Control and performance of a pulse-density-modulated series-resonant inverter for corona discharge processes

This paper presents control and performance of a pulse-density-modulated (PDM) series-resonant voltage-source inverter developed for corona discharge processes. The PDM inverter produces either a square-wave ac-voltage state or a zero-voltage state at its ac terminals to control the average output voltage under constant dc voltage and operating frequency. This results in a wide range of power control from 0.5% to 100%, even in the corona discharge load with a strong nonlinear characteristic. A 30-kHz 6-kW surface treatment system consisting of a voltage-source PDM inverter, a step-up transformer, and a corona discharge treater shows the establishment of a stable corona discharge in an extremely wide range of power control and, therefore, succeeds in performing both strong and weak surface treatment processes for film. Index Terms - Corona discharge, power control, pulse-density modulation, series-resonant inverter.