• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2067-2075
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• 2016

Cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters are currently used because it enables the integration of various sources, such as batteries, ultracapacitors, photovoltaic array and fuel cells in a single system. Conventional modulation schemes for multilevel inverters have concentrated mainly on the generation of a low harmonic output voltage, which results in less effective utilization of connected sources. Less effective utilization leads to a difference in the charging/discharging of sources, causing unsteady voltages over a long period of operation and a reduction in the lifetime of the sources. Hence, a charge balance control scheme has to be incorporated along with the modulation scheme to overcome these issues. In this paper, a new approach for charge balancing in symmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter that enables almost 100% charge balancing of sources is presented. The proposed method achieves charge balancing without any additional stages or complex circuit or considerable computational requirement. The validity of the proposed method is verified through simulation and experiments.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2076-2084
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• 2016

In this paper, a novel scheme to eliminate common-mode voltage (CMV) is proposed for three-level neutral-point clamped (NPC) inverters. In the proposed scheme, a low-power full-bridge converter is utilized to produce compensatory voltage for CMV, which is injected into an NPC inverter through a single-phase four-winding transformer. With the proposed circuit, the power range for applications is not limited, and the maximum modulation index of the inverter is not reduced. These features are suitable for high-power medium-voltage machine drives. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by simulation and experimental results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2016-2023
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• 2016

This paper presents a simple input-constrained current controller for a DC/DC boost converter with stability analysis that considers the nonlinearity of the converter model. The proposed controller is designed to satisfy the inherent input constraints of the converter under a physically reasonable assumption, which is the first contribution of this paper. The second contribution is providing a rigorous proof of the proposed control law, which keeps the closed-loop system along with the internal dynamics stable. The performance of the proposed controller is demonstrated through an experiment employing a 20-kW DC/DC boost converter.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2192-2201
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• 2016

Wind energy is currently the fastest-growing electricity source worldwide. The cost efficiency of wind generators must be high because these generators have to compete with other energy sources. In this paper, a system that utilizes an open-winding permanent-magnet synchronous generator is studied for wind-energy generation. The proposed system controls generated power through an auxiliary voltage source inverter. The VA rating of the auxiliary inverter is only a fraction of the system-rated power. An adjusted control system, which consists of two main parts, is implemented to control the generator power and the grid-side converter. This paper introduces a study on the effect of unbalanced voltages for the wind-generation system. The proposed system is designed and simulated using MATLAB/Simulink software. Theoretical and experimental results verify the validity of the proposed system to achieve the power management requirements for balanced and unbalanced voltage conditions of the grid.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2150-2161
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• 2016

Mechanical and electrical parameter uncertainties cause dynamic and static estimation errors of the rotor speed and position, resulting in performance deterioration of sensorless control systems. This paper applies an extended nonlinear observer to interior permanent magnet synchronous motors (IPMSM) for the simultaneous estimation of the rotor speed and position. Two compensation methods are proposed to improve the observer performance against parameter uncertainties: an on-line rotational inertia adjustment approach that employs the gradient descent algorithm to suppress dynamic estimation errors, and an equivalent flux error compensation approach to eliminate static estimation errors caused by inaccurate electrical parameters. The effectiveness of the proposed control strategy is demonstrated by experimental tests.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2057-2066
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• 2016

An extension of the one-cycle control (OCC) method for switched-capacitor (SC) converters is proposed in this paper, featuring a fast dynamic response, wide line and load operation ranges, and simplicity in implementation. To illustrate the operation principle of this nonlinear control method and to demonstrate its simplicity in design, a dual-phase unity gain SC converter is examined. A new control loop based on the charge balance in a flying capacitor is formulated for the OCC technique and implemented with a 15W dual-phase unity gain SC converter on a circuit board for control verification. The obtained experimental results show that external disturbances can be rejected in one switching cycle by the OCC controlled SC converter with good line and load regulations. When compared to other control methods, the proposed nonlinear control loop exhibits superior dynamic performance in suppressing input and load disturbances.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2182-2191
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• 2016

This study proposes a novel frame anti-vibration controller for position sensorless PMSM drive application. This controller is called specific component reduction controller (SCRC). SCRC can function without an accelerometer and can achieve speed variable control. This study mainly comprises the following phases. First, the position sensorless control method will be provided. Second, the frame vibration model and load torque ripple will be shown. Third, SCRC will be discussed and its stability will be analyzed. Finally, experimental results show that SCRC can achieve speed variable anti-vibration control and compensate target frequency torque ripple.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2284-2293
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• 2016

With the rapid development of clean energy, photovoltaic (PV) generation has been utilized in the harmonic compensation of power systems. This paper presents a novel multi-function PV micro-inverter with three stages (pseudo-two-stage). It can inject active power and compensate harmonic currents in the power grid at the same time. In order to keep the micro-inverter working under the maximum allowable output power, an optimized capacity limitation strategy is presented. Moreover, the harmonic compensation can be adjusted according to the customized requirements of power quality. Additionally, a phase shedding strategy in the DC/DC stage is introduced to improve the efficiency of parallel Boost converters in a wide range. Compared with existing capacity limitation methods, the proposed strategy shows better performance and energy efficiency. Simulations and experiments verify the feasibility of the micro-inverter and the effectiveness of the strategy.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.883-893
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• 2016

This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the spurious turn-on phenomena in phase-shifted full-bridge (PSFB) converters. The conventional analysis of the spurious turn-on phenomenon does not establish in the PSFB converter as realizing zero voltage switching (ZVS). Firstly, a circuit model is proposed taking into account the parasitic capacitors and inductors of the transistors, as well as the parasitic elements of the power circuit loop. Second, an exhaustive investigation into the impact of all these parasitic elements on the spurious turn-on is conducted. It has been found that the spurious turn-on phenomenon is mainly attributed to the parasitic inductors of the power circuit loop, while the parasitic inductors of the transistors have a weak impact on this phenomenon. In addition, the operation principle of the PSFB converter makes the leading and lagging legs have distinguished differences with respect to the spurious turn-on problems. Design guidelines are given based on the theoretical analysis. Finally, detailed simulation and experimental results obtained with a 1.5 kW PSFB converter are given to validate proposed analysis.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.3
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• pp.894-904
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• 2016

This study examines the zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation of an active-clamped forward converter (ACFC) with a current-doubler rectifier (CDR). The ZVS condition can be obtained with a much smaller leakage inductance compared to that of a conventional ACFC. Due to the significantly reduced leakage inductance, the design is optimized and the circulating loss is reduced. The operation of the ACFC with a CDR is analyzed, and a detailed ZVS analysis is conducted on the basis of a steady-state analysis. From the results, a design consideration for ZVS improvement is presented. Loss analyses of the converters shows that enhanced soft-switching contributes to an efficiency improvement under light-load condition. Experimental results from a 100-W (5-V/20-A) prototype verify that the ACFC with a CDR can attain ZVS across an extended load range of loads and achieve a higher efficiency than conventional ACFCs.