A Selective Harmonic Amplification Method for Reduction of kVA Rating of Current Source Converters in Shunt Active Power Filters

This paper describes a new approach to the design of current-source converter (CSC)-based shunt active power filters (APFs) to reduce the converter kilovolt-ampere rating considerably. This design approach is called the selective harmonic amplification method (SHAM), and is based on the amplification of some selected harmonic current components of CSC by the ac-side filter, and the CSC control system specifically designed for this purpose. The proposed SHAM has been implemented on a CSC-based APF for the elimination of 11th and 13th current harmonics of 12-pulse rectifier loads supplied from a medium-voltage underground cable. Simulation and field test results have shown that SHAM can successfully be applied to a CSC-based APF for reduction of the converter kilovolt-ampere rating, thus making it a cost-competitive alternative to voltage-source-converter-based APFs traditionally used in industry applications.