Design and Control of a Bidirectional Active Front Converter Validated by Hardware-in-the-Loop

This paper addresses an application of Voltage Oriented Control (VOC) for a Three-Phase PWM Rectifier to achieve bidirectional power flow control. Theoretical analysis is provided to establish the requirements for operating the converter as a fully controlled rectifier or as a power inverter connected to the grid. The control and converter operation are validated through real-time emulation using a Hardware-in-The-Loop system (Typhoon HIL 402) and the TMS320f28335 DSP. Based on the results, the advantages, and disadvantages of employing VOC control for bidirectional converters are discussed.