Input Current Characteristics of a Three-Phase Diode Rectifier with Capacitive Filter Under Line Voltage Unbalance Condition

The three-phase diode rectifier with a capacitive filter is highly sensitive to line voltage unbalance, and may cause significantly unbalanced line currents even under slightly unbalanced voltage condition. This paper presents an analysis of this 'unbalance amplification' effect for an ideal rectifier circuit without ac-and dc-side inductors. The voltage unbalance is modeled by introducing a deviation voltage superimposed on balanced three-phase line voltages. With proper approximations, closed-form expressions for symmetrical components of the line current and current unbalance factor are derived in terms of the voltage unbalance factor, filter reactance, and load current. The validity of analytical predictions is confirmed by simulation.