Multilevel inverter technology has emerged recently as a very important alternative in the area of high-power medium-voltage energy control. This paper presents the most important topologies like diode-clamped inverter (neutral-point clamped), capacitor-clamped (flying capacitor), and cascaded multicell with separate DC sources. Emerging topologies like asymmetric hybrid cells and soft-switched multilevel inverters are also discussed. This paper also presents the most relevant control and modulation methods developed for this family of converters: multilevel sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation, multilevel selective harmonic elimination, and space-vector modulation. Special attention is dedicated to the latest and more relevant applications of these converters such as laminators, conveyor belts, and unified power-flow controllers. The need of an active front end at the input side for those inverters supplying regenerative loads is also discussed, and the circuit topology options are also presented. Finally, the peripherally developing areas such as high-voltage high-power devices and optical sensors and other opportunities for future development are addressed.

Multilevel inverters: a survey of topologies, controls, and applications

The use of distributed energy resources is increasingly being pursued as a supplement and an alternative to large conventional central power stations. The specification of a power-electronic interface is subject to requirements related not only to the renewable energy source itself but also to its effects on the power-system operation, especially where the intermittent energy source constitutes a significant part of the total system capacity. In this paper, new trends in power electronics for the integration of wind and photovoltaic (PV) power generators are presented. A review of the appropriate storage-system technology used for the integration of intermittent renewable energy sources is also introduced. Discussions about common and future trends in renewable energy systems based on reliability and maturity of each technology are presented

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Power-Electronic Systems for the Grid Integration of Renewable Energy Sources: A Survey

Multilevel converters have been under research and development for more than three decades and have found successful industrial application. However, this is still a technology under development, and many new contributions and new commercial topologies have been reported in the last few years. The aim of this paper is to group and review these recent contributions, in order to establish the current state of the art and trends of the technology, to provide readers with a comprehensive and insightful review of where multilevel converter technology stands and is heading. This paper first presents a brief overview of well-established multilevel converters strongly oriented to their current state in industrial applications to then center the discussion on the new converters that have made their way into the industry. In addition, new promising topologies are discussed. Recent advances made in modulation and control of multilevel converters are also addressed. A great part of this paper is devoted to show nontraditional applications powered by multilevel converters and how multilevel converters are becoming an enabling technology in many industrial sectors. Finally, some future trends and challenges in the further development of this technology are discussed to motivate future contributions that address open problems and explore new possibilities.

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Recent Advances and Industrial Applications of Multilevel Converters

Multilevel voltage source converters are emerging as a new breed of power converter options for high-power applications. The multilevel voltage source converters typically synthesize the staircase voltage wave from several levels of DC capacitor voltages. One of the major limitations of the multilevel converters is the voltage unbalance between different levels. The techniques to balance the voltage between different levels normally involve voltage clamping or capacitor charge control. There are several ways of implementing voltage balance in multilevel converters. Without considering the traditional magnetic coupled converters, this paper presents three recently developed multilevel voltage source converters: (1) diode-clamp, (2) flying-capacitors, and (3) cascaded-inverters with separate DC sources. The operating principle, features, constraints, and potential applications of these converters are discussed.

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Multilevel converters-a new breed of power converters

This paper presents a new multilevel converter topology suitable for very high voltage applications, especially network interties in power generation and transmission. The fundamental concept and the applied control scheme is introduced. Simulation results of a 36 MW-network intertie illustrate the efficient operating characteristics. A suitable structure of the converter-control is proposed.

An innovative modular multilevel converter topology suitable for a wide power range

This paper characterizes typical nonlinear loads into two types of harmonic sources -harmonic current source and harmonic voltage source, which produce highly distorted currents and voltages, respectively. The conventional approach of active harmonic compensation has been the parallel type or `shunt active filter.` It is shown in this paper that the shunt active filter is effective only to harmonic current sources but not to harmonic voltage sources. On the other hand, the active filter connected in series with the system or `series active filter` is very effective in suppression of the harmonic voltage sources. General compensation characteristics of shunt active filters and series active filters are given analytically. The features, required operation conditions, and application considerations of both filters are described analytically and demonstrated experimentally.

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Application considerations and compensation characteristics of shunt active and series active filters in power systems

A power control device includes a first terminal, a second terminal connected to a transmission line, a first cascade multilevel inverter (CMI) and a second CMI. The first CMI is connected to the second terminal. The second CMI connected in series between the first terminal and the second terminal.

Transformer-less unified power flow controller

This paper presents a bidirectional 3X dc-dc multiplier/divider that can interface the battery with the inverter dc bus for hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) traction drives. Compared with traditional multi-level dc-dc converter, this converter can have three output/input voltage ratios with smooth transition. The control method to limit the transient inrush current, as well as a novel regenerative clamping circuit for multi-level dc-dc converters is provided in this paper. By utilizing the parasitic inductance or the minimum inductance from an air core inductor, the size and weight of the converter can be significantly reduced. Its magnetic-less feature and high efficiency provide the potential of the high temperature operation with the future wide bandgap devices. Experimental results are given to verify the operating principle and the design concepts of this topology.

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3X DC-DC Multiplier/Divider for HEV Systems

Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) have achieved a great success in the last few years. Power converter is one of the key technologies in HEVs. This paper discusses the technologies of converter systems in the hybrid electric vehicles. With all these technologies, lower cost, higher fuel efficiency, and higher reliability are achievable.

Converter systems for hybrid electric vehicles

The purpose of this paper is to present four algorithms to calculate the effective irradiance level, E
 i and temperature, T, of operation for a photovoltaic module, PVM. The main reasons to develop these algorithms are for monitoring climate conditions, the elimination of temperature and solar irradiance sensors, reductions in cost for a photovoltaic inverter system, and development of new algorithms to be integrated with maximum power point tracking algorithms. The first three algorithms use only the short circuit current, open circuit voltage, the operating current and voltage for the PVM, avoiding the use of pyranometers and thermocouples. The last algorithm can estimate the irradiance level using only the open circuit voltage and the PVM temperature of operation. Finally, simulations and experimental results are presented in the paper.

Fang Zheng Peng

Papers

Application considerations and compensation characteristics of shunt active and series active filters in power systems

Transformer-less unified power flow controller

3X DC-DC Multiplier/Divider for HEV Systems

Converter systems for hybrid electric vehicles

Algorithms to Estimate the Temperature and Effective Irradiance Level over a Photovoltaic Module using the Fixed Point Theorem