Improved equal current approach for reference current generation in shunt applications under unbalanced and distorted source and load conditions

This study emphasises on a new comprehensive approach for generating the reference compensator currents for distribution static compensator (DSTATCOM) under unbalanced and distorted source and load conditions. A shunt connected DSTATCOM is configured using a three level neutral point clamped inverter topology to achieve load compensation. The behaviour of shunt compensator is analysed using synchronous detection method (SDM) and its different approaches. To overcome the drawbacks of SDM, improved equal current (IEC) SDM with the extraction of fundamental positive sequence component is proposed. Moreover, the performance of the proposed algorithm is compared with the most robust and widely accepted instantaneous reactive power theory. The proposed control algorithm works more effectively under magnitude and phase unbalance as well as distorted source conditions. The detail simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the superiority of the proposed method.