Udaykumar R. Yaragatti

Bio: Udaykumar R. Yaragatti is an academic researcher from Malaviya National Institute of Technology, Jaipur. The author has contributed to research in topics: Inverter & Topology (electrical circuits). The author has an hindex of 14, co-authored 63 publications receiving 615 citations. Previous affiliations of Udaykumar R. Yaragatti include National Institute of Technology, Karnataka & University of New South Wales.

Operation and Control of an Improved Hybrid Nine-Level Inverter

Abstract: This paper proposes a new nine-level inverter for medium- and high-power applications. The proposed topology comprises of a three-level (3L) active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) inverter connected in series with a floating capacitor (FC) fed H-bridge. Besides, two additional switches operating at line frequency are appended across the dc link of the 3L ANPC structure. Compared with conventional hybrid cascaded inverters, the primary advantage of this addition is doubling of the resulting root mean square output voltage. This amelioration is achieved while preserving the standard 3L ANPC and H-bridge structures with minimum topological modification. A simple logic-gate-based voltage balancing scheme is developed to regulate the FC voltage. The proposed voltage balancing method is independent of load power factor, inverter modulation index, and can balance the voltage across FC instantaneously. The step-by-step formulation of logical expressions for the generation of gating pulses is deliberated in detail and can be generalized for any $n$ -level inverter. Further, simulation results as well as the experimental measurements obtained from the laboratory prototype are presented to validate the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed configuration. Finally, the notable merits of the proposed inverter over the prior art topologies is established through a comprehensive comparative study.

A Switched-Capacitor-Based Multilevel Inverter Topology With Reduced Components

Abstract: This letter presents an improved sensorless nine-level inverter topology with reduced number of components. It is formed by cascading a three-level T-type neutral clamped point inverter with a floating capacitor (FC) fed two-level converter unit. Additionally, two line-frequency switches are appended across the dc-link. A simple logic-form equations-based pulse width modulator is designed which is in-charge of maintaining the FC voltage at its reference value without any aid of voltage and current sensor. Thus, the complexity in control of the proposed topology is very minimal. The working principle of the proposed inverter and formulation of logic-form equations is deliberated in detail. Furthermore, experimental results obtained from the developed prototype are presented to validate feasibility and operability of the proposed topology. Finally, a comprehensive comparison with some of the recently reported inverter topologies proving the merits of the proposed topology is included.

A Self-Balancing Five-Level Boosting Inverter With Reduced Components

Abstract: Two-Stage boosting multilevel inverters (MLIs), which are highly suitable for photovoltaic power plants, are known to suffer because of the high voltage stress on the switches of second stage. One of the ways to confront this issue is through eliminating the front-end booster. However, this leads to increased structural and control complexity of the resulting integrated boosting MLI. This letter presents a single-stage boosting MLI requiring lesser number of switches, diodes, and capacitors for renewable power generation applications. It requires nine switches and only one capacitor for five-level voltage generation. The topology has inherent self-balancing capability, thereby does not need additional balancing circuitry. The proposed topology has a uniform peak inverse voltage stress on the switches of value equal to the input dc voltage. A less complicated logic-form-equations-based gating pulse generation scheme is designed for enabling the proposed MLI to maintain its capacitor voltage. Further, a comparative study with state-of-the-art topologies is carried out to demonstrate the superior performance of the proposed topology. Finally, the feasibility of the proposed topology is validated through experimental tests and the corresponding results are elucidated.

Switched-Capacitor-Based Quadruple-Boost Nine-Level Inverter

Abstract: This letter describes a novel nine-level inverter based on switched capacitors (SCs) with quadruple-boost ability requiring reduced components. The structure of the proposed topology relies on the series/parallel connection of SCs. It consists of 12 switches and two SCs. As opposed to similar SC-based inverters, the proposed topology does not employ a back-end H-bridge and the voltage stress of all the switches does not exceed twice the input dc voltage. A simple logic-gate-based pulsewidth-modulation scheme is developed for gating the switches of the proposed topology. A comprehensive comparison against the state-of-the-art topologies in terms of the required number of components is performed to attest the outperforming merits of the proposed topology. Finally, various experimental results are presented to validate the feasibility and operability of the proposed topology.

Design and Implementation of a Sensorless Multilevel Inverter With Reduced Part Count

Abstract: This letter proposes a single-phase nine-level (9L) inverter topology suitable for grid-connected renewable energy systems. The proposed inverter is realized using a T-type neutral-point-clamped inverter connected in cascade to a floating capacitor (FC) H-bridge. Additionally, two low-frequency switches are added across the dc-link enabling the inverter to generate a 9L waveform. A sensorless voltage control based on redundant switching state is developed and embedded with PWM controller, which is responsible for regulating the FC voltage at one-quarter of the dc source voltage. The proposed PWM technique employs the generation of 9L waveform without using any voltage sensor, thereby reducing the complexity of the overall control scheme. This, in turn, will make the overall system appealing for various industrial applications. In comparison to conventional and recent topologies, generation of the 9L waveform using a lower number of components is the notable contribution. Another important feature of the proposed inverter is that if FC H-bridge fails, it can be bypassed, and the inverter can still operate as a 5L inverter at its nominal power rating. Furthermore, a comprehensive comparison study is included which confirms the merits of the proposed inverter against those of other state-of-the-art topologies. Finally, simulation and experimental results are included for validating the feasibility of the proposed system.

Hybrid renewable energy systems for power generation in stand-alone applications: A review

Abstract: It has become imperative for the power and energy engineers to look out for the renewable energy sources such as sun, wind, geothermal, ocean and biomass as sustainable, cost-effective and environment friendly alternatives for conventional energy sources. However, the non-availability of these renewable energy resources all the time throughout the year has led to research in the area of hybrid renewable energy systems. In the past few years, a lot of research has taken place in the design, optimization, operation and control of the renewable hybrid energy systems. It is indeed evident that this area is still emerging and vast in scope. The main aim of this paper is to review the research on the unit sizing, optimization, energy management and modeling of the hybrid renewable energy system components. Developments in research on modeling of hybrid energy resources (PV systems), backup energy systems (Fuel Cell, Battery, Ultra-capacitor, Diesel Generator), power conditioning units (MPPT converters, Buck/Boost converters, Battery chargers) and techniques for energy flow management have been discussed in detail. In this paper, an attempt has been made to present a comprehensive review of the research in this area in the past one decade.

Recently Developed Reduced Switch Multilevel Inverter for Renewable Energy Integration and Drives Application: Topologies, Comprehensive Analysis and Comparative Evaluation

Abstract: Recently, multilevel inverters (MLIs) have gained lots of interest in industry and academia, as they are changing into a viable technology for numerous applications, such as renewable power conversion system and drives. For these high power and high/medium voltage applications, MLIs are widely used as one of the advanced power converter topologies. To produce high-quality output without the need for a large number of switches, development of reduced switch MLI (RS MLI) topologies has been a major focus of current research. Therefore, this review paper focuses on a number of recently developed MLIs used in various applications. To assist with advanced current research in this field and in the selection of suitable inverter for various applications, significant understanding on these topologies is clearly summarized based on the three categories, i.e., symmetrical, asymmetrical, and modified topologies. This review paper also includes a comparison based on important performance parameters, detailed technical challenges, current focus, and future development trends. By a suitable combination of switches, the MLI produces a staircase output with low harmonic distortion. For a better understanding of the working principle, a single-phase RS MLI topology is experimentally illustrated for different level generation using both fundamental and high switching frequency techniques which will help the readers to gain the utmost knowledge for advance research.

Voltage Source Multilevel Inverters With Reduced Device Count: Topological Review and Novel Comparative Factors

Abstract: Multilevel inverters (MLIs) have gained increasing interest for advanced energy-conversion systems due to their features of high-quality produced waveforms, modularity, transformerless operation, voltage, and current scalability, and fault-tolerant operation. However, these merits usually come with the cost of a high number of components. Over the past few years, proposing new MLIs with a lower component count has been one of the most active topics in power electronics. The first aim of this article is to update and summarize the recently developed multilevel topologies with a reduced component count, based on their advantages, disadvantages, construction, and specific applications. Within the framework, both single-phase and three-phase topologies with symmetrical and asymmetrical operations are taken into consideration via a detailed comparison in terms of the used component count and type. The second objective is to propose a comparative method with novel factors to take component ratings into account. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by a comparative study.

Operation and Control of an Improved Hybrid Nine-Level Inverter

Abstract: This paper proposes a new nine-level inverter for medium- and high-power applications. The proposed topology comprises of a three-level (3L) active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) inverter connected in series with a floating capacitor (FC) fed H-bridge. Besides, two additional switches operating at line frequency are appended across the dc link of the 3L ANPC structure. Compared with conventional hybrid cascaded inverters, the primary advantage of this addition is doubling of the resulting root mean square output voltage. This amelioration is achieved while preserving the standard 3L ANPC and H-bridge structures with minimum topological modification. A simple logic-gate-based voltage balancing scheme is developed to regulate the FC voltage. The proposed voltage balancing method is independent of load power factor, inverter modulation index, and can balance the voltage across FC instantaneously. The step-by-step formulation of logical expressions for the generation of gating pulses is deliberated in detail and can be generalized for any $n$ -level inverter. Further, simulation results as well as the experimental measurements obtained from the laboratory prototype are presented to validate the effectiveness and practicability of the proposed configuration. Finally, the notable merits of the proposed inverter over the prior art topologies is established through a comprehensive comparative study.

A systematic review of the smart energy conservation system: From smart homes to sustainable smart cities

Abstract: In recent years, smart cities have emerged with energy conservation systems for managing energy in cities as well as buildings. Although many studies on energy conservation systems of smart homes have already been conducted, energy management at the city level is still a challenge due to the various building types and complex infrastructure. Therefore, this paper investigated the research themes on smart homes and cities through a quantitative review and identified barriers to the progression of smart homes to sustainable smart cities through a qualitative review. Based on the results of the holistic framework of each domain (smart home and city) and the techno-functional barriers, this study suggests that the following innovative solutions be suitably applied to advanced energy conservation systems in sustainable smart cities: (i) construction of infrastructure for advanced energy conservation systems, and (ii) adoption of a new strategy for energy trading in distributed energy systems. Especially, to reflect consumer behavior and energy in sustainable smart cities, the following responses to future research challenges according to the “bottom-up approach (smart home level to smart city level)” are proposed: (i) development of real-time energy monitoring, diagnostics and controlling technologies; (ii) application of intelligent energy management technologies; and (iii) implementation of integrated energy network technologies at the city level. This paper is expected to play a leading role as a knowledge-based systematic guide for future research on the implementation of energy conservation systems in sustainable smart cities.