Voltage Balancing Control for a Three-Level Diode-Clamped Converter in a Medium-Voltage Transformerless Hybrid Active Filter

This paper discusses a transformerless hybrid active filter integrated into the 6.6-kV, I-MW adjustable-speed motor drive having a three-phase diode rectifier at the front end. The hybrid filter consists of an active filter using a three-level diode-clamped pulsewidth modulator converter rated at 60 kVA, and a 250-kVA passive filter tuned to the seventh harmonic frequency. They are directly connected in series without a transformer. This circuit configuration enables one to use 1.2-kV insulated gate bipolar transistors because the dc voltage of the three-level converter is 1.32 kV (20% of 6.6 kV). Voltage balancing control characterized by superimposing a sixth harmonic zero-sequence voltage on the active filter voltage reference in each phase is introduced to the three-level converter with triangle carrier modulation. Experimental waveforms obtained from a 400-V, 15-kW downscaled system verify the viability and effectiveness of the proposed hybrid filter, keeping the two dc capacitor voltages well-balanced.