'Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)'
Doi
Abstract
A novel bidirectional ac-dc multilevel converter
based on four quadrant switches is proposed. This new
converter can establish nine voltage levels downstream the
coupling filter used to interface with the power grid, and,
comparing with conventional two- or three-level converters, it
operates with improved ac-side current, both for operation as
active rectifier (on-grid), grid-tied inverter (on-grid) or voltage
inverter (off-grid). A detailed description of the converter is
exhibited, highlighting its main advantages according to the
applications where it can be employed in smart grid scenarios.
In order to confirm its viability, a considerable set of results is
presented and discussed, establishing an overall comparison
with conventional converters. Moreover, the proposed
converter is validated operating as active rectifier, as grid-tied
inverter, and as voltage inverter, controlled in closed-loop by
current or voltage. The details of the proposed power converter
hardware and the implementation of the digital algorithm,
based on a fixed switching frequency structure, are clarified and
discussed throughout the paper.This work has been supported by COMPETE: POCI-010145-FEDER-007043 and FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia within the Project Scope: UID/CEC/00319/2013. This work is financed by the ERDF – European Regional Development Fund through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation – COMPETE 2020 Programme, and by National Funds through the Portuguese funding agency FCT within project SAICTPAC/0004/2015 – POCI – 01–0145–FEDER–016434. Mr. Tiago Sousa is supported by the doctoral scholarship SFRH/BD/134353/2017 granted by of the FCT project 0302836 NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-030283.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio