Multilevel DC-link inverter

This paper presents a new class of multilevel inverters based on a multilevel dc link (MLDCL) and a bridge inverter to reduce the number of switches, clamping diodes, or capacitors. An MLDCL can be a diode-clamped phase leg, a flying-capacitor phase leg, or cascaded half-bridge cells with each cell having its own dc source. A multilevel voltage-source inverter can be formed by connecting one of the MLDCLs with a single-phase bridge inverter. The MLDCL provides a dc voltage with the shape of a staircase approximating the rectified shape of a commanded sinusoidal wave, with or without pulsewidth modulation, to the bridge inverter, which in turn alternates the polarity to produce an ac voltage. Compared with the cascaded H-bridge, diode-clamped, and flying-capacitor multilevel inverters, the MLDCL inverters can significantly reduce the switch count as well as the number of gate drivers as the number of voltage levels increases. For a given number of voltage levels m, the required number of active switches is 2/spl times/(m-1) for the existing multilevel inverters but is m+3 for the MLDCL inverters. Simulation and experimental results are included to verify the operating principles of the MLDCL inverters.     

直流电压不等级联型逆变器一维矢量调制研究

H桥级联型多电平逆变器由于具有良好的输出波形得到广泛运用,对直流电压相等的H桥级联型逆变器,当H桥直流电压由于功率元器件差异或运行过程中负载瞬时突变等出现不等或波动时可能引起输出电压、电流波形变化,各H桥输出功率不等,严重时甚至损坏变频器.对于H桥级联型多电平逆变器传统的控制方式都是建立在H桥直流电压相等的前提下,研究了H桥直流电压不等的情况,提出了适合直流电压不等的一维矢量调制技术和直流电压不等时实现H桥等功率输出的一维矢量调制.提出的方法在两单元级联型变频实验装置上进行了验证.     

一种新型的无变压器级联型多电平变换器拓扑

H桥级联多电平逆变器在高压大容量变频调速领域得到了广泛的应用,其最大的不足之处是必须使用庞大、复杂而昂贵的多绕组移相隔离变压器。为了省去传统H桥级联多电平变换器中的多绕组移相变压器,提出了一种新型的无变压器级联型多电平变换器拓扑结构。该拓扑由通用拓扑结构派生而来,全部由基本单元级联而成,不需要大量独立直流电源,省去了多绕组移相隔离变压器,具有模块性强、结构简单、易于扩展等优点。和现有的主要多电平拓扑结构相比,随着电平数的增多,使用元件较少,更适合于五电平及以上多电平使用。以五电平拓扑为例进行了研究,分析了其工作原理和悬浮电容电压平衡控制方法,仿真和实验结果验证了其可行性。     

Capacitor voltage balancing in cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter and its modelling analysis for grid integrated wind energy conversion system application

In this study, a comprehensive control scheme for cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (CHBMLI)-based grid integrated bulk wind energy conversion system (WECS) addressing the problem of deviation of wind speeds among windmills like a partial shading condition of PV system is presented. The proposed control scheme uses independent dc links with reduced voltages that makes such a topology an ideal candidate for high and medium power WECS with improved reliability. Inconsistency of wind speeds at each turbine causes distinct voltage conditions among the isolated dc links of the CHBMLI H-bridge cells (HBC) leading to unstable power generation. The projected scheme along with maximum and efficient energy conversion has the ability of dc link capacitor voltage balancing in each HBC of CHBMLI during the above said power generation mismatch conditions and also maintains power quality in the grid side voltage and injected currents as per standards. Moreover, the modelling analysis of the adopted CHBMLI for the grid integrated WECS application has also been derived. The system performance under inconsistent wind speed environment has been tested and analysed by using MATLAB simulation and validated by using FPGA-based real-time simulator (Opal-RT-OP5700).     

级联型多电平逆变器的功率均衡控制策略

该文针对级联型多电平逆变器的几种调制方法，包括阶梯波调制法、特定谐波消除脉宽调制法和载波空间排列SPWM法，提出了一种新的功率均衡控制策略。该策略利用级联型多电平逆变器相电压冗余的特点，通过以1/4输出周期为单位互换各个H桥单元的输出电压波形，实现了各个H桥单元在一个输出周期内的功率均衡。与现有的功率均衡策略相比，新的策略可以在一个输出周期内达到功率均衡，并具有控制简单，H桥单元功率波动小的优点，同时满足对效率和波形的要求。该文以三单元七电平级联型逆变器为例，对上述功率均衡控制策略进行了理论分析和仿真验证。     

Fault-tolerant switched capacitor–based boost multilevel inverter

This paper proposes a fault-tolerant switched capacitor (SC)–based boost multilevel inverter. The proposed inverter is able to convert a low-level dc voltage into a desired ac output voltage in single-stage power conversion. It can accomplish a high voltage gain by using multiple SC cells arrangement at reduced voltage stresses on the switching devices and passive circuit elements in the boost network. The principle of operation and steady-state analysis of the proposed topology are presented to formulate the mathematical relationship between input dc and output ac voltage. In addition to that, the proposed inverter can also provide reliable electrical power supply at prescribed ac output voltage in the event of open-circuit failure of power switches. The fault tolerability is realized by reconfiguring the pulse width modulation (PWM) control scheme, whereas the reduction in output voltage is compensated by the boosting characteristic of the inverter. The effectiveness of the proposed inverter has been compared with other impedance source multilevel inverters in terms of voltage gain, boosting capability, and voltage stresses. A laboratory prototype of the proposed inverter is developed for experimentation, and its operation is validated by simulation and experimental results.     

一种混合级联型多电平逆变器拓扑结构

在交流电动机调速领域,大容量多电平变换器的应用越来越广泛,为了改善系统性能,各种各样的多电平拓扑结构被提出.本文提出了一种新颖的混合级联式多电平拓扑结构,该结构将传统的H桥逆变器(主逆变器)和二极管钳位型三电平逆变器(从逆变器)结合起来,串联为电动机供电,而这其中仅仅只有主逆变器需要电压源.这种新型的拓扑结构由于增加了从逆变器作为辅助单元用于能量存储,可以提高系统的效率,一定程度上实现电动机的四象限运行.相比传统的H桥逆变器,该拓扑可以减少输入电压源的数目;当电动机以稳定速度运行时,从逆变器可以为负载提供无功能量.该拓扑结构在电力机车和大型舰船推进系统等领域有着广泛的应用前景.     

A Cascaded Multi-level Inverter Topology with Improved Modulation Scheme

This article proposes a single-phase, cascaded multilevel inverter topology. Each of the cascaded unit cells is made up of a main inverting H-bridge leg and a level-clamping half-bridge circuit. The single-carrier, multilevel pulse-width modulation scheme is employed to generate gating signals fort he power switches. The modulation scheme is hybridized to enable the output voltage of the proposed inverter configuration, inherit the features of switching-loss reduction from fundamental pulse-width modulation, and good harmonic performance from multiple sinusoidal pulse-width modulation. A sequential switching scheme is embedded with the already employed hybrid modulation to overcome unequal switching losses among the power devices. A simple base pulse-width modulation circulation scheme is also introduced in this work to get resultant sequential switching hybrid pulse-width modulation circulation that balances power dissipation among the power modules. The proposed inverter configuration was subjected to a resistor-inductor load, and the respective numbers of output voltage level were synthesized. Fast Fourier transform (FFT) analyses of the output voltage waveforms were carried out. Analysis of the conduction power losses in the power semiconductor switches of the proposed inverter topology is given. Simulations and experiments are carried out on a 3.07-kW rated prototype of the proposed inverter for a resistor-inductor load.     

Staircase Control of Hybrid Cascaded Multi-level Inverter

A cascaded multi-level inverter consists of H-bridge modules that can generally be divided into one with the same DC bus voltage and another with different DC bus voltages. By using the same power device as a standard 7-level 3H-bridge converter, the proposed converter operates with 15-level resolution with separate DC voltage sources of voltage ratio 4:2:1. The analysis of this hybrid cascaded converter with staircase control shows that this proposal can be applied in many power conversion applications, such as flexible alternative current transmission systems, uninterruptible power supply, and electric power conversion, transmission, and storage of renewable energy sources. Simulation results are presented with the proposed 15-level cascaded H-bridge inverter for a low distortion, near-sinusoidal stepped-voltage output, and a laboratory prototype of a 15-level insulated gate bipolar transistor-based cascaded H-bridge inverter is designed and implemented on a digital signal processor. The total harmonic distortion is proved less than 5%.     

10kV链式STATCOM的研究与设计

针对高压10kV供电系统,详细介绍了链式静止同步补偿器(STATCOM)装置结构,该装置采用级联H桥逆变器模块作为主拓扑,该结构具有逆变器输出电压等级高且谐波含量少等优点。同时设计了级联H桥逆变单元参数,采用单极倍频CPS-SPWM调制技术,控制各开关器件的脉冲,实现对链式多电平STATCOM装置的控制。最后,搭建STATCOM实验样机,试验证明文章所述理论的有效性、正确性和优越性。     

采用主从型逆变器结构的静态同步补偿器

针对6kV中压电网三相平衡负载的无功功率补偿，结合二极管箝位多电平逆变器和H桥级联多电平逆变器的特点，提出了一种能够直接并入电网的新型主从式逆变器结构：主逆变器采用二极管箝位三电平逆变器，从逆变器采用3个H桥(即全桥)逆变器。主逆变器和H桥逆变器采用级联的形式连接，构成一个五电平的混联逆变器。H桥逆变器负责产生一个方波电压，构成输出正弦电压的基本成分；主逆变器产生输出电压的补偿部分并负责消除低次谐波。最后通过仿真结果证明了所提出的这种主从型逆变器STATCOM结构在消除谐波方面的优越性。     

HVDC transmission system using multilevel power converters based on dual three-phase two-level inverters

Multilevel converters are now an attractive solution for high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) electrical energy transmission systems. Unlike the well-known two-level voltage source converters, multilevel converters use 3 or more voltage levels or steps per leg to modulate the ac voltages, decreasing voltage distortion and reducing electromagnetic interference. This work presents a HVDC transmission system based on a new multilevel structure using a dual two-level converter topology. This structure attains multilevel operation and advantages using two well known three-phase voltage source two-level inverters connected to one three-phase open windings transformer. The proposed dual converter structure has two independent dc links allowing each inverter to process half of the total power. This arrangement is fitted with a control system designed to control the active and reactive power towards their specific set point values, while balancing the voltages of the two dc link capacitors in real time. Obtained results show the effectiveness of the proposed HVDC transmission system.     

An energy optimized control scheme for a transformerless DVR

The dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) is considered as the most effective and economic solution for voltage disturbances. This paper presents an energy optimized control scheme for a transformerless DVR. The DVR structure is based on a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter topology to eliminate the need of insertion transformers. The proposed control algorithm maintains a balanced load-side voltage even during the compensation of unbalanced disturbances with a minimum active power injection. Moreover, the proposed scheme maximizes the ride-though capability of the DVR during voltage sags. This feature is verified by using capacitors instead of dc sources as energy storage elements for the DVR. Furthermore, the proposed minimum energy scheme prevents the rise in the dc-side voltage of the inverter when compensating voltage swells. The performance of the proposed DVR system is evaluated for compensating different types of voltage disturbances. The results validate the robustness and the accuracy of the proposed system.     

A multilevel inverter based on cascade connection of submultilevel units with reduced switch count

In this paper, a multilevel inverter based on cascade connection of new submultilevel inverters is presented. The suggested submultilevel inverter is constructed using series connection of basic switching units. The proposed multilevel inverter uses fewer power switches in comparison with some similar topologies which results in reduction of switch gate drivers and also converter size and cost. The proposed multilevel inverter can be implemented in both symmetric and asymmetric configurations. The multilevel inverter configuration and operation principle are described in detail, and then, design methods of symmetric and asymmetric configurations are given. Determination of the optimal number of basic units and cascaded submultilevel inverters regarding criteria such as number of switches and total blocking voltage (TBV) of switches is studied. Power losses of the proposed multilevel inverter are calculated, and then, its symmetric and asymmetric configurations are compared with each other and also with similar cascaded multilevel inverters in various items. The validity of the suggested cascaded multilevel inverter is verified using both computer simulations and laboratory prototype implementation.     

级联H桥逆变器差补调制方式的研究

详细介绍了单个H桥及级联型逆变器的结构,并对正弦差补调制方式控制下H桥的输出电压进行了详细的谐波分析。差补调制方式控制的H桥能够输出3种电平,能够消除大部分低次谐波及所有的偶次谐波,主要谐波频带远离基波,且范围是两电平的2倍。多个H桥级联后的系统输出具有良好的谐波特性,无需滤波即可直接作用于电机。仿真结果和理论分析一致。     

基于级联H桥变频器的极相调制感应电机驱动系统

高压电机配用高压变频器具有较大的节能性和高效性,已有广泛应用。级联H桥多电平变频器采用模块化设计理念,通过多个相同的低压变换单元级联起来实现高压及大功率的功能,且变频器输出电流谐波较小。极相调制感应电机可以将传统三相电机的控制方法和极相调制模式结合起来,使电机转矩和转速范围得到扩展。为此介绍一种级联H桥多电平变频器拖动极相调制感应电机变频起动和调速,该电机的定子绕组可配置为9相4极和3相12极。通过仿真验证了级联H桥多电平变频器能够满足极相调制感应电机的变频调速性能和极相调制矢量控制性能,可为新能源发电、船舶推进、工业传动等高压大功率领域提供技术保障。     

一种新型的混合级联多电平逆变器

在中高压大功率场合级联H桥多电平逆变器受到了越来越多的关注。混合级联多电平逆变器是传统级联多电平逆变器拓扑的改进,它的直流侧电压幅值不同。混合级联多电平逆变器最大的优点是在得到相同电平数目的情况下,大大减少了独立直流电源的数目。但是,在一些应用场合,直流电源只能为一个。针对这个问题,在直流侧加入高频环节,得到了一种新型的混合级联多电平逆变器,实现了单直流电源供电,而且这种逆变器的输出电压THD较低,系统体积小。文中首先介绍了基于高频环节混合级联多电平逆变器的电路结构,分析了该结构功率分布问题,针对最近电平逼近调制策略下的输出电压低次谐波较大的问题,改进了控制方法,最后通过软件仿真验证了改进控制方法的可行性。     

Cascaded Common Nodal Point Multi-level Inverter Topology

Recent trends in the multi-level inverter (MLI) technology demand reduced number of switches, driver circuits, isolated DC sources, peak inverse voltage (PIV), appreciable number of voltage level, and lower total harmonic distortion. This paper presents an improved cascaded MLI configuration. Each module comprises ten switches, two isolated DC sources, and two capacitors; it can generate a maximum of 9-level output voltage waveform. Optimized switching sequence is developed that ensures minimum switching transitions and is implemented through single-carrier pulse width modulation for the control of the proposed topology. The classical cascaded H-bridge inverter and some recently developed MLI configurations were compared with the proposed inverter circuit. Results show that the proposed inverter configuration generates high number of output voltage levels with reduced number of power switches and PIV. It also has a lower per-unit power loss profile. Unit capacitor voltage balancing scheme is developed, which ensures proper control of the unit step voltage level in each of the cascaded modules, at extreme loading condition. For two cascaded inverter modules, simulation and experimental verifications are carried out on the proposed inverter for an R–L load. Simulation results of the output voltage waveforms and its harmonic spectrum are in conformity with experimental results.     

一种改进的级联型多电平变换器拓扑

该文提出了一种改进的级联型多电平变换器，它可以由任意个H-桥单元级联构成。其中的H．桥可以是两电平，也可以是二极管箝位型或电容箝位型的任意电平，不同单元采用不同的独立直流电压源。相对于传统的级联型拓扑，在得到相同输出电平的情况下，新拓扑可以使用较少数量的开关器件和较少数量的独立电压源，从而简化电路，降低成本。该文以两电平H-桥(2-H)和飞跨电容型三电平H-桥(3-H)级联构成的拓扑为例进行了分析研究和仿真验证。     

单相MMC变流器及其在新型牵引供电系统中应用的研究

为解决传统牵引供电系统中所存在着电能质量和过分相问题,首先介绍了一种基于MMC-MTDC的新型牵引供电系统。新型牵引供电系统中需要单相变流器向牵引网提供稳定的电压和频率,据此对单相H桥型模块化多电平换流器MMC(modular multilevel converter)进行了研究。介绍了该变流器的拓扑特性,建立了相应的数学模型。将牵引网络认为成无源网络,设计一种基于虚拟同步坐标系下外环定交流电压、内环电流的单相H桥MMC型逆变器向单相无源网络供电的双闭环控制策略;为了抑制桥臂电流所含的二次分量,使用准比例谐振器设计了环流抑制器。最后,在PSCAD/EMTDC中搭建仿真模型。仿真结果验证了系统控制策略的可行性和环流抑制器的有效性,变流器能够向牵引网络提供稳定的电压和频率。