
  2πn   2πn 
 iCRα = pC + sin  N  + q + cos  N 
voltage U1 (see Fig. 2) and the algorithm is performed N-times
per the mains period. The sampling period can be calculated      (7)
with the formula: 
 iCRβ = - pC + cos  2πn  + q + sin  2πn 
TS   N   N 
TP = (1)
N and then transformed back to the three-phase signals
where: TS– period of the mains voltage,
fS=TS-1– frequency of the mains voltage,
iCR1   2/3 0 6 /3  iCRα 
N – total number of samples per mains period.
iCR 2  = 3  
  - 1/3 3/3 6 /3  iCRβ  (8)
Three-phase current signals can be transformed into the 2  
iCR3  6 /3  iL0 
equivalent two-phase representation. The transformation (1-2-3 - 1/3 - 3/3
→ α-β-0) from the three-phase current signals iL1, iL2, iL3, to the
two-phase iLα, iLβ with an additional neutral signal iL0 can be
written in a matrix form as:
III. THE STRUCTURE OF THE CONTROL SYSTEM
iLα  1 - 1/2 - 1/2  iL1  The control circuit of the active power filter is developed
iLβ  = 2  
0 3/2 - 3/2  iL 2  (2) around the Texas Instruments TMS320F2812 DSP (Fig.2).
  3  The choice of a processor to implement a given control
iL0 
1/ 6 1/ 6 1/ 6  iL3  algorithm is influenced by many factors. The most basic and
obvious is that the device must be able to compute the control
In the next step, the two-phase signals are transformed from algorithm swiftly enough to keep up with the real-time
the rotating to the stationary reference frame. This demands of the system.
 The control algorithm demands two transformations, channel module. The two 8-channel modules have the
commonly called reverse Park and Park transformation and capability to autosequence a series of conversions; each
some digital filters, all of them compute in real time. These module has the choice of selecting any one of the respective
calculi implies matrix multiplications, sinus and cosinus eight channels available through an analog MUX. In the
calculus, which can be easily compute using the 32 x 32-bit cascaded mode, the autosequencer functions as a single 16-
MAC capabilities of the F28x and its 64-bit processing channel sequencer. Autosequencing allows the system to
capabilities. These features enable the F28x to efficiently convert the same channel multiple times, allowing the user to
handle higher numerical resolution problems that would perform oversampling algorithms. This gives increased
otherwise demand a more expensive floating-point processor resolution over traditional single-sampled conversion results.
solution. The outputs of the control system are the signals Q1..Q6,
which command the gates of the three phases IGBT inverter.
Power System Nonlinear Loads
These signals are generated by the Enhance Event Manager
U1
ZS1
module. The event-manager modules include general-purpose
E1 IS1 IL1 Z1
(GP) timers, full-compare/PWM units, capture units, and
~

E2 ZS2 IS2 IL2 Z2 quadrature-encoder pulse (QEP) circuits. EVA and EVB
~

ZS3
timers, compare units, and capture units function identically.
E3 IS3 IL3 Z3
The enhanced pulse width modulator (ePWM) peripheral is a
~

IC1 IC2 IC3 Active Power

key element in controlling many of the power-related systems
L1 L2 L3
Control Circuit found in industrial equipments. The ePWM peripheral
Inverter Q1… Q6 performs a digital to analog (DAC) function, where the duty
cycle is equivalent to a DAC analog value. The ePWM unit is
TMS 320F28X

C1 IC1… IC3
Q1 Q2 Q3 able to generate complex pulse width waveforms with minimal
UC1 IL1… IL3
UC1, UC2
CPU overhead or intervention. It is highly programmable and
C2 very flexible and also easy to understand and use. The ePWM
Q4 Q5 Q6 U1
UC2 is built up from smaller single channel modules with separate
resources and that can operate together as required to form a
system. This modular approach results in an orthogonal
architecture and provides a more transparent view of the
Figure 2. Block diagram of the proposed active power filter
peripheral structure, helping users to understand its operation
Fig. 3 presents the internal block diagram of the quickly.
TMS320F28x DSP family [4]. All the analog signals necessary
in the control algorithm are connected to the ADC module of IV. HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE TOOLS
the DSP. The ADC module in the F281x has been enhanced, The prototype of the active power filter is designed with a
compare to the F24xx family, to provide flexible interface to control circuit based on the “MSK2812 Kit C Pro VS” (from
event managers. The ADC interface is built around a fast, 12- Technosoft S.A.). Operating at a 150-MHz frequency, with
bit ADC module with a fast conversion rate of 80 ns at 25- double event-manager signals, increased internal memory, etc.,
MHz ADC clock. this new kit offers all features needed for an advanced digital
control implementation.
16 kW – 64 kW 6 – 18 kW Boot Enhanced Q1… Q6
Flash RAM ROM Event Mgr. All communication between the PC and the DSP board is
IC1… IC3
done through the RS-232 interface using a real-time serial
IL1… IL3
Memory Bus ADC communication monitor with download/upload functions,
UC1,UC2,U1 debug and inspect facilities [5].
Peripheral Bus

Interrupt Management
GPIO PROCEV28x, a graphical evaluation/analysis software for
the specific peripherals embedded in the TMS320F2812 DSP,
C28xTM 32 – Bit DSP Up to 4 x SPI is provided to rapidly familiarize the designer with these
32 x 32 – Bit R-M-W
functions.
Up to 2 x SPI
Multiplier Atomic
ALU
DMCD28x-Lite, the Digital Motion Control Development
32 – Bit
Timers (3)
I2 C platform offered by Technosoft S.A. integrates a debugger,
32 – Bit
Real – Time Register File Up to basic assembler, linker, C compiler and many other facilities,
JTAG Dual CAN allowing to create, modify and test applications within a highly
organized project management system.
Figure 3. Internal block diagram of the DSP, and it’s connections to the
power circuits
It is offered also a collection of Simulink control blocks that
can be used to program Technosoft Control Kits based on the
The ADC module has 16 channels, configurable as two TMS320F2812 DSP. So, the control system can easily be
independent 8-channel or which can be cascaded to form a 16- simulated in Simulink, and once the system was simulated and
the developer is satisfied with the expected behavior, he can
proceed to the next level: generate C/C++ code for the control VI. CONCLUSIONS
blocks of the system, in order to implement and test it on the In this paper, a control unit for the active power filters
2812 DSP controller. based on the new TMS320F28x DSP family from Texas
Instruments has been proposed. The computer simulation has
V. EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATIONS verified the effectiveness of the control scheme. Experimental
A prototype of an 45 kVA active power filter is building. results on a 45 kVA prototype will be done and reported in a
The parameters of the used components are: Li=0.6mH and future paper.
Ci=5.1 mF. A multi-bus architecture and rich instruction set makes
The control method is tested on a simulation model. As a DSPs well suited to executing demanding real-time control
non-linear load, a diode bridge rectifier feeding a DC motor, is algorithms. Recent developments in simulation software enable
used. designers to model fixed-point digital processors, and to
automatically generate optimized source code which may be
Fig. 4 shows the simulation results of the active power compiled and run on the target processor directly from the
filter. We can see that even if the Total Harmonic Distortion simulation environment. This “hardware-in-the-loop” approach
(THD) of the load currents are of about 50%, the THD of the enables the control algorithms generated by the model to be
source current is decreasing under 10%. executed on a real target processor such as the C28x during
simulation, and increases the level of design confidence. The
30 easiness with which control algorithms can be created and
modified in this manner can save months of development time
20
and leads to earlier error detection compared with traditional
IL[A]

10 hand coding methods.

0 Active power filters represent a satisfactory solution to
electrical power quality problems caused by non-linear loads.
- 10
The TMS320F28x DSP family from Texas Instruments
- 20 represents the ‘state-of-the-art’ in control and is the ideal
architecture for active power filters control applications.
- 30 0 0,02 0,04 0,06
t[s]
30 REFERENCES
20 [1] H. Akagi, Y. Kanazawa, A. Nabae, “Instantaneous reactive power
compensators comprising switching devices without energy storage
IC[A]

10 components”, IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, vol. IA-20,

no. 3, pp. 625-630, 1984.
0 [2] A. Dabrowski, K. Sozanski, “Control Circuit for Active Power-
Harmonic-Compensation Filter in Power Systems Realized With DSP
- 10 TMS320C50”, Third European DSP Education & Research Conference,
Paris, France, pp. 2.4.1-7, 2000.
- 20 [3] M. Gaiceanu, “Active Power Compensator of the Current Harmonics
Based on the Instantaneous Power Theory”, The Annals of “Dunarea de
- 30 0 0,02 0,04 0,06 Jos” University of Galati, Fascicle III, 2005, pp. 23-28.
t[s]
30 [4] Texas Instruments, “TMS320F2810, TMS320F2811, TMS320F2812,
TMS320C2810, TMS320C2811, TMS320C2812 Digital Signal
20 Processors Data Manual”, 2006.
[5] Technosoft S.A., “MSK2812 Kit C Pro VS - Reference Manuals”, 2006
IS[A]

10
0
- 10
- 20
- 30 0 0,02 0,04 0,06
t[s]

Figure 4. Simulation results of the active power filter for a non-linear load,
a diode bridge rectifier feeding a DC motor