In this paper, a 3-switch leg/phase inverter topology is realized for 9-phase variable pole-phase induction motor (9Ph-VPIM) drives. The 3-switch legs (3SL) in the proposed inverter are controlled with two non-intersecting phase shifted references to achieve a 3-level voltage excitation for each phase winding. These two non-intersecting references per leg limit the possible modulation index (MI) and may require a higher DC link voltage. The split winding concept and the phase grouping solutions are used to enhance the MI. In the split winding concept, phase winding of the <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2n</i> pole machine is divided into <italic xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">n</i> number of distinct windings and excited with the same voltage for attaining a uniform air gap flux. These coils are called cognate voltage coils (CVC). With these CVCs, different possible groupings are proposed to enhance the MI of a proposed 3SL/phase inverter. The symmetrical and efficient phase grouping solutions are analyzed and tested with an improved modulation index. Moreover, the proposed 9Ph-VPIM drive is controlled with carrier-based 3-φ SVPWM to further enhance the DC link voltage utilization. The proposed inverter will feed the effective phase by a 3-level voltage with suppressed harmonics resulting in a superior torque ripple. The proposed 3SL/phase inverter fed 5-hp 9Ph-VPIM drive is validated with the experimental prototype.
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