Three‐phase cascaded neutral‐point‐clamped multilevel inverter.

Summary: This paper presents cascaded topology of three‐phase neutral‐point‐clamped converters (NPCC)s. Two or more NPCCs are cascaded in their AC sides through transformers. This multilevel inverter (MLI) is a transformer‐based single‐source inverter with trinary asymmetry. Compared with conventional and advanced diode‐clamped multilevel inverters, the proposed MLI achieves more levels on output voltage. From cost, number of components, volume, complexity and efficiency aspects, the proposed inverter is an optimized and advanced inverter. An individual space vector modulation (SVM) method has been developed for voltage control of the inverter. The neutral‐point voltage of the inverter is balanced conveniently by the SVM method. The proposed inverter is suitable for constant‐frequency applications. Simulation and experimental results of a 17‐kVA prototype verify the efficiency of the proposed arrangement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]