Simulation and Experimental Study of a Reactively Loaded PWM Converter as a Fast Source of Reactive Power

The question of eliminating distorted current waveforms from power networks by active power filters is investigated. If the active current is subtracted from the distorted current, the compensating equipment must be capable of generating the inverse of this difference. Addition of this compensating current to the distorted current then eliminates the distortion. This requires the capability to generate these currents with response times many times less than the fundamental power frequency cycle. This capability is presented by reactively loaded PWM converters. A system configuration with three single-phase PWM converters building a three-phase unit is investigated. The single-phase converter with PWM operation, inductive reactance as load, low-pass input filter, and representative system losses is simulated by state-space techniques. An experimental system of 1 kVA is also constructed for verification. Good correspondence between the simulation and experiment s shown. Starting up the system, compensating the system losses from the supply, and the influence of the control system on the compensating capabilities are investigated. It is concluded that a PWM converter with a reactive load can be used as a fast distortion compensator and that the present state of the art and future development of PWM converter technology will make this technique applicable at least up to 1 Mvar.