ISOLATED BIDIRECTIONAL GRID-TIED THREE-PHASE AC-DC

POWER CONVERSION USING SERIES RESONANT CONVERTER

MODULES AND A THREE-PHASE UNFOLDER

ABSTRACT:
Power-bidirectional converters are used to integrate energy storage with both dc and
ac distribution grids. A modular bidirectional dc-dc converter system consisting of multiple
dualbridge series resonant converter (DBSRC) modules can be recon- figured to extend the
system operating range. This paper proposes a modular three-phase ac-dc converter system
by adding a linefrequency unfolder to series-connected outputs of two DBSRC modules. The
DBSRC modules are controlled to output timevarying currents which are then reconstructed
into sinusoidal ac currents by the unfolder. Compared with a conventional two-stage system
with dc-dc converter and two-level voltage source inverter, the DBSRC-unfolder system has
smaller dc-link capacitance, negligible unfolder switching loss, reduced line filter size and
faster dynamic response. The system operation and performance are verified on a 1-kW
experimental prototype. A power conversion system has a three-phase AC input, where each
AC input phase is linked to a string of cascaded single-phase AC-DC converters placed in
series with a three-phase AC-DC converter. Each single-phase AC-DC converter in one
embodiment includes a silicon carbide (SiC) pulse width modulated MOSFET H-bridge that
placed in series with the three-phase AC-DC converter that includes a silicon (Si) SCR
bridge. The single-phase AC-DC converters and the three-phase AC-DC converter together in
one embodiment include a mixed silicon-carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) device topology.

INTRODUCTION:

GRID-TIED bidirectional ac-dc power converters, also known as regenerative

rectifiers, have traditionally been used in industry for motor drive and power generation
applications. These converters enable locomotive drives to return braking energy back to the
ac grid. They also allow grid-connection of wind generators implemented with induction
machines. The increasing usage of distributed generation sources such as photovoltaics has
created stress on the existing ac grid due to their intermittent nature. Grid-integration of
energy storage such as large battery packs in electric vehicles has been proposed to improve
grid stability. Bidirectional ac-dc converters are needed to control power-flow between
energy storage systems and the ac grid. International standards such as the IEEE 1547 have
been established to regulate the connection of distributed resources to the ac grid. Specific
limits have been identified for each line-frequency harmonic of the ac current as well as its
total harmonic distortion (THD). For low voltages, the two-level voltage source inverter
(VSI) topology is commonly adopted. The low-frequency harmonics can be easily suppressed
byusing high-frequency pulse-width modulation (PWM) and appropriate control. Switching
voltages in VSI contain large harmonics around the switching frequency. A line filter is
required to attenuate these high-frequency harmonics in the ac current before it enters the ac
grid. The filter structure and component values are chosen for a given switching frequency
and the desired amount of attenuation. Keeping the filter structure and attenuation unchanged,
increasing the switching frequency generally lowers the component values and in turn, the
filter size. In hard-switched inverters, doing so creates more switching loss and as a result
degrades efficiency. This design tradeoff limits filter size reduction in two-level VSI. It can
be mitigated by the use of wide-bandgap semiconductor switches or by adding soft-switching
. Alternatively, the inverter topology can be changed to multilevel or interleaved. The VSI
requires a dc voltage higher than the peak lineline voltage. If the dc source voltage is low, a
dc-dc converter is required to generate a dc-link voltage high enough for the VSI. For grid-
tied battery energy storage applications, a dualactive-bridge (DAB) dc-dc converter can be
used between a battery pack and the VSI. In addition to providing bidirectional power-flow
for charging and discharging the battery, the DAB also builds in high-frequency galvanic
isolation to allow easier grounding of the battery for meeting safety regulations. The bulky
line-frequency transformer at the VSI output may be eliminated if the dc component of the ac
current is kept low enough. The overall efficiency of a cascaded two-stage inverter system is
limited by its individual stages. There has been significant research in reducing the number of
power conversion stages while retaining high-frequency isolation. A unidirectional single-
stage three-phase ac-dc rectifier based on the Vienna topology is introduced by Kolar et al.. A
bidirectional single-stage three-phase ac-dc converter is proposed by Gu and Jin, and has a
grid interface similar to a three-level VSI. The filter design in these cases is subject to the size
and switching loss tradeoff that exists in the VSI, where filter size cannot be easily reduced
simply by increasing switching frequency due to increased switching loss. In addition to the
two-stage dc-dc and VSI architecture, there is another class of two-stage systems that use dc-
dc followed by a single-phase line-frequency inverter, also known as an unfolder. This
architecture is made popular in single phase ac modules for photovoltaic panels. For single
phase systems, the dc-dc converter is controlled to output a rectified sine wave current. The
unfolder switches only at zero-crossings of the ac voltage and serves to direct the dcdc output
current to the ac grid. Since the unfolder switches at line frequency and almost zero voltage,
its switching loss is negligible. The overall losses are dominated by the dc-dc converter, and
the system can be regarded as having only a single power conversion stage. This architecture
has been used in a bidirectional electric vehicle battery charger using a DAB converter and a
single-phase unfolder. This paper proposes a bidirectional three-phase ac-dc converter system
that consists of two high-frequency isolated dual-bridge series resonant converter (DBSRC)
modules and a single line-frequency three-phase unfolder. The proposed system is modular
and can be reconfigured to perform dc-dc, ac-dc or dc-ac conversion depending on
application needs. The paper is organized as follows. Motivations and advantages of the
proposed system over the conventional two-stage dc-dc and VSI system are described in
Section II. This is followed by operation of the three-phase unfolder in Section III. The
DBSRC and a complete 1-kW system prototype is designed in Section IV. The filter
requirement and control of the proposed system are described in detail in Sections V and VI.
Finally, experimental results are provided in Section VII to validate system performance. II.
The low power density of conventional electrical systems has been a significant barrier to the
deployment of ‘more electric’ systems for particular classes of ships. Improvements in power
densities that are achieved by advanced turbines and generators are often diluted by the need
for bulky ancillary equipment, such as transformers.Many modern power systems require
large and heavy 50 Hz or 60 Hz conventional transformers. The weight and volume of these
transformers is a major barrier to the development of expanded electrical capabilities
associated with certain future power system applications.High frequency “solid state
transformers”, which are enhanced replacements of bulky line frequency iron core
transformers have drawn considerable interest for utility distribution systems and locomotive
applications. The Intelligent Universal Transformer (IUT) program launched by the Electric
Power Research Institute (EPRI), and medium frequency transformer prototype
demonstrations by Bombardier, ABB, and Deutsche Bahn for locomotive application,
represent examples of state-of-the-art research in this area.Architectures proposed for these
electronic transformers have centered on using cascaded converter blocks or multi-level
neutral point clamped (NPC) converters to handle the high voltages on the primary side the
large number of cells, or levels, required in the cascaded converter block architectures. These
architectures are disadvantageous in that they inherently necessitate a high level of
complexity and part count. A large number of cascaded cells are required with this approach
due to limited voltage ratings of available silicon (Si) semiconductors. the large number of
cells, or levels, required in a multi-level NPC converter block architecture. The architecture
utilizes a HV-IGBT-based multi-level NPC converter configuration on the primary side. The
limited voltage rating and switching frequency of current high voltage IGBTs result in a large
component count and low system performance.High power density solid-state electronics
transformers for solid-state power substations (SSPS) provide functionalities beyond a
conventional line frequency iron core transformer. These functionalities include: (1) step up
or down voltage level with galvanic isolation between low frequency input and output, which
is the function of a conventional line frequency transformer, with a much higher power
density resulted from intermediate high frequency isolation transformer; (2) ability to convert
frequency, e.g. get DC or 60 Hz or 400 Hz power at the output from 50 Hz or 60 Hz input
power; (3) generate multiple outputs at different frequencies and voltage levels; and (4)
provide advanced control functions for entire power system, such as reactive power
compensation, voltage regulation, and active harmonic filtering, active damping
etc.Emerging silicon carbide (SiC) devices, e.g. SiC MOSFET, SiC IGBT, SiC Schottky, PiN
and JBS diodes, etc. offer application benefits, such as lower conduction and switching
losses, higher voltage and higher temperature capabilities than their counterparts of Si
devices. Those features are critical to enable high density high frequency, medium voltage
SSPS. However, at present state those SiC devices have a manufacturing yield that is lower
than Si devices, and a cost that is higher than Si devices. Significant challenges remain to
developing such a smaller solid-state electronics transformer for a solid-state power
substation (SSPS). These include, but are not limited to:Conventional high power converter
topologies, such as multi-level NPC converters, present significant design challenges at high
frequencies due to complex device interconnections and packaging. Parasitic inductances can
lead to increased electrical stresses and degradation of performance.Thermal management of
high frequency transformers is a major challenge due to their reduced size.Passive
components, such as DC bus capacitors, input and output filters, and contactors can limit
power densities. Minimizing the use of such devices is critical;Multiple cascaded power
conversion stages can reduce the SSPS efficiency; and Device count should be minimized to
account for yield constraints of early SiC devices.In view of the foregoing, it would be both
advantageous and beneficial to provide a fault tolerant, high frequency link-based transformer
(i.e. solid-state power substation (SSPS)) including controls to minimize all passive
components associated with the SSPS. It would be further beneficial if the SSPS architecture
could be implemented using well-understood power blocks with a parts count that is lower
than that achievable when using known electronic transformer architectures.The present
invention is directed to a power conversion system having a three-phase AC input, where
each AC input phase is linked to a string of cascaded single-phase AC-DC converters placed
in series with a three-phase AC-DC converter. Each single-phase AC-DC converter in one
embodiment includes a silicon carbide (SiC) pulse width modulated MOSFET H-bridge that
is placed in series with the three-phase AC-DC converter that includes a silicon (Si) SCR
bridge. The single-phase AC-DC converters and the three-phase AC-DC converter together in
one embodiment include a mixed silicon-carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) device topology.The
relationship between the ac and dc-link voltages and currents is obtained by analyzing the
equivalent circuit of the unfolder in each of the six states. It is summarized in Table I and is
valid at any power factor. The current relationship is valid at non-zero dc-link voltages. It is
used to sketch dc-link waveforms and to establish design requirements on the DBSRC
modules. Each DBSRC output needs to withstand the time-varying dc-link voltage, with
peaks up to Vpk. At unity power factors (PF = ±1), the peak dc-link current is Im and
overlaps with the voltage peak. Therefore, the DBSRC output powers p1 and p2 will also be
time-varying and swing between zero and Pac. In spite of this, the total power at the dc port is
the sum of p1 and p2 and is nearly constant, with average value of Pac. Similarly, assuming a
constant dc voltage, the DBSRC input currents will vary, but the total input current will be
nearly constant with small ripple at six-times the line frequency. This is beneficial to the
battery pack connected to the system, as it is not required to process significant line-
frequency energy.

LITERATURE SURVEY:

In high power applications, three-phase bidirectional AC/DC converter is always

needed as grid-interface converter to achieve bidirectional energy flow between the grid and
DC bus. The common solution for grid-interface converter is three-phase voltage-source
PWM rectifier, whichgenerally converts three-phase 380V AC voltage to 600~800V DC
voltage and doesn‟t achieve electrical isolation. Accordingly, it is necessary that a DC/DC
converter and a three-phase PWM converter constitute a two-stage structure or utilize a
power frequency transformer in the grid-interface converter application, which increases the
volume and reduces the efficiency. Three-phase current-source PWM rectifier can achieve
AC/DC buck conversion with single-stage structure. But its input current is discontinuous
and has low power factor. Furthermore, it still doesn‟t achieve electrical isolation. Another
available solution is three-phase isolated AC/DC converter, such as VIENNA rectifier II. It
has continuous sinusoidal behavior of the input current and high-frequency isolation with
single-stage structure. However, its bidirectional switch consists of four diodes and one active
switch, which brings large conduction loss in high power application. And it is a
unidirectional converter and can‟t transfer energy from dc side to ac side. An isolated three-
phase soft-switched buck rectifier is proposed. By using an auxiliary circuit with a simple
method of energy recovery, the current is diverted away from the main power switches before
they are turned off. And the switching power loss of the converter is decreased by using zero
current switching (ZCS) method. A three-phase buck rectifier with high-frequency isolation
by single-stage is introduced. The topology utilizes a forward/flyback transformer to allow
the high-frequency isolation. But the two converters have common disadvantages with large
conduction loss and low input power factor. Furthermore, neither forward converter nor
forward-flyback converter is suitable for high power application. Conergy neutral point
clamped (NPC) topology is suitable for PV power generation application as its low
conduction loss. It achieves bidirectional power flow between ac and dc side. But it doesn‟t
achieve electrical isolation and can‟t convert three-phase 380V AC voltage to 380V DC
voltage directly with single-stage structure. To achieve buck-boost AC/DC conversion and
electrical isolation as well, this paper proposes a three-phase isolated bidirectional AC/DC
converter which is derived from Conergy NPC topology. Compared with two-stage solution,
the converter removes decoupling capacitor and dc-dc converter‟s filter inductor. And no
extra dead time is needed to avoid the shoot-through problem. The PI control system based
on the modified SVPWM algorithm is built. The operation principles are presented and
shoot-through problem is analyzed.The widespread use of conventional diode bridge
rectifiers and line-commutated AC/DC converters have been discussed. The impact of these
problems on the health of power systems and working of sensitive equipments has also been
discussed. Need for addressing these burning power quality issues has been emphasized.
Recent trends of addressing these issues have been briefly discussed. A new breed of
improved power quality AC/DC converters has been discussed in details. Development of
various topologies and state-of-art of this breed of converters has been discussed briefly. The
state-of-the-art multilevel converters used as improved power quality converters have been
covered in this chapter with emphasis on three-level neutral-point clamped converters. This
converter has been investigated for improved power quality and various simulation results
have been presented to prove their effectiveness in terms of excellent power quality like
nearly unity input power factor and negligible harmonic distortion of source current. The
simulation results have been obtained with sinusoidal PWM and sapce-vector PWM
modualtion algorithms. Simulation restls have been validated through experimental results
which are obtained on a three-level converter by real-time implementation of space-vector
PWM technique using a real-time DSP board. The performance investigation of the converter
proves the effectiveness of three-level converter in elegantly addressing the burning power
quality issues. We know that power systems are designed to operate at frequencies of 50 or
60 Hz. However, certain types of loads produce harmonic currents in the power system. The
power system harmonics are not a new phenomenon. Concern over harmonic distortions has
ebbed and flowed during the history of electrical power systems. Traditionally the saturated
iron in transformers and induction machines, electric arc furnaces, welding equipment,
fluorescent lamps (with magnetic ballasts), etc. have been responsible for the generation of
harmonics in electric power systems. Most of these equipments also cause the flow of
reactive component of current in the system. In recent years, many power electronic
converters utilizing switching devices are being widely used in domestic, commercial and
industrial applications, ranging from few watts to MWs. However these converters suffer
from the drawbacks of harmonic generation and reactive power flow from the source and
offer highly non-linear characteristics. The generation of harmonics and reactive power flow
in the power systems has given rise to the ‘Electric Power Quality’ problems. Any significant
deviation in the magnitude of the voltage, current and frequency, or their waveform purity
may result in a www.intechopen.com 272 Sustainable Energy potential power quality
problem. Power quality problems arise when these deviations exceed beyond the tolerable
limit and can occur in three different ways as frequency events, voltage events and waveform
events. Distortion of the voltage/current waveforms from the normal sinusoidal waveshape is
considered as waveform event. One of the most harmful waveform events are the harmonic
distortions. Harmonics are basically the additional frequency components present in the
mains voltage or current which are integer multiples of the mains (fundamental) frequency.
Harmonic distortion originates due to the nonlinear characteristics of devices and loads on the
power system. The inter-harmonics are due to the presence of additional frequencies which
are non-integral multiples of the mains frequency. Moreover, notching is a periodic voltage
disturbance caused by the normal operation of power electronic devices when current is
commutated from one phase to another. All these disturbances may originate problems to
both utility and customers. Among them, harmonic distortions are considered one of the most
significant reasons for power quality problems. Harmonic problems counter many of the
conventional rules of the power system design and operation that consider only the
fundamental frequency. Harmonic distortions are mainly caused by the nonlinear devices in
which the current is not proportional to the applied voltage where a nonlinear resistor is
supplied by a sinusoidal voltage source. The resulting current is distorted while the applied
voltage is perfectly sinusoidal. Increasing the voltage by a few percent may cause the current
to double and take a different waveshape. This, in essence, is the source of harmonic
distortion in the power system.

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[2] Bendre A., Krstic S., Meer J. V., and Venkataramanan G., “Comparative
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[6] Fukuda S. and Hasegawa H., “Current source rectifier/inverter system with
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[14] Konishi Y., Arai N., Kousaka K., and Kumagai S., “A large capacity current
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EXISTING SYSTEM:

AC/DC Power Converters has been developed to overcome all the drawbacks of
passive filters, var compensators and active power filters used for harmonics and reactive
power compensation. This new breed of converters is specifically known as Power Factor
Correction Converters (PFCs), Switched Mode Rectifiers (SMRs), PWM Converters,
Improved Power Quality Converters (IPQCs), and High Power Factor Converters (HPFCs).
They are included as an inherent part of the AC-DC conversion system which produces
excellent power quality at the line-side and load-side, higher efficiency, and reduced size.
The power quality issues created by the use of conventional AC/DC converters are elegantly
addressed by IPQCs. The output voltage is regulated even under the fluctuations of source
voltage and sudden load changes. The PWM switching pattern controls the switchings of the
power devices for input current waveshaping so that it becomes almost harmonic-pollution
free and in phase with the source voltage, thus producing a nearly sinusoidal supply current at
unity power factor without the need of any passive or active filter for harmonics and reactive
power compensation. The reduced size of magnetics used in the converter system and the
single-stage power conversion techniques have resulted in the development of reduced size,
high power density, efficient, and reduced cost power converters. They have been made
possible mainly because of the use of modern solid state, self-commutating power
semiconducting devices such as Power MOSFETs, IGBTs, IGCTs, GTOs, etc. Remarkable
progress in the capacity and switching speed of these devices has made it possible to develop
the IPQCs for medium and large power applications. The parallel progress in the processors
and high-speed DSPs has made it possible to implement the complex and computation-
intensive control algorithms at very high speeds for the control of IPQCs. In fact, the
development and progress in the fields of power semiconducting devices and DSPs has
revolutionized the field of Power Electronics in recent past. Improved Power Quality
Converters are being developed with unidirectional and bidirectional power flow capabilities.
Three-phase unidirectional IPQCs are realized using a www.intechopen.com 280 Sustainable
Energy three-phase diode bridge followed by step-down chopper, step-up chopper, step-
down/up chopper, isolated, forward, flyback, push-pull, half-bridge, full-bridge, SEPIC, Cuk,
Zeta, and multilevel converters. A high-frequency isolation transformer offers reduced size,
weight, cost, appropriate voltage matching and isolation. On the other hand, three-phase
bidirectional IPQCs consist of basic converters such as push-pull, half-bridge, voltage source
converter (VSC) topology, or current source converter (CSC) topology. Four-quadrant
threephase AC/DC power converters are normally implemented using matrix converters. Due
to all these advantages, IPQCs have generated tremendous interest among the researchers and
application engineers to solve the increasing power quality problems. In fact, when an
application engineer is at a decision stage, the active solution is advantageous over the
passive filtering. Broadly, Three-phase Improved Power Quality Converters have been
classified on the basis of the converter topology as Boost, Buck, Buck-Boost and Multilevel
converters with unidirectional and bi-directional power flow and the type of converter used as
unidirectional and bi-directional converters. B. Singh, et. al. presented the broad classification
of three-phase IPQCs. In case of three-phase boost converters, the output voltage is greater
than the peak input voltage. Unlike a single-phase boost converter, the voltage across the
output capacitor does not have low-frequency ripple in balanced conditions. Thus a wide
bandwidth voltage feedback loop can be used resulting in fast voltage control without
distorting the input current references. The topologies of three-phase unidirectional boost
converters. High power-factor can be easily obtained when three-phase unidirectional boost
converters are operated in discontinuous conduction mode (DCM) with constant duty cycles .
This is because the basic types of DC-DC converters, when operating in DCM, have self-
power factor correction (PFC) property, that is, if these converters are connected to the
rectified AC line, they have the capability to give higher power factor by the nature of their
topologies. The peak of the supply-side inductor current is sampling the line-voltage
automatically, giving boost converter the self-PFC property because no control loop is
required from its input side. This is an advantage over continuous conduction mode (CCM)
PFC circuit in which multi-loop control strategy is essential. However the input inductor
operating in DCM cannot hold the excessive input energy because it must release all its
stored energy before the end of each switching cycle. As a result, a bulky capacitor is used to
balance the instantaneous power between the input and output. Also since the input current is
normally a train of triangular pulses with nearly constant duty ratio, an input filter is
necessary for smoothing the pulsating input current into a continuous one. Three-phase,
unidirectional boost converters are widely used nowadays as a replacement of conventional
diode rectifiers to provide unity input pf, reduced THD at AC mains and constant, regulated
DC output voltage even under fluctuations of AC voltage and DC load. The topologies of
bidirectional boost converters. In case of bidirectional boost converters operating in CCM,
since the input current is the inductor current, it can be easily programmed by current-mode
control. Various current control techniques are available for controlling the input current so
as to make the input current THD negligible associated with a unity input pf. We know that
VSIs can reverse the power flow from load to DC link as a rectifier. However a standalone
voltage source rectifier requires a special DC www.intechopen.com Power Quality Problems
Due to AC-DC Converters and their Solutions 281 bus able to keep voltage constant without
the requirement of a voltage supply. This is accomplished with a DC capacitor and a
feedback control loop. Boost converters operating in CCM give low dv/dt stress and hence
produce low EMI emissions as compared to those operating in DCM. The softswitching
techniques reduce the di/dt and dv/dt and hence improve the performance of bi-directional
boost converters by causing low EMI emissions. The three-phase bi-directional boost PFCs
are suitable for high power applications with improved performance as front-end converters
with regeneration capability for variablespeed AC motor drives and also for hoists, cranes,
lifts, BESS, line-interactive UPS, etc. Three-phase, buck converters produce output voltages
less than the converter input voltage. They have some attractive features compared to boost
rectifiers such as meeting the requirement of varying controllable output DC voltage, inherent
short-circuit protection, and easy inrush current. One of the topologies of three-phase
unidirectional buck converters. Their input currents can be controlled in the open loop and
much wider voltage loop bandwidth can be achieved. A unidirectional buck converter is a
replacement of the thyristor semi-converter with improved power quality at AC mains and
output DC bus. A three-phase bidirectional buck converter provides a similar function as a
conventional thyristor bridge converter but with improved power quality such as high power
factor and reduced harmonic currents at AC mains and fast regulated output voltage with
reversible power flow [6,14,27]. Two buck converters connected in anti-parallel provide the
behaviour similar to a dual converter for four-quadrant operation with improved power
quality and fast response. In three-phase boost converters, the output voltages lower than the
supply voltage cannot be achieved. Also in three-phase buck converters, the output voltages
higher than the supply voltage cannot be achieved. However, it has the inherent DC short-
circuit current and inrush current limitation capability. The three-phase buck-boost type
AC/DC converters have step-up or step-down output voltage characteristics and also the
capability of limiting the inrush and DC short-circuit currents. Therefore this type of
converter is convenient for several power supplies and is highly suitable for input pf
correction [7,12,13]. The topologies of three-phase unidirectional buck-boost converters.
www.intechopen.com Power Quality Problems Due to AC-DC Converters and their Solutions
283 There are some applications which require output DC voltage widely varying from low
voltage to high voltage with bidirectional DC current as four-quadrant operation and
bidirectional power flow. As discussed by B. Singh, et. al. The simplest way of realizing a
three-phase bidirectional buck-boost converter is by using a matrix converter. The three-
phase bidirectional buck-boost converters can be used for medium power applications in
telecommunications and also for motor drive controlMultilevel Converters (MLCs) are
gaining widespread popularity because of their excellent performance with reduced THD of
input current, high supply power factor, ripple-free regulated DC output voltage, reduced
voltage stress of devices, reduced dv/dt stresses, and hence lower EMI emissions
[3,15,16,17,18,20,21,24,25]. They also avoid the use of transformers in some applications
which further enhances the efficiency of these converters. The sinusoidal source currents at
unity power factor are produced at reduced switching frequencies in comparison with their
two-level counterparts. Moreover since an MLC itself consists of series connection of
switching power devices and each device is clamped to the DC-link capacitor voltage through
the clamping diodes, it does not require special consideration to balance the voltages of
power devices. On the other hand, the series connection of power devices is a big issue in
two-level converters. Moreover, in case of a multilevel converter, each device is stressed to a
voltage Vdc/(n-1), where Vdc is the DC-bus voltage and n is the number of levels. Hence the
device stress is considerably reduced as the number of levels increases. This makes multilevel
converters the best choice for the high-voltage and high-power applications and they have
invited a lot of attention for high-power industrial applications. Nevertheless, the neutral
point of the neutral point clamped converter is prone to fluctuations due to irregular charging
and discharging of the output capacitors. Thus the terminal voltage applied at the switches on
DC side can exceed that imposed by the manufacturer. Moreover the device count is large in
multilevel converters and complex control is involved one of the topologies of three-phase,
unidirectional multi-level converters. These converters also offer boost operation for the
output voltage with unidirectional power flow J. S. Lai and F. Z. Peng classified the
bidirectional MLCs into three main categories as diode-clamped MLC, flying capacitor
MLC, and cascaded MLC . In case of diode-clamped multilevel converters, the reactive
power flow control is easier. But the main drawback of this converter is that excessive
clamping diodes are required when the number of levels is high. In case of flying capacitor
multilevel converters, large amount of storage capacitors provides extra ride through
capabilities during power outage. But the main drawback is that a large number of capacitors
is required when the number of levels is high which makes the system less reliable and bulky
and thus more difficult to package. In case of cascaded multilevel converters, least number of
components is required and modularized circuit layout and packaging is possible because
each level has the same structure and there are no extra clamping diodes or voltage balancing
capacitors. But the main drawback is that it needs separate DC sources, thus making its
applications somewhat limited. A comparison of different types of three-phase MLCs, in
terms of power components required in each type of converter has been given in a tabular
form.

PROPOSED SYSTEM:

A bidirectional dc-dc converter is needed to interface between a battery pack and a dc

power distribution bus. The DBSRC can be used for this role. In addition, multiple DBSRC
modules can be used for flexibility when connecting to dc buses of different voltages . A
system of two DBSRC modules with inputs parallel-connected to the battery. For connection
to a low-voltage dc bus, the modules’ outputs are parallel-connected to increase the system’s
output current rating. The same system can also be connected to a high-voltage dc bus by
series-connecting the modules’ outputs for increased system output voltage rating, as
illustrated. In cases where the dc bus is unavailable, it becomes beneficial to connect the
battery to the ac grid. It is desirable to reuse the DBSRC modules to save cost and meet
isolation requirements. A three-phase line-frequency inverter or unfolder is proposed to be
added to series-connected DBSRC outputs to provide connectivity to a three-phase low-
voltage ac grid. The proposed system provides flexibility in that the unfolder can be added to
perform ac-dc and dc-ac conversions or removed to use the DBSRC modules to perform dc-
dc conversion. Modularity of the proposed system enables multi-purpose power conversion.
Each DBSRC module internally connects with the unfolder via a three-level dc-link. The
unfolder provides the system’s ac port for grid connection. The input ports of the two
DBSRC modules remains parallel-connected to the battery. The input voltage Vin is largely
determined by the battery’s state-of-charge. Similar to the VSI, the proposed system
primarily serves to control power-flow between the battery and ac grid. Both DBSRC and
unfolder support bidirectional power-flow. The proposed DBSRC-unfolder system works by
first synchronizing the unfolder switches to the grid voltages. The dclink currents required to
produce the desired sinusoidal ac line currents are then determined from a simple relationship
based on the ac angle. Next, each DBSRC module is controlled to track the desired dc-link
current profiles. The desired sinusoidal ac currents are then automatically reconstructed from
the dc-link currents through the unfolder. Alternatively, the VSI can be used in place of the
unfolder between the DBSRC and grid. The advantages of using unfolder over VSI are
summarized as follows. First, the dc-link capacitance is reduced, as the unfolder dc-link
voltages are naturally time-varying, and large capacitance is not needed to stiffen the
voltages. Second, switching loss in unfolder is reduced compared to that in VSI, as the
unfolder switches at line frequency. Third, the line filter requirement is relaxed, as results of a
line current ripple modulated at twice the DBSRC switching frequency and a higher
achievable switching frequency in a soft-switched DBSRC than in a hard-switched VSI.
Finally, the reduction in filter component values improves the system’s dynamic response. In
terms of cost, the unfolder requires more switches but smaller dclink capacitance and line
filter. Therefore, the cost of adding unfolder versus adding VSI to existing DBSRC modules
is likely to be similar. the three-phase unfolder circuit is derived from the three-level neutral
point clamped converter (NPCC) [19], [20]. Unlike the NPCC, the unfolder switches are not
modulated at high frequency. Instead, they are programmed to switch at line frequency based
on a sequence generated from the ac angle. The switching action directly connects each of the
three ac phases to either the top, middle or bottom dc-link nodes. In grid-tied configuration,
the supplied ac voltages are rectified into time-varying positive voltages in the dc-link. By
generating dc-link currents with the appropriate time-varying wave profile using the upstream
DBSRC modules, the desired ac currents are obtained. The operation and control of the
unfolder can be better understood by first assuming ideal three-phase positive sequenceIn
addition to supporting bidirectional power-flow, dualactive-bridge (DAB) dc-dc converters
provide galvanic isolation between their primary and secondary circuits. Isolation enables
safe operation of multiple dc-dc modules connected input-parallel output-series as previously
illustrated in Fig. 2b. With the modules connected to the unfolder and then the ac grid as in
Fig. 2c, isolation also provides the necessary safety barrier between the battery and grid. In
addition to isolation and power bidirectional requirements, dc-dc modules used with an
unfolder are subject to wide output voltage variation, as observed in the dc-linkvoltage
waveforms of Fig. 4. Various topological variants of the DAB have been compared by Zhao
et al. [21]. Compared to non-resonant or resonant transition DAB, the DBSRC offers reduced
circulating current at non-unity voltage conversion ratios. Compared to other resonant
variants, the phase-shift modulated DBSRC provides faster control response. Therefore, the
DBSRC topology is selected for the dc-dc module. The maximum DBSRC output power is
limited by its resonant tank design and varies with input and output voltages. In applications
where a constant power characteristic is desired, the DBSRC may be replaced with the
bidirectional zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) full-bridge dc-dc converter [22], whose
maximum power is not limited by topology. A single DBSRC module is shown in Fig. 5. Its
experimental prototype is designed for nominal input and output voltages of 500 V each and
maximum power of 2 kW. The resonant tank design procedure is based on Corradini et al.
[23]. The voltage conversion ratio M = vo nVin (10) is set to one at nominal voltages for
ZVS of all switches, which results in a transformer turns ratio n = 1. The switching frequency
is chosen as 100 kHz considering tradeoff between magnetic component size and converter
switching loss using silicon MOSFET devices. This results in resonant inductor Lr and
capacitor Cr values of 200 µH and 34 nF respectively. When used with unfolder, each
DBSRC processes timevarying power of 0.5Pac on average and peak power of Pac. Thus,
although two DBSRC are used, their maximum powers cannot be utilized simultaneously,
and the system’s maximum three-phase active power is equal to the maximum power of each
DBSRC. Based on this characteristic and the designed unfolder and DBSRC, the system
ratings for ac-dc and dc-ac conversions are summarized. The ac voltage range is specified
according to standard worldwide voltage levels and each DBSRC’s output voltage range.
Each DBSRC’s maximum output power increases with ac voltage. Voltages of the four
switching legs in each DBSRC are phase-shift modulated using three control angles φAB,
φAD DBSRC-UNFOLDER EXPERIMENTAL PROTOTYPE Parameter Value DC Voltage
(Vin) 500 V Ratings AC Line-Line Voltage 208∼380 V rms Active Power (|Pac|) 1∼2 kW
Switching Frequency (fs) 100 kHz Transformer Turns Ratio (n) 1 Resonant Inductor (Lr) 200
µH DBSRC Resonant Capacitor (Cr) 34 nF Input Capacitor (Cin) 1 µF Output/DC-Link
Capacitor (Co) 1 µF MOSFET Switches (S{1,...,8}) APT34N80LC3 Unfolder IGBT
Switches (Q{1,...,12}) APT75GP120JDQ3 Grid-Side Filter Inductor (Lg) 15 µH and φDC.
These angles are defined using rising edges of the leg voltages. They are generated using
minimum current trajectories (MCT) based on M and a normalized power command u
defined as u = P˜ o Pmax , −1 ≤ u ≤ 1 (11) where P˜ o and Pmax are the desired and
maximum output powers at given input and output voltages, respectively. Introduced by
Corradini et al., the MCT is derived by finding angles that minimize the DBSRC resonant
tank current at given M and u. For M < 1, the generated angles belong to one of two
trajectories, γ1+ or γ2. Specifically, if |u| < √ 1 − M2, γ1+ :    φDC = π φAB = 2π −
2 arcsin √ M2 + u 2 φAD = φAB 2 + arctan u M − π 2 . (12) Otherwise, if |u| ≥ √ 1 − M2, γ2
: ( φDC = φAB = π φAD = arcsin(u) . (13) B. Resonant Tank Current in AC-DC and DC-AC
Conversions Three-angle modulation based on MCT has been shown to provide lower
DBSRC resonant tank current in dc-dc conversion especially at non-unity voltage conversion
ratios compared to using one-angle modulation. When used with unfolder, both M and u in
each DBSRC are slowly timevarying relative to the switching period. Thus, the MCT is
expected to provide minimal tank current over the line period. The time-varying M and u may
cause different trajectories being used, leading to different tank current characteristics. To
determine the exact trajectories under nominal system ratings, variation in u over one dc-link
period or one-third line period is plotted. Also shown are the trajectory boundaries. The
DBSRC operates on γ1+ for u less than boundary values or on γ2 otherwise. For 208 V rms
(line-line) and ±1 kW, the DBSRC operates on γ1+ at all times. For 380 V rms (line-line) and
±2 kW, γ1+ is still used for majority of time, but trajectory switches to γ2 at around the
power peaks between Θ1 andΘ2. Also note that this analysis is conducted at nominal input
voltage of 500 V. Operating at lower input voltages may lead to M > 1 and a different set of
trajectories being used. With operating trajectories known, the rms tank currents in each
switching period it,rms over one dc-link period is also plotted. Only the fundamental current
component is considered. Shown for comparison are the rms currents using one-angle
modulation or equivalently operating on γ2 trajectory at all times. The rms currents are lower
or at least equal using MCT, and the difference is especially noticeable at power valleys.
Therefore, using MCT yields lower overall rms current over the line period. At 208 V rms
(line-line) for instance, the overall rms tank current is only about 30% higher than the rms
line current. The reduced tank current leads to lower conduction and switching losses. The
designed DBSRC, line filter and unfolder parameters are summarized. They are implemented
in hardware and connected to an experimental setup . The DBSRC inputs are parallel-
connected to a dc voltage source and an electronic load configured in constant current mode.
The dc source and load together simulate a battery pack. Similarly, the unfolder outputs are
connected to both a three-phase ac voltage source and a resistive load, that together represent
the ac grid. This setup allows bidirectional power- flow and provides well-regulated ac and
dc voltages, as the DBSRC-unfolder prototype is primarily tested for ac current regulation
and dynamic response. The DBSRC output currents contain large ripple at twice switching
frequency or 200 kHz in experimental prototype. The current ripple contributes to grid
current harmonics around and beyond the ripple frequency. To attenuate this ripple, inductors
Lg are added to unfolder ac port and form a three-phase LC filter with existing DBSRC
output capacitors Co. The inductance used in experiment is 15 µH to provide −37 dB
attenuation at 200 kHz with Co at 1 µF. A detailed filter design procedure is provided in
Section V. A Xilinx Virtex-5 field-programmable gate array (FPGA) is used to control both
DBSRC modules and the unfolder. Synchronization with the ac voltages is performed using a
digital synchronization signal generated from the ac source. The ac angle is then estimated
and used in both unfolder control and DBSRC reference current regeneration. First, three-
phase reference currents ira, irb and irc are generated based on the desired d and q-axis
references Ird and Irq. These reference components are adjusted directly in experiment to
obtain different active and reactive powers delivered to and received from the grid. The
references can also come from a outer control loop to achieve ac voltage and frequency
regulation in a microgrid, using for instance the droop method. Next, the DBSRC references
ir1 and ir2 are generated from the three-phase references using unfolder switching sequence
and relationship outlined. Each DBSRC module is controlled in closed-loop to regulate its
output current to track its reference. Regardless of the type and implementation of the outer
control loop, these inner current loops shall have fast and accurate reference tracking to
produce the desired ac currents. This is achieved through controller optimization, which is
detailed Performance of the experimental system is evaluated.

CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:
IMPLEMENTATION:
CONCLUSION:

This paper presents an isolated bidirectional three-phase ac-dc converter system for
integrating battery energy storage with the ac grid. The system originates as a modular dcdc
converter using DBSRC modules. The ac-dc and dc-ac capabilities are achieved by adding a
three-phase unfolder to two DBSRC modules with parallel inputs and series outputs. The ac
currents are indirectly controlled by regulating DBSRC output currents to track time-varying
reference segments and reconstructing them using a three-phase unfolder. The required line
filter to attenuate high-order current harmonics is smaller than that in a two-level VSI, due to
DBSRC output currents modulated at twice and higher achievable switching frequency. The
low-order harmonics are suppressed through controller optimizations to improve tracking
accuracy. System operation is validated using a 1-kW hardware prototype. Steady-state
results show acceptable efficiency and ac current quality. Transient tests verify fast system
response. Origins of current distortions are summarized, and methods for improvement are
provided.
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