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This paper proposes two hybrid asymmetric cascaded multilevel inverters for driving medium-voltage open-end winding motors. Each phase of the proposed systems consist of a three-level (3L) H-bridge cell and a nine-level (9L) H-bridge cell connected in series. An unequal dc-voltage ratio of 1:8 between cells is used, providing 19 phase voltage levels. The topologies of the 9L H-bridge cell are based on modular multilevel cascade converter (MMCC) with double-star chopper cells, while the 3L H-bridge cell is fed by a floating capacitor. Compared to conventional MMCC for open-end stator winding motor drives, the proposed inverters can produce more phase voltage levels. In addition, they require a smaller number of power semiconductor switches, drivers and capacitors. Simulations and experimental results are presented in order to demonstrate the performance and feasibility of the proposed topologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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

In this paper, a novel cascaded seven-level inverter topology with a single input source integrating switched-capacitor techniques is presented. Compared with the traditional cascade multilevel inverter, the proposed topology replaces all the separate dc sources with capacitors, leaving only one H-bridge cell with a real dc voltage source and only adds two charging switches. The capacitor charging circuit contains only power switches, so that the capacitor charging time is independent of the load. The capacitor voltage can be controlled at a desired level without complex voltage control algorithm and only use the most common carrier phase-shifted sinusoidal pulse width modulation strategy. The operation principle and the charging–discharging characteristic analysis are discussed in detail. A 1-kW experimental prototype is built and tested to verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed topology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featuring modularity and high efficiency, a modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become a promising topology in high-voltage direct-current transmission systems. However, its distributed capacitors lead to a more complicated startup process than that of a two-level converter. To fully understand this issue, the charging loops of an MMC rectifier and an MMC inverter during an uncontrolled precharge period are analyzed in this paper, with special focus on the necessity of additional capacitor charging schemes. Moreover, a small-signal model of a capacitor charging loop is first derived according to the internal dynamics of the MMC inverter. Based on this model, a novel startup strategy incorporating an averaging capacitor voltage loop and a feedforward control is proposed, which is capable of an enhanced dynamic response and system stability without sacrificing voltage control precision. The design considerations of the control strategy are also given in detail. Simulation results from a back-to-back MMC system supplying passive loads and experimental results from a scaled-down MMC prototype are provided to support the theoretical analysis and the proposed control scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A novel H-bridge multilevel pulsewidth modulation converter topology based on a series connection of a high-voltage diode-clamped inverter and a low-voltage conventional inverter is proposed in this paper. A dc link voltage arrangement for the new hybrid and asymmetric solution is presented to have a maximum number of output voltage levels by preserving the adjacent switching vectors between voltage levels. Hence, a 15-level hybrid converter can be attained with a minimum number of power components. A comparative study has been carried out to present high performance of the proposed configuration to approach a very low total harmonic distortion of voltage and current, which leads to the possible elimination of the output filter. Regarding the proposed configuration, a new cascade inverter is verified by cascading an asymmetrical diode-clamped inverter, in which 19 levels can be synthesized in output voltage with the same number of components. To balance the dc link capacitor voltages for the maximum output voltage resolution as well as synthesize asymmetrical dc link combination, a new multi-output boost converter is utilized at the dc link voltage of a seven-level H-bridge diode-clamped inverter. Simulation and hardware results based on different modulations are presented to confirm the validity of the proposed approach to achieve a high-quality output voltage. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The output voltage quality of some of the single-phase multilevel inverters can be improved when their dc-link voltages are regulated asymmetrically. Symmetrical and asymmetrical multilevel diode-clamped inverters have the problem of dc-link capacitor voltage balancing, especially when power factor of the load is close to unity. In this paper, a new single-inductor multi-output dc/dc converter is proposed that can control the dc-link voltages of a single-phase diode-clamped inverter asymmetrically to achieve voltage quality enhancement. The circuit of the presented converter is explained and the main equations are developed. A control strategy is proposed and explained in details. To validate the versatility of the proposed combination of the suggested dc–dc converter and the asymmetrical four-level diode-clamped inverter (ADCI), simulations and experiments have been directed. It is concluded that the proposed combination of introduced multioutput dc–dc converter and single-phase ADCI is a good candidate for power conversion in residential photovoltaic (PV) utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]