A SIMPLIFIED FUNCTIONAL MODEL FOR 3-PHASE VOLTAGESOURCE INVERTER USING SWITCHING FUNCTION CONCEPT

B. K. Lee Student Member, IEEE

M. Ehsani Fellow, IEEE

Texas A&M University Dept. of Electrical Engineering College Station, TX 77843, MS 3128, U.S.A Tel: +1-409-845-7582 Fax: +1-409-862- 1976 E-mail: ehsani@ee.tamu.edu
Abstract- In this paper, a functional model for voltage-source inverter (VSI) using switching function concept is studied and the actual implementation of the model is proposed with the help of MATLAB Simulink. The switching function concept is a powerful tool in understanding and optimizing the performance of the static power convertershnverters. With the developed functional model, the simplification of the static power circuits can be achieved so that the convergence and long run-time problems, which are common in PSPICE and SABER, can be solved. Also, obtaining the state equations for describing the power circuits in MATLAB is not required any more. Therefore, it is expected that the proposed model is an easy-todesign tool for design and evaluation of the performance of the control strategy as well as for describing the general characteristics of VSI in a simple and effective way. Also, in the functional model, the design parameters, such as voltage and current ratings of the power semiconductor switches and load current, can be easily calculated and it can be readily extended to different power conversion topologies such as current-source inverter and PWM ACDC rectifier. The general switching function concept is reviewed in brief and the proposed functional model for VSI and the implementation using MATLAB Simulink are explained in detail. Also, several informative simulation results verify the validity of the proposed model. I. INTRODUCTION With the help of several powerful computer simulation tools such as PSPICE, SABER, and MATLAB, one can analyze and design the static power converterlinverter systems effectively. In power electronic systems, the simulation is mainly performed to analyze and design the circuit configuration and the applied control strategy. In the case of PSPICE and SABER, the power conversion circuits can be schematically expressed by using actual power semiconductor device models and passive elements. Also, the control algorithm can be implemented by analog components. Due to the schematic characteristics, PSPICE and SABER are suitable for design at the circuit level, i.e., power system configuration, snubber circuit, resonant network, and auxiliary circuit for the main power circuit. However, these models are described as nonlinear controlled source by means of functions that contain exponential terms, resulting in slow execution times, large amounts of generated data, and convergence problems [41. On the other hand, in case of MATLAB, the proper state equations should be obtained in order to describe the power conversion circuit. With the state equations, the circuit can be easily modeled by using the functional blocks, which are supported in MATLAB Simulink. Especially, in MATLAB, the various kinds of control algorithm can be easily implemented without using actual analog components. However, obtaining the state equation according to the circuit configuration is a cumbersome and time-consuming job. Whenever there is a minor change in the circuit configuration, new state equations should be obtained for describing the new circuit. Therefore, a simple method to model the power conversion circuits is highly desirable, which is not based on the state equations. Recently, several research works have shown that the switching function concept is a powerful tool in understanding and optimizing the performance of the static power converterslinverters [ 11-[5]. Using the switching function concept, the power conversion circuits can be modeled according to their functions, rather than circuit topologies [2]. Therefore, it can

0-7803-5735-3/99/$10.00 S1999 IEEE

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achieve simplification of the overall power conversion functions and also allow for the development of analytical concepts that are applicable to families of converters instead of individual ones [3]. In reference [4], the authors proposed the PSPICE simulation model by using switching function concept. The model could solve the convergence problem and reduce the run time effectively. However, even though the converters are modeled as functional ones, additional passive elements and analog control circuits should be used to implement the overall system. Therefore, it is noted that the inherent problems of PSPICE can not be solved completely. In this paper, a functional model for the VSI is studied using switching function concept. Then, the model is simply implemented by using the functional block of MATLAB Simulink. The developed model has the following advantages; Simplification of the power conversion circuit can be achieved. It provides easy-to-design tool for design and examining the performance of the control strategy as well as for describing the general characteristics of VSI in a simple and effective way. The design parameters such as voltage and current ratings of the power semiconductor switches and load current can be easily calculated. Obtaining the state equations and using the real power semiconductor device models are not required in order to describe the power conversion circuit. The convergence problem is avoided. Simulation run time is reduced by much. It can be easily extended to different power conversion topologies such as current-source inverter and PWM ACDC rectifier. In the rest of this paper, the general switching function concept is reviewed in brief and the proposed functional model for VSI and the implementation using MATLAB Simulink are explained in detail. Also, several simulation results are presented to verify the validity of the proposed model.

task to be performed by the circuits. Especially, the transfer function can be used to compute a dependent variable in terms of its respective independent circuit variable [3]. Also, in Pulse Width Modulation (PWM), the waveform to be modulated is considered the independent variable and the resulting modulated waveform is the dependent variable. For example, in case of VSI, the output voltage is dependent variable and it depends on the input voltage, which is independent variable. Therefore, the general transfer function can be defined as [3]
Input0

Static Power Convertershverters

Fig. 1. Block system.

L-+---J
Control Circuit ' diagram of the static power conversion

OOutput

Transfer Function =

Dependent Variable Independent Variable Un mod ulated Waveform Modulated Waveform

(1)

With the applied control strategy, each transfer function consists of the various particular switching functions. Using the switching function theory, the detailed relationship between the input and output variables can be obtained. Therefore, obtaining the proper switching function is very important in order to describe the role of the static power convertershnverters. The detailed theoretical explanation of the switching function is well addressed in the references [ 11431. 111. PROPOSED FUNCTIONAL MODEL FOR %PHASE VOLTAGE SOURCE INVERTER

11. GENERAL THEORY OF SWITCHINGFUNCTION

As shown in Fig. 1, the static power converters /inverters can be modeled as a black box with the input and output ports. The dc and ac variables can be input and output according to the operation mode [4]. Then, the transfer function is obtained to describe the

A. Switching Function for VSI Fig. 2(a) shows the circuit configuration of VSI and also Fig. 2(b) designates the input and output variables to be considered in analyzing and designing the circuit. Based on the transfer function theory, in VSI, input current (Iin) and output voltage (vat,, Vk, V , & are the dependent variables and input voltage (V,) and output current (Ia, It,, I,) are the independent variables. Therefore, the relationship between the input and output variables can be expressed as [3]

where TF is the transfer function of VSI.

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Generally, the transfer function is consisted of the several switching functions as TF = [SF,, SF,, SF, ..... ]
(4)

In order to define the switching functions, a control strategy to be applied should be selected. In this paper, the Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) technique as shown in Fig. 3(a) is considered as a control strategy. Based on the SPWM, Figs. 3(b) and (c) express the two switching
l h 4

functions (SFI, SF2). The switching function SF, expresses the V,, Vbo, and V,, and it is used to calculate the inverter line-to-line voltages (V&, Vk, V,& and phase voltages (Van,Vbn, Vcn).On the other hand, the switching function SF2 designates the voltage across the switch and the load currents (Ia, Ibr IJ are derived as ratios of voltages and respective impedances using the switching function SF2. Mathematical representation SFl and SF2 are given by [21

SF, =

CA,, sin(nm)
fl=l

(5)
(6)

SF, = B,

CB,, sin(nm)
m

n=l

B. Implementation of Functional Model

I
I
1

fin+

vdL
I1

i_

c ;

ut

Ouiput
(b)

Fig. 2. (a) Circuit configuration of VSI. (b) Input and

output variables of VSI.
Vcont-a

Based on the switching functions SF, and SF2, a functional model for VSI is built by using MATLAB Simulink [6]. Fig. 4 shows the proposed overall functional model for calculating the design parameters of VSI. As shown in Fig. 4, it consists of four functional blocks: SPWM generator, switching function block, load block, and pure switch and diode current generating block. In the SPWM block, the carrier signal (V,) is compared with three different control signals (Vcont-a, VmntJ,, Vcont-,) and it inputs to the switching function block to generate inverter lineto line voltages and phase voltages. Each phase has two switching functions such as SFI-a, SFZ-a, SFl-bt SF2-b, SF1-m SF2-c. Using the switching function SFl-qb,othe V,, Vb, and V,, can be obtained as V,, =--.SF,-, vd 2

=$.CA,,
CO

sin(nm)

(7)

fl=l

Wt

IV v v v v v v M
1
0

(a) Carrier (V,J and control (VCont-& signals.

v,,
wt
v,b

d ' =--.SF,-, 2

=-.CA,, sinn(m+l2oo)
vd

(9)

n=l

Then, the inverter line-to-line voltages (V&, Vk, Vca) can be derived as

=v,

-vb0

-1
(b) Switching function SF,.

=-VdcA,, n=l 2

J52
n=l
m

sinn(m+30")

v, =v, -vco = -& v d ~ Ansinn(m-90')

(10)

(c) Switching function SF2. Fig. 3. SPWM control strategy and switching functions.

v,, =vco -vao = J ? v d ~ f $ , s i n n ( ~ + 1 5 0 ' )

n=l

Also, in order to calculate the inverter phase voltage (Vm,Vbn, V,,), V, is calculated 5

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The switch currents (1~1,1 ~ 3 ,ISS) are calculated by product of the load currents with the corresponding switching function S F Z - ~ that ~ , ~is ,
1st = Ia * "2-a
IS3

= I b * SF,-,

(14)

Is5 = I , -SF,-, In order to calculate the current rating of the power semiconductor switch, one needs the information for the pure switch current and the pure diode current. Actually, the switch current (Isl) can be divided into
IS1

= IS1-S

- ISI- D

(15)

Fig.4. Proposed overall functional model for VSI using switching function concept.

where Isl-s is the pure switch current and Is,-,, is the pure diode current of the switch SI. Equations (13) and (14) are implemented in the load block and the pure current generator block as shown in Fig. 4 and the actual implementation is designated as shown in Fig. 6. Also, the inverter input current (Iin) can be obtained by
Iin

= Is1 + I s 3 + IS,

=I;SF2-,

+Ib.sFz-b +IC.SF2-,

(16)

Finally, the average and rms values of current parameters can be expressed by the vector forms such as (17) and (18) and it can be calculated in MATLAB workspace by getting the data from Fig. 4.

Fig. 5. Detailed description of switching function block for calculating the inverter line-to-line voltages and phase voltages. The above mentioned theoretical explanation is easily implemented as shown in Fig. 5 with only several gain blocks and sum blocks. Next, the load block is used to obtain the load currents (Ia, b, IC).Assuming the load is consisted of R-L load and balanced one, the load currents are derived as ratios of the phase voltages and respective impedance as

IV. SIMULATION RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Figs. 7 and 8 show the simulation voltage and current waveforms using MATLAB Simulink (ver. 5.2.1). The simulation parameters are as follows; input voltage Vd=300V, R=5!2, L=20mH, carrier signal frequency=l kHz, control signal kequency (fc)=60Hz,modulation index Ma=0.8.

I - 'bn - 'bn - la(w - 120") 6 Z, R + j d

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integrator

Cia)

(b)

~~

6.03 0.032 0.034 0.036 0.038

0.04 0.042 0.044 0.048 0.048 time Is]

0.05

(b) Switching function SFI.

L-+out?
(1Sl-D)

Fig. 6. (a) Load current generating block. (b) Pure switch and diode currents generating block for one phase. As shown in Fig. 7, from the S P W M control strategy, the switching functions SFl and SF2 are V ) , obtained. Then, the inverter line-to-line voltage ( and phase voltage (V,) can be successfully derived by the action of switching function block as shown in Fig. 5. Fig. 8 shows the overall inverter current waveforms. Fig. 8(a) shows the three balanced load currents I,, Ib, and I, under the balanced load condition. By multiplying the load current (I,) with the switching function (SF2), the switch S1 current can be obtained as shown in Fig. 8(b). Using the pure current generating block of Fig. 6(b), the switch SI current is divided into the pure switch current (1sl-s) and pure diode current (IS1-D) as shown in Figs. 6(c) and (d). In order to select the proper power semiconductor device, the voltage and current ratings should be calculated. Using (17) and (18), the average and rms values of the currents, which flow through the switch and diode, can be calculated as; Isi-~,,~g=3.196A, Isl-~,~.g=1.157A, Isi_s,-=5.97A, I~1-~,r,s=3.44A. From the simulation results presented in Figs. 7 and 8, it is noted that the proposed functional model perfectly reproduces the general characteristics of the 3-phase VSI.

0.03

0.032 0.034

0.036

0.038

0.04

0.042 0.044 0.046

0.048

0.05

time

[SI

(c) Switching function SF2.

400

I I I I I l I l l l

-4M) 0.03

0.032 0.034 0.036 0.038

I I I I I I I I I I
0.04

0.042 0.044 0.046 0.048

0.05

time [s]

(d) Inverter line-to-line voltage ( V , ) .

time IS]

(e) Inverter phase voltage (Vd.

tlme [SI

(a) Carrier signal and control signals in SPWM.

Fig. 7 . Simulation voltage waveforms of VSI with SPWM strategy (Vd=300V, fs=lkHz, fc=60Hz,Maa.8).

466

10

J5
0

-5

lime Is]

time [SI

(a) Load currents (Ia, Ib, IC).

20

(e) Inverter input current (Ih). Fig. 8. Simulation current waveforms of VSI (Vd=300V, fS=lkHz, fc=60Hz,Ma=0.8).

15

10 5

v. CONCLUSION
The functional model of 3-phase VSI using switching function concept is studied. And, the actual implementation of the model is proposed with the help of MATLAB Simulink. The general theory of switching functions is reviewed and a detailed explanation is given for the proposed function model and its implementation. Also, the validity is verified by several informative simulation results. Therefore, it is expected that the proposed functional model can be a powerful method to obtain a simple and effective model for describing the performance of VSI. Furthermore, the control strategy to be applied to VSI can be easily designed and examined under the developed functional model. REFERENCES P. Wood, Theory of Switching Power Converter, New York: Van Nostrand-Reinhold, 1981. P. D. Ziogas, E. P. Wiechmann, V. R. Stefanovic, A Computer-Aided Analysis and Design Approach for Static Voltage Source Inverter, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. IA-21, no. 5, pp. 1234-1241, Sep.lOct. 1985. E. P. Wiechmann, P. D. Ziogas, V. R. Stefanovic, GeneralizedFunctional Model for Three Phase PWM InverterBectifier Converters, in Proc. IEEE IAS85, 1985, pp. 984-993. L. Salazar, G. Joos, PSPICE Simulation of ThreePhase inverters by Means of Switching Functions, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 35-42, Jan. 1994. P. N.Enjeti, P. D. Ziogas, Analysis of A Static Power Converter Under Unbalance: A Novel Approach, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 37, no. 1, pp. 91-93, Feb. 1990. Matlab Manual Version 5.2, The Math Works Inc., 1998.

5
-10

-15
-20

time [SI

(b) Switch current Is,.

0.03

0.032 0.034 0.036 0.038 0.04 0.042 0 . 0 4 4 0.046 0.048

0.05

time [SI

(c) Pure switch current of switch SI (Is&.

-15
-20

0,032 0.034 0.036 0.038

0.04

0.03

0.042 0 . 0 4 4 0.048

0.048

0.05

lime [SI

(d) Pure diode current of switch SI (Isls).

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