Different view on PQ theory used in the control algorithm of active power filters

Abstract

The improvement of power quality is a frequently discussed issue, which still requires a considerable research effort to be devoted to the study of the problem. The aim of this paper is to describe some problems related to the control of switching compensators, commonly known as active power filters. It also includes some shortcomings of pq theory regarded as three phase instantaneous power theory. The term “shortcomings” means that the pq theory does not provide a proper description of power properties. Moreover the control algorithm based on this theory only achieves satisfactory results for sinusoidal balanced voltage system. Nevertheless it can still be considered a helpful approach to the problem under study. The simulation results presented in this paper illustrate the weaknesses of the pq theory.