POWER ELECTRONICS

Multilevel Inverters
The voltage-source inverters produce an output voltage or a current with levels either 0 or
±Vdc. They are known as the two-level inverter.

To obtain a quality output voltage or a current waveform with a minimum amount of

ripple content, they require high switching frequency along with various pulse-width-
modulation (PWM) strategies.

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.

Moreover, the semiconductor switching devices should be used in such a manner as to

avoid problems associated with their series–parallel combinations that are necessary to
obtain capability of handling high voltages and currents.
 Multilevel Inverters
It may be easier to produce a high power, high-voltage inverter with the multilevel structure
because of the way in which device voltage stresses are controlled in the structure.

Increasing the number of voltage levels in the inverter without requiring higher ratings on
individual devices can increase the power rating.

The unique structure of multilevel voltage-source inverters allows them to reach high voltages
with low harmonics without the use of transformers or series connected synchronized-
switching devices.

As the number of voltage levels increases, the harmonic content of the output voltage
waveform decreases significantly.

The input is a dc and the output ideally should be a sine wave. The performance parameters of
multilevel converters are similar to those of PWM inverters
 Multilevel Inverters
Multilevel Concept
Schematic of single
Let us consider a three-phase inverter system as
pole of multilevel
shown in Figure with a dc voltage Vdc.
inverter by a switch

where m denotes the number of levels.

The term level is referred to as the number of nodes to

Series-connected capacitors constitute the energy tank for
which the inverter can be accessible.
the inverter. providing some nodes to which the multilevel
inverter can be connected.
An m-level inverter needs(m-1)capacitors.
Each capacitor has the same voltage Em,
Output phase voltages can be defined as voltages
which is given by
across output terminals of the inverter and the ground
point denoted by o in Figure.
 Multilevel Inverters
The topological structure of multilevel inverter must

(1) have less switching devices as far as possible,

(2) be capable of withstanding very high input voltage

for high-power applications, and

(3) have lower switching frequency for each switching

device.
Typical output voltage of a
five-level multilevel inverter The multilevel inverters can be classified into three types :

1) Diode-clamped multilevel inverter

The actual realization of the switch requires 2) Flying-capacitors multilevel inverter

bidirectional switching devices for each node.
3) Cascade multilevel inverter
 Multilevel Inverters
Diode-Clamped Multilevel Inverter

A diode-clamped multilevel (m-level) inverter (DCMLI)

typically consists of (m-1) capacitors on the dc bus and
produces m levels on the phase voltage.

Each device voltage stress is limited to one capacitor

voltage level through clamping diodes.

An m-level inverter leg requires (m – 1) capacitors,

2(m – 1) switching devices, and (m – 1) (m – 2) clamping In this circuit, the dc voltage source is connected to a
diodes. pair of series capacitors, each charged to Vdc/2.

The following analysis shows how the output

Figure shows a diode-clamped multilevel inverter
voltage can have the levels of Vdc, Vdc/2, 0, -Vdc/2, or –Vdc.
implemented with IGBTs.
 Multilevel Inverters

For the analysis, consider only the left half of the To produce a voltage of Vdc/2, S2 and S3 are closed, and S1 and S4 are
bridge, as shown in Fig. b, c, and d. open (Fig. d).

With S1 and S2 closed and S3 and S4 open, V1 =Vdc
(Fig. b). The diodes are off for this condition.
With S1 and S2 open and S3 and S4 closed, V1 = 0
(Fig. c). The diodes are off for this condition also.
The voltage v1 is that of the lower capacitor, at voltage Vdc/2,
connected through the antiparallel diode path that can carry
load current in either direction.
 Multilevel Inverters

For each of these circuits, two switches are open, and the voltage
of the source divides between the two, thus reducing the voltage
stress across each switch compared to the H bridge circuit .

Using a similar analysis, the right half of the bridge can also
produce the voltages Vdc, 0, and Vdc/2.

The output voltage is the difference of the voltages

between each half bridge, resulting in the five levels

Vdc/2
 Multilevel Inverters
Diode-clamped five-level bridge multilevel inverter
The steps to synthesize the five-level voltages are
The numbering order of the switches is Sa1, Sa2, Sa3, Sa4, as follows
S’a1 , S’a2, S’a3 , and S’a4 .

1. For an output voltage level vao = Vdc, turn on all

upper-half switches Sa1 through Sa4.
2. For an output voltage level vao = 3Vdc/4, turn on
three upper switches Sa2 through Sa4 and one lower
switch S’a1 .
3. For an output voltage level vao = Vdc/2, turn on two upper
switches Sa3 through Sa4 and two lower switches
S’a1 and S’a2.
4. For an output voltage level vao = Vdc/4, turn on one upper
switch Sa4 and three lower switches S’a1
through S’a3 .
5. For an output voltage level v ao = 0, turn on all lower half
switches S’a1 through S’a4.
Multilevel Inverters

Phase and fundamental voltage

waveforms of a five-level inverter

Improved Diode-Clamped Inverter

 Multilevel Inverters
Flying-Capacitors Multilevel Inverter

Figure shows a single-phase, full-bridge, five-level converter based on a

flying capacitors multilevel inverter (FCMLI) . The numbering order of the
switches is Sa1, Sa2, Sa3, Sa4, S’a4 , S’a3 , S’a2 ,and S’a1 .
The phase voltage vao of an m-level converter has m levels
(including the reference level), and the line voltage vab has
(2m – 1)levels.

Assuming that each capacitor has the same voltage rating

as the switching device, the dc bus needs
(m – 1) capacitors for an m-level converter.
 Multilevel Inverters
Cascaded Multilevel Inverter
A cascaded multilevel inverter consists of a series of
H-bridge (single-phase, full-bridge) inverter units.
The general function of this multilevel inverter is to
Synthesize a desired voltage from several separate
dc sources (SDCSs), which may be obtained
from batteries, fuel cells, or solar cells.
Similarly, the ac output voltage at each level can be
obtained in the same manner.
If NS is the number of dc sources, the output phase
voltage level is m = NS + 1.
Thus, a five-level cascaded inverter needs four SDCSs
and four full bridges.

Each inverter level can generate three different

voltage outputs, +Vdc, 0, and -Vdc, by connecting
the dc source to the ac output side by different
combinations of the four switches, S1, S2, S3, and S4.

Turning on S1 and S4 yields v1 = +Vdc.

Turning on S2 and S3 yields v1 = -Vdc.

Turning off all switches yields v1 = 0.

 Multilevel Inverters
A five-source cascade multilevel converter.

Voltages at each H bridge in Fig.a. and the total output voltage

Fig.a
 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Dc motors can provide a high starting torque and it is
also possible to obtain speed control over a wide range.
The methods of speed control are normally simpler and
less expensive than those of ac drives.
Dc motors play a significant role in modern industrial
drives.
Both series and separately excited dc motors are normally
used in variable-speed drives, but series motors are
traditionally employed for traction applications.
Due to commutators, dc motors are not suitable for very
high speed applications and require more maintenance
than do ac motors.
Controlled rectifiers provide a variable dc output
voltage from a fixed ac voltage, whereas a dc–dc
converter can provide a variable dc voltage from
a fixed dc voltage.
Controlled rectifiers are generally used for the
speed control of dc motors.
The alternative form would be a diode rectifier
followed by dc–dc converter,
Dc drives can be classified, in general, into three types:
1. Single-phase drives
2. Three-phase drives
3. Dc–dc converter drives
 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Controlled rectifier-fed drive

Single-phase drives are used in low-power

applications in the range up to 100 kW.

Three-phase drives are used for applications

in the range 100 kW to 500 kW.
Dc–dc converter-fed drives
 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Separately Excited Dc Motor

When a separately excited motor is excited by a field current of if

and an armature current of ia flows in the armature circuit, the
motor develops a back emf and a torque to balance the load torque
at a particular speed.

The field current if of a separately excited motor is Equivalent circuit of separately

independent of the armature current ia and any change in excited dc motors.
the armature current has no effect on the field current.
The instantaneous armature current can be
The equations describing the characteristics of a found from
separately excited motor
2
The instantaneous field current if obtained from,
The motor back emf, which is also known
as speed voltage, is expressed as
1
3
 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Separately Excited Dc Motor

The torque developed by the motor is

4 Under steady-state conditions, the time

derivatives in these equations are zero and
The developed torque must be equal The steady-state average quantities are,
to the load torque

The developed power is

 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Separately Excited Dc Motor

The relationship between the field current

If and the back emf Eg is nonlinear due to
magnetic saturation.

The speed of a separately excited motor

can be found from (2) Controlling the field current If, known as
field control

6
(3) Torque demand, which corresponds to an armature
current Ia, for a fixed field current If.

Eqn. (6) shows the motor speed can be varied by,

The speed, which corresponds to the rated
armature voltage, rated field current, and
(1) Controlling the armature voltage Va, known as rated armature current, is known as the rated
voltage control (or base) speed.
 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Separately Excited Dc Motor

Figure below shows the characteristics of torque, power,

In practice, for a speed less than the base speed, the armature armature current, and field current against the speed
current and field currents are maintained constant to meet
the torque demand, and the armature voltage Va is varied to
control the speed.

For speed higher than the base speed, the armature

voltage is maintained at the rated value and the field
current is varied to control the speed.

However, the power developed by the motor

(= torque * speed) remains constant.
 Electric Drives
DC Drives

1 A 230 V, 500 rpm, 100 A separately excited dc motor has an armature resistance of 0.1Ω. The motor is driving, under
rated conditions, a load whose torque is constant and independent of speed. The speeds below the rated speed are
obtained with armature voltage control (with full field) and the speeds above the rated speed are obtained by field
control (with rated armature voltage).
1. Calculate the motor terminal voltage when the speed is 400 rpm.
2. By what amount should flux be reduced to get a motor speed of 800 rpm?
Neglect the motor's rotational losses.

Solution: Back emf at 500 rpm,

 Electric Drives
DC Drives

Problem Cont..

The feasib1e value of k = 0.61.

Thus the flux must be reduced to 0.61 of

its rated value.
 Electric Drives

2
A variable-speed drive system uses a dc motor that is supplied from a variable-voltage source.
The torque and power profiles are shown in Fig. The drive speed is varied from 0 to
1500 rpm (base speed) by varying the terminal voltage from 0 to 500 V with the field current
maintained constant.

(a) Determine the motor armature current if the torque is held constant at 300 N m up to the
base speed.

(b) The speed beyond the base speed is obtained by field weakening while the armature
voltage is held constant at 500 V. Determine the torque available at a speed of 3000 rpm if
the armature current is held constant at the value obtained in part (a).