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

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.56-66
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• 2017

Fast and accurate fault detection is the primary step and one of the most important tasks in fault tolerant converters. In this paper, a fast and simple method is proposed to detect and diagnosis the faulty cell in a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter under a short circuit fault. In this method, the reference voltage is calculated using switching control pulses and DC-Link voltages. The comparison result of the output voltage and the reference voltage is used in conjunction with active cell pulses to detect the faulty cell. To achieve this goal, the cell which is active when the Fault signal turns to "0" is detected as the faulty cell. Furthermore, consideration of generating the active cell pulses is completely described. Since the main advantage of this method is its simplicity, it can be easily implemented in a programmable digital device. Experimental results obtained with an 11-level inverter prototype confirm the effectiveness of the proposed fault detection technique. In addition, they show that the diagnosis method is unaffected by variations of the modulation index.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.578-586
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• 2012

In this paper a single-phase Cascaded H-Bridge (CHB) inverter for photovoltaic (PV) applications is presented. Based on the presented mathematical analysis, a novel controller is introduced which adjusts the inverter power factor (PF) and manipulates the distribution of the reactive power between the cells to enhance the operating range of the CHB inverter. The adopted control strategy enables tracking of the maximum power point (MPP) of distinct PV strings and allows independent control of the dc-link voltages. The proposed controller also enables the inverter to operate under heavily unbalanced PV conditions. The performance of the CHB inverter and the proposed controllers are evaluated in the PSCAD/EMTDC environment. A seven-level CHB-based grid connected laboratory prototype is also utilized to verify the system performance.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2013.07a
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• pp.45-46
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• 2013

멀티레벨 고압인버터 토폴로지 중 저압 Power Cell를 이용하여 고압을 출력하는 Cascaded 방식이 산업계에서는 널리 사용되고 이다. 최근 제품화된 Cascaded 방식은 크게 두 가지 형태로 구분할 수 있다. 저압 Power Cell에 단상 H-Bridge를 이용한 Cascaded H-Bridge 멀티레벨 인버터와 단상 NPC(Neutral Point Clamped) 토폴로지를 적용한 Cascaded NPC 멀티레벨 인버터이다. 이 중 Cascaded NPC 멀티레벨 인버터의 경우 적은 수의 셀을 사용하여 CHB와 동일한 출력 레벨을 생성할 수 있으며, NPC 방식의 고압 인버터 고유의 장점을 모두 구현할 수 있다. 반대로 CHB Type과 NPC type의 단점인 복잡한 구조의 Phase Shift Transformer와 DC_Link 중성점 전압이 변동하는 단점 또한 나타나게 된다. 본 논문에서는 Cascaded NPC 멀티레벨 인버터의 이러한 단점을 극복하기 위한 새로운 방식의 Phase Shift Transformer와 NPC Power Cell의 중성점 전압 변동을 줄일 수 있는 기법에 대해 설명하고 이 기법에 대한 타당성을 모의시험을 통해 검증하였다.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.558-572
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• 2018

In addition to its modular nature, a Hybrid Modular Multilevel Converter (HMMC) assembled from half-bridge and full-bridge sub-modules, is able to block DC faults with a minimum number of switching devices, which makes it attractive for high power applications. This paper introduces a control strategy based on the Root-Least Square (RLS) algorithm to estimate the capacitor voltages instead of using direct measurements. This action eliminates the need for voltage transducers in the HMMC sub-modules and the associated communication link with the central controller. In addition to capacitor voltage balancing and suppression of circulating currents, a fault tolerant control unit (FTCU) is integrated into the proposed strategy to modify the parameters of the HMMC controller. On advantage of the proposed FTCU is that it does not need extra components. Furthermore, a fault detection unit is adapted by utilizing a hybrid estimation scheme to detect sub-module faults. The behavior of the suggested technique is assessed using PSCAD offline simulations. In addition, it is validated using a real-time digital simulator connected to a real time controller under various normal and fault conditions. The proposed strategy shows robust performance in terms of accuracy and time response since it succeeds in stabilizing the HMMC under faults.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.333-342
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• 2009

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, in many literatures NP potential problem has been investigated and lots of solutions have also been proposed. However, under fault and fault tolerant control, distinctive feature for NP potential variation problem was rarely published from the standpoint of reliability. In this paper, NP potential is analytically investigated both normal and faulty conditions under carrier based PWM. Subsequently, relation between fault detection time and size of capacitor is analyzed. This information is explored by simulation and experiment results, which contribute to enhance the reliability of inverter system.