• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제15권5호
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• pp.1207-1216
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• 2015

In order to suppress the low frequency oscillation of the neutral-point voltage for three-level inverters, this paper proposes a new discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM) control method. The conventional sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) control has no effect on balancing the neutral-point voltage. Based on the basic control principle of DPWM, the relationship between the reference space voltage vector and the neutral-point current is analyzed. The proposed method suppresses the low frequency oscillation of the neutral-point voltage by keeping the switches of a certain phase no switching in one carrier cycle. So the operating time of the positive and negative small vectors is equal. Comparing with the conventional SPWM control method, the proposed DPWM control method suppresses the low frequency oscillation of the neutral-point voltage, decreases the output waveform harmonics, and increases both the output waveform quality and the system efficiency. An experiment has been realized by a neutral-point clamped (NPC) three-level inverter prototype based on STM32F407-CPLD. The experimental results verify the correctness of the theoretical analysis and the effectiveness of the proposed DPWM method.

• 전력전자학회논문지
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• 제27권1호
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• pp.56-62
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• 2022

In this paper, the effect of pulse width modulation methods on thermal loadings and power losses of single-phase five-level NPC inverters for photovoltaic systems are analyzed. The pulse width modulation methods affect the power losses of the NPC inverters and thus lead to different thermal loadings of NPC inverters. To identify the reliability-critical power device with respect to thermal stress, the thermal loadings of I- and T-type NPC inverters are analyzed by applying the unipolar pulse modulation method. Then, the effect of the discontinuous pulse width modulation method on power losses and thermal loadings of power devices of I- and T-type NPC inverters are analyzed. Finally, the operation of NPC inverters applying the discontinuous pulse modulation method is confirmed by experiments. The results show that the discontinuous pulse modulation method is able to improve the reliability of NPC inverters by reducing thermal loadings of reliability-critical power devices and it is more effective for T-type NPC inverters than I-type NPC inverters.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제18권5호
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• pp.1325-1335
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• 2018

This paper presents a discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM) method to reduce switching losses in an indirect matrix converter (IMC) drive. The IMC has a number of power semiconductor switches. In other words, it consists of a rectifier stage and an inverter stage for AC/AC power conversion, which are composed of 12 and 6 switching devices, respectively. Therefore, the switching devices of the IMC suffer from high switching losses in the IMC drives. Various topologies to reduce switching losses have been studied by eliminating a number of switches from the rectifier stage. In this study, in contrast to prior research, a DPWM method is presented to reduce the switching losses of the inverter stage. The effectiveness of the proposed method to reduce switching losses in IMC drives is verified by simulations and experimental results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제17권6호
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• pp.1490-1499
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• 2017

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) is generally considered to be a promising topology for medium-voltage and high-voltage applications. However, in order to apply it to high-power applications, a huge number of switching devices is essential. The numerous switching devices lead to considerable switching losses, high cost and a larger heat sink for each of the switching device. In order to reduce the switching losses of a MMC, this paper analyzes the performance of the conventional discontinuous pulse-width modulation (DPWM) method and its efficiency. In addition, it proposes a modified novel DPWM method for advanced switching losses reduction. The novel DPWM scheme includes an additional rotation method for voltage-balancing and power distribution among sub modules (SMs). Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness and performance of the proposed modulation method in terms of its switching losses reduction capability.

• 전력전자학회:학술대회논문집
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• 전력전자학회 2018년도 추계학술대회
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• pp.189-190
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• 2018

본 논문에서는 유도전동기의 토크 리플 및 스위칭 손실 저감을 위해 전압변조기법인 공간벡터변조(Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation, SVPWM) 기법과 불연속전압변조(Discontinuous Pulse Width Modulation, DPWM) 기법을 혼합하여 사용하는 새로운 변조기법을 제안한다. 제안하는 방식은 지령전압이 최대인 부근에서 SVPWM 기법을 사용하며, 나머지 구간에서는 DPWM 기법을 적용한다. 전 구간 단일기법을 적용할 때와 비교하여 제안하는 방식은 토크 리플 및 스위칭 손실을 효율적으로 저감시킬 수 있으며 시뮬레이션을 통해 타당성을 검증한다.

• 전력전자학회:학술대회논문집
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• 전력전자학회 2015년도 전력전자학술대회 논문집
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• pp.315-316
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• 2015

본 논문에서는 3-레벨 Neutral-Point-Clamped (NPC) 인버터의 DC-Link 중성점 전압 리플을 저감하여 인버터 출력 전압의 품질 신뢰성 향상이 가능한 새로운 Discontinuous Pulse Width Modulation (DPWM) 기법을 제안한다. NPC 인버터에서는 두 개의 커패시터로 이루어진 DC-Link 구조로 인해 상, 하단 DC-Link 커패시터 전압 불평형인 상황에서 DC-Link 중 성점 전압 리플이 발생한다. 중성점 전압 리플 발생 시 출력 전압의 품질을 보장할 수 없으며, 민감한 부하에 손상을 입힐 수 있다. 제안한 DPWM 알고리즘은 DC-Link 커패시터 전압을 조정하는 두 개의 오프셋을 사용하여 중성점 전압 리플을 저감한다. 또한, 시뮬레이션을 통해 본 논문에서 제안한 알고리즘의 타당성을 검증한다.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제13권2호
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• pp.232-242
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• 2013

To obtain phase currents information in AC drives, shunt sensing technology is known to show great performance in cost-effectiveness and therefore it is widely used in low cost applications. However, shunt sensing methods are unable to acquire phase currents in certain operation conditions. This paper deals with the derivation of the boundary conditions for phase current reconstruction in three-shunt sensing inverters and proposes a voltage injection method to expand the measurable areas. As the boundary conditions are deeply dependent on the switching patterns, they are typically analyzed on the voltage vector plane for space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) and discontinuous pulse width modulation (DPWM). In the proposed method, the voltage injection and its compensation are conducted within one sampling period. This guarantees fast current reconstruction and the injected voltage is decided so as to minimize the current ripple. In addition to the voltage injection method, a sampling point shifting method is also introduced to improve the boundary conditions. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the boundary condition derivation and the effectiveness of the proposed voltage injection method.

• 전력전자학회논문지
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• 제27권3호
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• pp.221-227
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• 2022

The reliability improvement of PV systems is an important factor in reducing the cost of PV energy because it is closely related to the annual energy production as well as the maintenance cost of PV systems. The reliability of PV inverters plays a key role in the reliability of PV systems because it is regarded as one of the most reliable critical parts of PV systems. The lifetime evaluation of PV inverters considering the mission profile in the design phase plays an important role in reliability design to ensure the required lifetime of PV inverters. In this paper, the lifetime of representative single-phase T-type and I-type NPC inverters are comparatively evaluated by considering the mission profile of a PV system recorded at Iza, Spain. Furthermore, the effect of the pulse width modulation methods on the lifetime is also discussed. The lifetime evaluation of PV inverters is performed at the component-level first and then the system level by considering all power devices.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제18권3호
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• pp.702-713
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• 2018

Power loss reduction and total harmonic distortion(THD) minimization are two important goals of improving three-level inverters. In this paper, an optimized pulse width modulation (PWM) strategy that can reduce switching losses and balance the neutral point with an optional THD of three-level neutral-point-clamped inverters is proposed. An analysis of the two-level discontinuous PWM (DPWM) strategy indicates that the optimal goal of the proposed PWM strategy is to reduce switching losses to a minimum without increasing the THD compared to that of traditional SVPWMs. Thus, the analysis of the two-level DPWM strategy is introduced. Through the rational allocation of the zero vector, only two-phase switching devices are active in each sector, and their switching losses can be reduced by one-third compared with those of traditional PWM strategies. A detailed analysis of the impact of small vectors, which correspond to different zero vectors, on the neutral-point potential is conducted, and a hysteresis control method is proposed to balance the neutral point. This method is simple, does not judge the direction of midpoint currents, and can adjust the switching times of devices and the fluctuation of the neutral-point potential by changing the hysteresis loop width. Simulation and experimental results prove the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed strategy.