Design of Step Voltage Regulator Based on IGBT

Abstract

The introduction of distributed generation (DG) into distribution systems is expanding due to carbon neutral policies. DG with intermittent output characteristics brings frequent voltage variations in distribution systems. Generally, a step voltage regulator (SVR) is installed in the long distribution line and controls its voltage, which has limits of stable voltage regulations due to the slow tap-changing rate, switching losses, and short life span. To solve those problems, this paper proposes an IGBT-based SVR using zero-voltage switching. It is verified that the stable operation can be obtained through simulation by PSCAD/EMTDC 4.6 software and empirical experiments.

Keywords

• distribution systems
• tap-changing transformer
• step voltage regulator
• zero-voltage switching
• IGBT