• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
• /
• v.12 no.3
• /
• pp.1203-1210
• /
• 2017

Switched-inductor (SL) Z-source three-level inverter is a novel high power topology. The SL based impedance network can boost the input dc voltage to a higher value than the single LC impedance network. However, as all the neutral-point-clamped (NPC) inverters, the SL Z-source three-level inverter has to balance the neutral-point (NP) potential too. The principle of the inverter is introduced and then the effects of NP potential unbalance are analyzed. A NP balancing method is proposed. Other than the methods for conventional NPC inverter without Z-source impedance network, the upper and lower shoot-through durations are corrected by the feedforward compensation factors. With the proposed method, the NP potential is balanced and the voltage boosting ability of the Z-source network is not affected obviously. Simulations are conducted to verify the proposed method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.14 no.2
• /
• pp.315-323
• /
• 2014

An optimized space vector pulse width modulation (SVPWM) method with common mode voltage elimination and neutral point potential balancing is proposed for an open-end winding induction motor. The motor is fed from both of the ends with two neutral point clamped (NPC) three-level inverters. In order to eliminate the common mode voltage of the motor ends and balance the neutral point potential of the DC link, only zero common mode voltage vectors are used and a balancing control factor is gained from calculation in the strategy. In order to improve the harmonic characteristics of the output voltages and currents, the balancing control factor is regulated properly and the theoretical analysis is provided. Simulation and experimental results show that by adopting the proposed method, the common mode voltage can be completely eliminated, the neutral point potential can be accurately balanced and the harmonic performance for the output voltages and currents can be effectively improved.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.16 no.3
• /
• pp.946-959
• /
• 2016

A novel Virtual Space Vector (VSV) modulation strategy for complete control of potential neutral point (NP) issues is proposed in this paper. The neutral point potential balancing problems of multi-level converters, which include elimination of low frequency oscillations and self-balancing for NP dc unbalance, are investigated first. Then a set of improved virtual space vectors with dynamic adjustment factors are introduced and a multi-objective optimization algorithm which aims to optimize these adjustment factors is presented in this paper. The improved virtual space vectors and the multi-objective optimization algorithm constitute the novel Virtual Space Vector modulation. The proposed novel Virtual Space Vector modulation can simultaneously recover NP dc unbalance and eliminate low frequency oscillations of the neutral point. Experiment results show that the proposed strategy has excellent performance, and that both of the neutral point potential issues can be solved.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.14 no.3
• /
• pp.519-530
• /
• 2014

A novel simplified pulse width modulation(PWM) strategy for neutral point clamped (NPC) three-level converter is proposed in this paper.The direct output voltage modulation is applied to reduce the calculation time. Based on this strategy, several optimized control methods are proposed. The neutral point potential balancing algorithm is discussed and a fine neutral point potential balancing scheme is introduced. Moreover, the minimum pulse width compensation and switching losses reduction can be easily achieved using this modulation strategy. This strategy also gains good results even with the unequal DC link capacitor. The modulation principle is studied in detail and the validity of this simplified PWM strategy is experimentally verified in this paper. The experiment results indicated that the proposed PWM strategy has excellent performance, and the neutral point potential can be balanced well with unequal DC link captaincies.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.19 no.1
• /
• pp.79-88
• /
• 2019

The neutral-point (NP) voltage of three-phase three-level NP-clamped converters is needed for balance. To maintain NP potential and suppress ripple, a novel NP voltage balancing strategy is proposed in this work. The mechanism of NP voltage variation is studied first. Then, the relationship between the disassembly of zero level (O level) and NP current is studied comprehensively. On these bases, two methods for selecting one of three output phases for the disassembly of its O level are presented. Finally, simulation and experimental results verify the validity and practicability of the proposed algorithms.

• Journal of the Semiconductor & Display Technology
• /
• v.14 no.4
• /
• pp.72-77
• /
• 2015

Three-level diode clamped multilevel inverter, generally known as neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter, has an inherent problem causing neutral point (NP) potential variation. Until now, the NP potential problem of variation has been investigated and lots of solutions have also been proposed. This paper presents a neutral point voltage control technology using the anti-windup PI controller and offset technology of PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) to control the variation of NPC 3-phase three-level inverter neutral point voltage. And the proposed algorithm is tested and verified using a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) in order to synchronize the phase voltage from the line voltage of grid. It significantly improves the voltage balancing under a solar fluctuation conditions of the inverter. Experimental results show the good performance and effectiveness of the proposed method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.16 no.4
• /
• pp.1306-1315
• /
• 2016

Modern power systems driven by high-power converters have become inevitable in view of the ever increasing demand for electric power. The total power loss can be reduced by limiting the switching losses in such power converters; increased power efficiency can thus be achieved. A reduced switching frequency that is less than a few hundreds of hertz is applied to power converters that produce output waveforms with high distortion. Selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation (SHEPWM) is an optimized low switching frequency pulse width modulation method that is based on offline estimation. This method can pre-program the harmonic profile of the output waveform over a range of modulation indices to eliminate low-order harmonics. In this paper, a SHEPWM scheme for three-phase three-leg neutral point clamped inverter is proposed. Aside from eliminating the selected harmonics, the DC capacitor voltages at the DC bus are also balanced because of the symmetrical pulse pattern over a quarter cycle of the period. The technique utilized in the estimation of switching angles involves the firefly algorithm (FA). Compared with other techniques, FA is more robust and entails less computation time. Simulation in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment and experimental verification in the very large scale integration platform with Spartan 6A DSP are performed to prove the validity of the proposed technique.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.19 no.3
• /
• pp.702-713
• /
• 2019

Multilevel Inverters (MLIs) are widely used in medium voltage applications due to their various advantages. In addition, there are numerous types of MLIs for such applications. However, the diode-less 3-level (3L) T-type Neutral Point Clamped (NPC) MLI is the most advantageous due to its low conduction losses and high potential efficiency. The power circuit of a 3L T-type NPC is derived by the conventional two level inverter by a slight modification. In order to explore the MLI performance for various Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) schemes, this paper examines the operation of a 3L (five level line to line) T-type NPC MLI for various types of Multi-Carriers Pulse Width Modulation (MCPWM) schemes. These PWM schemes are compared in terms of their voltage profile, total harmonic distortion (THD) and conduction losses. In addition, a 3L T-type NPC MLI is also compared with the conventional NPC in terms of number of switches, clamping diodes, main diodes and capacitors. Moreover, the capacitor-balancing problem is also investigated using the Neutral Point Fluctuation (NPF) method with all of the MCPWM schemes. A 1kW 3L T-type NPC MLI is simulated in MATLAB/Simulink and implemented experimentally and its performance is tested with a 1HP induction motor. The results indicate that the 3L T-type NPC MLI has better performance than conventional NPC MLIs.