An Integrated Current Source Inverter With Reactive and Harmonic Power Compensators

An integrated current source converter system is presented based on an assembly of a thyristor-based current source inverter (CSI) in parallel with an insulated-gate-bipolar-transistor-based voltage source inverter (VSI) along with passive capacitors for high-power induction motor drive applications. The proposed configuration installs the VSI and the capacitor in such a way that both provide reactive power for generating the leading power factor required to accomplish natural commutations of the CSI. Based on the collaborative operation of the VSI and the parallel capacitor, the proposed system can be designed with a compromise between the VSI power capacity and the capacitor size. In addition, the VSI compensates harmonic current components from the thyristor-based CSI, while the capacitor filters out the voltage spikes during commutation of the thyristors. As a result, sinusoidal motor currents with improved harmonic spectrum can be drawn from this system. The proposed system utilizes the high-power capability of the thyristor-based CSI to supply high real power, while the VSI with easy controllability regulates the induction motor. Theoretical analyses based on mathematical modeling are presented in detail for the relationship between the inverter rating and the capacitor size, design considerations of the capacitor size, and the loss performances.