Novel current‐source multilevel inverter driven by single gate drive power supply

This paper proposes a novel current‐source multilevel inverter, which is based on a current‐source half‐bridge topology. Multilevel inverters are effective for reducing harmonic distortion in the output voltage and the output current. However, the multilevel inverters require many gate drive power supplies to drive switching devices. The gate drive circuits using a bootstrap circuit and a pulse transformer can reduce the number of the gate drive power supplies, but the pulse width of the output PWM waveform is limited. Furthermore, high‐speed power switching devices are indispensable to create a high‐frequency power converter, but various problems, such as high‐frequency noise, arise due to the high dv/dt rate, especially in high‐side switching devices. The proposed current‐source multilevel inverter is composed of a common emitter topology for all switching devices. Therefore, it is possible to operate it with a single power supply for the gate drive circuit, which allows stabilizing the potential level of all the drive circuits. In this paper, the effectiveness of the proposed circuit is verified through experimental results. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 166(2): 88–95, 2009; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20475     

基于多电平随机脉宽调制技术的共模电压和谐波抑制方法

在PWM电机驱动系统中,多电平逆变技术可以降低系统中的共模电压和谐波含量,但是由于开关频率是固定的,在开关频率处的谐波仍很大。随机开关频率空间矢量调制技术可以通过对零矢量的控制,实现对共模电压的抑制,并且开关频率的随机化,使得开关频率处的幅值较大的谐波分散为一定带宽的幅值较小的谐波,降低了谐波的幅值。给出了混合型七电平逆变器的拓扑结构及控制方法,将高压单元的低频输出和低压单元的高频输出进行叠加,实现七电平的电压输出。分析了不同的开关状态对共模电压的影响,提出了用于共模电压抑制的矢量选择方法和用于降低谐波的开关频率随机化方法,仿真和实验结果显示,多电平逆变技术和随机脉宽调制技术的结合使用,大大降低了系统的共模电压和开关频率处的谐波分量。     

基于混合七电平电压型逆变器的新型6kV变频器

提出了一种基于混合七电平电压型逆变器的6kV变频器。混合七电平逆变器由1个采用10CT的三相中点箝位三电平逆变器和3个采用IGBT的H桥逆变器串联而成，可充分利用IGCT高压大容量及IGBT高速的特点。PWM控制采用基于参考电压分解的多电平直接PWM算法。数字化实现容易。采用了改进的死区效应补偿方法以获得理想的输出波形。研制了1台基于混合七电平逆变器的交流380V变频调速实验样机。实验结果为新型6kV变频器工业装置的研制打下了基础。     

A low‐loss snubber for reducing motor terminal surge voltage

The development of an advanced Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT) has enabled high‐frequency switching operation and has improved the performance of PWM inverters for motor drive. However, the IGBT's high rate of dv/dt has adverse effects on motor insulation stress. In many motor drive applications, the inverter and motor are separated, requiring long motor feeds. The long cable contributes high‐frequency ringing at the motor terminal and results in high surge voltage which stresses the motor insulation. The inverter output filter and RDC snubber are the conventional method for reducing the surge voltage. In this paper, we propose a new low‐loss snubber to reduce the motor terminal surge voltage. The snubber consists of the series connection of chraging/discharging capacitor and the voltage‐clamped capacitor. At IGBT turn‐off, the snubber starts to operate when the IGBT voltage reaches the voltage‐clamped level. Since dv/dt is decreased by snubber operating, the peak level of the surge voltage can be reduced. Also the snubber operates at the IGBT voltage above the voltage‐clamped level, and the snubber loss is largely reduced compared with the RDC snubber. The proposed snubber enables reduction of the motor terminal surge voltage with low loss. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 150(4): 64–72, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10378     

Characteristics of an induction motor with reduced turns of terminal coils

The use of PWM inverters with high switching characteristics for the adjustable speed drive system causes an overvoltage with steep‐fronted waveform on the motor terminals. As this steep‐fronted transient voltage in inverter drive loads heavily on the terminal coils of motor winding, the insulation failure in the motor winding occurs mostly on the terminal coils. Therefore, it is reasonable to reduce the turns of terminal coils only and to increase the dielectric strength of interturn insulation. This paper presents a comparison of measured characteristics of normal induction motors and induction motors with reduced turns of terminal coils and also a comparison of the results measured and calculated by equivalent circuit. The appropriate rate of reduced turns of terminal coils is about 20%. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 142(3): 49–56, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10093     

Surge propagation and overvoltages for PWM‐inverter‐driven motors

The use of PWM inverters with high switching characteristics to provide variable frequency supply to motors causes overvoltage with steep‐fronted waveform on the motor terminals. Insulation failure in motor winding can be caused by this steep‐fronted transient voltage in inverter drive systems. From the point of view of wave propagation with the skin effect of cable conductors, these phenomena have not been reported previously. The main purpose of this paper to describe the exact surge propagation considering the skin effect of cable conductors and the wave deflections at inverter and motor terminals. © 2000 Scripta Technica, Electr Eng Jpn, 132(2): 65–72, 2000     

A novel strategy for a high‐power utility interactive inverter with a series active filter

High‐power utility interactive inverters used for large‐capacity energy storage systems are composed of multiple connected inverters, in order to realize high efficiency and high performance of the harmonic elimination characteristic simultaneously. Some disadvantages of multiple connected inverters, such as harmonic current flowing from an inverter unit to the other one, and increase of the number of inverter units, cannot be overcome easily. This paper presents a novel strategy for a high‐power utility interactive inverter, which is composed of a large power with low‐switching‐frequency PWM inverter (high‐power PWM inverter), an LC passive filter, and a series active filter (series AF). Because harmonic components contained in the utility line current are absorbed by the series AF, the switching frequency of the PWM inverter can be selected to about 1 kHz. In addition because the power capacity and the output voltage of the series AF can be suppressed lower than 10% of the power capacity and the output voltage of PWM inverter, low‐voltage and high‐speed power devices can be applied to the series AF. Consequently, high power, high efficiency, and high harmonics elimination performance can be realized without increasing the number of inverter units. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 141(2): 57–66, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10048     

混合七电平逆变器的变频调速PWM控制策略

该文提出了基于参考电压分解的多电平直接PWM算法,分析并给出了该直接PWM算法在混合七电平逆变器中的应用方法,给出了主逆变器及辅助逆变器开关频率与控制频率的关系;通过仿真对混合七电平逆变器的直流电压平衡问题进行了研究,得到了不会出现直流电压不平衡的PWM开关模式;分析并提出了一种适用于混合七电平逆变器的改进的死区效应补偿方法,研制了一台基于混合七电平逆变器的交流380V变频调速实验样机.实验结果验证了混合七电平直接PWM算法及改进的死区补偿方法的有效性和正确性.     

Characteristics comparison of high‐frequency multilevel inverter connected with filter inverters

This paper presents a characteristics comparison of a high‐frequency multilevel inverter connected with small‐ capacity filter inverters. In general, PWM inverters require a low‐pass filter in order to reduce switching harmonics. However, in the high‐frequency systems such as class D power amplifiers, the cutoff frequency of the low‐pass filter must be set at high frequency. Thus, harmonic distortion of the output voltage is enlarged to a harmful level. Increasing the number of output voltage levels is effective in reducing the harmonic distortion of the output voltage and the low‐pass filter size. The proposed systems consist of a five‐level inverter and several cascade‐connected low‐voltage full bridge inverters without any external DC power sources for filtering the output voltage. The five‐level inverter generates a stepwise waveform with five‐level voltage, and the low‐voltage filter inverter superimposes harmonic components to compensate for the voltage waveform distortion. Therefore, the proposed system can reduce its total switching loss and can increase the number of the output voltage levels. In this paper, the effectiveness of the proposed systems is verified through several experiments. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 161(3): 58–65, 2007; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20373     

一种新型多电平直接脉宽调制方法

在研究了多电平逆变器模型及其脉宽调制(PWM)算法原理的基础上,提出了一种新型的适用于各种电平数目逆变器的直接PWM方法,分析了这种PWM方法的基本原理,给出了算法实现的原理框图,最后使用PSCAD仿真软件做了仿真研究,仿真结果验证了算法的正确性和有效性.文中提出的PWM算法的基本思想是由三相参考电压直接确定逆变器各个桥臂电路输出的开关函数及其作用规律,因此称之为直接PWM算法.与基于载波调制的多电平PWM算法和多电平SVM算法相比,该算法具有原理简单、实现容易、运行速度快、占用CPU时间少等优点.     

Direct space vector PWM strategy for matrix converters with reduced number of switching transitions

This paper proposes a novel “Direct Space Vector PWM (Direct SVPWM)” strategy based on the direct AC/AC conversion approach for three‐phase to three‐phase matrix converters. This method allows the sinusoidal input and output waveforms as a major premise, and gives top priority to the improvement of output control performance in motor drive applications, such as providing maximum riding comfort in elevators, etc. Output voltage harmonics, switching losses, and common‐mode voltages can be reduced across the entire voltage region. In addition, the switching count can be reduced even further by fully utilizing the output current detection value. Direct space vectors are first defined, and the method of selecting space vectors is described. Next, the PWM duty calculation technique is explained. Finally, the validity of the proposed method is demonstrated by comparison with the conventional virtual indirect method based on experimental and analytical results. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 172(3): 52–63, 2010; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.20953     

单元串联多电平逆变器PWM方法比较研究

探讨了几种现有的多电平逆变器的脉冲宽度调制PWM(Pulse Width Modulation)方法,提出了一种多电平最优空间矢量方法,该方法通过选取最优空间矢量确定三相最佳电平组合,得到三相电压实际电平值,从而生成三相PWM控制模式。并与现有的PWM方法进行了比较。仿真结果说明多电平最优空间矢量方法具有开关频率低、总谐波含量低的优点。     

一种混合9电平电压源逆变器及其变频脉宽调制

介绍了一种应用于中高压变频调速装置的9电平输出电压源逆变器，逆变器的主电路由2种不同拓扑结构的逆变电路组成，分别使用不同参数的开关器件实现，可以综合利用阻断电压高的器件和开关速度快的器件的优点。分析了逆变器主电路的拓扑结构及特点，研究了主电路的开关模式后提出了一种基于载波调制的适合于任意电平数目混合逆变器的PWM(脉宽调制)算法，最后仿真研究了混合9电平逆变器在变速驱动场合中的应用，并验证了算法的有效性。对线电压的频谱分析表明，混合9电平逆变器有很好的输出波形，输出谐波含量少，在高频段输出线电压的总谐波畸变率小于5％，输出电压的dv／dt小，可用于驱动大容量的中高压异步电动机。     

Walsh function‐based position sensorless control for interior permanent magnet motor drives using ripple‐current of high‐frequency triangular‐wave‐carrier PWM inverter

This paper proposes the Walsh function‐based position sensorless drive method of a PM motor by using high‐frequency 20‐kHz triangular‐wave‐carrier PWM inverter ripple current. The proposed method uses the Walsh harmonic of PWM inverter ripple current to estimate the motor rotor position. By using the high‐frequency switching ripple current, the period of the rotor position estimation has been decreased and improves the step response of PM motor. The Walsh function makes it possible to use a definite integrator as the Walsh harmonic detector that can separate the small ripple‐current signal from the motor drive‐current signal. The Walsh harmonic detector circuit consists of less parts than the Fourier harmonic detector circuit. The validity of the proposed method was clarified by several experimental results. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(3): 80–88, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10205     

FPGA控制的不对称多电平逆变器的设计

随着多电平技术在大容量场合的应用,不同结构的多电平拓扑结构不断被提出。论文研究一种混合级联式不对称多电平逆变器,该结构逆变器将传统H桥逆变器进行改进,与H桥相比使用相同器件时,该结构能够输出更多的电平数,或者在输出相同电平数的情况下比传统H桥级联结构使用更少的器件。该多电平逆变器由两个不对称四电平逆变器级联而成,输出电...     

三电平变频调速系统SVPWM和SHEPWM混合调制方法的研究

三电平中点钳位逆变器在高压大容量变频调速中得到了广泛的研究和应用。该文在三电平高压变频器中同时应用SVPWM和SHEPWM，即低频时采用异步SVPWM，高频时采用SHEPWM，避免了高频时SVPWM谐波特性变差和SHEPWM在低频时存储量大的缺点，充分发挥了二者的优点，使变频器在整个工作范围内都可以有效抑制低次谐波，得到较好的输出波形。混合调制的难点在于衔接问题，文中分析了影响二者之间平滑切换的原因并提出了具体的解决方法，保证了切换过程中电压和电流没有跳变。采用PSIM软件对三电平SVPWM和SHEPWM进行了仿真研究，并在实际三电平变频器控制平台上进行了实验。仿真和实验结果证实了该文的混合调制方法在低频和高频都有较好的谐波特性，二者间的平滑过渡保证了混合调制的实用性，并已用于实际三电平变频器之中。     

A novel PWM technique with switching‐loss reduction for independent drive of two 3‐phase AC motors fed by a five‐leg inverter

This paper presents a novel pulse width modulation (PWM) technique with switching‐loss reduction for a five‐leg inverter (FLI). The PWM technique, in which the available maximum voltage for two motors adds up to DC bus voltage, has been proposed as the strategy for the FLI. Therefore, the DC bus voltage is fully available as the PWM strategy. However, the conventional PWM technique requires the frequency, phase, and amplitude of the phase voltage commands of a motor to produce zero‐sequence voltages (ZSVs). The novel PWM strategy has some efficient features. These features are discussed in this paper. The validity of the novel PWM technique will be shown by experimental results. © 2011 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A three‐phase voltage‐source PWM inverter system characterized by sinusoidal output voltage with neither common‐mode voltage nor normal‐mode voltage

This paper deals with an inverter system integrating a small‐rated passive EMI filter with a three‐phase voltage‐source PWM inverter. The purpose of the EMI filter is to eliminate both common‐mode and normal‐mode voltages from the output voltage of the inverter. The motivation of this research is based on the well‐known fact that the higher the carrier or switching frequency, the smaller and the more effective the EMI filter. An experimental system consisting of a 5‐kVA inverter, a 3.7‐kW induction motor, and a specially designed passive EMI filter was constructed to verify the viability and effectiveness of the EMI filter. As a result, it is shown experimentally that both three‐phase line‐to‐line and line‐to‐neutral output voltages look purely sinusoidal as if the inverter system were an ideal variable‐voltage, variable‐frequency power supply when viewed from the motor terminals. This results in complete solution of serious issues related to common‐mode and normal‐mode voltages produced by the inverter. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(4): 88–96, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10206     

内蕴电压平衡控制的飞跨电容逆变器的PWM方法

采用多电平结构是逆变器实现高电压大容量化的有效途径。飞跨电容逆变器因为只需要一个独立直流供电电源、电平数易扩展、控制灵活等优点而备受青睐，但是电容电压的平衡问题却制约其推广应用。针对此问题，该文提出一种内蕴电压平衡控制的PWM方法，该方法由直接PWM算法和基于最大单元电压偏差抑制的开关状态选择法则组成，前者是由给定的ABC坐标系下的参考电压来确定逆变器所需输出的电平电压、相应的作用时间及作用顺序；后者是确定逆变器的开关状态以产生已确定的电平电压，同时控制电容电压的平衡。该PWM方法理论上适用于任意电平的飞跨电容逆变器，它不但能够有效控制电容电压的平衡，而且还能够保证功率开关频率的均衡、便于数字化实现。该文给出了该方法的数字化实现原理。最后，基于飞跨电容五电平变频器对所提出的PWM方法，做了详尽的仿真分析和大量的实验验证。     

Novel multilevel inverter carrier-based PWM method

The advent of the transformerless multilevel inverter topology has brought forth various pulsewidth modulation (PWM) schemes as a means to control the switching of the active devices in each of the multiple voltage levels in the inverter. An analysis of how existing multilevel carrier-based PWM affects switch utilization for the different levels of a diode-clamped inverter is conducted. Two novel carrier-based multilevel PWM schemes are presented which help to optimize or balance the switch utilization in multilevel inverters. A 10 kW prototype six-level diode-clamped inverter has been built and controlled with the novel PWM strategies proposed in this paper to act as a voltage-source inverter for a motor drive