3.

3 Improvement of Power Quality

voltage waveform, with the use of amplitude modulation, low frequency voltage harmonics
are perfectly eliminated, generating almost perfect sinusoidal waveforms, with a Multilevel
inverters can operate not only with PWM but also with amplitude modulation (AM)
,improving significantly the quality of the output THD lower than 5%. Another important
characteristic is that each converter operated at a low switching frequency, reducing the
semiconductor stresses and therefore reducing the switching losses. The selective harmonic
elimination (SHE) inverter can evidently reduce the harmonic content of output voltage in
power electronic device consisting of inverters, and improve the dynamic performance of
variable voltage variable frequency. Therefore, the electric devices can obtain the sine wave
of perfect quality [1]. Selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation (SHEPWM) is
a well-known switching strategy is eliminating low order harmonics [3].Basically, harmonic
equations are nonlinear and solving them is a major problem for researchers. The elimination
of harmonics in a multilevel inverter has been implemented by using fundamental modulation
switching. This method eliminates harmonics by generating negative harmonics with
switching angles calculated for selective harmonic elimination method [4]. A reduction in the
eliminated harmonics results in an increase in the degrees of freedom. As a result, the lower
order harmonics are eliminated in more operating points [5]. The power conversion strategy
called multilevel inversion decreases the total harmonic distortion (THD) by obtaining the
output voltage in steps and bringing the output closer to a sine wave [6]. Producing an
approximate sinusoidal voltage from multiple levels of dc voltages, normally obtained from
capacitor voltage sources is the common objective of multilevel inverters [7]. Flexible ac
transmission systems, renewable energy sources, uninterruptible power supplies and active
power filters are some power electronics applications in which multilevel inverters are
important [8]. Non-linear loads like adjustable speed drives; electronically ballasted lighting
and the power supplies of the electrical equipment used in modern offices cause current
harmonics in modern electrical distribution systems [9]. Diverse techniques have been
identified to decrease the problem of harmonics. Some examples are: 1) Specific Harmonic
Elimination (SHE} which is used for eradication of unwanted lower order harmonics and
control of fundamental voltage in a square wave 2) Harmonic elimination pulse width
modulation (HEPWM) method that has a number of benefits compared to traditional
sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) for Voltage Source Inverters (VSI) [8-9].By selecting proper
switching angles, they have achieved harmonic reduction. The DC link voltage has been kept
constant and the modulation index of the inverter has been varied for controlling the
multilevel inverter.