UNIT II

Voltage Source Converter

• The voltage source converter is the building block of STATCOM, SSSC, UPFC, IPFC, and
some other Controllers.
• Conventional thyristor device has only the tum-on control; its tum-off depends on the
current coming to zero as per circuit and system conditions.
• The conventional thyristors can be commutated by line commutation or natural
commutation in case of ac supply and are callled line commutated converters.
• But conventional thyristors need external (forced) commutation in case of dc supply.
• Devices such as the Gate Tum-Off Thyristor ( GTO ), Integrated Gate Bipolar Transistor
(IGBT), MOS Tum-off Thyristor (MTO), and Integrated Gate-Commutated Thyristors
(IGCT), and similar devices have turn-on and turn-off capability.
• These devices (referred to as turn-off devices) are more expensive and have higher losses
than the thyristors without tum-off capability; however, tum-off devices enable
converter concepts that can have significant overall system cost and performance
advantages.
• These advantages in principle result from the converters, which are self-
commutating as against the line-commutating converters.
• Compared to the self-commutating converter, the line-commutating converter
must have an ac source connected to the converter, it consumes reactive power,
and suffers from occasional commutation failures in the inverter mode of
operation.
• Therefore, unless a converter is required to function in the two lagging-current
quadrants only ( consuming reactive power while converting active power),
converters applicable to FACTS Controllers would be of the self-commutating
type.
Self Commutating Converters
There are two basic categories of self commutating converters:
1. Current-sourced converters in which direct current always has one polarity, and
the power reversal takes place through reversal of the voltage polarity.
2. Voltage-sourced converters in which the voltage always has one polarity, and the
power reversal takes place through reversal of dc current polarity

• Conventional thyristor-based converters, being without turn-off capability, can

only be current-sourced converters, whereas tum-off device-based converters
can be of either type.

• For reasons of economics and performance, voltage-source converters are often

preferred over current-sourced converters for FACTS applications
Line Commutated Converter

Single Phase Line Commutated Converter

This configuration allows only positive current flow in the load.
However, the load voltage can be both positive and negative. For
this reason, this converter works in the two quadrant mode of
operation in the plane id vs Vda.

Two quadrant dc drive: (a) circuit; and (b) quadrants of operation.

Voltage source converter valves
• Since the direct current in a voltage-sourced converter flows in either direction, the converter valves have to
be bidirectional, and also, since the voltage does not reverse, the turn-off devices need not have reverse
voltage capability; such turn-off devices are known as asymmetric turn-off devices.
• Thus, a voltage-sourced converter valve is made up of an asymmetric turn-off device such as a GTO [as
shown in Figure 3.l(a)] with a parallel diode connected in reverse.
• Some turn-off devices, such as the IGBTs and IGCTs, may have a parallel reverse diode built in as part of a
complete integrated device suitable for voltage-sourced converters. However, for high power converters,
provision of separate diodes is advantageous. In reality, there would be several turn-off device-diode units
in series for high-voltage applications.
SINGLE-PHASE FULL-WAVE BRIDGE CONVERTER OPERATION

• Figure 3.2(a) shows a single-phase full-wave bridge converter consisting of four valves, (1-1 ') to ( 4-4'), a
de capacitor to provide stiff de voltage, and two ac connection points, a and b.
• The designated valve numbers represent their sequence of turn-on and turn-off.
• The dc voltage is converted to ac voltage with the appropriate valve turn-on, turn-off sequence as
explained below

Figure 3.2(a)
Figure 3.2(b)
 SINGLE PHASE-LEG (POLE) OPERATION

• Now consider operation of just one-leg (single-pole) circuit shown in Figure

3.3, in which the capacitor is split into two series-connected halves with
the neutral point of the ac side connected to the midpoint N of the de
capacitor.
• With the two tum-off devices alternately closing/opening, the ac voltage
waveform is a square wave with peak voltage of V'12.
• Note that when two phase-legs are operated in a full-wave bridge mode,
Figure 3.2(b ), the ac square wave is the sum of the two halves of Figure
3.3(b ), giving a peak voltage of V,.
• In a full-wave circuit, the neutral connection is no longer needed, because
the current has a return path through the other phase-leg.
1.AC current and voltage can have any phase relationship, that is, the converter
phase angle between voltage and current can cover all four quadrants, i.e., act as a
rectifier or an inverter with leading or lagging reactive power. This assumes that
there is a dc and an ac system connected on the two sides of the converter, as in
Figure 3.l(b), to exchange real power. If the converter is used for reactive power
only then there is no need for the dc system and the converter will terminate at the
dc capacitor.
2. The active and reactive power can be independently controlled with control of
magnitude and angle of the converter generated ac voltage with respect to the ac
current.
3. Diodes carry out instantaneous rectifier function, and turn-off devices carry out
instantaneous inverter function. Of course, each ac cycle is made up of periods of
rectifier and inverter actions in accordance with the phase angle, and the average
current determines the net power flow and hence the net rectifier or inverter
operation. When the converter operates as a rectifier with unity power factor, only
diodes are involved with conduction, and when it operates as an inverter with unity
power factor, only turn-off devices are involved in conduction.
4.When any turn-off device turns off, the ac bus current is not actually interrupted
at all, but is transferred from a turn-off device to a diode when the power factor is
not unity, and to another turn-off device when power factor is unity.
5. Turn-off devices 1 and 4 (or turn-off devices 2 and 3) in the same phase leg are
not turned on simultaneously. Otherwise this would cause a "shoot through“ (short
circuit) of the de side and a very fast discharge of the dc capacitor through the
shorted phase-leg, which will destroy the devices in that phase-leg. In a phase-leg,
when one turn-off device is on, the other is off.
The gate control is arranged to ensure that only one of the two devices in a phase
leg receives a turn-on pulse, and that the current in the other device was indeed
zero. Regardless, sensing and protection means are provided, usually to ensure safe
shutdown of the converter.
6. Each phase-leg is independently capable of operating at any frequency or timing
with the two valves in a leg alternately switching.
7.In principle, any number of phase-legs can be connected in parallel and each
operated independently although being connected to the ac system, there is a
need to have appropriate sequence and system interface through transformers in
order to achieve the desired converter performance.
8. It is important to note that turn-on and turn-off of the turn-off devices establish
the voltage waveform of the ac bus voltage in relation to the dc voltage, and do not
necessarily conduct current if the direction of current flow results in a
corresponding diode to carry the current.
SQUARE-WAVE VOLTAGE HARMONICS FOR ASINGLE-PHASE BRIDGE

• The square wave, shown in Figure 3.2(b) as the ac voltage v.b, has substantial
harmonics in addition to the fundamental. These harmonics are of the order 2n ±
1 where n is an integer, i.e., 3rd, 5th, 7th . . . The magnitude of the 3rd is 1/3rd of
the fundamental, the 5th is 1/5th of fundamental, and so on.
• As mentioned earlier, an inductive interface with the ac system (usually through
an inductor and/or transformer) is essential to ensure that the de capacitor does
not discharge rapidly into a capacitive load such as transmission line but is also
essential to reduce the consequent harmonic flow.
• Generally an ac filter would be necessary following the inductive interface to limit
the consequent current harmonic on the system side although filters will only
increase the harmonic current in the converter itself. It would therefore would be
preferable if the converter generates less harmonic so that it doesn’t require ac
filter in first place.
• Converters are built with semiconductors with gate-turn-off capability. The
gate-turn-off capability allows full control of the converter, because valves
can be switched ON and OFF whenever is required.

• This allows the commutation of the valves, hundreds of times in one period
which is not possible with line-commutated rectifiers, where thyristors are
switched ON and OFF only once a cycle.

• This feature has the following advantages:

(a) the current or voltage can be modulated (PWM), generating less
harmonic contamination;
(b) Power factor can be controlled and even It can be made leading; and
(c) They can be built as voltage source or current source rectifiers;
(d) The reversal of power in thyristor rectifiers is by reversal of voltage at
the dc link. Instead, force-commutated rectifiers can be implemented
for both, reversal of voltage or reversal of current.
• There are two ways to implement force-commutated three phase
rectifiers:
• (a) as a current source rectifier, where power reversal is by dc voltage
reversal; and
• (b) as a voltage source rectifier, where power reversal is by current
reversal at the dc link.
• Figure 12.35 shows the basic circuits for these two topologies.
THREE-PHASE FULL-WAVE BRIDGE CONVERTER
 Fundamental and Harmonics for a Three-Phase Bridge Converter
• It should be noted that the square wave waveforms of va , vb, and vc, are the phase terminal voltages with
respect to the hypothetical midpoint N of the de voltage and not the neutral point of the ac side. These voltages
would be phase-to-neutral ac voltages only if the ac neutral is physically connected to the midpoint of the de
voltage, in which case the converter would in effect become a series connection of two three.
• For a square wave with amplitude of Vi2, the instantaneous values of Va, vb, and v, based on Fourier analysis are
given by
• The higher the n, the lower is the harmonic amplitude, and clearly the
three phase, full-wave converter has much lower harmonics than the
single-phase, full-wave converter because of the elimination of low-
order and other harmonics, particularly the second harmonic.
• However, even in a six-pulse operation, the second harmonic will
reappear during ac voltage unbalances, and the system needs to be
designed to suppress and/or ride through low frequency harmonics
during ac system faults and other reasons for system unbalance
TRANSFORMER CONNECTIONS FOR 12-PULSE OPERATION

• The harmonic content of the phase-to-phase voltage and phase-to-neutral voltage in 3 phase
converter, the two voltages were 30 degrees out of phase.
• If this phase shift is corrected, then for the phase to neutral voltage, i.e., Van, the harmonics,
other than those of the order of 12n ± 1, would be in phase opposition to those of the phase-to-
phase voltage Vab and with 1/V3 times the amplitude.
• It follows then, as shown in Figure 3.6(a), that if the phase-to-phase voltages of a second
𝑉
converter were connected to a delta-connected secondary of a second transformer, with times
3
the turns compared to the wye-connected secondary, and the pulse train of one converter was
shifted by 30 degrees with respect to the other (in order to bring Vab and Van to be in phase), the
combined output voltage would have a 12-pulse waveform, with harmonics of the order of 12n ±
1, i.e., 11th, 13th, 23rd, 25th . . ., and with amplitudes of 1/llth, l/13th, l/23rd, 1/25th . . .,
respectively, compared to the fundamental.
• Figure 3.6(b) shows the two waveforms Van and Vab, adjusted for the transformer ratio and one
of them phase displaced by 30 degrees.
• These two waveforms are then added to give the third waveform, which is seen to be a 12-pulse
waveform, closer to being a sine wave than each of the six-pulse waveform
• The arrangement of Figure 3.6(a), the two six-pulse converters, involving a total of six phase-legs are
connected in parallel on the same de bus, and work together as a 12-pulse converter.
• It is necessary to have two separate transformers, otherwise phase shift in the non-12-pulse harmonics, i.e.,
5th, 7th, 17th, 19th ... in the secondaries will result in a large circulating current due to common core flux.
• To the non-12-pulse voltage harmonics, common core flux will represent a near short circuit.
• Also for the same reason, the two primary side windings should not be directly connected in parallel to the
same three -phase ac busbars on the primary side.
• Again this is because the non-12-pulse voltage harmonics, i.e., 5th, 7th, 17th, 19th ..., while they cancel out
looking into the ac system, would be in phase for the closed loop. Consequently, a large current
corresponding to these harmonics will also flow in this loop, limited only by the impedance of the loop,
which is essentially the leakage inductance of the transformers.
Current Source Converter
• In the current-sourced converter with conventional thyristors discussed above, operation of the converter is
limited to the third and fourth quadrant (lagging power factor). This is because thyristors do not have turn-
off capability and the de current has to be commutated from one valve to another while the anode-cathode
voltage of the incoming valve is still positive. Also, such a converter needs an ac voltage source for
commutation.

• In the voltage-sourced converters discussed , there is the de capacitor, which facilitates rapid transfer of
current from an outgoing tum-off valve to the opposite valve in a phase-leg, irrespective of the direction of
the ac current. The capacitor is assumed to be large enough to handle alternate charging and discharging
without substantial change in dc volt
• With tum-off capability, the valves can be turned off at will. However, tum-off devices in order to tum off still
require an alternate path for rapid transfer of current. Otherwise, they will have to dissipate a large amount
of energy to tum off current in an inductive circuit.
• It can be visualized that if ac capacitors are placed between phases, on the ac side of the valves, Figure
4.23(a), they can facilitate rapid transfer of current from the outgoing turn-off valve to the incoming valve.
• Commutation of current from valve 1 to valve 3 is illustrated in Figure 4.23(b ). Given low inductance of the
ac shunt capacitor and the bus connections, the transfer (commutation) is rapid and there is no
commutation angle to speak of as far as the valves are concerned.
• Actually, with due respect to the tum-on di! dt limit of the devices, inductance of the capacitors and the bus
connections can be duly exploited.
• Also it is to be noted, that when a valve turns off, valve 1 in Figure 4.23(b ), its rate of rise of voltage is
cushioned by the ac capacitor.
• These capacitors need to handle a sustained alternating charge/discharge current of the converter valves.
• Unlike the line commutated converter using conventional thyristors, this converter with tum-off valves can
operate even with a leading power factor and it does not need a pre-existing ac voltage for commutation. It
can in fact operate as an inverter into a passive or an active ac system.
CURRENT-SOURCED VERSUS VOLTAGE-
SOURCED CONVERTER
There are some advantages and disadvantages of current source converters
w.r.t voltage source converter.
• The current source converter does not have high short circuit current as
voltage source converter.
• For current source converter , the rate of rise of fault current during
external or internal fault is limited by the dc reactor.
• For voltage source converter, the capacitor discharge current would rise
very rapidly and can damage the valves.
• Six pulse current source converter does not generate third harmonic
voltage . The primaries of 12 pulse converter need not be connected in
series for harmonic cancellation.
• In current source converter valves are not subjected to high dv/dt due to
presence of ac capacitors.
• Ac capacitors required for the current-stiff converters can be quite large and
expensive, although their size can be decreased by adoption of PWM topology. In
general the problem of a satisfactory interface of current-sourced converters with
the ac system is more complex.
• Continuous losses in the de reactor of a current-sourced converter are much
higher than the losses in the de capacitor. These losses can represent a significant
loss penalty.
• With the presence of capacitors, which are subjected to commutation charging
and discharging, this converter will produce harmonic voltages at a frequency of
resonance between the capacitors and the ac system inductances. Adverse
effects of this can be avoided by sizing the capacitors such that the resonance
frequency does not coincide with characteristic harmonics.
• These harmonics as well as the presence of a de reactor can result in over
voltages on the valves and transformers.
• Widespread adoption of asymmetrical devices, IGBTs and GTOs, as the devices of
choice for lower on-state losses, has made voltage-sourced converters a favorable
choice when turn-off capability is necessary.
• The device market is generally driven by high-volume industrial applications, and
as a result symmetrical turn-off devices of high-voltage ratings and required
operating characteristics, in particular the switching characteristics, may not be
readily available until the volume of the FACTS market increases.
• However as the devices evolve, particularly with the evolution of advanced GTOs
, it is important to continuously re-evaluate the converter topology of choice.