2012 IEEE 7th International Power Electronics and Motion Control Conference - ECCE Asia

June 2-5, 2012, Harbin, China

Mathematical model analysis and LCL Filter Design

of VSC
Di Wu1, Yonghua Chen1, Shasha Hong2, Xiaodong Zhao1, Jian Luo1,Zhaogen Gu1

1. China Electric Power Research Institute 2. Jiangsu Electric Power Company

Nanjing, China Nanjing, China
wudi2@epri.sgcc.com.cn shasha.hong@gmail.com

Abstract—VSC (Voltage Source Converter) using PWM control method can filter harmonics effectively on the premise of
technology injects harmonic current into grid. The AC filter is inhibit resonance instability of VSC system
generally installed at the grid-connected side to filter high-
frequency harmonics which were produced by VSC. LCL filter
can easily be finished by installing shunt capacitor between
II. SYSTEM STRUCTURE AND METHMETICAL MODEL OF
converter transformer and converter reactor. For high-voltage VSC
large-capacity converter, switching frequency is relatively low
and the reactive value of converter reactor is also relatively A. System Structure of VSC Syetem
small, thus the parameter designing of LCL filter is more VSC system connects voltage converter with grid using
complicated. In this paper, the impedance-frequency converter reactor and transformation to transmit power. The
characteristics of primary system and the system-voltage’s main loop topology of VSC system is shown as in Fig.1.
transfer function are researched, also resonance phenomenon of
VSC system is studied. The parameter design method of LCL Where R is the equivalent resistance of ac loop of VSC, Lc
filter and resonance inhibition method using damping resistor is converter reactor, CFilter is the DC support capacitor at the
are obtained based on above analysis. The simulation model of dc-side, Zc is short-circuit impedance of grid. Us1, Us and Uc
VSC grid-connected system is established in PSCAD/EMTDC are respectively grid voltage, system voltage and voltage of
simulation environment. Simulation results prove the analysis of converter side, Ps and Qs are respectively active power and
resonance phenomenon and the rationality of above LCL filter reactive power which exchanged between grid and VSC. For
design method. inhibiting converter introduce zero sequence components into
grid, converter transformer use Y/D1 structure of which
Keyword—VSC-HVDC; impedance-frequency; resonance; LCL triangular structure is applied at the converter side.

I. INTRODUCTION
U s1 Us Uc
Along with the development of power electronic control Lc
technology and full controlled power electronic devices, VSC
(Voltage Source converter) technology using flexible control
mode is widely applied in many fields such as VSC- CFilter
HVDC[1][2], wind power integration and other power-system
because its many advantages. Figure.1 System structure of VSC-HVDC

One key technology of VSC is applying PWM (Pulse B. Methmatical model of VSC System
Width Modulation) to controlled power electronic devices. Based on Kirchhoff law, the transient mathematical model
The switching voltage characteristic of s output voltage at of VSC’s ac loop in abc coordinate is show as
converter side of VSC introduces harmonics whose frequency
are multiple-orders switching frequency into grid. Furthermore
the power quality is affected and the converter transformer ⎧ dia
loss increases. ⎪ L dt + Ria = U sa − sa ⋅ U dc + U NO
The switching frequency of low-voltage converter is ⎪
relatively small, and its ac filter design method [3] [4] is mature. ⎪ dib
⎨L + Rib = U sb − sb ⋅ U dc + U NO (1)
Along with the increase of level of voltage and power of VSC
in engineering, design method of the ac filter suit for high-
⎪ dt
voltage and high-power situation which is less studied by far.
⎪ dic
⎪ L dt + Ric = U sc − sc ⋅ U dc + U NO
In this paper, characteristic of LCL filter based on VSC is
⎩
studied, and the designing method of LCL filter is summarized.
Simulation results in PSCAD/EMTDC prove LCL designing Where, sa，sb and sc are the switching functions；

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978-1-4577-2088-8/11/$26.00 ©2012 IEEE

 U dc Another two phase line voltages U c _ bc and U c _ ca have
U NO = −
3
∑
k = a ,b , c
sk
similar decompositions, only phase difference exits in each
.
equation. As seen in the fourier decomposition of line voltage,
Decompose sabc by fourier transformation, dabc which are three-phase line voltage doesn’t have below components:
pulse ratio functions can be derived from dc component in
decomposition of sabc. Based on equivalent power PARK 1) Even-order harmonics and multiple-orders frequency
transformation [5], transient mathematical model of VSC’s ac harmonics.
loop is established in the dq synchronized rotating coordinate, 2) Sideband harmonics of which sum of m and n is even.
as in 3) Frequency triple sideband harmonics.
The angular frequency of harmonics in voltage fourier
decomposition mainly is:
⎧ did
⎪ L dt + ω Lid + Rid = U sd − d dU dc
⎪ nωc ± kωr (4)
⎪ diq (2)
⎨L + ω Liq + Riq = U sq − d qU dc
⎪ dt Where, n = 1,3,5,... ， k = 3(2m − 1) ± 1, m = 1, 2,...;
⎪ dU dc 3
⎪C dt = 2 ( d d id + d q iq ) − iL ⎧6m + 1, m = 0,1,...
⎩ n = 2,4,6,... ， k = ⎨ .
⎩6m − 1, m = 1, 2,...
Where, usd and usq are the dq components of system
voltage, ucd, ucq is the dq components of voltage at converter Also note that the bigger the modulation depth is, the
side of VSC, isd、isq are the dq components of ac current, dd、 bigger the amplitude of characteristic harmonics is. So
dq are the dq components of pulse ratio function, ω is modulation depth shall be considered in analysis of harmonic
synchronous angular frequency of grid. of VSC.

III. HARMONIC CHARACTERISTIC ANALYSIS OF VSC IV. POWER OPERATION RANGE AND ANALYSIS OF
REACTOR’S REAVTIVE VALUE
Due to applying dc capacitor to maintain dc-link voltage,
VSC based on PWM control technology can be seen as a The current that VSC introduces into grid flows through
harmonic voltage source. In high switching frequency working the converter reactor, while converter reactor inhibits the
state, the harmonic components of the decomposition of ac harmonic components produced by VSC to some degree. So
line voltage are mainly composed of multiple-orders high- analyzing the harmonic characteristic of VSC requires
frequency harmonics and have less low-order harmonics. comprehensive consideration for both voltage characteristic of
VSC at converter side and filtering characteristic of converter
Pulse modulations for VSC usually include sine pulse reactor. For the voltage at the converter side of VSC is
width modulation (SPWM) and space vector modulation obtained using high-frequency switching modulation, so the
(SVPWM). In high-voltage & high-power situation, the harmonic characteristic of converter voltage is determined by
switching frequency is low to reduce the switching loss of switching frequency and voltage level. The reactive value of
VSC and improve the whole system efficiency. For high- converter reactor is determined by the power operation range
capacity converter, the reactive value of converter reactor that and modulation depth of VSC [6].
be used as the active power& reactive power exchanging hub
is small. Thus the harmonics inhibition effect of converter The operation range of the transient active power &
reactor is finite in most cases. reactive power exchanged between VSC and grid can be
Suppose initial phase angle of three-phase phase-to-ground described by PQ diagram, as shown in Fig.2. Keep δ1
voltage are respectively 0, -120° and 120°. Based on bilateral constant and alter λ results in a series of straight lines, such
fourier transformation, the line voltage U c _ ab be decomposed as δ max 、 δ min . Keep λ constant and alter δ1 results in a
as in
series of concentric circles, such as λmax = 1 + X 、 λ = 1.0
∗

、 λmin = 1 − X .
∗

3Vdc ⎛ π ⎞ 4V ∞ ∞
1
U c _ ab = M cos ⎜ ω0 t + ⎟ + dc ∑ ∑ i
2 ⎝ 6⎠ π m =1 n =−∞ m Adjusting the value of λ and δ1 can make VSC run at
⎛ π ⎞ ⎡ π⎤ π (3) any point in the circle in Fig.2. Thus the instantaneous active
J n ⎜ m M ⎟ sin ⎢ ( m + n ) ⎥ sin n i & reactive power exchanged between VSC and grid can be
⎝ 2 ⎠ ⎣ 2⎦ 3
independently controlled by changing the operation state of
⎡ ⎛ π⎞ π⎤ VSC in the circle in Fig.2.
cos ⎢ mω c t + n ⎜ ω 0 t − ⎟ + ⎥
⎣ ⎝ 3 ⎠ 2⎦

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 reactor and furthermore the output harmonic characteristic to
Q∗ be determine.

V. DESIGN METHOD OF AC FILTER OF VSC

λmin = 1 − X ∗
VSC converter is equivalent to a harmonic voltage source.
Paralleling filter capacitor between converter reactor and
λ = 1.0 converter transformer, a LCL filter loop can easily be obtained
P∗
by using converter reactor and leakage reactance of converter
transformer to form a low-resistance channel for high-
P1∗ + jQ1∗ = 1.0 p⋅u⋅ frequency harmonic current and furthermore filter the
λmax = 1 + X ∗
harmonic components produced by converter.

δ max
Mature passive filter design method [5]-[6] can be used to
δ min
design ac filter for VSC. Different from conventional
application, introducing of filter capacitor changes the
Figure.2 PQ operation diagram of VSC characteristic of the primary system of VSC from first-order
inductance characteristic to 3-order resistance-inductance-
In per unit system, the active & reactive power exchanged capacity characteristic. Furthermore, Impedance-frequency
between VSC and grid can be describe as in characteristic of primary system directly influences the filter
effect of ac filter [7]-[9].
The single-phase equivalent diagram is shown as Fig.3.
U s∗12 λ
Ps∗ = sin δ Zsys is the internal impedance of grid, Zt is the leakage
X∗ (5) reactance of transformer, Zc is the converter reactor, Filter is
U∗2 the filter capacity, and a LCL filter loop is formed using Zsys,
Q s∗ = s1∗ (1 − λ cos δ ) Zt and Zc.
X
∗
LCL _ Filter
Where, λ = U c ，which is the output voltage gains of
U s∗1 Z sys Zt Zc
VSC; X is the reactive value of converter reactor； δ is the
∗

angle deviation between converter side voltage and system Grid U s1 Us CFilter Uc
voltage.
From equation 4, it can be noted as in

2 2
⎛ 1 ⎞ ⎛ μ ⋅ M ⋅U dc ∗ ⎞ Figure.3 Single-phase equivalent diagram of VSC
P + ⎜ Qs∗ + ∗ ⎟ = ⎜
s
∗2
⎟
⎝ X ⎠ ⎝ 2⋅X∗ ⎠ (6) Where， Z sys = Rsys + jω Lsys , ZT = RT + jω LT .
Ps∗2 + Qs∗2 ≤ 1 A. Impedance-frequency characteristics analysis of
primary system
According to (5) and Fig.2, the per-unit value of reactive
Consider the grid as a voltage power source, short the
value in per-unit system can be obtained from the rated
power source and the system equivalent reactance from the
operation parameter of VSC, as in
converter side to grid can be obtained as in

∗ μ ⋅ M ⋅U dc ∗ − 2
Z=
(R T + Rsys ) +jω ( Lsys + LT )
+ jω Lc
X = (7)
2 ⋅ Qs ∗ 1 − ω ( Lsys + LT ) C filter + jωC filter ( RT + Rsys )
2

(8)
From (6), at fixed modulation depth, the reactive value of
the converter reactor is inversely proportional to the max where， ω = 2π f ， f is the frequency (Hz).
operation point of reactive power. Thus the smaller the
reactive value is, the bigger the max operation reactive power For the value of ω ⋅ C filter ⋅ RT( + Rsys ) is small, ignore
is. So, it is necessary to fix the modulation depth and reactive this part in analyzing system frequency domain characteristic
power operation range according to the rated operation of VSC. (8) is simplified as in
condition, based on which the reactive value of converter

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 jω ⋅ ( Lsys + LT ) + RT + R sys G2( S ) =
UT ( S )
=
R1 + Ls 1
Z = + jω L c (9) Uc ( S ) Lc LC s3
+ Lc filter 1 + ( Lc + L1 ) s + R1
C Rs 2
1 − ω 2 ⋅ ( Lsys + LT ) ⋅ C filter 1 filter
(12)

Resonant frequency can be derived from (9), as in

Where, L2 = LT + Rsys .
Note from (12), the primary system is changed into a third-
Lsys + LT order oscillation system. The amplitude-frequency response of
+1 system voltage transfer function based on LCL loop is shown
1 Lc
fn = ⋅ (10) as the green line in Fig.5, while the blue line represents the
2π ( Lsys + LT ) ⋅ C filter amplitude-frequency response of system voltage transfer
function based on conventional LC filter loop.
Open-circuit resonant frequency can also be get, as in When f ≤ 0.4 , G ( f ) ≈ 1 ; when 0.6 ≤ f ≤ f n ,
G ( f ) ≈ −8.5 ; while when f ≥ f n ; the asymptote of
1 1
f1 = ⋅ (11) transfer function’s curve is a straight line whose slope is-10dB
2π (Lsys + LT ) ⋅ C filter (frequency). Note that system voltage transfer function based
on LCL filter inhibits the high-frequency signals and pass
through the fundamental signal without decay.
When filter capacity paralleled in the VSC grid-connected
system, system impedance-frequency characteristics is shown The amplitude-frequency response of voltage transfer
as in Fig.4. It can be noted that there are an open-circuit function is different from conventional analysis in both
resonant frequency f1 and short-circuit resonant frequency fn changing trend and overshooting amplitude at resonant
in impedance-frequency characteristics diagram of primary frequency. The LCL resonant frequency fn is bigger than
system of VSC, where the reactance value is big at frequency cutoff frequency of LC filter, and there is bigger amplitude
of f1 and close to zero at frequency of fn. The resonant overshooting at resonant frequency fn.
phenomenon in Fig.4 is just the same as the conclusion from It can be noted exactly from both Fig.3 and Fig.4, the
(8). So it can be inferred that the amplitude of harmonic at resonant frequency of system transfer function is the same to
resonant frequency will increase sharply if the filter the resonant frequency of primary system of VSC system, i.e.
capacitance value is selected unsuitable which results in fn in the same VSC system.
resonance frequency close to frequency of harmonics. 4 Bode
3 Impedanc
10 2 G1 G2
F1 0
Magnitude

2
10
Impedance (ohms)

-20
1
10
-40

10 0 -60

-80
10
-1 Fn 10 - 10 0 101 Frequency 102 103 10 4

10
-2 Figure.5 amplitude-frequency response of system voltage transfer function
0 100 200 300 400 500
Frequency
600 700 800 900 1000
with LCL and LC

Figure.4 Impedance-frequency characteristics diagram of VSC primary

system when LCL filter loop is added in VSC system C. Parameter design and resonance inhibition
Based on analysis of impedance-frequency characteristic
and system voltage’s transfer function, it can be noted that the
B. Frequency domain response system voltage transfer
resonance phenomenon exits inevitably when LCL filter is
function with LCL filter added to VSC system. The generation of system resonance
Consider the equivalent reactance of grid and converter phenomenon may increase the amplitude of certain harmonics,
transformation, the transfer function of voltage at converter which will grow serious especially when resonance occurs at
side of VSC divided by the transfer function of secondary side the harmonic frequency. So, in designing of LCL filter, the
voltage of transformation can be derived as in parameter shall be considered for inhibiting the resonance.
Take switching frequency as 1350Hz for example, for
guaranteeing the power quality at grid side meet the national
standard, the parameters of LCL loop shall be set reasonable
to filter the harmonics of VSC and inhibit resonance.

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 According to the harmonic characteristic of VSC’s output
voltage and the LCL structure, the parameter designing
method of LCL filter can be summarized as: determine the
converter side’s reactive value by rated operation parameter of
VSC and modulation depth. Sum of the leakage reactance and
internal impedance of grid is utilized as the system side’s
reactive value. Consider filter effect and resonance inhibition,
the resonant frequency shall be set between 13-order
fundamental frequency and 3/4 of switching frequency, while
the capacitance value can be calculated by the resonant
frequency fn. Figure.7 VSC system simulation model
For the resonance phenomenon can’t be avoided once LCL The leakage reactance of transformer which is used as the
filter loop is introduced into VSC system, the resonance reactor at the grid side is calculated to be 3.34mH, while the
degree can get improved by using series damping resistance in short-circuit voltage percent of transformer is 2.1%. based on
at the capacitor branch. The resonance inhibition degree to the (7), the converter reactive value which is used as the reactor at
size of damping resistance is shown as in Fig.6. Note that the converter side is calculated by rated reactive power and
bigger the resistance value is, the smaller the oscillation modulation depth.
amplitude is, and while the bigger the power loss is. So the The simulation results of line voltage THD when resonant
value of damping resistance shall be set reasonably. frequency of LCL filter is set as respectively 700Hz and
Bode Diagram 750Hz in table.1. Also the filter capacitance value at ac filter
35
branch are calculated at resonant frequency is 700Hz and
30
750Hz.
Magnitude (dB)

25
R increase
20
TABLE I. PARAMETER OF LCL AND THD OF LINE VOLTAGE
15
10
Resonant THD Reactive value of Filter
5
frequency(Hz) (line reactor capacitance
0
voltage) (mH) value(uF)
-5
-10 2.4
102.5 Frequency (Hz) 102.6
700 2.68% 25.1mH (0.158pu.) 17.55
10
750 2.41% 25.1mH(0.158pu.) 15.29
Figure.6 oscillation amplitude in different value of damping resistance
Using mathematical model of VSC, control system of dq
direct current control is established, and system response of
VI. SIMULATION RESULT
VSC grid-connected system is show as in Fig.8. Fig.8(a),(b),(c)
Take VSC system connected with grid through isolation separately show DC voltage, AC voltage at grid side and
transformer for example. The rated voltage of grid is set as active power of VSC system. It can be noted that operation
10kV, the transformation is 10kV/10kV, rated dc voltage is condition of VSC grid-connected system is well and the
20kV, rated power capacity is 2MVA, switching frequency is waveform of system voltage is also well.
1350Hz, the operation range of the reactive power is -
1pu.~0.95pu., and the max modulation depth is 0.92.
The VSC grid-connected system is modeled and simulated
in PSCAD/EMTDC environment. Suppose the active power
target is 0.8pu., and the reactive power target is 0.4pu..
Analyze the filter effect using total harmonics distortion (THD)
of the secondary side voltage of converter transformation. The
simulation model of VSC grid connected system is shown as Figure.8 (a) DC voltage of VSC system
in Fig.7.
Control system of VSC adopts dq reference frame direct
current control as the inner control method, and dc voltage
fixed & reactive power fixed control based on instantaneous
power theory as the outer control method. Also SPWM
method is adopted as the modulation method for three-phase
bridge.
Figure.8 (b) AC voltage of VSC system

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 VII. CONCLUSION
Base on the analysis of impedance-frequency of VSC’s
primary system and system voltage’s transfer function, the
harmonic inhibition method with LCL filter is studied. Also,
conclusions are drawn as in
1) Calculation method of resonant frequency of VSC grid-
Figure.8 (c) Active power of VSC system connectted system by analying impedance-frequency of
primary system of VSC and system voltage transfer function
Fig.9 shows spectrum analysis of above simulation results when LCL filter loop is introduced in VSC system is research
when resonant frequency is set as 700Hz and 750Hz. Note that the.
the resonant harmonic component of system voltage at
frequency of 700Hz will appear when the system resonant 2) Conclusion that harmonic resonant phenomenon is
frequency is set to be 700Hz; the same when resonant inevitable when LCL filter loop is introduced is drawn.
frequency is set as 750Hz. It can be inferred that though the Harmonic resonance state at resonnant frequency and
harmonics content is inhibited to a low level when LCL loop harmonic resonance inhibition using damping resistance are
is introduced to VSC system, the resonance phenomenon analyzed.
appears inevitably.
3) Simulation model of VSC grid-connected system is
established in PSCAD/EMTDC. Simulation results confirm
that parameter design method of LCL is resonable.

REFERENCES
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[2] Li Geng-yin,Lv Peng-fei Li Guang-kai Zhou Ming. Development and
Figure.9 (a) spectrum analysis of secondary line voltage when f n is 700Hz Prospects for HVDC Light[J]Automation of Electric power systems,
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Grid-Connected Inverter[J]. Transactions of China Electrotechnical
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loss introduced by resonance inhibition using damping resistor.
Di Wu was born in Shandong, china, in 1985. He graduated from Shanghai
Jiao Tong University and now is working at China Electric Power Research
Institute. His research interests are power electronics technology and its
application in power system

Yonghua Chen was born in HuBei, china, in 1977. He graduated from HeFei
University of Technology and now is working at China Electric Power
Research Institute. His research interests are power electronics technology and
its application in power system
Figure.10 Spectrum analysis result of system voltage with LCL filter
Shasha Hong was born in Nanjing, china, in 1984. She graduated from
Southeast University, and now is working at Construct Branch Company of
Jiangsu Electric Power Company. Her research interests are power system
automation.

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