Model predictive control for single phase active power filter using modified packed U-cell (MPUC5) converter

Abstract In this paper, a modified packed U-cell five-level inverter (MPUC5) with Model predictive control (MPC) strategy is proposed for a single phase active power filter (APF) application, which is applied to eliminate harmonic current and compensate reactive power at the point of common coupling (PCC), caused by local non-linear loads connected to the grid. The MPUC inverter configuration consists of numerous DC-link capacitors which should be balanced. In this context, a new model predictive control (MPC) has been designed and implemented to ensure the voltage balancing for the DC-link capacitors, and generate five-level voltage by using six active switches in addition to inject a harmonic current into the grid. For APF application, the inverter should be able to provide the requested reactive power at the PCC and ensure high power factor correction. In order to examine and evaluate the performance of the proposed MPC technique for APF application using 5-level MPUC inverter, a complete simulation model is developed using Matlab/Simulink™ environment and verified through real-time hardware in the loop (HIL) system. The obtained results prove the good performance of the proposed control technique in terms of DC-link capacitors balancing, harmonic current content and power quality enhancement.