• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.20 no.4
• /
• pp.337-343
• /
• 2015

The multi-level inverters are highly efficient for high-power and medium-voltage AC driving applications, such as high-speed railway systems and renewable energy resources, because such inverters generate lower total harmonic distortion (THD) and electromagnetic interface (EMI). Lower switching stress occurs on switching devices compared with conventional two-level inverters. Depending on the multi-level inverter topology, the required components and number of switching devices are different, influencing the overall efficiency. Comparative studies of multi-level inverters based on loss analysis and output characteristic are necessary to apply multi-level inverters in high-power AC conversion systems. This paper proposes a theoretical loss analysis method based on piecewise linearization of characteristic curves of power semiconductor devices as well as loss analysis and output performance comparison of five-level neutral-point clamped, flying capacitor inverters, and high-level cascaded H-bridge multi-level inverters.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.13 no.2
• /
• pp.296-303
• /
• 2013

This paper proposes a high efficiency three-phase cascaded phase shifted H-bridge multi-level inverter without DC/DC converters for grid-tied multi string photovoltaic (PV) applications. The cascaded H-bridge topology is suitable for PV applications since each PV module can act as a separate DC source for each cascaded H-bridge module. The proposed phase shifted H-bridge multi-level topology offers advantages such as operation at a lower switching frequency and a lower current ripple when compared to conventional two level topologies. It is also shown that low ripple sinusoidal current waveforms are generated with a unity power factor. The control algorithm permits the independent control of each DC link voltage with a maximum power point for each string of PV modules. The use of the controller area network (CAN) communication protocol for H-bridge multi-level inverters, along with localized PWM generation and PV voltage regulation are implemented. It is also shown that the expansion and modularization capabilities of the H-bridge modules are improved since the individual inverter modules operate more independently. The proposed topology is implemented for a three phase 240kW multi-level PV power conditioning system (PCS) which has 40kW H-bridge modules. The experimental results show that the proposed topology has good performance.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.11 no.3
• /
• pp.239-246
• /
• 2006

This paper suggests a new modulation strategy for step pulse type multi-level inverter. The proposed strategy is simple to determine the switching angles without regard to increase of levels. Designed to extract the equivalent RMS value compared to ideal sine wave from inverter, it can be applied effectively to high level step pulse inverter. Also this paper proposed modulation strategy for modified H-bridge 13 level inverter which has different cell source voltages with simulation and experiment. The modulation characteristics from simulation and experiment, agreed very well with tracing sine wave about modified structure of cascaded H-bridge multi-level inverter.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Marine Engineers Conference
• /
• 2005.06a
• /
• pp.1022-1028
• /
• 2005

This paper is presented the analysis results and simulation results of cascaded H-bridge 7 level inverter with various modulation index. Stepped waveform having number of switching was used to eliminate harmonic components. Switching angles according to modulation index are calculated numerically. Therefore, 3 times of switching with 7 level topology and QWS(Quarter Wave Symmetry) could eliminate 5th and 7th harmonics. The harmonic characteristics are compared to those of space vector modulation method which known as common modulation method in industrial field. Stepped waveform method showed higher ability to reduce, especially lower order of harmonics.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.16 no.2
• /
• pp.490-497
• /
• 2016

The analysis of the switch status of each unit module of a cascaded multi-level inverter reveals that the working condition of the switch of a chopper arm causes unnecessary switching under the conventional unipolar sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM). With an increase in the number of cascaded multilevel inverters, the superposition of unnecessary switching gradually occurs. In this work, we propose an improved SPWM strategy to reduce switching in cascaded multilevel inverters. Specifically, we analyze the switch state of the switch tube of a chopper arm of an H-bridge unit. The redundant switch is then removed, thereby reducing the switching frequency. Unlike the conventional unipolar SPWM technique, the improved SPWM method greatly reduces switching without altering the output quality of inverters. The conventional unipolar SPWM technique and the proposed method are applied to a five-level inverter. Simulation results show the superiority of the proposed strategy. Finally, a prototype is built in the laboratory. Experimental results verify the correctness of the proposed modulation strategy.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.15 no.6
• /
• pp.1508-1516
• /
• 2015

A single phase H-bridge inverter is employed in conventional Inductive Power Transfer (IPT) systems as the primary side power supply. These systems may not be suitable for some high power applications, due to the constraints of the power electronic devices and the cost. A high-frequency cascaded multi-level inverter employed in IPT systems, which is suitable for high power applications, is presented in this paper. The Phase Shift Pulse Width Modulation (PS-PWM) method is proposed to realize power regulation and selective harmonic elimination. Explicit solutions against phase shift angle and pulse width are given according to the constraints of the selective harmonic elimination equation and the required voltage to avoid solving non-linear transcendental equations. The validity of the proposed control approach is verified by the experimental results obtained with a 2kW prototype system. This approach is expected to be useful for high power IPT applications, and the output power of each H-bridge unit is identical by the proposed approach.

• Journal of Power Electronics
• /
• v.16 no.1
• /
• pp.173-181
• /
• 2016

In this paper, a new technique for harmonic optimization in cascaded H-bridge 7-level inverters is proposed. The suggested strategy is based on minimizing an objective function which simultaneously optimizes the converter utilization and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). The Switch Utilization Ratio (SUR) is formulized for both the phase and line-line voltages of a 7-level inverter and is considered in the final objective functions. Based upon the SUR formula, utilization ratio enhancement will reduce the value of feeding DC links, which improves the efficiency and lifetime of the circuit components due to lower voltage stresses and losses. In order to achieve more effective solution in different modulation indices, it is assumed that the DC sources can be altered. Experimental validation is presented based on a three-phase 7-level inverter prototype.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.8 no.6
• /
• pp.478-487
• /
• 2003

In this paper, a type and special feature of Multi-level inverter used in medium-voltage and high-capacity motor driver is introduced. Especially, a power quality and structural advantages of H-Bridge Multi-level inverter is described. It presented the specific structure of power circuit, design method, controller composition and PWM techniques of the cascaded H-Bridge Multi-level inverter which is developed. The feasibility of the developed product based on 3,300V lMVA 7-level H-bridge inverter was studied by experiments and we get conclusion that 1)generate of near-sinusoidal output voltage; 2)is low dv/dt at output voltage; 3)reduce the harmonic injection at input; Experiment demonstrate that it is very economical in productivity because of using the existing production technique and examination equipment, and has the reliability and a good maintenance due to the structure of Power Cell unit combination as well as low cost IGBT.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
• /
• 2017.07a
• /
• pp.270-271
• /
• 2017

Cascaded NPC/H-bridge 인버터의 기존 Level-Shift PWM에서는 한 stack에서 전력 및 손실 불균형이 발생하게 된다. 이에 따라 손실 불균형을 개선하기 위해 새로운 Level Shift PWM을 개발하였고, PSIM 9.14를 통해 기존의 PWM 기법들과 비교 분석 하였다.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
• /
• v.9 no.4
• /
• pp.334-340
• /
• 2004

In this paper, an efficient switching pattern to equalize the size of transformer is proposed for a multi-level inverter employing cascaded transformers. It is based on the prior selected harmonic elimination PWM(SHEPWM) method. Because the maximum magnetic flux imposed on each transformer becomes exactly equal each to each, all transformers can be designed with the same size regardless of their position. Therefore, identical full-bridge inverter units can be utilized, thus improving modularity and manufacturability. The fundamental idea of the proposed switching pattern is illustrated and then analyzed theoretically. The validity of the proposed switching strategy is verified by experimental results.