An Improved Algorithm for AC Impedance Extraction

The overall system stability of interconnected electrical and electronic systems is associated with the input and output impedances of each individual system, therefore, accurate AC impedance measurement for a linear and nonlinear systems are imperative. These impedances are normally measured using small-signal frequency injection techniques. However, the harmonic transfers from the output side to the input side and vice versa deteriorates the measured results, making them ambiguous. These harmonic transfers cause the problems of frequency aliasing as well as spectral leakages leading to inaccurate measurements of results. In order to achieve the precise and accurate results, there is a need to adopt such an impedance measuring technique which is the best among the available techniques. A new algorithm is proposed to modify the range of frequencies of interest and inject such small-signal frequencies which do not interfere with the system harmonics. The measurement of the AC impedance of the three-phase RL circuit utilizing three different small-signal injection techniques is performed. From the results displayed, it is clear that all the techniques perform well, therefore, the most simple, single phase line-current injection was selected for the AC impedance measurement of the nonlinear switching circuit such as six-pulse rectifier. The issues discussed above are more serious in nonlinear switching circuit because of the presence of higher order switching harmonics in the circuit. The proposed algorithm is applied to measure the output-impedance of the three-phase AC power supply as well as the AC input-impedance of the six-pulse rectifier. These results of the switch vs average model and that of average model vs. experimental prototype are displayed for comparison, and it is clear that the proposed algorithm offers much-improved results.