Three-level Neutral Point Clamped Voltage Source Inverter Research Articles

A Novel Zero Dead-Time PWM Method to Improve the Current Distortion of a Three-Level NPC Inverter

This paper proposes a novel pulse width modulation (PWM) for a three-level neutral point clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI). When the conventional PWM method is used in three-level NPC VSI, dead time is required to prevent a short circuit caused by the operation of complementary devices on the upper and lower arms. However, current distortion is increased because of the dead time and it can also cause a voltage unbalance in the dc-link. To solve this problem, we propose a zero dead-time width modulation (ZDPWM) which does not require dead time used in complementary operation. The proposed technique applies the offset voltage to the space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) reference voltage for the same modulation index (MI) as the conventional SVPWM, but any complementary switching operation needs dead time. In addition, the proposed method is divided into four operation sections using the reference voltage and phase current to operate switching devices which flow the current depending on the section. This ZDPWM method is simply implemented by carrier and reference voltage that reduce the current distortion, because complementary operation that needs dead time is not implemented. However, the operation section is delayed due to the sampling delay that occurs during the experiment. Therefore, in this paper, we conduct a modeling of sampling delay to improve the delay of operation section. To verify the principle and feasibility of the proposed ZDPWM method, a simulation and experiment are implemented.

Modified Unipolar Carrier-Based PWM Strategy for Three-Level Neutral-Point-Clamped Voltage Source Inverters

This paper presents a simple modified unipolar carrier-based pulsewidth modulation (CB- PWM) strategy for the three-level neutral-point-clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI). Analytical expressions for the relationship between modulation reference signals and output voltages are derived. The proposed modulation technique for the three-level NPC VSI includes the maximum and minimum of the three-phase sinusoidal reference voltages with zero-sequence voltage injection concept. The proposed modified CB-PWM strategy incorporates a novel method that requires only of one triangular carrier wave for generate the gating pulses in three-level NPC VSI. It has the advantages of being simplifying the algorithm with no need of complex two/multi-carrier pulsewidth modulation or space vector modulation (SVM) and it's also simple to implement. The possibility of the proposed CB-PWM technique has been verified though computer simulation and experimental results.

Stabilization of multi DC bus link voltages of multilevel NPC VSI. Application to double stator induction motors

Stabilization of multi DC bus link voltages of multilevel NPC VSI. Application to double stator induction motors Voltage source multilevel inverters have become very attractive for power industries in power electronics applications during last years. The main purposes of studying multilevel inverters are the generation of output voltage signals with low harmonic distortion and reduction of switching frequency. An important issue of the multilevel inverter is the capacitor voltage-balancing problem. The unbalance of different DC voltage sources of multilevel neutral point clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI) constitutes the major limitation for the use of this new power converter. In this paper, we present study on the stability problem of the input DC voltages of the three-level Neutral Point Clamping (NPC) voltage source inverter (VSI). This inverter is useful for application in high voltage and high power area. In the first part, we remind the model of double stator induction motors (DSIM). Then, we develop control models of this inverter using the connection functions of the semi-conductors. We propose a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) strategy to control this converter. The inverter is fed by constant input DC voltages. In the last part, we study the stability problem of the input DC voltages of the inverter. A cascade constituted by two three-level PWM rectifiers - two three-level NPC VSI - DSIM is discussed. The results obtained show that the input DC voltages of the inverters are not stable. To solve this problem, we propose to use a half clamping bridge. This solution is very promising in order to stabilize the input DC voltages of this converters.

An optimized SVPWM switching strategy for three-level NPC VSI and a novel switching strategy for three-level two-quadrant chopper to stabilize the voltage of capacitors

Abstract Voltage source inverter (VSI) can produce single and three-phase (3P) AC voltages from a constant or variable DC voltage. There are many ways to control the VSI output voltage. Each control way produces some harmonics at the VSI output voltage. The space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) may be more effective than other modulation methods, e.g. harmonic injection, phase shifting, multi career pulse width modulation, in decreasing the low order harmonics (LOH). Different switching strategies (SSs) of power electronic devices in SVPWM have some specific advantages and disadvantages with regard to one another. In this paper, a comparative study between different SVPWM SSs is carried out by considering some objective functions such as total harmonic distortion (THD), power and switching losses, the ratio of the harmonic components to the fundamental component, distortion factor (DF). It is also shown that by selecting an optimized and appropriate SS for SVPWM, the harmonic orders, which are the multiples of the frequency index (FI), are eliminated. Then, to investigate the impact of variations of the capacitors voltage and switching frequency on power quality criteria, the most appropriate and optimized SS is applied to a 3P three-level (3L) neutral-point-clamped (NPC) VSI to supply a 3P load. This paper also presents a novel and optimized SS and control approach for a 3L two-quadrant (2Q) chopper in NPC VSI superconducting magnetic energy storage (SMES). Using the proposed SS, the voltage of the VSI capacitors in SMES can be independently controlled; also, the minimum power and switching losses - as well as the proper convection - can be achieved using this same strategy. The simulation results indicate that when combined with a proportional-integral (PI) control approach the proposed SS can be easily implemented in the power networks and can balance and stabilize the multi-level VSIs’ capacitor voltage level. The voltage variation of the capacitors in the steady state condition is less than (0.062%) which is 15 times better than the IEEE standard requirement (1%). To investigate the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed approach in stabilizing capacitor voltage, SMES performance using the presented approach is compared with that of SMES when the capacitors of the 3L VSI are replaced with equal and ideal voltage sources. This comparison is carried out from the power quality point of view and it is shown that the proposed SS with a PI controller is highly reliable.

Direct power control of grid connected PV systems with three level NPC inverter

This paper presents the control of a three-level Neutral Point Clamped (NPC) voltage source inverter for grid connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. The control method used is the Extended Direct Power Control (EDPC), which is a generic approach for Direct Power Control (DPC) of multilevel inverters based on geometrical considerations. Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) algorithms, that allow maximal power conversion into the grid, have been included. These methods are capable of extracting maximum power from each of the independent PV arrays connected to each DC link voltage level. The first one is a conventional MPPT which outputs DC link voltage references to EDPC. The second one is based on DPC concept. This new MPPT outputs power increment references to EDPC, thus avoiding the use of a DC link voltage regulator. The whole control system has been tested on a three-level NPC voltage source inverter connected to the grid and results confirm the validity of the method.