348 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 24, NO.

2, FEBRUARY 2009
An Integrated Current Source Inverter With Reactive
and Harmonic Power Compensators
Sangshin Kwak, Member, IEEE, and Taehyung Kim, Member, IEEE
AbstractAn integrated current source converter system is pre-
sented based on an assembly of a thyristor-based current source
inverter (CSI) in parallel with an insulated-gate-bipolar-transistor-
based voltage source inverter (VSI) along with passive capacitors
for high-power induction motor drive applications. The proposed
conguration installs the VSI and the capacitor in such a way
that both provide reactive power for generating the leading power
factor required to accomplish natural commutations of the CSI.
Based on the collaborative operation of the VSI and the parallel
capacitor, the proposed system can be designed with a compromise
between the VSI power capacity and the capacitor size. In ad-
dition, the VSI compensates harmonic current components from
the thyristor-based CSI, while the capacitor lters out the voltage
spikes during commutation of the thyristors. As a result, sinu-
soidal motor currents with improved harmonic spectrum can be
drawn from this system. The proposed system utilizes the high-
power capability of the thyristor-based CSI to supply high real
power, while the VSI with easy controllability regulates the induc-
tion motor. Theoretical analyses based on mathematical modeling
are presented in detail for the relationship between the inverter rat-
ing and the capacitor size, design considerations of the capacitor
size, and the loss performances.
Index TermsCapacitor lter, current source inverter (CSI),
voltage source inverter (VSI).
I. INTRODUCTION
A
DVANCES in fast-switching insulated-gate bipolar tran-
sistor (IGBT) technology and cost-effective, high-speed
control processors have signicantly matured the voltage
source inverters (VSIs) with concomitant pulsewidth modula-
tion (PWM) techniques. As a result, the VSIs fed with diode
rectiers have been well established as the most exemplary
structure for ac drive systems with their easy controllability and
fast dynamic response. On the other hand, the current source in-
verters (CSIs) supplied with controlled rectiers provide merits,
such as inherent regeneration capability and improved reliabil-
ity. Along with their slow response, the CSI-based drives nd
favor in high power conversion areas, where regeneration capa-
bility and reliability are more advantageous than fast dynamic
responses. Especially, load-commutated inverters (LCIs) em-
ploying high-power, low-cost thyristors as switching devices
Manuscript received March 5, 2008; revised June 1, 2008 and August 18,
2008; accepted August 31, 2008. Current version published February 6, 2009.
Recommended for publication by Associate Editor B. Wu.
S. Kwak is with the Department of Electronic Engineering, Daegu University,
Daegu 702-701, South Korea (e-mail: sskwak@ieee.org).
T. Kim is with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineer-
ing, University of MichiganDearborn, Dearborn, MI 48128 USA (e-mail:
taehyung@umich.edu).
Color versions of one or more of the gures in this paper are available online
at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.
Digital Object Identier 10.1109/TPEL.2008.2006174
Fig. 1. Conventional LCI conguration for induction motor drives.
have traditionally been used in high-power induction motor
drives, such as fans, pumps, and compressors [1], [2]. The con-
ventional LCI-based drives with commutation constraints of
their switching components operate with capacitors in paral-
lel with the load terminals. By providing the reactive power to
create phase shift, the installed capacitors generate the leading
power factor required for natural commutation of the thyris-
tors at the inverter output terminals [2][6]. Furthermore, the
capacitors partially attenuate voltage spikes caused by current
changes through the inductive loads during LCI switching. Al-
though the LCI system with the parallel capacitors, as shown in
Fig. 1, works well based on the capacitor commutation, it has
been exposed to some drawbacks, including increasing capaci-
tor sizes in proportion to the power rating of an induction motor
and resonance phenomena between the capacitor and the mo-
tor inductance [8]. In addition, at startup and during low-speed
operation, reduced phase shift by the capacitor results in the
lagging power factor where capacitor commutation is not pos-
sible. Incapability of capacitor commutation in the low-speed
region has led to incorporation of a forced dc-commutation
circuit with additional high-power switching components into
the system [9]. The forced commutation performed in the dc-
commutation circuit at low-frequency regions can yield a torque
pulsation. Moreover, the quasi-square-wave load current wave-
forms can produce considerable current harmonics, leading to
resultant losses, and voltage spikes, potentially hazardous for
early machine failure [5], [10]. Several efforts have been made
to improve the LCI-based system by incorporating external cir-
cuits and components [3][5], [9], [11], [16].
This paper presents an integrated thyristor-based CSI system
with a parallel assembly of a VSI and capacitors, which serve
as sources of reactive power as well as harmonic compensators.
The capacitors are arranged in an identical manner with the
conventional LCI drives to provide the phase-angle shift and
output voltage ltering. The VSI is also placed in such a way
that it can supply reactive power to produce phase advancement.
0885-8993/$25.00 2009 IEEE
KWAK AND KIM: INTEGRATED CURRENT SOURCE INVERTER WITH REACTIVE AND HARMONIC POWER COMPENSATORS 349
Fig. 2. Proposed system structure.
Thus, the leading power factor required for the CSI commutation
can be acquired by the collaborate operation of the VSI and the
capacitor. In comparison with the forced commutated circuit
and the capacitor in the conventional LCI, which individually
serve during different speed ranges, the VSI and the capacitor
in the proposed system cooperatively work to accomplish the
CSI commutation throughout operating ranges. Based on the
complementary principle, the proposed system can be designed
with a compromise between the VSI power capacity and the
capacitor size. With a proper selection of the capacitor, the
proposed system can lead to reduced current loading of the VSI,
resulting in a smaller rating and lower cost. In addition, the VSI
operates as a harmonic lter so that the motor currents drawn
from this system can be sinusoidal. The detailed analyses on the
VSI power rating and design considerations for the capacitor
size have been conducted based on closed-form expressions
with mathematic approaches. The simulation and experimental
results have been shown to verify the feasibility of the proposed
CSI conguration.
II. PROPOSED SYSTEM DESCRIPTION
Acomplete conguration of the proposed systemis presented
in Fig. 2. The proposed system is composed of a thyristor-based
CSI fed from a phase-controlled rectier, which is connected in
parallel with a VSI and capacitors. The VSI has a small lter in-
ductor L
F
at its output terminal. The CSI switches operation in
the quasi-square-wave mode with simple 120

conduction pat-
terns. Due to the switching operation at fundamental frequency,
slow and cost-effective devices, such as converter-grade thyris-
tors, can be employed for the CSI. The CSI, which uses low-cost,
high-power thyristors, is suitable for high-power delivery, and
supplies the main power demanded by the high-power drives. In
the proposed scheme, the capacitor C is installed in such a way
that it can alone produce the phase shift of the motor currents
by providing reactive power, as in the conventional LCI system
in Fig. 1. Therefore, the capacitor partially contributes to gener-
ate the leading volt-ampere reactive for the CSI commutation.
Moreover, the capacitor itself helps, though not complete, in
attenuating voltage spikes during thyristor commutation of the
CSI. On the other hand, the VSI applies sinusoidal voltages to
the motor phase terminals, in which the motor output voltages
are set to lag the CSI output currents. This operation results in
a leading power factor at the output terminal of the CSI, which
can ensure safe thyristor commutation in the proposed system.
Note that the leading angle between the motor output voltage
Fig. 3. Per-phase equivalent circuit of the proposed system.
and the CSI output current can be actively controlled by ma-
nipulating the VSI and ring instants of the CSI. Since the VSI
provides part of the reactive power to the load, both the VSI and
the capacitor serve as the reactive power sources to place the
CSI output current with the leading power factor, with respect to
the motor phase voltage. Based on the complementary reactive
power generation by the capacitor and the VSI, the proposed
system can properly adjust the power rating of the VSI and
the capacitor size. Moreover, possible selection of the capac-
itor size, compromised with the VSI power capacity, helps in
avoiding the resonance phenomena. Note that the VSI and the
capacitor concurrently work for CSI commutation during the
entire operating range while the forced commutated circuit and
the capacitor in the standard LCI systemindividually operate for
the thyristor commutation, depending on speed ranges. In addi-
tion, the VSI acts as a harmonic compensator to eliminate the
harmonics from the CSI output current. Therefore, sinusoidal
currents can be own into the motor terminal by the ltering
operation of the VSI and the capacitor. The VSI dc-link can
be provided by a dc capacitor with a low-power diode rectier,
so that the VSI can generate sinusoidal output voltages enough
to commutate the thyristors of the CSI from startup to steady
state. It implies that the VSI can supply active power support
to the motor during both startup and transient conditions. In
the steady state, the VSI produces the harmonic power and the
reactive power required for the CSI natural commutation, and
therefore, only a small amount of active power to compensate
the switch power losses.
Fig. 3 shows a per-phase equivalent circuit of the proposed
system. The CSI and VSI are represented by the current source
I
CSI
and the voltage source V
VSI
, respectively. The vector
350 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 24, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
Fig. 4. Vector diagram of the proposed system.
diagram of the proposed system is illustrated in Fig. 4. The
angle is the lagging power factor angle of the induction motor,
which is dependent on the load characteristics. The inductive
motor current I
M
lags the motor voltage V
M
by an angle . The
phase angle denotes the leading angle for the safe commuta-
tion of the CSI, which is determined by the turn-OFF time of the
thyristors used in the CSI [9]. For natural commutation of the
thyristor, the CSI output current I
CSI
is placed with the leading
angle with respect to the phase voltage V
M
. It is seen that
the VSI and the capacitor simultaneously create the phase shift,
from the inductive load current I
M
to the CSI output current
I
CSI
, enough to compensate the lagging angle of the motor and
obtain the leading angle for CSI commutation. The phase angles
moved by the capacitor and the VSI are designated by and ,
respectively. Because the VSI provides the reactive power with
no real power delivery to the load, the VSI output current I
VSI
is orthogonal to the load voltage V
M
in Fig. 4.
III. DESIGN ASPECTS AND ANALYSIS OF THE
PROPOSED SYSTEM
A. Modeling of VSI Power Capacity and Operation Region
With the concurrent operation of the VSI and the capacitor
as the dual-reactive power sources, the VSI power capacity is
closely related to the capacitor size. Given a load condition, it is
necessary to design the capacitor size and the VSI power rating
in consideration of the phase-angle shift requirement and the
output power level. Based on its operating principle, the power
rating of the VSI is inuenced by the reactive power related
to the phase shift built by the VSI as well as the harmonic
power delivered from the CSI. The reactive power, which the
VSI provides for the CSI commutation, is likely to be quantied
with the phase-shifted angle, in conjunction with output power
constraints. In the proposed system, the VSI and the capacitor
share the reactive power generation, which amounts to canceling
the lagging angle of the induction motor and obtaining the
additional leading angle . As a result, the VSI power rating is
expected to be inversely proportional to the capacitor size. In
the meantime, the harmonic power compensated by the VSI can
be described in terms of the total harmonic distortion (THD)
of the CSI output current and the output power level. The VSI
rating is dependent on the reactance of the inductor L
F
as well,
since the VSI also supplies the reactive power to the inductor.
Highly distorted current and voltage waveforms on the VSI
output side make it complicated to model the power rating of
the VSI and derive its closed-form expression. To design the
appropriate capacitor size and determine the corresponding VSI
power rating, the following are assumed: 1) the CSI operates
with an ideal dc current source I
dc
; 2) switching frequency
components of the VSI current and voltage are negligible; 3)
current commutations of the CSI are instantaneous; and 4) the
converters and the reactive components have no losses. The VSI
rating is given by
S
VSI
= 3I
VSI,rms
V
VSI,rms
(1)
where I
VSI,rms
and V
VSI,rms
are rms values of the output current
and output voltage of the VSI, respectively. The output current
and output voltage of the VSI are given by
i
VSI
(t) = i
M
(t) +i
C
(t) i
CSI
(t)
v
VSI
(t) = v
M
(t) +L
F
di
VSI
(t)
t
. (2)
Taking the fundamental components into consideration, the
phase-to-neutral motor voltage and motor current are dened as
v
M
(t) =

2V cos (
o
t)
i
M
(t) =

2I cos (
o
t ) (3)
where V , I, and
o
denote the rms value of the motor phase volt-
age, motor current, and its angular frequency, respectively. The
CSI output current I
CSI
can be written employing the Fourier
series as
i
CSI
(t)
=
2

I
dc
_
cos (
o
t +)
1
5
cos 5 (
o
t +) +
1
7
cos 7
(
o
t +)
1
11
cos 11 (
o
t +) . . .
_
(4)
where I
dc
denotes the amplitude of the dc-link current of the
CSI. The CSI output current in (4) yields the total harmonic
distortion THD
i
= 0.31 per unit (p.u.) [3]. As the CSI supplies
all the required real power for the motor, the dc-link current I
dc
is expressed, with the leading angle and the load power factor
angle , as
I
dc
=

6
cos
cos
I. (5)
With no loss constraint in the system, it can be described as
I
dc
=

3

2 cos
P
out
V
LL
. (6)
where P
out
and V
LL
are the output power of the motor and
the line-to-line rms value of the motor voltage, respectively.
By using (2)(6), the rms values of the VSI output current and
voltage can be derived as (7) shown at the bottom of the next
page, where X
L
=
o
L
F
, X
C
= 1/ (
o
C). Reecting (7)
into (1) can yield a closed-form expression for the VSI power
rating. As anticipated, the VSI power rating is dependent on the
output power level P
out
, the capacitor size C, the phase-shifted
angles equal to and , and the lter inductor L
F
. Note that
n in (7) represents the number of harmonic components to be
canceled by the VSI. Considering that the CSI output current
KWAK AND KIM: INTEGRATED CURRENT SOURCE INVERTER WITH REACTIVE AND HARMONIC POWER COMPENSATORS 351
Fig. 5. VSI power rating versus capacitor size.
in (4) contains harmonic components at only the nontriplen
odd 6k 1 (k = 1, 2, 3. . .) harmonics, specifying n = 16
implies that the VSI compensates the harmonic currents from
the CSI up to 49th harmonic. This harmonic cancellation results
in the total harmonic distortion of the motor current THD
i
=
0.08 p.u.
The VSI power rating is displayed in Fig. 5 as a function
of the capacitor size. Implementing no capacitor (C = 0) in
the system of Fig. 2 leads to the maximum value of the VSI
rating S
VSI(max)
in Fig. 5. This implies that the VSI entirely
supplies all the reactive power required to produce the phase
angle corresponding to + as well as the harmonic power for
the sinusoidal motor current. With the capacitor size C increased
from zero, the power capacity of the VSI shows a near-linear
decrease fromthe maximumrating S
VSI(max)
, as expected. This
is because the more reactive power created by the increased
capacitor yields the less reactive power requirement by the VSI,
resulting in the reduced VSI rating. Increasing the capacitor size
to a value, designated with C
max
, leads to the minimum value
of the VSI rating, denoted as S
VSI(min)
. This condition means
that the capacitor C completely provides the reactive power
to generate the entire phase shift, yielding the angle equal
to +. The VSI, in turn, contributes to no reactive power
generation ( = 0) and provides only the harmonic power to
cancel the harmonic current components from the CSI output
current. The vector diagram corresponding to this condition is
depicted in Fig. 6(a). This behavior curve from S
VSI(max)
to
S
VSI(min)
, indicated as region 1 in Fig. 5, is consistent with the
operational principle of the proposed system where the VSI and
Fig. 6. Vector diagrams (a) in the condition of S
VSI(min)
and C
max
, and
(b) in the condition of region 2.
the capacitor serve as the complementary sources of reactive
power.
On the other hand, it is noteworthy that increasing the capac-
itor size beyond C
max
leads the VSI rating to increase in pro-
portion to the size C in Fig. 5. This operating region, denoted
with region 2 in Fig 5, can be explained with the correspond-
ing vector diagram shown in Fig. 6(b). In region 2, it is seen
that the capacitor C is set to overshift its angle, as illustrated in
Fig. 6(b). Due to the oversized capacitor, the VSI compensates
the reactive power of the capacitor, and thus, its rating increases
with the increasing capacitor size C. Operating the proposed
system in region 2 is obviously incongruous with the desired
function of the VSI and the capacitor. Therefore, the proposed
system needs to be designed to run within region 1 with proper
selection of the capacitor size.
B. Design of Capacitor Size
The capacitor size in the proposed system should be estab-
lished somewhat less than the maximumvalue C
max
under given
operating conditions. The maximum capacitor size, from (2),
(3), and Fig. 6(a), can be derived by
C
max
=
P
out

o
V
2
LL
(tan + tan ) . (8)
Note that the size C
max
in (8) is the capacitor size of the
conventional LCI system of Fig. 1, in consideration of only
fundamental components of the motor current and voltage. The
maximum capacitor size C
max
, as a function of the load power
factor angle and the output power level P
out
, is depicted in
Fig. 7. It is shown that the maximum capacitor size increases
with increasing power level P
out
and increasing angle , result-
ing from more reactive power delivery. As long as the capaci-
tance is smaller than C
max
, the capacitor size can be arbitrarily
selected to make a compromise with the VSI rating. Once the
I
VSI,rms
=

_
P
out

3V
LL
_
2
_
1
cos
2

+
_

3
_
2
1
cos
2

+ 2 (tan tan 1)
_
+
P
out
3X
C
_
V
2
LL
X
C
P
out
2 (tan + tan )
_
V
VSI,rms
=

_
X
L
P
out

3V
LL
_
2
_
1
cos
2

+
1+n
cos
2

+2 (tan tan 1)
_
+
X
L
P
out
3
_
1
X
L
X
C
__
V
2
LL
X
L
P
out
_
1
X
L
X
C
_
+2 (tan +tan )
_
(7)
352 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 24, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
Fig. 7. Maximum capacitor size as a function of output power P
out
and load
angle (f
out
= 60 Hz, = 5

, and V
LL
= 300

3 V).
capacitor size is chosen within the maximum allowable value
C
max
, the phase angle created by the output capacitor is
= + . (9)
The angle shifted by the capacitor, from (8), (9), and Fig. 4,
is obtained by
= tan
1
_
V
2
LL
X
C
P
out
(1 + tan
2
) V
2
LL
tan
_
. (10)
In case of beomg equal to +, the proposed system is
subject to the maximum capacitor size C
max
in (6) and the
minimum VSI rating S
VSI(min)
. Note that inserting the angle
equal to + in (10) results in the maximum capacitor value
C
max
derived in (8). The phase-shift angle , which the capac-
itor produces, is illustrated as a function of the capacitor size
C in Fig. 8. It is seen that the increasing capacitor size leads
to the increased angle . Moreover, the phase angle is reduced
with increasing output power P
out
under the condition of equal
capacitor size. The phase-angle , developed by the VSI, can
be similarly calculated by using (9) and (10).
C. VSI Rating
Fig. 9 illustrates the VSI ratings with several load power factor
angles , based on the capacitor size C. It should be noted that
the minimumvalue for the VSI rating S
VSI(min)
is not dependent
on the load angle . This is because the VSI at the minimum
rating condition deals with only the harmonic power of the CSI,
while the reactive power associated with the angle is fully
compensated by the capacitor. Therefore, varying the angle
has no effect on the minimum VSI rating and the capacitor size
C
max
leading to S
VSI(min)
increases with the increasing load
angle . The VSI power ratings with different capacitor sizes as
a function of the load power factor (PF

= cos ) are depicted in

Fig. 10. Since the capacitor sizes are determined lower than the
maximum allowable values C
max
, the proposed system was set
to operate in region 1. It is seen that the VSI rating S
VSI
reduces
with increasing capacitor size under the specied load condition.
Fig. 8. Phase-shift angle with several P
out
as a function of C size ( =
60

, V
LL
= 500 V, and f
out
= 60 Hz).
Fig. 9. VSI ratings with several versus C size (P
out
= 50 kW, V
LL
=
500

3 V, f
out
= 60 Hz, = 5

, L
F
= 0.1 mH, and n = 16).
Thus, the design aspect of the proposed system accompanies a
compromise between the VSI power capacity and the capacitor
size. Besides, the VSI rating is decreased with loads operating
at an improved power factor, given the capacitor size. Fig. 11
shows the VSI ratings with several lter inductances L
F
versus
the load power factor. Since the increasing inductive lter size
leads to the increasing VSI rating, the inductor size should be
kept small within tolerable current ripple limits.
D. Semiconductor Losses of VSI
For high power converter applications, one important issue
of converters is the semiconductor losses and the corresponding
efciency. In the proposed system, the VSI loss performance is
of concern because the thyristor-based CSI losses result from
natural commutation and the fundamental switching frequency
is negligible, in comparison with the hard switching of the VSI.
According to the reactive power management of the VSI and the
capacitor, the VSI loss performance is investigated as a function
of the capacitor size. The semiconductor losses of the VSI in the
proposed structure were simulated based on the power converter
KWAK AND KIM: INTEGRATED CURRENT SOURCE INVERTER WITH REACTIVE AND HARMONIC POWER COMPENSATORS 353
Fig. 10. VSI ratings with several C as a function of PF

(P
out
= 200 kW,
V
LL
= 300

3 V, f
out
= 60 Hz, = 5

, L
f
= 0.1 mH, and n = 16).
Fig. 11. VSI ratings with several L
F
versus PF

(P
out
= 50 kW, V
LL
=
500

3 V, f
out
= 60 Hz, = 5

, C = 80 F, and n = 16).
loss model [12], [13]. The conduction losses of an IGBT or a
diode in the VSI were calculated, using the ON-state voltage
drop and the conducting current of the VSI [12]. The conduction
losses of the IGBT and the diode were abbreviated to P
SWcond
and P
Dcond
, respectively. The switching losses were, similarly,
determined by measuring the switching energy as a function of
the conducting current through the switch and then modeling
it by a rst-order relationship. Acronyms of P
DOFF
, P
SWOFF
,
and P
SWON
denote the diode turn-OFF losses, the IGBTturn-OFF
losses, and the IGBT turn-ON losses, respectively.
The VSI losses in the proposed system were simulated us-
ing the power converter loss model and assessed with different
capacitor sizes and load displacement power factors, shown
in Fig. 12. The capacitor sizes were selected smaller than the
maximum allowable size C
max
, calculated under the operating
conditions. It is seen that the power losses of the VSI reduce with
Fig. 12. VSI power losses with different load power factors and capacitors
( = 10

, V
dc
= 1200 V, m
inv
= 0.9, f
out
= 60 Hz, f
s
= 3 kHz, P
out
=
250 kW, and T
j
= 125

C).
Fig. 13. VSI loss distribution with several capacitor sizes (PF

= 0.8,
= 10

, V
dc
= 1200 V, m
inv
= 0.9, f
out
= 60 Hz, f
s
= 3 kHz, P
out
=
250 kW, and T
j
= 125

C).
increasing capacitor size, because the current loading associated
with reactive power delivery by the VSI is decreased. In addi-
tion, the VSI losses with a constant capacitor size are increased
with decreasing load power factor PF

, due to more reactive

power supplied by the VSI. Fig. 13 shows the conduction and
switching losses of the VSI with several capacitor sizes. Note
that the conduction losses are dominant to switching losses with
the low switching frequency. It is observed that the conduction
losses of the VSI are reduced with increasing capacitor size,
as evident from the decreased rms current prole through the
VSI. The switching losses are slightly reduced with increasing
capacitor size with the effect of the reduced rms VSI current
value on the switching loss calculation.
354 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 24, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
Fig. 14. Control block diagram.
E. Realization of System Control Block
The proposed systemcan be effectively applied to high power
conversion applications, such as pumps, fans, and compressors.
These applications can be realized with a relatively simple con-
troller due to their slow torque and speed transitions [14], [15].
As a result, the overall speed control of the proposed system is
implemented based on a constant V /f scalar control technique
with slip regulation using the VSI [18], [19]. Fig. 14 shows
a general control block diagram of the proposed system. The
motor speed control is implemented by adjusting the amplitude
and frequency of the VSI output voltage. The motor speed can
be regulated using a closed-loop speed controller with a slip
speed regulator, which determines the slip speed reference. The
synchronous speed
ms
, obtained by adding the actual speed

m
and the slip speed
sl
, sets the VSI operating frequency
f
o.ref
. The voltage amplitude command V
ref
is then settled from
the VSI frequency using a constant voltage/frequency function
generator, which ensures a nearly constant ux operation. The
VSI generates the motor voltage required for the V /f control by
adjusting the modulation index m
INV
as
m
INV
=
V
ref
V
dc
(11)
where V
dc
denotes the dc-link voltage of the VSI. In addition,
the phase angle of the motor voltage is decided for the safe CSI
commutation by providing the leading angle
ref
. The leading
angle command
ref
can be set dependent on the turn-OFF time
of thyristors used in the CSI. The space-vector modulator pro-
duces the switching patterns based on the amplitude, frequency,
and phase command signals for the VSI output voltage. This
speed loop control implemented by the VSI ensures a fast dy-
namic response with a much faster sampling period than the
conventional LCI system. The gating command of the CSI is
controlled with the frequency and the phase command signal,
for the purpose of active power delivery and safe thyristor com-
mutation. The frequency of the CSI is synchronized with that
of the VSI, while the phase angle of the CSI leads that of the
motor voltage by a safe commutation angle
ref
. The dc-link
current control is obtained with the phase-controlled rectier.
The function of this loop is to control the dc-link current in such
a way that the CSI suitable for high power levels provides the
entire real power to the high-power load. The dc-link current
I

dc
is set based on the magnitude of the motor current I, the
power factor angle , and the leading angle command
ref
, as in
(5). As shown in Fig. 14, the amplitude of the motor current is
achieved from the current amplitude calculator using the sensed
motor current. In addition, the phase angle can be obtained by
detecting zero crossing points of the motor current and the CSI
output current, as shown in Fig. 15. The time interval between
the zero crossing point of i
CSI
, which is denoted as t
crA
, and the
KWAK AND KIM: INTEGRATED CURRENT SOURCE INVERTER WITH REACTIVE AND HARMONIC POWER COMPENSATORS 355
Fig. 15. Measurement of zero crossings of motor current and CSI output current.
positive zero crossing point of i
m
, which is t
crB
, corresponds
to the amount of phase angle, 30

+ +
ref
. The delay angle
of the phase-controlled rectier is controlled to regulate the
dc-link current to meet the requirement of the load real power.
The dynamics of the dc-link current, by ignoring the resistance
of the dc-link inductor, can be represented as
v
REC
dc
(t) = L
dc
dI
dc
(t)
dt
+v
CSI
dc
(t) (12)
where v
REC
dc
and v
CSI
dc
are the dc voltages at the side of the phase-
controlled rectier and the CSI, respectively. The CSI-side dc
voltage v
CSI
dc
works as a perturbation on the dc-link current
control loop. The negative effect of v
CSI
dc
on the dc-link current
tracking can be compensated by feedforward control, which
results in improved dynamic response of the rectier. With the
input supply voltage given as v
a
= V
s
cos(2f
s
t), the transfer
characteristics of the rectier associated with the average value
of v
REC
dc
and the delay angle , in continuous conduction mode,
can be expressed as
V
REC
dc
=
_
3

_
V
s
cos . (13)
By normalizing the control voltage v
cn
from the proportional-
integral (PI) controller less than unity, the gain of rectier K
REC
is given by
K
REC
=
3

V
s
. (14)
The phase-controlled rectier can then be modeled with the gain
and time delay as [20]
G
REC
(s) =
K
REC
1 +sT
REC
(15)
where the time delay T
REC
is 1/(12f
s
). With the PI current con-
troller as G
C
(s) = k
p
+ (k
i
/s), the closed-loop transfer func-
tion of the dc-link current control is
G
CL
(s) =
1
1 + (L
dc
/K
REC
) s(1 +sT
REC
)/k
p
+ (k
i
/s)
.
(16)
In the proposed system, the VSI generates the sinusoidal
phase voltage to the induction motor, and thus, the VSI in the
voltage control mode can be represented by a sinusoidal ac
voltage source. Injecting the sinusoidal motor voltage leads to
the sinusoidal motor current i
M
. In the meantime, the CSI works
as a controlled current source, in which the six-step current
waveformwith regulated magnitude, frequency, and phase angle
is produced. Concurrently, the VSI provides the output current
Fig. 16. Simulation results with C = 50 F: CSI output current i
CSI
, motor
current i
M
, VSI output current i
VSI
, and capacitor current i
C
.
corresponding to the difference between the sinusoidal motor
current and the six-step CSI output current. Thus, the voltage
control of the VSI and the current control of the CSI with the
PI controller enable the VSI to compensate the harmonic current
components of the CSI output current. In the control block of
the system, the fast VSI operates as a master inverter to actively
control the load and the slow CSI works as a slave inverter to
transfer the required real power to the load from the mains.
The VSI in the voltage control mode regulates the actual motor
speed with fast and facile controllability. Thus, the VSI provides
active power support during startup and transient periods, while
dealing with only reactive and harmonic powers in the steady
state. In the meantime, the CSI in the current control mode
is manipulated to deliver large active power of the high-power
load. The magnitude of the dc-link current is controlled in such a
way that the CSI can supply the required real power determined
by (5) to the load.
IV. SIMULATION AND EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
The proposed system was simulated with a 500-hp induction
motor to investigate the performance of the proposed structure.
The dc-link inductor L
dc
for the controlled rectier and the lter
inductor L
F
were set to 150 mH and 0.1 mH, respectively. The
VSI was operated with a switching frequency of 3 kHz. Figs. 16
356 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 24, NO. 2, FEBRUARY 2009
Fig. 17. Simulation results with C = 270 F: CSI output current i
CSI
, motor
current i
M
, VSI output current i
VSI
, and capacitor current i
C
.
and 17 show the CSI output current i
CSI
, the motor current
i
M
, the VSI output current i
VSI
, and the capacitor current i
C
,
obtained with C = 50 F and C = 250 F, respectively. The
VSI was controlled to produce the motor phase voltage with 5

leading angle over the CSI output current. From the results, it
is seen that the current proles of the VSI and the capacitor in
Figs. 16 and 17 are different with the different capacitor sizes.
The thyristors of the CSI are commutated with the operation
of the VSI and the capacitor. The sinusoidal motor current i
M
with no harmonic distortion can be obtained with the harmonic
cancellation by the VSI.
The proposed system was implemented with a prototype us-
ing a CSI, a phase-controlled rectier, and a VSI. A 120-mH
dc-link inductor and a 100 F capacitor were used for the CSI.
Control signals for the VSI, the CSI, and the controlled rec-
tier were realized with a xed-point digital signal processor
(DSP) board (TMS320LF2407). The VSI control signals were
provided through PWMports of the DSP board. The pulse trans-
former boards (FCOAUX60) were used to turn ON the thyristors
of the controlled rectier and the CSI. The pulse train into the
pulse transformer has a 20 kHz frequency and 50% duty cy-
cle to avoid transformer saturation. The pulse train signals for
the controlled rectier and the CSI were generated with dig-
ital I/O port signals of the DSP board and a 20-kHz external
oscillator signal due to limited PWM ports of the DSP board.
In the experiment, the prototype was tested with 230 V, 60 Hz,
1-hp general-purpose induction motor as an academic scaled
test load. The block diagram of the setup is shown in Fig. 18.
Fig. 19 shows the supply voltage and input current of the con-
trolled rectier. The dc-link current waveform, which appears
in the CSI output current, is illustrated in Fig. 20. Fig. 21 illus-
trates the output current waveforms from the proposed system.
It is seen that the motor current i
M
obtained from the proposed
system is sinusoidal by means of the harmonic cancellation of
Fig. 18. Block diagram of experimental setup.
Fig. 19. Supply voltage (50 V/div, 5 ms/div) and the controlled rectier current
(1 A/div, 5 ms/div).
Fig. 20. dc-link current (1 A/div, 10 ms/div).
the VSI. The VSI output current i
VSI
together with the output
capacitor current i
C
provides reactive power to the motor, in
order to compensate the lagging load power factor angle and
generate the leading angle for the CSI commutation. The small
lter inductor L
F
used for small VSI rating led to big current
ripples.
KWAK AND KIM: INTEGRATED CURRENT SOURCE INVERTER WITH REACTIVE AND HARMONIC POWER COMPENSATORS 357
Fig. 21. Output current waveforms of the proposed system: (a) CSI output current i
CSI
(1 A/div, 5 ms/div); (b) motor current i
M
(1 A/div, 5 ms/div); (c) VSI
output current i
VSI
(1 A/div, 5 ms/div); (d) capacitor current i
C
(1 A/div, 5 ms/div).
V. CONCLUSION
This paper proposes thyristor-based CSI drives with parallel
installation of the VSI and the capacitor. The proposed system
can independently manage the real and the reactive power, with
an improved harmonic spectrum. In this system, both the VSI
and the capacitor serve as the dual-reactive power sources, and
thus, generate the leading power factor to accomplish the natural
commutation of the CSI. As a result, the proposed system can
be designed with a compromise between the VSI rating and
the capacitor size. Due to the collaborative operation of the
capacitor, the current loading of the VSI can be reduced, yielding
decreased power capacity and cost of the VSI. In addition, the
VSI also works as a harmonic lter, which cancels the harmonic
current components fromthe CSI. Thus, the sinusoidal inductive
load current can be obtained from this system. The proposed
system can utilize the individual advantages of the constituent
inverters: the thyristor-based CSI to deliver large real power to
the high-power load, while the facile controllability of the VSI
to control the load.
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Sangshin Kwak (S03M05), photograph and biography not available at the
time of publication.
Taehyung Kim (S00M03), photograph and biography not available at the
time of publication.