A Seven-Switch Five-Level Active-Neutral-Point-Clamped Converter and Its Optimal Modulation Strategy

 ABSTRACT:

 Multilevel inverters are receiving more attentions nowadays as one of preferred solutions for medium and high power applications. As one of the most popular hybrid multilevel inverter topologies, the Five-Level Active-Neutral-Point-Clamped inverter (5L-ANPC) combines the features of the conventional Flying-Capacitor (FC) type and Neutral-Point-Clamped (NPC) type inverter and was commercially used for industrial applications. In order to further decrease the number of active switches, this paper proposes a Seven-Switch 5L-ANPC (7S-5L-ANPC) topology, which employs only seven active switches and two discrete diodes. The analysis has shown a lower current rating can be selected for the seventh switch under high power factor condition, which is verified by simulation results. The modulation strategy for 7S-5L-ANPC inverter is discussed. A 1KVA single-phase experimental prototype is built to verify the validity and flexibility of the proposed topology and modulation method.

KEYWORDS:

1.      Multilevel inverter

2.      Active-Neutral-Point-Clamped (ANPC) inverter

3.      Flying-Capacitor

4.      Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM)

SOFTWARE: MATLAB/SIMULINK

 CIRCUIT DIAGRAM:

 Fig.1 (a) Proposed topology.

 EXPECTED SIMULATION RESULTS

Fig. 2. Simulation results under unity power factor condition. (a) Output voltage and FC voltage. (b) T7 current in case 1. (c) T7 current in case 2. (d) T7 current in case 3. (e) T7 current in case 4.

Fig. 3. Simulation results under reactive power condition (PF = 0.9, capacitive). (a) Output voltage and FC voltage. (b) T7 current in case 1. (c) T7 current in case 2. (d) T7 current in case 3. (e) T7 current in case 4

Fig. 4. Simulation results under reactive power condition (PF = 0). (a) Output voltage and FC voltage. (b) T7 current in case 1. (c) T7 current in case 2. (d) T7 current in case 3. (e) T7 current in case 4.

Fig. 5. Experimental results under unity power factor condition: waveforms of inverter output voltage, grid voltage, FC voltage and output current.

CONCLUSION:

In this paper, a novel 7S-5L-ANPC inverter topology has been proposed. As compared with the conventional 5L-ANPC inverter, it requires seven active switches for single phase and a low current rating switch can be selected for the seventh switch under high power factor situation. The operating principles and switching states are presented. The detailed comparison between the proposed topology and the conventional 5L-ANPC topologies in terms of voltage stress and efficiency is made. The specific modulation strategy of 7S-5L-ANPC inverter under reactive power operation has been proposed. Computer simulation and experimental prototype based on a single phase 1KVA prototype have been carried out in unity power factor condition and reactive power condition. The validity and advantages of the proposed topology and modulation method are demonstrated.

REFERENCES:

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