2010 International Conference on Power System Technology

Design and Implementation of Adaptive Hysteresis

Current Control based Power Quality Studies for an
Induction motor
Charles S, Member IEEE
Abstract - This paper presents a new control strategy for
adaptive hysteresis current control based power quality studies
for an induction motor to eliminate harmonics and to
compensate the reactive power. The adaptive hysteresis band
current controller changes the hysteresis bandwidth according
to modulation frequency, supply voltage, dc capacitor voltage
and slope of the reference compensator current wave. The large
rating of three phase induction motor take very large low power
factor currents while being started directly from a 3-phase
supply. Normally soft-starts are used for avoiding this problem
and to achieve smooth starting of large capacity induction
motors. A three phase AC voltage controller is employed as a
soft-start. But, this takes harmonic-rich current especially while
operating at large firing angles. The adaptive hysteresis current
control based shunt active filter has been inserted between the
AC voltage controller and power supply to take care of the
reactive power requirement of the motor, AC voltage controller
and also to provide harmonic compensation. In shunt-active
filter uses the Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF) theory to
determine the suitable compensation currents. The simulation
has been carried out through the MATLAB Simulink
SimPowerSystems Toolbox and Hardware work has been done
on a 22 kW induction motor with and without soft-start
arrangement.

Keywords- Adaptive Hysteresis band Current controller, AC

voltage controller, Power Quality, shunt active filter.

I. INTRODUCTION
Soft - Starts are broadly utilized in large capacity of
induction motors to limit the starting current also to achieve
the smooth starting. The higher ratings of induction motor
draws a very heavy current when started direct - on - line
(DOL) stimulating supply voltage dips which can adversely
affect other equipment connected to the power grid.
Prolonged passage of large current through the motor during
starting can cause steep temperature rise resulting in failure
of the insulation of the motor windings. Therefore, the
starting process of the motor needs to be controlled thereby
limiting its starting current. A 3-phase AC voltage controller
is normally employed as a soft-start. However the harmonics
generated by the soft starter causes problems in power
systems and in consumer products such as equipment
overheating, capacitor blowing, motor vibration, excessive
neutral currents and low power factor. Conventionally,
passive LC filters and capacitors have been used to eliminate

Charles S. with the Dept. of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Sri

Shakthi Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coimbatore, Tamilnadu,
India. His email-id is charlesme@gmail.com .

978-1-4244-5939-1/10/$26.002010 IEEE

line current harmonics and to compensate reactive power by

increasing the power factor. But these filters have the
disadvantages of large size, resonance and compensation
behaviour so this conventional solution becomes
ineffective.Shunt active filters are commonly used in 3-

phase systems feeding non-linear loads, to provide

harmonic, reactive power and/or unbalance compensation
[1-3].
There are several various current control methods
suggested for such active power filter configurations, but in
terms of quick current controllability and easy
implementation hysteresis band current control method has
the highest rate among other current control methods such as
sinusoidal PWM. As in most pulse width modulation
applications the interval between two consecutive switching
actions varies constantly within a power frequency cycle. In
principle increasing inverter operation frequency helps to get
a better compensating waveform. However there are device
limitations and increasing the switching frequency cause
increasing switching losses, audible noise and EMF related
problems. The range of frequencies used is based on a
compromise between these two different factors.
In this paper, the control of switching frequency is
realized by introducing an adaptive hysteresis band current
control algorithm. The usage of adaptive Hysteresis Current
Control based shunt active filter (SAF) of appropriate
capacity is being proposed to provide harmonic and reactive
power compensation to a 3-phase AC voltage controller
which is acting as a soft-start for a 3-phase induction motor
of 22 kW capacities. The results obtained from the
simulation as well as hardware implementation show that the
starting current can be reduced to 16% of its original DOL
value by using the proposed method.
The objective of this study is to enquire the affects
of hysteresis bandwidth to THD of supply current and
switching frequency of shunt active power filter. Adaptive
hysteresis band current controller changes the hysteresis
bandwidth as a function of reference compensator current
variation to optimize switching frequency and THD of
supply current. The paper has been organized as follows.
First the fundamental of shunt active filter is shortly
discussed. Second the Synchronous Reference Frame (SRF)
theory is briefly reviewed. Next, the proposed adaptive
hysteresis band current control based compensation strategy
for the three-phase shunt active power filter is described.
Finally, simulation and hardware results are presented
followed by the conclusion.

II. SHUNT ACTIVE FILTER

This is the most important configuration and widely
used in active filtering applications. Shunt active power
filters compensate current harmonics by injecting equal but
opposite harmonic compensating current. Typically, the
active power filter compensates reactive power and reduces
harmonic current occurring from nonlinear load. This is to
make the source current as close as possible to the
fundamental sinusoidal, and the power factor close to unity
In this case, the shunt active power filter operates as
a current source injecting the harmonic components
generated by the load but phase shifted by 180. As a result,
components of harmonic currents contained in the load
current are cancelled by the effect of the active filter and the
source current remains sinusoidal and in phase with the
respective phase-to-neutral voltage.In an adaptive hysteresis
current controlled based shunt active filter depicted in Fig. 1,
It consists of a 3-phase induction motor of 22 kW capacity
being connected to a 3-phase source through an AC voltage
controller. An SAF is installed to provide harmonic and
reactive power compensation as the currents drawn by the
AC voltage controller are highly non-sinusoidal and reactive
in nature. A 3-phase voltage source inverter (VSI) is made to
function as the SAF. It is connected to the 3-phase system
through suitable values of inter-phase reactors. The SRF (DQ-O) theory is used to calculate the compensation currents to
be supplied by the active filter plays an important role in
deciding the effectiveness of the compensation provided by
the SAF. There are various algorithms employed for
computing this compensation current [4, 5].

III. SYNCHRONOUS REFERENCE FRAME (D-Q-0)

THEORY
Synchronous Reference Frame (D-Q-O) having
measured three-phase load currents in a-b-c orientation,
transformed to d-q-o by park equation:

2
4

cos cos 3 cos 3

id
ila
(1)

2
4

iq = 2 / 3 sin sin 3 sin 3 ilb

i
i0
1
lc
1
1

2
2
2
Reference frame rotates synchronous with fundamental
currents. Therefore, time variant currents with fundamental
frequencies would be constant after transformation. However,
harmonics with different speeds remain time variant in this
frame. Thus, currents would be separate simultaneously to
DC and AC parts [6].
AC part of d axis and whole current in q axis are
used for harmonics elimination and VAR compensation. Zero
current is produced due to a three-phase voltage imbalance
or waveform distortions which have not been considered in
this paper. Finally, compensated currents are determined by
adverse park application on d and q axis to be injected to the
network after tracing and reconstruction.
The three phase load currents in a-b-c orientation,
transformed to d-q-o by park equation. D axis current (iLd)
is filtered out and applied to inverse transformation to
remove DC component and to determine harmonic contents.
Q axis current (iLq) is applied to inverse transformation to
compensate reactive power. 0 axis current (iL0) must be
used when the voltages are distorted or unbalanced and
sinusoidal current are desired. The DC side voltage of APF
should be controlled and kept at a constant value to maintain
the normal operation of the inverter. The Synchronous d-q-0
reference frame based compensation model is shown in
Fig.2

Fig.2. Synchronous d-q-0 reference frame based compensation algorithm.

Fig. 1. Schematic of the 3-phase system with Shunt active filter and soft-star

The difference between the reference value, Vref

and the feedback value (Vdc), an error function first passes a
PI controller and the output of the PI controller is subtracted
from the d axis value of the harmonic current components.
Reference filter currents (i*abc) are determined negatives of
the outputs of the inverse transformation matrix (d-q-0 to ab-c).

IV. THE ADAPTIVE HYSTERESIS BAND CURRENT

CONTROLLER
The hysteresis-band current control method is
popularly used because of its simplicity of implementation
among the various PWM techniques. Besides fast-response
current loop and inherent-peak current limiting capability,
unconditioned stability, very fast response, and good
accuracy [7]. On the other hand, the basic hysteresis
technique exhibits also several undesirable features; such as
uneven switching frequency that causes acoustic noise and
difficulty in designing input filters.
The conventional hysteresis band current control
scheme used for the control of active power filter line current
is shown in Fig. 3, composed of a hysteresis around the
reference line current. The reference line current of the active
power filter is referred to as I*c and actual line current of the
active power filter is referred to as Ic. However, the current
control with a fixed hysteresis band has the disadvantage that
the switching frequency varies within a band because peak to
peak current ripple is required to be controlled at all points of
the fundamental frequency wave.

I*c

Switching
Pulses

dica + 1
= ( 0.5V
dt
l

DC

dica
1
= ( 0.5V
dt
l

DC

+V

(2)

(3)

From the geometry of Fig. 4 can be written:

dica +
di *
t1 ca t1 = 2 HB
dt
dt

(4)

dica
di *
t 2 ca t 2 = 2 HB
dt
dt

(5)

1
fc

t1 + t 2 = Tc =

(6)

Where t1 and t2 are the respective switching intervals and fc

is the switching frequency. Adding (4) and (5) and
substituting (6), it can be written:

Hysteresis

Ic

The following equations can be written in the respective

switching intervals t1 and t2 from Fig. 4, can be written

t1

d ia +
d 1 di * ca
+ t 2 ia
=0
dt
dt
f c dt

(7)

Fig. 3. Conventional hysteresis band current controller.

Subtracting (5) from (4), we get

According to [8, 9] fig. 4 shows the PWM current
and voltage waves for phase-a. When the actual line current
of the active power filter tries to leave the hysteresis band,
the suitable power transistor is switched to ON or OFF state
to force the current to return to a value within the hysteresis
band. Then the switching pattern will be trying to maintain
the current inside the hysteresis band. The currents ica tends
to cross the lower hysteresis band at point 1, where upper
side IGBT of leg "a" is switched on. The linearly rising
current then touches the upper hand at point 2, where the
lower side IGBT of leg "a" is switched on.

ica

ica-

HB

4 HB = t1

ica

(8)

Substituting (3) in (8), gives

4 H B = ( t1 + t 2 )

di + ca
di * ca
( t1 t 2 )
dt
dt

(9)

Substituting (3) in (7), gives

t1 t2 =
*

di + ca
di ca
di * ca
t2
( t1 t 2 )
dt
dt
dt

di*ca

fc

di

dt

+
ca

dt

(10)

Substituting (10) in (9), finally we get

2
4 L2 v
0.125V DC

HB =
1 2 s + m
fc L

V DC L

+0.5 Vdc

- 0.5 Vdc
Fig.4. Voltage and current waves with hysteresis band current control.

(11)

Where fc is modulation frequency, m = di*ca /dt is the slope

of command current wave. Hysteresis band (HB) can be
modulated at different points of fundamental frequency cycle
to control the switching pattern of the inverter. For
symmetrical operation of all three phases, it is expected that
the hysteresis bandwidth (HB) profiles HBa, HBb and HBc
will be same, but have phase difference.

used to calculate the current amplitude to provide for the

losses in the inverter. An adaptive hysteresis current control
comparator routine developed in the digital signal processor
ADMC401 is used to generate the required triggering pulses
for the devices in the filter, by comparing the reference
compensation currents generated by the analog circuits and
the actual filter currents.
TABLE I
Parameters of the Induction Motor
Power
22 kW

Fig 5. Block diagram of an adaptive controller

The novel adaptive hysteresis band current

controller varies the hysteresis bandwidth according to
instantaneous compensation current fluctuation (dic/dt) and
Vdc voltage to minimize the influence of current distortion on
modulated waveform. In this paper, the adaptive hysteresis
band current controller, proposed by Bose [8] for electrical
machine drives. The adaptive hysteresis bandwidth
calculation block diagram is shown in Fig. 5. In eq. (11)
gives the hysteresis bandwidth (HB) as a function of
modulation frequency, supply voltage, dc capacitor voltage
and slope of the i*c reference compensator current wave.
Hysteresis band can be modulated as a function of Vdc and m
so that the modulation frequency fc remains nearly constant.
This will improve the PWM performances and shunt Active
Power Filter substantially.
IV. MODELING AND HARDWARE STEUP OF THE
SYSTEM
The system configuration as described earlier has a
three-phase 415 V source feeding a 22 kW induction motor
through a thyristorised 3-phase AC voltage controller
functioning as a soft-start [10, 11]. The operating firing angle
for the AC voltage controller is 115. Under this condition,
the induction motor draws a highly non-linear current rich in
harmonics with a substantial reactive power requirement. A
three phase, adaptive hysteresis current control VSI based
shunt active filter is connected between the three phase
source and the AC voltage controller to provide
compensation for the non-linear and reactive portions of the
load current.
The three-phase load for which the compensation is to
be provided is a 3-phase voltage controller feeding an
induction motor whose parameters are given in the Table 1.
The three phase shunt active filtering algorithm has been
implemented in hardware using analog circuits and ADMC401 digital signal processor. The firing angle () of the ac
voltage controller is adjusted to 1150 so that the ac voltage
controller draws highly non-linear reactive currents. A three
voltage source inverter with a suitable link capacitor having
a self supporting DC bus and a three phase reactor is made to
act as the shunt active filter to generate compensation
currents. The compensation currents are generated using
simple op-amp based control circuits, a sample & hold
circuit and an analog multiplier. A discrete PID controller is

Voltage

415 V

Poles

Speed

1470 rpm

Frequency

50 Hz

Lm

69.31mH

R1

0.435

R 2

0.816

Ll1

5e-4

Ll2

5e-4

V. RESULTS AND VERIFICATION

The schematic diagram of adaptive hysteresis current
control based SAPF as described in section II is developed in
Simulink/Matlab environment. The results that have been
obtained from the simulation model as well as hardware setup are presented in this section.
The rated current of the induction motor is about 39 A.
When it is started direct-on-line, it takes about 200 A of
current from the three-phase source which creates a voltage
sag considering that the source is not a stiff one. When
started using a soft-start fired at a delay angle of 115, it
draws about 100 A of peak current as can be seen from Fig.6.

Fig.6 Three phase load currents for AC voltage controller- Simulation and
Hardware results

The reference compensation currents and the actual

compensation currents obtained from the simulations and
hardware setup are shown in Fig 7.

Fig.8 (b) Source Voltages and Currents in three phases after compensation
for AC voltage controller for Phase A Hardware results

The THD value comes down to about 1.89% after

compensation from the uncompensated value of 54% are
shown in Fig.9. The mains current supplied at this point,
when the shunt active filter functions, is about 25 Amp
which is much less than the current drawn by the induction
motor while it is being started with a soft-start under no-load
condition.

Fig.7 Source voltage & Compensation currents of the shunt active filter for
AC voltage controller feeding an induction motor Simulation and
Hardware results

Fig. 8(a & b) clearly shows that the source voltages and the
corresponding source currents are in-phase with each other
after the shunt active filter starts functioning. The same
results have been obtained from the hardware set-up.

Fig.8 (a) Source Voltages and Currents in three phases after compensation
for AC voltage controller - simulation results

Fig.9. Total Harmonic Distortion in the source current before and after
compensation while an AC voltage controller is feeding an induction motor

VI. CONCLUSION
This paper has presented a comprehensive solution to
the problem of starting of a three - phase induction motor.
AC voltage controllers functioning as soft-starts are
commonly employed for smooth-starting of an induction
motor. However, they cause severe pollution in the threephase power lines. It is exemplified, in this paper
demonstrates the validity of the proposed adaptive hysteresis
band current controller for active power filters substantially
reduces this pollution level. The three - phase induction
motor while being started on no-load by DOL starting
method draws about 5 to 8 times its rated current from the
supply lines. When a soft-start is inserted between the
induction motor and the three-phase supply, the current
drawn from the supply decreases perceivably, contempt
causing its THD level to shoot-up. When a shunt active filter
is put in service to take care of the harmonic and reactive
power requirements of the controller and induction motor, it
is found that the mains current decreases drastically, with the
THD level falling within 5%.
The paper delineates an adaptive hysteresis-band
current control PWM technique where the bandwidth can be
programmed as a function of system parameters to optimize
the PWM performance. It is proposed an adaptive hysteresis
band algorithm for the implementation of the fixedfrequency adaptive hysteresis current control for voltage
source inverters in shunt active power filter. The robustness
of this technique in order to compensate current harmonics
was verified on the basis of both simulation and hardware
results. The shunt active filter is found effective to meet
IEEE 519 standard recommendations on harmonics level.
VII. REFERENCES
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VIII. BIOGRAPHIES
Charles S obtained his B.E. degree (2004) in
Electrical and Electronics Engineering and his
M.E. (2006) in Power Electronics and Drives
from Anna University, India. Currently, he is a
Assistant Professor in the Dept of Electrical
and Electronics Engineering, Sri Shakthi
Institute of Engineering and Technology, Coim
batore, Tamilnadu. India. His area of interest is Power Electronics,
Drives, and Active Power Filters for Power Conditioning.