POWER QUALITY ENHANCEMENT USING

CASCADED MULTILEVEL INVERTER BASED SHUNT

HYBRID ACTIVE POWER FILTER
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates mitigation of current harmonics using different

configuration of cascaded multilevel inverter based shunt hybrid active power filter

(SHAPF) and to improve power quality of the system. The main objective of this

paper is to develop and analyze the compensation characteristics of cascaded

multilevel inverter based shunt hybrid active power filter by employing indirect

current control algorithm. The indirect current control algorithm is employed to

generate reference current and phase disposition pulse width modulation technique

is incorporated to generate gating signal for shunt hybrid active power filter

strategy. The nonlinear loads are connected to distort the source current to 21% of

harmonics distortion, as per IEEE 519 allowable current harmonic distortion is 5%.

To mitigate harmonic distortion, cascaded multilevel inverter based shunt hybrid

active power filter is proposed and after compensation the source current harmonic

distortion is reduced to 2.93%. The simulation analysis is carried out using

SIMPOWERSYSTEMS block set of MATLAB/SIMULINK to determine which of

the inverter topology based shunt hybrid active power filter strategy perform better

on compensating source current harmonic distortion.

1
 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
Recently, power quality has been given attention due to wide application of
power converters for controlling and converting ac power to feed electrical loads.
These converters are used at different power levels, ranging from large adjustable
speed drives (ASDs) to low power household appliances, office equipment and
computer. The large amount of power pollution produced from these power
converters or non-linear load will causes a low power factor efficiency of the
power system, implies to voltage distortion, and increases losses in the
transmission and distribution line (Singh et al., 1998). The conventional
compensation, approaches is done using passive LC filters to eliminate line current
harmonics and improve the system power factor. These passive filters have the
disadvantage of large size, resonance and fixed compensation (Singh et al., 1999).
In the last couple of decades, the concept of active power filter has been introduced
and many publications have appeared on this subject.
A comprehensive review of active power filter (APF) configuration, control
strategies, selection of components and other related issues is given in El-Harouk
et al. (2000). But the initial and operational costs of this filter are too high.
Combining the advantage of both passive and active filters, hybrid filter topologies
are developed (Senini and Wolfs, 2000; Karthik, and Quaicoe, 2000; Yuwen et al.,
2000; Jacobs et al., 2001; Liqiao et al., 2004). Hybrid filters effectively mitigate
the problems of a passive and an active filter and provide cost-effective harmonic
compensation, particularly for high-power nonlinear loads. A parallel hybrid power
filter system consists of a small-rating active filter in series with a tuned passive
filter. This eliminates the possibility of series and parallel resonances.
Correspondingly, Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) inverter (with 10 kHz of high

2
switching frequency) has been used for harmonic and reactive power
compensation. However, the high initial and running cost have been hindering their
practical use in power distribution systems. In addition it is difficult for PWM-
inverter based active filters to comply with electromagnetic interference (EMI)
requirements. A cascaded multilevel inverter has been proposed for both
harmonics and reactive power compensation. This inverter generates almost
sinusoidal staircase voltage with only one time switching per line cycle. When
cascaded inverter is applied to line conditioning and active power filtering of a
distribution system, it is expected that the initial and running costs and the EMI
will be dramatically reduced below that of the traditional PWM inverter (Liqiao et
al., 2004; Miranda et al., 2004). The various topology for multilevel inverter based
shunt active power filter strategy for compensation of power quality problems are
reported in literature survey (Rodriguez et al., 2002; Holmes and McGrath, 2001).
The application of shunt active power filter is applied to distribution generator is
discussed in Cirrincione et al. (2008). The artificial intelligence based active filter
strategy and other techniques used to mitigate current harmonic in distribution
system is discussed (Bhattacharya, and Divan, 1995; Park et al., 2000a, b; Dixon et
al., 1999; Rahmani et al., 2003).
In this paper five level, seven level and nine level cascaded multilevel
inverter based shunt hybrid active power filter by employing indirect current
control algorithm technique with phase disposition Pulse Width Modulation were
presented. The proposed work attempts to analyze compensation the characteristics
of cascaded multilevel inverter based shunt hybrid active power filter by
employing indirect current control algorithm with a view to improve power quality
is analyzed in this paper. The paper also discusses a comparative analysis of
different configuration of cascaded multilevel inverter based shunt hybrid active

3
power filter with respect to source current and its harmonic spectrum and reactive
power compensation are to be analyzed and compared. The simulation is carried
out in MATLAB/SIMULINK environment.
DOMAIN

1.1 POWER ELECTRONICS

Power Electronics is a field which combines Power (electric power),

Electronics and Control systems. Power engineering deals with the static and
rotating power equipment for the generation, transmission and distribution of
electric power. Electronics deals with the study of solid state semiconductor power
devices and circuits for Power conversion to meet the desired control objectives (to
control the output voltage and output power).
Power electronics may be defined as the subject of applications of solid state
power semiconductor devices (Thyristors) for the control and conversion of
electric power. Power electronics deals with the study and design of Thyristorised
power controllers for variety of application like Heat control, Light/Illumination
control, and Motor control – AC/DC motor drives used in industries, High voltage
power supplies, Vehicle propulsion systems, High voltage direct current (HVDC)
transmission.
1.2 SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS

 MATLAB 7.0 AND ABOVE

1.2.1 MATLAB

MATLAB is a high-performance language for technical computing. It integrates

computation, visualization, and programming in an easy-to-use environment where
problems and solutions are expressed in familiar mathematical notation.

4
Typical uses include:

 Math and computation

 Algorithm development
 Modeling, simulation, and prototyping
 Data analysis, exploration, and visualization
 Scientific and engineering graphics
 Application development, including Graphical User Interface building

MATLAB is an interactive system whose basic data element is an array that

does not require dimensioning. This allows you to solve many technical computing
problems, especially those with matrix and vector formulations, in a fraction of the
time it would take to write a program in a scalar non-interactive language such as
C or FORTRAN.

1.2.2 MATLAB - SIMULINK

Simulink is an environment for multi domain simulation and Model-Based

Design for dynamic and embedded systems. It provides an interactive graphical
environment and a customizable set of block libraries that let you design, simulate,
implement, and test a variety of time-varying systems, including communications,
controls, signal processing, video processing, and image processing.

 Introduction and Key Features

 Creating and Working with Models
 Defining and Managing Signals
 Running a Simulation
 Analyzing Results

5
 CHAPTER II
LITERATURE REVIEW
1) Rodriguez J., Lai S., Peng F.Z. 2002. Multilevel inverters: a survey of
topologies, controls, and applications, IEEE Trans. On Ind. Electronics,
Vol.49, No 4, pp. 724-738.
Multilevel inverter technology has emerged recently as a very important
alternative in the area of high-power medium-voltage energy control. This paper
presents the most important topologies like diode-clamped inverter (neutral-point
clamped), capacitor-clamped (flying capacitor), and cascaded multicell with
separate DC sources. Emerging topologies like asymmetric hybrid cells and soft-
switched multilevel inverters are also discussed. This paper also presents the most
relevant control and modulation methods developed for this family of converters:
multilevel sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation, multilevel selective harmonic
elimination, and space-vector modulation. Special attention is dedicated to the
latest and more relevant applications of these converters such as laminators,
conveyor belts, and unified power-flow controllers. The need of an active front end
at the input side for those inverters supplying regenerative loads is also discussed,
and the circuit topology options are also presented. Finally, the peripherally
developing areas such as high-voltage high-power devices and optical sensors and
other opportunities for future development are addressed.

2) Singh B., Al-Haddad K., and Chandra A., 1999. A review of active filter for
power quality improvement, IEEE Trans. Ind Electron, Vol.46, pp-960-971.
Three-phase AC-DC converters have been developed to a matured level with
improved power quality in terms of power-factor correction, reduced total
harmonic distortion at input AC mains, and regulated DC output in buck, boost,
buck-boost, multilevel, and multipulse modes with unidirectional and bidirectional
6
power flow. This paper presents an exhaustive review of three-phase improved
power quality AC-DC converters (IPQCs) configurations, control strategies,
selection of components, comparative factors, recent trends, their suitability, and
selection for specific applications. It is aimed at presenting a state of the art on the
IPQC technology to researchers, designers, and application engineers dealing with
three-phase AC-DC converters. A classified list of around 450 research articles on
IPQCs is also appended for a quick reference

3) Cirrincione M., Pucci M., and Vitale G., 2008. A single-phase DG

generation unit with shunt active power filter capability by adaptive neural
filtering, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., Vol. 55, No. 5, pp. 2093–2110.
This paper deals with a single-phase distributed generation (DG) system
with active power filtering (APF) capability, devised for utility current harmonic
compensation. The idea is to integrate the DG unit functions with shunt APF
capabilities, because the DG is connected in parallel to the grid. With the proposed
approach, control of the DG unit is performed by injecting into the grid a current
with the same phase and frequency of the grid voltage and with an amplitude
depending on the power available from renewable sources. On the other hand, load
harmonic current compensation is performed by injecting into the alternating
current system harmonic currents like those of the load but with an opposite phase,
thus keeping the line current almost sinusoidal. Both detection of the grid voltage
fundamental and computation of the load harmonic compensation current have
been performed by two neural adaptive filters with the same structure, one in a
configuration ldquonotchrdquo and the other in the complementary configuration
ldquoband.rdquo The ldquonotchrdquo filter has been used to compute the
compensation current by eliminating only the contribution of the fundamental of
the load current, whereas the ldquobandrdquo configuration is able to extract the

7
fundamental of the coupling point voltage. Furthermore, because the active power
generation and the APF features require current control of components at different
frequencies, respectively, a multiresonant current controller has been adopted. The
methodology has been tested successfully both in numerical simulation and
experimentally on a suitably devised test setup. The stability analysis of the
proposed control approach has been performed in the discrete domain.

8
 CHAPTER III
BASIC COMPENSATION PRINCIPLE
The basic compensation principle of active power filter is illustrated in figure 3.1.

Figure 3.1 Operation of active power filter.

The instantaneous nonlinear load current is as follows

9
The instantaneous load power as been formulated as

Where, I1 is the peak value of the fundamental load current, Ih is the peak
value of the harmonic load current Φ1 and Φhh are the phase angle of the
fundamental and harmonic component of the load currents, respectively. In (2) the
instantaneous power of nonlinear load is divided into three terms. The first term
PLf(t) is the instantaneous load fundamental power. The second term PLq(t) is
instantaneous load fundamental quadrature (reactive) power and the third term
PLh(t) is the instantaneous load harmonic power. A shunt APF is designed to be
connected in parallel with the load, to detect its harmonic and reactive current and
to inject into the system a compensating current, identical with the load harmonic
and reactive current. Therefore, instantaneous supply current Is having only
fundamental component which is in-phase with source voltage Vs(t).
3.1 Proposed Cascaded Multilevel Inverter Based Shunt Active Power Filter
Cascade Multilevel Inverters (MLI) is increasingly used in high power
applications. Cascade multilevel inverter uses multiple Hbridge power cells
connected in a series to produce high ac output voltages. An m-level cascade
multilevel inverter consists of (m-1)/2 single-phase full bridges in which each
bridge has its own separate dc source. This inverter can generate almost sinusoidal
waveform voltage with only one time switching per cycle as the number of levels
increase. In Fig.2 nine level cascade multilevel inverter is shown. It consists of
four single phase full bridges connected in series in each leg. In this configuration
if S= no of full bridge cells, then the number of output levels is (2S+1). With S=4

10
there will be nine levels in phase voltage and peak magnitude is SVdc. In Fig.2. Is
is the AC source current, IL is load current, Ic is the compensated current from
APF then
Is = IL + Ic (3)

Figure 3.2 Nine level Cascaded Multilevel Inverter based SHAPF.

Shunt active filter acts a current source injecting equal but opposite
harmonic and quadrature components of load current at the point of common
coupling. In effect the system views non linear load together with active filter as an

11
ideal resistor. A PWM voltage source inverter operating as a current controller
device can be used as Shunt active Power filter. Latest researches include the use
on multilevel inverter for high power energy conversion. The advantage of
multilevel inverter will enable the circuit to operate with less output voltage
harmonics and less electromagnetic interference. Because of the stepped output
voltage, multilevel inverters have fewer ripples in its line current. There is
individual capacitor for each H-bridge module. The APF will adopt small power
from source to compensate the switching losses and capacitor losses and for that
purpose, the capacitor voltages are sensed and compared with reference and fed to
PI controller to generate loss component of APF. As compared with five levels and
seven levels output voltage waveform is improved in nine levels multilevel
inverter.
3.2 Reference Current Signal Generation
The indirect current control technique using a PI controller in shown in Fig.
3.3. The shunt hybrid active power filter bus voltage Vdc is sensed and compared
with its reference Vdc *, the error is fed to the controller, the output of the
controller estimate the peak line current Ism*, it take care of the active power
demand of the load and losses in the active power filter circuit. The instantaneous
reference supplies current (Isa*, Isb*, Isc*) are evaluated by multiplying the peak
line current by three unity voltage vectors. The shunt active power filter is used to
compensate for reactive current absorbed by non-linear load, the unbalanced
current and maintain the dc link voltage at constant level. In this control algorithm,
the desired mains current is assumed to be the product of the magnitude and a unit
amplitude sinusoidal wave in phase with the mains voltage. The mains is required
to supply only the active portion of the load current as the shunt hybrid active
power filter is expected to provide compensation for the harmonic and reactive
portion of the three phase load current, and also for any imbalance in the three-
12
phase load currents. Hence, only balanced current will be drawn from the mains
which will be purely sinusoidal and in phase with the mains voltages. The
reference compensation currents for the shunt hybrid active filter are thereby
deduced as the difference between the actual load current and the desired source
current in each phase can be represented as follows

Where the desired (reference) source currents in the three phases are given as,

Figure 3.3 Indirect current control algorithm for SHAPF

13
Va, Vb and Vc are the unit amplitude templates of the phase to ground source
voltages in the three phases respectively.

The magnitude of the desired source current is(ref) can be expressed as the average
of the magnitude of the real components of the fundamental load currents in the
three phases

Figure 3.4. Arrangement of carriers-PD.

To generate firing pulse for shunt hybrid active power filter, Phase
disposition (PD) Pulse Width Modulation technique is used. This is basic sub
harmonic PWM technique, in which all the carrier triangles are in phase. The
number of carriers is one less than the number of levels. In this technique,
significant harmonic energy is concentrated at the carrier frequency fc, because it

14
is co-phasal components, it does not appear in the line voltage. It should be noted
that the other harmonic components are centered around the carrier frequency as
sidebands.Fig.3.4. shows the arrangement of carrier for phase disposition PWM
technique.

15
 CHAPTER IV
SIMULATION RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
In this section, simulation results of three-phase shunt hybrid active power
filter based on five level, seven level and nine level cascaded multilevel and its
comparative analysis are presented. The goal of the simulation is to examine
harmonic and reactive power compensation under balanced system. The system
consist of a three-phase network feeds a three-phase diode bridge rectifier with a
resistor R and inductor L in series at its dc output. Simulation investigation was
carried on using MATLAB/SIMULINK simulation software in power system
block set toolbox. The system parameters used in these simulations are shown in
Table.4.1.
4.1 Harmonic and reactive power compensation under balanced ac source and
load by 5-Level cascaded MLI:
Fig.6. demonstrates the steady state response of source voltage, source
current, compensation current, load current and output Vdc voltage under balanced
source and balanced load is clearly depicted. The harmonic spectrum of source
current before and after compensation is shown in Fig.5. and Fig.7. From the
obtained results, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of source current is observed
to be reduced from 21.03% before compensation to 4.56% after compensation.

Table.4.1 Simulation Parameters

16
 Figure 4.1 Harmonic Spectrum of Source current before compensation

Figure 4.2 Steady State Response of 5-level Cascaded MLI based SHAPF

17
 Figure 4.3 Harmonic Spectrum of Source current after compensation.
4.2 Harmonic and reactive power compensation under balanced ac source and
load by 7-Level cascaded MLI

Figure 4.3 Harmonic Spectrum of Source current after compensation.

18
 Figure 4.4 Steady State Response of 7-level Cascaded MLI based SHAPF

The harmonic spectrum of source current after compensation is shown in

Fig.8. The steady state response of source voltage, source current, compensation
current, load current and output Vdc voltage under balanced source and balanced
load is clearly depicted revealed in Fig.9. It shows the supply mains currents in the
three phases after compensation are expected to be sinusoidal and in phase with the
mains, this shows shunt compensation has been achieved fairly. For before
compensation, nonlinear load distorted the source current to 21.03% of harmonic
distortion whereas after compensation using 7-level Cascaded MLI based SHAPF
harmonic distortion is minimized to 3.44%. This demonstration proves that 7-level
Cascaded MLI based SHAPF is better on mitigating current harmonics compared
to 3-level Cascaded MLI based SHAPF.

19
4.3 Harmonic and reactive power compensation under balanced ac source and
load by 9-Level cascaded MLI
The steady state response of source voltage, source current, compensation
current, load current and output Vdc voltage under balanced source and balanced
load is highlighted in Fig.10. It shows the supply mains currents in the three phases
after compensation are expected to be sinusoidal and in phase with the mains, this
shows shunt compensation has been achieved fairly. The harmonic spectrum of
source current before and after compensation is shown in Fig.5 and Fig.11. Before
compensation, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of source current is found to be
21.03% while after compensation using 9-level Cascaded MLI based SHAPF
source current harmonic distortion is reduced to 2.93%.

Figure 4.5 Steady State Response of 9-level Cascaded MLI based SHAPF

20
 Figure 4.6 Harmonic Spectrum of Source current after compensation.

Table 5.2 shows the comparison of results obtained from under harmonic
and reactive power compensation under balanced ac source and load. The
harmonic spectrum of source current after compensation is clearly indicated in the
table5.3. The overall investigations, proved that the 9-level Cascaded MLI based
SHAPF has found to be better compensation capability compared to 7 and 5-level
Cascaded MLI based SHAPF and three phase voltage source inverter based shunt
hybrid active power filter.
Table 4.2 Comparison of 5-Level, 7-Level Cascaded Multilevel Inverter based
Shunt hybrid Active Power Filter

21
Table 4.3 Individual harmonic content under non linear load conditions

22
 CHAPTER V

MISCELLANEOUS COMPONENTS

5.1 RESISTOR:
A resistor is a two-terminal passive electronic component which implements
electrical resistance as a circuit element. When a voltage V is applied across the
terminals of a resistor, a current I will flow through the resistor in direct proportion
to that voltage. The reciprocal of the constant of proportionality is known as the
resistance R, since, with a given voltage V, a larger value of R further "resists" the
flow of current I as given by Ohm's law.
V = IR
Resistors are common elements of electrical networks and electronic circuits
and are ubiquitous in most electronic equipment. Practical resistors can be made of
various compounds and films, as well as resistance wire (wire made of a high-
resistivity alloy, such as nickel-chrome). Resistors are also implemented within
integrated circuits, particularly analog devices, and can also be integrated into
hybrid and printed circuits.
The electrical functionality of a resistor is specified by its resistance:
common commercial resistors are manufactured over a range of more than 9 orders
of magnitude. When specifying that resistance in an electronic design, the required
precision of the resistance may require attention to the manufacturing tolerance of
the chosen resistor, according to its specific application. The temperature
coefficient of the resistance may also be of concern in some precision applications.
Practical resistors are also specified as having a maximum power rating which
must exceed the anticipated power dissipation of that resistor in a particular circuit:
this is mainly of concern in power electronics applications. Resistors with higher

23
power ratings are physically larger and may require heat sinking. In a high voltage
circuit, attention must sometimes be paid to the rated maximum working voltage of
the resistor.
The series inductance of a practical resistor causes its behavior to depart
from ohms law; this specification can be important in some high-frequency
applications for smaller values of resistance. In a low-noise amplifier or pre-amp
the noise characteristics of a resistor may be an issue. The unwanted inductance,
excess noise, and temperature coefficient are mainly dependent on the technology
used in manufacturing the resistor. They are not normally specified individually for
a particular family of resistors manufactured using a particular technology. A
family of discrete resistors is also characterized according to its form factor, that is,
the size of the device and position of its leads (or terminals) which is relevant in
the practical manufacturing of circuits using them.

5.2 POTENTIOMETER:

A potentiometer (colloquially known as a "pot") is a three-terminal resistor

with a sliding contact that forms an adjustable voltage divider. If only two
terminals are used (one side and the wiper), it acts as a variable resistor or rheostat.
Potentiometers are commonly used to control electrical devices such as volume
controls on audio equipment. Potentiometers operated by a mechanism can be used
as position transducers, for example, in a joystick.
Potentiometers are rarely used to directly control significant power (more
than a watt). Instead they are used to adjust the level of analog signals (e.g. volume
controls on audio equipment), and as control inputs for electronic circuits.

24
 Fig. 5.1 Potentiometer

5.3 CAPACITOR:

In electronics, a ceramic capacitor is a capacitor constructed of alternating

layers of metal and ceramic, with the ceramic material acting as the dielectric.
The coefficient depends on whether the dielectric is Class 1 or Class 2. A ceramic
capacitor (especially the class 2) often has high dissipation factor, high frequency
coefficient of dissipation.

A ceramic capacitor is a two-terminal, non-polar device. The classical

ceramic capacitor is the "disc capacitor". This device pre-dates the transistor and
was used extensively in vacuum-tube equipment (e.g., radio receivers) from about
1930 through the 1950s, and in discrete transistor equipment from the 1950s
through the 1980s. As of 2007, ceramic disc capacitors are in widespread use in
electronic equipment, providing high capacity and small size at low price
compared to other low value capacitor types.

25
Ceramic capacitors come in various shapes and styles, including:

 Disc, resin coated, with through-hole leads

 Multilayer rectangular block, surface mount
 Bare leadless disc, sits in a slot in the PCB and is soldered in place, used for
UHF applications
 Tube shape, not popular now

5.3.1 CLASSES OF CERAMIC CAPACITOR

Class I capacitors: accurate, temperature-compensating capacitors. They are the

most stable over voltage, temperature, and to some extent, frequency. They also
have the lowest losses. On the other hand, they have the lowest volumetric
efficiency. A typical class I capacitor will have a temperature coefficient of 30
ppm/°C. This will typically be fairly linear with temperature. These also allow for
high Q filters—a typical class I capacitor will have a dissipation factor of 0.15%.
Very high accuracy (~1%) class I capacitors are available (typical ones will be 5%
or 10%). The highest accuracy class 1 capacitors are designated C0G or NP0.

Class II capacitors: better volumetric efficiency, but lower accuracy and stability.
A typical class II capacitor may change capacitance by 15% over a −55 °C to 85
°C temperature range. A typical class II capacitor will have a dissipation factor of
2.5%. It will have average to poor accuracy (from 10% down to +20/-80%).

Class III capacitors: high volumetric efficiency, but poor accuracy and stability.
A typical class III capacitor will change capacitance by -22% to +56% over a
temperature range of 10 °C to 55 °C. It will have a dissipation factor of 4%. It will
have fairly poor accuracy (commonly, 20%, or +80/-20%). These are typically
used for decoupling or in other power supply applications.

26
 At one point, Class IV capacitors were also available, with worse electrical
characteristics than Class III, but even better volumetric efficiency. They are now
rather rare and considered obsolete, as modern multilayer ceramics can offer better
performance in a compact package.

These correspond roughly to low K, medium K, and high K. Note that none
of the classes are "better" than any others the relative performance depends on
application. Class I capacitors are physically larger than class III capacitors, and
for bypassing and other non-filtering applications, the accuracy, stability, and loss
factor may be unimportant, while cost and volumetric efficiency may be. As such,
Class I capacitors are primarily used in filtering applications, where the main
competition is from film capacitors in low frequency applications, and more
esoteric capacitors in RF applications. Class III capacitors are typically used in
power supply applications. Traditionally, they had no competition in this niche, as
they were limited to small sizes. As ceramic technology has improved, ceramic
capacitors are now commonly available in values of up to 100 µF, and they are
increasingly starting to compete.

With electrolytic capacitors, where ceramics offer much better electrical

performance at prices that, while still much higher than electrolytic, are becoming
increasingly reasonable as the technology improves.

5.3.2 ELECTROLYTIC CAPACITOR

An electrolytic capacitor is a type of capacitor that uses an electrolyte, an

ionic conducting liquid, as one of its plates, to achieve a larger capacitance per unit
volume than other types. They are often referred to in electronics usage simply as
"electrolytics". They are used in relatively high-current and low-frequency
electrical circuits, particularly in power supply filters, where they store charge
needed to moderate output voltage and current fluctuations in rectifier output. They
27
are also widely used as coupling capacitors in circuits where AC should be
conducted but DC should not. There are two types of electrolytics aluminum and
tantalum.

Fig. 5.2 Electrolytic capacitor

Electrolytic capacitors are capable of providing the highest capacitance

values of any type of capacitorbut they have drawbacks which limit their use. The
standard design requires that the applied voltage must be polarized one specified
terminal must always have positive potential with respect to the other. Therefore
they cannot be used with AC signals without a DC polarizing bias. However there
are special non-polarized electrolytic capacitors for AC use which do not require a
DC bias. Electrolytic capacitors also have relatively low breakdown voltage,
higher leakage current and inductance, poorer tolerances and temperature range,
and shorter lifetimes compared to other types of capacitors.

5.4 SWITCHES AND PUSHBUTTONS

This is the simplest way of controlling appearance of some voltage on

microcontroller’s input pin. There is also no need for additional explanation of how
these components operate.

28
 Fig. 5.3 Pushbutton

This is about something commonly unnoticeable when using these

components in everyday life. It is about contact bounce, a common problem with
mechanical switches. If contact switching does not happen so quickly, several
consecutive bounces can be noticed prior to maintain stable state. The reasons for
this are: vibrations, slight rough spots and dirt. Anyway, this whole process does
not last long (a few micro- or milliseconds), but long enough to be registered by
the microcontroller. Concerning the pulse counter, error occurs in almost 100% of
cases.

Fig. 5.4 RC Circuit

29
 The simplest solution is to connect simple RC circuit which will suppress
each quick voltage change. Since the bouncing time is not defined, the values of
elements are not strictly determined. In the most cases, the values shown on figure
are sufficient.
If complete safety is needed, radical measures should be taken. The circuit
(RS flip-flop) changes logic state on its output with the first pulse triggered by
contact bounce. Even though this is more expensive solution (SPDT switch), the
problem is definitely resolved. Besides, since the condensator is not used, very
short pulses can be also registered in this way. In addition to these hardware
solutions, a simple software solution is also commonly applied. When a program
tests the state of some input pin and finds changes, the check should be done one
more time after certain time delay. If the change is confirmed, it means that switch
(or pushbutton) has changed its position. The advantages of such solution are: it is
free of charge, effects of disturbances are eliminated and it can be adjusted to the
worst-quality contacts.

5.5 LED

A Light Emitting Diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light source that

resembles a basic PN - junction diode, except that an LED also emits light. When
an LED's anode lead has a voltage that is more positive than its cathode lead by at
least the LED's forward voltage drop, current flows. Electrons are able to
recombine with holes within the device, releasing energy in the form of photons.
This effect is called electroluminescence, and the color of the light (corresponding
to the energy of the photon) is determined by the energy band gap of the
semiconductor.

30
 Fig.5.5 Picture of LED

FEATURES

 High reliability
 High radiant intensity
 Peak wavelength λp = 940nm
 2.54mm Lead spacing.

APPLICATIONS

 Visual signals where light goes more or less directly from the source to
the human eye, to convey a message or meaning.
 Illumination where light is reflected from objects to give visual response
of these objects.

Measuring and interacting with processes involving no human VISION

31
5.6 PCB DESGNING AND FABRICATION

PROCEDURE FOR MAKING THE PCB

5.6.1 PREPARING OF LAYOUT

With the diagram and all the hand, draw a complete layout plan of the circuit
on a sheet of a tracing paper. As a model, for laying the circuit, a thermo cole base
may be used to hold components. Avoid overcrowding of components while
making full space utilization. Keep the ground line on the side of the PCB and the
supply line on other side as far as possible. When all the components have been
mounted on the tracing paper sheet fixed on a piece of thermo cole base, take out a
sketch pen for making in such a way that all the connecting wires are equal in
width, termination rounded off. Re-draw draw it on a fresh paper if required.

5.6.2 PAINTING OF PCB

The tracing so prepared has to be imposed over the copper printed circuit
board keeping in view that the component would be mounted from the non-clad
side of the board. Take a PCB lamination sheet and cur a piece of required size of
the board by using hacksaw file edges, put the copper clad sheet on the table
keeping side on the runway the dirt grease and oxide with a sand paper with its
marked side tracing the carbon paper and at her side on top. Since the tracing paper
is transformed you can now reproduce a carbon point over a surface but using ball
pen on a hard pencil over the drawing on the transparent side. When the carbon
print has been obtained over the copper clad board drill ropes in the board using a
hand drill. The holes may be draw with 1/32 bit for component lead sand the
carbon should be raised or wiped by mistake.

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5.6.3 DEVELOPMENT OF THE PRINTED CIRCUIT DIAGRAM

After painting the board, it will be made by the cool air for sometime. Now
take a plastic tray and get some Fe Cl3 chemical powder. The ferric chloride salt is
then added with 500ml of water. The color of the solution is pink. Color of the salt
is in yellow, now we add three to five drops of dilute HCL or H2SO4. This is
necessary to quicken the process.

5.6.4 ETCHING OF PCB

Now we take the painted copper clad board and dip it in the solution kept in
the tray. After 15 to 25 minutes we see the board, with only printed pattern portion
remaining in other place the copper coating is removed due to the chemical action.
Then the board is taken out and washes in water. After wash the board by using
thinner solution. Now a printed circuit has been formed on the board.

Take fresh water and mix a few teaspoons of FeCL3 add a few drops of
dilute HCL to it, as it speeds the etching process. Shake well immerse the PC Bin
the solution for about 20 minutes occasionally altering the solution by giving the
seesaw reaction to the disk storing reduces the etching time. Observe the changing
color on the copper surface. Take out the PCB only when the unpainted portion of
the copper surface is completely dissolved in the

3solution wash the PCB with the water. After the PCB is thoroughly washed
remove the paint by soft pieces of the cloth dipped in thinner or turpentine.

5.6.5 DRILLING OF HOLES

Then take a drilling machine with 1/32 drill bit to make holes for the
incretion of the components use 1/18 drill bit for inset wires and other thick
components. Now the PCB is ready to use.

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ADVANTAGES

 Reliability in operation and low cost.

 Space required becomes less.

DISADVANTAGES

 It can’t withstand larger weight such as transformer.

5.7 MATERIAL REQUIRED

 Copper clad sheet (It is made of hylam or board over

which the sheet copper is pressed.)
 “Paint or Nail polish” or even “PCB Ink”.
 Painting brush, tray.
 Ferric chloride solution and also few drop of dilute HCL or
H2so4.
 Thinner or kerosene or petrol.
 Cotton cloth.
 Trace paper.

5.8 SOLDERING

Soldering is a process in which two or more metal items are joined together
by melting and flowing a filler metal (solder) into the joint, the filler metal having
a lower melting point than the work piece. Soldering differs from welding in that
soldering does not involve melting the work pieces. There are three forms of
soldering, each requiring progressively higher temperatures and producing an
increasingly stronger joint strength:

34
  Soft soldering, which originally used a tin-lead alloy as the filler
metal,
 Silver soldering, which uses an alloy containing silver,
 Brazing which uses a brass alloy for the filler.

The alloy of the filler metal for each type of soldering can be adjusted to
modify the melting temperature of the filler. Soldering appears to be a hot glue
process, but it differs from gluing significantly in that the filler metals alloy
with the work piece at the junction to form a gas- and liquid-tight bond. Soft
soldering is characterized by having a melting point of the filler metal below
approximately 400 °C (752 °F), whereas silver soldering and brazing use higher
temperatures, typically requiring a flame or carbon arc torch to achieve the
melting of the filler. Soft solder filler metals are typically alloys (often
containing lead) that have liquids temperatures below 350°C.

In this soldering process, heat is applied to the parts to be joined,

causing the solder to melt and to bond to the work pieces in an alloying process
called wetting. In stranded wire, the solder is drawn up into the wire
by capillary action in a process called 'wicking'. Capillary action also takes
place when the work pieces are very close together or touching. The joint
strength is dependent on the filler metal used, where soft solder is the weakest
and the brass alloy used for brazing is the strongest. Soldering, which uses
metal to join metal in a molecular bond has electrical conductivity and is water-
and gas-tight. There is evidence that soldering was employed up to 5000 years
ago in Mesopotamia.

35
 CHAPTER VI
CONCLUSION
The paper has investigated the comparative analysis of five level, seven
level and nine level cascaded multilevel inverter based shunt hybrid active power
filter for compensation of current harmonics and reactive power compensation are
presented. The test results bring out the advantage of cascaded multilevel inverter
based shunt hybrid active power filter for power quality enhancement. The total
harmonic distortion of source current has been reduced from a high value to an
allowable limit and to meet the IEEE 519 standard. The simulation results clearly
shows that reduction in THD is better in nine level inverter as compared with
seven level and five level inverter based shunt hybrid active power filter. The
indirect current control algorithm with phase disposition pulse width modulation
method provides better computation efficiency for generating reference current.
The proposed shunt active filter topology realized an acceptable power factor
profile and compensates the wide range of power quality problems.

36
 CHAPTER VII
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