Fault Diagnosis of Voltage Sensor in Grid-Connected

3-Phase Voltage Source Converters

Won-Sang Im, Jang-Mok Kim Dong-Choon Lee Kyo-Beum Lee

Pusan National University Yeungnam University Ajou University

Busan, 609-735, Korea Gyeongsan, 714-749, Korea Suwon, 443-749, Korea
won42@pusan.ac.kr, jmok@pusan.ac.kr dclee@yu.ac.kr kyl@ajou.ac.kr

Abstract—This paper proposes a fault diagnosis method of the voltage values. If the unnatural grid voltages are obtained from
line-to-line voltage sensors in grid-connected 3-phase voltage the sensors, it means that a fault occurs. However, it is not
source converters. The line-to-line voltage sensors are an always the fault of the sensors because it could be the problem
essential device to obtain the information of the grid side voltages of the power grid. Hence it is necessary to distinguish a kind of
for controlling the converters. If there are problems in the
the faults. The proposed method identifies whether the fault is
voltage sensors by some faults, the controller obtains wrong
information of the grid voltage. It causes the unbalance 3 phase at the voltage sensor or the power grid. Then the fault tolerant
currents and the pulsation of the DC-link voltage even though the control is possible to recover the performance of the converter
power grid is healthy. Therefore fault diagnosis methods are in case of the voltage sensor fault. As a result, the proposed
required to detect the failure and to avoid the abnormal method can improve the system reliability by just adding some
operation. This proposed diagnosis method identifies whether the software algorithm without additional hardware circuits. The
fault is at the voltage sensor or the power grid when the usefulness of this paper is verified through the computer
abnormal values are measured from the line-to-line voltage simulation and experiment.
sensors. Then the fault tolerance control is possible in case of the
voltage sensor fault. The proposed method can improve the II. EFFECT OF VOLTAGE SENSOR FAULT
system reliability by just adding some software algorithm
without additional hardware circuits. The usefulness of this Fig.1 shows the structure of the grid-connected 3-phase
paper is verified through the computer simulation and voltage source converter with two line-to-line voltage sensors.
experiment. It is essential to measure the voltages of the AC input source
for controlling the converter. These voltages can be obtained
Index Terms—Voltage sensor fault, Grid connected PWM from the voltage sensors. They become the inputs of phase
converter, Diagnosis, Fault detection, Fault tolerant control locked loop (PLL) as shown in Fig. 2. The grid phase-angle (θ)
is acquired through d-q transformation and the PI current
I. INTRODUCTION controller.
The reliability of power conversion systems has been
always important issue due to the costs of unplanned stops [1]-
[2]. Hence many fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control
methods have been researched about various components [3]-
[6].
One of the most important aspects to consider in the control
of grid-connected voltage source converters is the proper
synchronization with the utility voltages [7]. Accurate
measurement from the line-to-line voltage sensors is essential
for the synchronization. However, if a fault is occurred among Fig.1. Grid-connected 3-phase voltage source converter structure
the voltage sensors, a wrong voltage value is measured even
though the grid voltage is healthy. It causes the unbalance 3
phase currents and the pulsation of the DC-link voltage due to
the distorted synchronization. The results can generate system
shutdown promptly or secondary faults later. Therefore, the
fault diagnosis and fault tolerant control are required in the
voltage sensors on the power grid.
This paper proposes a fault diagnosis method of line-to-line
voltage sensors in the grid-connected voltage source converter. Fig.2. Basic block diagram of the SRF-PLL
The sensor fault can be detected by monitoring the measured

978-1-4673-4569-9/13/$31.00 ©2013 IEEE 515

 TABLE I
EXPERIMENTAL PARAMETERS
Grid input
Input voltage 3Φ 220[V] 60[Hz]
frequency
Input Reactor 5[mH] DC-link capacitor 2,350[uF]

DC-link voltage 400[V] Output power 1[kW]

Switching frequency 10[kHz] PWM method SVPWM

measured AB voltage value. After t=0.1[s], the value is

reduced into 0.8 times. Then the calculated CA voltage is also
affected. The line-to-line voltages convert into phase voltages,
d-q axis voltages of rotating reference frame and synchronous
reference frame in turn as shown in Fig.4(b),(c),(d). The
pulsated d-axis voltage causes the distortion of the phase angle
through the PLL like Fig.4(e). The pulsated d-q axis voltages
and distorted phase angle become the input of the PI current
controller. Hence the distorted output voltages are entered into
the converter as the type of pulse width modulation (PWM)
signals. As a result, the unbalanced currents are represented
Fig.3. Control flow of the converter due to the voltage sensor fault even though the grid is balanced
as shown in Fig.4(f). Also, the DC-link voltage is vibrated by
Fig. 3 shows the control flow of converter. The voltages the imbalance currents like Fig.4(g).
( vde , vqe ) and currents ( i de , i qe ) of the synchronous reference
frame are calculated by using the grid phase-angle (θ), and
these are the inputs of current controller. The outputs of
*
SVPWM are generated from the reference voltages ( v abc )
which are the outputs of the current controller. Accordingly,
the desired reference DC voltage can be supplied normally in
healthy operation condition. However, In the case of a fault
occurrence in voltage sensors, the wrong voltage value is
obtained. Then the fault voltage enters the input of PLL. As
shown in Fig. 3, accordingly the grid phase-angle which is the
output of PLL is estimated incorrectly due to the voltage value
obtained by the faulted sensor. The wrong grid phase-angle
causes the wrong output of d-q transformation. Therefore, the
inputs ( i de , i qe ), ( vde , vqe ) of the current controller are distorted,
and then distorted output of the current controller generates the
six distorted outputs in SVPWM. Thus, the converter becomes
in abnormal operation. As a result, the converter has the
unbalanced input AC current and the DC-link voltage ripple.
The major reasons for an electric sensor fault are gain,
offset, saturation, and open circuit faults. This paper focuses
mainly on gain faults.
III. VOLTAGE SENSOR FAULT AND POWER GRID FAULT
Computer simulation is performed by using MATLAB
Simulink to show the differences between the voltage sensor
fault and the power grid fault. The simulation parameters and
the test conditions are shown in Table I. (a) 3-phase line-to-line voltages
(b) 3 phase voltages
Fig.4 shows a fault case of AB line-to-line voltage sensor, (c) d- and q-axis voltages in rotating reference frame
which is that the gain of the voltage changes from 1 to 0.8 at (d) d- and q-axis voltages in synchronous reference frame
t=0.1[s] by the electric sensor fault. Fig.4(a) shows the 3-phase (e) Phase angle of PLL
line-to-line voltages. The AB and BC voltages are obtained by (f) 3-phase currents
(g) DC-link voltage
two sensors. CA voltage can be obtained through the Fig.4. Fault case of AB line-to line voltage sensor
summation of the AB and BC voltages. The blue line is the (Gain 1 à 0.8 at 0.1[s])

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 Fig.5 shows the power grid fault case with the same line-to-
line voltage waveforms as Fig.4. In this case, the two voltage
sensors are healthy. As a result, five waveforms from (a) to (e)
are the same as Fig.4 because the power grid problem is
generated even if the voltage sensors are healthy. However, the
3-phase currents waveform is different as shown in Fig.5(f).
The currents are more controllable than in the sensor fault case
because the controller is aware of the grid voltages although
they are unbalanced. However, the DC-link voltage is still
pulsating despite of the controllable currents due to the
unbalanced grid voltages.
IV. PROPOSED FAULT DIAGNOSIS
A voltage fault can be detected from the measured line-to-
line voltages. The most suitable criterion for the fault
inspection seems to be d- or q-axis voltage of the synchronous
reference frame because they are constant before the fault.
Hence the difference between maximum and minimum of the
q-axis voltage in the synchronous reference frame is used for
the sensor fault detection as (1). If the difference is larger than
the threshold of (2), it means a fault occurrence.
(a) 3-phase line-to-line voltages
(b) 3 phase voltages
(c) d- and q-axis voltages in rotating reference frame
(d) d- and q-axis voltages in synchronous reference frame
(e) Phase angle of PLL
(f) 3-phase currents
(g) DC-link voltage
Fig.5. Power grid Fault case with the same line-to-line voltages as Fig.4
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( ) ( )
v qe _ pp = Max v qe - Min v qe (1)
e
v q _ pp > threshold (2)
However, the occurrence is not always the sensor fault
because it can be the problem of the grid having healthy
sensors. Therefore, if the fault is detected from (2), it is
necessary to distinguish a kind of the fault.
The 3-phase currents of Fig.4(f) and Fig.5(f) have some
differences. Nevertheless, it seems to be not easy to distinguish
a kind of the fault from the measured currents of two sets. In
addition, the current shapes are various according to the output
power level so that it is more difficult. Hence a new standard
signal is needed for the fault distinction.
Fig.6 shows the variables comparison of the PI current
controller in two cases. As shown in Fig.6(a), similar current
references are shown by the similar DC-link voltage of Fig.4(g)
and Fig.5(g). From the 3-phase currents of Fig.4(f) and Fig.5(f),
the d- and q-axis current reference is shown in Fig.6(b). The
remarkable difference is the d- and q-axis voltage references of
Fig.6(c). As a result, the 3-phase voltage references are
represented as Fig.6(d). In Fig.6(c) of the sensor fault case, the
q-axis voltage reference is flat although the pulsating voltage
of Fig.3(d) is added as the feedforward component.
< Voltage sensor fault case >
< Power grid fault case >
(a) Reference of the d- and q-axis currents
(b) d- and q-axis currents in synchronous reference frame
(c) Voltage references in synchronous reference frame
(d) 3-phase voltage references
Fig.6. Variables comparison of the current controller in two cases
 The reason is shown in Fig.7. As shown in Fig.8, the q-axis
output voltage of the PI current controller except feedforward
term, vedq_fb, cancels the pulsating q-axis feedforward voltage,
vedq_ff. Hence the final output voltage reference can be nearly
flat. In this paper, the fault cases can be sorted by using this
characteristic. Because the summation brings the cancelation of
the pulsation, the subtraction will make the larger pulsation.
The difference is expressed as (3). Fig.8. Diagram of the current controller

v qe _ diff = v qe _ ff - v qe _ fb (3)
The difference, veq_diff, can be used as the standard for the
fault case classification. Because the voltage reference is
expressed by following (4), the difference can also be
represented as (5) by inserting (4) in (3).
vqe _ ref = vqe _ fb + vqe _ ff (4)
v qe _ diff = 2v qe _ ref + v qe _ ff (5)
The voltage sensor fault is decided by (6).
( ) ( )
Max v qe _ diff - Min v qe _ diff > K × v qe _ pp (6)
Fig.9. Block diagram of the voltage sensor fault detection

where K is constant related with detection possibility and

disturbance sensitivity. The degree of the cancelation is
generated variously according to the load level and fault scale.
K selected 6/5 through many empirical tests.
Fig.9 shows the block diagram of the proposed voltage
sensor fault detection. At first, if the pulsation of more than
threshold is detected in q-axis voltage of grid, ‘Voltage fault’
signal is generated. Then the fault must be identified whether
the sensor problem or not. If (5) is satisfied, it means that the
fault is caused by the voltage sensor. Finally, it can be found
which line-to-line voltage sensor is fault through the phase
angle of the maximum or minimum point in the q-axis voltage.
After that, the fault tolerance control is possible as shown in
Fig.10 Hence new phase angle and d-q axis feedforward
voltages can be obtained by using single phase PLL from the
remaining healthy voltage sensor. It can improve the
performance of the converter by supplying the closer
information of the grid.
< Voltage sensor fault case >
< Power grid fault case >
Fig.7. Output of PI current controller except feedforward voltages
Fig.10. Block diagram of the fault tolerant control
V. SIMULATION RESULTS
Fig. 11 shows the results for the voltage sensor fault
detection. After the voltage sensor fault, veq_ff is vibrated so that
the voltage fault flag is generated through the block diagram of
Fig.9. The waveforms of veq_ff and veq_fb are reverse. Hence
veq_diff becomes nearly double. When the block diagram of Fig.9
is applied, this problem is the voltage sensor fault. Whether Vab
or Vbc sensor fault can be found from the angle of maximum or
minimum veq_ff. In the power grid fault case, the amplitude of
veq_diff is the same as veq_ff. Hence the sensor fault flag is not
generated.
In Fig. 12, the result of the fault tolerant control is
represented. The voltage sensor fault condition is the same as
before. At t=0.15[s], the tolerant control is activated so that the
grid angle and the feedforward voltage are replaced through the
algorithm of Fig.10. This is immediately replacement case.
After the tolerant control, the d- and q-axis feedforward voltage
is distorted seriously during approximately one cycle time. It is
due to the time delay of the allpass filter. This result causes the
distortion of the 3-phase currents during short time. The
currents can be more serious in case of the heavy load or severe
fault. It causes the ripple of the DC-link voltage. However,
after one cycle time, the grid angle and feedforward voltage are
recovered as normal operation values. As a result, the 3-phase
currents and the DC-link voltage are restored despite of the
sensor fault due to the tolerant control. Therefore, if the voltage
sensor fault is detected, the replacement after one cycle is
better than immediate.

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 Fig.13 shows the waveforms of the fault detection and
tolerant control. In Fig.13(a), the gain of the AB voltage
changes from 1 to 0.8 at t=0.1[s]by the sensor fault. Then the
distortions of the measured voltage, grid angle, 3-phase current
and DC-link voltage are represented as mentioned earlier. Due
to the ripple of the q-axis voltage in the synchronous reference
frame, the voltage fault flag is generated through the diagram
of Fig.9. Then the fault is conformed as the voltage sensor
problem from the (6), and it is in AB voltage sensor. The fact

< Voltage sensor fault case >

(a) Vab voltage sensor fault

< Power grid fault case >

Fig.11. Results for the voltage sensor fault detection

(b) Vbc voltage sensor fault

Fig.12. Replacement immediately using the proposed tolerant control Fig.13. Fault detection and tolerant control results of two cases

519
 can be obtained by the grid angle of the minimum point of q-
axis voltage. After that, the tolerant control is activated.
However, the values of the grid angle and the dq-axis voltage
are not replaced immediately due to the aforementioned time
delay of the allpass filter. Hence the replacement is executed
after one cycle time. During the one cycle, the PLL of 3-phase
and single phase is processed simultaneously. After the
replacement, the performance of the 3-phase currents and DC-
link voltage is recovered like before the voltage sensor fault.
Fig13(b) is the BC voltage sensor fault case of the 0.8 times
gain error. Most of the results look like similar to the previous
case. However, the phase angles of the several waveforms and
the pattern of 3-phase currents are a little different after the
fault. The flag of BC voltage sensor fault can be obtained from
the grid angle of the maximum point of q-axis voltage. After
the fault tolerant control, the performance is restored normally.
VI. CONCLUSION
This paper proposed a fault diagnosis method of the line-to-
line voltage sensors in grid-connected 3-phase voltage source
converters. Fault diagnosis methods are required to detect the
failure and to avoid the abnormal operation. This proposed
diagnosis method identifies whether the fault is at the voltage
sensor or the power grid when the abnormal values are
measured from the line-to-line voltage sensors. The validity of
the proposed algorithm was verified through the computer
simulation results.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This work has been supported by KESRI (Korea Electrical
Engineering and Science Research Institute)
(2009T100100651), which is funded by MKE (Ministry of
Knowledge Economy).
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