Is It Possible to Obtain Benefits by Reducing the Contribution of the Digital Signal Processing Techniques to the Control of the Active Power Filter?

This paper presents a simple yet efficient control method for active power filters that can be used to improve power quality. Applying this method can open the way towards limiting the hardware and computational expenditure, which are needed for control of the active filter, while maintaining its required performance. The method is based on the indirect approach of obtaining reference signals combined with the closed-loop current control technique. Monitoring of changes of energy stored in reactance elements of the active filter is the base for obtaining reference signals for compensation. The active filter can perform classical compensation and, additionally, can perform some extra functionality for managing of active power in the system. In particular, it can stabilize the supplying source power, enable energy exchange between loads connected on DC and AC sides of the active filter, and-in a case of generating loads-enable their energy storage and redistribution amongst consuming loads. The presented method can be useful for voltage-source as current-source inverter based active filters, and for DC systems as well as for AC single- or three-phase ones.