Modified impedance-source inverter with continuous input currents and fault-tolerant operations

Impedance-source (Z-source) inverters are increasingly adopted in practice, where a high voltage gain is required. However, issues like drawing a non-continuous current from the DC source and ceasing the energy supply under DC source faults are also observed. In this paper, an embedded enhanced-boost Z-source inverter (EEB-ZSI) is thus proposed to tackle the issues. The proposed EEB-ZSI employs two DC sources, which enable the continuous input current and fault-tolerant operations (e.g., open-circuit and short-circuit faults in the DC sources). The operational principles are presented in detail with an in-depth circuit analysis. Moreover, the proposed EEB-ZSI is benchmarked with prior-art Z-source inverters. Experimental tests further demonstrate the effectiveness of EEB-ZSI regarding the continuous input current and flexible fault tolerance.</jats:p

A Switched Quasi-Z-Source Inverter with Continuous Input Currents

Impedance source converters as single-stage power conversion alternatives can boost and regulate the output voltages of renewable energy sources. Nevertheless, they, also known as Z-source inverters (ZSIs), still suffer from limited voltage gains and higher stresses across the components. To tackle such issues, extra diodes, passive components, and active switches can be utilized in the basic ZSIs. In this paper, a modified switched-quasi-Z-source inverter (S-qZSI) is proposed, which features continuous input currents and high boosting capability to boost output voltage by minor modifications of a prior-art topology. Furthermore, the voltage stress of the active switches is reduced, which contributes to a lower cost. The operation principles are discussed comprehensively. The performance of the proposed ZSI in terms of conversion ratio, voltage gain, and stresses on the power switches and capacitors is benchmarked with selected ZSIs. Finally, simulations and experimental tests substantiate the theoretical analysis and superior performance

Health Condition Monitoring and Fault-Tolerant Operation of Adjustable Speed Drives

Adjustable speed drives (ASDs) have been extensively used in industrial applications over the past few decades because of their benefits of energy saving and control flexibilities. However, the wider penetration of ASD systems into industrial applications is hindered by the lack of health monitoring and fault-tolerant operation techniques, especially in safety-critical applications. In this dissertation, a comprehensive portfolio of health condition monitoring and fault-tolerant operation strategies is developed and implemented for multilevel neutral-point-clamped (NPC) power converters in ASDs. Simulations and experiments show that these techniques can improve power cycling lifetime of power transistors, on-line diagnosis of switch faults, and fault-tolerant capabilities.The first contribution of this dissertation is the development of a lifetime improvement Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) method which can significantly extend the power cycling lifetime of Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBTs) in NPC inverters operating at low frequencies. This PWM method is achieved by injecting a zero-sequence signal with a frequency higher than that of the IGBT junction-to-case thermal time constants. This, in turn, lowers IGBT junction temperatures at low output frequencies. Thermal models, simulation and experimental verifications are carried out to confirm the effectiveness of this PWM method. As a second contribution of this dissertation, a novel on-line diagnostic method is developed for electronic switch faults in power converters. Targeted at three-level NPC converters, this diagnostic method can diagnose any IGBT faults by utilizing the information on the dc-bus neutral-point current and switching states. This diagnostic method only requires one additional current sensor for sensing the neutral-point current. Simulation and experimental results verified the efficacy of this diagnostic method.The third contribution consists of the development and implementation of a fault-tolerant topology for T-Type NPC power converters. In this fault-tolerant topology, one additional phase leg is added to the original T-Type NPC converter. In addition to providing a fault-tolerant solution to certain switch faults in the converter, this fault-tolerant topology can share the overload current with the original phase legs, thus increasing the overload capabilities of the power converters. A lab-scale 30-kVA ASD based on this proposed topology is implemented and the experimental results verified its benefits

The rebirth of the current source inverter: advantages for aerospace motor design

It is well known and widely accepted that the voltage source inverter (VSI) now dominates the world of electrical drives. Its success is probably due to its simplicity, high efficiency, and the widespread availability of VSs. This popularity has, in turn, influenced the evolution of the semiconductor industry, which has focused in recent years on devices tailored for VSIs. Thus, products such as depletion devices (normally off) and those without reverse voltage blocking have been widely marketed and used

Study of Novel Power Electronic Converters for Small Scale Wind Energy Conversion Systems

This chapter proposes a study of novel power electronic converters for small scale wind energy conversion systems. In this chapter major topologies of power electronic converters that used in wind energy converter systems have been analysed. Various topologies of DC/AC single stage converters such as high boost Z-source inverters (ZSI) have been investigated. New proposed schemes for inverters such as multilevel and Z-source inverters have been studied in this proposed chapter. Multilevel converters are categorized into three major groups according to their topologies which are diode clamped multilevel converters (DCM), cascade multilevel converters (CMC) with multiple isolated dc voltage sources and flying capacitor based multilevel converters (FCMC). Z-source inverters are divided to ZSI, qZSI and trans-ZSI types. Trans-ZSI is mostly used for high step-up single stage conversions

Recent Advances of Wind-Solar Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems for Power Generation: A Review

A hybrid renewable energy source (HRES) consists of two or more renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines and photovoltaic systems, utilized together to provide increased system efficiency and improved stability in energy supply to a certain degree. The objective of this study is to present a comprehensive review of wind-solar HRES from the perspectives of power architectures, mathematical modeling, power electronic converter topologies, and design optimization algorithms. Since the uncertainty of HRES can be reduced further by including an energy storage system, this paper presents several hybrid energy storage system coupling technologies, highlighting their major advantages and disadvantages. Various HRES power converters and control strategies from the state-of-the-art have been discussed. Different types of energy source combinations, modeling, power converter architectures, sizing, and optimization techniques used in the existing HRES are reviewed in this work, which intends to serve as a comprehensive reference for researchers, engineers, and policymakers in this field. This article also discusses the technical challenges associated with HRES as well as the scope of future advances and research on HRES