2011 2nd Power Electronics, Drive Systems and Technologies Conference

Double Stage Switch Mode AC Voltage Regulator

M. R. Hajimoradi

A. Yazdian

H. Mokhtari

Faculty of Electrical Engineering

Tarbiat Modares University
Tehran, Iran
hajimoradi@alum.sharif.edu

Faculty of Electrical Engineering

Tarbiat Modares University
Tehran, Iran
yazdian@modares.ac.ir

Faculty of Electrical Engineering

Sharif University of Technology
Tehran, Iran
mokhtari@sharif.edu

Abstract Development of high frequency power electronic

devices leads to high performance and flexible switch mode AC
voltage stabilizers instead of traditional electromechanical types.
This paper introduces a novel double stage topology for switch
mode AC voltage regulators. The system produces a continuous
adjustable isolated AC voltage providing a constant output
voltage for sensitive loads. In order to simplify the control
strategy, a symmetrical PWM is used. In contrast with
conventional AC choppers, the proposed circuit does not need
any snubber circuits or voltage and current sensors which leads
to a simpler and more reliable circuit. Detailed analysis and
simulation results show the satisfactory performance of the
proposed structure in regulating the load voltage. The validity of
the results is verified by experiment by implementing a single
phase prototype.

selective switching based on voltage/current waveforms

[7,8,9,10,11,12,13].
In this paper, a novel double stage topology for switch
mode AC voltage regulators has been introduced which is
capable of producing a continuous adjustable isolated AC
voltage. The proposed topology provides a constant output
voltage without using any snubber circuits or voltage and
current sensors.
The structure of this paper is as follows: Section II
discusses the conventional AC-AC converters and their draw
backs in solving the commutation problem. The proposed
topology has been introduced in section III. Simulation and
experimental results are discussed in sections IV and V
respectively.

Keywords Direct AC-AC Voltage Converter; AC-Chopper;

AC Voltage Regulator; Symmetrical PWM; Switching.

II. DIRECT AC/AC CONVERTERS

The control circuit of AC-AC converters is more complex
as compared to DC-DC converters. This is because of the
I. INTRODUCTION
unidirectional behavior of power semiconductor switches.
Power quality defines a set of limits which allow electrical
This behavior causes commutation problems. In Fig. 1, a
devices to operate properly without significant loss of
conventional direct AC-AC converter is shown. As it can be
performance or life. One of the most common problems in
seen from Fig. 1, if switches S1 (S1A and S1B) and S2 (S2A
utilities power is voltage sag. Sags account for the vast
and S2B) are both turned on at the same time, a short circuit
majority of power problems experienced by end users. In
would occur. Therefore a dead time must be considered
order to solve such problems, voltage stabilizers based on
between the turning off time of S1 and the turning on time of
multi-output transformers with mechanic or static control
S2 (and vice versa, the same as voltage fed inverters).
systems are widely used in power system. Very long response
However, because of the filter inductors and possible
time and complexity of control in the low percentage
inductive characteristic of the load, the current path should not
regulation cases are the main disadvantages of this method [1].
be opened even for a very short time. Otherwise, large voltage
In recent years, high frequency direct AC-AC voltage
spikes would be produced and power switches may be
converters are used to stabilize the load voltage. The main key
damaged. This means that a dead time may be harmful for the
features of this type of regulators can be summarized as
circuit. This is the major drawback in AC-AC voltage
follows:
converters. There are different many solutions to solve this
Rapid dynamic response
trouble.
Capability of removing voltage harmonics
Improvement of input power factor
Paralleling individual modules to achieve higher power
ratings
Low number of active power switches and hence lower
losses, higher efficiency and being more economical
The major limitation in using the high frequency AC-AC
voltage converters is the commutation problem. This problem
Fig. 1. Conventional direct AC-AC converter
causes voltage spikes especially when the load is inductive.
In some applications, the switching pattern is based on the
To solve the problem of these spikes, snubber circuits can be
sign of the input voltage and the direction of the load current.
used [2,3,4,5,6]. Some papers have also proposed to use
Using voltage and current sensors not only increases the price
and complexity of the circuit, but also the system may fail in

978-1-61284-421-3/11/$26.00 2011 IEEE

187

noisy and harmonic situations in which zerro crossings cannot

be precisely detected. The Control scheme proposed in [11] is
based on such algorithm.
Another way to protect switches againsst voltage spikes is
presented in [4] by using RC snubbers. The proposed circuit is
shown in Fig. 2. The switching pattern iss based on voltage
sign and during the dead time in which alll switches are off,
the current is passed through the snubber. Using RC snubber
leads to higher losses and lower efficiency. This method is not
efficient in high inductive loads either.

The main idea of this work iss based on using a combination

of electric and magnetic circuuits to provide a current path
during commutation. In this waay, all the snubbers and sensors
can be omitted and the output voltage is then adjusted by a
simple symmetrical PWM. Thhe magnetic circuit not only
provides the current freewheeeling path but also acts as a
compensation transformer. The power circuit of the proposed
topology is shown in Fig. 4. Thhe regulator shown in Fig. 4 is
capable of producing an adjusttable isolated AC voltage with
the same phase as the input vooltage. By using a transformer
the produced voltage is added to
t the input voltage. Therefore
this combination can be used ass a boost converter. In order to
make a buck converter, thee secondary winding of the
transformer must be connectedd reversely as shown in Fig. 5.
The cascade connection of a system with boost and buck
capability leads to a buck-boost converter.

Fig. 2. Using RC snubbers for eliminating volltage spikes [4]

In order to increase the efficiency, in [2], [3] and [10]

relocating of snubbers leads to deleting thhe series connected
resistor of the snubber. In this way, AC
C snubbers causing
power loss are eliminated using regenerativve dc snubbers and
the efficiency becomes better but the system
m is not capable of
supplying high inductive loads. In Fig. 3, thhe proposed system
in [2] is presented.

Fig. 4. The proposed systtem for a boost converter

Fig. 3. Using regenerative snubbers to increase the

t efficiency [2]

In [14], buck, boost and buck-boost toppologies for purely

resistive loads are presented. In ordder to solve the
commutation problems, the control patteern is based on a
complex four step sequence.
A buck-boost topology is proposed in [15]. To solve the
commutation trouble, only an overlappingg of the switches
control signals is required. The difficulty off implementing the
control circuit and aggravation of input poower factor are the
major defects of the proposed system in [15].
In this paper, a novel single phase doouble stage switch
mode voltage regulator based on AC-chopppers is proposed to
compensate 20% of voltage sags. The comppensating voltage is
injected by a series connected transformer.
III. PROPOSED TOPOLOGY
Y
A. Principle of Operation
Conventional topologies proposed foor direct AC-AC
choppers use an electrical path keeping the current path closed
to omit high voltage spikes.

188

Fig. 5. The proposed systtem for a buck converter

In the boost converter mode:

VS =

DN S
Vi , 0 D 1
N1

(1)

VLoad = VS + Vi

(2)

DN S
Vi
VLoad = 1 +
N 1

(3)

In the buck converter Mode:

VS =

DN S
Vi , 0 D 1
N1

(4)
(5)

VLoad = VS Vi
DN S
VLoad = 1
N1

Vi

(6)

According to Fig. 4, the capacitor Ci is also

a used to absorb
the energy stored in the feeding line inductoors. L1 and C1 form
the positive stage filter and L2 and C2 form
m the negative stage
filter. Since the filters are the same, then L1= L2=L and C1=
C2=C. S1 is the main switch while S2 andd S3 are the bypass
switches for positive and negative currents.
The produced voltage after the filtering stage
s
(V1 and V2) is
applied to the primary winding of the transformer
t
(TR1).
According to the wiring of the transformer secondary winding,
this voltage can be added to or subtracted from the input
voltage compensating any under or over-vvoltage in the load.
Any change in the duty cycle of PWM pulses leads to a
variation in VS and leads to producing a controllable voltage
at the secondary winding.
High switching frequency of MOSFETss makes it possible
to obtain a short response time. Therefo
fore the system is
capable of compensating voltage transients in the source.
The main switch (S1) pulse is modulateed with a constant
duty cycle and the bypass switches (S2 and S3) act in a
complementary way. An overlap is consiidered to keep the
continuity of the current in filters and load inductors.
i
It means
that S2 and S3 are turned on (off) before S1 is turned off (on).
The worst case of operation for an AC chopper
c
is when it
supplies an inductive load. In this situatioon, any dead time
may produce a voltage spike and damage thhe power switches.
Any overlap in firing the switches would make
m
a short circuit
and the power circuit might be failed. The capability of the
proposed topology for supplying any type of
o load is shown in
Fig. 6.

(bb)

(cc)

(dd)
Fig. 6. Current path for
f an inductive load

There are four states when suupplying an inductive load. Fig.

6 shows these four states.
Positive Active State. In thhis state, the load current is
positive and the main switch (S1) is on. Energy is stored in the
filter inductor and capacitor (L1 and C1) and also given to the
load through the transformer (TR1). (Fig. 6 a)

(a)

Positive Freewheeling State.. In this state, the main switch

(S1) is off and current is loopinng through S2. Prior to turning
off the main switch (S1), both freewheeling switches (S2 and
S3) are triggered. No short circuuit would occur, because of the
series connected diode with S2. As the current is positive it
makes its path through S2. (Fig. 6 b)
Negative Active State. In this
t
state, the load current is
negative and the main switch (S
( 1) is on. Energy is stored in
the filter inductor and capacitorr (L2 and C2) and also given to

189

the load through the transformer (TR1). Prior

P
to turning off
freewheeling switches (S2 and S3), the main
m
switch (S1) is
triggered.(Fig. 6 c)

A 20% Voltage drop is appliied to the input voltage. Within

half a cycle, the voltage drop is detected, and the PI controller
b changing the duty cycle of
compensates the voltage drop by
PWM pulses and hence the outpput voltage is regulated.
Negative Freewheeling State. In this statte, the main switch
Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 present the results. Fig. 9 depicts the
(S1) is off and current is looping through S3.
S Prior to turning
source voltage/current and Fig. 10 shows the load
off the main switch (S1) both freewheeling switches
s
(S2 and S3)
voltage/current waveforms.
are triggered. No short circuit would occur, because of the
series connected diode with S3. As the currrent is negative, it
makes its path through S3. (Fig. 6 d)
As mentioned above, the commutation is
i regardless of the
sign of the input voltage and load current. Therefore voltage
and current sensors can be removed, and since in all states,
there is a closed path available for the curreent, there is no need
to put snubbers across switches. This is thee most outstanding
point of the proposed topology that makes the control system
as simple as possible. The only thing to bee considered is the
overlap of firing signal of power switches.
IV. SIMULATION RESULTSS
In order to verify the performance of thee proposed system,
some simulations have been performedd using EMTDCPSCAD. In this section, the simulation results are presented.
In Fig. 7, a simplified block diagram of thhe system is shown.

Fig. 9. Voltage drop applied to thhe source at the point marked in

red. TOP: Source Voltage, BOTTOM:
B
Source Current

Fig. 7. Block diagram of the proposed voltaage regulator

A simple PI controller is used to keep the output voltage

constant. The control block diagram of thee control system is
shown in Fig. 8.

Fig. 10. Voltage drop is appliied to the source at the point

marked in red. TOP: Load Volttage, BOTTOM: Load Current

Fig. 8. Block diagram of PI control system

The simulated system parameters are listted in Table I.

TABLE I.
Parameter
L1 , L2
C 1, C 2
Power MOSFET
Power Diode
(N1=N2)/NS
Load RMS Calculate method
Switching Frequency

SIMULATION PARAM
METERS
Value
500 H
5 F
IRFP460
BYV08-900
2.67
Half Cycle RM
MS
18 KHz

Fig. 11. Duty cycle of PWM puulses applied to power switches

It can be seen, when the input

i
voltage is dropped, the
output voltage remains constaant. Therefore the load power
remains constant. The input currrent is increased to deliver the
required power to the load. The
T input power factor is not
changed. So the overall mannner of the system is like a
transformer with too many stepps at the secondary that can fix
the output voltage. It is the empphasis of the proposed topology.

190

V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
In Fig. 12 and Fig. 13, the steady state operation of the
system for compensating a low voltage is presented. The
parameters are presented in Table II.

Fig. 14. Experimental result for instantaneous 20% voltage drop;

Green: Input, Blue: Output. V/div= 100V, Time/div= 10mSec

Fig. 12. Steady state operation of the proposed converter

Fig. 15. Experimental result, voltage is 20% increased; Green:

Input, Blue: Output. V/div= 100V, Time/div= 10mSec

Fig. 13. FFT of input and output in steady state

TABLE II
Parameter
Colour
Frequency
VRMS
2nd Harmonic
3rd Harmonic
4th Harmonic
5th Harmonic
THD

STEADY STATE DATA

Input
Green
50.068 Hz
161 V
0.2 %
1.5 %
0.036 %
1.23 %
2%

Output
Blue
50.068 Hz
220 V
0.5%
1.4 %
0.04 %
1.17 %
1.9%

Fig. 16. 20% Voltage drop during 150 mSec; Green: Input,
Blue: Output. V/div= 100V, Time/div= 10mSec

In Fig. 14 to Fig. 16, experimental results are presented to

verify the performance of the system. In Fig. 14, a 20%
voltage drop occurs. At the end of the corresponding half
cycle, the voltage sag is detected and the duty cycle of the
PWM is changed to compensate the voltage drop. The voltage
sag is completely compensated in about two cycles.
According to this test, the operation point of the system can be
shown in CBEMA Curve (Fig. 17). The load voltage is inside
the CBEMA curve; therefore the system is suitable for
supplying sensitive loads. The amount of compensation is
limited to the design parameters and the value of the under
voltage or over voltage.

Fig. 17. CBEMA Curve, the operation point is denoted by a red square

191

In Fig. 15, the 20% voltage sag is removed. The voltage is

increased instantaneously. Once again at the end of the half
cycle, the overvoltage is detected and is completely
compensated after two cycles.
In Fig. 16, a voltage drop occurs in a period of 150
milliseconds. Since the under voltage occurs smoothly, the
value of the under voltage is compensated at the end of each
half cycle and the output voltage remains constant and voltage
variations have not affected the load voltage.
VI. CONCLUSIONS
Development of high frequency power electronic devices
leads to high performance and flexible switch mode AC
voltage stabilizers instead of traditional electromechanical
types. A novel double stage topology for switch mode AC
voltage regulators is introduced in this work. The system can
produce an adjustable isolated AC voltage which can be added
to or subtracted from the input based on symmetrical PWM.
Therefore a constant output voltage can be obtained for
sensitive loads. Simulation and experimental results are
presented to verify the performance of the proposed system in
regulating the load voltage.

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by Switch Mode Buck-Boost Voltage Controller, 3rd International
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Based On the AC/AC Buck-Boost Converter, IEEE International
Symposium on Industrial Electronics, pp. 533-537, 2007.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT
The authors thank to RMS Electronics for its support in
producing the prototype.
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