Research on Harmonic Current Amplification Effect of Parallel APF Compensating Voltage Source Nonlinear Load

Abstract

A parallel active power filter (APF) is generally used to suppress dynamic harmonic current and compensate reactive power in the grid. However, parallel APF may have a negative effect on the load current when compensating the nonlinear load of a voltage source type, which may lead to the amplification effect of the load harmonic current. In this paper, the fundamental causes of harmonic current amplification were analyzed by studying the harmonic current amplification effect when a parallel APF compensates a nonlinear load. According to the results of the theoretical derivation, a feasible method to limit this current amplification effect by changing the system structure and the APF’s own control was proposed, and the corresponding design scheme is given. Finally, the correctness of the theoretical derivation of the harmonic current amplification effect and the feasibility of the proposed solution were proven through simulation and experiment.

Keywords

• parallel active power filter (APF)
• harmonic current amplification effect
• compensation