Analysis of IGBT based fundamental front end regenerative motor-drive systems

IGBT based Fundamental Front End “FFE” regenerative motor-drive system presents an attractive low cost solution for motor-drive applications that require regenerating power back to the grid. This technology doesn´t require the addition of a breaking resistor to the drive which in many cases can present a safety hazard, and requires extra space. These motor-drive systems are extensively applied in industrial applications, as they provide an adequate replacement for standard motor-drive system applications that don´t mandate reduced input current harmonics but require an economic / high power density design approach to regenerate power back to the grid. Thus, these motor-drive systems with IGBT based front-end converters have almost replaced conventional thyristor based line regenerative power converters especially in lower power applications. This paper is centered on providing a closed form solution and an in-depth mathematical analysis and performance evaluation of the IGBT based FFE.