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This work presents a hybrid seven-level dual inverter scheme with increased linear modulation range. The hybrid inverter structure is formed by supplying the load from primary side by using a cascaded structure of a two-level inverter and H-bridge (HB) and secondary side of the load is supplied by a floating-capacitor-fed two-level inverter. The combination of primary two-level space vector structure (SVS) with secondary two-level SVS and primary three-level SVS of HB form a seven-level SVS that can further be extended to an eight-level hexagonal SVS. This structure then reduced to a 12-sided eight-level SVS to avoid exceeding motor phase voltage rating. Subsequently by using this eight-level SVS in an unique pulsewidth modulation mode, the proposed topology can increase the modulation range linearly from $0.577V_{\text{dc}}$ to $0.637V_{\text{dc}}$ peak phase fundamental voltage for any load power factor (pf), where dc-link voltage is $V_{\text{dc}}$. An 11 $\%$ increase in modulation range ($0.637V_{\text{dc}}/0.577V_{\text{dc}}$) is possible devoid of lower order harmonics (predominantly $5{\text{th}}$ , $7{\text{th}}$ , $11{\text{th}}$ , $13{\text{th}}$ , etc.) in phase voltage for unity pf load in comparison to the conventional six-step operation of two-level and multilevel hexagonal SVS. To balance HB capacitors voltages in this work, a concept of indirect space vector redundancy is used. The efficacy of the proposed inverter scheme is verified through various experimental results at different steady-state and transient conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a ten-level inverter scheme is presented to extend the linear modulation range (LMR) by using a unique space vector pulsewidth modulation (SVPWM) technique, such that no lower order harmonics (such as 5th, 7th, 11th, and 13th, etc.) are present in the phase voltage as compared to six-step mode operation. The proposed scheme can increase the peak phase fundamental voltage of the inverter from 0.577 to $0.637 V_{dc}$ (maximum possible peak phase fundamental voltage of a conventional hexagonal space vector structure (SVS) voltage source inverters while operating in six-step mode), irrespective of the load power factor (p.f), where $V_{dc}$ is the dc link voltage of the inverter. The ten-level inverter structure is formed using a two-level inverter and an H-bridge (HB) in cascade from one end and a floating capacitor-based two-level inverter cascaded with an HB from the other end to drive an open-end winding induction motor (OEWIM). All the HB capacitor voltages are balanced by using space vector redundancy. The claim of balancing the capacitor voltages throughout the whole modulation range is verified experimentally in this article. Experimental results at different steady-state and transient conditions are shown to validate the proposed inverter scheme’s efficacy in increasing the LMR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modulation using a higher sided polygonal space vector structure (SVS) is an elegant method to increase the linear modulation range and to eliminate the undesired lower order harmonics from motor phase voltage. This article presents the generation of a dense 15-concentric 30-sided multilevel SVS using a single dc-link for an open end induction motor (OEIM) drive. The proposed scheme eliminates lower order harmonics till 25th order from motor phase voltage throughout the modulation range. The $dv/dt$ stress in the phase voltage applied to the motor will also be highly reduced owing to the multilevel structure. The pulsewidth modulation scheme employed utilizes the denseness of SVS and avoids iterative searches to find the triangle, which encompasses the tip of reference voltage vector, which are typical in multilevel polygonal SVS. The topology consists of an active dc-link fed three-level primary inverter and a capacitor fed five-level secondary inverter connected to either end of an OEIM. The primary inverter acts as the active power supplier for the drive and the secondary inverter filters out the undesirable lower order harmonics from motor phase voltage. The proposed scheme is experientially validated and the results are included in this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, a multilevel inverter scheme to generate a 30-sided space vector structure (SVS) with congruent triangles is proposed. The 30-sided SVS eliminates all the lower order harmonics till 25th order from motor phase voltage throughout the modulation range. The proposed scheme is implemented using a single dc-link on an open-end induction motor (OEIM). The OEIM is fed with primary inverter from one end and secondary inverter from the other end. Primary inverter is fed from an active dc-link and supplies all the required active power for the scheme. Secondary inverter is a capacitor fed inverter, which acts as the switched capacitive filter. In this work, a simple algorithm is proposed, which calculates the timings required for a 2-level 30-sided SVS from sampled reference voltages. The algorithm requires only simple operations such as addition, multiplication, and comparisons. From the obtained timing values, the space vector location of three nearest multilevel 30-sided vectors and its time duration can be identified. The feasibility of the proposed scheme is proved by experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article proposes an inverter topology for the first time for suppression of all lower order harmonics (5th, 7th, 11th, 13th, etc.) up to 39th harmonic. The lower order harmonic suppression is achieved by switching the 42-sided polygonal vectors, which eliminates harmonics in phase voltage without using a passive LC filtering technique. The power circuit topology uses a single dc-link supply for the primary inverter. The secondary inverter is fed with a capacitive supply. A novel topology is proposed for the dense six-level secondary inverter. The lower order harmonics in phase voltage are suppressed using the secondary inverter, which acts like a switched-capacitive filter. This article also proposes a novel capacitor voltage-balancing scheme for the first time, which achieves voltage balancing for secondary inverter capacitors. The voltages of secondary inverter capacitors are balanced using the power balance relationship between the primary inverter and the motor load. An experimental study of the topology and the capacitor-balancing scheme is presented for the validation of proposed scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article introduces a hybrid nine-level inverter topology with extended dc-bus utilization for operation at over modulation range without the presence of lower order harmonics (predominantly fifth and seventh) when compared to conventional two-level and multilevel inverter with hexagonal voltage space vector structure. The proposed inverter is a cascade of a five-level T-type unit and an H-bridge (HB) unit. An increase in the dc-bus utilization is possible by increasing the pole voltage levels to ± (Vdc/2 + Vdc/8) using the HB capacitor voltage and also the capacitor voltages are balanced by adding a offset to sine reference. The aforementioned pulsewidth modulation strategy allows us to increase the peak phase fundamental voltage from 0.577Vdc to 0.625Vdc in case of unity power factor (p.f) load and to 0.637Vdc for 0.82 p.f load with the proposed nine-level inverter. The limiting factor on increasing the dc bus utilization such as p.f, HB capacitor balancing are analysed broadly in this article. The proposed inverter scheme and its claim of increasing the peak phase fundamental voltage is experimentally validated in a laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Trans-apical beating heart off-pump mitral valve (MV) repair is a novel surgical technique for treating mitral regurgitation (MR) caused by degenerative flail/prolapse (DLP). Aim: To present early outcomes of a single-center experience with transapical beating heart mitral valve repair with the NeoChord system. Material and methods: Thirty-seven patients with severe symptomatic MR were treated with the NeoChord technique between September 2015 and December 2018 (78% men; mean age: 62.3 ±13.4 years). We evaluated standard cardiac surgery perioperative complications as well as those related to the NeoChord technique as well as early surgical success as defined by the reduction of MR to less than moderate by implantation of at least 2 neochordae. Results: During this series we had no hemodynamic instability due to bleeding or arrhythmia. There were no transapical technique-related adverse events such as a leaflet perforation or tear, a major native chord rupture, which would require implantation of a new chord, ventricular apex rupture, or left atrial perforation. There were no major adverse events including death, stroke or acute myocardial infarction. Nine (24%) patients developed an episode of perioperative atrial fibrillation. We were able to conclude the operation in 98% of our patients with less than moderate MR. One (2%) patient had moderate MR at the conclusion of the operation. Conclusions: Trans-apical off-pump MV repair with the NeoChord system is a safe, minimally invasive procedure, with few minor complications. In well-selected candidates it provides successful treatment of degenerative MR. Results are anatomy dependent, so preoperative patient selection is crucial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A bottleneck for the development of public transport vehicles is their electricity supply. Electric buses are almost exclusively equipped with electrochemical batteries, while nearly 40% of the energy is used in the processes of air conditioning. For this reason, we developed and built a demonstration system for storing thermal energy in public transport vehicles. The most important effects are: significant reduction of financial expenses and of the total weight of all batteries with the same amount of stored energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Algae are employed commonly in cosmetics, food and pharmaceuticals, as well as in feed production and biorefinery processes. In this study, post-fermentation leachate from a biogas plant which exploits stillage and maize silage was utilized as a culture medium for Chlorella vulgaris. The content of polyphenols in hydrophilic extracts of the Chlorella vulgaris biomass was determined, and the extracts were evaluated for their antioxidant activity (DPPH assay), antibacterial activity (against Escherichia coli, Lactobacillusplantarum, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus epidermidis) and antifungal activity (against Aspergillus niger, Candida albicans, Saccharomyces cerevisiae). The use of the post-fermentation leachate was not found to affect the biological activity of the microalgae. The aqueous extract of Chlorella vulgaris biomass was also observed to exhibit activity against nematodes. The results of this study suggest that Chlorella vulgaris biomass cultured on post-fermentation leachate from a biogas plant can be successfully employed as a source of natural antioxidants, food supplements, feed, natural antibacterial and antifungal compounds, as well as in natural methods of plant protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]