A low-harmonic electric drive system based on current-source inverter

This paper presents a new electric drive system topology, which is based on a pulse width modulation (PWM) current-source inverter (CSI). It is aimed at reducing the current harmonics drawn from paper mill distribution systems and the electric utility. Additionally, the voltage harmonics feeding into the electric motors are significantly reduced. Furthermore, the voltage rise rate of the PWM-CSI drives is low compared to the currently dominant PWM voltage-source inverter (VSI)-based drive systems. This paper also presents a proposal to modify the current paper machine drive systems, in order to achieve an overall low harmonic level. The new topology is verified by computer simulations. The problems of the new drive system are also described.