Control of a new active power filter using 3-D vector control

The growth in distorting loads has given an interest in the design of three-wire active power filters, switching circuits which can be installed in an installation and generate harmonic currents to neutralize the loads' distorting current. With no neutral, the currents have two degrees of freedom and can be represented by two-dimensional (2-D) vectors. This approach leads to a control strategy which can compensate for balanced three-phase distorting loads. However, there has been a growth of single-phase distorting loads which give large neutral currents at triplen frequencies and which cannot be dealt with by the three-wire active power filter control. This paper reports the development of a three-dimensional (3-D) vector treatment of unbalanced three-phase circuits which can be used instead for the development of a control strategy. Simulation studies show that the control is effective, not only for the removal of harmonics, but also for the compensation of fundamental unbalance currents.