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

The enabling of ac microgrids in distribution networks allows delivering distributed power and providing grid support services during regular operation of the grid, as well as powering isolated islands in case of faults and contingencies, thus increasing the performance and reliability of the electrical system. The high penetration of distributed generators, linked to the grid through highly controllable power processors based on power electronics, together with the incorporation of electrical energy storage systems, communication technologies, and controllable loads, opens new horizons to the effective expansion of microgrid applications integrated into electrical power systems. This paper carries out an overview about microgrid structures and control techniques at different hierarchical levels. At the power converter level, a detailed analysis of the main operation modes and control structures for power converters belonging to microgrids is carried out, focusing mainly on grid-forming, grid-feeding, and grid-supporting configurations. This analysis is extended as well toward the hierarchical control scheme of microgrids, which, based on the primary, secondary, and tertiary control layer division, is devoted to minimize the operation cost, coordinating support services, meanwhile maximizing the reliability and the controllability of microgrids. Finally, the main grid services that microgrids can offer to the main network, as well as the future trends in the development of their operation and control for the next future, are presented and discussed.

Control of Power Converters in AC Microgrids

This paper reviews the current status and implementation of battery chargers, charging power levels, and infrastructure for plug-in electric vehicles and hybrids. Charger systems are categorized into off-board and on-board types with unidirectional or bidirectional power flow. Unidirectional charging limits hardware requirements and simplifies interconnection issues. Bidirectional charging supports battery energy injection back to the grid. Typical on-board chargers restrict power because of weight, space, and cost constraints. They can be integrated with the electric drive to avoid these problems. The availability of charging infrastructure reduces on-board energy storage requirements and costs. On-board charger systems can be conductive or inductive. An off-board charger can be designed for high charging rates and is less constrained by size and weight. Level 1 (convenience), Level 2 (primary), and Level 3 (fast) power levels are discussed. Future aspects such as roadbed charging are presented. Various power level chargers and infrastructure configurations are presented, compared, and evaluated based on amount of power, charging time and location, cost, equipment, and other factors.

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Review of Battery Charger Topologies, Charging Power Levels, and Infrastructure for Plug-In Electric and Hybrid Vehicles

This paper presents transformerless multilevel power converters as an application for high-power and/or high-voltage electric motor drives. Multilevel converters: (1) can generate near-sinusoidal voltages with only fundamental frequency switching; (2) have almost no electromagnetic interference or common-mode voltage; and (3) are suitable for large voltampere-rated motor drives and high voltages. The cascade inverter is a natural fit for large automotive all-electric drives because it uses several levels of DC voltage sources, which would be available from batteries or fuel cells. The back-to-back diode-clamped converter is ideal where a source of AC voltage is available, such as in a hybrid electric vehicle. Simulation and experimental results show the superiority of these two converters over two-level pulsewidth-modulation-based drives.

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Multilevel converters for large electric drives

A direct induction machine torque control method based on predictive, deadbeat control of the torque and flux is presented. By estimating the synchronous speed and the voltage behind the transient reactance, the change in torque and flux over the switching period is calculated. The stator voltage required to cause the torque and flux to be equal to their respective reference values is calculated. Space vector PWM is used to define the inverter switching state. An alternative approach to deadbeat control for use in the transient or pulse-dropping mode is also presented. An alternative modulation scheme is presented in which transient performance is improved by specifying the inverter switching states and then calculating the required switched instants to maintain deadbeat control of the flux while reducing the torque error during the entire switching interval. A similar approach is used for a transient in the flux. The implementation of the control scheme using DSP-based hardware is described, with complete experimental results given. >

Direct torque control of induction machines using space vector modulation

This paper proposes two constant boost-control methods for the Z-source inverter, which can obtain maximum voltage gain at any given modulation index without producing any low-frequency ripple that is related to the output frequency and minimize the voltage stress at the same time. Thus, the Z-network requirement will be independent of the output frequency and determined only by the switching frequency. The relationship of voltage gain to modulation index is analyzed in detail and verified by simulation and experiments.

Constant boost control of the Z-source inverter to minimize current ripple and voltage stress

The advent of the transformerless multilevel inverter topology has brought forth various pulsewidth modulation (PWM) schemes as a means to control the switching of the active devices in each of the multiple voltage levels in the inverter. An analysis of how existing multilevel carrier-based PWM affects switch utilization for the different levels of a diode-clamped inverter is conducted. Two novel carrier-based multilevel PWM schemes are presented which help to optimize or balance the switch utilization in multilevel inverters. A 10 kW prototype six-level diode-clamped inverter has been built and controlled with the novel PWM strategies proposed in this paper to act as a voltage-source inverter for a motor drive.

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Novel multilevel inverter carrier-based PWM methods

This paper presents a modular cascaded H-bridge multilevel photovoltaic (PV) inverter for single- or three-phase grid-connected applications. The modular cascaded multilevel topology helps to improve the efficiency and flexibility of PV systems. To realize better utilization of PV modules and maximize the solar energy extraction, a distributed maximum power point tracking control scheme is applied to both single- and three-phase multilevel inverters, which allows independent control of each dc-link voltage. For three-phase grid-connected applications, PV mismatches may introduce unbalanced supplied power, leading to unbalanced grid current. To solve this issue, a control scheme with modulation compensation is also proposed. An experimental three-phase seven-level cascaded H-bridge inverter has been built utilizing nine H-bridge modules (three modules per phase). Each H-bridge module is connected to a 185-W solar panel. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach.

Leon M. Tolbert

Papers

Multilevel converters for large electric drives

Direct torque control of induction machines using space vector modulation

Constant boost control of the Z-source inverter to minimize current ripple and voltage stress

Novel multilevel inverter carrier-based PWM methods

Modular Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel PV Inverter With Distributed MPPT for Grid-Connected Applications