Dr.Arkan A.

Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

Analysis of 1-Phase,
Square - Wave Voltage
Source Inverter

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

After completion of this lesson the reader will be able to:

(i) Explain the operating principle of a single-phase square wave inverter.
(ii) Compare the performance of single-phase half-bridge and full-bridge inverters.
(iii) Do harmonic analysis of load voltage and load current output by a single-phase
inverter.
(iv) Decide on voltage and current ratings of inverter switches.

Voltage source inverters (VSI) have been introduced in Lesson-33. A single-phase square wave
type voltage source inverter produces square shaped output voltage for a single-phase load. Such
inverters have very simple control logic and the power switches need to operate at much lower
frequencies compared to switches in some other types of inverters, discussed in later lessons. The
first generation inverters, using thyristor switches, were almost invariably square wave inverters
because thyristor switches could be switched on and off only a few hundred times in a second. In
contrast, the present day switches like IGBTs are much faster and used at switching frequencies
of several kilohertz. As pointed out in Lesson-26, single-phase inverters mostly use half bridge
or full bridge topologies. Power circuits of these topologies are redrawn in Figs. 34.1(a) and
34.1(b) for further discussions.
P P idc
Sw1 Sw3
+ Sw1
C_ 0.5Edc
Edc
Edc
+ + Cdc
_ O LOAD A _ A LOAD B

+
C_ 0.5Edc

Sw2 Sw2 Sw4

N N
Fig. 34.1(a): A 1-phase half bridge VSI Fig. 34.1(b): A 1-phase full-bridge VSI

In this lesson, both the above topologies are analyzed under the assumption of ideal circuit
conditions. Accordingly, it is assumed that the input dc voltage (Edc) is constant and the switches
are lossless. In half bridge topology the input dc voltage is split in two equal parts through an
ideal and loss-less capacitive potential divider. The half bridge topology consists of one leg (one
pole) of switches whereas the full bridge topology has two such legs. Each leg of the inverter
consists of two series connected electronic switches shown within dotted lines in the figures.
Each of these switches consists of an IGBT type controlled switch across which an uncontrolled
diode is put in anti-parallel manner. These switches are capable of conducting bi-directional
current but they need to block only one polarity of voltage. The junction point of the switches in
each leg of the inverter serves as one output point for the load.

In half bridge topology the single-phase load is connected between the mid-point of the input dc
supply and the junction point of the two switches (in Fig. 34.1(a) these points are marked as ‘O’
and ‘A’ respectively). For ease of understanding, the switches Sw1 and Sw2 may be assumed to

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

be controlled mechanical switches that open and close in response to the switch control signal. In
fact in lesson-33 (section 33.2) it has been shown that the actual electronic switches mimic the
function of the mechanical switches. Now, if the switches Sw1 and Sw2 are turned on alternately
with duty ratio of each switch kept equal to 0.5, the load voltage (VAO) will be square wave with
a peak-to-peak magnitude equal to input dc voltage (Edc). Fig. 34.2(a) shows a typical load
voltage waveform output by the half bridge inverter. VAO acquires a magnitude of +0.5 Edc when
Sw1 is on and the magnitude reverses to -0.5 Edc when Sw2 is turned on. Fig. 24.2 also shows
the fundamental frequency component of the square wave voltage, its peak-to-peak magnitude

π
being equal to 4 Edc . The two switches of the inverter leg are turned on in a complementary
manner. For a general load, the switches should neither be simultaneously on nor be
simultaneously off. Simultaneous turn-on of both the switches will amount to short circuit across
the dc bus and will cause the switch currents to rise rapidly. For an inductive load, containing an
inductance in series, one of the switches must always conduct to maintain continuity of load
current. In Lesson-33 (section 33.2) a case of inductive load has been considered and it has been
shown that the load current may not change abruptly even though the switching frequency is
very high. Such a situation, as explained in lesson-33, demands that the switches must have bi-
directional current carrying capability.

34.1 Harmonic Analysis of The Load Voltage And Load Current

Waveforms
The load voltage waveform shown in Fig. 34.2(a) can be mathematically described in terms of its

∑ nπdc sin(nwt ) ……………………………………… (34.1)

Fourier’s components as:
VAO =
2E
n =1,3,5,7,...,∞

2π
,where ‘n’ is the harmonic order and w is the frequency (‘f’) of the square wave. ‘f’ also
happens to be the switching frequency of the inverter switches. As can be seen from the
expression of Eqn. 34.1, the square wave load voltage consists of all the odd harmonics and their
magnitudes are inversely proportional to their harmonic order. Accordingly, the fundamental

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

π
2
frequency component has a peak magnitude of Edc and the nth harmonic voltage (n being odd

nπ
2
integer) has a peak magnitude of Edc . The magnitudes of very high order harmonic voltages
become negligibly small. In most applications, only the fundamental component in load voltage
is of practical use and the other higher order harmonics are undesirable distortions. Many of the
practical loads are inductive with inherent low pass filter type characteristics. The current
waveforms in such loads have less higher order harmonic distortion than the corresponding
distortion in the square-wave voltage waveform. A simple time domain analysis of the load
current for a series connected R-L load has been presented below to corroborate this fact. Later,
for comparison, frequency domain analysis of the same load current has also been done.

34.1.1 Time Domain Analysis

The time domain analysis of the steady state current waveform for a R-L load has been presented
here. Under steady state the load current waveform in a particular output cycle will repeat in
successive cycles and hence only one square wave period has been considered. Let t=0 be the
instant when the positive half cycle of the square wave starts and let I0 be the load current at this
instant. The negative half cycle of square wave starts at t=0.5T and extends up to T. The circuit
equation valid during the positive half cycle of voltage can be written as below:
Ri + L = 0.5Edc , for 0 < t < 0.5T ………………………..………….(34.2)
di
dt

Similarly the equation for the negative half cycle can be written as
Ri + L = −0.5 Edc , for 0.5T < t < T ………………………………….(34.3)
di
dt
, where T (=1/f) is the time period of the square wave.

The instantaneous current ‘i’ during the first half of square wave may be obtained by solving

−t
Eqn.(34.2) and putting the initial value of current as I0.

(1 − e τ ) + I 0 e τ
−t
Accordingly, i (t ) =
0.5 Edc
for 0 < t < 0.5T ……………..(34.4)
, where τ= L/R is the time constant of the R-L load.
R

The current at the end of the positive half cycle becomes the starting current for the negative half

−T
cycle.

(1 − e 2τ ) + I 0 e 2τ . The
−T
0.5 Edc
Thus the next half cycle starts with an initial current =
R
circuit equation for the next half cycle may now be written as

−(t − ) −(t − )
T T
⎡ 0.5E −T −T ⎤
i(t ) = − (1 − e τ )+⎢ (1 − e 2τ ) + I 0e 2τ ⎥ e τ
0.5Edc 2 2
⎢⎣ R ⎥⎦
dc
for 0.5T <t< T
R

Simplifying the above equation one gets:

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

−(t − )
T
−t −t
i (t ) = − (1 + e τ ) + I 0 e τ + dc e τ
0.5 Edc E 2
, for 0.5T < t < T …….(34.5)
R R

Under steady state, the instantaneous magnitude of inductive load current at the end of a periodic
cycle must equal the current at the start of the cycle. Thus putting t=T in Eqn. (34.5), one gets the

−T −T E −T
expression for I0 as,

I0 = − (1 + e τ ) + I 0 e τ + dc e 2τ
0.5Edc

⎛ −T ⎞ 0.5E −T E ⎛ −T ⎞
R R

or, I 0 ⎜1 − e τ ⎟ = (1 − e τ ) + dc ⎜ e 2τ − 1⎟
⎜ ⎟ R ⎜ ⎟
dc

⎝ ⎠ ⎝ ⎠
R

⎛ ⎞ ⎡ −T ⎤
0.5Edc Edc ⎜ ⎟ 0.5Edc ⎢1 − e 2τ ⎥
or, I 0 = − ⎟=− R ⎢
R ⎜⎜ −T −T ⎥
1
⎟ ⎢ ⎥
⎝ 1 + e 2τ ⎠ 2τ
………….(34.6)
⎣1 + e ⎦
R

Substituting the above expression for I0 in Eqn. (34.4) one gets,

⎡ −T −t ⎤
0.5 Edc ⎢1 + e 2τ − 2e τ ⎥
i(t ) = ⎥ , for 0 < t < 0.5T ………..………..(34.7)
R ⎢⎢ −T
⎥
+ 2τ
⎣ 1 e ⎦

It may be noted from Eqn. (34.7) that the load current at the end of the positive half cycle of
square wave (at t=0.5T) simply turns out to be –I0. This is expected from the symmetry of the
load voltage waveform. Load current expression for the negative half cycle of square wave can
similarly be calculated by substituting for I0 in Eqn. (34.5). Accordingly,

⎡ ⎤
⎢ −(t − ) ⎥
T
⎢ 2
τ ⎥
i (t ) = − +
Edc ⎢ e ⎥
R ⎢⎛ ⎞⎥
0.5 Edc
−T
, for 0.5T < t < T
⎢ ⎜1 + e 2τ ⎟⎥
R
⎢⎜ ⎟⎥
⎣⎝ ⎠⎦

⎡ ⎤
⎢ −(t − ) ⎥
T
−T
⎢1 + e 2τ − 2e τ ⎥
2
or, i (t ) = − ⎢ ⎥ , for 0.5T < t < T ............... (34.8)
−T
0.5 Edc
⎢ ⎥
⎢ 1 + e 2τ ⎥
R
⎢ ⎥
⎣ ⎦

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

The current expressions given by Eqns. (34.7) and (34.8) have been plotted in Figs. 34.2(b) to
34.2(e) for different time constants of the R-L load. The current waveforms have been
E
normalized against a base current of 0.5 dc . The square wave voltage waveform, normalized
R
against a base voltage of 0.5Edc has also been plotted together with the current waveforms. It can
be seen that the load current waveform repeats at fundamental frequency and the higher order
harmonic distortions reduce as the load becomes more inductive. For L/R ratio of 2, the 3rd order
harmonic distortion in the load current together with its fundamental component has been shown
in Fig. 34.2(e). In this case, it can be seen that the relative harmonic distortion in load current
waveform is much lower than that of the voltage waveform shown in Fig. 34.2(a). The basis for
calculating the magnitude of different harmonic components of load current waveform has been
shown in the next subsection that deals with frequency domain analysis.

34.1.2 Frequency Domain Analysis

The square shape load voltage may be taken as superposition of different harmonic voltages
described by Eqn. 34.1. The load current may similarly be taken as superposition of harmonic
currents produced by the different harmonic voltages. The load current may be expressed in
terms of these harmonic currents. To illustrate this the series connected R-L load has once again

calculated in terms of load parameters: R and L/R (or τ) and inverter parameters: dc link voltage
been considered here. First the expressions for different harmonic components of load current are

(Edc) and time period of square wave (T).

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

(φ1) can be calculated to be

For the fundamental harmonic frequency the load impedance (Z1) and load power factor angle

⎛ 2π L ⎞
R 2 + ( 4π L and φ1 = tan −1 ⎜ ⎟ ……….…….(34.9)
⎝ TR ⎠
2 2
Z1 = 2)
T

The load impedance and load power factor angle for the nth harmonic component (Zn and φn
respectively) will similarly be given by,

⎛ 2π nL ⎞
R 2 + (4π n L and φn = tan −1 ⎜ ⎟ …….…….(34.10)
⎝ TR ⎠
2 2 2
Zn = 2)
T

The fundamental and nth harmonic component of load current, (Iload)1 and (Iload)n respectively, can
be found to be

sin( wt − Φ1 ) and (Iload)n = sin(nwt − Φ n ) ………(34.11)

π Z1 nπ Z n
2 Edc 2 Edc
(Iload)1 =

The algebraic summation of the individual harmonic components of current will result in the
following expression for load current.

I Load = ∑ sin(nwt − Φ n ) ……………………………….(34.12)

n =1,3,5,7,...,∞ nπ Z n
2 Edc

From Eqns. 34.10 and 34.12 it may be seen that the contribution to load current from very higher
order harmonics become negligible and hence the infinite series based expression for load
current may be terminated beyond certain values of harmonic order ‘n’. For L/R ratio = 2T, the
individual harmonic components of load current normalized against a base current of
0.5 Edc
have been calculated below:
R
sin( wt − tan −1 4π ) = 0.1sin( wt − 1.491)
4
π 1 + 16π
(Iload)1,normalized =
2

sin(3wt − tan −1 12π ) = 0.011sin(3wt − 1.544)

4
3π 1 + 144π
(Iload)3,normalized =
2

sin(5wt − tan −1 20π ) = 0.004sin(5wt − 1.555)

4
5π 1 + 400π
(Iload)5,normalized =
2

sin(7 wt − tan −1 28π ) = 0.002sin(7 wt − 1.559)

4
7π 1 + 784π
(Iload)7,normalized =
2

sin(11wt − tan −1 44π ) = 0.0008sin(11wt − 1.564)

4
11π 1 + 1936π
(Iload)11,normalized =
2

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

It may be concluded that for L/R = 2T, the contribution to load current from 13th and higher
order harmonics are less than 1% of the fundamental component and hence they may be
neglected without any significant loss of accuracy.

Fig. 34.2(f) shows the load voltage and algebraic summation of the first five dominant harmonics
(fundamental, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 11th) in the load current, the expressions for which have been given
above. In Fig. 34.2(g) the load current waveforms of Fig. 34.2(e) and 34.2(f) have been
superimposed for comparison. It may be seen that the load current waveform of Fig. 34.2(f)
calculated using truncated series of the frequency domain analysis very nearly matches with the
exact waveform of Fig. 34.2(e), calculated using time domain analysis.

34.2 Analysis Of The Single-Phase Full Bridge Inverter

Single-phase half bridge inverter has already been described above. The single-phase full bridge
circuit (Fig. 34.1(b)) can be thought of as two half bridge circuits sharing the same dc bus. The
full bridge circuit will have two pole-voltages (VAO and VBO), which are similar to the pole
voltage VAO of the half bridge circuit. Both VAO and VBO of the full bridge circuit are square
waves but they will, in general, have some phase difference. Fig. 34.3 shows these pole voltages
staggered in time by ‘t’ seconds. It may be more convenient to talk in terms of the phase
displacement angle ‘Φ’ defined as below:
Φ = (2π ) Radians.……………………………….(34.13)
t
T
, where ‘t’ is the time by which the two pole voltages are staggered and ‘T’ is the time period of
the square wave pole voltages.

The pole voltage VAO of the full bridge inverter may again be written as in Eqn. 34.1, used
earlier for the half bridge inverter. Taking the phase shift angle ‘Φ’ into account, the pole-B

∑ nπdc sin n(wt − Φ) ………………………………………(34.14)

voltage may be written as
VBO =
2E
n =1,3,5,7,...,∞
Difference of VAO and VBO gives the line voltage VAB. In full bridge inverter the single phase
load is connected between points ‘A’ and ‘B’ and the voltage of interest is the load voltage VAB.

∑ nπdc [sin nwt − sin n(wt − Φ)] ………………………………………(34.15)

Taking difference of the voltage expressions given by Eqns. 34.1 and 34.14, one gets
VAB =
2E
n =1,3,5,7,...,∞

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

[sin wt − sin( wt − Φ)] = dc cos( wt − ) sin ……………………...(34.16)

Φ Φ
The fundamental component of VAB may be written as
VAB ,1 =
π π
2 Edc 4E
2 2
The nth harmonic component in VAB may similarly be written as
[sin nwt − sin n( wt − Φ)] = dc cos n( wt − ) sin
Φ nΦ
VAB ,n =
nπ nπ
2 Edc 4E
………….……(34.17)
2 2

From Eqn. 34.16, the rms magnitude of the fundamental component of load voltage may be

Φ
written as
(VAB ,1 ) rms = 0.9 Edc sin …………………………………………...……………….(34.18)
2
The rms magnitude of load voltage can be changed from zero to a peak magnitude of 0.9 Edc .
The peak load voltage magnitude corresponds to Φ = 180 degrees and the load voltage will be
zero for Φ = 00. For Φ = 180 degrees, the load voltage waveform is once again square wave of
time period T and instantaneous magnitude E.

As the phase shift angle changes from zero to 1800 the width of voltage pulse in the load voltage
waveform increases. Thus the fundamental voltage magnitude is controlled by pulse-width
modulation.

order harmonics for pulse width modulated waveform (except for Φ = 1800) is less than the
Also, from Eqns. 34.17 and 34.1 it may be seen that the line voltage distortion due to higher

corresponding distortion in the square wave pole voltage. In fact, for some values of phase shift

eliminated from the load voltage. For example, for Φ = 600 the load voltage will be free from 3rd
angle (Φ) many of the harmonic voltage magnitudes will drastically reduce or may even get

and multiples of third harmonic.

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

34.3 Voltage And Current Ratings Of Inverter Switches

Switches in each leg of the inverter operate in a complementary manner. When upper switch of a
leg is on the lower switch will need to block the entire dc bus voltage and vice versa. Thus the
switches must be rated to block the worst-case instantaneous magnitude of dc bus voltage. In
practical inverters the switch voltage ratings are taken to be somewhat higher than the worst-case
dc voltage to account for stray voltages produced across stray inductances, the turn-on transient
voltage of a power diode etc. For a well laid out circuit a 50% margin over the dc-bus voltage
may be the optimum switch voltage rating. Each switch of the inverter carries load current during
half of the current cycle. Hence the switches must be rated to withstand the peak magnitude of
instantaneous load current. The semiconductor switches have very small thermal time constant
and they cannot withstand overheating for more than a few milli seconds. Thus even though the
load current passes through the switches only in alternate half cycles, the thermal limit may be
reached during half cycle of current itself. It may be pointed out that each inverter switch
consists of a controlled switch in anti-parallel with a diode. The distribution of current between
the diode and the controlled switch will depend on the load power factor at the operating
frequency. In general both diode as well as the controlled switch should be rated to carry the
peak load current.

34.4 Applications Of Square Wave Inverter

The square wave voltage-source inverter discussed in this lesson finds application in many low
cost ac motor drives, uninterruptible power supply units and in circuits utilizing electrical
resonance between an inductor and a capacitor. Some examples of circuits utilizing resonance
phenomenon are induction heating units and electronic ballasts for fluorescent lamps.

Quiz Problems
1. A single-phase full bridge inverter with square wave pole voltages is connected to a dc
input voltage of 600 volts. What maximum rms load voltage can be output by the
inverter? How much will be the corresponding rms magnitude of 3rd harmonic voltage
(a) Approximately 270 volts of fundamental and 30 volts of 3rd harmonic voltage
(b) Approx. 480 volts fundamental and 160 volts of 3rd harmonic voltage
(c) Approx. 540 volts fundamental and 180 volts of 3rd harmonic voltage
(d) Approx. 270 volts fundamental and 90 volts of 3rd harmonic voltage
2. How does the output power handling capacity of a single-phase half bridge inverter
compare with that of a single-phase full bridge inverter when they are connected to same
dc bus voltage and the peak current capability of the inverter switches is also same. Also
compare their costs.
(a) The half bridge inverter can output double power but cost also doubles.
(b) The half bridge inverter can output only half the power but cost is less.
(c) The half bridge inverter can output only half the power but cost is nearly same
(d) The output power capability is same but half bridge inverter costs less.
3. A single-phase full bridge inverter is connected to a purely resistive load. Each inverter
switch consists of an IGBT in anti-parallel with a diode. For this load how does the diode
conduction loss compare with the IGBT conduction loss?

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Dr.Arkan A.Hussein Power Electronics Fourth Class

(a) Diode and IGBT will have nearly same conduction loss
(b) Diode conduction loss will be nearly half of the IGBT loss
(c) Diode will have no conduction loss
(d) IGBT will have no conduction loss
4. Using frequency domain analysis estimate the ratio of 5th and 7th harmonic currents in a
purely inductive load that is connected to the output of a single phase half bridge inverter
with square wave pole voltages.
(a) 5th harmonic current will be nearly double of the 7th harmonic current
(b) 5th harmonic current will be 40% more than the 7th harmonic current
(c) 5th harmonic current will be zero while 7th harmonic current will be present
(d) Both 5th and 7th harmonic currents will be zero

(Answers to the quiz problems: 1-d, 2-b, 3-c, 4-a)

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