Reference current computation methods for active power filters:: Accuracy assessment in the frequency domain

This paper focuses on the steady-state response of existing methods for computing the reference current of active power filters. For each class of methods, the main source of discrepancy between the load harmonic current and the computed reference current is identified and the frequency spectrum of the resulting error is analytically determined. Although this topic has been partially addressed in previous publications, the proposed frequency-domain approach provides valuable qualitative information about how the errors are produced and distributed, which is masked when the analysis is carried out in the time domain. First, the frequency-domain formulation is separately presented for each method. Then, a comparison of the resulting errors is performed on a case study. Finally, some experimental results are given to validate the proposed frequency-domain analysis.