Design and Control of a Series DC Active Filter (SDAF) for MVDC Marine Applications

Medium Voltage DC (MVDC) power systems have become more prevalent in industry, specifically marine distribution systems due in part to improved power density among the topology’s components. One drawback to MVDC systems is the ripple generated from the MVDC active rectifier, which can affect downstream loads (e.g., propulsion loads) which are fed by the MVDC bus. This paper explores an MVDC series DC active filter (SDAF) which is designed to attenuate unwanted harmonics present on the MVDC bus, leading to improved power quality of the system with tight and rapid control over the DC bus voltage. The addition of representative loads such as an AC permanent magnet synchronous motor (PMSM) is also explored.