Uninterruptible Power Supplies: Classification, Operation, Dynamics, and Control

Stoyan B. Bekiarov and Ali Emadi

Power Electronics and Motor Drives Laboratory
Electrical and Computer Engineering Department
Illinois Institute of Technology
Chicago, IL 60616-3793
Phone: (312) 567-8940; Fax: (312) 567-8976
EML: emadi@iit.edu
URL: http://www.ece.iit.edu/~emadi/

Abstract—This paper presents a comprehensive review of
Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems in terms of
topologies, operation, dynamics, and control. UPS systems are
classified with emphasis on static systems. This paper also
addresses fundamental problems faced in these systems in
different distributed and centralized applications. In addition,
a brief description of the conventional UPS systems, their
disadvantages, scope for improvement, advanced architectures,
role of power electronics, and current trends in UPS research
are explained. Negative impedance dynamics in UPS systems
with constant power loads are also introduced. Finally, this
paper concludes with a brief outline of the advancement to be
made in the future.
operation and related control strategies are addressed in
Section V. In Section VI, concept of negative impedance
instability in UPS systems with constant power loads is
introduced. Section VII deals with the control techniques
suitable for these systems. At last, Section VIII summarizes
the results obtained in this paper.
II. CLASSIFICATION
UPS systems are classified to three general types of
static, rotary, and hybrid static/rotary systems. In this
section, we explain these three categories of UPS systems.

I. INTRODUCTION A. Static UPS

Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) systems provide
uninterrupted, reliable, and high quality power for vital
loads. They, in fact, protect sensitive loads against power
outages as well as overvoltage and undervoltage conditions.
UPS systems also suppress line transients and harmonic
disturbances. Applications of UPS systems include medical
facilities, life supporting systems, data storage and computer
systems, emergency equipment, telecommunications,
industrial processing, and on-line management systems [1]-
[9].
Generally, an ideal UPS should be able to deliver
uninterrupted power and, simultaneously, provide the
necessary power conditioning for the particular power
application. Therefore, an ideal UPS should have the
following features: regulated sinusoidal output voltage with
low Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) independent from the
changes in the input voltage or in the load, on-line operation
that means zero switching time from normal to back-up
mode and vice versa, low THD sinusoidal input current and
unity power factor, high reliability, high efficiency, low EMI
and acoustic noise, electric isolation, low maintenance, and
low cost, weight, and size.
In this paper, classification, operation, dynamics, and
control of UPS systems are reviewed. In Section II, UPS
systems are classified to static, rotary, and hybrid
static/rotary systems. Static UPS systems are explained in
details. In Section III, distributed and centralized
applications are presented. Performance evaluation of UPS
systems is given in Section IV. Principles of parallel
Static UPS systems are the most commonly used UPS
systems. They have a broad variety of applications from low
power personal computers and telecommunication systems,
to medium power medical systems, to high power utility
systems. Their main advantages are high efficiency, high
reliability, and low THD. The inherent problems related to
static UPS systems are poor performance with nonlinear and
unbalanced loads and high cost for achieving very high
reliability. On-line, off-line, and line-interactive
configurations are the main types of static UPS systems.
1) On-line UPS: On-line UPS systems consist of a
rectifier/charger, a battery set, an inverter, and a static switch
(bypass). Other names for this configuration are “inverter-
preferred UPS” and “double-conversion UPS” [1]-[3]. Fig. 1
shows the block diagram of a typical on-line UPS. The
rectifier/charger continuously supplies the DC bus. Its power
rating is required to meet 100% of the power demanded by
the load as well as the power demanded for charging the
battery bank. The batteries are rated in order to supply power
during the back up time. The duration of this time varies in
different applications. The inverter is rated at 100% of the
load power since it must supplies the load during the normal
mode of operation as well as during the back up time. It is
connected in series with the load; hence, there is no transfer
time associated with the transition from normal mode to
stored energy mode. This is the main advantage of on-line
UPS systems. The static switch provides redundancy of the
power source in the case of UPS malfunction or overloading.

0-7803-7404-5/02/$17.00 (c) 2002 IEEE 597

The AC line and load voltages must be in phase in order to
use the static switch. This can be achieved easily by a
locked-phase control loop.
During normal mode of operation, the power to the load
is continuously supplied via the rectifier/charger and
inverter. In fact, a double conversion, i.e., AC/DC and
DC/AC, takes place. It allows a good line conditioning. The
AC/DC converter charges the battery set and also supplies
power to the load via the inverter. Therefore, it has the
highest power rating in this topology increasing the cost.
When the AC input voltage is outside the preset
tolerance, the inverter and battery maintain continuity of
power to the load. The duration of this mode is the duration
of preset UPS back-up time or till the AC line returns within
the preset tolerance. When the AC line returns, a phase-
locked loop makes the load voltage in phase with the input
voltage and after that the UPS system returns to normal
operating mode.
The main advantages of on-line UPS are very wide
tolerance to the input voltage variation and very precise
regulations of output voltage. In addition, there is no transfer
time during the transition from normal to stored energy
modes. It is also possible to regulate or change the output
frequency [3]. The main disadvantages of this topology are
low power factor, high THD at the input, and low efficiency.
The input current is destroyed by the rectifier unless an extra
Power Factor Correction (PFC) circuit is added; but, this
adds to the cost of the UPS system [4].
S t a tic
S w itc h
(B y p a s s )
AC A C /D C D C /A C
Load
L in e R e c tif ie r In v e rte r
B a tte ry B a n k
Fig. 1. Block diagram of a typical on-line UPS.
2) Off-line UPS: Off-line UPS configuration is also
known as “standby UPS” or “line-preferred UPS” [1], [2].
As is shown in Fig. 2, it consists of an AC/DC converter, a
battery bank, a DC/AC inverter, and a static switch. A filter
may be used at the output of the UPS or inverter to improve
the quality of the output voltage. The static switch is on
during the normal mode of operation. Therefore, load is
supplied from the AC line directly without any power
conditioning. The AC/DC converter charges the battery set.
It is rated at a much lower power rating than the
rectifier/charger in an on-line UPS since it is not required to
meet the power demand of the load. This, in turn, allows the
off-line UPS systems to be cheaper than on-line UPS
systems. The inverter is rated at 100% of the load demand. It
is connected in parallel to the load and stays standby during
the normal mode of operation. It is turned on only when the
primary power is out of a given preset tolerance or is not
598
available at all. During this mode of operation the power to
the load is supplied by the battery set via the inverter for the
duration of the preset back up time or till the AC line is back
again. The duration of the switching time depends on the
starting time of the inverter. The transfer time is usually
about ¼ of the line cycle, which is enough for most of the
applications such as personal computers.
The main advantages of this topology are simple design,
low cost, and small size. The line conditioning, when there is
such, is passive and, hence, the technique is very robust. On
the other hand, lack of real isolation of the load from the AC
line, no output voltage regulation, long switching time, and
poor performance with nonlinear loads, are the main
disadvantages.
Static Switch
AC Load
Line (Normaly on)
AC/DC
Rectifier/
DC/AC
Inverter
Charger
Battery Bank
Fig. 2. Block diagram of a typical off-line UPS.
3) Line-interactive UPS: Line-interactive UPS systems,
as is shown in Fig. 3, consist of a static switch, a series
inductor, a bi-directional converter, and a battery bank. An
optional output filter can be added at the output of the bi-
directional converter or at the input side of the load. A line-
interactive UPS can operate either as an on-line UPS or as an
off-line UPS. For an off-line line-interactive UPS, the series
inductor is not required. However, most of the line-
interactive UPS systems operate on-line in order to either
improve the power factor of the load or regulate the output
voltage for the load.
S e rie s In d u c to r
AC
L in e
S ta tic
S w itc h
Load
B i-d ire c tio n a l
A C /D C
C o n v e rte r
B a tte ry B a n k
Fig. 3. Block diagram of a typical line-interactive UPS.
When the AC line is within the preset tolerance, it feeds
the load directly. The AC/DC converter is connected in
parallel with the load and charges the battery. It may also
supply the reactive power required to keep the power factor
close to unity or to regulate the output voltage [1], [5]. In
stored-energy mode of operation, the bi-directional converter
operates as an inverter and supplies the load from the battery
set. The static switch disconnects the AC line in order to
prevent back feed from the inverter.
The main advantages of the line-interactive UPS
systems are simple design and, as a result, high reliability
and lower cost compared to on-line UPS systems. They also
have good harmonic suppression for the input current. Since
this is a single stage conversion topology, the efficiency is
higher than that of the double-conversion UPS. The main
disadvantage is the lack of effective isolation of the load
from the AC line. Employing a transformer in the output can
eliminate this; but, it will add to the cost, size, and weight of
the UPS system. Furthermore the output voltage
conditioning is not good because the inverter is not
connected in series with the load. In addition, since the AC
line supplies the load directly during the normal mode of
operation, there is no possibility for regulation of the output
frequency.
The new series-parallel line-interactive topology, called
“delta-conversion” UPS, can achieve simultaneously both
unity power factor and precise regulation of the output
voltage, which is not possible with a conventional line-
interactive UPS [6]. Its configuration is shown in Fig. 4. It
consists of two bi-directional converters connected to a
common battery set, static switch, and a series transformer.
The series bi-directional converter is rated at about 20% of
of this UPS is relatively high. Therefore, the delta-
conversion UPS is used in high power rating applications.
However, the complicated control of this topology limits its
applications.
B. Rotary UPS
A typical rotary UPS is shown in Fig. 5. It consists of an
AC motor, a DC machine, an AC generator, and a battery
bank. Electric machines are mechanically coupled. There are
two operating modes: normal and stored energy. During the
normal mode of operation, the AC line supplies the AC
motor, which drives the DC machine. The DC machine
drives the AC generator, which supplies the load. During the
stored energy mode of operation, the battery bank supplies
the DC machine, which, in turn, drives the AC generator.
The AC generator supplies the load. The rotary UPS systems
are much more reliable than the static UPS systems. Yet,
they require more maintenance and have much bigger size
and weight.
Static Switch
(Bypass)
AC Motor DC Machine AC Generator
AC
Line
M M/G G Load

the output power of the UPS and it is connected via a

transformer in series with the AC line. The second bi-
directional converter is the usual inverter for a line-
interactive UPS connected in parallel to the load and rated at
Battery Bank
100% of the output power.
Fig. 5. Block diagram of a typical rotary UPS.
SeriesTransformer
AC Static
Line Switch Load

C. Hybrid Static/Rotary UPS

Series
DC Link
Parallel
Hybrid static/rotary UPS systems combine the main
Bi-directional
Converter
Bi-directional
converter
features of both static and rotary UPS systems. They have
low output impedance, high reliability, excellent frequency
stability, and low maintenance requirements [7], [8]. In Fig.
battery set 6, a typical hybrid static/rotary UPS is depicted. It consists
of a bi-directional AC/DC converter, an AC motor, an AC
Fig. 4. Block diagram of a typical series-parallel line-interactive UPS.
generator, a battery bank, and a static switch. Hybrid UPS
systems are usually used in high power applications.
Parallel converter keeps output voltage stable and
precisely regulated by PWM control. Series converter Static Switch
compensates any differences between output and input (Bypass)

voltages. It also controls the input power factor to unity and, AC Motor AC Generator

at the same time, controls the charging of the battery. When AC

Line
Switch M G Load
the AC line is within the preset tolerance, most of the power
is supplied directly from the AC line to the load. Only a
Bi-directional
small portion of the total power, usually up to 15%, flows AC/DC
through the series and parallel converters. This power is Converter

needed to compensate for any differences between the input

and the output voltages and to make the input power factor
unity. Since an important portion of the power flows without Battery Bank

any conversion from the AC line to the load, the efficiency Fig. 6. Block diagram of a typical hybrid static/rotary UPS.

599
 III. APPLICATIONS
UPS systems not only supply power during the
blackouts, but also, in most cases, provide power
conditioning. They are now not only highly desirable, but
also a required standard in many cases.
A. Distributed Approach
In a distributed approach, many separate UPS units
operate in parallel to supply critical loads. UPS units are
placed flexibly in the system to form a critical load network.
A typical distributed UPS system is shown in Fig. 7.
UPS Load
AC
Line
Static
Switch
Secure Network UPS
UPS
Load Load
Load
UPS UPS
Fig. 7. Block diagram of a typical distributed UPS system.
Distributed UPS systems have many advantages. They
are highly reliable because of the redundancy. In fact, it is an
advantage to achieve the so called N+1 redundancy in
distributed UPS systems, where N UPS units supply the load
and one additional unit stays in reserve. They are also highly
flexible to increase the capacity of the system, when the load
grows, by simply adding additional units. The problems
associated with distributed UPS systems are the following.
First, the load sharing between separate units has to be very
fast and precise because of the fast dynamic response of
each module and the low overload limit of a typical static
UPS. In practice, this load sharing is difficult to achieve and
require very fast and complicated digital controllers. The
second disadvantage is that the monitoring of the whole
system is difficult and requires specially trained staff [9].
The distributed approach is expected to be more attractive
for highly proliferated loads such as medical equipment, data
processing, and telecommunications.
B. Centralized Approach
In centralized approach, one large UPS unit supplies all
the critical loads. Main goal is to ensure the continuous
operation of the whole system rather than the operation of
specific critical loads. This approach is more desirable for
industrial and utility applications. The problems here are
associated with the high relative cost for achieving
redundancy and increasing of capacity with load expansion.
Centralized approach offers a clear advantage in respect
to maintenance and service of UPS systems. A specially
600
trained group of staff will be in charge of maintenance and
service reducing the risk of misuse of the system and
increasing its reliability. Employing line-interactive
topology in centralized UPS systems can give some
additional useful functions apart from ensuring the
continuity of the power supply. By using a parallel-
connected UPS to control the real and reactive power drawn
from the AC line, one can use it for load leveling, voltage
regulation, harmonic suppression, or reactive compensation.
Capability of line-interactive UPS systems to control
real and reactive power flow from the AC line is very
valuable from power system operation and control point of
view. Utilities use parallel UPS systems as Battery Energy
Stored Systems (BESS) for load leveling, voltage stabilizing,
frequency control, and active filtering [10]. As a load
leveling device, BESS helps to cover the peak power
demanded by the loads. BESS can also work as a frequency
control device if its capacity is large enough compared to the
overall power of the system. It can supply additional real
power to the system in the case of generator outage in order
to stabilize the frequency.
IV. PERFORMANCE EVALUATION
Performance of a UPS system is evaluated in terms of
several factors. First and the most important factor is the
quality of the output voltage. The output voltage should be
sinusoidal with a low THD, usually less than 5% even when
feeding non-linear or unbalanced loads. In addition, UPS
systems should have good transient response towards sudden
changes in the load. They should also be capable of
maintaining the regulation of the output voltage.
Considering the power electronic topologies, on-line
UPS configuration gives superior performance followed by
line-interactive UPS and finally by off-line UPS. In on-line
UPS system, the inverter is connected in series with the load
in both normal and stored-energy operating modes and
continuously provides power conditioning to the load. In
line-interactive UPS systems, the inverter is connected in
parallel with the load and during the normal mode provides
only limited power conditioning to the load. Only during the
stored-energy mode of operation, the performance of line-
interactive UPS can be the same as that of the on-line UPS.
The second important factor in terms of which
performance of UPS systems is evaluated is the power factor
of the input current. For higher power applications, active
Power Factor Correction (PFC) techniques are used. In these
techniques either a PWM rectifier is controlled in PFC
technique [11] or an additional DC/DC PFC circuit is used
[12]. These active techniques are applicable only for on-line
and off-line UPS topologies. For line-interactive UPS
systems, PFC is achieved by controlling the power angle
between the input and output voltages [13].
Another important factor for evaluating performance of
UPS systems is the transfer time. In this aspect, the on-line
UPS topology is superior. Its configuration naturally ensures
that the load is continuously supplied with power without
any transfer time. The transfer time in line-interactive UPS
systems depends on the time necessary for converting the
power flow from the battery bank through the inverter to the
load. Improved performance is achieved by choosing the DC
bus capacitor voltage at the battery side to be slightly higher
than the floating voltage of the batteries. Therefore, when
the AC line fails, it is not necessary to sense the failure
from a common DC link, supply loads connected to a critical
bus [15]. In addition, in a system with several UPS units
operating in parallel, UPS modules are close to each other
and parallel operation is achieved by communication
between separate units [16]-[19].
AC/DC
Rectifier

because the DC bus voltage will immediately fells under the AC AC/DC
DC/AC
Inverter Load
Line 1
floating voltage of the batteries and the power flow will Rectifier
DC/AC Load
naturally turn to the load. For off-line UPS systems, the AC/DC
Inverter

transfer time is the longest. It depends upon the speed of Rectifier

DC/AC
sensing the failure of the AC line and starting the inverter. AC/DC
Secure DC
Ring Bus
Inverter

Rectifier
DC/AC Load
Inverter
V. PARALLEL OPERATION AC AC/DC
Line 2 Rectifier
A typical on-line UPS consists of an AC/DC rectifier, a DC/AC
Inverter
battery bank, and a DC/AC inverter. The concept of parallel AC/DC
Rectifier
operation can be applied to rectifiers alone, to inverters Battery
alone, or to the whole UPS. As shown in Fig. 8, two or more Bank

AC/DC rectifiers can operate in parallel to supply the DC Fig. 9. Block diagram of a typical UPS with parallel configurations forming
link with rectified voltage/current. On the other side of the a ring DC bus.
DC link, one or more inverters supply the critical loads.
VDC VDC

Static Switch
(Bypass) Vnom Vnom
Vdrop
Vdrop
AC/DC DC/AC
Rectifier Inverter

AC AC/DC DC/AC
Load
Line Rectifier Inverter I1 I 1' IDC1 I2 I 2' IDC2

Fig. 10. Voltage drop characteristics of the rectifier groups in Fig. 9.

Battery Bank DC/AC
AC/DC
Rectifier Inverter

A. Control Strategies in Parallel Operated UPS Systems

Fig. 8. Block diagram of a typical UPS with several rectifiers and inverters
in parallel.
The concept of parallel operation can be taken further,
as shown in Fig. 9, where two separate rectifiers, formed a
DC ring bus, fed from separate AC lines [14]. The load
sharing is achieved by built-in voltage drop. In fact, changes
in DC voltage are used as communication signals. Principle
of operation of the UPS system in Fig. 9 can be explained by
using Fig. 10. A change in load causes a corresponding
change in DC voltage. For example, a load increase causes a
decrease in DC voltage. Rectifiers work in voltage control
mode to increase their currents in order to restore the proper
voltage level. The overall increase in current (∆I=∆I1-∆I2) is
distributed between the separate rectifiers by the build-in
voltage drops. It can be seen in Fig. 10 that the steeper the
voltage drop, less load will be taken from the rectifier. This
configuration is used mostly in industrial applications where
many different critical loads have to be supplied.
The concept of parallel operation can also be applied to
inverters. In this configuration, two or more inverters, fed
1) Concentrated Control: In this control method, as
shown in Fig. 11, a Phase Locked Loop (PLL) in each
inverter is used to synchronize its output voltage in
frequency and phase with the voltage of the critical bus
ensuring proper real power load sharing between separate
inverters. A parallel control unit detects the total load current
I, divides it by number of inverters n in the system, and
passes the signal I/n to each inverter. This signal is used as a
reference for the minor current control loop, which takes as a
feedback signal the current through the output filter inductor.
Both signals are compared and an error is obtained, which is
used to compensate any inequality in voltage amplitude of
different inverters. Therefore, a proper reactive power load
sharing is achieved [19].
2) Master-Slave Control: Basically, the master-slave
control is the same as the concentrated control. The
difference is that only the master unit has enabled the PLL
which is in charge of providing constant sinusoidal output
voltage synchronized in frequency and phase with the

601
critical bus voltage. The other inverters work as slaves, VI. NEGATIVE IMPEDANCE DYNAMICS
which are controlled to track the reference current provided
In general, there are two kinds of loads for UPS
by the parallel control unit. The parallel control unit has the
systems. One group is conventional positive incremental
same function as in a concentrated control method. Hence,
impedance loads that require a regulated voltage for their
the reference current derives from load current; so, it can
operation. The other group is constant power loads sinking
serves as a frequency and phase reference as well. As a
constant power from their input power supply.
result, the slave units do not need to have separate PLL
Power electronic converters, when tightly regulated,
circuits enabled. If the master unit fails, one of the slave
behave as constant power loads. In fact, there is a trend in
units replaces it by simply enabling its PLL circuit [15],
the power electronic loads of UPS systems to be constant
[17]-[19].
power. On the other hand, several loads such as electric
Critical Bus motors, actuators, and power electronic converters have to
AC
be controlled such that constant output power is maintained
for them. If we neglect the losses, input power is constant.
Vr + Voltage V* PWM
Line Regulator Inverter
-
fo
+ PLL
f*
As a result, these loads present constant power
-
UPS #1 fcr
characteristics to the UPS systems.
An example of constant power loads is a DC/AC
I1
+

-
inverter which drives an electric motor and tightly regulates
Load the speed when the rotating load has one-to-one torque-
I/n
speed characteristic. Usually, a controller tightly regulates
+
In
the speed; therefore, the speed is almost constant. Since the
-
rotating load has one-to-one torque-speed characteristic, for
-
every speed there is one and only one torque. As a result, for
Voltage V*
a constant speed, torque is constant and power, which is the
Vr + PWM
Regulator Inverter
f*

UPS #n
fo
+
- fcr
PLL multiplication of speed and torque, is constant. If we assume
a constant efficiency for the drive system, considering the
Fig. 11. Block diagram of a typical concentrated control strategy. constant power of the rotating load, the input power of the
DC/AC inverter will be constant. Therefore, the DC/AC
In the above two described methods, a failure in parallel inverter presents a constant power load characteristic to its
control circuit can cause a whole system failure. This is input power supply. Another example is a DC/DC converter
prevented in the distributed control method. Each inverter which feeds an electric load and tightly regulates the voltage
sends signals to the others. Compensating voltage and when the load has one-to-one voltage-current characteristic.
frequency signals are sent to each inverter [19]. In constant power loads, although the instantaneous
value of impedance is positive; but, the incremental
3) Wireless Independent Control: In this method, there impedance is always negative. In fact constant power loads
are no inner-connective load sharing wires between have negative impedance characteristics, which might
inverters. Control is based on information available locally impact the power quality and stability of the UPS systems.
at the inverter terminals: voltage, current, and frequency. Current through a constant power load decreases/increases
Each inverter has a build-up frequency drop characteristic when the voltage across it increases/decreases. This is a
for real power load sharing and a build-up voltage drop destabilizing effect for the power supply system and known
characteristic for reactive power load sharing [9], [16], [19]. as negative impedance instability. Fig. 12 depicts the
It is well known that when there is an unbalance in generated negative impedance behavior of constant power loads.
and consumed real power in the system, there is a change in Because of the non-linearity and time-dependency of
the system frequency. Hence, the frequency can be used as a power converters and because of the negative impedance
communication signal between two inverter connected in destabilizing characteristics of constant power loads,
parallel. For example, if the real power demanded by the two classical linear control methods, which are often used to
inverters in parallel is increased by ∆P=∆P1+∆P2, than the design controllers for UPS systems, have stability limitations
frequency will initially drop by ∆f. The increase of power around the operating points. In [20]-[22], we have presented
∆P will be taken by separate inverters accordingly to the an assessment of the negative impedance instability concept
slope of their build-up frequency drop. New steady state of the constant power loads in the multi-converter power
equilibrium will be achieved at a lower frequency. In order electronic systems. Furthermore, recommendations on the
to restore the initial frequency the whole drop characteristic design of power supply systems to avoid negative
has to be shifted up vertically. A proper active power load impedance instability have been given. Different stabilizing
sharing control is then implemented without communication control methods have been proposed in [20]-[22] to ensure
needs between inverters. large-signal stability.

602
 P = Cons tan t
V
V=
I
∆V
<0
∆V ∆I
∆I
Fig. 12. The negative impedance behavior of constant power loads.
VII. CONTROL TECHNIQUES
THD of the output voltage and dynamic responses of a
UPS system are among the most important performance
features of the UPS. They depend mostly on the control
strategy applied to the UPS inverter. UPS control strategy as
well as UPS power electronic topology determine the overall
performance of the UPS systems.
A. Single Voltage Control Loop Strategy
This strategy, as shown in Fig. 13, uses a single
feedback loop to provide well-regulated output voltage with
low THD. The feedback control can be continuous [23] or
discontinuous [24], [25]. Analogue techniques are used in
continues approach. The most usual continuous feedback
control is Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM), which can be of
natural sampling type, average type, or instantaneous type
[26], [27].
Vr +
K(s)
PWM
Modulator
DC/AC
Inverter
-
Fig. 13. Block diagram of a single feedback loop.
In natural sampling type, the peak value of the output
voltage is detected and compared with a reference voltage in
order to obtain the error, which is used to control the
reference to the modulator. The average approach is
basically the same; but, the sensed voltage is converted to an
average value and after that is compared with a reference
signal. These approaches control only the amplitude of the
output voltage and are good only at high frequencies. In
instantiations voltage feedback SPWM control, the output
voltage is continuously compared with the reference signal
improving dynamic performances of the UPS inverter [27].
B. Multiple Control Loop Strategy
Better performance even with non-linear and step-
changing loads can be achieved by multiple control loop
strategies [28]. As shown in Fig. 14, there are two control
loops: an outer and an inner. The outer control loop uses the
output voltage as a feedback signal, which is compared with
a reference signal. The error is compensated by a PI
integrator to achieve stable output voltage under steady-state
operation. This error is also used as a reference signal for the
inner current regulator loop, which uses the inductor [28] or
the capacitor [29] output filter current as the feedback signal.
The minor current loop ensures fast dynamic responses
I enabling good performances with nonlinear or step-changing
loads.
IL* L Vo
V* + PI + Current DC/AC
-
Regulator
-
Regulator Inverter
Load
Io
IL C
Fig. 14. Block diagram of a typical control system with multiple feedback
loops.
The basic current regulators employed as minor current
loop are: hysteresis regulators, sinusoidal PWM regulator,
and predictive regulators. In a typical hysteresis regulator,
the reference signal is compared with the feedback signal.
The sign and predetermined amplitude of the error determine
the output of the modulator, which has two possible levels
+/-Vout. The duration between two successive levels is
L
determined by the slope of the reference signal. The output
V
o voltage tracks the reference signal within the upper and
C Load
lower boundary levels [30], [31]. This hysteresis control has
fast transient response; but, the switching frequency varies
widely.
In SPWM control technique, the output voltage
feedback is compared with a sine reference signal and the
error voltage is compensated by a PI-regulator to produce
the current reference. The current through the inductor or
the capacitor is sensed and compared with the reference
signal. After compensated by a P-regulator, the error signal
is compared with a triangular waveform to generate SPWM
signal for switching control. The SPWM current control has
constant switching frequency and also provides fast dynamic
responses [29], [32].
In predictive current control method, the switching
instants are determined by suitable error boundaries. When
the current vector touches the boundary line, the next
switching state vector is determined by prediction and
optimization in order to minimize the error [33]. Predictive
current control requires a good knowledge of the load
parameters. All these current regulators are typically used as
an inner loop to regulate the current in the filter inductor.
The current reference for the current regulator is obtained by
summing together the error in an outer voltage loop with the
actual load current to yield the rated output voltage.
603
 VIII. CONCLUSIONS
A general classification of UPS systems has been
explained. A brief description of the topology, operation,
and applications has been presented with emphasis on static
UPS systems. Basic principles of parallel operation have
also been explained. In addition, different configurations as
well as basic control strategies for UPS systems operated in
parallel have been described. Effects of constant power loads
on the stability and dynamics of UPS systems have been
introduced as well. Furthermore, UPS control systems have
been reviewed. A brief description of the two main control
techniques of single voltage control loop and multiple
control loops has been presented. The basic current
regulators employed as a minor current loop in multiple
control strategies, such as hysteresis regulators, sinusoidal
PWM regulator, and predictive regulators, have been
described.
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