The Essential Role and the Continuous Evolution of Modulation Techniques for Voltage-Source Inverters in the Past, Present, and Future Power Electronics

The cost reduction of power-electronic devices, the increase in their reliability, efficiency, and power capability, and lower development times, together with more demanding application requirements, has driven the development of several new inverter topologies recently introduced in the industry, particularly medium-voltage converters. New more complex inverter topologies and new application fields come along with additional control challenges, such as voltage imbalances, power-quality issues, higher efficiency needs, and fault-tolerant operation, which necessarily requires the parallel development of modulation schemes. Therefore, recently, there have been significant advances in the field of modulation of dc/ac converters, which conceptually has been dominated during the last several decades almost exclusively by classic pulse-width modulation (PWM) methods. This paper aims to concentrate and discuss the latest developments on this exciting technology, to provide insight on where the state-of-the-art stands today, and analyze the trends and challenges driving its future

Multilevel Converters: An Enabling Technology for High-Power Applications

| Multilevel converters are considered today as the state-of-the-art power-conversion systems for high-power and power-quality demanding applications. This paper presents a tutorial on this technology, covering the operating principle and the different power circuit topologies, modulation methods, technical issues and industry applications. Special attention is given to established technology already found in industry with more in-depth and self-contained information, while recent advances and state-of-the-art contributions are addressed with useful references. This paper serves as an introduction to the subject for the not-familiarized reader, as well as an update or reference for academics and practicing engineers working in the field of industrial and power electronics.Ministerio de Ciencia y Tecnología DPI2001-3089Ministerio de Eduación y Ciencia d TEC2006-0386

Feed-forward Space Vector Modulation for Single-Phase Multilevel Cascade Converters with any DC voltage ratio

Modulation techniques for multilevel converters can create distorted output voltages and currents if the DC link voltages are unbalanced. This situation can be avoided if the instantaneous DC voltage error is not taken into account in the modulation process. This paper proposes a feed-forward space vector modulation method for a single-phase multilevel cascade converter. Using this modulation technique, the modulated output voltage of the power converter always generates the reference determined by the controller even in worst case voltage unbalance conditions. In addition the possibility of optimizing the DC voltage ratio between the H-bridges of the power converter is introduced. Experimental results from a 5kVA prototype are presented in order to validate the proposed modulation technique

An Advanced Three-Level Active Neutral-Point-Clamped Converter With Improved Fault-Tolerant Capabilities

A resilient fault-tolerant silicon carbide (SiC) three-level power converter topology is introduced based on the traditional active neutral-point-clamped converter. This novel converter topology incorporates a redundant leg to provide fault tolerance during switch open-circuit faults and short-circuit faults. Additionally, the topology is capable of maintaining full output voltage and maximum modulation index in the presence of switch open and short-circuit faults. Moreover, the redundant leg can be employed to share load current with other phase legs to balance thermal stress among semiconductor switches during normal operation. A 25-kW prototype of the novel topology was designed and constructed utilizing 1.2-kV SiC metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistors. Experimental results confirm the anticipated theoretical capabilities of this new three-level converter topology

Precise modelling of switching and conduction losses in cascaded h-bridge multilevel inverters

Nowadays, voltage source multilevel inverters are being used extensively in industry due to its many advantages, compared to conventional two level inverters, such as higher output voltage at low switching frequency, low voltage stress(dv/dt), lower total harmonic distortion (THD), less electro-magnetic interference (EMI), smaller output filter and higher fundamental output. However, the evaluation of multilevel inverter losses is much more complicated compared to two level inverters. This paper proposes an on-line model for precise calculation of conduction and switching losses for cascaded h-bridge multilevel inverter. The model is simple and efficient and gives clear process of loss calculation. A singlephase 7-level cascaded h-bridge with IGBT's as switching devices has been used as a case study of the proposed model. The inverter has been controlled using selective harmonic elimination in which the switching angles were determined using the Genetic Algorithm (GA). MATLAB-SIMULINK is used for the modelling and simulation

New trends and topologies for high power industrial applications: The multilevel converters solution

This paper reviews briefly the current scenarios where power electronics converters are being applied. In the paper, the main focus moves towards the high power applications, reviewing the different alternatives and topologies. The multilevel approach is studied in more depth, showing that is a good solution to the challenges that medium voltage-high power applications pose. Several industry examples are introduced and the most suitable modulation techniques for multilevel high power converters are explained. Among them, the recent selective harmonic mitigation method appears as a good solution to achieve a high performance. Finally the conclusions are addressed