Design of 1 kVA Shunt Compensator Test Bench

With the need for Power Quality Improvement in Distribution System, the need to test the possible solutions for this dynamic problem increases. Although simulation tools are available, they do not give practical output and the knowledge gained from the design of a test setup is unparalleled. Hardware design not only improves the understanding, but also educates about the various sub-systems involved in the proper functioning of the system. This approach also helps to find better solutions to overcome the shortcomings of the system and fine tune the tested system into a better system. In this paper, the hardware design procedure for a 1 kVA system is presented. The system contains three-phase source, load and a parallelly connected shunt compensator. Three-phase shunt compensator is configurable into two topologies four-leg and three-leg Voltage source converter. Further, circuits pertaining to the pre-charging, gate signal conditioning, followed by the combined schematic design and three-dimensional model of the PCB is also described and presented.