950 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 45, NO.

6, DECEMBER 1998

a given lampballast combination to a step dimming/lightening. It

is thus concluded that the R1 C1 integrator has an advantage over
a formal integration algorithm when averaging the squared lamp
current. The present study further suggests that a single R1 C1 might
be sufficient to represent the dynamic behavior of a fluorescent lamp
operating at high frequency. Furthermore, the proposed model was
found to emulate a fluorescent lamp behavior that was interpreted by
[2] and [3] as due to a zero at the right-half side of the complex
plane. These exciting preliminary results seem to indicate that the
proposed static model could be expanded to emulate the dynamics
of fluorescent lamps in open- and closed-loop configurations. These
issues are now under investigation in our laboratory. (a)

REFERENCES

[1] M. Gulko and S. Ben-Yaakov, Current-sourcing parallel-resonance

inverter (CS-PPRI): Theory and application as a fluorescent lamp
driver, in Proc. IEEE APEC93, 1993, pp. 411417.
[2] E. Deng, I. Negative incremental impedance of fluorescent P, Ph.D.
dissertation, Dep. Elect. Eng., California Inst, Technol., Pasadena, 1995.
[3] E. Deng and S. Cuk, Negative incremental impedance and stability of
fluorescent lamp, in Proc. APEC97, 1997, pp. 10501056.

An Improved Feedback Technique to Suppress

Subharmonics in a Naturally Commutated
Cycloconverter
Prasid Syam, Prasanta K. Nandi, and Ajit K. Chattopadhyay
AbstractA novel method of on-line detection and frequency-selective
feedback to suppress the subharmonic frequency components in a nat-
urally commutated cycloconverter is described. Simulation results show
significant reduction of these components over a wide range of frequency
and load power factor angle. The scheme also includes a loop for
compensating the voltage distortion due to discontinuous current in a
practical noncirculating-type cycloconverter.
Index Terms Cycloconverter, subharmonic distortion, subharmonic
suppression.
I. INTRODUCTION
The naturally commutated phase-controlled cycloconverter is
widely used as a variable-voltage variable-frequency power source
for large-rating low-speed ac drives, as it has inherent capability
for bidirectional large power flow maintaining nearly sinusoidal
output waveform without intermediate dc link and commutating
networks. However, the range of speed control of motors fed from
cycloconverters using cosine wave modulation is restricted due to
the presence of appreciable magnitude of subharmonic frequency
components in the output voltage waveform [1], [3]. The magnitude
Manuscript received December 3, 1996; revised January 15, 1998. Abstract
published on the Internet August 25, 1998.
P. Syam and A. K. Chattopadhyay are with the Electrical Engineering
Department, Bengal Engineering College, Howrah, 711103 India (e-mail:
ee@becs.ernet.in; akcee@hotmail.com).
P. K. Nandi is with the Department of Computer Science and Tech-
nology, Bengal Engineering College, Howrah, 711103 India (e-mail:
pkn@becs.ernet.in).
Publisher Item Identifier S 0278-0046(98)08474-3.
(b)
Fig. 1. Block diagram of the cycloconverter: (a) linear equivalent model
with subharmonics and (b) proposed scheme of suppression of subharmonics.
and phase of these subharmonic components (with respect to the
wanted output frequency) depend on the ratio of output to input
frequency (fo =fi ), the load displacement angle () (in the case of
noncirculating current cycloconverter), the ratio of magnitudes of
reference sine wave to modulating cosine wave (r), as well as on
the mode of the current conduction (continuous or discontinuous).
The presence of subharmonics at the output of the cycloconverter,
indicated by the deviation from the desired voltage waveform,
contributes to torque pulsation of the ac motor load along with
magnetic saturation of the input transformer.
Attempts have been made earlier to suppress generation of these
subharmonics by improving the cosine wave crossing modulation
technique [1][6]. This letter proposes a method based on the
detection and feedback of the respective subharmonic frequency
components using a control theory concept. The simulation results
for a scheme with this approach show a significant reduction of these
unwanted subharmonics at the output. Further, the same technique has
been found suitable to compensate for the voltage distortion arising
out of the discontinuous current conduction in cycloconverters.
II. PROPOSED SCHEME AND SIMULATION RESULTS
A linearized model of the cycloconverter is shown in Fig. 1(a).
The input in the ideal case is the reference sinusoidal signal U (s)
corresponding to the desired output waveform. The subharmonic
components are beat frequencies of the integral multiples of fo and
fi . These signals are internally generated within the cycloconverter.
This is represented by an equivalent signal N (s) in addition to
the normal reference signal U (s). This combined signal produces
the cycloconverter output V (s) aided by its forward path gain

02780046/98$10.00 1998 IEEE

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 45, NO. 6, DECEMBER 1998 951

Thus, the subharmonic magnitude at the output is M:N (s)=(1 +

H (s)). If H (s) is now chosen to be the transfer function for a
bandpass filter (BPF) of sharp selectivity tuned to that particular
subharmonic frequency, then M:U (s)=(1 + H (s)) may be treated
approximately equal to U (s):M , whereas contribution of N (s) is
attenuated by a factor of f1 + H (s)g.

A. Identification of the Subharmonic Frequency Components

Harmonic combinations of fi and fo which are lower than fo , ap-
pearing as subharmonic components for a three-pulse cycloconverter,
have already been identified in the literature [1]. A simulation study
of cycloconverter with different inputoutput frequency ratios and
load displacement angle has been carried out in [7] for computation
of the relative magnitudes and phases of those subharmonics. The
study reveals that, for a three-pulse cycloconverter, the subharmonic
(a) frequencies mostly originate when the value of fo has been chosen to
exceed (3=5)fi , the most predominant subharmonic frequency being
6(3fi 0 4fo ).
B. Suppression of 6(3f 0 4f ) Subharmonic Component
i o

The scheme is shown in Fig. 2(a) for an ideal noncirculating-

current-type cycloconverter without discontinuous current. The output
voltage (Vout ) is attenuated by the gain (M ) of the cycloconverter to
produce a replica of the output voltage. The difference of this voltage
with the reference voltage (Vref ) produces the replica of the net ripple
in the output voltage (Vripple ). This ripple voltage is passed through
a BPF of sharply tuned center frequency 6(3fi 0 4fo ). The output of
this filter is the required correcting signal which, when added to the
reference voltage, produces the modified reference voltage (modified
Vref ). The modified reference voltage is now fed to the original cosine
wave timing control circuit. The method is applied to a practical
circulating-current-free cycloconverter with current discontinuities
where the thyristor bank selection depends on the instantaneous value
(b)
of the reference frequency component, as well as on the instant
of current zero [1]. Fig. 3(a) presents the prominent subharmonic
Fig. 2. Scheme for minimization of selective subharmonic magnitude: (a)
6
typical (3fi 0 4fo ) subharmonic component feedback scheme and (b)
components in a bar chart for the ease of comparison between the
6
feedback scheme for subharmonic (3fi 0 4fo ) reduction along with
magnitudes of the subharmonic components under different load
stabilization of output voltage. condition. The suppression of the 10-Hz subharmonic component in
this case is from 7.79% to 0.59% for  = 0 and from 15.11%
to 1.04% for  = 030 with the nominal passband gain of 14 for
M . It is known that, if the sampling and switching intervals are the tuned BPF. It is also evident that the feedback predominantly
short compared to the system response time, a simple linear system affects that particular subharmonic component selected by the BPF.
analysis is adequate [1], [3], [5]. Therefore, rejection of any signal The tuned BPF used in this simulation has the structure of a
of a particular subharmonic of frequency significantly less than fo second-order resonating-type filter with a transfer function, H (s) =
is possible using conventional negative feedback technique. This Ks=(s2 + 2wn s + wn 2
), expressed in usual symbols. The resonating
feedback signal is derived as shown in Fig. 1(b). As the subharmonic characteristic of this filter does not introduce any phase shift between
signal N (s) is added with the reference signal U (s) to produce an the input and output for the selected subharmonic signal falling within
output V (s) using the forward path gain M , the contribution of N (s) its passband. This feature ensures the stability of the feedback loop.
may be annulled using a feedback from V (s) attenuated by M and
filtered by H (s) as follows, provided the frequencies of U (s) and
N (s) differ appreciably. C. Compensation for Variation of the Magnitude and
Hence, Phase of Reference Frequency Component
For a practical noncirculating-current-type cycloconverter, the
U (s) + N (s) 0 V (s)M:H (s) M = V (s) (1) presence of current discontinuities leads to variation in magnitude
and phase of the reference sinusoidal signal component at the output
thus, with respect to the input. Moreover, similar variations are also due
f g f
V (s) 1 + H (s) = U (s) + N (s) M: g (2)
to fluctuations arising out of power system disturbances even in the
case with the circulating-type cycloconverter. This variation has been
Hence, eliminated by a negative feedback of the error signal proportional to
the ripple voltage through an integrator, as proposed earlier [1], [3]. In
V (s) =
fU (s) + N (s)gM : that case, the integrator gain needs to be maintained constant over the
f1 + H (s)g (3)
entire range of output frequency so as to ensure a constant dc loop
952 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 45, NO. 6, DECEMBER 1998

(i) (ii)
(a)

(i) (ii)
(b)
6 0
Fig. 3. Frequency spectrum of the cycloconverter output waveform showing relative magnitudes of different subharmonics. (a) The effect of (3fi 4fo )
0
subharmonic feedback: (i) fi = 50 Hz, fo = 35 Hz, r = 0:8,  = 0 and (ii) fi = 50 Hz, fo = 35 Hz, r = 0:8,  = 30 . (b) The effect
of multiple subharmonic feedback along with stabilization of output voltage: (i) fi = 50 Hz, fo = 35 Hz, r = 0:8,  = 0 and (ii) fi = 50
Hz, fo = 35 Hz, r = 0:8,  = 0 30 .

gain. The authors propose to eliminate this stringent requirement TABLE I

as follows. EFFECT OF FEEDBACK OF THE fo COMPONENT IN THE RIPPLE VOLTAGE ALONG
The residual reference frequency component within Vripple is WITH MULTIPLE SUBHARMONIC FREQUENCY SELECTIVE FEEDBACK

filtered using a BPF, sharply tuned at center frequency of fo with

a nominal gain of 6, and the filter output is added along with the
selected subharmonic frequency component to modify the reference
signal voltage, as shown in Fig. 2(b). The effect of this feedback
on the overall cycloconverter performance has been investigated [7]
through a comparison between magnitude of the component of input
reference signal at the output of the cycloconverter attenuated by
its gain (relative magnitude) and phase, to those of the reference
sinusoidal signal. This feedback for stabilization of relative magni-
tude has the gratifying feature of minimization of the phase shifts
between reference and output signals over wide variation of load
displacement angle.
nominal gain of 10 has been used for all the BPFs employed in this
connection. Table I draws a comparison between the numerical values
D. Overall Scheme for Elimination of Subharmonic Distortion for magnitude and phase of the different subharmonic components
Encouraged by the success in suppression of the subharmonic com- selected for feedback. The compensation loop for stabilization of
ponent having frequency 6(3fi 0 4fo ), along with the stabilization the magnitude and the phase of fo component at the output is also
of the magnitude and phase of fo component at the output, the effective. However, as revealed from the simulation study, the relative
methodology is applied, in general, for suppression of all significant amplitude should not be chosen to exceed 0.85 for maintaining overall
subharmonics. A graphical presentation of the improvements using stability of the operation under such feedback, due to the saturation
this idea in the simulation study has been made in Fig. 3(b). A in cosine wave crossing modulation control.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 45, NO. 6, DECEMBER 1998 953

III. CONCLUSION
A novel method of reduction of subharmonics at the output
of a naturally commutated cycloconverter using the concept of
frequency-selective feedback of ripple voltage is presented. With
digital computer simulation, this technique of elimination of sub-
harmonic frequency components has been found to be more effective
than earlier methods [1][6], as here, the phases of the subharmonics
have been taken into account and incorporation of an integrator is
avoided to overcome ripple instability. This method is applicable to
both the circulating- and noncirculating-current-type cycloconverter
and it ensures stable operation under widely varying frequency and
load conditions, without any alteration in the filter gain setting. A (a)
hybrid implementation of the proposed scheme employing tunable
analog switched capacitor filters and digital phase-locked loops is in
progress and will be reported in the future.

REFERENCES

[1] B. R. Pelly, Thyristor Phase-Controlled Converters and Cycloconvert-

ers. New York: Wiley, 1971.
[2] B. M. Bird and I. S. Ford, Improvement in phase-controlled circulating
current type cycloconverter using communcation principle, Proc. Inst.
Elect. Eng., vol. 121, no. 10, pp. 11461149, Oct. 1974.
[3] L. Gyugyi and B. R. Pelly, Static Power Frequency Changers, Theory,
Performance and Application. New York: Wiley, 1976.
[4] G. P. Smith and V. S. Ramsden, A study of new techniques for the
control of cycloconverters, with reference to a.c. machine control, in
Proc. Inst. Eng. (Australia), vol. EE-14, no. 2, pp. 9296, 1978.
[5] R. E. Betz and R. J. Evans, Microprocessor control of a cyclocon-
verter, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. IE-32, pp. 120129, Apr. 1985.
[6] G. D. Hunter and V. S. Ramsden, New improved modulation method
for a cycloconverter driving an induction motor, Proc. Inst. Elect. Eng.,
vol. 135, pt. B, no. 6, pp. 324333, Nov. 1988.
[7] P. Syam, Sub-frequency control of a cycloconverter, Ph.D dissertation,
Elect. Eng. Dep., Bengal Engineering College, University of Calcutta,
Calcutta, India, 1994.

Fuzzy-Logic-Based Fast Gain-Scheduling Control
for Nonlinear Suspension Systems
S.-H. Lee, S.-G. Kim, and J.-T. Lim
Abstract This letter proposes the fuzzy-logic-based fast gain-
scheduling controller for the regulation problem in nonlinear systems.
It utilizes the fuzzy scheduling variable which reflects the derivative
information on the original scheduling variable in order to achieve
better performance than the existents.
Index Terms Active suspension system, fuzzy-logic-based fast gain
scheduling, fuzzy preprocessor, gain scheduling.
I. INTRODUCTION
Recently, there has been considerable progress in the theory
of gain scheduling. The control law for the systems with slowly
varying parameters has been developed [1][3]. Moreover, in order
Manuscript received March 12, 1997; revised March 13, 1998. Abstract
published on the Internet August 25, 1998.
The authors are with the Department of Electrical Engineering, Korea
Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Taejon, 305-701 Korea.
Publisher Item Identifier S 0278-0046(98)08475-5.
(b)
Fig. 1. (a) Block diagram of the proposed FFGS control system and (b)
membership functions for w , w_ , and wf in fuzzy preprocessor.
to obtain better performance for fast time-varying inputs, the state
feedback control law with the derivative information on the sched-
uling variables was proposed [4]. Use of derivatives was proven to
be beneficial,although it was often difficult to precisely characterize
the advantages. However, the control methodology contained two
disadvantages when applied to practical plants. One is that the set of
nonlinear systems to which the proposed controller can be applied is
confined to only those that satisfy the following required assumption
to derive the derivative gain:
@ f =@x(0; 0; 0) @ f =@ u(0; 0; 0)
@ h=@ x(0; 0; 0) @ h=@ u(0; 0; 0)
should be invertible in (1).
Moreover, if the constructed derivative gain is zero, there is no per-
formance improvement. In this letter, however, such requirements are
removed, since the proposed fuzzy preprocessor needs no derivative
gain. The other serious problem is that the noise in measuring both the
scheduling variable and its derivative may cause undesirable output
response or destabilize the overall system. Therefore, in order to

02780046/98$10.00 1998 IEEE