Reference is made to French Application Serial No. 12/02.804, filed Oct. 18, 2012, which application is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The present invention relates to optimization of continuous-power electrical networks, notably on-board vehicles. Nowadays, developing architectures of on-board electrical networks with distributed continuous power concerns many fields of activity such as the car industry, the railway construction, the shipbuilding industry or the aircraft industry. It is therefore necessary to find reliable, compact and inexpensive solutions in order to optimize these systems. Although it is possible to connect several electrical devices (DE), also referred to as loads, of different natures, to a common dc bus (1) (
Indeed, some electrical devices DE such as, for example, those of an assembly, an inverter (3) and an electrical machine (4) modify the harmonic content of the continuous quantities, that is the current and the voltage. It may therefore be necessary to reduce or even to eliminate the harmonic effects caused by the switching of the inverter according to PWM techniques. Pulse Width Modulation is a technique commonly used for synthesizing alternating signals using on-off circuits. This type of system involves two fundamental constraints which are the stability and the quality of the on-board energy. Controlling these two constraints thus allows reduction of the size (volume and weight) of these systems and to best control the quantities that guarantee an increased life of the power source elements such as, for example, a battery in the case of a motor vehicle.
In response to the above problem, a widespread solution is using high-capacity “capacitor assemblies” (2) which are a combination of capacitors in series as shown in the Prior Art of
The following documents describe the use of “capacitor assemblies”:
Now, in order to guarantee these performances, these high-capacity capacitor assemblies (2) are bulky and represent approximately one third of the volume and of the cost of the power inverters. It is therefore necessary to try to reduce these passive elements while controlling the two main constraints which are stability and quality of the continuous network.
In a simple manner, stability can be defined as the fact that the state quantities of a system remain “close” to an operating point defined for example by their state of equilibrium even though the system undergoes external disturbances. The influence of the capacity value on a system having a battery (5) (input voltage source), a filter capacitor Cdc (2) an assembly made up of an inverter (3) and an electrical machine (4) is studied to illustrate the connection between the value of the capacitor and the stability problem. The leakage inductance Lf due to wire windings is modelled by an inductance (6) between the source and the capacitor of the equivalent bus as shown in
When the capacity is low (100 μF for example) and the leakage inductance is high, the interaction between the filter Lf-Cdc and the inverter-machine assembly causes a stability loss. On the other hand, a high capacity (for example ten times as high) provides stability in the system. It is noted that the capacity of the capacitor depends on the size thereof and therefore a high capacity requires a large volume.
On the other hand, if the leakage inductance due to wire windings (not controllable) is relatively low, stability is provided but the amplitude of the fluctuations linked with the modulation caused by the switching of the inverter is increased.
These results show that the dc bus capacitor serves a dual purpose. First of all, it eliminates stability loss risk by reducing the area of interaction between the filter (Lf-Cdc) and the load. It also allows great attenuation of the undulation amplitude variations ensuring practically smooth continuous quantities. Therefore, any decrease in the size of these passive elements must be accompanied by a corrective action for stabilizing and reducing the fluctuations of the electrical quantities of the dc bus.
In order to reduce the size of electrical systems, the power electronics are increasingly integrated into the electrical machine. However, although this is possible for the switches of the inverter, which are then arranged on the stator of the electrical machine, it is more complicated with all of the capacitors. Indeed, these passive elements cannot be totally integrated into the machine, and the only way to have a power electronics integrated into the machine is setting them on the machine, and they thus maintain their weight, volume and dependability. Furthermore, integration of all the capacitors also causes problems linked with the chemical elements of the capacitor. In fact, capacitors are chemically constructed and they are sensitive to severe operating conditions such as vibrations. Therefore, using “capacitor assemblies” does not enable entire integration of the power electronics within the electrical device.
The electrical system according to the invention is based on the use of a controlled active filter providing stabilization of the electrical quantities. The active filter is mounted in parallel with a capacitor of reduced capacity in relation to conventional techniques. Furthermore, the active filter is at least partly integrated within the electrical device. Thus, a volume and weight decrease is obtained while keeping a quality and stability of the on-board electrical energy. The invention also allows the cost of such a system to be reduced.
The invention relates to an electrical system comprising at least one continuous-power electrical energy source, at least one electrical device connected to the source and a capacitor connected in parallel with the electrical device. The electrical system also comprises a controlled active filter between the source and the electrical device, for injecting or absorbing fluctuations of the current ie provided by the source and for reducing the fluctuations of voltage vDC at the terminals of the source with the active filter being at least partly integrated within the electrical device.
According to the invention, the capacitor is arranged on the electrical device.
Advantageously, the electrical device comprises at least an inverter and an electrical machine with the active filter being at least partly integrated within the electrical machine.
Advantageously, the inverter comprises controlled switches arranged on the electrical machine.
According to one embodiment of the invention, the active filter has four controlled switches forming an H bridge and an inductor is arranged in parallel with the bridge and integrated within the electrical machine.
Alternatively, the active filter includes eight controlled switches forming two H bridges and of two inductors respectively arranged in parallel with one of the bridges and integrated within the electrical machine.
According to the machine, the switches are arranged on the electrical machine.
Advantageously, the switches are controlled by two feedback loops comprising a high-pass filter and a regulator with each feedback loop controlling two switches.
Preferably, the regulator is a hysteresis comparator.
Moreover, the active filter can be directly connected in parallel with the capacitor.
Advantageously, the control of the active filter depends on two variables that are the sign of the fluctuation of the inverter input current ĩDC and the undulations of the bus voltage {tilde over (v)}DC.
According to an embodiment of the invention, the system comprises dynamic stabilization of current ie provided by the source and of voltage vDC at the terminals of the source.
Preferably, the dynamic stabilization corresponds to a feedback loop in the control of the electrical machine having the same effect as a resistor R that would be directly arranged in parallel with the capacitor and the active filter.
Furthermore, the feedback loop of the dynamic stabilization (11′) can have a gain 1/R and of a low-pass filter.
The invention also relates to a vehicle, notably a hybrid or electrical vehicle, comprising an electrical system according to the invention.
Other features and advantages of the method according to the invention will be clear from reading the description hereafter of embodiments given by way of non-limitative example, with reference to the accompanying figures wherein:
The electrical system according to the invention comprises at least one continuous-power electrical energy source S, at least one electrical device DE connected to the source and consuming a current ie provided by the source (S) and a voltage vDC at the terminals of the source S, a capacitor (2) is connected by electrical bus 1 in parallel with the electrical device DE to provide passive filtering and controlled active filter means (7 and 7′) between the source S and the electrical device DE, for injecting or absorbing undulations of the current ie provided by the source and for reducing the fluctuations of voltage vDC at the terminals of the source (
The invention can be on board a vehicle, notably a motor, railway or naval vehicle, hybrid or electric, but it is also suitable for any system operating with batteries.
Active filter (7 and 7′) is understood to provide current filtering, allowing injection or absorption of the current fluctuations and the bus voltage fluctuations. These filters can be controlled, unlike passive filters. Passive filters only include capacitors, resistors and inductors that cannot be controlled. The active filters (7 and 7′) associated with a capacitor (2′) of reduced or even very reduced capacity in relation to conventional practice acts as the assembly of capacitors (2) used in the prior art. That is, they stabilize the current and the bus voltage while allowing the size of the capacitor assembly to be reduced. Conventionally, active filters (7 and 7′) comprise controlled switches of very limited size. Capacitor (2′) allows the fluctuations of bus voltage vDC to be reduced.
An electrical device DE is understood to be a device requiring a current and a voltage to operate. It can be an electrical machine (4) for driving the vehicle, or any electrical device that can be installed on board vehicles or powered by an electrical battery, such as steering devices, tools, compressors, etc. However, the description below and
An electrical energy source S is understood to be any source allowing supply of a current and a voltage. In the present case, essentially electrical batteries (5) supply continuous current and voltage to at least one electrical device DE.
In a preferred embodiment, the electrical device DE is connected to the source by a common dc bus (1) to which the active filter means (7 and 7′) are also connected.
The purpose of active filter (7 and 7′) is to allow injection and absorption of the fluctuations and therefore of the harmonics of the input current iDC of electrical device DE, and to reduce the fluctuations of the dc bus voltage vDC (equal to the voltage at the terminals of source S). The inverter input current iDC is the current circulating in electrical device DE. By applying the mesh law to the electrical diagram of
According to a first alternative embodiment of the invention, the filter can have four controlled switches (T1 to T4) forming an H bridge and of an inductor (L) arranged in parallel with the bridge (
In the embodiment shown in
Advantageously, control of switches T1 to T4 is achieved through two feedback loops comprising a high-pass filter (8) and a regulator (9) respectively (
It can be noted that the Laplace transform variable is denoted by s. Besides, C1 and C2 designate the control signals (on-off) from the feedback loops controlling active filter (7). These signals are applied directly or after inversion at switches T1 to T4.
Switches T2 and T4 only depend on the state of control C1 and on the hysteresis limits being reached by bus voltage vDC. The state change frequency of control C1 thus depends on the rate of increase or of decrease of voltage vDC and on the width of the hysteresis band. It is therefore influenced by the value of the capacity of capacitor (2′). Indeed, the higher the capacity, the lower the voltage slope, which induces a lower hysteresis limit reaching frequency (9). However, if the capacity is low (below 100 μF for example), the switching frequency of switches T2 and T4 is increased and it can become impossible to achieve since the frequency also increases the switching losses. The value of the capacity of capacitor (2′) thus has a direct influence on the active filter control topology, which limits the value of capacitor (2′). For example, a capacitor (2′) of capacity above 100 μF seems acceptable. Indeed, for this capacity value, the required switching frequency is of the order of 100 kHz. It is noted that a 100 μF capacity leads to instability of the electrical system of the prior art.
Regulation of the inducing current to be injected iind is achieved via the regulation of the dc bus voltage. The dc bus voltage at the terminals of reduced capacitor (2′) can be used as a voltage source allowing regulation of current iind Thus, in order to regulate the current at its theoretically determined constant value, the error obtained by: iindref−iind is added to voltage fluctuations {tilde over (v)}DC. With this approach, the hysteresis regulator allows correction of the inducing current error together with the confinement of voltage vDC in the hysteresis band. The regulation diagram is shown in
when the fluctuation of current ĩDC is positive, that is, circulating through electrical device (DE), active filter (7) injects the inducing current iind onto dc bus (1). The switches controlled by the control signals, T1 and T4, are therefore closed (T2 and T3 being open),
when the fluctuation of ĩDC is negative, that is, injected onto bus (1), the active filter absorbs the current and consequently the switches controlled by T2 and T3 are closed (T1 and T4 being open), and
two free wheel states are allowed (T1 and T2 closed or T3 and T4 closed) and enable an increase or a decrease bus voltage vDC at the terminals of capacitor (2′) depending on whether it exceeds the specified undulation amplitude limits, for example of the hysteresis comparator.
According to the invention, at least part and preferably all of the active filter is integrated within electrical device (DE). Thus, the size of the electrical system according to the invention is reduced, on the one hand, because capacitor (2′) is reduced in size and, on the other hand, because the active filter is at least partly arranged in the volume of the electrical device (DE). A component is considered to be integrated in an element if the component is positioned in/on the element in such a way that the volume of the assembly (element and component) does not exceed the volume of the element alone. In the case of the embodiment of
inductor (L) is inserted within electrical machine (4), preferably close to the coils of the electrical machine.
switches (T1 to T4) of the active filter are arranged on the stator of electrical machine (4), which allows reduction notably of the wire elements between the power electronics and the electrical machine. This also allows the size of the electrical system to be limited,
the switches of inverter arms (3) can also be arranged directly on the stator of electrical machine (4). The wire elements and the size of the electrical system are thus reduced,
capacitor (2′) is arranged directly on the stator of the electrical machine. Indeed, the dimensions of capacitor (2′), which are reduced as a result of the active filter in relation to capacitor (2) used in the prior art, make it possible to position capacitor (2′) on the stator of electrical machine (4).
Simulations of the electrical system comprising the active filter (7) illustrated in
A first simulation has been conducted, wherein the leakage inductance due to wire windings were assumed to be low (a few μH), which ensures stability of the system. The results are given in
From t=0.035 s, the active filter is activated; permitting confinement of the dc bus voltage and of the source current within a hysteresis band of specified width. The filter allows the variations due to the inverter modulation to be eliminated.
The results of
The active filter activation causes spectrum spreading and very predominantly keeps the continuous component. The maximum harmonic amplitudes for source current ie and bus voltage vDC respectively remain below 0.5% and 0.05% of the “fundamental” whereas they were 17% and 1.25% prior to filter activation. These results are comparable in objective to those obtained on the alternating side when using particular PWM techniques (hysteresis or random space vector modulation RSVM).
A second simulation was carried out, wherein the wire winding inductance is no longer negligible (installation on board a plane or a train for example), which generates an unstable behavior of the system. The effect of active filter (7) on the system stability is illustrated in
The additional embodiments described hereafter can be implemented alone, in combination with the first embodiment or in combination with the other additional embodiments.
In the embodiment illustrated in
In an additional embodiment, control of the active filter is achieved in an analog manner to simplify implementation of the control. In this embodiment, operational amplifiers, resistors, capacitors and potentiometers are used for controlling the active filter.
In order to decrease the size of the active filter reducing the size of inductor (L) is considered as used in the first embodiment. However, the size reduction of inductor (L) is limited by the value of the current flowing therethrough.
Although the filter also acts to stabilize the system, it may be necessary to correct the low damping level to improve a rate of convergence of the quantities. Indeed, although they are confined as shown in
Ahmed-Bilal AWAN and Babak NAHID-MOBARAKEH. “Nonlinear Stabilization of a DC-Bus Supplying a Constant Power Load”. IEEE, 2009.
The concept is to generate power proportional to the square of the fluctuations of the dc bus voltage
The power {tilde over (p)} is then added to the nominal power P0 of the electrical device that adjusts its power demand according to the more or less great voltage fluctuations. The power {tilde over (p)} is used in control (12) of electrical device (DE), for example electrical machine (4), for adjusting the behavior of electrical device (DE) to prevent oscillations in the dc bus. Thus, the current and dc bus voltage fluctuations are avoided by the control of electrical device (DE). The combination of virtual resistor (11) and active filter (7) is an efficient way to ensure stability and improve the electrical energy quality. In an embodiment illustrated in
with R being the value of virtual resistor (11), and of a low-pass filter. In this scheme, the common bus comprises a resistor R and an inductor L used for modelling the internal resistance and inductance (wire winding inductance) of the connections and of battery (5).
Stabilization through active filter (7) with and without virtual resistor (11) is illustrated in
The role of the active filter and of the virtual resistor is shown in detail in
This additional embodiment of the invention is an interesting embodiment as a result of reducing the passive elements, which improves the dc bus energy quality and reduces the constraints on the on-board energy source (battery). Furthermore, the reduction of the constraints on on-board energy source (S) allows the life thereof to be increased. This additional embodiment ensures a good quality of electrical energy and prevents the system from switching into an unstable state through control and confinement of the electrical quantities of the dc bus. The combination of the active filter and of the dynamic stabilization is efficient for decreasing the constraints linked with the weight and the volume (size) of the capacitors. For example, in the car industry, the capacities currently used are of the order of 3000 μF. The invention allows this value to be reduced to about ⅙ with a 500 μF capacitor being sufficient.
The invention is thus adaptable to any type of on-board system and therefore to the aforementioned fields of the car industry, railway construction, shipbuilding and aircraft industry.
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