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Abstract-The synthesis of the principal types of inverters that are redundancy and requiring little or no maintenance, and taking,
best suited for static uninterruptible power supplies (UPS) is sought. in any case, not more than a few hours of repair time.
From this synthesis a range of apparatus is evolved that will satisfy Different solutions can be considered, but today there is
present and future needs. For each point of this range new solutions
are indicated; their development is tied with the technological evolution no longer any doubt left that the static solution best satisfies
of the components. The reliability and redundancy aspects of uninter- the three imperatives described above. This leads, naturally, to
ruptible power supplies are also considered. the diagram in Fig. 1, comprising in its simplest version three
functions, i.e., three elements: ac/dc converter (rectifier-
charger), intermediate dc stage (battery), and dc/ac converter
INTRODUCTION (inverter). With the network operative, energy is transmitted
THE CONTINUING growth of data processing requires to the load through the rectifier and the inverter, while the
better and better performing systems with ever higher rates battery remains in the "floating" state. When the network
of availability, especially in the case of real time work. To fails (for a short or for a more prolonged period) the rectifier
achieve these objectives it is certainly necessary to have becomes inoperative and the battery supplies energy to the
very reliable and elaborate data processing equipment, but load through the inverter. When the network recovers, the
also to have very high quality power supplies. Besides rectifier resumes its operation: it transmits, again, energy to
computers, other critical loads such as medical instrumentation, the inverter and in addition recharges the battery. As one
telecommunication systems, emergency lighting circuits, can see, the interfacing provided by such a power supply
auxiliary, monitoring, or protection circuits, etc., also require protects the load from any event happening on the network.
uninterruptible power supplies (UPS). In the following we shall only consider the inverter.
The modern version of these interfaces, located between
the power supply network and the load, is static and since II. FUNCTIONS CARRIED OUT BY THE INVERTER
"energy storage" can only be obtained in the form of dc, the
use of dc/ac converters, i.e., of inverters, comes naturally. The The functions that must be performed by inverters used in
design of the inverters varies in accordance with the rating, static UPS's are to
the number of phases, the requested performances, the required * convert dc into ac;
rate of availability, and with other particular desired character- * provide an output voltage free of harmonics (total
istics. Obviously, the design changes with the progress harmonic distortion (THD) less than 5 percent;
accomplished in power semiconductors (thyristors, transistors) * maintain stable voltage in spite of variations of the
and in integrated control circuits. load, of its power factor and of the battery voltage
(steady-state accuracy to the order of 2 to 3 percent);
I. REMINDER OF.THE PRINCIPLE OF THE UPS'S * maintain stable frequency (accuracy better than 1
percent);
The three basic concepts which come under consideration * keep voltage transients within limits compatible with
are the continuity of energy supply, the quality of the voltage the computer or, in a broader sense, with the load
wave, and the rate of availability (reliability). In view of the system (transient accuracy to the order of 8 to 10
events that can take place in the network, reliable as it may be, percent with recovery of the steady-state accuracy
the continuity of energy supply can be insured only through within a hundred of ms);
storage of a sufficient quantity of energy to overcome voltage * ensure selectivity of the protections;
dips (usually called microinterruptions), or current failures * provide a high degree of safety of operation.
estimated to last a few minutes. Obviously, this implies,
for example, the use of a battery. The concept of quality In summary, conversion, filtering, regulation, protection are
of voltage wave expresses a degree of stability and of harmonic the principal functions of the inverters, which, in addition,
neutralization, implying total independence from the network must possess good reliability. These functions are performed
which is, frequently, polluted by other uses. Finally, the rate by the following subassemblies (see Fig. 2).
of availability implies the use of reliable elements, suited for A) The first is one dc to ac conversion module: single-phase
or multiphase. The basic components are thyristors, operating
in this case, in the mode of forced blocking. In the case of low
Paper TOD-75-74, approved by the Static Power Converter Com- ratings to the order of a few kilovoltamperes, transistors may
mittee of the IEEE Industry Applications Society for publication in be preferable.
this TRANSACTIONS. Manuscript released for publication October 20, B) The electronic control and regulating circuits are time
1975.
The author is with the Industrial Systems Engineering Division, base or frequency control, gate pulse generators (transistors or
Jeumont-Schneider, 77430 Champagne-sur-Seine, France. thyristors), voltage and phase regulators, and current limiters.
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282 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-1 3, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
Network F osiU
I =
Network
e
C) Another is the starting and stopping sequence, the static plane, it is necessary to standardize subassemblies by using
monitoring relays of the battery voltage, the sequence relative technologies adequate for ranges of ratings. Under these
to a specific application. conditions great flexibility can be achieved, inside these ranges
D) A fourth is the filtering of the dc voltage by capacitors by acting, for example, on the supply voltage (practically at
offering a low resistance path to the current harmonics from constant current) or on the number of elements (multiphase
the converter module (in other words, they have with respect circuits).
to the latter a very low source impedance). Such an approach to the problem makes it possible to
E) The filtering of the output ac voltage to obtain a sine satisfy best the needs of the user (repetitive equipment implies
wave is another such subassembly. The structure of the filters easy maintenance and expansions) and of the manufacture
depends upon the application, but more upon the converter (repetitive equipment implies quality and economic lines of
output wave. Depending upon the selected principle the wave products).
is rectangular, "stepped" or "slotted," or it consists of pulses
with no low-order harmonics. Depending upon the lowest A. Ratings of Less Than 10 kVA
order of the harmonic, the filter is designed as a low-pass or as These generally imply single-phase and, more exceptionally,
a bandpass filter. The filters always consist of reactive elements three-phase inverters. Two solutions are possible.
(inductances and capacitors) so as not to affect significantly 1) Thyristor Inverters: For economic reasons, mostly,
the efficiency of the installation. circuits with two thyristors are used. Under these conditions
F) The matching of the output voltage with a standard only two-pole characteristics are possible, i.e., the output
value and the electrical isolation between the load and the voltage is rectangular and has an instantaneous value +kE or
battery are accomplished by a transformer. -kE (E being the voltage of the dc source and k a coefficient
G) In certain cases inverters can have an intrinsic current function of the circuit).
limitation. Filtering and output voltage regulation are performed,
most frequently, by a ferroresonant magnetic regulator (FRR)
III. SELECTION OF THE CIRCUITS AS A FUNCTION OF placed on the output side of the converter; in addition to the
THE RATING indicated functions it provides limitation of the converter
output current in case of a short circuit on the load. Fig. 3
Today, the requested ratings cover a range from several shows the circuit of this type of inverter and the corresponding
hundred voltamperes to a thousand kilovoltamperes, perhaps wave shapes.1
even more. It is evident that such a wide range of ratings calls Characteristics: The dc input voltage can vary from 100
for a large variety of solutions. However, for reasons of mastery to 125 V. The output voltage is maintained at 220 V ± 3
of techniques on one hand, and for economical reasons on percent at a frequency equal to 50 Hz ± 0.5 percent (or 60 Hz).
the other hand, the number of solutions must be restricted. To
meet the demands, i.e., to optimize the solutions of the ' The principle of this circuit is described in the Revue Generale
considered problems on the technical and on the economic d'Electricite, vol. 78, no. 11, p. 1046, Nov. 1969.
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 283
±
DZ1
Th2
The power factor of the load can vary from 0.5 to 1.0. The
1~~~~~
THD is on the order of 5 percent and the efficiency of 65
(a) percent. Fig. 4 shows a 7.5-kVA unit.
Advantages: Main functions are accomplished by a small
number of elements, hence, high reliability; dc/ac converter is
simple; electronic control circuitry is also simple; FRR is
current limiting by design (or inherently); paralleling of several
units is relatively simple. This solution is economical for
ratings of less than 10 kVA or even 15 kVA.
Drawbacks: These inverters are difficult to make for
ratings higher than 15 kVA: their cost increases very rapidly
with the rating. The current limitation is not adjustable and
comes very close to the rated current: 130 to 150 percent of
I, The ceiling of limitation is affected by the supply voltage.
Consequently the FRR's will not permit one to take transient
overloads, such as the starting of a motor, unless the peak load
rating of the inverter is considerably higher than the one of the
(b) motor (5 to 6 times). The regulation cannot be adjusted, either
Fig. 3. (a) Schematic diagram of a center-tap single-phase inverter for steady-state or for transient conditions. However, adjust-
with ferroresonant regulator. (b) Output voltage upstream and ment by tap changing is possible. The transient performances
downstream of the FRR. are relatively modest with regard to load variations, but they
are good with regard to input voltage variations. The FRR's
are sensitive to load power factor variations. The THD is
reaching the permissible limit of current requirements (<5
percent under load, 7 percent at no load). The FRR's can be
incompatible with nonlinear loads or with phase controlled
converters (magnetic amplifiers, thyristors, triacs, etc.). It
is difficult to make three-phase inverters: the delta connection
must be excluded, and with the wye or Scott connection the
load must be well-balanced (the phase shift between input
and output is extremely variable).
2) Transistor Inverters: The progress, which has recently
been achieved in the field of transistors, makes it possible
today to make transistor inverters up to about 10 kVA. This
solution makes it possible to decrease the weight of the power
circuit since transistors do not require auxiliary blocking
circuits. By using a bridge connection (see Fig. 5) controlled
in accordance with the principle of pulsewidth modulation
(PWM) for the adjustment of the output voltage, one can
gainfully replace the ferroresonant regulator by a filter.
The relative simplicity of the latter becomes the more
Fig. 4. 7.5-kVA center-tap single-phase inverter. pronounced as the compensation of the harmonics by PWM
becomes more elaborate.
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284 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-l 3, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
Tr2
({2i- 1} + k sin x2i)
I
x2i -
I * 12
600 Hlz
xT
Chopper Inve rter x2i -I=- Q(2i -1I}-k sin x2i -1)sin x2i -1,
(a) 12
where k is the ratio of the crest value of the sawtooth wave
assumed equal to one and the crest value of the sine wave
y =
k * sinx.
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 285
An aIFr- = 1
nE (cos nf X2i - 1- COS n *x2i)
i
0,8
0,7 n = 1
0,6
0,5
0.4
0.3
n = 11
0,2
0,1
-.. %4i0...
;. -;s ga.K ;:E: :. ~+
with respect to the other, the sum of the voltages of the two (a)
half-converters provides a rectangular wave with no flat
portion. The circuit of this type of inverter is shown in Fig. 9.
By shifting the phase control of Th12 and Th22 with respect
to that of Th, and Th2 one can adjust at will the rms value
of the fundamental voltage, which is the only one of interest,
since the filter provided after the converter eliminates all
harmonics.
Let us recall that (b)
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286 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-13, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
I.
n _
100
60 {
50
40
30
10
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Fig. 10. Amplitude of sine wave components reduced to fundamental component f(a).
The filter consists of a) a series resonant element L3-C3 distribution line. The distortion rate can be 5 percent or less
tuned to the frequency of the fundamental wave, so as to for all conditions of load and of input voltage if the filter is
provide an unrestrained path to the fundamental current wave, correctly designed. Current limitation can be adjusted in such
i.e., with low voltage drop and phase shift, while at the same a manner that the inverter will take overloads (starting of a
time presenting high impedance to the harmonic currents; b) a motor). This solution is relatively economical up to 70 kVA.
matching and isolation transformer TR; and c) a parallel The efficiency is better than 80 percent.
element L4-C4 that completes filtering. A current limiting Drawbacks: The filter is large in size since it must
feature can be added at the level of the filter by placing it in eliminate harmonics of orders 3, 5, etc., which exist in a
parallel with C3. The principle of the latter is to detune the rectangular wave (see Fig. 10). The size of the filter affects the
series element of the filter so as to increase its impedance. transient performances; the voltage drop or overshoot can
Characteristics: With the present thyristors, the stand- reach 40 percent in the most unfavorable cases during
ardized elementary ratings of single-phase bridges vary between switching in or out of the load. For AU + 10 percent, - 8
10 and 100 kVA. For static UPS's ofhigherrating, several percent AP is to the order of 30 percent. In the case of certain
inverters mounted in parallel are used. The supply voltage can types of loads, such as motors and ferroresonant regulators,
be selected between 200 and 500 V, depending upon the the transient impedance of the filter makes it necessary to
required rating. The output voltage is, in general, 220 V limit power steps to a fraction of the rated power to avoid
regulated within ±1 percent: the THD is less than 3 percent, instabilities of the output voltage. The filter negatively affects
and the frequency is guaranteed within ±0.5 percent. The the economics, the weight, and the outline dimensions.
power factor of the load can vary between 0.5 and 0.9. The 2) Inverters with Pulsewidth Modulation: By using the
efficiency is on the order of 80 percent. principle described in Section III-A2 and by replacing transistors
Advantages: The electronic control provides great with thyristors, one can make single-phase inverters having
stability to the output voltage with respect to the variations of outputs in the range of 10 to 60 kVA. We have seen that
the battery and of the load, including variations of the power modulation of the pulsewidth implies that the inverter operates
factor. The output voltage of the inverter can be adjusted in at a frequency above base frequency. The frequency of
the field so as to compensate the possible voltage drops in the commutation of the thyristors is equal to fm, where m is the
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 287
E/2
E/2
(a)
u C
_N_--
10
0 --
1 3 tt
i4
(c)
Fig. 11. (a) Schematic diagram of half-bridge auxiliary thyristor type.
(b) Operation. (c) Commutation.
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288 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-1 3, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
obtain a THD <5 percent (see Figs. 15(c) and 16) and a
Inv
_ t VI AU< 10 percent for a z.1P close to 45 percent.
°° /U
a l
4) PWM Inverter: By combining three single-phase PWM
circuits, see Section III-B2, one can obtain a three-phase circuit.
However, today, this solution is of no interest by comparison
Imv. 2_I with the three-phase zig-zag solution. The possible gain on
v1
transient performances is small in comparison with the
V2
increase of the number of power components (commutation
Inv. 3 ' v3 losses, smaller input-voltage/output-voltage ratio) and of
120°' V V3 control circuits required by this type of inverter.
(a) E. Inverters Rated Above 100 kVA
For this range, the solutions 1), 2), and 3) of Section 1II-D
()2 can be extrapolated. However, this leads to a prohibitive
filter size, and it becomes preferable to use inverters having
polygonal or antiharmonic circuits. We feel that two solutions
(1,) are of interest.
1) Inverters with Multiple Phase-Shifted Bridges: The
association of several single-phase bridges with phase-shifted
FT
v IL_
rjPeC
~V-: controls and with properly added output voltages provides a
resultant voltage with a so-called "stepped" wave which
closely approximates a sine wave.
The selection of the number of bridges n can be determined,
either from the rating required by the user (rating p of one
elementary bridge being given, the available output is P=p n),
or it can be determined from the desired rate of distortion.
To describe the principle of these inverters, we shall consider
the example of a three-phase inverter comprising six elementary
bridges (see Fig. 17). We could just as well have selected a
different number of bridges (4, 8, 9, 12, etc.,) but we shall see
that six is a good choice with regard to the above-mentioned
criteria. The elementary converters are single-phase bridges
such as those described in Section III-B. The control circuits of
\
the six bridges are shifted, one with respect to the other, by 30
VlN (Ul, VIN) 30o
= V2 + vl
electric degrees (ir/6), as shown in Fig. 17. Each bridge has
=
V2N = V3 -v, V3N1 (U2. V2N) = 90' an output transformer with multiple secondaries, coupled
v3M --V2 - V3
Wt3, V3N) = 150° according to an original method which we shall describe later.
(c) The quality of the output wave depends essentially upon two
Fig. 15. Three-phase zig-zag circuit. (a) Schematic diagram. (b) Vector conditions. One is a phase relationship condition according to
diagram. (c) Output voltage upstream and downstream of filter. which each bridge must be shifted by a phase angle of 30 ± 1
with respect to the preceding one. The other is a condition
loads since each phase has its own phase and amplitude for the amplitude of the elementary voltages according to
regulator. However, transient conditions are also affected by which their addition must neutralize the harmonics of lower
the impedance of the series filter. The oscillograms of Fig. 14 order of the output voltage. The latter consideration raises
show the transient behavior of this type of inverter (for AU + the problem of selection of the transformation ratios of the
10 percent, 8 percent AP 6 30 percent). Similar to the
- various coupling transformers. One can demonstrate by
single-phase bridge or to Scott connected inverters, this calculation that these ratios must be
solution makes the intrinsic output current limitation possible
and, consequently, can take short circuits on the load. The 1, 1/V3, 2/VT.
harmonic analysis is the same as in Fig. 10, except that,
obviously, there is no harmonic 3 present. We shall justify these numbers by a simpler method and by
3) Zig-Zag Connection: This connection consists of three referring to Fig. 18.
single-phase bridges shifted, one with respect to the other, by If we assume that each bridge is fired at an angle ae close
600 and coupled together by three transformers according to to 900, then for bridge 1, taken as an example, the output
Fig. 15. Voltages are the result of composition of two single- voltage will be as shown on Fig. 18(a). Now let us plot the
phase voltages shifted by 600, according to the diagram. The voltages of each bridge superimposed upon the sine wave
phase-to-neutral and phase-to-phase voltages have, by design, (Fig. 18(b)). We can see that the points of intersection on
no third harmonics. Thus a three-element filter can be used to the sine wave determine the optimal transformation ratios
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 289
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90a
Fig. 16. Amplitude of sine wave components reduced to fundamental component 6 (a).
3Q0~ ~ ~~0
600 600
1201 1200
150 1 1500
(a) (b)
Fig. 17. Principle of inverter with six phase-shifted bridges. (a) Schematic diagram. (b) Simple and resultant voltages.
2U%
U6 '- 73-
us. -uo U1 U0
U4
U3 0
a 90 a l 1 I
(a) (b)
Fig. 18. (a) Output voltage of bridge (on the primary side) in dotted line for a = 00, in solid line for a = 900, secondary
voltage of bridge U1 UO = kE. (b) Determination of transformation ratios relative to various transformers.
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290 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-1 3 NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
The participation of the bridges in the three phases is the
s uQ
,,3 following:
U4= °
_ / 22\
,r 0-- v- *
-
* cos a * sin o tt
( + + X)
- --t g wI
<n st
k
24UO
cc 22.5 C
-4U0 *cos a sin cot
- - ,_ _L _
e '
and
24UO co
VrMs --
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 291
3 2
Harmonics as a %
of the fundamental
Lo.
'/
.1 ,\N /
20o
*"
>1/
3o0
"\
40'
'\/
50
\!
'7
60 70y
IV
X,'Xj
Bc,
N.-I
90.
a
-
one half
of the zero
voltage portion
Fig. 21. Harmonic analysis of six bridges shifted by 300 as function angle a.
Advantages: The grouping of several bridges, character- in particular, of those in which a wye connected transformer
istic of this circuit, makes it possible to achieve large ratings is associated in series with a delta connected transformer:
without paralleling. The coupling of elementary transformers under these conditions harmonic currents are absorbed by the
neutralizes harmonics up to the order 2n ± 1, resulting in a windings and by the iron cores, thus increasing the losses
very noticeable decrease of filter size. somewhat.
The smaller filter size, by comparison with more conven- This inverter has intrinsic redundancy. Indeed, the loss of
tional three-phase inverters, improves the transient conditions, one elementary bridge does not cause failure of the complete
the behavior of the inverter with nonlinear loads, and the inverter but simply a reduction of the output equal to P/n,
efflciency. The oscillograms of Fig. 22 show the behavior an unbalance of the output voltages, and an increase of the
of these inverters under transient conditions. They can be THD. Fig. 23 -shows the output voltages during failure of an
compared with those of Fig. 14. The harmonic neutralization elementary converter. This natural redundancy can be used, in
obtained with this circuit considerably limits the volume of spite of the narrow tolerances with regard to amplitude and
the filter reduced to L series elements (which can be part of phase of the output voltage, during the transfer time to
the coupling transformer) +LC parallel elements. One should another source of supply.
add that this circuit achieves cancellation of harmonics by Drawbacks: To the large number of advantages one
opposition of harmonic voltages of the same order but not by can oppose the relative complexity due to the number of
providing short-circuit paths, as is the case of other inverters, elementary converters and to the associated control and,
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292 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-13, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
0° 1200 2400
E
I
(a)
(a)
E
(b)
(b) VAN
Fig. 22. Output voltage transient conditions of type 6035 inverter
E1 n
2E
3U_
with six phase shifted bridges, P = 200 kVA. (a) AP = 0 to 25 per- 3
cent of Pn. (b) AP = 0 toPnJ.
LI LULiH
(c)
MMMMOM
Fig. 25. Three-phase PWM inverter. (a) Schematic diagram. (b) VAB
voltage. (c) VAX voltage.
(b) with n = 2p + 1.
The three elementary circuits are phase-shifted by 27r/3
,2a. (see Fig. 25). The phase-to-phase voltage can be expressed
5/2~ by
-
E/i I Il VAB =-2 (I 2{-11} sin noe
IT/2 T/2 2s n={ cn
(C)
Fig. 24. Pulsewidth modulation inverter. (a) Basic schematic diagram.
(b) Principle of index three PWM. (c) VAO voltage.
* 2 sir cos n7r6 )
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 293
Inv. 1 nv. 2
leads to commutation frequencies above 1000 Hz, causing
considerable losses. Hence, it is preferable to use asymmetrical
l O' 300
control (rectangular wave without flat portion) and a four-
element filter, which is obviously smaller than in the case of
50 Hz or 60 Hz. Transistors are still the best solution for
k/3 k
small ratings, and polygonal connections for large ratings.
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294 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-13, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
Comnoonent s
elia-
i 1ity
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CHAUPRADE: INVERTERS FOR POWER SUPPLIES 295
Network
g Charger
,1
kiMWf
(b)
flIHth
Fig. 34. 350-kVA UPS with parallel redundancy. (a) Schematic dia-
gram of four 120-kVA inverters in parallel (3 + I redundancy). (b)
Phase to phase voltage on critical bus bars during inverter fault.
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296 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTIRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-1 3, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977
TABLE I
Transient Conditions
U/U = + 10% -i8%
T
kVA Rating Single Phase Three Phase Natural
Short
1 to 0 to 0 to P/P P/P A P/P Circuit
Inverter Type 10 t 10 to 10 to 300 to
to 00 to300 t
|100 t 300 to < 30% < 45% < 60% Strength
Transient Technology X X
Thyristor Technology 4 4- + 4 4
Parallel Redundancy V
The fact of having one surplus unit implies a certain number of parallel redundancy, the question of optimum selection of
assumptions: a) the failure of a unit should not cause failures the per unit rating arises insofar as alternate solutions are
on other units; b) the total load should not exceed the total possible.
capacity with one unit less; c) the redundancy must be The formula that makes it possible to estimate the overall
homogeneous, equal common points must be avoided (single increase of the average interval between failures, is the
pilot oscillator for example); d) the repair time (MTTR) of the following
unit that failed must be compatible with the MTBF per unit (a
ratio of 1 to 50 or, of at least 1 to 100). To make inverters mo(p/X + 2n - 1)
operate well in parallel it is necessary to balance properly the M1 --
n(n-1)
real and the reactive power, i.e., each inverter circuit must
have the same transmittance. where
The two most difficult conditions to achieve are the
redundancy at the level of the pilot oscillators and their mO MTBF per unit,
synchronization, and the isolation of the faulty unit. At the ml resultant MTBF,
level of the pilot oscillators, two solutions are possible: a) a 1/X ino, MTBF,
redundant master oscillator and n slave oscillators; the master I/n MTTR,
oscillator should consist of at least three elementary oscillators n total number of installed units.
undergoing continuous auctioneering or b) no master oscillator;
the n oscillators are coupled through an impedance so that if One can see that if n is small by comparison with M/X, and if
one of them fails, there is no interaction with the others. p1/ is larger than 100, then the gain (ml/mo) can be very
At the power level, protective measures will make it large. The per-unit rating is obviously >P/(n - 1), P being
possible to isolate the faulty unit without exceeding the the total required rating. Normally the price increases when
tolerances of the critical bus bar, i.e., of the load. The oscillo- n increases even if standardized subassemblies are used.
gram of Fig. 34 shows the disturbance recorded on a static In general, imperatives with regard to transient conditions
UPS of 350 kVA, consisting of four inverters of 120 kVA, restrict the selection of n. The transition from P/n to P/(n -1)
during fault on one of them. The isolation of the faulty unit causes an output change, which should not produce a voltage
can be achieved by fast-acting fuses, by a high-speed breaker, change in excess of the established limit. Usually, the limit is
or by a static contactor. n > 3. Moreover, if the number of units in parallel increases,
We have described only the inverter redundancy, but one certain load balancing problems become more difficult. In
may also be required to provide redundancy of the rectifier- practice, one does not exceed n = 6, usually the optimal values
battery charger. During the study of an installation with are n = 4 or n = 5.
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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRY APPLICATIONS, VOL. IA-I 3, NO. 4, JULY/AUGUST 1977 297
As an example, with p/A = 500 (MTBF = 10 000, MTTR = with polygonal circuits, and the pulsewidth modulation can
20) we have provide notable advantages in certain cases. Table I is a concise
summary of the solutions described in the text, depicting only
ml = 10 000 (500 + 7)/4 X 3 = 420 000 h, for n = 4, the present situation. Inverters are bound to progress in many
fields, and they will evolve according to the needs and, also, to
i.e., a residual fault rate (RFR) = 10 000/420 000 = 2.4 the considerable development in the field of semiconductors.
percent/yr, At the present time, in the domain of power semiconductors,
the greatest development efforts are directed toward high-
ml'= 10 000 (500 + 9)/5 X 4 = 250 000 speed devices: they are directed mainly toward the reduction
(RFR = 4 percent), for n = 5, of commutation time and toward the improvement of transient
characteristics (di/dt, dv/dt). These characteristics are essential
ml r = 10 000 (500 + 11)/6 X 5 = 170 000 for forced-commutation converters such as UPS inverters.
(RFR = 5.9 percent) for n = 6.
It should be noted that the ratio ,/)\ decreases relatively rapidly Robert Chauprade was born in Perigord,
when the complexity and the number of components increase. France, in August 1935. He received the Ph.D.
Thus one should seek the best compromise between the excess degree in electronic physics from the University
of installed rating (excess units) and the rate of availability of 2 of Toulouse, Toulouse, France.
Since 1959, he has been a Member of the Re-
the installation. search and Development staff of the Jeumont-
i Schneider Company ahd has contributed to the
R. development of thyristor converters of all
CONCLUSIONS types. He is author of many technical papers
and his research work has been covered by
In making the summary, we can state that for small ratings several patents: Dr. Chauprade is presently
the future is with transistors, for medium and large ratings Chief Engineer at the Industrial Systems Engineering Division of
Jeumont-Schneider at Champagne-sur-Seine, France, where he is head
thyristors are best, the best results are obtained with inverters of the Power Electronics Department.
Abstract-Corrosion that occurs in the presence of dissimilar metals (NEC) recommends that these extensive contact areas of pipes
in the same electrolyte, or same metal in different electrolytes, or in be used for grounding purposes. While this type of grounding
different concentrations of the same electrolyte, has caused numerous
problems in operating electric systems. This corrosion is the result of is sufficient for homes and lower voltage distribution systems,
a potential difference existing between two surfaces which forces an it is inadequate for large cement plants. The required ground-
electric current to flow. This effect is often ignored or overlooked in ing is accomplished by means of man-made grounds, and the
electrical grounding design, with the premise that electrical system pro- material almost invariably used for this application is copper.
tection will be hampered by the incorporation of corrosion protection. Also, for safety purposes, all metallic structures within a plant
By careful design, however, both sets of requirements can be met. Some
of the principles that determine corrosion and how these conditions are tied down to this grounding network. In most cases, these
exist in underground systems of cement plants are reviewed. The structures include all underground pipelines, building steel,
principles of grounding design are analyzed and suggestions to improve buried tanks, etc. Because of the nobility of copper, this
the design to minimize corrosion are discussed. grounding causes the development of corrosion, and in due
course, underground structures made of steel or iron connected
INTRODUCTION to copper lose their integrity. This paper examines this pheno-
menon and recommends methods to minimize corrosion ef-
IN CEMENT PLANTS there are extensive underground pipe fects.
installations serving a number of functions, including distri- This paper will also discuss the fundamentals of corrosion
bution of water, gas, fuel, etc. The National Electrical Code from basic principles and attempt to portray the phenomenon
as it relates to grounding schemes. After analyzing the
Paper 10-75-63, approved by the Cement Industry Committee of methods of detecting the presence of corrosion, the paper
the IEEE Industry Applications Society for presentation at the 1975 describes detailed procedures for designing a gtounding system
IEEE Cement Industry Technical Conference, Montreal, PQ, Canada,
May 5-8. Manuscript released for publication June 29, 1976. for a cement plant. The paper concludes with recommenda-
The authors are witlh Kaiser Engineers, Inc., Oakland, CA 94666. tions for a safe grounding design for cement plants.
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