CHAPTER 4

INVERTERS:
Converting DC to AC
 CONTENTS
۩ Introduction
۩ Basic Principles of Inverter
۩ Single-phase Half-Bridge Square-Wave Inverter
۩ Single-phase Full-Bridge Square-Wave Inverter
۩ Quasi Inverter
۩ Three-phase inverter
۩ Fourier Series and Harmonics Analysis
۩ Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM)
 INTRODUCTION
Definition:
Converts DC to AC power by switching the DC input
voltage in a pre-determined sequence so as to
generate AC voltage.

Applications:
Induction motor drives, traction, standby power
supplies, and uninterruptible ac power supplies (UPS).
 INTRODUCTION

+ +
Vdc Vac
- -

General block diagram

 INTRODUCTION
Three types of inverter:

“DC LINK” Iac L ILOAD

+ + +
AC IDC AC
Vdc Vac Vdc
Load Load
- - -

Inverter Inverter
switching switching
control control

(a) Voltage source inverter (VSI) (b) Current source inverter (CSI)
 INTRODUCTION
Three types of inverter: (cont.)

Iac
+
AC
Vdc
Load
-

Output current
Inverter sensing circuit
switching
control

Reference Comparison
Waveform circuit

(c) Current regulated inverter

 BASIC PRINCIPLES
T1 T3
D1 D3

+ V0 -
VDC
I0

T4 T2
D4 D2

The schematic of single-phase full-bridge square-wave

inverter circuit
 BASIC PRINCIPLES
V0

S1 S3
VDC

+ V0 -
VDC
t
t1 t2

S4 S2

V0

S1 S3

+ V0 -
VDC t2 t3
t

S4 S2 -VDC
 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter

1
- V0 +
VDC G .
V0

The basic single-phase half-bridge inverter circuit

 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
 The total RMS value of the load output voltage,
 2 T / 2  VDC  2  VDC
VO       dt 
 T 0
 2   2

 The instantaneous output voltage is: (refer to slide 30/pp:88)

2V DC
vO  
n 1, 3, 5 ,... n
sin nt

0 for n  2,4,....
 The fundamental rms output voltage (n=1)is

2VDC  1 
VO1     0.45VDC
  2
 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
 In the case of RL load, the instantaneous load current io ,

2VDC
io   sin( nt   n )
n 1, 3, 5,.. n R  (nL)
2 2

where
 n  tan 1 (nL / R)

 The fundamental output power is

Po1  Vo1 I o1 cos 1

 I o21 R
 2V DC 
 
 2 R 2  (L) 2 
 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
 The total harmonic distortion (THD),

1   2
THD    Vn 
VO1 n 3,5, 7 ,.... 

THD 
1
VO1
V o
2
 Vo21 
 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
Example 3.1
The single-phase half-bridge inverter has a resistive load of R =
2.4Ω and the DC input voltage is 48V. Determine:
(a) the rms output voltage at the fundamental frequency
(b) the output power
(c) the average and peak current of each transistor.
(d) the THD
 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
Solution
VDC = 48V and R = 2.4Ω
(a) The fundamental rms output voltage,
Vo1 = 0.45VDC = 0.45x48 = 21.6V

(b) For single-phase half-bridge inverter, the output voltage

Vo = VDC/2
Thus, the output power,

Po  Vo2 / R
( 48 / 2) 2

2. 4
 240W
 Single-phase Half-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
Solution

(c) The transistor current Ip = 24/2.4 = 10 A

Because each of the transistor conducts for a 50% duty cycle,
the average current of each transistor is IQ = 10/2 = 5 A.

(d)
1
THD  Vo2  Vo21
VO1
2
 VDC 

1
   0.45V DC 2

0.45 xVDC  2 
 48.34%
 Single-phase Full-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
 The switching in the second leg is delayed by 180
degrees from the first leg.
 The maximum output voltage of this inverter is twice
that of half-bridge inverter.
 Single-phase Full-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
 The output RMS voltage

2 
VO    VDC
2
dt   VDC
T 

 And the instantaneous output voltage in a Fourier series is

4VDC
vO  
n 1, 3, 5,... n
sin nt

 The fundamental RMS output voltage 4V DC

V1   0.9V DC
2

 In the case of RL load, the instantaneous load current


sin nt   n 
4VDC
io  
n R  nL 
2 2
n 1, 3, 5,...
 Single-phase Full-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
Example 3.2
A single-phase full-bridge inverter with VDC = 230 and
consist of RLC in series. If R = 1.2Ω, ωL = 8 Ω and
1/ωC = 7 Ω, find:
(a) The amplitude of fundamental rms output current,
io1
(b) The fundamental component of output current in
function of time.
(c) The power delivered to the load due to the
fundamental component.
 Single-phase Full-bridge
Square-wave Inverter
Example 3.3
A single-phase full-bridge inverter has an RLC load with R
= 10Ω, L = 31.5mH and C = 112μF. The inverter frequency
is 60Hz and the DC input voltage is 220V. Determine:
(a) Express the instantaneous load current in Fourier series.
(b) Calculate the rms load current at the fundamental
frequency.
(c) the THD of load current
(d) Power absorbed by the load and fundamental power.
(e) The average DC supply current and
(f) the rms and peak supply current of each transistor
Three-Phase Inverter
 Three-Phase Inverter
 Viewed as extensions of the single-phase bridge circuit.
 The switching signals for each switches of an inverter leg are
displaced or delayed by 120o.
 With 120o conduction, the switching pattern is T6T1 – T1T2 –
T2T3 – T3T4 – T4T5 – T5T6 – T6T1 for the positive A-B-C
sequence.
 When an upper switch in an inverter leg connected with the
positive DC rail is turned ON, the output terminal of the leg
(phase voltage) goes to potential +VDC/2.
 When a lower switch in an inverter leg connected with the
negative DC rail is turned ON, the output terminal of that leg
(phase voltage) goes to potential -VDC/2.
 Three-Phase Inverter
 The line-to-neutral voltage can be expressed in Fourier series

2Vdc n  
van  
n 1, 3, 5,.. n 
sin
3
sin n 

 t 
6



2Vdc n  
vbn   sin sin n t  
n 1, 3, 5 ,.. n 3  2

2Vdc n  7 
vcn  
n 1, 3, 5,.. n 
sin
3
sin n 

 t 
6


 The line voltage is vab = √3van with phase advance of 30o


2 3Vdc n  
vab  
n 1, 3, 5,.. n
sin
3
sin n t  
 3

2 3Vdc n  
vbc   sin sin n t  
n 1, 3, 5,.. n  3  3

n
sin nt   
2 3Vdc
vca   sin
n 1, 3, 5,.. n  3
 Fourier Series and
Harmonics Analysis
 Fourier series is a tool to analyze the wave shapes of the
output voltage and current in terms of Fourier series.

2 Inverse Fourier
 f v d
1
ao 
 
f v   a 0   a n cos n  bn sin n 
0
1
2 2 n 1

 f v cosn d
1
an 
 0
Where
2   t
 f v sin n d
1
bn 
 0
 Fourier Series and
Harmonics Analysis
 If no DC component in the output, the output voltage and
current are

vo (t )   Vn sin nt   n 
n 1


io (t )   I n sin nt   n 
n 1

 The rms current of the load can be determined by

2
 
I 
I rms  I
n 1
2
n , rms   n 
n 1  2 

Where
Vn
In 
Zn
 Fourier Series and
Harmonics Analysis
 The total power absorbed in the load resistor can be
determined by
 
P   Pn   I n2,rms R
n 1 n 1
 Total Harmonics
Distortion
 Since the objective of the inverter is to use a
DC voltage source to supply a load that
requiring AC voltage, hence the quality of
the non-sinusoidal AC output voltage or
current can be expressed in terms of THD.
 The harmonics is considered to ensure that
the quality of the waveform must match to
the utility supply which means of power
quality issues.
 This is due to the harmonics may cause
degradation of the equipments and needs to
be de-rated.
Total Harmonics
Distortion
 Total Harmonics
Distortion
 The THD of the load voltage is expressed as,



 V1,2rms
2 2
n2
(Vn , rms ) Vrms
THDv  
V1,rms V1,rms

 The current THD can be obtained by replacing the

harmonic voltage with harmonic current,



n2
( I n ,rms ) 2
THDi 
I 1,rms
 Harmonics of Square-
wave Waveform
 2
1 
a 0    V DC d    VDC   0
 0  

V DC VDC  2

  0
an   cos( n )d   cos( n )d   0
 
  t
 2
 2
VDC  
  0
 V DC
bn   sin( n )d   sin( n )d 
 

VDC
n
 

2
 cos( n ) 0  cos( n ) 


VDC
(cos 0  cos n )  (cos 2n  cos n )
n
2
 1  cos n 
n
 Harmonics of Square-wave
Waveform
 When the harmonics number, n of a waveform is
even number, the resultant of
cos n  1
Therefore, bn  0

 When n is odd number, cos n  1

Hence, bn 
4VDC
n
 Spectrum of Square-
wave
• Harmonic decreases with
Normalised a factor of (1/n).
Fundamental
1st
• Even harmonics are
absent
• Nearest harmonics is the
3rd. If fundamental is
(0.33)
3rd
50Hz, then nearest
(0.2)
harmonic is 150Hz.
5th
(0.14)
7th
• Due to the small
(0.11)
9th (0.09) separation between the
11th
fundamental and 3rd
harmonics, output low-
n
pass filter design can be
very difficult.
Quasi-square wave

an = 0, due to half-wave symmetry

Quasi-square wave

Therefore,
If n is even, bn = 0;
4Vdc
If n is odd, bn  cos 
n
Example 3.4
The full-bridge inverter with DC input voltage of 100V,
load resistor and inductor of 10Ω and 25mH
respectively and operated at 60 Hz frequency.
Determine:
(a) The amplitude of the Fourier series terms for the
square-wave load voltage.
(b) The amplitude of the Fourier series terms for load
current.
(c) Power absorbed by the load.
(d) The THD of the load voltage and load current for
square-wave inverter.
 Amplitude and
Harmonics Control
VDC

   
t
 2
The output voltage of the full-
bridge inverter can be controlled -VDC
by adjusting the interval of on
each side of the pulse as zero .

S1 Closed Opened

S2

S3

S4

S2 S1 S1 S3 S2
S4 S2 S3 S4 S4
Vo 0 VDC 0 -VDC 0
Amplitude and
Harmonics Control
The rms value of the voltage waveform is

1   2 2
 
Vrms  V d (t )  V 1 

DC DC

The Fourier series of the waveform is expressed as

vO (t )  V
n ,odd
n sin( nt )

The amplitude of half-wave symmetry is

2    4VDC 
Vn 
 
V DC sin( nt ) d (t )  
 n 
 cos( n )
Amplitude and
Harmonics Control
The amplitude of the fundamental frequency is controllable by
adjusting the angle of α.

 4V 
V1   DC  cos 
  
The nth harmonic can be eliminated by proper choice of
displacement angle α if

cos n  0
OR
90 

n
 Pulse-Width Modulation
(PWM)
 Pulse-width modulation provides a way to decrease
the total harmonics distortion (THD).
 Types of PWM scheme
 Natural or sinusoidal sampling
 Regular sampling
 Optimize PWM
 Harmonic elimination/minimization PWM
 SVM
 Pulse-Width Modulation
(PWM)
 Several definition in PWM
(i) Amplitude Modulation, Ma
Vm , reference Vm , sin e
Ma  
Vm , carrier Vm , tri

If Ma ≤ 1, the amplitude of the fundamental

frequency of the output voltage, V1 is linearly
proportional to Ma.
(ii) Frequency Modulation, Mf
f carrier f tri
Mf  
f reference f sin e
 Pulse-Width Modulation
(PWM)
Bipolar Switching of PWM vsine (reference) vtri (carrier)

S1 and S2 ON when Vsine > Vtri

S3 and S4 ON when Vsine < Vtri
(a)

VDC

-VDC

(b)
Pulse-Width Modulation
(PWM)
Sinusoidal PWM Generator -Bipolar

G1, G2

G3, G4
 Pulse-Width Modulation
(PWM)
vsine (reference) vtri (carrier)

Unipolar Switching
of PWM

(a)
S1 is ON when Vsine > Vtri Vdc

S4
S2 is ON when –Vsine < Vtri 0

S3 is ON when –Vsine > Vtri Vdc

S2

S4 is ON when Vsine < Vtri 0

(b)

Vo

(c)
Sinusoidal
PWM
Generator-
Unipolar
 Pulse-Width Modulation
(PWM)
■ Advantages of PWM switching
- provides a way to decrease the THD of load current.
- the amplitude of the o/p voltage can be controlled with the
modulating waveform.
- reduced filter requirements to decrease harmonics.

■ Disadvantages of PWM switching

- complex control circuit for the switches
- increase losses due to more frequent switching.
PWM Harmonics
Harmonics of Bipolar PWM
Assuming the PWM output is symmetry, the
harmonics of each kth PWM pulse can be
expressed
2 T
Vnk 
 
0
v(t ) sin( nt )d (t )

2   k  k  k 1
  V sin( nt ) d (t )   (-VDC ) sin( nt )d (t )
   k 
DC
 k  k

Finally, the resultant of the integration is

Vnk 
2VDC
cos n k  cos n k 1  2 cos n( k   k )
n
PWM Harmonics
vtri vsine

VDC

-VDC

k k

k  k

 k 1
0

Symmetric sampling
PWM Harmonics
Harmonics of Bipolar PWM
The Fourier coefficient for the PWM waveform is the
sum of Vnk for the p pulses over one period.
p
Vn  Vnk
k 1

The normalized frequency spectrum for bipolar

switching for ma = 1 is shown below

ma = 1 0.9 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1

n=1 1.00 0.90 0.80 0.70 0.60 0.50 o.40 0.30 0.20 0.10

n = mf 0.60 0.71 0.82 0.92 1.01 1.08 1.15 1.20 1.24 1.27

n=mf +2 0.32 0.27 0.22 0.17 0.13 0.09 0.06 0.03 0.02 0.00

Normalized Fourier Coefficients Vn/Vdc for Bipolar PWM

Example 3.5
The inverter has a resistive load of 10Ω and
inductive load of 25mH connected in series with
the fundamental frequency current amplitude of
9.27A. The THD of the inverter is not more than
10%. If at the beginning of designing the inverter,
the THD of the current is 16.7% which is does
not meet the specification, find the voltage
amplitude at the fundamental frequency, the
required DC input supply and the new THD of the
current.
Example 3.6
The single-phase full-bridge inverter is used to produce
a 60Hz voltage across a series R-L load using bipolar
PWM. The DC input to the bridge is 100V, the
amplitude modulation ratio is 0.8, and the frequency
modulation ratio is 21. The load has resistance of R =
10Ω and inductance L = 20mH. Determine:
(a) The amplitude of the 60Hz component of the output
voltage and load current.
(b) The power absorbed by the load resistor
(c) The THD of the load current