International Journal on Electrical Engineering and Informatics - Volume 9, Number 1, March 2017

A Variable Switching Frequency Approach to Reduce the Output Current

Ripple of Single-Phase PWM Inverters
Pekik Argo Dahono1, Masramdhani Saputra2, and Arwindra Rizqiawan1
1
School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Bandung
2
Malang State Polytechnic
[email protected]

Abstract: A new variable switching frequency is proposed to reduce the output current ripple of
single-phase PWM inverters. This proposed method will keep the peak-to-peak output current
ripple constant, instead of varying as the function of current angle in the conventional constant
switching frequency operation. By keeping the constant peak-to-peak current ripple, the output
current ripple can be reduced without sacrificing the efficiency. Analytical expression for the
optimum switching frequency variation is derived. Experiment results are included to show and
verify the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Keywords: inverter, current ripple, PWM

1. Introduction
Along with the development of power semiconductor devices and the associated controller,
more widespread use of power electronics can be seen in the last decades. One type of power
converter that is widely used is the inverter. For small and medium power applications, a
single-phase inverter is commonly used [1]. In the recent years, a single-phase full-bridge
inverter has also been proposed as a basic building block for a large power and high-voltage
applications.
There are many PWM techniques have been developed to control the output voltage and
frequency of single-phase inverters. Carrier-based PWM technique is the most popular because
the implementation is simpler. In this technique, the ON-OFF signals for the inverter switching
devices are obtained by comparing a sinusoidal reference signal to a high-frequency triangular
carrier signal. To reduce the output current ripple, the carrier or switching frequency must be
increased. By increasing the switching frequency, however, the inverter switching losses are
also increased. Until now, soft switching techniques are not commonly used in high power
applications because of the increased voltage or current stresses on the inverter switching
devices. Variable switching frequency techniques to reduce the output current ripple of three-
phase inverter have also been proposed [2]-[5]. Other works in the field of variable-band on
hysteresis current control to achieve nearly constant switching frequency are also have been
proposed [6]-[10], but most of the proposed methods require more complex control thus
sacrifice the well-known advantage of hystereris current controller, which is simplicity. Until
now, however, no works have shown what is the optimum switching frequency variation that is
useful for single-phase full-bridge inverters.
In this paper, a new approach to reduce the output current ripple of single phase PWM
inverter without sacrificing the inverter efficiency is proposed. At first, the optimum switching
frequency variation that results in minimum output current ripple is determined. Simulated and
measured results are included to verify and show the effectiveness of the proposed concept.

2. Single-Phase PWM Inverter

Figure 1 shows the scheme of inverter that is used in this study. The load is represented as a
series connection of a resistance 𝑅, and inductance 𝐿 , and a sinusoidal emf 𝑒. The dc voltage
source 𝐸𝑑 is assumed as a constant and free of ripple. It should be noted that this inverter
scheme can also be used to represent a single-phase PWM rectifier, by reversing the power
flow direction.
Received: November 21st, 2016. Accepted: March 11st, 2017
DOI: 10.15676/ijeei.2017.9.1.6
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Pekik Argo Dahono, et al.

In this paper, it is assumed that the ON-OFF signals for the switching devices are obtained
by using a carrier based PWM technique. In this technique, two identical sinusoidal reference
signals that opposite in phase are compared to a high-frequency triangular signal as shown in
Figure. 2, this is well-known as unipolar PWM technique. Comparison results between the first
sinusoidal signal and carrier signal are used to control switching devices on the left leg (S1 and
S2). On the other hand, comparison results between the second sinusoidal signal and carrier
signal are used to control switching devices on the right leg (S3 and S4). In the analysis that
will be described in the next sections, it is assumed that the inverter switching devices are ideal
switches.

Figure 1. Single-phase full-bridge PWM inverter.

1
v vr vcarrier

-1
v ur

Ed

-Ed

Figure 2. PWM signal generation (upper) and inverter output voltage (lower).

3. Output Current Ripple Analysis

In order to reduce the output current ripple, the switching frequency is usually much higher
than the fundamental output frequency. Under this condition, the reference signals over one
carrier period can be assumed as constants as shown in Figure. 3(a). Based on Figure. 3(a), the

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A Variable Switching Frequency Approach to Reduce the Output

output voltage over one carrier period can be obtained as shown in Figure. 3(b). Figure. 3 is
valid during positive half fundamental period of output voltage.
vcar
vru
(a)
vrv
Ed
(b)
T0 T1 T0 T1 T0
4 2 2 2 4

(c)

t0 t1 t2 t3 t4 t5 t6
Ts
Figure. 3. Waveforms of the inverter over one carrier period. (a) Reference voltage, (b) Output
voltage, (c) current ripple

The output voltage over one carrier period can be expressed as follow:
0 for t 0  t  t1
E for t1  t  t 2
 d
vuv   0 for t 2  t  t 4 (1)
E for t 4  t  t 5
 d
 0 for t 5  t  t 6

Where 𝑣𝑢𝑣 is the output voltage of single-phase inverter, as in Figure. 1. Based on Figure. 3,
the time intervals are:
T0
 1  vur (2)
Ts
T1
 vur (3)
Ts

Where 𝑣𝑢𝑟 is the voltage reference signal, and its value is determined by

vur  k sin  (4)

Where k is the modulation index, Ts =1/Fs is the carrier period, and  is the angle of the
reference signal at the moment of corresponding period of carrier signal.

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Pekik Argo Dahono, et al.

Based on the scheme in Figure. 1, the voltage across the load is

diu
vuv  Riu  L e (5)
dt
Where 𝑖𝑢 is the output current.
If the voltage and current are separated into the average and ripple components, Eq. (2) can
be rewritten as

vuv  v~uv  Riu  iu   L iu  i u   e

~ d ~
(6)
dt
where bar and tilde over variables denote average and ripple components, respectively.
Average and ripple components on the left hand side of Eq. (6) must be equal to average and
ripple components on the right hand side and, therefore, the followings are obtained:
diu
vuv  Riu  L e (7)
dt
~
~ di
v~uv  vuv  vuv  R iu  L u (8)
dt
The average output voltage as a function of the reference signal can be written as

vuv  kEd sin  (9)

When the switching frequency is high, the ripple voltage across the load resistance is
usually small and can be neglected. Thus, Eq. (8) can be approximated by

~
di
v~uv  L u (10)
dt
Thus, the current ripple can be expressed as

iu   vuv dt   vuv  vuv dt

~ 1 ~ 1
(11)
L L
Based on voltage expression in Eq. (1) and current ripple expression in Eq. (11), the current
ripple waveform can be obtained as shown in Figure. 3(c). This current ripple can be expressed
as
  vuv t  t o  for t o  t  t1
 T0
  vuv  E d  vuv t  t1  for t1  t  t 2
 4
 vuv t  t 3 
~ 1
iu    for t 2  t  t 4 (12)
L  T0
 vuv  E d  vuv t  t 4  for t 4  t  t 5
 4
  vuv t  t 6  for t 5  t  t 6

Based on Eq. (12), the peak to peak value of current ripple, 𝑖̃𝑢,𝑝𝑝 , is defined as

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A Variable Switching Frequency Approach to Reduce the Output

~ v T
iu , pp  uv 0 (13)
L 2
Substituting Eqs. (2), (4), and (9) into Eq. (13), the following is obtained

E
iu , pp  d k sin  1  k sin  
~
(14)
2 LFs

Where 𝐹𝑠 is the switching frequency of the PWM inverter. The average value of peak-to-
peak current ripple over one fundamental output period, 𝐼̃𝑢,𝑝𝑝 is defined as
~ 1 ~
I u , pp   iu , pp d (15)
 0

Substituting Eq. (14) into Eq. (15) and performing the integration, the result is

Ed k
~
I u , pp  4  k  (16)
4 LFs 

Based on Eq. (14), the peak to peak output current ripple varies with switching frequency
and angle θ. If the switching frequency is modulated, the peak to peak current ripple can be
made constant or almost constant as in Eq. (16). How to vary the switching frequency will be
discussed in the next section.

Variable Switching Frequency

It has been shown in the previous section that the peak to peak current ripple varies with the
time, as a function of angle θ. Figure. 4(c) shows simulated results that shows the variation of
peak to peak value of current ripple as a function of time. The current ripple is zero when the
current is zero. In this case, is assumed that the DC voltage source is 200 Vdc, the load
resistance is 15 ohm, the load inductance is 1 mH. The switching devices are switched at 3 kHz
switching frequency.
If the switching frequency on Eq. (14) is modulated to maintain the peak-to-peak current
ripple at constant value as given by Eq. (16), by equalizing Eq. (14) and Eq. (16), the switching
frequency must vary according to the following equations:

~ ~
iu , pp  I u , pp (17)
Ed Ed k
k sin  1  k sin    4  k  (18)
2 Lf s 4 LFs 
2
f s  Fs sin  1  k sin   (19) (19)
4  k
Where 𝑓𝑠 is the new varying switching frequency. Although it varies over time, however the
average value of the switching frequency over one fundamental period is still constant at 𝐹𝑠 . As
the average switching frequency is constant, it is expected that the switching losses are almost
constant. Figure. 5 shows simulated result under variable switching frequency. It can be seen
that the peak-to-peak current ripple is almost constant over one fundamental output period, as
shown in Figure. 5(c).

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Pekik Argo Dahono, et al.

The mean square value of the output current ripple over one carrier period is
~ 1 t o Ts ~2
I u2 
Ts 
to
iu dt (20)

(a)
vcr (V) 1

-1
(b)
~
Iu(A) 1

-1
(c)
Iu(A)
2
0
-2
0 5 10 15 20 t (ms)

Figure. 4. Constant switching frequency operation. (a) Carrier waveform, (b) output current
ripple, and (c) inverter output current.
(a)
vcr (V) 1
0

-1
(b)
~ 1
Iu(A)
0

-1
(c)
Iu(A)
2
0
-2
0 5 10 15 20 t (ms)
Figure. 5. Variable frequency operation. (a) Carrier waveform, (b) output current ripple, and (c)
output current.

Substituting Eq. (12) into Eq. (20) and performing the integration, the following is obtained
 E k  sin 2  1  k sin  2
2
~
I u2   d  (21)
 LFs  48

The rms value of output current ripple over one fundamental output period can be
determined as
~ 1 2 ~
I u ,rms 
2 
0
I u2 d (22)

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A Variable Switching Frequency Approach to Reduce the Output

Under constant switching frequency, the result of Eq. (22) is

1/ 2
 16 3 2
~ E d k 1  3 k  4 k 
I u ,rms    (23)
LFs  96 
 
Under variable switching frequency, the rms current ripple is
~ E k 4  k 
I u ,rms  d (24)
LFs 8 3

In the next section, experimental results will be shown to verify the effectiveness of the
proposed method.

Experimental Results
In order to verify the proposed concept, a small single-phase PWM inverter was
constructed. Power MOSFETS were used as the switching devices. The load resistance is 15
ohm and load inductance is 1 mH. No load emf is used during the experiments. During the
experiments, the dc source voltage is maintained constant at 200 Vdc. The PWM controller is
digitally implemented using FPGA. A low switching frequency of 3 kHz is used so that the
current ripple can be easily measured.
Figures 6 and 7 show the measured current waveforms under constant and variable
switching frequencies. It can be seen that the peak-to-peak current ripple can be maintained
constant by the proposed variable frequency method in Figure.7, instead of varying peak-to-
peak current ripple in the conventional constant switching frequency operation, as in Figure. 6.
Figure 8 shows the measured rms current ripples under constant and variable switching
frequency. It can be seen that by using the proposed variable switching frequency, the rms
value of the output current ripple is lower than under constant switching frequency. Losses of
the proposed and conventional methods are measured during the experiments. Measured results
(Figure. 9) shows that the losses under both techniques are almost equal. Thus, the current
ripple has been successfully reduced without increasing the switching losses.

Vuv 250 V / div

Iu 8.75 A / div

Figure 6. Measured output voltage (upper) and output current (lower) waveforms under
constant switching frequency.

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Pekik Argo Dahono, et al.

Vuv 250 V / div

Iu 8.75 A / div

Figure 7. Measured output voltage (upper) and current (lower) under variable switching
frequency.

Figure 8. Measured rms values of output current ripple.

Figure 9. Measured losses of PWM inverter.

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A Variable Switching Frequency Approach to Reduce the Output

Conclusion
A new approach to enhance the performance of single-phase PWM inverter is proposed in
this paper. The proposed variable switching frequency method is reducing the output current
ripple without sacrificing switching losses. The expression for the required switching
frequency is derived. Simulated and experimental results are included to show the effectiveness
of the proposed method.

Acknowledgement
Authors would like to thank to Ministry of Research, Technology and Higher Education
Indonesia for funding this research.

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Pekik Argo Dahono received the bachelor degree from the Department of
Electrical Engineering, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, in 1985, and
the M.Eng. and D.Eng. degrees in engineering from the Department of
Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology,
Tokyo, Japan, in 1992 and 1995, respectively.
Since 1986, he has been with the School of Electrical Engineering and
Informatics, Institute of Technology Bandung, where he is currently an
Associate Professor. He was a Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
Research Fellow and Hitachi Post Doctoral Fellow at Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1997
and 1998, respectively. He was a Visiting Professor at the Science University of Tokyo and
Tokyo Denki University in 2001 and 2004, respectively. He was also a Visiting Professor at
the Institut National Polytechnique Toulouse (INPT), Toulouse, France, in 2008. His research
interests include power electronics, electrical machines, and power quality.
Dr. Dahono is a senior member of IEEE and also registered as a Senior Professional Engineer
in Indonesia. He was the recipient of Outstanding Engineering Achievement Awards from the
Institution of Engineers Indonesia and the ASEAN Federation of Engineering Association, in
2005 and 2006, respectively.

Masramdhani Saputra was born in Batu, Indonesia, on March 28, 1991. He

received B.Sc (cumlaude) and M.Sc degrees from Institute of Technology,
Bandung, Indonesia, in 2013 and 2014, respectively. He was with Electrical
Conversion Energy Laboratory, Institut Teknologi Bandung until 2014, as
researcher. His current research interests control techniques for bidirectional
power converters and new pulse width modulation techniques for single-phase
PWM Converter. Now he is with Malang State Polytechnic, Malang,
Indonesia, as a lecturer.

Arwindra Rizqiawan received the bachelor and master degrees in electrical

engineering from the School of Electrical Engineering and Informatics,
Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia, in 2006 and 2008, respectively. He
received the D.Eng. degree in electrical engineering from Shibaura Institute
of Technology, Japan, in 2012, where he continued with post-doctoral
program in 2013. Since 2014, he has been with School of Electrical
Engineering and Informatics, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Indonesia. He is
registered as a Professional Engineer in Indonesia. His research interests
include power electronics, renewable energy, and distributed generation.

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