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This paper presents an effective circuit configuration of a multilevel inverter that can increase the number of output voltage levels with a reduced number of circuit components. The proposed seven-level pulsewidth-modulation inverter consists of a single dc voltage source with a series of capacitors, diodes, active switches for synthesizing output voltage levels, and an H-bridge cell. After theoretical analysis, we carry out computer-aided simulations and experiments to verify the validity of the proposed approach. Here, we also introduce a modified switching strategy to solve the capacitor voltage unbalancing that occurs in series-connected capacitors. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

To increase the power conversion density, decrease switching losses and electromagnetic interference (EMI), and provide safe operating area for a switch, applying snubber circuits which provide soft-switching conditions is inevitable. Among different types of snubber circuits, passive snubbers, due to their simplicity and robustness, are preferred. These snubber circuits can obtain soft-switching conditions without any additional switch. Thus, gate drive and control circuits remain simple. In this paper, a simple lossless passive snubber circuit which can be applied on isolated and nonisolated converters is introduced. The proposed snubber circuit provides zero-current-switching and zero-voltage-switching conditions at turn-on and turnoff instants, respectively. The proposed snubber is applied on a boost converter and analyzed. Also, in order to prove the effectiveness of the proposed snubber circuit from the converter efficiency and EMI viewpoints, a 200-W prototype boost converter is implemented, and experimental results are presented. Also, the simulation results of a soft-switched flyback converter with the proposed snubber cell are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a reference model approach for the trajectory tracking of a four-wheeled omnidirectional mobile robot. In particular, the error model is brought to a quasi-linear-parameter-varying (LPV) form suitable for designing an error-feedback controller. It is shown that, if polytopic techniques are used to reduce the number of constraints from infinite to finite, a solution within the standard LPV framework could not exist due to a singularity that appears in the possible values of the input matrix. Adding a switching component to the controller allows solving this problem. Moreover, a switching LPV virtual actuator is added to the control loop in order to obtain fault tolerance within the fault-hiding paradigm, keeping the stability and some desired performances under the effect of actuator faults without the need of retuning the nominal controller. The effectiveness of the proposed approach is shown and proved through simulation and experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a novel microinverter for a single-phase grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system. The proposed microinverter consists of a step-up dc–dc converter using an active-clamp circuit with a series-resonant voltage doubler and a high-efficiency inverter with single-switch-modulation step-down converters. The active-clamp circuit provides zero-voltage switching (ZVS) turn-on, recycles the energy stored in the leakage inductance of the transformer, and limits switch voltage stress. Moreover, to remove the reverse-recovery problem of the rectifier diodes, a series-resonant voltage doubler is used. Thus, this whole process provides high efficiency. To improve efficiency and reliability in the proposed inverter, only a single switch is modulated at the switching frequency without a shoot-through problem. A modified controller is also adopted to achieve fast output control. Thus, the proposed PV microinverter has the structure to minimize power losses. The experimental results show a maximum efficiency of 96.2% for a 400-W microinverter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The open-winding configuration with a common dc bus provides a zero-sequence current loop which allows the zero-sequence current flowing. With the application in permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) systems, the existing zero-sequence current is inevitably caused by the common mode voltage generated by pulsewidth modulation (PWM) techniques and the third back EMF by the inherent flux harmonic component. With the mathematical modeling analysis, the zero-sequence equivalent circuit based on the PMSG system is proposed. Meanwhile, a zero-sequence current suppression controller is designed. In this paper, a zero vector redistribution PWM technique is proposed. With this technique, the dwell times of zero vectors (000) and (111) for both converters are determined. Meanwhile, it gives the zero-sequence component overmodulation analysis. Both the control method and improved PWM technique are implemented in a 1-kW open-winding PMSG experimental setup, and the experimental results are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The realm of hardware-in-the-loop simulation resorts to field-programmable gate arrays to achieve time steps below 1 \mu\s . Such low time steps are of importance for the aerospace and automotive industries, where power converters have their switching frequencies in the 10- to 200-kHz range. This paper proposes a network tearing technique that allows subsets of switches to be treated independently, alleviates embedded memory requirements, and reduces the computational burden. An iterative algorithm is used to determine the state of naturally commutated switches, thus offering a realistic model of the power converter, independently of its operation mode or topology. A Gauss-Jordan processing unit is implemented to solve interface voltages/currents from the torn circuit. Custom floating-point operators are used to ensure good accuracy, high-frequency operation, and low computational latency. A neutral-point-clamped converter case study is presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Simulation results are validated against a reference model at a 750-ns time step and a 30-kHz sine pulsewidth modulation switching frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Multilevel converters have been well studied for high-voltage high-power renewable energy applications. Owing to the multibranch structure, these converters can be operated under fault conditions in case of a loss of a branch or voltage cell. In this regard, this paper proposes a new active fault-tolerant space vector pulsewidth modulation strategy for single-phase faults in three-phase multilevel converters. The proposed modulation strategy treats the multilevel converter as a two-level converter by introducing an offset vector. A generalized approach is proposed to search for the offset vector and to adjust the modulation of the converter online under different fault operation conditions. Several short- and open-circuit faults have been demonstrated on a seven-level hybrid input-switched converter to prove the effectiveness of the proposed fault-tolerant scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A self-excited induction generator (SEIG) can be a candidate for isolated applications because it does not require any external exciting power but can independently generate electricity. It is also a good candidate for auxiliary brakes in heavy vehicles for several reasons. First, the power efficiency in a brake system is not important as compared with motors or generators. Second, an SEIG can be controlled by a simple electrical circuit. Third, it can be used for regenerative braking. Finally, it is very robust. In this paper, an auxiliary brake for heavy vehicles is proposed by adapting an SEIG and its analog control circuit. The brake structure is the same as that in conventional eddy current brakes but operates as an SEIG. The suggested control circuit does not adopt an electric controller unit but only consists of simple electric devices. A miniature model was designed and manufactured, and the experimental results using the prototype verify that the proposed brake system, including the controller, is very useful. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a novel multiple-input bidirectional dc–dc power converter to interface more than two dc sources of different voltage levels. This finds applications in hybrid electric/fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), where different dc sources of unequal voltage levels need to be connected with bidirectional power flow capability. The converter can be used to operate in both the buck and boost modes with bidirectional power control. It is also possible to independently control power flow between any two sources when more than two sources are actively transferring power in either directions. The operation, analysis, and design of the converter are presented with different modes of power transfer. The proposed converter is demonstrated for FCV application using real-time hardware-in-the-loop system. Experimental results for a 5-kW system are presented, validating the theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Existing bridgeless boost (BLB) converter with soft switching utilize more than two active switches and extra resonant networks. In this paper, a new zero-current-switching BLB rectifier with high power factor (PF) using only two active switches is proposed. The proposed BLB converter is based on a totem-pole BLB (TPBLB) configuration, which allows the current to flow from high side to low side and vice versa during resonance. Hence, no auxiliary active switch is needed to provide soft switching for all semiconductor devices. The soft switching also reduces the body diode reverse recovery problem, hence allowing the TPBLB to operate in continuous conduction mode. Standard components are used to prove that the proposed converter is working with an acceptable performance compared with other BLB converters with soft switching. In order to achieve smooth input current waveform, high PF, and wide soft-switching operations, a pulsewidth modulation controller is proposed and developed, which combines a conventional PF correction average current mode controller with several logic gates and a phase detector. A detailed analysis of the converter operation and control is presented. Design considerations and parameter values calculations are given. An experimental prototype is developed and tested to verify the converter performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Recently, the interest in offshore wind farms has been significantly increased because of the stronger and more stable winds at sea, which will lead to a higher power production. DC/DC power conversion solutions are becoming more popular for fulfilling the growing challenges in the high-voltage (HV) dc-connected offshore wind power industry. This paper presents several multilevel modular dc/dc conversion systems based on the capacitor-clamped (CC) module concept for high-power offshore wind energy applications. Two types of the CC modules, namely, the double-switch (DS) module and the switchless (SL) module, are discussed. A soft-switching technique is adopted to achieve minimal switching losses and the maximum system efficiency. Theoretical analysis is carried out for the $2n+1$-level cascaded configurations based on the CC modules. The inherent interleaving property of the proposed configurations effectively reduces the output voltage ripple without adding extra components. A cascaded hybrid topology is developed by the combination of DS and SL modules. The proposed hybrid topology achieves higher efficiency and lower component count. The cascaded hybrid approach is evaluated in terms of the power device count, reliability, and efficiency against other HV dc/dc topologies to demonstrate its advantage for HVDC-connected offshore wind farms. The experimental results of two 5-kW prototype CC converters are presented to validate the theoretical analysis and principles as well as attest the feasibility of the proposed topologies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A high-voltage tapped-inductor buck converter utilizing a novel autonomous high-voltage valve is presented in this paper. Its application as auxiliary power supply for high-power cascaded-converter submodules is discussed, followed by a presentation of the most challenging problems in designing a low-power high-voltage step-down converter. The TI-buck converter topology is analyzed, which together with the novel autonomous high-voltage valve overcomes most of the problems. Analytical expressions describing the operation as well as circuit simulations are presented. Finally, an experimental evaluation of a 3-kV 70-W prototype converter utilizing the proposed autonomous high-voltage valve with series-connected super-junction MOSFETs is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents an experimental implementation of a predictive control strategy for a system made up of two induction machines fed by a six-leg indirect matrix converter. The objective is to evaluate the practical feasibility of this method, considering the large computational cost, and to incorporate available market technologies. This strategy achieves tracking of torque, speed, and flux references on both machines, minimizing the instantaneous input reactive power present in the system. A theoretical explanation of the main concepts that are used in the predictive control strategy is presented, along with comments on the experimental implementation, experimental setup, and results obtained under both balanced and unbalanced grid conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a capacitor voltage balancing control applicable to any multilevel dc–ac converter formed by a single set of series-connected capacitors implementing the dc link and semiconductor devices, such as the diode-clamped topology. The control is defined for any number of dc-link voltage levels and converter legs (for single-phase and multiphase systems), guaranteeing the capacitor voltage control for any modulation index value and load (from idle mode to full power). The associated control loop small-signal transfer function is presented, from which optimum compensator design guidelines are derived. The improvement in control performance is verified through simulation and experiments comparing with a previous balancing control strategy in a four-level three-phase dc–ac conversion system. The satisfactory control performance is also verified through simulation in a four-level five-phase dc–ac conversion system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The phasor-PWM-based current source inverter (CSI) is a boost inverter. The difference between conventional CSIs and the boost inverter is that the boost ratio (VLLrms/Vdc ) in the boost inverter can easily be above 3.0, whereas this ratio is around 1 in conventional CSIs. In order to realize the potential capabilities of the boost inverter and to assist its penetration into renewable energy systems, the boost inverter dynamic behaviors are studied in this paper. First, the large- and small-signal models as well as the dq-equivalent circuits of the boost inverter are presented. Then, the developed models are verified using circuit simulations and experiments on a laboratory-scale 2-kW 208/240- V_{\rm LLrms} V_{\rm dc}=65\ \hbox{V} $ boost inverter made of reverse-blocking IGBTs. Finally, the developed small-signal model is used to study the stability of the boost inverter through root locus of small signal poles (eigenvalues) as control inputs, and load parameters vary within the boost inverter's operating limits. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three-phase multilevel (ML) inverters are used in many medium- and high-power applications such as motor drives and grid-connected systems. Despite the fact that numerous pulsewidth modulation (PWM) techniques for ML inverters have been developed, the impact of these modulation schemes on the peak-to-peak output current ripple amplitude has not been addressed yet. In this paper, analysis and comparison of current ripple for two-level (2L) and three-level (3L) voltage source inverters are given. Reference is made to optimal and popular modulation, so-called centered PWM, easily obtained by both carrier-based modulation (phase disposition, with proper common-mode voltage injection) and space vector modulation (nearest three vectors). It is shown that the peak-to-peak current ripple amplitude in 3L inverters can be determined on the basis of the ripple in 2L inverters, obtaining the same results as by directly analyzing the output voltage waveforms of the 3L inverters. This procedure can be readily extended to higher level numbers. The proposed analytical developments are verified by both numerical simulations and experimental tests. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Automotive embedded electronic systems have been increasing in power and complexity and, therefore, more advanced power electronic converters are necessary in these vehicles. Several dual-voltage (42 V/14 V) bidirectional converter architectures have been proposed for automotive systems in recent years. However, most of them have low efficiency or are based in series and parallel configurations with large number of semiconductors and magnetics devices. Therefore, in this paper, we propose a bidirectional high-efficiency converter with lower number of components. This converter was created by merging a switched-capacitor converter and a conventional bidirectional converter, resulting in a hybrid topology. The voltage across the semiconductors of the proposed converter is equal to half of the highest voltage source value. Furthermore, the topology is composed of only one inductor to control the power flow between the two voltage sources. To verify all the mentioned features, a prototype was implemented experimentally, reaching a maximum efficiency of 97.5%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) becomes attractive for high-voltage and high-power applications due to its high modularity, availability, and power quality. The voltage balance issue of capacitors is very important in the MMC, and balancing of the capacitor voltage is increasingly difficult as the switching frequency is reduced. In this paper, a voltage-balancing method is proposed for the MMC switched at grid frequency with reduced losses and does not rely on the arm current. By assigning the low-frequency pulses with different pulsewidths, the capacitor charge transfer in the MMC can be controlled for keeping the capacitor voltage balancing in the MMC. Simulations and experimental studies of the MMC are conducted, and the results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed capacitor voltage-balancing method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In battery/ultracapacitor electric vehicles, a bidirectional dc/dc converter is employed to process the power according to the power references obtained from the energy management controller. The selection of this converter is of critical importance for the overall system efficiency and size. This study proposes using a three-level dc/dc converter and provides a comprehensive comparison with the conventional two-level and interleaved bidirectional buck/boost converters in terms of magnetic component size/weight and overall efficiency. Unlike the comparative studies presented in the literature, where the efficiency comparison of converters is conducted based on given fixed input and output parameters, power references obtained from a wavelet-transform-based energy management strategy with varying energy source voltages and traction power are considered in this paper. The results of the analyses show that a three-level converter exhibits higher overall efficiency and has smaller size inductor. A 1-kW bidirectional three-level dc/dc converter is designed as a proof of concept, which exhibits 93.2% peak efficiency at 200-kHz switching frequency. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The average-current-controlled boost power factor correction converter may operate in all-continuous current mode (CCM), part-CCM/discontinuous current mode (DCM), or all-DCM mode in a half line cycle under different input voltage and load conditions, and the conducted electromagnetic interference (EMI) spectrum of the converter exhibits differences in these operation modes. In this paper, by analyzing the characteristic of the harmonics of the drain-to-source voltage of the power switch, the characteristics of the common-mode and differential-mode noise of the converter are revealed in different operation modes. The analyzed results can be used to guide the EMI filter design for the converter and ensure the conducted EMI satisfying the standard under all working conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a dc-to-dc converter, which offers continuous input and output energy flow and low input current ripple, applicable and mandatory for photovoltaic (PV) arrays and maximum power tracking applications. The PV array yields exponential curves for current and voltage where maximum power occurs at the curve's mutual knee. Conventional dc-to-dc converters have a relatively high input current ripple which causes high power losses when connected to nonlinear sources like PV arrays. The proposed converter maximizes the power that can be sourced from the PV array, without the need of any electrolytic filtering capacitance. The effect of current ripple can be significant and decreases PV system efficiency. Converter simulations and experimental results support and extol the system concept. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Inductive power transfer employing high quality factor (high- $Q$) resonators is an effective method to extend the transfer range of the wireless power transfer system. However, the overenhanced loading effect on the transmitter side exacerbates the degradation of power transfer capability and the phenomenon of frequency splitting at a short coupling distance. Currently, range adaptation techniques compensate and maximize the power transfer capability at the cost of power transfer efficiency, which leads to the power plateau and power transfer efficiency bound of 50% for voltage-fed inductive power transfer (IPT) system. In this paper, a switch-mode operation is proposed to improve the transfer characteristics of the high- $Q$ voltage-fed IPT system at a short distance. By employing the resonators as an energy storage element rather than a loosely coupled transformer, the proposed method takes advantage of the transient process of energy exchange between resonators, which decouples the load with the TX circuit and maximizes the transferred power without the need of reducing efficiency of the system. The proposed operation is demonstrated by the experiment. The results show that the switch-mode operation significantly enhanced the power transfer capability of the system used in the experiment. Meanwhile, the power transfer efficiency and the transferred power of the experiment circuit are independent with each other; both of them increase with coupling monotonously. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Power converters using deterministic switching frequency schemes have switching noise concentrated at harmonic frequencies, resulting in enhanced electromagnetic emission. To suppress the harmonic spikes in three-phase multilevel voltage source converters, a digital control scheme based on dithered sigma–delta modulation (SDM) is proposed in this paper. Introducing a dithered sequence in an SDM varies the switching frequency randomly, resulting in the suppression of the spurious harmonic spikes in the output spectrum even with a regular control input. Although the switching frequency varies randomly, the minimum pulsewidth of the proposed scheme is the sampling time period, avoiding the minimum pulsewidth problem. Instead of a conventional scalar quantizer, the quantizer in the proposed dithered sigma–delta converter uses the principle of space vector quantization. The proposed scheme is experimentally verified on a constant $v/f$ open-loop induction motor drive for a three-level inverter realized by cascading two two-level inverters. The performance of the proposed scheme is compared with different pulsewidth modulation schemes in the entire modulation index, including the overmodulation region. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper investigates the torque-ripple mitigation method for a brushless dc machine caused by nonideal trapezoidal back electromotive force (EMF) using a novel one-cycle average torque control algorithm. This algorithm can ensure that the average torque follows the reference in each switching cycle. The feedback average torque is computed using the energy flowing into the system in each control cycle. No sophisticated observer is needed since neither the back EMF nor accurate rotor position information is required. No current sensor is needed to measure the phase current. Only two sensors are used to obtain the dc-bus voltage and current information to calculate the input energy. Simulations and experimental results are demonstrated to verify that the proposed method is able to reduce the major lower harmonics of the machine torque ripple by more than 70%. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Grid-connected power converters play a key role in several applications such as the integration of renewable energy sources and motor drives. For this reason, the development of high performance control strategies for this particular class of power converters has increasingly attracted the interest of both academic and industry researchers. This paper presents the predictive optimal switching sequence (OSS) direct power control (DPC) (OSS-DPC) algorithm for grid-connected converters. The OSS-DPC method belongs to the predictive-DPC family and provides the desired power references by calculating globally OSSs. To address computational and implementation issues, an efficient control algorithm, named reduced OSS-DPC, is introduced. The implementation of the proposed control strategy in a standard DSP is evaluated on a two-level power converter prototype working as a STATCOM. Experimental results show the algorithm's potential to provide high performance during both transient and steady states. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Power converters are complex devices subject to failures that can lead to undesired stops. For this reason, many fault-tolerant topologies and strategies have been deeply studied, mainly focusing on improving the electromechanical behavior of the reconfigured drive after the fault. However, it is also very important to evaluate the possible increase of power losses. In this paper, a power loss analysis is performed on a current-controlled three-phase inverter supplying a permanent-magnet synchronous motor (just chosen as an example), for all the operating modes, starting from the fault occurrence until the faulty operation mode is established. This is particularly important because the effectiveness of a fault-tolerant control strategy depends on the possibility to maintain a continuous operation. The latter is ensured only if there is no such increment of the losses that the survival of the component is at risk. The simulations are validated by means of experimental tests, and the results are discussed. The method can be easily applied to other topologies and reconfiguration strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Today's variable-speed drives are usually operated close to their maximum tolerable conditions. The fast switching of modern power electronic devices leads to high stress of the winding insulation. As a result, an insulation breakdown may lead to sudden breakdown and high economic loss. To avoid unpredictable downtimes and enable repair on demand, monitoring of the insulation health state is getting more and more important. This paper proposes a method to monitor changes in the insulation health state by evaluating the machine high-frequency properties. The deterioration of the insulation condition is usually linked with a change of insulation capacity and thus also influences high-frequency properties. Initiating a voltage step excitation of the machine by the switching of the inverter, the high-frequency properties can be identified by measuring the resulting current response. This response is usually seen as current signal ringing and contains the machine high-frequency information. By applying signal processing tools, changes in the high-frequency information are extracted, and an insulation state indicator is derived. The applicability of the method is verified by measurements on two test machines (5.5 kW and 1.4 MW) having different power ratings as well as different insulation systems. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a circuit structure with a novel inverter that is applicable to arc welding machines. The output rectifier configuration adopts the current doubler rectifier with two coupled inductors. The proposed inverter topology can keep the energy stored in the coupled inductor until the next commutation interval. Moreover, the conduction loss will be lower, which improve the conversion efficiency of the arc welding machine. The operation principle, control circuit, and inverter design example are also described in detail. Experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and efficiency of the proposed inverter topology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

PiN diodes are known to significantly contribute to switching energy as a result of reverse-recovery charge during turn-off. At high switching rates, the overlap between the high peak reserve-recovery current and the high peak voltage overshoot contributes to significant switching energy. The peak reverse-recovery current depends on the temperature and switching rate, whereas the peak diode voltage overshoot depends additionally on the stray inductance. Furthermore, the slope of the diode turn-off current is constant at high insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) switching rates and varies for low IGBT switching rates. In this paper, an analytical model for calculating PiN diode switching energy at different switching rates and temperatures is presented and validated by ultrafast and standard recovery diodes with different current ratings. Measurements of current commutation in IGBT/PiN diode pairs have been made at different switching rates and temperatures and used to validate the model. It is shown here that there is an optimal switching rate to minimize switching energy. The model is able to correctly predict the switching rate and temperature dependence of the PiN diode switching energies for different devices. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A switched boost inverter (SBI) can replace a $Z$-source inverter (ZSI) in low-power applications because it has one less $LC$ pair than the ZSI. This paper presents a class of quasi-SBIs (qSBIs) that offers several advantages when compared with a conventional SBI, including reducing the voltage stress on the capacitor, increasing the boost voltage factor, and improving input current profiles. Operating principles, steady-state analysis, and comparisons with conventional inverters are presented. A prototype based on a TMS320F28335 digital signal processor is built to verify the operating principle of the proposed qSBIs. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a real-time diagnostic algorithm for insulated-gate bipolar transistor open-circuit faults in three-level neutral-point-clamped rectifiers. This algorithm is based on the instant voltage error in the converter and requires only signals already available to the control system, avoiding the use of additional hardware. The algorithm is independent from the load and from the used control strategy and provides very fast detection and identification of the fault, with diagnostic times as low as two sample periods (in favorable conditions). Experimental results are presented for the operation of the rectifier with two distinct control and modulation strategies and in different conditions. Results show the algorithm's speed, effectiveness, and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Many recent multilevel inverter papers end up with voltage total harmonic distortion (THD) values obtained from numerical voltage spectrum calculations (measurements). Motivated by IEEE Standard 519, a part of the multilevel research community uses a limited harmonic count to evaluate the multilevel voltage quality. First, this causes significant voltage THD underestimation, particularly for relatively high frequency PWM. Second, for a three-phase star-connected balanced load with an isolated neutral and phase symmetric modulation strategy, the calculated load line and phase voltage THD become different. However, simple considerations show that line and phase voltage THDs are essentially the same in this case. It may be difficult to judge about the multilevel voltage quality given a numerically calculated (measured) voltage THD value that may be subject to computation errors. Presented are simple smooth hyperbolic voltage THD upper and lower bound approximations for single- and three-phase inverters with nearest synchronous switching. They are valid for arbitrary modulation indices and uniformly distributed level counts and may practically serve as good reference values. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, we review relevant problems in the modeling of dc–dc converters with switched capacitors. We study several approaches that overcome the exposed modeling difficulties, addressing ideal and nonideal cases and using dynamic equations that are valid in a large-signal domain. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A single-switch nonisolated dc/dc converter for a stand-alone photovoltaic (PV)-battery-powered pump system is proposed in this paper. The converter is formed by combining a buck converter with a buck-boost converter. This integration also resulted in reduced repeated power processing, hence improving the conversion efficiency. With only a single transistor, the converter is able to perform three tasks simultaneously, namely, maximum-power-point tracking (MPPT), battery charging, and driving the pump at constant flow rate. To achieve these control objectives, the two inductors operate in different modes such that variable switching frequency control and duty cycle control can be used to manage MPPT and output voltage regulation, respectively. The battery in the converter provides a more steady dc-link voltage as compared to that of a conventional single-stage converter and hence mitigates the high voltage stress problem. Experimental results of a 14-W laboratory prototype converter with a maximum efficiency of 92% confirmed the performance of the proposed converter when used in a PV-battery pump system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a seven-level single-carrier and multi-modulation-wave sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation (SCMM-SPWM) strategy is proposed. In the negative half cycle of the modulation waves (MWs), dc offsets related to the amplitude of the carrier are set on the three MWs, respectively, to apply the same comparison logics of the MWs and carrier during positive and negative half cycles of the MWs. Thus, it is implemented with only one digital signal processor chip without any other attached logical circuit or controller. The reason for generating the zero-crossing voltage pulse disturbance (ZCVPD) in this strategy is analyzed, and the elimination of the ZCVPD is proposed and verified by experimental results. The spectral characters of the conventional multi-MW-based SPWM and the proposed one are originally derived and compared with each other by simulation in detail. The theoretical analysis, simulation, and experimental results indicate that the output characters of the proposed strategy are identical to those of the conventional one; it means that the proposed strategy can replace the conventional one while with the benefit of significantly reducing the cost and bulk of the implemental platform. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In a flyback converter using the conventional valley-switching method, the switching frequency under the light load condition is higher than that under the heavy load condition, which increases the switching loss. A valley skip (VS) technique can reduce the switching frequency under the light load condition. Although it helps to reduce the switching loss, it makes the uncomfortable humming sound caused by a sudden change in switching frequency during valley change. To minimize the audible noise, a new digitally controlled soft valley change (SVC) technique is proposed in this paper. It changes the turn-on instant among valleys gradationally during several switching cycles under any transient situation. The SVC also helps to spread switching frequency so that electromagnetic interference can be reduced. The proposed technique is suitable for the applications that operate under the dynamic load condition such as an audio amplifier. The proposed technique is implemented in an integrated circuit and verified by a prototype experimental test board of 60 W/12 V. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Conventional matrix converters (MCs) have limited voltage gain that is less than 0.866, whether for direct MC (DMC) or indirect MC (IMC). Existing Z-source (ZS)/discontinuous quasi-Z-source (qZS) DMCs and ZS IMCs achieved larger than 0.866 voltage gain; however, the former inherited the complex commutation from DMC, and the latter involved a ZS network in dc link and led to non-all-silicon solution. In this paper, ZS and discontinuous qZS networks of existing ZS/qZS DMCs are used for an IMC topology for simplifying commutation and having high voltage gain, but they require extra input filter to reduce current harmonics. A new continuous qZS IMC is proposed, where a qZS network integrates the filtering function of the grid side; hence, additional input filter is avoided in the proposed continuous qZS IMC. Three new IMCs are compared in detail, in terms of voltage gain, current ripple, voltage ripple, inductor current and capacitor voltage stresses, ZS/qZS switch current and voltage stresses, filtering function, input current total harmonic distortion (THD), output voltage THD, and efficiency. Their control and modulation methods are presented to achieve the desired performances. Experimental comparisons verify the theoretical analysis and that the proposed continuous qZS IMC is a promising topology. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a control scheme for the dynamic performance improvement of an AC/DC converter using the model predictive direct power control (MPDPC) with a duty cycle. In the MPDPC, the active and reactive power is simultaneously controlled with a single cost function. If either of the two control targets has a large power variation, the control weight is concentrated on one side, which causes mutual interference. Because of such mutual interference, the control dynamics of the AC/DC converter deteriorates. Due to the control weight being concentrated on one side using the single cost function, even if the control dynamics of the other side decreases, the dynamic performance of the system is improved by reconfiguring the cost function that has the weighting factor to minimize the decline of the system dynamics that is caused by the mutual interference. The effectiveness of the proposed control scheme is verified by comparing its results with those of the conventional MPDPC. The results are obtained through the simulations and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Three-level topologies are widely used in back-to-back converters of wind turbine generation (WTG) systems. In comparison with a conventional two-level topology, three-level topologies have more advantages, particularly for the high power. Neutral-point clamped (NPC) and T-type are typical three-level topologies. An open-switch fault of a three-level rectifier that is connected to a permanent-magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) leads to the current distortion and torque vibration in WTG systems. Furthermore, WTG systems can break down in the worst case. Therefore, a tolerance control for open-switch faults is required to improve the reliability of WTG systems. WTG systems by applying the tolerance control can be stopped safely and prevent additional problems. Depending on the situation, it can keep the operation of WTG systems under open-switch fault. The effects of outer open-switch faults of three-level rectifiers are analyzed by considering PMSG specifications in this paper. Moreover, a tolerance control for outer open-switch faults of the NPC and T-type three-level rectifiers are proposed with existing tolerance controls for inner open-switch faults. The proposed tolerance control is to inject the exact $d$-axis current value to eliminate current distortion. The simulation and experiment are conducted to prove the feasibility of the proposed tolerance control and to identify its performance. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new post-fault modulation strategy is proposed to operate the direct matrix converter as close as possible to its desired normal operation under an open-switch fault condition. The proposed strategy determines appropriate switching states associated with eight, out of the nine, remaining healthy switches of the converter, to synthesize the reference voltages. The corresponding duty cycles of the determined switching states are calculated by formulating a nonlinear optimization problem that aims at minimization of the error between the desired reference voltages and the voltages generated by the switching states. The solution to the nonlinear optimization problem is obtained based on the Karush–Kuhn–Tucker conditions. The performance of the proposed modulation strategy is evaluated based on time-domain simulation studies in the MATLAB/Simulink software environment and also experimentally verified. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Affected by the equivalent series resistance (ESR) of the devices in the circuit, the voltage-conversion ratio of traditional boost converter is limited. Various topologies have been developed to provide a high step-up voltage gain. An inherent high voltage gain can be achieved in a dual-switch converter with the advantages of low voltage and current stress on the switches. However, this converter has a strict requirement of the parameters' consistency. This paper discusses the steady-state operation principle of the converter in detail under the condition that the parameters are inconsistent and then illustrates the solutions to balance the voltage on the switches and suppress the resonance with passive lossless clamping. Finally, a prototype has been established in the laboratory, and simulation and experimental results have been given to verify the analysis and the effectiveness of clamping method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper introduces an enhanced commutation method applied to the indirect matrix converter topology. It is based on the detection of the load current polarity so as to cancel the turn-on delay times of the load-side converter's switches. The proposed method allows the grid-side converter devices to commutate at zero current with larger time interval widths provided for this safe commutation. Moreover, it has been shown through experimental results, carried out on a laboratory prototype of the matrix converter, that a substantial improvement of line current total harmonic distortion is achieved. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes that transmitter-to-receiver resonator efficiency can be enhanced by the novel combination of resonator and switching controller at the receiver side. More specifically, the switching controller modulates the load resistance such that the receiver resonance is amplified. This increases the loaded-Q, reflected resistance, and, subsequently, overall efficiency and distance range. The efficiency and distance range are superior than resonator-only receivers, despite of losses from the switching controller itself. This breaks the common routine that typical switching converters only lower the power flow and efficiency when they are inserted in wireless power chain. Moreover, the scheme solves the common problem of load-variation-induced efficiency degradation. More specifically, if the present load value is deviated from optimal point, the proposed controller adjusts the effective load resistance to amplify the reflected resistance. The loaded-Q amplification is easily controlled simply by changing the duty ratio of switching controller. This is more feasible than traditional impedance transformation network whose control requires large array of capacitor-switch matrix or movement of coil position. The efficiencies with and without the switching-controlled resonance amplification are 60.2% and 51.7%, respectively, for a 20-W loading at 15-cm distance for a 20 cm $\times$ 16 cm receiver. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

In this paper, a new single-phase cascaded multilevel inverter is proposed. This inverter is comprised of a series connection of the proposed basic unit and is able to only generate positive levels at the output. Therefore, an H-bridge is added to the proposed inverter. This inverter is called the developed cascaded multilevel inverter. In order to generate all voltage levels (even and odd) at the output, four different algorithms are proposed to determine the magnitude of dc voltage sources. Reduction in the number of power switches, driver circuits, and dc voltage sources is the advantage of the developed single-phase cascaded multilevel inverter. As a result, the installation space and cost of the inverter are reduced. These features are obtained by the comparison of the conventional cascaded multilevel inverters with the proposed cascaded topology. The ability of the proposed inverter to generate all voltage levels (even and odd) is reconfirmed by using the experimental results of a 15-level inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The industrial use of inductive power transfer (IPT) systems is becoming widespread, ranging from monorail systems, motors, people movers, and battery charging applications. This paper proposes a 3-D IPT system driven by a multiple-phase power converter. This is aided by spice circuitry simulation of the power converter, finite-element-assisted software magnetic frequency analysis, and via implementation of the proposed system. The proposed system consists of a cubic power transfer primary window generated by a rotating magnetic flux flow path. This rotating field is loosely coupled via magnetomotive force (MMF) induction into a secondary power pick-up. The system has been demonstrated as a low-power battery charging system. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Dynamic voltage restorer (DVR) is a definitive solution toward compensation of voltage sag with phase jump. Conventional DVR topologies, however, have dc links and two-stage power conversions. This increases its size, cost, and associated losses. Therefore, topologies without the dc link, mitigating sag by utilizing direct ac–ac converters, are preferable over the conventional ones. As no storage device is employed, compensation by these topologies is limited only by the voltages at the point of common coupling that is feeding the converters. In this paper, a direct-ac–ac-converter-based topology fed with line voltages is proposed. The arrangement provides increased range of compensation in terms of magnitude and phase angle correction. Detailed simulations have been carried out in MATLAB to compare the capability of the proposed topology with other similar topologies. Experimental results are presented to validate the capability of the topology to compensate various sags. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A filter is required to eliminate the high-frequency switching ripple present in the input current of a matrix converter (MC). Design of such a filter requires an estimation of the higher harmonic components present in the input current. This paper presents a simple closed-form analytical expression for the RMS input current ripple injected by the MC. The expression shows the variation with load power factor and is independent of the output frequency. This is used in a step-by-step procedure to design various input filter components from the specifications of allowable total harmonic distortion in the grid current and distortion in the input voltage. The MC is modeled for the grid frequency component in order to evaluate the design for input power factor and voltage drop across the filter. A damping resistance has been designed ensuring minimum ohmic loss. The analytical estimation of the ripple current and the proposed design procedure have been validated by simulations in MATLAB/Simulink and experiments on a laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper proposes a high-performance “cycloconverter-type” high-frequency-link (HFL) single-phase rectifier with an active voltage clamper, which provides bidirectional two-stage galvanic isolation ac–dc power conversion. Modulation strategy, modeling method, and control scheme are comprehensively developed for the HFL rectifier to guarantee its superior performances: 1) two-stage power conversion and soft-switching switch devices lead to high conversion efficiency; 2) complete elimination of voltage spikes during commutation ensures safe operation of high-frequency switching devices; and 3) it can equally function as a high-performance conventional Pulsewidth Modulation (PWM) rectifier: sinusoidal input current, constant dc output voltage, bidirectional power flows between dc side and ac side, and adjustable power factor. A prototype of the proposed HFL rectifier is built for evaluation. The experiment results demonstrate the efficacy of the soft-switching HFL rectifier and its highly promising control performance. The proposed rectifier offers a high-efficiency, high-power-density, and high-performance galvanic isolation power conversion solution to extensive applications. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents input-series–output-parallel (ISOP) configuration for single-phase front-end buck rectifiers (BRs). The configuration is especially suitable for traction applications, where the complete rectification system needs to withstand high ac voltages and supply medium-power loads. The primary rectification module of the proposed configuration is based on pulsewidth-modulated BR (current source inverter topology). The desired isolation, mandatory for ISOP connection, is provided at the dc stage through a medium-frequency/high-frequency transformer. Equal power sharing by modules is achieved from the ac side through input voltage and current sharing. The proposed control scheme is configured using two loops. While the outer loop regulates the output dc voltage and active wave shaping of the source current, the inner loop ensures stable voltage sharing. The performance of the proposed ISOP configuration is verified using numerical simulation. Experimental verification is achieved through a 2-kW grid-connected laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The propagation delay of a comparator and dead time causes the duty-discontinuity region near the boundary of the step-down and step-up regions in a non-inverting buck–boost (NIBB) converter. The duty-discontinuity region leads to an unstable output voltage and an unpredictable output voltage ripple, which might cause the entire power system to shut down. In this paper, a mode-transition technique called duty-lock control is proposed for a digitally controlled NIBB converter. It locks the duty cycle and eliminates the error between the output voltage and the reference signal by using a proposed fixed reference scheme that ensures the stability of the digital controller and output voltage. The experimental results that were applied to a field-programmable gate array-based platform revealed that the output voltage of the NIBB converter is stable throughout the entire transition region, without any efficiency tradeoffs. The input voltage of the converter that was provided by a Li-ion battery was 2.7–4.2 V, and the output voltage was 1.0–3.6 V, which is suitable for radio-frequency power amplifiers. The switching frequency was 500 kHz, and the maximum load current was 450 mA. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]