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IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO.

1, JANUARY 2005 417

Design and Performance Comparisons of Two


Multidrive Systems With Unity Power Factor
Sangshin Kwak, Student Member, IEEE, and Hamid A. Toliyat, Senior Member, IEEE

Abstract—From economical aspects, the multidrive systems are


a promising application area for the converters, where the cost
and size of the converters are shared by multiple inverter-motors.
Given terminal constraints of unity power factor in grid line
and independent multiple motor controls in output ports, two
multidrive topologies are possible: one with single PWM-VSR
feeding inverters through the common dc bus, and the other using
a diode rectifier and an active power filter with its own load.
Despite several publications for two systems, the features and
advantages of the two systems have not been clearly explained.
This paper, in detail, presents the theoretical analyses and system-
atic comparisons of the two multidrive topologies, from converter
kilovolt-ampere ratings, dc-link voltage requirements, switch
ratings, semiconductor losses, and reactive component designs Fig. 1. Multidrive system with the PWM-VSR.
point of views.
Index Terms—Converter size analysis, design aspects and com- unity power factor on the utility side and with independent
parisons, multidrive systems, switch ratings.
motor controls on the output sides. The two alternative topolo-
gies, which can realize the desired input/output performance,
I. INTRODUCTION are shown in Figs. 1 and 2.
The multidrive system in Fig. 1 establishes the common
A DVANCES in power semiconductor technology and low
cost control processes have significantly matured the
adjustable speed drives (ASD) used for medium or high power
dc bus voltage to feed the two inverter-motor units through a
single PWM-VSR. This topology makes use of the PWM-VSR
applications with concomitant reductions of energy consump- more cost-effective and viable since the cost and size of the
tion in industrial processes. As the output performances of the PWM-VSR are shared by multiple loads. In Fig. 2, one in-
ASD have continued to improve, the research trends for the verter-motor unit is operated through a diode rectifier while the
ASD, in recent years, have been focused on the interaction other unit supplied by a PWM converter. Such a converter op-
with the utility grid. The implementation of more compact, erates as a PWM rectifier to supply the output power to its own
efficient, and cost-effective ASD has also been important. The inverter-motor unit. At the same time, it functions as an APF by
utility issue has led to more restricted norms regarding power compensating the harmonic and reactive power generated by
quality; such as IEEE-519 standards. Pulse-width-modulated the diode rectifier. This topology has, in recent years, received
voltage source rectifier (PWM-VSR) and active power filter an increased attention because it is expected to provide a more
(APF) have been considered as the two exemplary solutions economic solution compared to the APF. Since this converter
for these issues [1]–[3], [13]. However, the two converters still performs both the rectification and the active power filtering
suffer from large kVA ratings of the converters and the reactive functions, it is called a Multi-Function Converter (MFC) in this
components, resulting in high cost. paper.
Many applications in the industry require multiple motor Both systems have shown satisfactory characteristics in ob-
drives, such as paper, textile, and oil-pumping applications. taining unity power factor for the utility grid as well as accu-
The multidrive concept has offered an attractive approach rate output power control for loads, in a number of publications.
to decrease the specific cost and size of such converters. A However, a comparative study between the two types of mul-
stand-alone PWM-VSR with two inverter-motor units [8]–[10] tidrive systems until now is missing in the literature. The objec-
as well as a combined system of a diode rectifier and an APF tive of this paper is to clearly address and compare the features
with respective drives [4]–[7] can be configured to operate at and requirements of the two systems. One possible drawback of
the multidrive system in Fig. 2 is its limited regeneration ability
since the diode rectifier with its uni-directional power flow char-
Manuscript received April 25, 2003; revised September 22, 2003. Paper no. acteristics prevents the regeneration of load energy. As a result,
TPWRD-00190-2003. only the output power flown through the MFC can be regen-
The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, erated to the supply. On the other hand, the system in Fig. 1
Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3128 USA (e-mail:
sskwak@ee.tamu.edu; toliyat@ee.tamu.edu). provides a continuous operation for the regenerative loads due
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPWRD.2004.837678 to the bi-directional power flow of the PWM-VSR. Aside from
0885-8977/$20.00 © 2005 IEEE
418 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

Fig. 3. Phasor diagram of VSR with unity power factor operation.

Fig. 2. Multidrive system with the MFC and the diode rectifier.

the difference in regeneration ability, it is important to investi-


gate the comparison between topological and operational fea-
tures of the two multidrive systems, given input and output con-
straints specified. Intuition suggests that the MFC size in Fig. 2
is likely to be lower because of the lower output power level it
needs to carry. This paper first examines the question of con-
verter sizes as related to system topologies, by deriving sys- Fig. 4. VSR rating versus output power and input filter inductor (V =
460 V, f = 60 Hz).
tematic analyses and closed-form expressions. It is verified that
although the MFC, in general, results in substantially smaller
size than the PWM-VSR, this result can undergo a change in closed-form expression for the VSR kVA rating, only the fun-
certain conditions. Having compared the converter sizes, the damental components of the input voltage and current are con-
paper, then tackles the issue of comparing the dc-link voltage sidered. The supply phase voltage and current are
requirement, semiconductor ratings, and losses. Understanding
that the reactive components used for energy storage and fil-
tering constraint the cost and power density realizable in the (1)
converters, the reactive component comparisons of the two sys-
tems are included. Analytical expressions and comparative fea- where and are the rms values of the supply phase voltage
tures obtained through theoretical derivations are presented for and current, respectively. The line-to-neutral supply voltage
the two systems. is found by dividing the given by . With the constraints
of unity power factor operation and no converter and inductor
loss, the VSR kVA can be derived as
II. CONVERTERS RATINGS COMPARISON
(2)
The objective in this section is to determine and find
closed-form expressions for the converter kVA ratings of the
two systems depicted in Figs. 1 and 2, given certain terminal where denotes the input filter inductance. Equation (2)
constraints. These terminal constraints are that the supply volt- clearly shows that the VSR rating is decided by the output
ages and currents operating at unity power factor are defined, power and the input filter inductor. This is due to the fact that
and a total output power is specified. Both converter configu- the converter delivers real power to its loads and reactive power
rations are with a filter inductor on the ac side of the circuits to the filter inductor. The filter effect becomes more apparent
to eliminate the switching frequency components. Therefore, from the phasor diagram for the VSR operating with unity
both converters must supply the reactive power to the inductor, power factor shown in Fig. 3.
leading to the increase of the kVA ratings of the converters. In Fig. 3, given unity power factor constraint at the grid ter-
With the input/output constraints, the effect of the input filter minal, the input voltage and current on the ac side of
inductor is included. In order to achieve a fair comparison, it the VSR have a degree phase shift, which shows a leading
is assumed that both drives are designed to run on a balanced, power factor. This implies that the unity power factor operation
three-phase grid supply ( , ) with in the grid is achieved when the VSR operating with leading
unity power factor. The drives are to meet the same total output power factor properly cancels the lagging inductive VAR of the
power requirement. filter inductor. Thus, the input filter size should be kept small
since a larger input filter leads to higher kVA requirement of the
VSR.
A. PWM-VSR Rating
Fig. 4 shows the kVA rating for the VSR as a function of
Since the PWM-VSR (subsequently referred to as the VSR) the output power and the input filter size. The converter rating
in Fig. 1 has both sinusoidal current and voltage in its ac side, clearly increases with the increase in the output power and the
a calculation of its rating is straightforward. In order to find a filter inductance.
KWAK AND TOLIYAT: DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS OF TWO MULTIDRIVE SYSTEMS 419

Fig. 6. MFC rating normalized by the output power for the condition of P =
Fig. 5. Power-flow model in the multidrive system with the MFC. P .

B. Multi-Function Converter (MFC) Rating where and describe the supply current components to de-
liver the output power and , respectively. The total output
The kVA rating of the diode rectifier in the multidrive system power, which this multidrive system supplies, is given by
of Fig. 2 is not considered for the converter rating analysis, be-
cause the diode rectifier is not comparable to the MFC from (5)
cost point of view. Since the MFC should compensate the re-
active and harmonic power generated by the diode rectifier, the The real, reactive, and harmonic power of the diode rectifier are
MFC kVA rating is likely to be influenced by the distortion level given by [2]
of the diode rectifier current as well as the input filter in-
ductance, given the output power constraints. In the paper, be-
fore analyzing the MFC rating with a specific operating point of (6)
the diode rectifier, general properties of its rating related with a
diode rectifier are examined, by initially assuming the ac-side where and denote the THD and the displacement
filter to be zero. This assumption eliminates the need to factor angle of , respectively.
model the interaction of the MFC rating with the input filter The expression for the MFC rating, from (3) and (6), is given
inductor. This implies that the kVA rating of the MFC is only by
dependent on the distortion degree of the diode rectifier cur-
rent, such as the total harmonic distortion (THD) and the dis- (7)
placement power factor. It can lead to the relationship between
the MFC rating and various diode rectifier current features. The
MFC rating analysis is then extended by including the effect of Equation (7) shows that the MFC rating is influenced by sev-
the input filter inductance, using a specific diode rectifier cur- eral factors: displacement factor angle and of
rent waveform. the diode rectifier current as well as the output powers flown
1) Analysis Without the Input Filter: By neglecting the input through the MFC and the diode rectifier. It is very important to
filter inductor , a power flow model of the multidrive system note that the resultant MFC rating is dependent on the ratio of
shown in Fig. 2 can be depicted as in Fig. 5. It is shown that the the output powers through the MFC and the diode rectifier
MFC is handling the real power for its own load as well as the . In some applications, the MFC and the diode rectifier can
reactive and harmonic power generated by the diode rectifier to equally split their output powers; . In this
keep the unity power factor at the grid terminal. case, the MFC rating normalized by the total output power is
The converter rating of the MFC and the diode rectifier from given by
Fig. 5 is given by
(8)

Fig. 6 shows the plot of the MFC rating normalized by the total
(3)
output power as a function of and the displacement
factor of the diode rectifier. The curve shows that the kVA rating
The supply current in (1) can be divided into two components of the MFC increases with increasing and . This im-
for powers and which denote the output powers delivered plies that if the THD and the displacement factor angle of the
through the MFC and the diode rectifier, respectively diode rectifier rise at constant output power, the MFC should
compensate the higher reactive and harmonic power, resulting
in an increase of its rating. For the purpose of comparison, the
(4) VSR rating normalized with the total output power is displayed
420 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

Fig. 8. Normalized minimum MFC rating versus operating points of the diode
Fig. 7. Optimized power split factor as a function of T HD and ' . rectifier.

with the same assumption of . Notice that the VSR rating


is equal to the output power by neglecting the filter inductance
in (2). Though the MFC rating connected with the diode recti-
fier with low and small is substantially lower than
the VSR rating, severe distortion of the diode rectifier current
yields a higher MFC rating than the VSR rating.
Now, an output power split factor between the MFC and the
diode rectifier, which can minimize the kVA rating of the MFC
is derived. An output power split factor is defined as the ratio
of the output power as through the diode rectifier and the total
output power

(9)

Note that the system structure with leads to the VSR


Fig. 9. Supply current, MFC input current, and diode rectifier input current in
topology and with yields an APF circuit. With the defined case of k = 0:5.
, the MFC rating is given by

It is important to note that a unique value of and the corre-


sponding unique minimum MFC rating exist at every operating
(10) point of the diode rectifier. Fig. 8 shows a minimum MFC rating,
Then, the value of which minimizes the MFC rating can be with optimized split factor as a function of the
found by taking diode rectifier input current characteristics. Notice that unlike
the case of , the normalized minimum kVA rating of the
(11) MFC is lower than the normalized VSR rating for all operating
regions of the diode rectifier.
This yields an optimized power split factor given by 2) Analysis With the Input Filter: The MFC rating with the
input filter effect is expected to increase due to the fact that
the converter has to additionally supply the reactive power to
(12) the inductor as well as the reactive and harmonic power to the
diode rectifier. The following analysis for the MFC rating in-
It is worth noting that from (12), with increased distortion cluding the effect of the input inductor is based on the ideal
level of the diode rectifier current (increasing and six-pulse diode rectifier with the dc-side current , operating
), the optimized power split factor decreases, which yields at unity displacement factor [17]. Current commutations of the
more output power flown through the MFC. This is illustrated diode rectifier are assumed to be instantaneous. These assump-
in Fig. 7 showing the plot of optimized power split factor tions yield values for the total harmonic distortion and displace-
versus and the displacement factor. Once the opti- ment factor of the diode rectifier current as and
mized power split factor is known, the minimum kVA rating of . As before, assume that switching frequency com-
the MFC is ponents of the MFC current and voltage are negligible. Fig. 9
shows the supply current, the MFC current, and the diode recti-
(13) fier current in the case of .
KWAK AND TOLIYAT: DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS OF TWO MULTIDRIVE SYSTEMS 421

The kVA rating of the MFC is defined by

(14)

where and are the rms values of the MFC


input current and voltage, respectively. The MFC rms current
is written by

(15)

where denotes the rms value of the diode rectifier current


. The supply rms currents are given by

(16) Fig. 10. MFC rating versus output power split factor (V = 460 V, n = 16,
and L = 0:5 mH).
The rms voltage of the MFC is also written by

(17)

The MFC input current is expressed, by Fourier analysis, as

(18)

Thus, the kVA rating of MFC can be derived, by reflecting (15)


and (17) to (14), as
Fig. 11. Optimized power split factor versus output power (V = 460 V
and n = 16).

for hospital environments, yielding the increase of the number


(19) . Fig. 10 shows the kVA rating of the MFC defined in (20)
as a function of the output power split factor for several total
where denotes the number of harmonic components to be can- output powers with , , and
celed. By expressing each output power supplied through the . It is shown that the MFC kVA rating varies with the power
MFC and the diode rectifier using the output power split factor split factor given the total output power constraint, yielding
defined by (9), the MFC rating is given by the possibility of determining an optimized power split factor
. It also shows that an optimized split factor which yields a
minimum MFC rating decreases with the increasing total output
power.
Therefore, as before, the optimized power split factor ,
which minimizes the MFC rating can be found and the corre-
(20) sponding minimum MFC rating is also obtained by reflecting
the into (20). It is apparent that the optimized split factor
It is noticed that the MFC rating is influenced by the input filter is a function of input inductance , total output power ,
inductance, total output power, output power split factor, and and the number of compensating harmonics . These relation-
the number of harmonics the MFC compensates. Note that in ships are illustrated in Figs. 11 and 12 with different parameters.
the case of , the system of Fig. 2 changes into the VSR It is important to notice that a unique optimized split factor and
of Fig. 1, resulting in (20) equal to (2). The specification for the a corresponding unique minimum converter rating, here again,
number of harmonic components to be canceled by the MFC exist given , , and .
can be set from the total harmonic distortion limitation Fig. 11 shows a plot of the optimized split factor versus
of the supply current to meet IEEE 519 harmonic standards. output power for several filter inductor values. The optimized
IEEE 519 harmonic current limits are to be met up to the 50th factor, , is decreased by the increase of the filter inductor
harmonic in the supply current [1]. This results in , the size for the specified output power. Fig. 12 shows a plot of the
supply current total harmonic distortion , and optimized power split factor as a function of output power for
the supply power factor . However, should several values of . The optimized factor decreases with in-
be suppressed to lower levels for special applications such as creasing , which results in higher harmonic power from the
422 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

Fig. 12. Optimized power split factor versus output power (V = 460 V Fig. 15. Converter ratings versus input filter inductance (V = 460 V, n =
and L = 3 mH). 16, and P = 300 kW).

and . The minimum MFC rating


increases with the increase of harmonic components number
which the MFC cancels, since the MFC should generate higher
harmonic power to obtain a supply current with less .
Several values (10, 16, 22, 30, and 42) used in Fig. 14 result
in of 10, 8, 7, 6, and 5% in the supply current, respec-
tively. Note that the minimum MFC rating with large number
may be higher than the VSR rating in high power applications.
Fig. 15 shows the minimum MFC rating and the VSR rating as
a function of the size of input inductor. It is shown that the MFC
Fig. 13. Converter ratings versus output power (V = 460 V, n = 16, and rating is more sensitive to the increase of input filter inductance
L = 3 mH). than the VSR rating. The economical aspect regarding the con-
verter size, which is in favor of the MFC in low and medium
power ranges, may change for high power applications, espe-
cially with the large input inductor and the diode rectifier with
high harmonic current components.

III. COMPARISON OF DC-LINK VOLTAGE LEVELS


Since both the VSR and the MFC have basically the same
circuit configuration, the required dc-link voltage level for both
of them can be determined based on the peak voltage on the
ac side of the converters. The normal dc-link voltage for the
Fig. 14. Converter ratings as a function of output power (V = 460 V and VSR and the MFC is set at 5% higher than the peak line-to-line
L = 3 mH). voltage across the converter ac side, assuming the maximum
modulation index for the converters is 0.95 [12]. Therefore, the
MFC to the diode rectifier. The optimized split factor decreases peak converter voltage on the ac side is the key factor to design
with the increasing output power, input inductor size, and the the dc-link voltage level.
number of harmonic components. This implies that the MFC Since the supply voltage and the current are assumed purely
rating can be minimized by letting more output power delivered sinusoidal, the input voltage of the VSR, is simply modeled
through the MFC as the output power, the input inductor, and by the supply voltage and the voltage drop across the filter in-
are increased. Notice that the is reached to around 0.8 ductor by
with the increase of , , and in Figs. 11 and 12, because
this analysis assumed that and of the diode rectifier (21)
current take on 0.31 and 0, respectively. For applications with
a diode rectifier with higher value of and , the opti- Reflecting (1) to (21), the peak input voltage of the VSR,
mized split factor will be less than 0.8 as seen in Fig. 7. , is then calculated, under the unity power factor condi-
Fig. 13 shows the converter ratings of the VSR, the MFC with tion, as
, the MFC with , and the APF based on the output
power for and . It is important to note that
the minimum MFC rating with the optimized split (22)
factor is lower than the APF rating for all output power
ranges. This implies that the higher dc-link voltage level is required for
Fig. 14 shows a plot of the VSR rating and the minimum MFC applications with a large filter inductor or in high power appli-
ratings with several different values versus output power with cations.
KWAK AND TOLIYAT: DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS OF TWO MULTIDRIVE SYSTEMS 423

Fig. 16. Input voltages of the MFC on ac side(V = 460 V, L = 0:5 mH,
Fig. 17. Peak voltages on the ac side of converters versus output power
(V = 460 V and L = 0:5 mH).
P = 100 kW, and n = 16).

dc-link voltage level should be set to a higher value than the ac


The derivation of the MFC input voltage is more compli- side line voltage of the MFC at all times, including the com-
cated because the MFC input current includes harmonic compo- mutation instants. However, in practical case, the nominal ref-
nents. The input voltage on the MFC ac side with the parameters erence dc-link voltage for the APF or the MFC is designed by
used in the previous analysis can be likewise derived, using (18), neglecting the commutation effect, since the high voltage spikes
as at commutation points lead to high dc-link voltage requirement,
which yields high switch loss and cost. As an example, with
supply line rms voltage of 460 V, the typical dc-link voltage
of the MFC or the APF is set to 683 V by taking the peak ac side
voltage at [1]. If this dc-link voltage is lower than the re-
(23) quired voltage at commutation instants, the MFC loses current
controllability at every instant of diode rectifier current commu-
tation, resulting in a notch in the supply current. This will yield
Fig. 16 shows the input voltage waveform on the MFC ac side
the deterioration in supply current quality though it can be per-
for the two output power split factors. The peak voltage value of
missible in low and medium power applications.
the VSR under the same conditions is also included for compar-
Fig. 17 shows peak values of the ac side input voltages in the
ison. The input voltages of the MFC ac side have sudden voltage
converters as a function of the total output power. As seen from
spikes at every commutation instant of the corresponding phase
Fig. 17, the peak input voltages for all converters are equal in the
current of the diode rectifier. Notice that ideal current commuta-
low power range. However, they increase nearly linearly with
tions in the diode rectifier are assumed with infinite . In
increasing output power in high power ranges. The increasing
practice, the diode rectifier current will be trapezoidal and the
slopes of the curves in the MFCs are proportional to the power
voltage spike level will be lower than that of Fig. 16. In some
split factor . Note that the slopes for all converters in Fig. 17
applications, additional input inductors on the diode rectifier are
will increase if a bigger size is used. Thus, in high power
implemented to reduce the current slope during the diode recti-
levels, the peak voltages of the MFCs are higher than that of the
fier commutations. The effect of the input inductors on the diode
VSR, resulting in the requirement for a higher dc-link voltage
rectifier is not dealt with in this analysis.
level. High dc-link voltage results in high switch loss and cost
The voltage spike at the commutation instant is exacerbated
penalty. The case of the APF is the worst. It is to be noticed that
with higher inductance and more output power through the
the MFC with high is not suitable for high power applications
diode rectifier (the higher ). Therefore, it can be deducted that
due to its high dc-link voltage requirement.
the peak value of occurs at the moment of either or
the commutation instant of the diode rectifier current according
IV. COMPARISON OF SWITCH RATINGS
to constraints of , , , and . The condition is given by
(24), shown at the bottom of the page. The peak value of the The mean and rms switch currents are found by integrating
MFC ac side yields which occurs at in low power the positive input current of the converters and its square value
applications, while the MFC peak voltage on the ac side occurs over one supply cycle, respectively [15]. The mean switch cur-
at commutation instant in high power levels. Theoretically, the rent, the rms switch current, and the peak switch current for the

if
(24)
if .
424 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

Fig. 18. Switch current ratios of the MFC and the VSR versus the split factor. Fig. 19. Percent loss difference of the MFC and the VSR versus power split
factor.
VSR are related with the supply voltage and the total output
power as loss proportional to the mean switch current and conduction loss
in proportion to the rms switch current [15]. The average switch
power is given, using the assumptions, by

(29)
(25)
One important criterion is the semiconductor loss per-
Since the shape of the MFC input current varies by the power formance of the VSR versus the MFC in actual multidrive
split factor , the mean switch current of the MFC is also dif- applications. An index of the semiconductor loss difference
ferent by the split factor. The mean switch current is derived, is defined by
according to in (26), shown at the bottom of the page. The
rms switch current can be calculated as (30)

(27) Notice that the loss difference depends only on the output power
split factor , by assuming that the two converters have the
same dc-link voltage resulting in the same peak switch volt-
The peak switch current is likewise found by split factor ages. Fig. 19 shows the semiconductor loss difference
as a function of the power split factor. The MFC clearly fea-
if tures lower switching losses. This is due to only partial output
powers flown through the MFC in comparison to the whole
if . output power going through the VSR.
(28)
The peak switch current for the VSR and the MFC is impor- V. COMPARISON OF THE REACTIVE COMPONENT RATING
tant to design the dc-link capacitors, which is investigated in
Section V. Fig. 18 shows switch current ratios of the MFC and Both the VSR and the MFC require an input filter inductor on
the VSR as a function of . It is noticed that all MFC switch rat- the ac side that shapes the input currents and a dc-link capacitor
ings are lower than those of the VSR over all power split factor. on the dc side for energy storage.
Since the MFC has lower current ratings and equal voltage rat-
ings if the same dc-link voltage level is used for the VSR, it leads A. Input Filter Inductance
to better switch utilization for the MFC. From the above anal- Peak ripple current through the input inductor is chosen as a
ysis for switch currents for the two systems, approximate av- criterion to design the input filter inductor. In order to calculate
erage switch power can be found by assuming equal switching the ripple current, the no-load condition is considered and the

if
if

(26)
KWAK AND TOLIYAT: DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE COMPARISONS OF TWO MULTIDRIVE SYSTEMS 425

Fig. 20. Minimum capacitance ratio of the MFC and the VSR versus power
split factor.
Fig. 21. Minimum capacitance ratio of the two multidrive systems versus the
power split factor.
effect of inductor resistance is assumed to be negligible. Under
these conditions, the inductance value is given by [11]
Fig. 20 shows a minimum capacitance ratio, defined by (35), of
two converters as a function of output power split factor.
(31)
(35)
where is the switching frequency and the allowed
peak ripple current through the inductor. Since the same supply
Note that the ratio depends only on the power split factor as-
voltage is applied to the VSR and the MFC, it is expected that
suming that the two converters operate with the same dc-link
two converters operating with the same switching frequency re-
voltage. It can be clearly seen that the dc-link capacitor size of
quire an equal input inductor value with given identical peak
the MFC is smaller than that of the VSR because the former is
ripple current constraint.
subject to a lower peak current than the latter.
While the multidrive system based on the VSR has only one
B. DC-Link Capacitance
dc-link capacitor, the counterpart using the MFC and the diode
The minimum capacitance value can be designed to limit the rectifier requires two capacitors for each rectifier. The capacitor
dc-link voltage ripple to a specified value, typically 1 to 2%. value in the diode rectifier in Fig. 2, is given by [16]
Thus, the peak to peak ripple voltage of the dc capacitor is
adopted as a design criterion for the dc-link capacitor size. (36)
1) VSR: With the assumption of a balanced three-phase
utility system and neglecting the losses by the power switches,
The capacitor size on the diode rectifier is much larger than that
the VSR in the dc-link can be modeled as
of the VSR or the MFC, given the same ripple voltage require-
ment, since the former operates with the grid frequency while
(32) the latter with the switching frequency which is much faster
than the grid frequency. Capacitance ratio of the two multidrive
where are switching functions. By noting that systems is defined by
the first term of the right-hand in (32) is equal to one of the VSR
input currents at all times, the possible maximum ripple voltage (37)
is obtained with the negative peak value of the VSR input
current and 50% duty ratio [14]. For given allowable peak ripple Fig. 21 shows a plot of capacitance ratio of the two systems
voltage of and switching frequency, the capacitor value of with , , and , given
the VSR is dc-link ripple voltage constraint. It is shown that the ratio lin-
early increases with the increasing split factor since the capaci-
(33) tance value of the diode rectifier is a dominant factor.

VI. CONCLUSION
where is the desired level of the dc-link voltage.
2) MFC: The capacitor size of the MFC is likewise designed In obtaining unity power factor at the utility grid and indepen-
based on the peak input current of the MFC. Based on the MFC dent controls of multiple motors, two topologies are possible;
peak input current derived in (28), the capacitor value in the one using a PWM-VSR and the other combining a diode rec-
MFC is given by tifier and a MFC. A fundamental question that this paper ad-
dresses is: which one can be a better choice in certain appli-
if cations. To tackle the question, the paper presents theoretical
and systematical comparisons for the two multidrive systems
if with only terminal constraints of unity power factor and iden-
(34) tical output power delivery.
426 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER DELIVERY, VOL. 20, NO. 1, JANUARY 2005

The kVA rating of the VSR is determined by the output power [8] C. Klumpner and F. Baabjerg, “A new cost-effective multi-drive solution
and the input filter size. In contrast to that, the MFC rating de- based on a two-stage direct power electronic conversion topology,” in
Proc. IEEE Ind. Applicat. Soc., vol. 1, 2002, pp. 444–452.
pends on not only the output power and the input filter size, but [9] R. Uhrin and F. Profumo, “Stand-alone AC/DC converter for multiple
also the number of harmonics to be canceled and output power inverter applications,” in Proc. IEEE Power Electronics Specialist Conf.,
split factor between the MFC and the diode rectifier. An opti- vol. 1, Jun. 1996, pp. 120–126.
[10] M. A. Valenzuela, J. Palma, and R. Sanchez, “DSP based intersectional
mized power split factor which can minimizes the MFC rating control in multidrive systems,” in Proc. IEEE Ind. Applicat. Soc., vol. 1,
and the corresponding minimum MFC size are uniquely found 1997, pp. 471–477.
given the specified output power, the number of harmonic com- [11] S. Bernet, S. Ponnaluri, and R. Teichmann, “Design and loss compar-
ison of matrix converters and voltage-source converters for modern AC
ponents to be compensated, and the input filter constraints. The drives,” IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 49, no. 2, pp. 304–314, Apr.
minimized MFC rating connected with a typical diode recti- 2002.
fier is more than 50% lower than the VSR rating in low and [12] S. Ponnaluri, V. Krishnamurthy, and V. Kanetkar, “Generalized system
design & analysis of PWM based power electronic converters,” in Proc.
medium power applications. However, the difference in con- IEEE Ind. Applicat. Conf., vol. 3, 2000, pp. 1972–1979.
verter ratings is reduced as the output power increases, which [13] N. R. Zargari, G. Joos, and P. D. Ziogas, “A performance comparison
means that the MFC loses its attractiveness of small size con- of PWM rectifiers and synchronous link converters,” IEEE Trans. Ind.
Electron., vol. 41, no. 5, pp. 560–562, Oct. 1994.
verter in high power applications. This situation is aggravated [14] Y. Yang, “Advances in modeling and applications of three-phase power
with a diode rectifier with more harmonic current components. converters,” Ph.D. dissertation, Dept. Elec. Comp. Eng., Univ. Waterloo,
Furthermore, the MFC rating shows higher sensitivity to the ON, Canada, 2001.
[15] J. H. Marks and T. C. Green, “Rating analysis of active power filters,”
increase of input filter size than the VSR rating. Therefore, it in Proc. IEEE Power Electronics Specialist Conf., vol. 3, 2001, pp.
can be concluded that the multidrive system combined with the 1420–1425.
MFC and the diode rectifier cannot be a better cost-effective so- [16] M. H. Rashid, Power Electronics, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, N.J: Pren-
tice-Hall, 1995.
lution in applications with a large input inductor and a diode [17] N. Mohan, T. M. Underland, and W. P. Robbins, Power Electronics, 2nd
rectifier at high distortion level, especially in high power areas. ed. New York: Wiley.
The dc-link voltage levels for the MFC and the VSR are com-
parable in low and medium power areas. However, the MFC re-
quires higher dc-link voltage level, leading to high switch loss
Sangshin Kwak (S’02) received the B.S. and M.S.
and cost, due to the diode current commutation in high power degrees in electronics engineering from Kyungpook
level. This fact makes the MFC applications improper in high National University, Taegu, Korea, in 1997 and 1999,
power areas, with the increasing converter rating. The MFC re- respectively. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. de-
gree in electrical engineering at Texas A&M Univer-
sults in lower switch ratings for all conditions, leading to better sity, College Station.
switch utilization. The semiconductor loss of the MFC is also His research interests include ac/dc, dc/ac, ac/ac
much lower than that of the VSR. Equal input inductance value power converters topologies and controls, adjustable
speed drives, and DSP-based power-electronics con-
can be used for both converters to comply with a given input trol.
peak current constraint. The dc-link capacitor value of the MFC
is always smaller than that of the VSR. Notwithstanding the
small size capacitor for the MFC, the total capacitor size of the
MFC and the diode rectifier is about several times larger than the Hamid A. Toliyat (S’87–M’91–SM’96) received
dc capacitor of the VSR due to big capacitor requirement of the the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, in
diode rectifier given the same output voltage ripple constraint. 1991.
In 1994, he joined the Department of Electrical
Engineering, at Texas A&M University, College Sta-
REFERENCES
tiojn, where he is currently E.D. Brockett Professor
[1] S. Bhattacharya, T. M. Frank, D. M. Divan, and B. Banerjee, “Active of electrical engineering. Dr. Toliyat is an Editor of
filter system implementation,” IEEE Ind. Applicat. Mag., vol. 4, no. 5, IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON ENERGY CONVERSION, and
pp. 47–63, Sep./Oct. 1998. was an Associate Editor of IEEE TRANSACTIONS
[2] T. Thomas, K. Haddad, G. Joos, and A. Jaafari, “Design and perfor- ON POWER ELECTRONICS. His main research interests and experience include
mance of active power filters,” IEEE Ind. Applicat. Mag., vol. 4, no. 5, analysis and design of electrical machines, variable speed drives for traction and
pp. 38–46, Sep./Oct. 1998. propulsion applications, fault diagnosis of electric machinery, and sensorless
[3] W. McGrady, M. J. Samotyj, and A. H. Noyola, “Survey of active variable speed drives. He has published many technical papers in these fields
power line conditioning methodologies,” IEEE Trans. Power Del., vol. and has ten issued or pending US patents. He is the author of DSP-Based
PWRD-5, no. 3, pp. 1536–1542, Jul. 1990. Electromechanical Motion Control, CRC Press, 2003, and Co-Editor of
[4] M. Cichowlas, M. Malinowski, M. P. Kazmierkowski, and F. Blaab- Handbook of Electric Motors, 2nd Edition, Marcel Dekker, 2004.
jerg, “Direct power control for three-phase PWM rectifier with active Dr. Toliyat received the prestigious Cyrill Veinott Award in Electromechan-
filtering function,” in Proc. IEEE Appl. Power Electronics Conf., 2003, ical Energy Conversion from the IEEE Power Engineering Society in 2004,
pp. 913–918. TEES Fellow Award in 2004, Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003, E.D.
[5] J. W. Dixon, J. M. Contardo, and L. A. Moran, “A fuzzy-controlled ac- Brockett Professorship Award in 2002, Eugene Webb Faculty Fellow Award in
tive front-end rectifier with current harmonic filtering characteristics and 2000, and Texas A Select Young Investigator Award in 1999 from Texas A&M
minimum sensing variables,” IEEE Trans. Power Electron., vol. 14, no. University. He has also received the Space Act Award from NASA in 1999,
4, pp. 724–729, Jul. 1999. and the Schlumberger Foundation Technical Awards in 2001 and 2000. He is
[6] T. Kataoka, Y. Fuse, D. Nakajima, and S. Nishikata, “A three-phase also Chairman of IEEE-IAS Electric Machines Committee, and is a member of
voltage-type PWM rectifier with the function of an active power filter,” Sigma Xi. He is a senior member of the Power Engineering, Industrial Applica-
Power Electron. Variable Speed Drives, pp. 386–391, 2000. tions, Industrial Electronics, Power Electronics Societies of the IEEE, and the
[7] F. Abrahamsen and A. David, “Adjustable speed drive with active fil- recipient of the 1996 IEEE Power Engineering Society Prize Paper Award for
tering capability for harmonic current compensation,” in Proc. IEEE his paper on the Analysis of Concentrated Winding Induction Machines for Ad-
Power Electronics Specialist Conf., Jun. 1995, pp. 1137–1143. justable Speed Drive Applications-Experimental Results.

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