NCPE 2016, KLESCET, Belagavi

International Journal of Technology and Science, ISSN (Online) 2350-1111, (Print) 2350-1103 Volume 3, Issue 2, 2016 pp. 49-53

Simulation of Space Vector Modulation in

PSIM
Vishnu V Bhandankar1 and Anant J Naik2
1 Goa College of Engineering

Power and Energy Systems Eng., Farmagudi, Goa 403401

Email: [email protected]
2 Goa College of Engineering

Electrical and Electronics Dept., Farmagudi, Goa 403401

Email: [email protected]

Abstract — Space Vector modulation technique was

originally developed as vector approach to PWM for
Three Phase inverter. Space vector modulation has
become one of the most popular and important
technique for three phase VSI, Brushless DC motor,
switched reluctance motor and permanent magnet
motor. It is a more sophisticated technique for
generating sine wave that provides a higher voltage to
the motor with lower total harmonic distortion. It Fig. 1 A 3-phase Voltage Source Inverter (VSI)
confines space vectors to be applied according to the
region where the output voltage vector is located. In
this paper various advantages of Space vector are
verified and also a comparison between SVPWM and
Sine PWM for three phase 2 level VSI is discussed.

Index Terms — Pulse width modulation, Direct current,

and space vector PWM and Total harmonic distortion.

I. INTRODUCTION Fig. 2 Various PWM Techniques for 2 level Three phase VSI
SVPWM modulates the command voltage vector as
a whole using three phase to two phase
transformation. Basically, this algorithm aims to II. SPACE VECTOR PWM(SVPWM)
have the average of the output voltage vector equal to
The output of two level inverter depends upon the
the command reference vector [1] .SVPWM is one of
switching state of switches S1-S6 of inverter shown
the most popular PWM technique for DC to AC
in Fig. 1.The notation used for representing
conversion for the following reasons:
switching state is [Swa,Swb,Swc],Ex. [100] from upper
 Wide linear range of operation. half switch S1 is ON and from lower half S6 and S2
 Better DC link utilization. is ON. Considering all the switching states, the total
 15%more output voltage than conventional switching states are: 23 =8.These switching states or
modulations. vectors can be classified into 6 unit vector of
 Less harmonics content. magnitude 2/3 Vdc and 2 zero vectors .These vectors
SVPWM requires very complex on-line are represented as V0 [000]-V7 [111].Fig. 3 shows all
computation, which usually limits its operation up to eight vectors in dq frame. This results into splitting
several kHz of switching frequency. The difficulty of dq frame into 6 equal sector and the hexagon form
increases when operation in undermodulation and the boundary of the Space Vector modulation.
overmodulation regions is required. In this case,
different algorithms are required for each region
[1].In this paper method used in [1] to simplify the
operation by extending the operation from
undermodultion to overmoduation has been used.
A Three phase two level VSI with a balanced load
has been shown in Fig. 1.Fig. 2 shows various PWM
technique often used for 2 level three phase. In
Section II operation of SVPWM (Space Vector PWM),
Section III operation of Sine PWM, Section IV
Simulation and results and in Section V Comparison
between Sine and SVPWM has been done.
Fig. 3 Space Vector modulation
The modulation index m can be given as:
̅
𝑉 (1)
𝑚 = 𝑉𝑟𝑒𝑓
1𝑠𝑤
Where 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 is the magnitude of command or
reference voltage vector and 𝑉1𝑠𝑤 is the peak value (

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International Journal of Technology and Science, ISSN (Online) 2350-1111, (Print) 2350-1103 Volume 3, Issue 2, 2016 pp. 49-53

2𝑉𝑑𝑐 ⁄𝜋) of square (or six step) voltage wave. The

modulation factor can vary between 0–1, depending
upon the modulation index the operation of SVPWM
can be classified into three regions;
 undermodulation (0<m<0.907),
 overmodulation mode 1(0.907<m<0.952)
 overmodulation mode 2 (0.952<m<1).
Fig. 5 Sector Identification
A. Undermodulation (0<m<0.907) 2) Time Dwell Calculations
The effective times for switching for sector 1 can be
In the undermodulation or linear region, shown
given as [3]:
in Fig. 4,𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 the rotating reference voltage remains 𝜋 𝜋
within the hexagon. The objective of space vector 𝑇1 = 𝑇𝑠 . 𝑎. (sin ( − 𝛼)⁄sin ( ))
3 3
PWM technique is to approximate the reference 𝜋 (5)
voltage vector 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 using the eight switching patterns. 𝑇2 = 𝑇𝑠 . 𝑎. (sin(𝛼)⁄sin ( ))
3
One simple method of approximation is to generate 𝑇0 = 𝑇𝑠 − (𝑇1 + 𝑇2 )
the average output of the inverter in a small period, Where a= |𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 |/(2/3 𝑉𝑑𝑐 )
T to be the same as that of 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 in the same period
[2]. In one sampling interval, the output voltage Switching time duration at any Sector [3]:
vector reference 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 can be given as: √3𝑇𝑠 |𝑉 ∗ | 𝑛 𝑛
𝑡0 𝑡1 𝑡2 𝑡7 𝑇1 = (sin 𝜋 . cos 𝛼 − cos 𝜋. sin 𝛼)
𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 = ̅̅̅
𝑉 + 𝑉̅ + ̅̅̅ 𝑉 +. . . . . . . . . 𝑉 ̅̅̅ (2) 𝑉𝑑𝑐 3 3
𝑡𝑠 0 𝑡𝑠 1 𝑡𝑠 2 𝑡𝑠 7
√3𝑇𝑠 |𝑉 ∗ | 𝑛−1 𝑛−1 (6)
Where t0-t7 is turn on time for each vector. 𝑇2 = (− cos 𝛼. sin 𝜋 + sin 𝛼 . cos 𝜋)
𝑉𝑑𝑐 3 3
𝑇0 = 𝑇𝑠 − (𝑇1 + 𝑇2 )

Where Where n=1 through 6 (that is, Sector 1

to 6)
0 ≤ 𝛼 ≤ 60
The simplification of the SVPWM algorithm is
given by using the dq components. The strategy can
simplify the calculation of the sin(α) and sin(π /3- α)
terms, avoiding the use of look-up table. The
calculation of the turn-on switching times of the
Fig. 4 Undermodulation phases becomes simpler, and are given by the
Hence 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 can be defined in infinite number of following equation [1]:
𝑇𝑠 3 𝑉𝑞
ways depending upon the various switching time (t0- (1 + [−𝑉𝑑 − ])
t7) of the vectors. However, in order to reduce the 4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 √3
𝑇𝑠 3 𝑆 = 1,4
number of switching actions and make full use of [−2𝑉𝑑 ]) 𝑆 = 2,5
𝑇𝐴−𝑜𝑛 = (1 +
active turn-on time for space vectors, the vector 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 𝑆 = 3,6
is commonly split into the two nearest adjacent 𝑇𝑠 3
(1 + [−𝑉𝑑 − √3𝑉𝑞 ])
voltage vectors and zero vectors and in an arbitrary {4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 }
sector. Consider 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 lies between V1 [100] and V2 𝑇𝑠 3
(1 + [𝑉 − √3𝑉𝑞 ])
[110], hence the switching will occur between V1 and 4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 𝑑
V2 depending on magnitude of 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 and remaining 𝑇𝑠 3 2𝑉𝑞 𝑆 = 1,4 (7)
switching time is split between V0 and V7. Hence 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 𝑇𝐵−𝑜𝑛 = (1 + [− ]) 𝑆 = 2,5
4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 √3 𝑆 = 3,6
now can be given as [3]: 𝑇𝑠 3 𝑉𝑞
𝑡0 𝑡1 𝑡2 𝑡7 (1 + [𝑉𝑑 − ])
𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 = ̅̅̅
𝑉 + 𝑉̅ + ̅̅̅ 𝑉 + ̅̅̅
𝑉 (3) { 4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 √3 }
𝑡𝑠 0 𝑡𝑠 1 𝑡𝑠 2 𝑡𝑠 7 𝑇𝑠 3 𝑉𝑞
(1 + [𝑉 + ])
1) Sector Identification 4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 𝑑 √3
2𝑉𝑞
𝑆 = 1,4
In [1] has used sector identification logic with 𝑇𝑠 3
𝑇𝐶−𝑜𝑛 = (1 + [ ]) 𝑆 = 2,5 [1]
minimum computation. The sector identification is 4 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 √3
𝑇𝑠 3 𝑆 = 3,6
{ 4 (1 + 2𝑉𝐷𝐶 [𝑉𝑑 + √3𝑉𝑞 ])
implemented using three bit variables as follows:
}
A=Sign(Vq)
B=Sign(-√3Vd-Vq) (4)
C=Sign(√3Vd-Vq)
Hence the sector can be given by:
Sector = (A XOR C) +2*(A XOR B)
Fig. 5, shows the Sector identification calculations.

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International Journal of Technology and Science, ISSN (Online) 2350-1111, (Print) 2350-1103 Volume 3, Issue 2, 2016 pp. 49-53

B. Overmodulation mode 1(0.907<m<0.952) during hexagon tracking, the voltage changes almost
linearly, as shown in the lower part of Fig. 9. At the
end of Mode-2, the linear segments vanish, giving
six-step or square-wave operation when the modified
vector is held at hexagon corners for 60 i.e. 𝛼ℎ =30[1]
[4] [5].

In [8] the equation for relationship between

holding angle and modulation index is derived and is
given by:
sin(𝜋⁄6 − 𝛼ℎ ) (10)
𝑚=
𝜋 ⁄ 6 − 𝛼ℎ
Fig. 10 shows the graph of holding angle v/s
Fig. 6 Overmodulation mode 1(0.907<m0.952)
modulation index .In [9] a comparative study for
In overmodulation the reference vector 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓
overmoduation of different SVPWM has been
exceeds the hexagon boundary. The reference vector
investigated. As explained above in overmodulation
𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 cuts the hexagon at two different points in each
mode 2 both the voltage reference as well as the
sector as shown in Fig. 6. The operation of Space phase reference changes. The Eq (11) are equations
Vector is classified into circular region and a linear for the modified phase angle 𝛼 ∗ and modified
region along line AB as shown in Fig. 6. In the reference Volatge 𝑉𝑚 .
circular region the operation remain same as the
undermodulation region. On the hexagon trajectory,
time t0 vanishes, giving t1 and t2 expressions as [4]:
𝑇𝑠 √3 cos 𝛼 − sin 𝛼
𝑡1 = ( )
2 √3 cos 𝛼 + sin 𝛼 (8)
𝑇𝑠
𝑡2 = − 𝑡1
2
To compensate for the loss a new reference vector
Vm (Vm>𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 ) is used. Pre calculation using
computer program can be used to find the
compensation required due to loss occurring in
linear region. For the new extended reference Vm
crossover angle as a function of modulation factor is Fig. 9 Operation of SVPWM in overmodulation mode 2
plotted in Fig. 7[5] [1].

Fig. 7 Crossover angle (o) v/s Fig. 8 fc v/s modulation index

modulation index Fig. 10 Holding angle (o) v/s modulation index
𝛼∗ = 0 if 0<𝛼<𝛼𝐻
𝛼−𝛼𝐻
For simplification, it can be shown that the = 30 ∗ if 𝛼𝐻 ≤ 𝛼 ≤ 60 − 𝛼𝐻
30−𝛼𝐻
undermodulation curve can be expanded to Mode-1 =60 else (11)
by using a nonlinear scale factor fc. In order to get 0.866
linear transfer characteristics in the whole range. 𝑉𝑚 =
cos(30 − 𝛼𝐻 )
The nonlinear scale factor can be given as [1]:
𝑉𝑚
𝑓𝑐 = (9)
𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 III. SINE PWM(SPWM)
Where 𝑉𝑚 is new extended reference in case of
overmodulation mode 1, 𝑉̅𝑟𝑒𝑓 is reference voltage. Fig. In Sine PWM, three legs of the inverter are
8 shows the plot of fc v/s modulation index. switched using individual Sinusoidal reference
signal, each reference signal is 1200 apart from one
another .The advantage of Sine PWM over Space
C. Overmodulation mode 2(0.952<m<1) Vector PWM is simplicity of operation. As depicted in
In overmodulation Mode-2, the reference vector Fig. 11, the inverter output voltage is determined in
V* increases further. Therefore, the actual trajectory the following [6]:
is modified so that the output fundamental voltage •When Vcontrol > Vtri, VA0 = VDC/2
matches that of the reference voltage. The operation •When Vcontrol < Vtri, VA0 = −VDC/2
in this region, as explained in Fig. 9. is characterized
by partly holding the modified vector at the hexagon
corner for holding angle 𝛼ℎ , and partly tracking the
hexagon sides in every sector. During holding angle,
the magnitude of Van remains constant, whereas

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Fig. 14 Output waveforms SVPWM m=0.907

Fig. 11 Operation of SPWM

IV. SIMULATION AND RESULTS

The Software implementation of conventional Space Fig. 15 Output Waveforms SVPWM m=0.94
Vector Modulation for a Three phase VSI was (overmodulation mode 1)
implemented in PSIM. The steps involved in the
simulation are as follows:
•Three phase to Two phase conversion.
•Sector identification
•Calculation of Ta, Tb and Tc using Eq. no (7)
•Comparing the ref signal Ta, Tb and Tc with
the carrier wave, gate pulses for the Three
phase inverter is obtained.
The switching frequency used in this case is 3 kHz Fig. 16 Output waveforms SVPWM m=0.98 (overmodulation
and Load consists of and RL(R=0.23Ω and mode 2)
L=30.7mH).For sector identification and time dwell
calculation C Block form PSIM has been used. The
PSIM model for operation (0<m<1.0) is shown in Fig.
12.A look up table is used to store values on non-
linear factor fc, for undermodulation fc=1.Fig. 13-Fig.
17 shows the output waveform for modulation index
m=0.5, m=0.907 and m=0.94, m=0.98, m=1.

Fig. 17 Output waveform m=1.0

Fig. 12 PSIM model for SVPWM

Fig. 18 FFT analysis of output waveforms (m=0.907)

Fig. 13 Output waveforms SVPWM m=0.5

Fig. 19 FFT analysis of output waveforms (m=0.94)
(Overmodulation mode 1)

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International Journal of Technology and Science, ISSN (Online) 2350-1111, (Print) 2350-1103 Volume 3, Issue 2, 2016 pp. 49-53

•The phase-to-center voltage of the Space Vector

PWM is not sinusoidal.

•Compared with sinusoidal PWM, space vector PWM

can work with a higher modulation index (m>0.907)
and the harmonic content of the inverter voltage is
less in the space vector PWM than in sinusoidal
PWM.

•The SVPWM technique can be further applied to

Fig. 20 FFT analysis of output waveforms (m=0.98)
(overmodulation mode 2) three level, four leg and multilevel inverters. Software
implementation used has be extended further to over
modulation region i.e. modulation index m>0.907.

REFERENCES
[1] Nicolau Pereira Filho, Joiio Onofre P. Pinto, Luiz E.
Borges da Silva, Bimal K. Bose “A Simple and Ultra-
Fast DSP-Based Space Vector PWM Algorithm and its
Fig. 21 FFT analysis of output waveforms (m=1) Implementation on a Two-Level Inverter Covering
Undermodulation and Overmodulation.” Pp1224-
1229, The 30th Annual Conference of the IEEE
V. COMPARISION BETWEEN SVPWM AND SPWM Industrial Electronics Soclety, November 2 - 6, 2004,
Busan, Korea.
Table I shows the comparison between Sine PWM
[2] Zhou and D. Wang, “Relationship between space-vector
and SVPWM.As can be seen the RMS voltage by
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Space Vector PWM is higher than Sine PWM, also the comprehensive analysis,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron.,
harmonics content without any filter is lesser for vol. 49, pp. 186–196, Feb. 2002.
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[4] J. 0. P. Pinto, B. K. Bose, L. E. B. Silva and M. P.
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(Voltage)THD Sine PWM
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•Space Vector PWM can be used to generate an inverters” IEEE trans. 1998
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