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A New Passive 28-Step Current Shaper for Three-Phase Rectification

Chern-Lin Chen, Senior Member, IEEE, and Guo-Kiang Horng
AbstractA new passive 28-step current shaper for three-phase rectification is proposed in this paper. With a phase-shifting transformer on the ac side and six interphase transformers on the dc side, per-phase input current can be shaped into a 28-step sinusoidal waveform. The total harmonic distortion of ac input currents obtained is 6.54%, lower than one-half of that in a conventional 12-pulse converter. The transformer voltampere rating is also lowered down to one-fifth of that in a 12-pulse converter. A 2-kW experiment is performed to verify the proposed circuit. Index TermsInterphase transformer, phase-shifting transformer, three-phase rectification, 28-step current shaper.

The shaper is composed of a phase-shifting transformer on the ac side of diode rectifiers and six interphase transformers on the dc side. By using four specially tapped interphase transformers, the problem of volt-seconds imbalance from different rectified voltages is solved, and input current steps can be thus increased up to 28 with the total harmonic distortion (THD) of only 6.54%. In addition, circuit size and weight are reduced because of low voltampere ratings of the transformers used. Basic operating principles and waveform analysis are discussed in the following sections. 2-kW experimental results are also provided. II. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROPOSED CIRCUIT Fig. 1 shows the proposed circuit diagram. It is divided into three parts: the phase-shifting transformer, three diode rectifiers, and six interphase transformers. A. Phase-Shifting Transformer The phase-shifting transformer produces additional two sets of three-phase voltage sources from the original three-phase input. First, a three-phase transformer is connected in delta on the primary side with three-phase input voltages and three 90 phase-shifted voltages are induced on the secondary side. The three input lines are then connected to secondary windings at midpoints. Referring to the phasor diagram is expected to have a phase in Fig. 2, if a voltage source , then difference with (1) where (2) is positive when leads in phase. In this way, three ), sets of three-phase voltage sources are obtained: ( ), and ( ), where (

I. INTRODUCTION N ORDER to solve the problem of large current harmonics in three-phase rectification systems, many power-factor-correction (PFC) approaches have been proposed to shape ac input current waveforms in phase with sinusoidal input voltages. Generally, PFC techniques are classified into two categories: active type and passive type. An active three-phase PFC circuit, such as a boost-type circuit [1], mainly consists of front-end inductors and power semiconductor switches. Due to the fast switching operations of power devices, the inductors are charged and discharged at switching frequency so that ac input currents can be shaped into line-frequency sinusoidal waveforms. Although the corrected power factor is up to 0.99 or higher, these kinds of techniques are not suitable for high-power applications. As to passive PFC circuits, a conventional 12-pulse converter [2], in which two six-pulse rectifiers each behind a wye/wye and a wye/delta isolation transformer are connected through an interphase transformer to ensure independent operations, is often used to provide 12-step input current waveforms. To further increase current steps with lower harmonics, and to reduce the heavy weight and big size of the isolation transformer in a conventional 12-pulse converter, several approaches have been proposed. For example, a phase-shifting transformer in [3] replaces the wye/wye and wye/delta isolation transformers to reduce voltampere rating, but without isolation. In [4], tapped interphase transformers are introduced to produce 18-step ac input currents, and, when additional zero-sequence blocking transformers (ZSBTs) are added [5], 24-step ac input currents are obtained as a result. Based on similar concepts, a new passive input current shaper for three-phase rectification is presented in this paper.
Manuscript received September 1, 1998; revised July 11, 2000. Abstract published on the Internet September 6, 2000. The authors are with the Power Electronics Laboratory, Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei 10764, Taiwan, R.O.C. (e-mail: clchen@cc.ee.ntu.edu.tw). Publisher Item Identifier S 0278-0046(00)10254-0. 20780046/00$10.00 2000 IEEE

leads lags

by by

(3) (4) (5)

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Fig. 1. Circuit diagram.

Fig. 2. Phasor diagram.

The inverse transformer winding ratio is (6)

B. Three Diode Rectifiers Each diode rectifier consists of six diodes connected in bridge, being able to rectify one set of three-phase voltages to a six-pulse dc voltage. The rectified voltages relative to the neutral point then become input voltages of the interphase transformers following behind. C. Six Interphase Transformers Interphase transformers were used to ensure independent operations of two rectifier circuits originally. A tapped interphase transformer with diodes was then designed to change the ratio of its input currents according to input voltages and

Fig. 3.

Interphase transformers.

tapping ratios. In this current shaper, two conventional interphase transformers and four specially tapped ones are employed to achieve 28-step operation. is an interphase transformer with As shown in Fig. 3(i), . Tap is the first input terminal. Tap is four taps the output terminal. Taps and are connected to the second input through diodes. Its input voltages, and , are rectified

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Fig. 4.

Illustrating waveforms.

outputs of and relative to neutral point , respectively. By using the computer-aided mathematical tool MATLAB, waveforms of voltages and currents in the circuits are drawn in Figs. 4 and 5 for illustration. From Fig. 4(i), because of unequal average values of and , the unbalanced would result in saturation of . To alvolt-seconds of leviate this problem, point is tapped at such a position that the and segment is 2.665, which is winding ratio of segment

exactly the ratio of the area of above the time axis to that below the axis, as shown in Fig. 4(ii). Two diodes are now , the dark diode conconnected to tap , so that when ducts current, and (7) Similarly, when , the white diode conducts and (8)

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Fig. 5. Composition of i .

In this way, the volt-seconds can be balanced and the ratio of input currents can be adjusted by changing tapping ratio . are shown in Fig. 4(iii). Waveforms of and A conventional interphase transformer , shown in and dc load. forces Fig. 3(ii), is inserted between its input terminals each to share half the output current to ensure independent operations of input circuits. The voltage , and are shown in waveforms on input terminals of on . Fig. 4(v). Fig. 4(vi) shows voltage difference Note that there is no saturation problem. With these two kinds of interphase transformers, the dc output voltages relative to the neutral point are regulated as Fig. 4(vii) is shown shows, ideally, and the output voltage difference in Fig. 4(viii). III. ANALYSIS
OF

where (10) (11) are transformer primary-side currents. Also refer to Fig. 5(i)(iii). Each of six diodes in a diode bridge conducts current 120 per cycle, which results in the contributing to one-third positive and negative half wave of leads by and of . If further lags by , then conduction peleads by and conduction period of lags riod of by . Thus, from (6), the inverse winding ratio of the phase, and shifting transformer determines starting angles of , while, from (7) and (8), the tapping ratio of determines are adjusted properly, a 28-step their waveforms. If and input current is obtained, as shown in Fig. 5(vi). A threedimensional (3-D) plot of the THD of in Fig. 5(vi) is shown in . To minimize the THD of ac input Fig. 6 as a function of currents, is chosen 23 . The inverse transformer winding ratio is then (12)

AC INPUT CURRENTS OUTPUT VOLTAGE

AND

DC

A. Synthesis of AC Input Current Waveforms Referring to Fig. 1, the input current per phase is split into five branch currents. For phase a, (9)

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TABLE I COMPARISON OF RECTIFIERS

Fig. 6. Optimization for THD reduction.

Thus, the average dc output voltage is

Fig. 7. Spectrum diagram.

and the tapping ratio of

is (13)

The resulting THD is 6.54%. The spectrum of in Fig. 5(vi) is also plotted in Fig. 7, from which it is found that only harmonics exist and the largest harmonic is less than 3%. B. Analysis of DC Output Voltage are shown in Fig. 4(i). The input voltage waveforms of Their Fourier series representations [3] are

(18) is the time ratio when is the time ratio when with output voltage ripple (19) and represent the maximum and minwhere , respectively, and the ripple factor is imum values of (20)

(14)

(15) with dc components C. Calculating Voltampere Ratings of the Phase-Shifting Transformer and Interphase Transformers The rms value of the voltage on each primary winding of the phase-shifting transformer is (16) (17) (21)

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Fig. 8. Experimental results.

and the rms value of the small current on the winding is, from Fig. 5(iv), is (22) On the secondary side, the rms value of the voltage on each winding is, from (12), (23) and the rms value of the current on the winding is, from Fig. 5(i), (24) Therefore, from (21)(24), the average voltampere product of the three-phase phase-shifting transformer is

To calculate the voltampere rating of interphase transformer , from Fig. 4(i) and (ii), the equivalent rms voltage [2] on

(26) and the rms value of the current flowing through Fig. 4(iii), is, from (27) As a result, the voltampere rating of is obtained by (28) In the same way, to calculate the voltampere rating of

(25)

(29)

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(30) (31)

IV. COMPARISON WITH CONVENTIONAL PASSIVE THREE-PHASE RECTIFIERS Table I compares four kinds of three-phase rectifiers [2][5] with the proposed current shaper. The step number of ac input currents is increased up to 28 with the THD down to 6.54%, which is much lower than that in a conventional 12-pulse rectifier. Although more interphase transformers are required than in other circuits, their voltampere ratings are smallonly a few tens of voltamperes for a 10-kW systembut they do play important parts in current shaping.

Fig. 9.

Interphase transformer with magnetizing inductance.

APPENDIX The operating principle of the interphase transformer is similar to an autotransformer. Due to the rectified voltages of suffers from volt-secunequal average values applied on it, from saturation, the key is to onds unbalance. To prevent keep balancde the volt-seconds per turn on the winding. Two diodes are then connected at taps and . Referring to Figs. 3(i) and 4(ii), the dark diode conducts in the positive half cycle of , while the white one conducts in the negative half cycle. If the turn ratio of segment ad to ac is exactly the ratio of the above the time axis to that below the axis, the area of volt-seconds per turn on the winding can be balanced. Also, the magnetomotive force (MMF) on the winding of must be kept zero ideally. Thus, when , the total MMF is on (A1) and are turn numbers of segment where respectively. Then, and ,

V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS A laboratory experiment with the proposed current shaper is performed. A 2-kW resistive load is placed on the dc side. The rms value of ac input line-to-neutral voltages is 164 V. Average dc output voltage is about 400 V. Fig. 8(i) and (ii) shows the multistep waveforms of ac input currents. Fig. 8(iii) is the transformer primary-side current . Fig. 8(iv) and (v) illustrates the current transitions of and in response to the voltage across . Note that the ratio of and changes when the reverses. The dc output voltage ripple is also polarity of shown in Fig. 8(vi) with magnitude less than 5 V.

(A2) VI. CONCLUSIONS A new passive 28-step current shaper for three-phase rectification has been proposed in this paper. With a phase-shifting transformer on the ac side and six interphase transformers on the dc side, the ac input current per phase can be shaped into a 28-step sinusoidal waveform. Because of the multistep current characteristic, harmonics are reduced and power factor is improved. Also, the low transformer voltampere ratings result in a circuit of lower cost, lighter weight, and smaller size compared to the conventional 12-pulse rectifier. On the other hand, 28-step operation depends on appropriate current sharing through interphase transformers among three diode rectifiers. A certain degree of current unbalance on the interphase transformers is inevitable and may cause large exciting current, which, in turn, may corrupt proper circuit function. The situation can be alleviated by inserting an air gap into each interphase transformer or by using interphase transformers of larger voltampere ratings [2]. In addition, three-phase input voltage distortion may somewhat disturb the operation. Those situations diverge into further studies for practical applications. can be adjusted by In other words, input current ratio of changing tapping ratio . In practice, the effect of magnetizing inductance of a real transformer should be taken into account. A more realistic with magnetizing inductance and is model of shown in Fig. 9. The modified input currents are given as (A3) (A4) where represents magnetizing current. When , (A5) because is always zero. When , (A6) Fig. 8(iv) explains this phenomenon of the waveform.

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REFERENCES
[1] N. Mohan, T. M. Undeland, and W. P. Robbins, Power ElectronicsConverters, Applications, and Design, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley, 1995. [2] J. Schaefer, Rectifier Circuits: Theory and Design. New York: Wiley, 1965. [3] S. Choi, P. N. Enjeti, and I. J. Pitel, Polyphase transformer arrangements with reduced VA capacities for harmonic current reduction in rectifier-type utility interface, IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 11, pp. 680690, Sept. 1996. [4] K. Oguchi and T. Yamada, Novel 18-step diode rectifier circuit with nonisolated phase shifting transformers, Proc. IEEElect. Power Applicat., vol. 144, no. 1, pp. 15, Jan. 1997. [5] S. Choi, B. S. Lee, and P. N. Enjeti, New 24-pulse diode rectifier systems for utility interface of high-power ac motor drives, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 33, pp. 531541, Mar./Apr. 1997. [6] G. Seguier, Power Electronic Converters AC/DC Conversion. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. [7] D. A. Paice, Power Electronic Converter Harmonics: Multipulse Methods. Piscataway, NJ: IEEE Press, 1995. [8] J. F. Baird and J. Arrilaga, Harmonic reduction in d.c.-ripple reinjection, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., pt. C, vol. 127, pp. 294303, <AUTHOR: MONTH?> 1980. [9] J. Arrillaga and M. E. Villablanca, Pulse doubling in parallel convertor configurations with interphase transformers, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., pt. B, vol. 138, pp. 1520, <AUTHOR: MONTH?> 1991. [10] M. E. Villablanca and J. Arrillaga, Pulse multiplication in parallel convertors by mutitap control of interphase transformer, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng., pt. B, vol. 139, pp. 1520, <AUTHOR: MONTH?> 1992. [11] S. Miyairi, S. Iida, K. Nakata, and S. Masukawa, New method for reducing harmonics involved in input and output of rectifier with interphase transform, IEEE Trans. Ind. Applicat., vol. 22, pp. 790797, Sept./Oct. 1986.

Chern-Lin Chen (S86M90SM99) was born in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C., in 1962. He received the B.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C., in 1984 and 1987, respectively. Since 1987, he has been with the Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, where he is currently a Professor. His current research interests lie in the areas of analysis, design, and application of power electronics converters and control circuitry for plasma display panels.

Guo-Kiang Horng was born in Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C., in 1973. He received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in 1995 and 1997, respectively, from the Department of Electrical Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C., where he is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree. His current research interests include passive and active three-phase power-factor-correction techniques.