Power Quality Investigation In The Twenty Four-Pulse Rectifier Topology Fed From An Utility Comprising Renewable Energy Source

Abstract

This paper is about the power quality investigation conducted on the prototype of the twenty four-pulse rectifier topology fed from an ac source comprising the local government utility and renewable energy source installed locally. The combination of the conventional sourced utility and locally installed solar panels yields a source that has significant voltage harmonic distortion. The twenty four-pulse rectifier topology comprises a winding network, with interconnection of conventional single- and three-phase windings that provides four three-phase voltage systems from a three-phase supply, and four six-pulse diode bridge rectifiers whose dc outputs are connected in series cascade. The power quality measurements, parameters and data obtained from the twenty four-pulse prototype are presented. From the data, the efficacy of the ac to dc conversion provided by the topology despite the distortion present in the input ac source is discernible that is attributed to its high pulse number.