Multi-pulse converters have been widely used for a multi-megawatt scale power generating system to comply with harmonic regulations. Among all types of multi-pulse converters, a 12-pulse converter is the most widely used due to the simple structure, which consists of a delta-delta and a delta-wye phase-shift transformer pair and it effectively mitigates undesirable harmonics from the nonlinear load. In the early 2000s, a shunt type passive front-end for a shipboard power system was proposed. By shunting the two gensets with 30° phase angle difference, a single phase-shift transformer effectively eliminates 5th and 7th harmonics. It achieves a significant size and weight reduction compared to a 12-pulse converter while keep the comparable harmonic cancellation performance. Recently, a hybrid type front-end was proposed. On top of the passive front-end, 3 phase active power filter was added and an additional harmonic cancellation was achieved to further eliminate 11th and 13th harmonics. However, the performance of both the passive and hybrid type front-end are highly dependent on the size of the line reactor in ac mains. A back to back active power filter is proposed in this dissertation to replace the phase-shift transformer in the multi-generator power architecture. The proposed front-end does not include phase-shift transformer and the size and the weight of the overall front-end can be significantly reduced. Due to the active harmonic compensation, the back to back front-end achieves better power quality and the line reactor dependency is improved. The number of required dc-link capacitors is reduced by half by introducing a back to back configuration and the capacitor size is reduced by adjusting the phase angle difference of genset to cancel out the most significant voltage harmonics in the shared dc-link bus. The overview of the existing shunt type front-end is provided and the concept of back to back active power filter is validated by simulation and prototype hardware. The comparison between existing front-end and the proposed front-end is provided to highlight the superior performance of back to back active front-end. The dc-link bus current and voltage ripple analysis is provided to explain the dc-link ripple reduction mechanism. / Doctor of Philosophy / The transportation electrification has gained more and more attention due to its smaller carbon dioxide emission, better fuel efficiency. The recent advances in power devices, microcontrollers, and transducers accelerate the electrification of transportation. This trend is shown in the propulsion system in marine transport as well and the electric propulsion system has been widely used to meet the strict environmental regulations. However, the non-linear circuit components such as capacitor and diode in the electric propulsion system draw non-linear current and significantly deteriorate power quality and lead to critical problems such as reduced life span of circuit components Accordingly, a front-end is required to improve power quality. Also, it is desired to have compact and lightweight front-end for installation flexibility and fuel efficiency improvement. In this dissertation, several front-ends using a phase-shift transformer are reviewed and a detailed analysis is provided to help understand the harmonic cancellation principle of the existing front-end through equivalent circuit analysis, quantitative analysis, and a phasor diagram representation. Based on the analysis of the existing front-ends and shipboard power architecture, lightweight and high-performance front-end is proposed and verified by simulation and prototype hardware. The performance, size comparison between existing front-end and the proposed front-end is provided to show the advantage of the proposed front-end.

Orientador: Falcondes José Mendes de Seixas / Resumo: Os conversores multipulsos têm sido muito utilizados para a melhoria da qualidade de energia elétrica em sistemas de retificação trifásicos. O principal motivo para tal afirmação é a robustez apresentada por esses conversores, aliada às características intrínsecas da estrutura, que resulta no cancelamento natural de certas componentes de corrente na rede, devido ao defasamento angular provocado pela ação do transformador ou autotransformador utilizado. O que se propõe nesse trabalho é a substituição de cada ponte retificadora a diodos, presente no conversor de 12 pulsos, por uma topologia retificadora trifásica semicontrolada, baseada no conversor boost operando no modo de condução descontínuo (MCD), de modo que, seja possível reduzir de maneira significativa a DHTi (Distorção Harmônica Total de corrente), bem como, incorporar os volumosos transformadores de interfase (IPTs) aos indutores boost de alta frequência, resultando na redução de peso e volume. Foram confeccionadas duas versões do conversor de 12 pulsos com retificadores semicontrolados, uma utilizando transformador isolador e a outra um autotransformador. O que se verificou para ambas as configurações é que a estrutura apresenta um reduzido conteúdo harmônico de corrente se comparado ao conversor tradicional e que, ao se operar no modo de condução descontínuo, faz-se possível o emprego de uma lógica de controle simples, possibilitando assim empregar somente uma malha de tensão, e reduzir significativamente a DHTi do... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Multipulse converters have been widely employed for electrical power quality improvement in three-phase rectifiers systems. The main reason for this statement is the robustness shown by these structures, allied to their natural characteristics, resulting in harmonic canceling at the mains, due to the phase displacement provided by the transformer/autotransformer. In this work, it is proposed the replacement of each rectifier bridge, present in the 12-pulse converter, by a three-phase half-controlled rectifier topology, based on DCM (Discontinuous Conduction Mode) boost converter, thus making it possible to significative reduce the THDi (Total Harmonic Distortion) of the current injected on the mains by the structure. It also incorporates the voluminous IPT's (Interphase Transformer) in the boost high-frequency inductor, resulting in a reduction of weight and size. Two versions of the 12-pulse converter with semicontrolled rectifiers were made, one using an isolating transformer and other using an autotransformer. It was verified that both configurations present a reduced THDi when compared to the traditional converter. So, by electing DCM, it is possible to employ a simpler control logic, employing only one voltage loop and significantly reducing the THDi. / Doutor