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PWM CONTROL STRATEGIES FOR MULTILEVEL INVERTERS BASED
ON CARRIER REDISTRIBUTION TECHNIQUE


S. Nagaraja Rao
1
, D.V. Ashok Kumar
2
, Ch.Sai Babu
3


1
Research Scholar, JNTUK,Kakinada (A.P), India
2
Professor, Dept.of EEE, SDIT, Nandyal (A.P), India
3
Professor, Dept.of EEE, JNTUK, Kakinada (A.P), India



ABSTRACT

This paper proposes three Pulse width modulated (PWM) methods based on Carrier
Redistribution Techniques that utilize the (CFD) control freedom degree of vertical offsets among
carriers. They are named as Alternate Phase Opposition Disposition (APOD), Phase Opposition
Disposition (POD) and Phase Disposition (PD). Ingeneral Pulse width modulated (PWM) techniques
of a voltage source inverter need a reference signal and carrier signal to generate the required
modulating signals for the desired output. Modifications in Modulating techniques can be considered
in two ways, namely Modified reference and Modified carrier. The existing multilevel carrier-based
pulse width modulation strategies have no special provisions to offer quality output, besides lower
order harmonics are introduced in the spectrum, especially at low switching frequencies. This paper
proposes a novel multilevel PWM strategy to corner the advantages of low frequency switching and
reduced total harmonic distortion (THD) based on Carrier Redistribution Technique. This paper also
presents the most relevant control and modulation methods by a new reference/carrier based PWM
scheme for three phase Diode Clamped Multilevel Inverter and comparing the performance of the
proposed scheme with that of the existing control schemes. Finally, the simulation results are
included to verify the effectiveness of the proposed multilevel inverter configuration using various
PWM Techniques and validate the proposed theory.

Keywords: Diode Clamped MLI, Pulse width modulation, APOD, POD, PD, Total Harmonic
Distortion.

I. INTRODUCTION

The voltage source inverters produce an output voltage or current with levels either 0 or
Vdc. They are known as the two-level inverter. To produce a quality output voltage or a current
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wave form with less amount of ripple content, they require high switching frequency. In high- power
and high-voltage applications these two level inverters, however, have some limitations in operating
at high frequency mainly due to switching losses and constraints of device ratings. These limitations
can be overcome using multilevel inverters. The multilevel inverters have drawn tremendous interest
in power industry. It may be easier to produce a high-power, high-voltage inverter with multi level
structure because of the way in which the voltage stresses are controlled in the structure.
The unique structure of multilevel voltage source inverters allows them to reach high
voltages with low harmonics without use of transformers or series connected synchronized-switching
devices. As the number of voltage levels increases, the harmonic content of the output voltage wave
form decreases significantly. In general multilevel inverter can be viewed as voltage synthesizers, in
which the high output voltage is synthesized from many discrete smaller voltage levels. The main
advantages of this approach are summarized as follows:

They can generate output voltages with extremely low distortion and lower (dv/dt).
They can operate with a lower switching frequency.
Their efficiency is high (>98%) because of the minimum switching frequency.
They are suitable for medium to high power applications.

The selection of the best multilevel topology for each application is often not clear and is
subject to various engineering tradeoffs. Multilevel inversion is a power conversion strategy in which
the output voltage is obtained in steps thus bringing the output closer to a sine wave and reduces the
total harmonic distortion (THD). In general MLIs are three types they are named as diode clamped,
flying capacitor and cascaded inverters. In this paper diode clamped MLI is considered based on
their own advantages [1].
This paper presents a PWM control strategies for a seven level inverter Diode Clamped
inverter based on carrier redistribution technique. Simulation results are included to verify the
operating principle of the proposed multilevel inverters.

II. SYSTEM CONFIGURATION

Fig .1: Multilevel concept for (a) two level (b) three level and (c) n- level

Multilevel inverter structures have been developed to overcome shortcomings in solid-state
switching device ratings so they can be applied to higher voltage systems. The multilevel voltage
source inverters [2] unique structure allows them to reach high voltages with low harmonics without
the use of transformers. The general function of the multilevel inverter is to synthesize a desired ac
voltage from several levels of dc voltages as shown in Fig.1.
Table.1 compares the power component requirement per phase leg among the three
multilevel voltage source inverters mentioned above. The table shows that the number of main
switches and main diodes needed by the inverters to achieve the number of voltage levels.

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Table.1: Component requirements per phase of m-level multilevel inverters
Devices
Diode clamped
MLI
Flying Capacitor
MLI
Cascaded H-
Bridge MLI
Main switching Devices 2(m-1) 2(m-1) 2(m-1)
Main diodes 2(m-1) 0 2(m-1)
Clamping diodes (m-1)* (m-2) (m-1)*(m-2) 0
Dc Balancing
Capacitors
m-1 m-1 (m-1)/2
Balancing Capacitors 0 2(m-1) 0

III. 7-LEVEL DIODE CLAMPED INVERTER


Fig. 2: Configuration of Three-phase Diode Clamped Seven Level Inverter (DC7LI)

Fig. 2 shows a seven-level diode-clamped inverter in which the dc bus consists of six
capacitors, C1, C2, C3, C
4,
C
5
and C6. For dc-bus voltage V
dc
, the voltage across each capacitor is
V
dc
and each device voltage stress will be limited to one capacitor voltage level through clamping
diodes.
To explain how the staircase voltage is synthesized, the neutral point n is considered as the
output phase voltage reference point. There are seven switch combinations to synthesize seven level
output as shown in Table2.

Table.2: Switching sequence for single phase 7 level diode clamped inverter









Output
voltage

S1

S2

S3

S4

S5

S6

S1
1

S2
1

S3
1

S4
1

S5
1

S6
1
0 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
Vdc 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 0
2Vdc 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0
3Vdc 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
-Vdc 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0
-2vdc 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0
-3vdc 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0
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IV. PWM CONTROL TECHNIQUES FOR MLIs

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) techniques for two level inverters have been studied
extensively during the past decades. Many different PWM methods have been developed to achieve
the following aims; wide linear modulation range, reduced switching loss, lesser total harmonic
distortion in the spectrum of switching waveform, easy implementation, less memory space and
computation time on implementing in digital processors for the proposed work. A number of
modulation strategies are used in multilevel power conversion applications. They can generally be
classified into modulating signals and carrier redistribution signal.

4.1 Modulating Signal
Modulating signals can be classified into Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM), Third Harmonic
injection PWM (THPWM) and Modified Space Vector PWM (MSVPWM). These modulation
techniques are extensively studied and compared for the performance parameters with seven level
inverters.

4.1.1 Sinusoidal PWM


Fig. 3: Sinusoidal modulating signal control technique

Sinusoidal PWM is the most widely accepted PWM technique, where a triangular wave is
compared with a sinusoidal reference known as the modulating signal, shown in Fig. 3.

4.1.2 Third Harmonic injection PWM
A method to improve the gain of the pulse width modulator in a multilevel inverter is to
inject a third harmonic. This technique is derived from conventional sinusoidal PWM with the
addition of a 17% third harmonic component to the sine reference waveform as shown in Fig.4.


Fig. 4: Third Harmonic Injection modulating signal control technique

4.1.3 Modified Space Vector PWM
In the SPWM scheme for two-level inverters, each reference phase voltage is compared with
the triangular carrier and the individual pole voltages are generated, independent of each other [5, 6].
To obtain the maximum possible peak amplitude of the fundamental phase voltage, in linear
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modulation, a common mode voltage, Voffset1, is added to the reference phase voltages [9, 1],
where the magnitude of Voffset1 is given by

2
) (
min max
1
V V
V
offset
+
=
Equation - (1)

In (1), Vmax is the maximum magnitude of the three sampled reference phase voltages, while
Vmin is the minimum magnitude of the three sampled reference phase voltages, in a sampling
interval. The addition of the common mode voltage, Voffset1, results in the active inverter switching
vectors being centered in a sampling interval, making the SPWM technique equivalent to the
modified reference PWM technique [9].The modulating signal of modified space vector is shown in
fig. 5.


Fig. 5: Modified Space vector modulating signal control technique

4.2 Multicarrier PWM Techniques
The implementation of the various carrier PWM techniques is possible for multi-level
inverters. This paper uses multi-level triangular waves generation as derived in [5]. It can be a useful
solution for pulse generation for this topology. This technique in [13] is called carrier redistribution
(CR) technique. This technique is derived from the triangular carrier and has individually the lowest
switching frequency among the multi-level PWM methods [14].

4.2.1 Alterative Phase Opposition Disposition (APOD)
This technique requires each of the (m 1) carrier waveforms, for an m-level phase
waveform, to be phase displaced from each other by 180
0
alternately as shown in Figures 6,7, and 8
for various modulating signals. The most significant harmonics are centered as sidebands around the
carrier frequency fc and therefore no harmonics occur at fc.


Fig.6: Sinusoidal reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level PWM scheme using
APOD
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Fig.7: Third Harmonic Injection reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level
PWM scheme using APOD


Fig.8: Modified Space vector reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level PWM
scheme using APOD

4.2.2 Phase Opposition Disposition (POD)
The carrier waveforms are all in phase above and below the zero reference value however,
there is 180
0
phase shift between the ones above and below zero respectively as shown in Figures 9,
10 and 11 for various modulating signals. The significant harmonics, once again, are located around
the carrier frequency fc for both the phase and line voltage waveforms.


Fig.9: Sinusoidal reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level PWM scheme using
POD


Fig.10: Third Harmonic Injection reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level
PWM scheme using POD
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Fig.11: Modified Space vector reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level
PWM scheme using POD

4.2.3 Phase Disposition (PD)
In this technique all the carrier waveforms are in same phase. Fig.11, 12 and 13 demonstrates
the various modulating signals for a seven-level inverter.


Fig.12: Sinusoidal reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level PWM scheme
using PD


Fig.13: Third Harmonic Injection reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level
PWM scheme using PD


Fig.14: Modified Space vector reference with triangular carriers for a 3-phase seven-level
PWM scheme using PD

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V. SIMULATION RESULTS

A detailed circuit simulation was conducted to verify the operating principles of the three
phase seven level Diode clamped using SPWM, THPWM and Modified SVPWM strategies based on
Carrier Redistribution Techniques.

Seven Level Diode Clamped MLI for 3

5.1 Sinusoidal PWM


Fig.15: Line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using SPWM


Fig.16: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using APOD


Fig.17: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using POD


Fig.18: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using PD
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5.2 Third Harmonic injection PWM


Fig.19: Line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using THPWM


Fig.20: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using APOD


Fig.21: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using POD


Fig.22: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using PD





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5.3 Modified Space Vector PWM


Fig.23: Line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using Modified SVPWM


Fig.24: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using APOD


Fig.25: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using POD


Fig.26: FFT analysis of line voltage of 3 seven level DC MLI using PD

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The simulated AC output voltage of the seven level Diode Clamped inverter using SPWM,
THPWM and Modified SVPWM based on Carrier Redistribution Techniques for 3 and its
corresponding FFT analysis are shown in above figures. These waveforms confirm the principle of
operation of 7-level Diode Clamped inverter using SPWM, THPWM and modified SVPWM with
resistive load.

VI. COMPARISON OF RESULTS

Input Voltage = 400 Volts
Switching Frequency = 10 KHz
Modulation Index = 0.866

Table.3: % THD for various PWM Techniques for Seven Level Diode Clamped Inverter
PWM
Technique
SPWM THPWM
Modified
SVPWM
APOD 18.8 16.75 13.18
POD 21.58 20.36 18.97
PD 13.1 11.24 10.72

Table.4: Fundamental Output Voltage (V
rms
) for various PWM Techniques for Seven Level Diode
Clamped Inverter
PWM
Technique
SPWM THPWM
Modified
SVPWM
APOD 293 296.7 335.8
POD 291.6 327.8 333.3
PD 294. 331.6 337.1


Fig. 27: % Graphical representation of % THD for various PWM Techniques for Seven Level Diode
Clamped Inverter

The Diode Clamped Three Phase Seven Level Inverter is simulated for various PWM
strategies based on carrier redistribution technique. The simulation results with harmonic spectrum
are presented and the corresponding results are shown in table 3 and table 4. In addition to this
graphical representation is also shown in fig. 26. In this presentation it is concluded that modified
SVPWM scheme with PD carrier redistribution technique has given good harmonic spectrum with
fundamental THD when compared with SPWM and THPWM techniques.

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VII. CONCLUSION

The diode clamped 3-phase seven level inverter is simulated for sinusoidal PWM, Third
Harmonic PWM technique and modified space vector PWM technique with APOD, POD and PD
PWM strategies. The simulation results with harmonic spectrum are presented, and in this paper it is
concluded that modified reference SVPWM using PD technique has given good harmonic spectrum
with fundamental (335.8) and THD (10.78%) when compared with other techniques.
One application area in the low-power range ( 100 kW) for Diode clamped inverter is in
permanent-magnet (PM) motor drives employing a PM motor of very low inductance. The DCMLI
can utilize the fast-switching low-cost low voltage MOSFETs and the IGBTs in the single-phase
bridges to dramatically reduce current and torque ripples and to improve motor efficiency by
reducing the associated copper and iron losses resulting from the current ripple. These configurations
may also be applied in distributed power generation involving fuel cells and photovoltaic cells.

VIII. REFERENCES

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Indapplications, vol.41, issue 4, pp.724-738,may/june 2005.
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Switching Strategies of a Seven level Hybride Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter ,
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applications, IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron., vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 724738, Aug. 2002
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[5]. J. N. Chiasson, L. M. Tolbert, K. J.McKenzie, and Z.Du, A new approach to solving the
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[14]. Gerardo Ceglia, Vctor Guzmn, Member ,IEEE, Carlos Snchez, Fernando Ibez, Julio
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AUTHORS DETAIL

S.Nagaraja Rao was born in kadapa, India. He received the B.Tech (Electrical and
Electronics Engineering) degree from the Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University,
Hyderabad in 2006; M.Tech (Power Electronics) from the same university in 2008.
He is currently pursuing his Ph.D under JNTUK, Kakinada. He has published several
National and International Journals and Conferences. His area of interest power
electronics and Electric Drives.



Dr. D. V. Ashok Kumar, was born in Nandyal, India in 1975. He received the B.E
(Electrical and Electronics Engineering) degree from Gulbarga University and the
M.Tech (Electrical Power Systems) from J.N.T.U.C.E, Anantapur and Ph.D in Solar
Energy from same University. Currently he is working as Pricipal in Syamaldevi
Institute of Technology for women, Nandyal, He has published/presented technical
research papers in national and international Journals/conferences. His field of interest
includes Electrical Machines, Power electronics, Power systems and Solar Energy.



Ch. Sai Babu received the B.E from Andhra University (Electrical & Electronics
Engineering), M.Tech in Electrical Machines and Industrial Drives from REC,
Warangal and Ph.D in Reliability Studies of HVDC Converters from JNTU,
Hyderabad. Currently he is working as a Professor in Dept. of EEE in JNTUK,
Kakinada. He has published several National and International Journals and
Conferences. His area of interest is Power Electronics and Drives, Power System
Reliability, HVDC Converter Reliability, Optimization of Electrical Systems and Real Time Energy
Management.