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Voltage-controlled three-phase three-leg inverters are widely applied in various occasions. The inverters are generally switched to the current-controlled mode to limit the fault currents when short-circuit faults happen. Under symmetrical fault, the inverter can be controlled as a symmetrical, three-phase current source. However, the voltage limiting will happen under asymmetrical fault. As a result, the fault phase currents will be distorted and cannot be completely controlled. Considering that the voltage limiting is mainly caused by large load impedance of healthy phase under asymmetrical fault, the voltage limiting is avoided by paralleling the virtual impedance with the output filter capacitor in this paper. As a result, the current limiting loop is not broken and the fault phase currents can be effectively controlled. The implementation of virtual impedance in control system and the influence of virtual impedance on the stability of system are also analyzed in detail in this paper. The theoretical results are validated by experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, very high frequency (VHF) converter has attracted much attention. However, with rich parasitic parameters and complex resonance links, there are some great difficulties to the modeling of such systems. Taking the on-off controlled VHF resonant boost converter as an example, this paper presents an accurate modeling and analysis method that considers multiple parasitic parameters. First, the closed-loop VHF converter system is divided into a main network and a parasitic oscillation network. Then, based on the operation analysis, an equivalent circuit model characterized by a time-varying input voltage source and two variable duty-cycle controlled switches is proposed. It worth noting that both the time-varying input and the controlled switches take into account the influences of the parameters. Furthermore, the periodic approximate analytical solution of the output voltage in the on stage is obtained by using the equivalent small parameter method to the proposed circuit model. And then combining the solution of the parasitic oscillation network and on-off state switching conditions, the steady-state waveform of output voltage can be obtained quickly. Finally, a prototype with operating frequency of 21.44 MHz is built to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel polygonal voltage space vector structure (SVS) having 30 sides, for a star-connected induction motor drive. The SVS eliminates the presence of harmonics up to 25th order from motor phase voltage throughout the entire modulation range, providing a torque profile devoid of lower order pulsations. Linear modulation is extended till 99.63% of base speed without exceeding the motor phase voltage rating. Topology consists of a dc-link fed primary inverter and two equal low voltage modular capacitor fed secondary inverters. Here the harmonics generated by the primary inverter is canceled by the secondary inverter which acts as a switched capacitive filter. Detailed description of the SVS generation and timing calculations are provided in this paper. Effectiveness of the proposed scheme is validated using experimental results, inverter loss calculations, and harmonic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Four-level hybrid-clamped inverter is a newly proposed topology that can operate under a wide voltage range without switches connected in series. However, when it is applied in medium voltage high power conversions, the flying capacitors in each phase will occupy a huge volume and a high switching frequency is required to restrain the voltage ripples. In order to overcome this drawback, a four-level active neutral-point clamped inverter is discussed in this paper, which consists of only six switches and no diodes or flying capacitors are required. In order to balance the neutral-point voltages under the full power factor and modulation index range, a capacitor voltage balance method based on carrier-overlapped pulsewidth modulation is proposed in this paper. The upper and lower dc-link capacitor voltages are balanced by zero-sequence voltage injection and the central dc-link capacitor voltage is balanced by adjusting the duty cycles of switching signals slightly. Simulation and experimental results are presented to confirm the validity of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

First harmonic analysis (FHA) is arguably the most widely used analytical technique for wireless power transfer (WPT) circuits due to its simplicity. Although FHA can provide closed-form solutions, the existence of rectifier diode forward voltage drop and higher order harmonics, especially the second and third harmonics at variable duty cycle operation, can significantly deteriorate its accuracy. This paper presents an accurate and efficient method called enhanced multiple harmonic analysis (eMHA) for the optimal design and optimal control of WPT systems. The eMHA method considers the nature of nonlinear rectification networks under nonsinusoidal current and reexamines the concept of the equivalent load. As a result, the rectified WPT system is transformed into a series of linear systems with complex load impedances. The steady-state electric quantities can be then explicitly calculated. This enables eMHA to seamlessly work with numerical optimization algorithms to facilitate the automated design and optimization of WPT systems. An example of optimal design and optimal control of a 10 W WPT system is demonstrated. The results obtained by eMHA and FHA are also compared. A prototype of the designed circuit was constructed. The accuracy and effectiveness of eMHA are verified by experimental measurements. This paper is accompanied by a MATLAB-based analytical tool with a graphical user interface demonstrating the effects of circuit variables on electrical quantities and waveforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new single stage three-phase ac–dc converter with four switches and galvanic isolation is proposed in this paper. The new converter is simple and uses fewer switches than previously proposed ac–dc converters of the same type. It is a bridgeless converter that can operate with continuous input current and with any pulsewidth modulated method suitable for a standard three-phase six-switch voltage source rectifier. In this paper, the operation, control, analysis, and design of the proposed converter are explained and its features are discussed. Experimental results obtained from a prototype that confirm the feasibility of the converter are presented as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper confirms that removing antiparallel silicon carbide (SiC) Schottky barrier diodes (SBDs) from SiC-based inverters offers positive effects without critical impact on inverter loss and electromagnetic interference (EMI) issues, moreover, the removal of SBDs reduces the inverter losses in many cases and noise emissions. This conclusion leads to the possibility to improve the power densities by removing SBDs. However, the removal of SBDs may cause some disadvantages such as an increase of the reverse conduction loss and influence of the body diode recovery phenomenon. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation of these advantages and disadvantages is necessary. In this paper, design criteria are proposed to clarify the conditions in which SiC-based inverters without SBDs have advantages over those with SBDs from the viewpoint of losses. On the other hand, to achieve the removal of SBDs, it is also necessary to confirm that removing SBDs does not cause severe EMI issues. The paper confirms that switching noises are reduced by the removal of SBDs; this is due to the larger damping effect of the SiC mosfets without SBDs than that of SiC mosfets with SBDs. The validity of the theoretical analyses and design criteria is confirmed with comprehensive experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to increase the efficiency of modern microprocessor power supplies used in data centers, 380-V dc power distribution systems have been attracting attention due to their high efficiency and high reliability. This paper presents an innovative single-stage approach for 380-V voltage regulator modules (VRMs) based on a quasi-resonant multilevel topology constant on-time operation. The proposed topology inherently integrates the multiphase approach, providing fast phase shedding and flat high-efficiency curves even at light-load conditions. This is a unique advantage, which is not possible to establish in the two-stage approach, which is very important in server architectures, and where high efficiency is required even at light-load conditions. This paper analyzes the circuit topology and proposes a control architecture for fast transient response, including current-sharing capabilities. The digital controller has been implemented in 0.16- $\mu$ m lithography together with a digital pulsewidth modulation with a 195-ps resolution and a 40-MS/s 7-bit analog-to-digital converter. Experimental results show an efficiency of 93% for a 120-A 380–1.8-V VRM power supply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a fifth-order resonant immittance network based dual-active-bridge (DAB) converter and an optimal modulation method that will ensure high-efficiency operation of the converter under wide-range variations in voltage ratio and output power level. The proposed modulation method is based on the concept of total power loss minimization, where a loss model is developed and an optimization algorithm is formulated to compute the optimal set of internal and external phase shift parameters that will lead to the maximum efficiency for a given set of operating parameters including voltage ratio and output power level. It is found that to maintain high-efficiency operation under wide-range variations in voltage ratio and output power level, the DAB converter is required to switch between different operation modes and neither soft-switching operation nor unity-power-factor operation is able to achieve wide-range high efficiency performance when used alone. The importance of $reconfigurability$ of operation mode for achieving wide-range high efficiency performance is clearly illustrated in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, two simple control methods are proposed for improving direct torque control (DTC) with a constant frequency torque controller (CFTC-DTC) in induction machines. The CFTC-DTC was initially introduced to reduce torque ripple and achieve constant switching frequency in inverters. However, when compared to the original DTC, the CFTC-DTC algorithm suffers from slow torque dynamic response owing to the selection of zero-voltage vectors during torque transient. In addition, when the motor operates at low speed, flux droop occurs at sector transitions, which leads to undesirable current distortions. The problem of flux droop occurs because of short-duty voltage cycles and small radial voltage components at low speeds. This paper has two main contributions—to eliminate zero-voltage vectors during torque dynamics in order to establish a fast torque response in the transient state, and to minimize the flux droop at the sector transitions by applying another triangular carrier and modifying the torque output in order to increase the duty voltage cycles at low motor speeds. A detailed analysis of the problems and proposed methods is presented. Experimental results are provided to validate the effectiveness of both proposed methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Various methods have been presented in the past to emulate the electrical behavior of modular multilevel converters (MMCs). To meet the demands for the reliability aspect study of MMCs, this paper proposes a viable setup to emulate the thermal behavior and to investigate its feasibility for reliability testing and thermal model validation of the power modules in the MMC. The proposed mission profile emulator has three distinctive features: 1) capable of emulating and measuring the thermal stresses of power modules; 2) capable of implementing practical switching profile as a full-scale MMC; and 3) having significantly reduced requirement for dc power supply compared to existing setups used for electrical studies. Theoretical discussions, and simulations as well as the experimental results are presented to demonstrate the capability of the mission profile emulator both electrically and thermally. Moreover, this paper is accompanied by a video demonstrating how to measure the junction temperature of the power devices using the optical fiber and the thermal camera. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of applications which require high-voltage switches has created a tendency to use semiconductor device series stacks. These series stacks permit operation at blocking voltages above semiconductor elements’ nominal voltage. Insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBT) are currently utilized for controllability and switching speed, when these topologies are employed. The main challenge therewith is guaranteeing voltage balance between IGBTs, both when blocked and when switching transistors. Most of the methods which have been proposed to mitigate static and dynamic voltage unbalances increase transistor losses. The series stack loss-less high voltage switch (LHVS) which mitigates voltage unbalances, thus reducing switching losses, is presented in this paper. LHVS consists of a circuit, which ensures soft IGBT switching, an energy recovery circuit, and a gate delay compensation circuit. Additionally, the insulation voltage level is guaranteed to be equal between control circuit and high-voltage side of each IGBT. The operating principle of the LHVS is detailed in this paper, as is experimental validation which has been performed for three series stack modules. Static unbalances are reduced to 1%, while the differences between collector–emitter voltage curves in switching “on” do not surpass 8 ns, and switching losses are reduced by 41%, as compared to the hard-switching topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a resonant switching cell model to analyze and design the single-ended resonant dc–dc converters. The single-ended zero-voltage switching (ZVS) converters such as the Class E converter are efficient for megahertz switching because they feature low turn-on and turn-off switching losses. Also, they use only a ground-referenced switch, allowing a simple gate drive circuit. In this paper, we investigate the single-ended resonant converter with the small input inductance, whereas the conventional Class E converter has a large input inductance. The main contribution of this paper is to propose the resonant switching cell as an analytic model that simplifies the analysis and the design of the resonant dc–dc converters. Furthermore, this paper presents the design method of the resonant switching cell model for minimizing the resonant current magnitude and conduction loss while the converter maintains ZVS property. The experimental results from a 10-MHz GaN-based prototype demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the analysis and design based on the proposed resonant switching cell model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new dc–dc high voltage gain converter with low-voltage stresses on switches and diodes is proposed. Even though, in the topology of the proposed converter there are not any coupled inductors and transformer utilized, the voltage conversion ratio of the proposed converter is considerable in comparison to its conventional types. Also, two switches of the proposed converter provide longer charge time for two inductors which make the proposed converter capable of providing high voltage gain without preselecting extremely large duty cycles. In addition, the number of power circuit components of the proposed structure are few and the voltage stresses on semiconductor elements are low. In this paper, theoretical analysis of the proposed converter for each operating mode is presented and the voltage gain, voltage and average current stresses of elements, maximum input current ripple, efficiency and equations of critical inductances are calculated. Moreover, to verify the capability of the proposed converter, it is comprehensively compared with other similar recently presented high voltage gain boost converters. Finally, an approximately 12 V/380 V and 520-W prototype of the proposed converter is implemented in laboratory to demonstrate its practical performance, then, the experimental results reconfirm each other and theoretical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, an overload and short-circuit protection method is proposed for voltage source inverter-based uninterruptible power supply (UPS) system. In order to achieve high reliability and availability of the UPS, short circuit and overload protection scheme are necessary. When overload or short circuit happens, using the proposed control method, the amplitude of the output current can be limited to a constant value, which can be set by the customer to avoid the destruction of the power converter, and to obtain a faster recovery performance as well. The detailed principle of the proposed protection method is discussed in this paper. It mainly contains three parts in the control diagram for current limit, first is the anti-windup in the voltage and current controllers, then the feedforward of the capacitor voltage to the current control loop, the last is the fast reset of the resonant part of the current controller when overcurrent happens. The procedure of developing the control method is also presented in the paper. Experimental results on a commercial UPS system are presented to verify the effectiveness of the control method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fault tolerance in wind turbines is considered crucial to increase their reliability and availability levels. This paper presents a fault-tolerant direct-drive permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) using new direct control techniques, with the ability to handle power semiconductor open-circuit faults in the full-scale back-to-back converter. The fault-tolerant topology consists of a five-leg converter, with a shared leg connected to a generator phase and to its corresponding grid phase, through a triode for alternating current (TRIAC). The main contribution of this paper consists of the development of an alternative direct torque control and direct power control schemes for both machine-side converter and grid-side converter, respectively. Moreover, a reliable fault diagnostics algorithm without requiring additional sensors is also integrated, providing the information required to instantaneously trigger fault-tolerant remedial strategies. Simulation and experimental results are presented to validate the effectiveness of the proposed fault-tolerant PMSG drive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a novel seven-level inverter topology for medium-voltage high-power applications. It consists of eight active switches and two inner flying capacitor (FC) units forming a similar structure as in a conventional active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) inverter. This unique arrangement reduces the number of active and passive components. A simple modulation technique reduces cost and complexity in the control system design without compromising reactive power capability. In addition, compared to major conventional seven-level inverter topologies, such as the neutral point clamped, FC, cascaded H-bridge, and ANPC topologies, the new topology reduces the dc-link voltage requirement by 50%. This recued dc-link voltage makes the new topology appealing for various industrial applications. Experimental results from a 2.2-kVA prototype are presented to support the theoretical analysis presented in this paper. The prototype demonstrates a conversion efficiency of around 97.2% ± 1% for a wide load range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents bidirectional grid-connected modular multilevel converters (MMC) with direct digital control and division-summation processes to achieve power-injection and rectification functions. A direct digital control is developed to track current references, regulate dc-bus voltage and cell voltage, and balance the upper and lower dc-bus voltages. It can accommodate wide filter-inductance variation and take care of source voltage harmonics to achieve tight current tracking and low distortion output current. Based on the power-balance principle, the commands of arm currents can be determined directly. In this paper, the MMC configuration is introduced first, and then the control laws for current tracking and voltage regulation are derived in detail. Experimental and simulated results obtained from two 50 kW MMCs operated in power-injection and rectification modes have verified the analysis and discussion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clamp mode snubbers are very well suited for the series structure of the insulated-gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs) in pulsed power applications. They properly meet the necessities expected from them such as the fast operating of the series IGBTs since they have no effect on the gate side. In addition, they can provide safe voltage condition for the IGBTs in short circuit faults, which are very probable in pulsed applications. The clamp mode snubber can perform its voltage balancing task whenever the power capacity of the snubber can support the injected powers due to the voltage unbalancing factors. This paper initially introduces the main factors injecting power to the snubbers. Then, it will be illustrated that the exact injected power to each predetermined snubber cannot be determined due to the uncertainties about the effect of the voltage unbalancing factors. Although it is impossible to determine the exact value of the power injected to each snubber, the total injected powers to the snubbers can be calculated. Therefore, as an effective remedy, this paper proposes a concentrated snubber. Using the proposal, all the injected powers are conducted to a centralized circuit and can be easily managed. In addition, analytical expressions are provided for proper dimensioning of the proposed concentrated snubber elements. Furthermore, the performance of the proposed concentrated snubber is evaluated using simulations and experimental prototyping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates a Vienna rectifier as a charger for series-connected battery packs. Focusing on carrier-based pulsewidth modulation (CBPWM), the ripple current flowing through the neutral point (NP) results in the voltage oscillation if the loads are resistive. To reduce the ripple of average NP current with mitigated distortion under balanced and unbalanced dc-link voltages conditions, a novel CBPWM with segmented component injection scheme (SCIS) is proposed in this paper. After dc component injection, continuous intervals for optimized component injection and clamping intervals for compensation component injection are identified. Optimized components are calculated originally based on unbalanced factor to make the average NP current zero-size in one switching period. Moreover, unique compensation components generate suitable NP current to shape the sinusoidal input currents according to the circuit analysis. In consequence, the SCIS not only keeps the input current with low-harmonic distortion, but also minimizes the oscillation of dc-link voltage under balanced and unbalanced conditions. In addition, the value of the NP current during the clamping intervals is analyzed under various operating conditions. The effectiveness and the performance of the proposed SCIS are verified by simulation and experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a novel modeling approach that allows to obtain fast simulations of pulsewidth-modulated dc–dc switched-mode power supplies (SMPS). The proposed methodology combines the use of precise switched models during transient evolutions and averaged models during steady-state or slowly varying conditions. In that way, the resulting mixed modeling approach enables to obtain the detailed switching behavior of SMPS in the context of long-term simulations. The commutation between models is automatically performed in runtime by an algorithm that detects the transient or slowly varying condition according to the evolution of some model variables. When the precise switched model is used, the mentioned algorithm also adjusts the averaged model parameters so that its results are accurate irrespective of the operating point. This paper also describes the implementation of the methodology in the Modelica language and reports simulation experiments showing that the results are as accurate as those obtained using precise switched models, but several times faster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an interleaved boost converter with a bifold Dickson voltage multiplier suitable for interfacing low-voltage renewable energy sources to high-voltage distribution buses and other applications that require a high-voltage-gain conversion ratio. The proposed converter was constructed from two stages: an interleaved boost stage, which contains two inductors operated by two low-side active switches, and a voltage multiplier cell (VMC) stage, which mainly consists of diodes and capacitors to increase the overall voltage gain. The proposed converter offers a high-voltage-gain ratio with low voltage stress on the semiconductor switches as well as the passive components. This allows the selection of efficient and compact components. Moreover, the required inductance that ensures operation in the continuous conduction mode (CCM) is lower than the one in the conventional interleaved boost converter. The distinction of the proposed converter is that the inductors’ currents are equal, regardless of the number of VMCs. Equal sharing of interleaved boost-stage currents reduces the conduction loss in the active switches as well as the inductors and thus improves the overall efficiency, as the conduction power loss is a quadratic function. In this paper, the theory of operation and steady-state analysis of the proposed converter are illustrated and verified by simulation results. A $\text{200-W}$ hardware prototype was implemented to convert a $\text{20-V}$ input source to a $\text{400-V}$ dc load and validate both the theory and the simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multilevel inverters (MLIs) are being used in wide range of power electronic applications. These converters have attracted a lot of attention during recent years and exist in different topologies with similar basic concepts. This paper presents five main submodules (SMs) to be used as the basic structures of MLIs. The paper reviews the common MLI topologies from the structural point of view. The topologies are divided into the different SMs to show conventional MLI configurations and future topologies that can be created from the main SMs. A comparative study between different topologies is performed in detail. The MLIs are categorized and investigated with from different perspectives such as the number of components, the ability to create inherent negative voltage, working in regeneration mode and using single dc source. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a balancing algorithm for the so-called Director Switch, a controlled, reverse conducting, self-powered, high-voltage switch, using series-connected insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). This is a key component on two new voltage-source, high-voltage direct current (HVDC) converter topologies. These, which promise efficiency, cost, and size reductions, are an alternate arm converter and a series bridge converter. One of the main design challenges of the director switch is how to supply the IGBT gate drivers, and other auxiliary electronics while overcoming the high-voltage insulation barrier to ground level. In this paper, this is achieved by using the energy stored in a capacitive clamp snubber circuit, which also helps with the overvoltage mitigation during rare hard-switching events. However, the clamp capacitor and by proxy the IGBT voltages become highly unbalanced during operation, compromising the integrity of the switch. This paper presents a balancing strategy that consists in applying a controlled delay in the switching of the IGBT levels, in a way that forces a voltage balance on all the switch levels. The paper explains the unbalance. Then, the balancing strategy is explained and validated on simulation and on a high-voltage experimental rig, on switches comprising two and three series-connected IGBTs, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new class of topologies of single-stage high-frequency ac-link power converters, which is capable of providing both voltage step up/down within a wide frequency and voltage ranges. The proposed family, which supports bidirectional power flow, can interface various single/multi-port dc and/or single/multi-phase ac systems to provide dc–dc, dc–ac, ac–dc, or ac–ac power conversion. In this family of converter, which offers a very modular structure, a small inductor that forms the link exchanges power entirely or partially between the source and load. The proposed family can function in buck, boost, and/or buck–boost modes of operation, and a combination of these modes of operation is also feasible. In comparison to the parallel inductive four-quadrant link converters, the proposed family features a significantly reduced link peak current, reduced switch ratings, and reduced total number of power switches. These features enhance the efficiency, reduce the total cost, and increase the power density of the system. In order to further improve the overall efficiency of the system, minimize the current/voltage stress over all utilized semiconductor devices, and lower electromagnetic interference (EMI), a small capacitor is placed in parallel with the link inductor to realize soft-switching operation for the proposed configurations. Moreover, the proposed converters have the potential to incorporate a lightweight single-phase high-frequency transformer for electrical isolation. The proposed circuit topologies prevent reverse recovery issues and eliminate losses corresponding to body diodes of power switching devices via utilizing power switches in conjunction with external fast recovery diodes. The proposed family offers a very high level of reliability owing to its immunity from short circuit of input and output terminals and open circuit of the link inductor, which may occur in other power converters due to commutation problem resulting from a short deadtime or an overlap time between switches, unwanted control command, delay in electronic circuits, or EMI noise's misgating on or off, in addition to the absence of electrolytic capacitors in the power circuit. A control approach is also developed to regulate input and output currents in one stage of power conversion. A detailed theoretical analysis, operation, design methodology, and control strategy of the proposed family are provided in this paper, and the effectiveness and performance of the proposed converter family are verified via simulation results and experimentally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Switching behavior analysis is an indispensable step for evaluating the steady-state performance of a bidirectional dc–dc converter and a prerequisite for soft-switching modulation design. For dual-bridge series resonant dc–dc converters (DBSRCs), the commonly used fundamental harmonic approximation (FHA) does not usually provide predictions accurate enough for reliable analysis and design. This paper discloses the exact closed-form solution for the zero-voltage switching (ZVS) operation conditions of DBSRCs for the most general case, in which all modulation quantities—i.e., phase shift, duty cycles, and switching frequency—are included. The proposed approach relies on a geometrical analysis of the converter state-plane trajectory, and allows us to analytically predict the ZVS or hard-switching state of any switch and for any given converter operating point. By inherently capturing the effects of all tank harmonics, the model disclosed in this paper shows higher accuracy than the conventional FHA-based approach, and translates into a practical tool for ZVS prediction and optimization at the converter design stage. Based on the derived analytical results, switching behavior of DBSRCs with minimum rms current trajectory (MCT) modulation is investigated, and an effective design choice of resonant-to-switching frequency ratio is presented, which contributes to reduced switching losses and enhanced efficiency. Furthermore, a variable frequency modulation scheme is formulated, achieving ZVS operation of all transistors over a wide input/output voltage range and efficiency improvement versus MCT technique. The analysis and conclusions are validated via extensive experimental tests on a 700 W DBSRC prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In low-power applications of photovoltaic (PV) systems, the transformerless grid-connected inverters have been preferred to increase the efficiency and reduce the cost, size, and power losses when they are compared to the ones with the transformer. A transformerless single-phase inverter topology with a single dc-link capacitor for the grid-connected PV systems is proposed in this paper. The proposed inverter has been simulated by using a cooperation process of the MATLAB and SPICE package programs and it has been implemented for experimental verification. The proposed inverter reduces the high-frequency common-mode leakage current caused by parasitic capacitances of PV panels, whereas it is controlled with the unipolar sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation. Also, the results show that the common-mode voltage remains constant. The efficiency of the proposed inverter has been compared to that of the most common topologies having the dc-link decoupling during the zero voltage states. This paper is accompanied by a video file demonstrating the power loss distribution in the inverter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new class of bidirectional partial-resonance power converters is presented. The proposed family can be configured to interface single- or multi-port dc, single- or multi-phase ac systems at input-side and/or output-side. The proposed family offers a very modular structure, which can lead to cost reduction from a common designed module. In this converter, which accomplishes power conversion in a single stage, a small inductor placed in series with the input and output switch-bridges forms the link. This small link inductor is responsible for transferring power between different ports of the system. The proposed topologies can operate in buck, boost, and buck–boost modes of operation to step up and/or step down the voltage. In buck–boost mode of operation, the converter is controlled such that the power is entirely transferred through the link inductor; whereas, in buck or boost modes of operation only a fraction of the power is transferred through the link inductor, and the remaining power is directly transferred from input phases to the output phases. Galvanic isolation, which is typically a prominent factor contributing to power density of a converter, can be provided by means of a compact and lightweight single-phase high-frequency transformer added to the link. In comparison with earlier generations of partial-resonance inductive-link power converters, in the proposed converter, the level of link peak current and consequently power-loss, as well as voltage and current stress of switches are dramatically decreased. A very small film capacitor can be placed in parallel with the link inductor to facilitate zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) operation for all the switches/diodes. Apart from increasing the overall efficiency, minimized dv/dt stress and improvement in power density are achieved by adding the link capacitor. The proposed converter employs four-quadrant switches, i.e., bidirectional-conducting bidirectional-blocking switches, and charges the link inductor in both positive and negative directions in each cycle. In view of this, better utilization of the link inductor and lower total harmonic distortion (THD) are offered. Furthermore, two distinct switching algorithms are developed for the proposed family of converters. In this paper, the detailed behavior of the proposed family is investigated analytically, and simulation and experimental results are presented to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of the proposed converter. A low-power proof-of-concept prototype with input voltage of 59 V/161 V, load voltage of 178 V/73.5 V, maximum switching frequency of 4.9 kHz/3.65 kHz at 215 W/450 W in a step-up/step-down operation is considered for the experimental verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a dc-link voltage control method of a single-phase back-to-back cascaded H-bridge inverter (SBCI) for a medium-voltage motor drive system. The main advantage of the SBCI topology over the conventional regenerative cascaded H-bridge topology with a three-phase active front-end (AFE) is a simple system structure, which is composed of an input transformer, a power cell, a current sensor, etc. However, the challenging points of the SBCI are larger voltage ripple in the dc-link capacitor and imbalance of dc-link voltages of each phase. The asymmetric dc-link voltage of each power cells could cause unstable operation such as over-modulation due to the lack of the dc-link voltage of a particular phase and result in over-voltage or under-voltage faults. In this paper, the control strategy of the dc-link voltage for the SBCI that uses the negative-sequence voltage of the converter is described. The proposed control method is verified with a computer simulation whose target is a 6.6-kV–1.25-MW medium-voltage drive system. Also, through the experimental setup with the prototype SBCI whose power rating is 16.2 kVA, the dc-link voltage of each AFE has been controlled within a 0.5% error of its reference value at the full load. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the high power density bidirectional dc–dc converter with interleaving, soft-switching, and near critical conduction mode (near-CRM) operation. Systematic design and control methods are proposed to enhance the effectiveness of passive currents balancing between multiple interleaved phases without using individual phase current feedbacks. This paper first analyzes the zero voltage turn-on operation, including the turn-off energy diversion by the added snubber capacitor and the turn-off resonance models. Second, the intrinsic inverse co-relation between the phase current deviation and the resulting effective duty cycles variation is quantitatively formulated and modeled as a closed-loop mechanism that balances the currents passively. Then, the design constraints of the system parameters including the snubber capacitance, dead time, and valley currents of the near-CRM mode are formulated to guarantee the effectiveness of counteracting the current unbalance. Finally, a variable switching frequency control is proposed to actively control the valley current and maintain the current balancing effectiveness throughout the operating range. An IGBT-based 20-kW three-phase interleaved prototype with the maximum efficiency of 99.1% is constructed to verify the proposed design and control methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article develops a series of improved Z-source dc–dc converters to realize additional voltage pumping and high power density through two propositions. Proposition 1 develops two improved positive- and negative-connected Z-source dc–dc converters (IPZSC and INZSC), using the same number of components as in the existing voltage pumping Z-source converter. Based on Proposition 1, Proposition 2 proposes four novel embedded Z-source dc–dc converters (EZSCs) by placing the source in a specifically designed position, which realizes lower voltage stresses across capacitors. Various technical aspects of the proposed EZSCs, including operations, power losses, and small signal stability analyses are detailed in this paper. Besides, comparisons between the proposed series of improved Z-source dc–dc converters and other existing Z-source dc–dc converters are thoroughly made to demonstrate the better performance of the EZSCs. Finally, experiments are conducted to well validate the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed converter circuits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Isolated, zero-voltage-switching dc–dc converter topologies represent attractive solutions in the continuous run toward higher switching frequencies, allowing more compact power supplies. Among them, the asymmetrical half-bridge flyback converter represents an interesting option, featuring simple duty-cycle control at constant switching frequency, as opposed to the popular LLC converter. The majority of papers dealing with this topology consider an approximated voltage gain similar to that of an isolated buck converter operating in continuous conduction mode, i.e., proportional to the duty cycle and, practically, load independent. On the contrary, the true voltage gain is nonmonotonic at high duty-cycle values. Anytime the converter is designed for a resonant operation, as is advisable to eliminate any reverse recovery problem of the rectifier diode, the voltage gain not only increases, but also becomes a function of the switching frequency. This article investigates the converter's voltage gain in detail, deriving a theoretical framework capable of capturing its real behavior and dependencies. The proposed analytical model has been verified through simulations as well as experimental measurements taken on a 160-W prototype working at 400 kHz. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impedance-based criteria are often used for assessing the stability of cascaded converter systems. In this paper, it is pointed out that the switching ripple interaction (SRI) between the source converter and the load converter in a cascaded system would change the gain of the pulsewidth modulation of the source converter, causing the cut-off frequency and the phase margin of the source converter to change accordingly. Thus, even if a cascaded system is shown to be stable under an impedance-based criterion, it can, in fact, be unstable due to the SRI. This paper proposes an adaptive modulation sample-and-hold method for eliminating the effect of the SRI. A 48 V–12 V–5 V cascaded system consisting of two buck converters is tested for verification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a control method for a switching power converter. This converter is connected to a dc-link of a dc microgrid system via an LC input filter. This control method is based on a Lyapunov stability analysis; all state variables are acquired for evaluating stability analysis, including the output current for calculating the load resistance. To reduce a number of sensor counts, the input current is estimated. Moreover, loss occurrence in the converter is observed to reduce static errors of the controlled state variables, especially the output voltage. The losses are modeled as a series input voltage source observed from the dc–dc converter and a parallel current source. The latter enables us to eliminate the output current sensor. Using information from the estimated current source, a load resistance can be calculated. A Lyapunov function candidate is chosen to ensure that the system, including the observer, operates in a stable manner. Based on evaluating the time-derivative of the chosen Lyapunov function, we obtain the switching command that makes the system operate stably in each sampling cycle. In this paper, the proposed technique is applied to a boost converter. The simulation and as well experimental results validate the proposed control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The six-phase asymmetrical induction motors (SPIMs) are employed for high power medium voltage drive due to its attractive features of reduced stator copper loss, lower torque pulsation, higher torque per ampere, and higher reliability. In this paper, analysis of carrier-comparison-based pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques namely sinusoidal PWM and double zero-sequence injection PWM are carried out from a space vector perspective. Furthermore, new space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM) techniques are developed by modifying the switching sequences of carrier-based PWM techniques. A comprehensive analysis of these PWM techniques is carried out in terms of harmonic flux trajectories, squared harmonic flux, and harmonic distortion factor (HDF). As a result, modified SVPWM technique namely 6ΦSVM3 is found superior to aforesaid PWM techniques, which significantly reduces HDF and provides lower current total harmonic distortion (THD). The experimental results of aforementioned PWM techniques are obtained and verified from six phase asymmetrical induction motor fed by dual two-level 3ΦVSIs. This paper is also accompanied by a video file of experimental test setup recorded while 6ΦSVM2 is running on SPIM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the driving of white light emitting diodes (LEDs) from very low voltages in the 1.2 to 2 V range. The proposed idea is based on replacing the standard Schottky diode used in conventional converter topologies (i.e., buck, buck–boost, and boost) with an LED while shortcutting the output of the converter. In this configuration, the LED works both as the load and the rectifier diode of the converter, hence switching the LED at high frequencies (>100 kHz). Moreover, a thorough analytical study is carried out for the two topologies proposed in this paper, emphasizing in particular their static analysis and the obtaining of the boundaries between the different conduction modes. Finally, the idea is experimentally validated by means of the boost converter variation (i.e., the DL//S ac-LED driver). The DL//S ac-LED driver was also compared with a dc–dc boost converter, showing a better luminous efficacy while disposing of the Schottky diode and the output capacitor. The analysis was carried out when connected to a Li-ion battery using a simple control and integrated circuit for its development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents two high-voltage direct-current circuit breakers that have the capability of interrupting a short-circuit current within several milliseconds. They consist of a current-limit inductor, a current-control inductor, one or two mechanical switches, and a multilevel converter with phase-shifted-carrier pulsewidth modulation. The two breakers can commutate an almost zero current from the main branch to the auxiliary branch. This paper proposes an original breaker with low-voltage and high-voltage mechanical switches connected in series, followed by a simplified breaker with a single high-voltage mechanical switch. Finally, this paper includes experimental verification by two slightly different downscaled breakers rated at 300 Vdc and 150 Adc, as well as confirmation of an actual original breaker by circuit simulation using the “PSCAD/EMTDC” software package. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inductor current is an important feedback parameter in synchronous buck converters (SBCs). It is used for overcurrent protection, current sharing among interleaved modules, and current-mode feedback regulation, among others. While implementing a digital controller, inductor current is sensed and fed into the controller through a high sampling frequency analog to digital converter (ADC). As the switching frequency of the converter becomes higher, the need for an even higher sampling frequency ADC also goes up, which is a distinct disadvantage in terms of the overall cost. This paper discusses a simple current estimation technique that avoids use of any expensive current sensor and high sampling frequency ADCs. The paper shows that in a buck converter, inductor current can be estimated by tracking the width of the switch node voltage. Implementation and limitations of the proposed current estimation scheme are discussed in detail. The proposed method is validated using a 3.3 V–15 A SBC prototype and results show the estimation technique is accurate within 5% with a converter switching frequency of 800 kHz. In order to prove the effectiveness of the technique in feedback regulation, the current estimation technique is used to implement average current mode and hysteretic current mode control on a SBC. To prove the effectiveness of the proposed current estimation scheme, it is used in closed-loop control of the SBC to verify the dynamic responses, such as start-up transient, step change in load, and reference. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new digital control scheme for active virtual ground-bridgeless PFC (AVG-BPFC), which is able to obtain an optimized solution between the system efficiency and electromagnetic interference performance in the PFC stage. However, a resonant characteristic is generated from the input LCL filter structure of the converter. In addition, there is a phase difference between two inductor currents which also leads the controller design in the AVG-BPFC to become challenging, especially on the system stability and current quality. Thus, a triple loop control's architecture together with an integrated state machine is proposed as the control methodology of the AVG-BPFC. Under the simple control structure in the digital platform, a stable system is achieved together with a precise grid current tracking function. Such control scheme was implemented digitally on a 1.5 kW prototype. In this paper, theoretical models of the whole system were analyzed and the system performance was successfully verified in both steady state and transient state conditions. The experimental results show a good agreement with the theoretical knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a unified control based utility-interactive uninterruptible power converter (UIUPC). The proposed control enables the UIUPC to inherently transfer from a $ p-q$ control strategy in grid-connected mode to a voltage–frequency control strategy in autonomous mode and vice-versa. This happens seamlessly with the same control topology. The need to switch between two separate control architectures is thus eliminated. Critical islanding detection and synchronizing mechanisms are also not needed in the proposed control method. The unified controller proposed in this paper is derived from the concept of controlling the perturbations in the magnitude and speed of the point of common coupling (PCC) space vector. The PCC space vector is compared with a reference space vector applied in the direction of the PCC space vector on an instantaneous basis to extract the perturbations. The reference system of the proposed control is linked to the dynamics of the PCC space vector. This offers the ability of parallel operation of similar unified control UIUPC. Thus, in addition to the above said advantages, the proposed control also puts forth an alternative to paralleling approaches like conventional droop and master–slave configurations. The effectiveness of the proposed control is validated by simulation and experimentation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A modular multilevel converter (MMC) is regarded as a promising topology in high-voltage direct current systems. However, the MMC consists of numerous submodules (SMs) and switching devices, which lead to a considerable switching loss, and increased cost and size of the heat sink. To mitigate these issues, this paper presents a novel modulation method composed of fundamental frequency modulation (FFM) and multicarrier-based sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation schemes. The main purpose of this modulation method is the reduction of switching loss while maintaining good harmonic performance. However, the FFM scheme leads to the unbalanced capacitor voltage of each SM in the MMC. Accordingly, this paper additionally proposes the rotation method and selective voltage balancing control for SMs to ensure effective performance of the method. Simulation and experimental results verify the effectiveness and performance of the proposed modulation scheme through switching loss and spectral analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel dc power electronic transformer (DCPET) topology for locomotive, ac/dc hybrid grid, dc distribution grid, and other isolated medium-voltage and high-power applications. Compared with conventional PET topology, the proposed DCPET has fewer power semiconductor devices and high-frequency isolation transformers, which can improve the power density and reliability. Fault handling or redundancy design can be achieved to further improve the reliability when some dc–dc modules break down. Also, input voltage sharing control can be omitted to simplify the control system and improve the stability. Meanwhile, soft switching is guaranteed for all the switches, which is beneficial to increase switching frequency and improve power density. In this paper, the principle, evolution, and control of the proposed DCPET are respectively presented and studied in detail. Finally, a prototype of the proposed DCPET is built and the experimental results verify the validity and superiority of the proposed topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Enhancement of dc bus voltage utilization for a five-level inverter with single dc source and capacitor-fed H-bridge (CHB) units is investigated in this paper. A carrier-based modulation technique is used for boosting the dc bus utilization, which is established by providing detailed mathematical analysis. The five-level inverter used here is realized by cascading a CHB unit to each phase of a three-level neutral point clamped inverter. The increase in dc bus voltage utilization owes to the pole voltage redundancies offered by CHB units. The floating capacitors of H-bridge units are balanced within a quarter fundamental cycle using the switching state redundancies of pole voltage levels. The aforementioned modulation technique allows the inverter to enhance the dc bus utilization from 0.577 $\text{V}_{\text{dc}}$ to 0.63 $\text{V}_{\text{dc}}$ under unity power factor. This enhancement is obtained in the linear modulation range without increasing the dc bus voltage, and thus, the inverter can operate without the presence of low-order harmonics in its phase voltages. The strength of this paper lies in its detailed mathematical analysis for finding out the limiting modulation index and power factor condition in the light of floating capacitor voltage balancing issue. Simulation as well as experimental verification of the modulation scheme is carried out on an induction motor drive under various operating conditions. It is shown that this carrier-based modulation technique is suitable for any single source inverter topology with one CHB unit per phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a new six-level flying capacitor based (FC-based) multilevel converter with one dc source and the capability of operating in all power factors and modulation indexes. Multilevel converters with one dc voltage source are attractive in many applications as they do not need rather expensive and bulky multiwinding input transformer connection at the dc side. On the other hand, not all classic multilevel converters with one dc source can produce any desirable number of output voltage levels at all power factors and/or modulation indexes. In this paper, a hybrid structure is proposed in which six voltage levels can be realized at the ac terminals. The modulation technique and the control strategy for the FC voltage balancing are presented. To show the advantages of the proposed converter, different performance criteria, such as switch count and rating, the size of capacitors, switching frequency, and power losses, are compared with other existing six-level topologies. The results indicate that the proposed structure is superior to other six-level converters from different standpoints. Simulation results are used to further evaluate the performance of the proposed converter. A laboratory-type experimental setup is used to validate the theoretical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-phase dual active bridge (3p-DAB) converter is a promising topology for high power dc–dc conversion due to advantages of bidirectional power flow, inherent soft-switching capability, and reduced filter volume. This paper presents comprehensive analysis of the duty cycle control (DCC) for optimizing the performance of the 3p-DAB. Based on DCC, an optimized modulation strategy is proposed to minimize the conduction losses of the 3p-DAB in the whole load range. The proposed modulation strategy extends the soft-switching range of the 3p-DAB with large voltage variations simultaneously. It is established through loss analysis that the proposed modulation strategy boosts the efficiency of the 3p-DAB, especially at low loads. When the duty cycles change fast as a result of the abruptly changed transmission power, the transformer currents can become unbalanced, leading to the magnetic bias and oscillations in dc currents. This paper further proposes a fast transient current control (FTCC) method for the 3p-DAB with variable duty cycles. The FTCC enables the converter to transfer from one steady state to another within about one-third switching period, hence balancing the transformer currents rapidly and avoiding oscillations in dc currents. Finally, experimental results verify the outstanding performance of the proposed modulation strategy and FTCC method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In data center and telecommunication power supplies, the front-end dc–dc stage is required to operate with a wide input voltage range to provide hold-up time when ac input fails. Conventional LLC converter serving as the dc–dc stage is not suitable for this requirement, as the normal operation efficiency (at 400 V input) will be penalized once the converter is designed to achieve high peak gain (wide input voltage range). This paper examined the operation of the LCLC converter and revealed that the LCLC converter could be essentially equivalent to a set of LLC converters with different magnetizing inductors that are automatically adjusted for different input voltages. In nominal 400 V input operation, the LCLC converter behaves like an LLC converter with large magnetizing inductor, thus the resonant current is small. In the hold-up period, when the input voltage reduces, the equivalent magnetizing inductor will reduce together with switching frequency reducing, thus the converter achieves high peak gain. In this paper, a new design methodology is also proposed to achieve optimal utilization of the two resonant capacitors for high power application. To verify the effectiveness of the LCLC converter for hold-up operation, comprehensive analysis has been conducted; a detailed step by step design example based on capacitor voltage stress is introduced; an experimental LCLC prototype optimized at 400 V, with input voltage range of 250–400 V and 12 V/500 W as output has been presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A single-stage three-phase ac–ac converter benefiting from a high-frequency alternating link voltage is proposed in this paper. In this converter, a very small film capacitor can transfer the energy from the input to the output, owing to the high-frequency alternating voltage of the link. This eliminates the need for large electrolytic capacitors that are typically used in dc-link ac–ac converters. Moreover, a compact high-frequency transformer at the link can replace the bulky low-frequency transformers, in case isolation is required. These features increase the power density as well as reliability of the proposed converter in comparison with the conventional dc-link converters. The number of required switches in the proposed converter is 12, which is less than the number of switches needed in matrix converters, leading to lower switching and conduction losses. Despite being single-stage, the proposed ac–ac converter is capable of both stepping up and stepping down the voltage and also frequency transformation. This eliminates the need for using cascaded power converters. In this paper, the operation principles of the proposed ac–ac converter are investigated, and variable switching frequency and fixed switching frequency control methods for operating this converter are introduced. The performance of the converter is verified through simulation and experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a new structure for a nonisolated boost dc–dc converter is proposed. The proposed converter generates higher voltage gain than some conventional nonisolated boost dc–dc converters. In this paper, the voltage and current equations of the elements and voltage gain in continuous conduction mode and discontinuous conduction mode are extracted. Then, the critical inductance converter is extracted and the current stresses in the switches are calculated. To achieve high voltage gain, a generalized structure based on the proposed structure generates for dc–dc converters. Meanwhile, the root mean square current relations of devices are obtained for an extended structure. Finally, the results of PSCAD/EMTDC software and laboratory prototype are used to reconfirm theoretical concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, the third quadrant behavior of a high-voltage superjunction mosfet (SJ-FET) in cascode configuration (CC) with a low-voltage silicon mosfet is deeply studied by means of an analytical model and experimental data. The third quadrant dynamic behavior of the SJ-CCs is compared to the standalone counterparts by evaluating their reverse recovery time (tRR), reverse recovery peak current (IRRM), and reverse recovery charge (QRR). An analytical model and experimental results show that the SJ-CC avoids or mitigates the activation of the SJ-FET body diode during the third quadrant operation. As a consequence, the SJ-CC strongly improves the widely used figure-of-merit RON·QRR, which considers the on-state resistance of the transistors (RON). In addition, the results obtained using an SJ-CC are similar or better than those achieved by SJ-FETs with enhanced reverse recovery (i.e., irradiated SJ-FETs). This paper also includes a comparison with commercial wide bandgap switches, concluding that the RON·QRR value provided by the SJ-CC is around eight times higher than that provided by a commercial GaN cascode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a novel method for instantaneous balancing of neutral-point (NP) voltages with stacked multilevel inverters (MLIs) for variable-speed drives. The stacked MLI uses series-connected dc sources and NPs (connecting points of dc sources) to obtain the desired levels. The balancing of NP voltages are obtained by using a low-voltage-capacitor-fed cascaded H-bridge (CHB) per phase of a symmetrical six-phase induction machine (IM), which ensures zero current drawn from NPs (at any given instant). Since no current is drawn from NPs, the single dc-link operation with stacked capacitors is also possible. The scheme is suitable for applications, where low-voltage dc sources and batteries are stacked to form a dc link. A variable-speed operation is done using a seven-level inverter scheme for a symmetrical six-phase IM, which is formed by three dc-link stacked capacitors cascaded with two low-voltage-capacitor-fed CHBs per phase. Furthermore, the method is extended for an open-end IM to obtain a seven-level common-mode eliminated space vector structure using a single dc link. The generalization of this method for any stacked $n$ -level inverter without NP voltage deviation is also presented in this paper. The experimental results and analysis are included to validate the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]