International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE)

ISSN: 2231-2307, Volume-3, Issue-6, January 2014

Design and Simulation of Programmable AC-DC

Converter Using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM)
Techniques in MATLAB
Gailan Abdul Qadir, Majid S. Naghmash


Abstract— This paper presents, a design of Programmable The dynamic development of the power- and
AC-DC Converter Using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) microelectronics devices sustains continual progress in
Techniques in MATLAB with an impression of the well known design and realization of modern adjustable speed drives.
voltage and current converter topologies used to realize a The attention of researchers in the amplification of superior
three-phase PWM AC/DC converter scheme. Preliminary from
control techniques for voltage source inverters was in
the voltage source inverter and the current source rectifier, the
fundamentals of space vector modulation are summarized. The
previous two decades stimulated by AC/DC line-side
process of the AC/DC converter in different dynamic states converters called also PWM rectifiers. These front-end
powerfully depends on the modulation method applied. The rectifiers due to their properties systematically displace the
power of the discussed modulation methods on the line current diode bridges becoming an important part of the modern
distortion and the switching frequency has been inspected. This frequency converters for the intelligent motion control
technique depends on off line calculations of the pulses width for applications [2,3]. The three-phase two-level AC/DC
the first quarter cycle and stores these into a table. The residual line-side converters provide sinusoidal line currents and
pulses, for total cycle, are generated by using the values of the bidirectional power flow at the unity power factor (UPF).
first quarter since there are conditions of quarter and half – These properties have decided of the use of the PWM
wave regularity. Results show an important saving of rectifiers in the applications improving the electrical power
microcontroller time and memory.
quality [4].
The major mission of the control scheme in a current
Keywords AC/DC, MATLAB.
control-PWM converter is to force the currents in a
I. INTRODUCTION three-phase AC load to follow the reference signals. By
comparing the command and measured immediate values of
The method of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) has the phase currents, the current control generates the
establish broad acceptance for controlling electronic switching states for the converter power devices which
switching power inverters. PWM control signals were reduce the current errors. Therefore, in general, the current
initially generated with the assist of electronic hardware, control implements two tasks, the error compensation and
although recently microcontrollers have begin to play an modulation [5].
vital role in the design and control of signal generators for The AC/DC converters consist of power electronics devices
power inverters, regularly assuming additional functions[1]. like Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) or Gate
In previous systems, a microcomputer was used to generate Turn-Off thyristors (GTO) that are characterized by switch
the orientation signal, whilst the timing signal and the actual mode operation. The capability of forming sinusoidal
PWM signals were produced by electronic hardware [1,2]. currents is provided by the introduction of the sophisticated
Afterward, systems were improved with a microcomputer, technique called Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM). This
used to compute switching points for PWM patterns with technique provides the sequences of width-modulated pulses
preferred harmonic removal and to recover recomputed to control power switches. Many PWM techniques have been
patterns from look-up tables. In a velocity control systems, developed according to special requirements and
with a large range of generated frequencies a microprocessor optimization criteria. The choice of the particular PWM
was used to generate PWM or a six-step unmodulated signal technique arises from the de-sired performance of the
and to maintain a constant voltage/ frequency ratio. Because synchronous rectifiers [6,7]. Generally pulse-width
of computation speed limitations found in many of the modulation techniques for frequency converters may be
available microcomputers previously, it was concluded that classified as follows: Carrier-Based Sinusoidal PWM,
the on-line computation of switching patterns was not Hysteresis-Band PWM, Space Vector PWM, Selected
practical. However the latest advances in microelectronics Harmonic Elimination PWM, Minimum Current Ripple
produced new microcomputers with faster speeds so that the PWM, Sinusoidal PWM with Instantaneous Current Control
switching pattern can be computed on line. and Random PWM. This paper presents basic assumptions
and applications of selected, most frequently used
modulation techniques applied to PWM rectifiers. For the
comparative analysis Voltage Oriented Control of the
Manuscript received January 2014. AC/DC line-side converter has been chosen to examine the
Gailan Abdul Qadir, Electronic Technique Dept. Institute of Technology,
Baghdad, Iraq.
proposed modulation methods. The topology of the voltage
Dr Majid S. Naghmash Electronic Technique Dept. Institute of source AC/DC converter connected to the grid is presented in
Technology, Baghdad, Iraq.

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 Design and Simulation of Programmable AC-DC Converter Using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Techniques In
MATLAB

Fig.1[8,9]. The power circuit of the synchronous rectifier The danger of shoot-through conditions is eliminated if
stems from the topology of the three-phase PWM voltage the polarity of the timing wave is made the same as the
inverter. The PWM rectifier’s bridge consists of six polarity of the reference wave as shown in Fig (1). The
fully-controlled IGBT transistors connected to the supply resulting PWM control signal would toggle only one (upper
line throughout the three symmetrical line inductors. The or lower) transistor in each phase of the inverter during a
voltage drop over line chokes has to be controlled to provide whole half-period of the reference signal for a given phase,
sinusoidal line currents. In this research three phase PWM while the other transistor would remain OFF. The
control signals are generated and the output voltage is modulation technique with the above properties has been
controlled. named unipolar modulation[12,13].

Figure.1. Voltage source AC/DC line-side converter

II. MODULATION TECHNIQUES

The modulation technique used in a PWM signal generator
should satisfy a number of requirements including, the
frequency of the fundamental generated signal component Fig (1) Reference and timing wave forms for unipolar pulse
should be varied within a wide range, the amplitude of the width modulated control signal
fundamental component should be controllable with high Interest has been growing in microcomputer-based pulse
resolution and the generated signal should have a low overall width modulator (PWM) schemes for A.C drive systems in
harmonic content. A modulation technique, which satisfies recent years. A microcomputer-based modulator, if
these requirements, was selected for implementation. It is a judiciously designed, can provide considerable simplification
modification of the popular triangular modulation technique. of hardware with significant improvement in performance.
The PWM signal in each phase of the output is formed when The hardware simplification also adds to the reliability
a reference signal, a sine wave of a desired frequency, is improvement. Modern PWM A.C drive systems are
compared with a timing signal, a triangular wave of higher continually seeking improvement of performance and
frequency. In order to improve the harmonic contents of the reliability with reduction of control and power conversion
resultant PWM signal, the reference and timing waves have cost. If the drive control system is implemented with a
to be synchronized, i.e for any desired frequency of output microcomputer, then the modulator, which constitutes a
signal, there must be an integral number of timing wave compatible link between the controller and the inverter, can
periods per each period of the reference wave. A more be integrated into the hardware and software of the same
detailed analysis indicates that the frequencies of the microcomputer. If the modulator is used in the discrete form
reference and timing wave should satisfy the following as a block box, a possibility exists that a universal hardware
relation: [10,11] module can be designed which can be adapted to transistor or
f = 6.n.F (1) a thyristor drive of different specifications simply by
where : modifying the software. [14]. The performance improvement
f: timing wave frequency by a microcomputer-based modulator can be briefly reviewed
F: reference wave frequency here. In a conventional hardware modulator, the PWM
n  1. an integer. waveforms are generated by comparing the sine reference
wave with triangular carrier wave by the “natural sampling”
When the conventional triangular modulation is used, the process. As the linear PWM region is exceeded into the
PWM signal, which results from the comparison of the transition region, the harmonic quality of the waves
reference and timing wave, is a bipolar signal, which deteriorates seriously with the introduction of the lower order
changes polarity many times during a half-period of the harmonic. In a microcomputer-based modulator, the wave
reference wave. Used as a control signal for switching can be synthesized precisely in the transition region
inverters, it may cause dangerous short circuit conditions controlling the harmonics and voltage jump, and the
(“shoot-through”) in an inverter at each moment when the non-linearity problem can be easily overcome.
PWM signal changes polarity. To avoid this danger, a special
“lock-out” time interval is usually inserted into the PWM
control signal at each of its zero crossing.

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 International Journal of Soft Computing and Engineering (IJSCE)
ISSN: 2231-2307, Volume-3, Issue-6, January 2014

IV. PROPOSED FEEDBACK VOLTAGE CONTROL

The proposed approach to control the output voltage (voltage
regulation) is by off line computing the firing angles ( α) for
the expected voltage variation in this application (36v, 34v,
32v), using selective harmonic elimination pulse width
modulation (SHE PWM) technique. Then these (αs) are
stored in the 3-location of the memory. The control unit will
choose the suitable location for each variation of the voltage
to maintain the output voltage at the required value.

V. PROPOSED FEEDBACK VOLTAGE CONTROL

The model shown in figure (4) shows the proposed method in
MATLAB. Since during the voltage variation on the output
the on- line computation of the firing angle causes the output
signal to be unstable because of the limitation of the speed of
the microcontroller, that is not sufficient to compute all
Fig( 2). Three phase sinusoidal PWM the reference voltage pulses as shown practically. Hence three tables of firing
and line voltage angles is computed off line by the method mentioned in the
above example, then stored in microcontroller. The model
III. DIGITAL PWM TECHNIQUES specifications could be described in Table 1.
One of the goals of the replacement of the conventional Table 1: proposed model specifications
analog and digital devices with the LSI (large-scale Descriptions Values
integration) packages, such as microprocessors and Converter rating 500 Volts DC, 500 kW
microcontrollers in the controllers of PWM inverters is to AC Supply: three-phase 600 V, 30 MVA, 60 Hz system
make possible the implementation of the digital modulation Voltage-sourced Three-level, three-phase
technique. Two methods have been used for implementing Converter (VSC)
the digital modulation techniques on a microcontroller. In Link: 2 capacitors 75000 uF
the first one computes off line the switching angles for some
levels of the first harmonics of the inverter output voltage and Two sample times Ts Power = 5 us , Ts Control =
stores them in the micro controller memory as a look-up table 100 us
[7,8]. This saves the microcontroller the task of obtaining the
angles, allowing it to operate in real time. The second The primary conditions are set at the begin of the simulation.
method, one demands of the microcontroller the on-line This file has been generated by running an initial simulation
computation of the switching angles. This will need to steady-state for an integer number of cycles of 60 Hz. One
high-speed microcontroller to operate in real time for can see that the dynamic response of the DC regulator to this
accommodating the numerical algorithms required to obtain sudden load variation is acceptable. The DC voltage is back
angles. In typical ac motor-controller design, both hardware to 500 V within 1.5 cycle and the unity power factor on the
and software considerations are involved in the process of AC side is maintained. At t=100 ms, a "Stop Pulsing" signal
generating the PWM signals that are ultimately used to turn is activated. However, the DC voltage drops to 315 V. A
on or off the power devices in the three-phase inverter. In radical change in the primary current waveform can also be
typical digital control environments, the microcontroller experiential. When the pulses are blocked, the Three-Level
generates a regularly timed interrupt at the PWM switching Bridge block operation become similar to a three-phase diode
frequency (nominally 10-20 kHz). In the interrupt service bridge.
routine, the software computes new duty-cycle values for the
PWM signals used to drive each of the three legs of the
inverter. Typical PWM signals produced by the
microcontroller are shown in Fig. (3)[9,10].

Figure 4: proposed converter using a three-phase three-level

Fig (3) Typical PWM waveforms for a single inverter leg. PWM Voltage-sourced Converter

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 Design and Simulation of Programmable AC-DC Converter Using Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) Techniques In
MATLAB

The following signals could be observed during the

simulation as show in Figure 5 and Figure 6.
• The DC voltage (Vdc)
• The primary voltage and current (phase A)
• The AC supply (VaIa )
• The device currents of leg A of the IGBT bridge
• The phase-to-phase AC voltage generated by the VSC
(Vab)
When t=50 ms, a 200-kW load is switched-in. However, the
active response of the DC regulator to this unexpected load
deviation (200 kW to 400 kW) is acceptable. The DC voltage
is back to 500 V within 1.5 cycle and the unity power factor
on the AC side is maintained.
When t=100 ms, a "Stop Pulsing" signal is activated (pulses
normally sent to the converter are blocked). Hence, the DC
voltage drops to 315 V. An extreme alteration in the primary
current waveform can also be practical. When the pulses are
blocked, the Three-Level Bridge block operation becomes Figure 6: simulation results scope 2
similar to a three-phase diode bridge.
VI. CONCLUSION
The inclusive analysis of the preferred pulse-width
modulation techniques in the purpose of AC/DC line-side
converters is presented in this paper. The PWM technique
offer brilliant dynamics during the direct line currents
tracking. The PWM technique permits the switching pattern
to be appreciate on-line. This method regardless of the ease
completion is tainted by the unreliable switching frequency
accounting for the high current ripple. The mechanism of the
Sinusoidal PWM method might decrease the upper
harmonics satisfied in the line currents because the carrier
signal inflict around constant switching frequency of the
power transistors. Dissimilar current organize carrier-based
modulation straight impose sufficient converter input PWM
voltages to track their reference standards. Therefore, the
major difficulty is the efficiency of the DC-link voltage
conversion into the PWM system at the input of the AC/DC
converter. The purposeful distortion of voltage reference
signals by the third harmonics is the majority effective
method to expand the linear range of the carrier-based
modulation. A wide range of the linearity and the enhanced
Figure 5: simulation results scope 1 harmonic presentation even though the high computational
effort and the complexity of the implementation could be
The preliminary conditions necessary to start in steady state provides by using PWM method. PWM voltage could be then
have been saved in the Table. After one change this model, formed through an open-loop control system. Therefore, the
or change parameter values of power mechanism, the initial control system of the synchronous rectifier does not show the
conditions stored in the Table variable will no longer be valid high dynamic presentation and the effects of instability are
and Simulink will issue an error message. not mechanically compact.
A new method is used to generate the PWM signal which
controls the firing of the power circuit, where the period of REFERENCES
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ISSN: 2231-2307, Volume-3, Issue-6, January 2014

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Assist Lecturer Eng. Gailan Abdul Qadir

Currently he is Assist Lecturer, Researcher and training supervisor, Dep. of

Electronic in Institute of Technology Baghdad. Consultant Engineers
Association Iraqis.

Dr. Majid S. Naghmash

Received His Msc. degree in the satellite communication engineering from

University of Technology Baghdad – Iraq in 2004 and Doctor of philosophy in
wireless and mobile system from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) Malaysia
–Penang -2011. He is currently a head of power engineering department at
College of Electrical and Electronic Engineering Techniques-Foundation of
technical Education-Iraq. He has been a full-time lecturer in the Computer
Department , Baghdad, Iraq, since March 2012. He also worked as senior
researcher in the Iraqi Center of Development and Research since 1994.

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