IECON'O1: The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

A Compact Autotransformer based 12-Pulse Rectifier Circuit

Girish R. Kamath, Bruce Runyan and Richard Wood

Baldor Electric
12955 Hwy. 55
Plymouth, MN 55441
E-mail: &ish karnath@,ba,haldor.com.briice runvan@ha,haldor.com,dick [email protected]

Abstract - Three-phase diode lbridges used in rectifier type

loads such as motor drives draw line currents that are rich in 6
harmonics. A popular harmonic current reduction method s"
specifically geared towards such loads is to increase the number
of rectification pulses. The wye-delta transformer based 12-
Ia
pulse rectification scheme is one such example[l]. This scheme
suffers from drawbacks such as bulky magnetics. Other
schemes [2-3) use autotransformer based solutions to reduce
bulk. However, these need zero-sequence current blocking
transformers for proper operation. Also, all these schemes use
accessories like interphase transformers and inductors to
promote equal current sharing between the diode bridges. Fig. 1. Wye-delta transformer based 12-pulse rectifier
This paper presents a compact autotransformer topology
suitable for 12-pulse rectificatiom. It differs from conventional However, both require the use of a zero-sequence current
schemes by achieving harmonic current reduction without the
need for equal current sharing between the diode bridges. This blocking device for proper 12-pulse operation. This device
eliminates the need for impedance matching inductors and zero- prevents the flow of triplen harmonic currents that would
sequence current blocking devices further reducing size and otherwise occur due to interaction between the mains
cost. voltages and the non-isolated transformer output voltages.
The paper presents the concept and principle of operation. It Alternatively, the zero-sequence current blocking mechanism
establishes guidelines for designing the autotransformer. A can be implemented by means of' a four-limbed main
simple model is developed and simulated to investigate the transformer to provide the necessary high zero-sequence
concept. Finally, the paper presents experimental results current impedance [2].
obtained from operation of a proof-of-concept prototype
connected to a 3-0, 230V115HP motor drive load. The results
show that the proposed scheme satisfies the performance
benchmark specified in the IEEE 519-1992 guidelines for
voltage sources with impedance 2% or less[4].

I. INTRODUCTION

Three-phase diode bridges are used in AC-DC

rectification in applications such as motor drives. These
draw line currents that are rich in harmonics. The problems
associated with harmonic currents are well known. These
include overheating of distribution transformers and
transmission lines, line voltage distortion, power system
zero-sequenchiding tx. disge-
instability etc. Fig. 2. Autotransformer based 12-pulse rectifier [2]
Several methods have been developed over the years to
reduce line current harmonics. One popular approach noinn r s " A
specifically geared towards rectifier type loads is to increase
the number of rectification pulses by increasing the number
of line phases connected to the diode bridge [2]. The
conventional wye-delta transformer based 12-pulse
rectification scheme shown in Fig. 1 is one such example.
Here, the transformer provides approximately half the
total load power. This results, in a bulky magnetic structure.
Autotransformer based 12-pulse schemes have also been
proposed in [2-31. These are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 U
respectively. These schemes considerably reduce the size
and weight of the main transformer. Fig. 3. Autotransformer based 12-pulse rectifier [3]

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 IECONO1: The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

However, the presence of these devices still does not Finally, the conclusions are presented in section VII.
prevent interaction between the mains and the transformer
output voltages during discontinuous or low load conditions 11. PROPOSED
CONFIGURATION
[3]. The result is a peak dc bus voltage that is 13% higher
than that obtained in a conventional six-pulse converter A schematic diagram of the proposed configuration is
scheme, in such situations. This drawback prevents these shown in Fig. 4. Here, the autotransformer has two windings
schemes from being an ideal solution for retrofit per phase. The primary windings are connected in delta
applications. configuration across the mains. A secondary winding with a
All these schemes require equal power sharing between suitable number of turns is connected to an appropriate tap
the diode bridges to achieve good harmonic current available on a particular primary winding. This produces the
cancellation. This results in the use of current sharing desired secondary (auxiliary) voltage. The nature of the
devices such as interphase transformers and impedance auxiliary voltages and their relationships with the mains
matching inductors further increasing complexity and cost. voltages is discussed in detail in the next section. As can be
This paper presents a compact 12-pulse rectification seen, a secondary winding (e.g. between bl-c') that is
autotransformer configuration that overcomes these electrically connected to one primary winding (e.g. between
limitations by using an innovative approach. The proposed vertices a-b) is magnetically coupled to one of the other
scheme differs from conventional schemes in the following primary windings (e.g. between vertices b-c). One of the
manner: diode bridges (main diode bridge) is directly connected to the
1)Equal power sharing between diode bridges is not mains. The second (auxiliary) diode bridge is connected to
required to achieve harmonic current reduction. Here, the auxiliary voltage outputs of the autotransformer. The dc
one of the diode bridges (main diode bridge) carries a outputs of the two bridges are directly connected in parallel.
significant (greater than 75%) portion of the load A suitable three-phase inductor is inserted between the mains
power, most of it directly from the mains. and the rest of the system to reduce the harmonic current.
2) The autotransformer transmits the remaining load Similarly, a dc choke is inserted between the combined dc
power (less than 25%), while being used mostly for bridge positive terminal and the dc bus capacitor for the same
harmonic current reduction. reason.
This approach results in the following advantages:
1) An extremely simple configuration that is compact, 111. PRINCIPLE OF OPERATION
cost-effective and rugged.
2) A retrofit solution that improves utilization of the diode A 12-pulse rectification scheme has to satisfy the
bridge present in an existing motor drive and produces following conditions:
a peak dc bus voltage that is identical to that in a 1) Two sets of balanced 3 - 0 line voltage sources should
conventional six-pulse rectifier scheme. be generated that are 30" out of phase with respect to
3) Elimination of line impedance matching and zero- each other.
sequence blocking components for proper operation. 2) The amplitude of these line voltages should be equal to
The topic of discussion is organized in the following each other.
manner: The phase and amplitude relationships between the mains
The proposed configuration is described in section 11. phase and line voltages are listed below:
Section 111 describes the principle of operation. The
transformer design guidelines are derived in section IV. V, =I190 Vat, = 1.732L120 (la)
Simulations are used to verify the concept using a simple
vb = U 3 3 0 Vbc = 1.732LO (Ib)
model. Results from these simulations are presented in

-
section V. Section VI describes the experimental setup and v, = U 2 1 0 vca= 1.732L240 (IC)
presents results obtained from a proof-of-concept prototype
operating on a 230V, 15HP Baldor Electric motor drive load. From the above, it is clear that vab, vbc, vcaforms one set of
12 p u k e r e c t i f i e r

inverter
notor

Fig. 4. Proposed autotransformerbased 12-pulse rectifier scheme

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 IECONOI : The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

3 - 0 voltages. It is convenient to use this set as one of the v - V, = v

9 = 1.732L30 (3c)
b bc
two 3 - 0 voltage sets since the load power that flows through
this voltage set comes directly from the mains. This reduces It can be seen that this new 3 - 0 line voltage set has
the transformer power rating. It is now required to generate a amplitude equal to the 3 - 0 mains line voltage set in addition
second set of 3 - 0 voltages that not only satisfies the to being 30" (lead) out of phase. Thus, the requirements for
conditions listed above but further reduces the transformer 12-pulse rectification are satisfied. Having established the
power rating. For this, it is desirable to generate this 3 - 0 set feasibility of this approach, it is now necessary to enumerate
with the transformer output (auxiliary) voltages not being some important operational features that arise from this.
isolated from the mains. This implies that the interaction These are given below:
between the mains and auxiliary voltages that is inevitable 1)Each line voltage (e.g. v&) provides the entire load
due to absence of isolation be utilized to produce the second power for 1/12th(30') of a 360' line-frequency period,
3 - 0 voltage set. If this approach is feasible then the i.e. the total diode bridge output current flows through
following advantages can be obtained: a diode pair corresponding to that particular line
1) The need for a zero-sequence-blocking device is voltage.
eliminated. 2) The power delivered alternates between a line voltage
2) Since isolation between the two voltage sets is not a (e.g. Vab) belonging to the mains 3 - 0 voltage set and
requirement, the autotransformer becomes a natural that belonging to the new 3 - 0 voltage set (e.g. v ).
I
ab
choice for producing the necessary auxiliary voltages.
3) An appropriate diode pair (i.e. d l - 4 in Fig. 4) in the
It is well known that an autotransformer is
main diode bridge conducts for a 30" interval for a line
significantly smaller as compared to a conventional
transformer. voltage belonging to the main 3 - 0 voltage set (e.g. Vab)
To satisfy the 12-pulse operation requirements, let the 4)When a line voltage belonging to the new 3 - 0 voltage
autotransformer auxiliary voltages be v , , v v where: set provides power (e.g. v , ' ~), current flows through a
a b" c
diode pair consisting of a main bridge diode (i.e. 4)
v =0.732L 150
and an auxiliary bridge diode (i.e. 4).
v =0.732/30 Thus, over a 360" line frequency period, the entire load
b'
power is delivered by means of the following line voltage
v , =0.732L270 sequence:
v& v - Vba - Vcqa - V,a - v - Vcb - Vagb - Vab - vac,- vac-
I I

ba cb
These voltages are shown in the phasor diagram of Fig. 5.
V
b'c

Y 1.732 p.u. Since the entire load current flows through each diode
during its conduction period it is no longer necessary to use
any special current sharing or line impedance matching
C techniques. This in combination with the autotransformer
results in a simple and compact solution suitable for 12-pulse
rectification.
Vbc
t

IV. AUTOTRANSFORMER DESIGN

Having established the amplitude and phase relationships

between the auxiliary and mains phase voltages in the
previous section, it is necessary to design an autotransformer
that produces the required auxiliary voltages. An
autotransformer with its primary windings connected in delta
configuration across the mains is considered for the design.
Fig. 5. Proposed phasor voltage diagram
This means that the auxiliary voltages can be derived from
appropriate mains line and phase voltages. It is essential that
In the absence of isolation, v I , v b q ,v interacts with appropriate voltage components be chosen to avoid a non-
a C

the mains phase voltages v,, vb, v,, to produce a new set of 3- optimal power rating of the transformer since there are
0 voltages v v
ab'
-
v as shown below:
ca' bc
several such combinations possible. For example, it is
possible to derive v from v,, v,, and Vcb. The relationship
I

v a -vb = v
I 1

ab
=1.7321150 (34
between v , ,v,, v,, and vcb is shown below:
a
v C -v, = v c a = 1.7321270
9 9 (3b)

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 IECON'O1: The 27th Annual Conference o f the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

The phasor diagram in Fig. 6 represents the relationships V. SIMULATION RESULTS

between the various voltages. Using the auxiliary and mains
voltage values listed in the previous section, kl and k2 can be A simplified model of the topology shown in Fig. 8 is
solved by equating the real and imaginary parts on both simulated under balanced steady-state conditions to verify
sides. This results in kl = 0.422 and k2 = 0.154. the concept. A 208VI6OHz 3 - 0 system is considered for the
Thus, simulations. The autotransformer circuit is considered to
v a = v, + 0.422* v,, + 0.154* vcb (4b)
Similarly,
v = vb + 0.422* vab
1 + 0.154* vac (5)
b
vC o = vc + 0.422* vbc + 0.154* Vba (6)

Auxiliory supply

Fig. 8. Proposed Simulation model

operate with a 15" motor drive load. The mains is

represented by a balanced wye-connected set of 3 - 0 voltages
v,, vb, vc with amplitude 170V. The autotransformer-
Fig. 6. Voltage phasor diagram for deriving auxilialy voltages from mains produced auxiliary voltage set v a , ' v b" v c , has amplitude
phase and line voltages
124V (0.732 P.u.) and a 60" phase shift with respect to the
Thus the autotransformer uses two windings per phase. mains. Both these sets have a common neutral due to
The secondary winding has approximately 15% of the absence of isolation. The main diode bridge choke (0.2mh)
primary turns. An auxiliary voltage (e.g. v ) is then I is chosen to be different fiom the auxiliary line choke
a
(0.15mh). This is done to investigate the effect of this
obtained by:
impedance mismatch on the system performance. A 0.2mh
1)Tapping a portion (i.e. 0.422*vc,) of the delta DC choke is used for additional harmonic current filtration.
connected winding from the appropriate mains phase The 7-ohm resistor load connected across a 1400pf DC bus
voltage terminal (i.e. v,). capacitor represents an equivalent 15 HP inverter load. The
2) Connecting one end of an appropriate 15% secondary model directly produces the main and auxiliary diode bridge
winding (e.g. O.15*vcb)to this tap. line currents for a given load. It is necessary to derive the
The auxiliary voltage is available at the other end of the compensated line current from these currents. Figure 9
secondary winding. This is shown in the winding inter- shows the main and auxiliary current components that
connection diagram of Fig. 7. It is evident from Fig. 6 that determine the line current i, through phase A.
the equations developed above yield an optimum transformer
power rating. It can also be verified by trial and error that iL1
L
using other line and phase voltage combinations result in a
non-optimal transformer rating.
Va
?

Fig. 9. Line current construction diagram from auxiliary and main diode
Fig. 7. Proposed Autotransformer winding connection diagram bridge currents for phase a

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 IECON'O1: 'The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

Using Kirchoff s current law at node a results in, sources with 2% impedance or less[4]. The inequality in line
impedances has little adverse impact on system performance.
i, =0.576*iL5+0.578*iL7 -0.154*iL6 +iL, (7)
where, VI. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
iLl- main diode bridge line current for phase a
iL5,iL6,iL7- auxiliary diode bridge line currents An experiment is conducted to test the feasibility of this
concept. A proof-of-concept prototype suitable for 20HP
Similarly, the line currents i,, and i, through phases b and c load operation in a 24OVl60 Hz, 3 - 0 system is built using a
are obtained using (8) and (9) given below: 3-phase transformer that has the following per-phase winding
details:
i, =0.576*iL6+0.578*iL5 -o.154*iL7 +iL3 1) Delta connected winding: 0-100-140-240V, 10A
(8)
2) Secondary winding: 32V, 20A
i, =0.576*iL7 +0.578*iL6 -0.154*iL5 +iL2 (9) This results in k, = 0.42 and k2 = 0.13. The auxiliary voltage
where, is lOlV rms. and it leads by 58' with. respect to the
iL3.iL2- main diode bridge line currents for phases b and c corresponding mains phase voltage. The rms. current ratings
of the transformer windings are determined using the
The simulation results are shown in Fig. 10. The main simulation model described in the previous section. Figure
diode bridge current iLl and the auxiliary diode bridge 11 shows a schematic diagram of the experimental setup
currents iL5, iL6, and iL7 are shown in Fig. 10a while the used to verify the concept. DB 1 and DB2 are the main and

--
filtered line currents i,, ib, and ic are shown in Fig. lob.
G3-8. Baldor
-
23OV/lSHP drive

Fig. I I . Experimental setup of proposed scheme

auxiliary diode bridges respectively. The dc outputs of these

Fig. loa. Main and auxiliary diode bridge line currents
bridges are connected in parallel and go to the dc inputs of a
Baldor Electric G3-B 215 (240V, 15HP) drive. The drive
outputs are further connected to a 20HP motor-generator set
for loading purposes. The experiment is conducted with the
following component values:
1) DC choke - 0.35mh (0.04 P.u.)
2) Mains line impedance choke- 0.4mh (0.05 P.u.)
Table 1 shown below contains values of the various
parameters obtained at different motor load currents :

TABLE 1 : PARAMETER VALUES FROM A 240Vf20HP EXPERIMENT

Motor Line current DBl line DB2 line DC bus

current ms THD current current voltage

Fig. lob. Filtered line currents i,, ib, i,

The line current THD is 10.4%. This is within the 12% Results from the experiment are shown in Fig. 12. A line
value recommended in IEEE 5 19-1992 guidelines for voltage current THD of 10.1% is obtained at 5OA motor current and

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 IECON'O1: The 27th Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society

is shown in Fig. 12a. Figure 12b shows oscillograms of the The results indicate the following:
mains line and auxiliary diode bridge currents. The main 1) The experimental results are in good agreement with
diode bridge and dc choke currents are shown in Fig. 12c. simulation results and further validate the feasibility of
the concept.
2) The main diode bridge current forms a significant
portion of the total line current. It provides more than
75% of the load power.
3) The peak dc bus voltage of about 340V is the same as
that obtained with a six-pulse converter drive.

[;Ill
4) The main and auxiliary diode bridge line impedances
............!. I.............................................................................................. are different. However, the line current THD obtained
is not adversely affected by this mismatch.
50 ..................................................................................................... 5) The resultant current THD at 50A motor current
satisfies the value of 12% recommended in IEEE 5 19-
1992 guidelines[4] for voltage sources with impedance
2% or less.

VII. CONCLUSIONS
Fig. 12a. Mains line current THD (10.1%)
This paper presents a compact autotransformer topology
suitable for 12-pulse rectification. This concept has been
successfully investigated by means of both simulations and
Ch4 RMS
experimentation.
192.4mV The proposed scheme overcomes the drawbacks in current
schemes using an innovative approach. Interaction between
Ch3 RMS
43.92mV the auxiliary voltages produced by the autotransformer and
the mains voltages is used to generate an additional 3 - 0
Ch4 Mean
-5.2mV voltage set suitable for 12-pulse operation. In the process the
need for additional magnetic components such as zero-
sequence-blocking transformers, line matching inductors and
interphase transformers is eliminated.
The peak dc bus voltage obtained in the proposed scheme
t , . . a . . . . I . . . . . . . .I . .
3 . t. . . . . . . . a . . . .
I I . . . .a . . 1 is the same as that in a conventional six-pulse rectifier. Also,
20.0mV Ch4 2OOmV
M5.60ms C h 4 J 4 mV 1 5 J a n 2 0 0 1
12:01:04
the main diode bridge provides more than 75% of the load
power. This makes it ideal for operation with existing drives
Fig. 12b. Auxiliary diode bridge current iL7 (Ch.4: 2OMdiv) whose diode bridges are already rated for full load power.
and filtered line current i, (Ch.-3: 20Mdiv) The transformer rating is optimized since it transmits only
the auxiliary diode bridge power.
The result is a simple configuration that is compact, cost-
effective and ideally suited for retrofitting with existing
drives.
Ch4 RMS
547.6mV
VIII. REFERENCES
Ch3 RMS
37.4amv
Ill N. Mohan, T. Undeland and W. Robbins, Power Electronics:
Converters, Applications and Design, John Wiley and Sons, 2"dEdition,
Ch4 Mean
545.2mV 1994.
121 D. A. Paice, "Transformers for Multipulse A C D C Converters", US.
Patent 6101 113,8 August 2000.
131 D. Rendusara, K. J. Slater, B. S. Lee and P. Enjeti, "Design
Considerations for 12/24-Pulse Auto-connected Rectifiers for Large
VA, PWM Drive Systems," Conference Proceedings-IEEE Applied
Power Electronics Conference and Exposition - APEC v 2 Mar 1999. p
t ..
(Bal 20 OmV
I . . . . . . . .... . . .
Ch4
? 2

200mV
. M's . . . .1 .c"4
.ooms
>, . . . 4 mj l5Jan2001 903-909.
12:02:54 141 IEEE Recommended Practices and Requirementsjor Harmonic Control
in Electric Power Systems: ANSIIIEEE Standards, 519, New York:
IEEE 1992.
Fig. 12c. Main diode bridge current iLI (Ch.-3: 20Mdiv)
and dc choke current id (Ch.4: 20Mdiv)

Fig. 12. Experimental results from a 230V 15HP drive operating

with the proposed 12 pulse Rectifier scheme at 50A
motor current

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