Space Vector PWM Intro

Introduction
Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation (SV-PWM) is a modulation
scheme used to apply a given voltage vector to a three-phased
electric motor (permanent magnet or induction machine).

The goal is to use a steady state DC-voltage and by the means of

six switches (e.g. transistors) emulate a three-phased sinusoidal
waveform where the frequency and amplitude is adjustable.

There are two challenges to this:

D. The only voltage level available is the DC-link voltage which can
be assumed constant (well, at least for sake of simplicity).

G. There are only six different voltage angles available. With no

middle ground. To rotate a motor, a smoothly rotating voltage
vector is required - not one that skips 60 degrees per step.

grid supplied three phase voltage

A grid supplied three phase voltage will look like the animation
below. This is what an induction machine is experiencing when
connected directly to the grid.

The three phased system is illustrated using two different, but equal
forms:

A vector diagram showing all three phases and their vector sum
(space vector).

An ordinary instantaneous sine wave representation, also

 showing the resultant space vector.

An ordinary three phased system, here shown in both vector form

and in sinusoidal form. The black vector is the resultant space
vector; a vector sum obtained by adding the three vectors. As can
be seen, the space vector's magnitude is always constant.

The topology of a two-level inverter

The two-level inverter is the most used topology today because it is
simple and cheap. Higher level converters are mostly used for high
voltage applications and will not be treated in this article.

The schematics of a two-level inverter with passive diode front-end,

DC-link capacitor and a motor equivalent connected.
Snubbers and anti-parallel diodes are not shown.

The above schematic is the well-known and well-used inverter

topology. From left to right the following is shown:

A three phase supply and a three-phased diode rectifier

A DC-link capacitor for energy storage and voltage stabilization

 An inverter bridge with six transistors

Three output terminals and a star-connected (ungrounded)

induction machine equivalent

Not shown: snubber circuit, anti-parallel diodes over the

transistors and back-EMF in motor.

To better understand how space vector PWM is used, the above

schematic can be greatly simplified:

First, the DC-link voltage can be simplified so that it is constant.

Normally it varies with load, but not that much during the time
frames given in this article. The supply and diode rectifier will thus
not be shown for the rest of the article.

Second, each leg of the inverter bridge can be simplified by

replacing the two bridge leg-transistors by one single SPDT-switch
which shall indicate that either the top or the bottom transistor is
closed. The scenario of both transistors in one leg being open is not
interesting and will not be necessary. Further, the scenario of both
transistors being closed implies that the DC-link is short circuited
and we can all go home and order new parts.

The simplification from two transistors to one SPDT switch is

possible because only one transistor in each bridge leg can be
closed at any given time and that one transistor must be closed in
each leg in order to have a three-phased current flowing.
Additionally there are always anti-parallel diodes across each
transistor to allow bi-directional current flow.

The simplified schematic is presented below:

The simplified version of a two level inverter. The DC-link is now
assumed constant so that the diode rectifier is omitted. Further, it is
assumed that each inverter leg has one of two transistors closed at
any given time. In this example, Leg W has the upper transistor
closed while Leg V and U has the lower transistor closed. The
arrows indicate current direction.

The above example shows a transistor combination where the

leftmost leg (W) has its upper transistor closed and bottom
transistor open. The two other legs (V and U) has its upper
transistor open and lower transistor closed. This will correspond to a
positive voltage being applied to W-phase while the two other
phases are negative. The current arrows illustrate the current path
from the positive DC link to the negative DC link.
The eight basic vectors with their magnitude and direction. The zero
vectors v0 and v7 are shown at origo. The U-phase is normally basis
for all angles. The origin of the angles are the windings physical
location inside the stator; installed around the circumference at 120°
apart. Because each winding can have positive and negative
voltage, it occupies two angles at 180° separation.

From the simplified schematic, it is now seen that there are three
switches which can be in two different positions each. The total
number of possible switch configuration is thus 23=8.

Six of these configurations correspond to different voltages applied

to the connected motor and are called basic vectors from now on.
The last two are referred to as zero vectors as they represent zero
volts on the terminals.

The U-phase normally forms the basis for the basic vector's angles
at 0°. The origin of the angles are the windings physical location
inside the stator; installed around the circumference at 120° apart.
Because each winding can have positive and negative voltage, it
occupies two angles at 180° separation, e.g. 240° and 60° is W-
phase in positive and negative state respectively.

In binary, these vector combinations can be represented as eight

different binary values, here named from v0 to v7:

000 - v0 (zero vector)

001 - v1 (Phase +U)
010 - v2 (Phase +V)
011 - v3 (Phase -W)
100 - v4 (Phase +W)
101 - v5 (Phase -V)
110 - v6 (Phase -U)
111 - v7 (zero vector)

Each of the three binary digits refers to one bridge leg where the
value 1 indicates that the top transistor is closed whereas the value
0 indicates that the bottom transistor is closed.

All eight combinations and the resulting motor voltage and current
directions are shown below.
Press any image to enlarge.

Synthesizing output voltage

So far it is only shown that the converter can output DC-link voltage
to the terminals and how each of the six usable vectors affects
current- and voltage directions in the motor.

A voltage reference between the basic vectors 1 and 3. Rapid

alternations between these to vectors along with the zero vectors
can emulate the reference voltage.

This section will show how to synthesize any voltage vector by

quickly alternating between adjacent voltage vectors and timing of
the on- and off times.

To the right there is an example of a reference vector which the

inverter has to synthesize using the basic vectors available.

From the figure, it is seen that the reference is located between v1

and v3. This sector is called sector 1. It is now possible to quickly
alternate between these two basic vectors to emulate a voltage
vector at 38.3∘.

The two zero vectors v0 and v7 are also used to add dead time to
the switching pattern. This dead time reduces the voltage
magnitude and is necessary when the voltage reference magnitude
is less then 100%.

The actual synthesizing can be achieved using a triangular wave as

trigger. First is it assumed that the desired voltage reference is
already available, e.g calculated by the reverse Clarke/Park
transformation described in the Vector Control for Dummies post.

The figures below illustrate how a desired voltage is transformed

into binary on/off signals for each of the three inverter legs by
means of the triangular wave. Six different examples are shown,
each with a different angle in different sectors.

Concept explanation
Let us take a breathing pause there. This figure contains a lot of
information, and to better explain different parts of it, I have clipped
out four different regions of it that will be explained below.

Part 1 - Input and projection to the trig wave:

Part 1 - The input which shows the desired output voltage and a trig
wave used to determine the vectors used and their on-time.

The left circle is the "input" or "reference". Some also call it the
order signal. It is what we want to achieve; three different voltages
at different angles - together forming a space vector with one
magnitude and one angle.
As seen, the U-phase (red) is close to its maximum positive value.
This level is also shown on the graph to the right of the circle
together with a triangle wave where it is referred to as a control
voltage. The frequency of this waveform is many times higher than
the frequency of the space vector. Typically between 1 and 20 kHz,
but applications with a few hundred or hertz or up to hundreds of
kilohertz are not unheard of.

The V-phase (green) is close to its maximum negative value and the
W-phase (blue) just stretching out from zero in positive direction.

How these three values are intersected with the triangular wave will
directly translate to which switches we want to close and how long
we are keeping them closed.

Part 2 - Translating input to switching states:

Part 2 - The trig wave and how it visually translates into three binary
digits. Here, 000-001-011-111 in the four different sections of the
halv period.

Look at the right part of the figure.

The main focus in this part are the dashed lines protruding
downwards from the triangular wave. These originate from where
the control voltages intersect the trig wave. At all times, four
different sections are visible below the W-axis right above the 12T
arrow. For other space vector angles and magnitudes, the width of
these four sections change, but the total width will always be the
same.

At the angle in this example (46°), the first dashed line is the red
one. Between the start of the three axes and the red line, there are
no active voltage vectors. All three control voltages in this region are
below the trig wave. This means that all switches are off. 000. Zero
vector v0.

Next section; between the red and the blue dashed line. The U-
phase control voltage is now above the trig line while the two others
are still below. This activates the U-switch. 001 there. Also called
v1.

Third section: between the blue and the green line. Now both U and
V is activated; 011 - v3.

Last section: All three switches are now active. This is 111, v7, the
second zero vector.

At every angle and magnitude, the same pattern will be seen; Zero
vector - basic vector - basic vector - zero vector. Repeat. The only
thing that change is the width (i.e. the on-time) of these sectors
and which of the six basic vectors are used.

Note that the on-time percentage is also displayed to the left of the
W-axis. When the desired amplitude is low, the zero vectors will
have an increased on-time and opposite when the amplitude is high.
This is controlled by a scaling factor called modulation index. If the
desired amplitude is higher than the trig wave, something called
over modulation occurs. This is explained later.

Part 3 - Illustrating the vectors

Now we know that the two vectors we have to alternate between is

v1 and v3.

By getting the on-times correctly, this will emulate a voltage vector

at the same angle as the input voltage space vector.

You can see that the green v3-vector is close to maximum both in
the circle vector diagram and in the "sector diagram" below the W-
axis. The same can be seen for the v1-vector which is close to its
minimum.
The thin line green line inside the space vector circle are visual
aides to illustrate that these two basic vectors do indeed form the
desired space vector as a vector sum.

The values to the left in the figure shows the angle, which sector we
are in and the weighing factors, x and y, for each of the two basic
vectors. We will get back to those later.

Part 4 - Illustration of the two alternating switching

configurations

The two different switching combinations (basic vectors) which the

drive will alternate between is shown here. The progress bar above
each configuration indicates how long it is on compared to the total
on-time for both basic vectors. I.e, how long they are on relative to
each other.

The zero-vectors come in addition and will increase for lower

voltage levels.

Pay attention to that they are in opposite "phase" to each other, just
as two sine waves 90 degrees apart. When the left configuration
has completed its cycle, the right configuration is halfway.

This switching scheme also employs a nifty feature; only one switch
is changing state at the time. This reduce harmonics in the machine
and also reduces switching losses, a very important aspect to
consider when designing any type of power electronics.

Summary

The by far most important part of the figure is the area below the
lowest axis (W). It shows the portion each basic vector is active for
each period T. The percentage number is presented to the left of
that axis.

It can also be seen that every pattern starts and ends with a zero
vector, and that between every transition, only one switch is being
changed. This greatly reduces harmonics in the motor which cause
overheating and torque fluctuations. Also, any current that is not
contributing to torque, or is necessary to maintain the required
magnetic field, is unwanted. This is because the losses in the power
electronic components are current dependent and they translate to
heat which will stress the cooling system. Over-heating of
transistors and diodes are one of the main challenges when
designing power electronics today. The alternative is to design a
converter with higher current ratings, but this increases the price.

Further, at the bottom of the above figure two schematics are

shown. These represent the state of the switches for the two basic
vectors which are in use in the current section. The percentage
indication above indicate their on-time relative to the other. For
example, if the angle is exactly between to basic vectors (i.e. 30°),
both basic vector would be turned on 50% of the time each. Please
note that this percentage does not indicate their total on time with
respect to the period T. If the voltage magnitude is less than
maximum, there is added zero-vectors to averange down the
voltage. So at 70% voltage magnitude and still at 30°, the ON-time
of each basic vector is still 50% with respect to each other, but in
total there would be 30% zero vectoring within this period. The
actual on-time for each transistor thus become 35%;

T=Tv1+Tv3+Tv0+Tv7=35%+35%+15%+15%=100%

A full animation is shown below.

Detailed example
Problem:

The drive has estimated that it needs to modulate a voltage

vector of 630 V at an angle of 38.3°:

→vus=630 38.3∘
where the subscript s denotes a stator frame reference (i.e., not
rotor) and the superscript u denotes that the angle reference (0°) is
at phase U (0°) .

38.3° lies between basic vector 1 (0°) and 3 (60°), so these are
the two we are going to utilize.

The equation to determine how much we are using each basic

 vector can be written as

→vus=ˆVs θvs=x v3+y v1

where x and y are the unknown weighting factors for each vector
and v1 and v3 are the two basic vectors in use.

The DC link voltage is 975 V and the motor nominal terminal

voltage is 690 V (typical values in the marine industry)

First, the real component is established:

R{→vus}=R{630 38.3∘}=R{x 975 60∘+y 975 0∘}

630 38.3∘=x 975cos60∘+y 975cos0∘

630 0.7848=x 975 0.5+y 975 1

494.409=x 487.50+y 975

Secondly, we establish the imaginary component:

I{→vus}=I{630 38.3∘}=I{x 975 60∘+y 975 0∘}

630 38.3∘=x 975sin60∘+y 975sin0∘

630 0.6198=x 975 √32+y 975 0

390.461=x 844.37+0

We can now find x and y by setting up equation 7 and 11 towards

each other:

390.461=x 844.37+0

x=390.461844.37=0.4624
Inserting the x-value into the equation for y:

494.409=x 487.50+y 975

494.409=0.4624 487.50+y 975

y=494.409−(0.4624 487.50)975=0.2759

Let us double-check the result by inserting the values we have

found:

→vus=ˆVs θvs=x v3+y v1=0.4624 975 60∘+0.2759 975 0∘=62

9.999 38.297∘

This result is pretty close to the original target, which was 630 V at
an angle of 38.3°

So what will the output voltage be?

The available voltage at the inverter terminals are not readily
apparent by looking at the schematics alone due to the averaging of
different vectors and the use of a modulation index.

Let us start at the beginning and see where we end up:

The grid voltage which the rectifier is connected to:

Vgrid,RMS=690VRMS

The resulting DC-link voltage (assumed low load):

VDC=Vgrid,RMS×√2=975.8V

Alternative formula DC-link voltage (average for three phase / six

pulse supply):
3√2VRMSπ=931V

(for now we will stick with the first one, and get back to the last one
later)

This voltage level is what we have to play with to synthesize an

output voltage.

The famous space vector hexagon showing each of the basic

vectors and their magnitudes along with a reference vector at 30°
which has a maximum linear magnitude.

As shown earlier, there are six basic vectors, but their magnitude
has not been stated yet — only their angles. So here goes:
|v1−6|=VDC

Tada. That wasn't so difficult?

With the above information an updated figure of the six basic

vectors can be presented. When lines are drawn between each
vector tip, it will form the well known space vector hexagon. Note
that in the literature, different notation for the space vector hexagon
are used; phase voltage, line voltage, RMS voltage and some
include over modulation as well (we'll get to that, don't worry).

The observant reader might notice a circle located inside the

hexagon. Its radius is given by the maximum size permissible by the
boundaries of the hexagon. This radius is given at 30∘ which is
exactly between two adjacent basic vectors.

The maximum RMS output voltage then becomes:

Vmax,RMS=VDC×cos30∘×1√2=597V

This is lower than the input voltage, but the reason for this is
apparent when looking at the hexagon; when alternating between to
adjacent basic vectors, we are averaging and in the process some of
the voltage is "lost".

This low voltage might come to some as a slight

disappointment. When your grid voltage is 690 V, you would want to
buy a 690 V motor to go with it.

What do we do now?

Third harmonic injection

Fasten your seat belts and whip out your wand, because we are now
heading towards the dark arts of electrical engineering.
As just shown, we are faced with a challenge with too low output
voltage compared to what we really want. But we are also faced with
physical limitations. Which we are going to bend. Slightly.

First, let us illustrate the problem below:

A standard two-level inverter shown with its maximum output

voltage waveform in red. The dashed curve represent the desired
voltage, i.e. same amplitude as the input rms voltage.

The maximum voltage output of the DC-link has to be the DC-link

voltage. Above it is shown as a red sine wave where the peak-to-
peak voltage equals VDC=975V. The RMS phase-to-phase voltage
then becomes:

Vmax,RMS=VDC2×√3×1√2=597V

which is exactly the same as we just stated a few paragraphs up,

just presented from a different perspective. And we still haven't
touched our problem besides illustrating that we need to go through
the DC-link ceiling somehow by approximately 15% to reach 690 V.
This might seem impossible; The ceiling represent a switching state
where the switches are on 100% of the time, while the floor
represent a zero on-time. So how can a switch be on more than
100% or less than 0% ?

The trick we need to pull was invented by an engineer working for

GE in the 1980s and is called (fanfare); Third Harmonic Injection.

That's right folks; Adding a second sine wave with a frequency three
times the fundamental frequency will effectively solve our problem
in a very elegant way as shown below:

Third harmonic injection; hidden inside the blue waveform is a

fundamental sine wave with amplitude above the DC-link voltage.

Wait, you say? Did some pay for a smooth sine wave?

Well, the trick is that it's all hidden inside. By expanding the blue
curve above to its constituent sine waves (a.k.a Fourier expansion),
the following will appear:

The third and fundamental harmonic exposed, revealing the

increased amplitude.

Three phases with their first and third harmonics. Note that the third
harmonic (black) is common to all three phases.

Now that is more like it! We have now successfully circumvented

physical limitations in terms of maximum voltage output and packed
it all neatly with the use of third harmonic injection.

Next we will look at what the motor thinks of this. Harmonics is

almost always an unwanted phenomenon, so let's check the
consequences.

The figure to the right illustrates all three phase voltages with third
harmonic injection.

Some might notice something odd with those curves; The black
third harmonic curve is common to all three phases. All three are
super positioned and are totally identical which means that the third
harmonic is now a common mode wave form. Now all parts of the
motor circuit will oscillate at three times the frequency with respect
to the DC-link.

A volt-meter connected to the phase-neutral points of a motor. This

will reveal the motor winding voltage and if the third harmonics will
have any effect on them.

The neutral point of the motor is now of particular interest. The

question now becomes:

What is the phase-to-neutral voltage across each winding?

Recall that the phase voltage consist of a big sine wave and a third
harmonic wave added together. The scope will now display the
phase voltage (the left probe in the figure) minus the neutral voltage
(the right probe).

Also remember that every point in the motor is oscillating at the

third harmonic frequency and amplitude, including the neutral point.
The neutral-connected probe will therefore also see the same third
harmonic which is measurable at the phase-connected probe.

The mathematics then becomes something like this:

(Big sinewave + third harmonic sinewave) — (third harmonic sine
wave) = (Only big sinewave)

Oh yeah. The whole third harmonic component goes away and the
winding doesn't even know about it.

Bazinga.

Modulation index, m
This is quite simply a factor used to scale the voltage. In the last
section it was shown that the output voltage can be scaled up to
115.4% by applying third harmonic injections. I.e. the modulation
index can span from 0 to 1.154

The formula for output phase-to-phase voltage then becomes

Vmax,RMS=VDC2×√3×1√2×m

where m represent the modulation index factor.

The below animation illustrates the concept:

The voltages as function of modulation index m. A smooth sine
wave can be synthesized with 0 < m < 1.154 by use of third
harmonic injection.

Over modulation
For modulation index beyond 1.154 strange things will start to
happen. The control voltages used in conjunction with the triangular
wave will move above the trig wave. This will effectively remove zero
vectors and depending on how far above the control voltage moves,
it will also dominate the other control voltages for longer and longer
periods within each own sector.

The inverter will cut pulses and distort (roughen up) the sinusoidal
wave more and more until a situation called six step occurs. In six
step operation, the inverter will stay at one basic vector at the time
and jump directly to the next basic vector and then to the next and
so forth. With 60 degree steps and square wave operation, the
motor will produce a lot for harmonics and probably feel really
terrible. Luckily, the motor inductance will filter (smoothen) the
current to avoid damage due to exessive cogging / torque ripple
(remember, it is the current that produces the torque - not the
voltage).

This mode of operation is exactly what we tried to avoid initially by

doing our averging of two different and adjacent basic vectors.

Even though over modulation seems like motor torture (which it

is...), it is sometimes necessary. Up till now it has been assumed
that the DC-link always stays at a factor of √2 above the supply
voltage, but that is not always the case.

When high currents are needed, such as when the motor is running
at full speed and full power, the current drawn from the grid is
substantial, causing the small DC resistance in the rectifier diodes
to become huge voltage drops (Ohm's law there, folks).

Suddenly the DC-link voltage is no longer 975 V, but 900 V and at

full speed the motor requires full voltage in order to keep the motor
flux at rated value. At this voltage, a modulation index of 1.25 is
required, and this will create an ugly sine wave. Also, note that over-
modulation is no longer linear. It actually looks more like the
saturation region of a magnetizing curve, meaning that the
controller will have to amplify the modulation index in order to
achieve the desired (linearized) modulation level.

Due to the ugly sine wave, harmonics other than our designed third
harmonic start to appear. These can cause over heating of both
rotor and main windings along with acoustic noise (whining) and
torque ripples. Note that this applies to induction motors. Brushless
DC-machines are actually designed for this mode of operation