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Switching sequences of multilevel inverters have to be properly chosen based on the desired control criteria such as dc-link voltage regulation, common mode voltage reduction, and other application dependent criteria. Control of a converter to satisfy a desired criterion is challenging, especially in high voltage level converters. This paper proposes a simple control method for multilevel inverters with high modularity such as flying capacitor multilevel inverters, H-bridge multilevel inverters, and modular multilevel inverters. It is shown that the method considerably simplifies generation of the switching sequences and fulfills the desired criteria with a reasonable computational cost. The proposed method is computationally efficient in the sense that its implementation for high voltage level inverters requires the same effort as required for a multilevel inverter with a low number of cells. Other prominent advantages of the proposed control method, compared to earlier methods, include its applicability for multiphase multilevel converters and converters with asymmetrical structure and/or unevenly distributed dc voltages, independence from the level number and structure of the converter, and not requiring a lookup table. These advantages make the proposed scheme well suited for high cell-number converters, mainly utilized in FACTS, HVDC, and power quality applications. Simulation and experimental results are presented which verify the performance of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flying capacitor multilevel inverter (FCMLI) is one of the well-known structures of multilevel inverters having attracted considerable attention because of its merits. In spite of its many advantages, it has some limitations such as high volume and complicated control method because of its bulky capacitors and their voltage balancing requirement. Moreover, the high number of power semiconductors required makes this structure susceptible to failure. To increase the ratio of the number of levels to the number of components, an uneven distribution of capacitor voltages has been suggested in previous reports; however, this approach complicates the control method. Up to now, almost all presented methods suffer from high computational load and/or structure-dependent algorithm. In this paper, a simple state-based and structure-independent method is proposed for capacitor voltage regulation. The proposed method is straightforward and can perform online computation of switching sequences in a computationally efficient manner without any need for stored information or look-up tables. The method is conveniently extendible to any number of cells and levels in an FCMLI structure with arbitrary dc link voltage distribution schemes. Simulation and experimental results show the effectiveness and simplicity of this method. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Appropriate structure is the first key issue that a designer of an efficient hybrid vehicle should pay attention to. This paper presents three different structures for the concept of series–parallel structure in hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) and compares them with each other for the application of Toyota Prius 2004 as a well-known case study. The first structure consisting of one electric motor, one electric generator, and one power split device is the conventional structure as one existing in Toyota Prius 2004 and called THS-II in the literature. The second and third structures are based on two special electric machines named transmotor-based structure (TBS) and dual-mechanical-port (DMP) machine-based structure (DMPBS), respectively. The three structures are compared by considering different aspects such as weight, occupied volume, and overall efficiency. A surface-mounted fractional-slot concentrated winding DMP machine is designed, and the design is verified by applying the finite-element analysis. Simulation results have been presented to support the accomplished comparison of the structures under study. Simulation results show that all structures have approximately equal weight, volume, and efficiency, but DMPBS is a compact, efficient, and simple way to convert the existing fossil-fuel cars into an HEV. One DMP machine prototype has been implemented, and experimental results have been included. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The performance of dc–dc converters plays a vital role in the exploitation of renewable energy sources such as solar and fuel cell (FC). This paper demonstrates the feasibility of using the input/output (I/O) magnetically coupled interleaved buck–boost converter, improving the conventional interleaved cascaded buck–boost converter in FC applications. While keeping the same step-up/step-down voltage transfer ratio, the proposed topology facilitates operating conditions with its nonpulsating I/O currents and high efficiency using interleaved technique and reducing switches' voltage stresses, respectively. The steady-state operation of the converter is analyzed based on the state-space-averaging method and supported with simulation results. The prototype setup of 360-W and 36-V output voltage for an FC with a brand of “FCgen 1020ACS” Ballard Power Systems, Inc. was implemented. Experimental results are presented to verify the theoretical expected merits of the converter, including high efficiency and nonpulsating I/O currents. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper presents a direct torque control (DTC) switching scheme based on the direct matrix converter (DMC) using a 12-side polygonal space vector for variable speed control of an induction motor (IM). The conventional DTC scheme-based matrix converter (MC) is limited by 60° sectors of both flux and voltage vectors, which introduce a high torque ripple. The proposed method utilizes twelve 30° sectors of both flux and voltage vectors to increase the degrees of freedom for selection of proper vectors and reduce the torque ripple. The proposed switching scheme for the MC-based DTC of an IM drive select the appropriate switching vectors for control of torque with small variations of the stator flux within the hysteresis band. This improves the degrees of freedom in selecting the vector algorithm and the torque ripple as well. Furthermore, during the large torque demand, the probabilities of transgressing reference vector limits, which are enclosed by 12-side polygonal space vector, are reduced. Extensive simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the effectiveness of the 12-sector space vector switching scheme for the DTC of an IM fed by the DMC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]