4th Power Electronics, Drive Systems & Technologies Conference (PEDSTC2013), Feb l3-14, 2013, Tehran, Iran

Current Harmonics Reduction of Non-Linear Load

by using Active Power Filter Based on Improved
Sliding Mode Control

Somayeh Yarahmadi Gholamreza Arab Markade lafar SoItani

Shahrekord University Shahrekord University Khomeinishahr Azad University
Shahrekord, Iran Shahrekord. Iran Isfahan, Iran
[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

Abstract- Nowadays due to remarkable development of and volume [4]. The active filter usages are: compensator of
power electronic devices the use of nonlinear loads in power harmonic currents (main goal) [5], compensating reactive
systems has significant growth. These loads produce harmonics in power relocation [5], source voltage harmonics [6], load
network because of their nonlinear nature. For decreasing balance in unbalanced 3-phase systems [7], and removing dc
harmonic level in the grid, active filter is a desirable device. This current offset [8]. The first 3 goals indicate unity power factor
paper proposes an improved sliding mode control strategy for from the source side [9].

parallel active filter which is based on voltage source inverter. Control techniques of active filters are divided to open-loop

This method uses the signs of sliding surface and current to

and closed-loop. Closed-loop control techniques are more
accurate and among them we can mention constant inductor
control the filter. The target of this strategy is improving the
current techniques, constant capacitor voltage techniques,
behavior of source's current when it is crossing from zero. The
linear voltage control techniques, and newest methods like
proposed active filter is designed and simulated by
adaptive, predictive and sliding mode control [10].
MATLAB/Simulink and its performance is studied for a sample
Sliding mode control is a commonly used method for active
load. Simulation results show the prominent of proposed control
filter because it is a natural way to control time-varying
strategy than the sliding mode control method which is based on
topologies [11]. Also sliding mode control has other qualities
the signs of sliding surface and voltage.
like robustness to system parameter variation, fast response,
and simple implementation [11-15]. The performance of
Index Terms-Non-Linear Load, Active Filter, Sliding Mode
sliding mode control depends on the implemented sliding
control, Current Harmonics.
surface. In [16] and [17], the sliding surface is obtained by
equaling the line current error with zero but [10] is proposed a
I. INTRODUCTION sliding surface containing the line current error and the integral
The increasing use of nonlinear loads in industry needs of this error, pondered by a sliding coefficient. In [4], sliding
reactive power and hannonics power. Therefore power losses mode control method is used for control of active filter which
include these two types [1]. The main resources, that produce is YSI full-bridge inverter. Two switches of inverter are
hannonics in network, are rectifiers, arc lamps, inductive stove, controlled based on sliding mode sign and the other switches
and etc. Current harmonics which are produced by nonlinear are tuned based on voltage sign. This pattern caused increasing
loads change to voltage hannonics while crossing grid of current THO (Total Hannonic Distortion) and misshaping of
impedance. These voltage and current harmonics in network current while crossing zero. In [10] the same switching pattern
not only have economic drawback but also damage devices and is used for active filter and a hysteresis function is used to
disturb their performance. Up to now different compensators control voltage around the zero. This pattern caused current
have been proposed in order to reduce the influence of improving while crossing zero. In this paper a new switching
nonlinear loads in power electronic systems (non-sinusoidal pattern is used which is based on sliding function and source

voltage, harmonic currents and unbalanced condition) [2]. current signs. This method improves source current while

Conventionally, passive L-C filters were used to reduce crossing zero without care to voltage source values.

harmonics and capacitors were employed to improve the power

II. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION
factor of the ac loads. Advantages of passive filters are easy
maintenance, less expensive, and simplicity [3]. But these
filters has many disadvantages such as fixed compensation A. Activefilter

characteristics, tuning problems, series and parallel resonance, Fig.l shows the active filter which is based on full-bridge
hannonic amplification, possible overload and large size [3]. inverter. This inverter is paralleled with a load by a series
Active filters have a better perfonnance than passive filters. inductor. Active filter is responsible for providing hannonics
Also they have further regulation capability and less weight and reactive current of load. If it does well source current is

978-1-4673-4484-5/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 524

sinusoidal and in phase with source voltage. In VSI inverter Because is =iF + iL and based on (4), reference fi Iter
one of each branch's switches should always be on. For current is defined as (5).
example if SI is on, S2 should be off, and S3, or S4 is on
(5)
too.
The circuit switches are unipolar in voltage and If sliding surface is obtained by putting (4) equal zero,

bidirectional in current. Choosing the state variables the system will have steady state error. Sliding mode control can
remove steady state error and parameter variation error because
voltage across C, Vc and the inductor current iF, the state
it uses integral of error. Therefore for reducing steady state
space equations of the active filter can be expressed as:
error sliding surface is defined as (6).
diF
L-=vS-vF
dt
(1) S =x+ } (6)

dVc For ensuring of good performance of sliding state, slide

C =i c (2)
dt condition lim SS < 0 Should be provided. This means:
s--->o

B. Nonlinear Load and (7)

Because full-bridge rectifier is one of the most efficient
systems which is used in supply resources, frequency/voltage B. Switching Pattern
resources, and ..., nonlinear, load is an uncontrolled full-bridge Switching pattern in [4] is expressed as: SI and S2 are
rectifier. Fig.2 shows this nonlinear load. As can be seen
switched based on source current error, S3 and S4 based on
nonlinear load is a rectifier with resistor �) and capacitor Co
source voltage sign. In [10], a new switching pattern is
which is serried with Rs .
presented by using reference switching pattern in [4] and
III. SLIDING MODE CONTROL considering a symmetrical threshold voltage ±Vp and defming

A. Sliding Surface a symmetrical interval near the zero-passing of vs. Using this

The aim of using active filter is to reach a sinusoidal source switching pattern caused reducing current harmonics and
current which is in phase with source voltage. Therefore improving current around zero more than previous ones. In this
desirable source current can be expressed as (3): pattern S3 and S4 during 1 Vs I� Vp are switched like SI and
*
is =avs (3) S2 by defining width band Vp around voltage source zero.

Where a is a scaling time-varying factor based on the This switching pattern is shown in table I. By putting Vp = 0, a

power demanded by the load. switching pattern in [4] is obtained. The switching pattern
. .* . which is introduced in this paper is shown in table II. Sl and
x=IS-IS =IS-avS (4)
S2 are switched based on source current error than ideal

Non-LinearLoad
sinusoidal reference and S3 and S4 based on source current

sign (Vc >1 vs 1 ), i.e. when 0 < is, S4 is on, and amplitude of

iF is increasing if S2 is on, and decreasing if S1 is on. Also

when 0 > is, S3 is on and SI and S2 perform the same. This

pattern caused almost sinusoidal source current while crossing
zero without a need for defining different switching in
1 Vs I� Vp. In this paper switching function is defmed as:
1 L

gj =1 means switch Sj is on and gj = 0 means switch Sj is

off. (SI, S2) and (S3' S4) always perform vice versa. As can

be seen in table II, when g4= I, vF � 0 and when g4= 0

Active Filter
( sgn ( S) =-1 ), vF � 0 . According to state fi Iter equation in (1)
Fig. 1. Shunt active power filter. and (2), we have:
diF
L-= Vs-(glg4- g2g3)VC (8)
dt

dVc .
C -- =(glg4- g2g3)zc (9)
dt
Based on (6) the slide derivative is:
S=x+x (10)
Fig. 2. Non-linear load

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 TABLE I. SWITCHINGPATTERN OF [10] TABLE III. THE COMPONENTS AND PARAMETERS

Vs g, g2 g3 g4 iF vF Compo and value

1 0 1 0 0 0 Paramo
Vs -Vp
�
0 1 1 0 - ic -V
c vs 220Vrms
0 1 0 1 0 0 Is 6 0Hz
Vs eo: Vp
1 0 0 1 ic Vc Ro 70
1 0 0 0 ic Vc
I vs l < Vp -V Co 500j1F
0 1 1 0 -ic c
Rs 10

TABLE II. PROPOSEDSWITCHTNGPATTERN

A 10
Vc
*
38 0V
is gl g2 g3 g4
1 0 1 0 is R$

f
is � 0
0 1 1 0 Co
Vs iF Be
0 1 0 1
is> 0
1 0 0 1

Sj
By substituting (8) and (9) in (10) and based on (4): L

S =
v
s;{ _Vs{ (glg4 - g2g3) (II)
+(lL-avs)+ACiF+iL-avS )
By putting (11) equal zero:

glg4 - g2g3 =
vYvc - Yvc (lL-avs)
(12)
+A/
L/Vc CiF+iL-avs)
I +sgnCis)
Since g2 = 1- gl, g3 = 1- g4, and g4 =
' we
2
obtain:
Fig. 3. Block diagram of the proposed shunt active filter

(13) FigA shows load current, THD of current is 75%. Fig.5

show source current and filter current by using sliding mode
gleq can be obtained by using (12), and (13): control of active filter based on sliding surface and voltage
signs. It can be seen from Fig.5 (up) that however source
v�'
+ -L.V; (1/,
: l - sgn(i �)
- (XVs) + current is distorted while crossing zero, THD is decreased from
.

gleq V;'
c
=

c c
2 75% to 5.5%. Source current and filter current by using
(14)
A L proposed sliding mode control are shown in Fig.6 respectively.
+ -;:;-:- (IF + lL - (XV,,' )
. .

rC According to Fig.6 (up) by using this control method source

current is improved while crossing zero and THD is reduced to
For satisfying the conditions for existence of sliding mode

{
3.1%.
control, the following control law is obtained:
The reason of current improving while crossing zero (from
I S> 0
gl =
(15) vs > 0 to vs < 0 or from vs < 0 to vs > 0) by using this
0 S< 0 method is expressed as follow: by switching based on sliding
Therefore when S > 0, gl I = and when S < 0, g2 I . = surface and source voltage signs, while crossing from vs > 0
Also S3 and S4 are switched based on current sign is. to vs < 0, if is < avs , S2 and S3 will be on, therefore
IV. SIMULATION RESULT iF> 0 (while crossing zero iL 0). It causes is > avs which
=

This section represents simulation result of sliding mode results SI is on and S2 is off ( iF > 0) and iF starts
control based on sliding function and voltage signs and
decreasing. But it can't become negative immediately. But by
proposed sliding mode control in MATLAB/Simulink.. Fig.3
switching based on sliding surface and source current signs,
shows the proposed control method for active filter. The
parameters of system are shown in table III. Proportional and
iF > 0 causes is > 0 and S4 is on, therefore iF become
integral factors of PI controller are 0.5 and 0.05 respectively. negative immediately. Also while crossing from vs < 0 to

526
Vs > 0, by switching based on sliding surface and source V. CONCLUSIONS
This paper proposes a new control method based on sliding
voltage signs, when is > avs. SI and S4 will be on, therefore
mode control for a shunt active filter. This method is based on
iF < 0 (while crossing zero iL 0). It causes is < avs which
=
sliding surface and source current signs and it's not only very
results, S2 is on and SI is off and iF starts increasing but it simple but also improving current is while crossing zero.
can't become positive immediately. While by switching based Simulation results for a sampled load show that by using this
on sliding surface and source current signs, iF < 0 causes method THO is decreased from 75% to 3.1 %. Also source

is < 0 and S3 is on, therefore iF become positive current is almost sinusoidal while crossing zero. But with other
control strategies which are based on sliding surface and source
immediately.
voltage signs, THO is decreased to 5.5% and source current
isn't sinusoidal while crossing zero. Therefore these results
conflrm the superiority of the proposed control method than the
method which is based on sliding surface and source voltage
signs.

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