Chinna

MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF LC-SWITCHING VOLTAGE BOOST THREE
LEVEL NPC INVERTER WITH FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER
CHAPTER-1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Necessity of multilevel inverters
Now-a-days the Multi-level inverter has drawn a tremendous interest in power industry .With
the multilevel structure it may be easy to produce high power. High voltage inverter because of
the way in which device voltage stress are controlled in the structure. Increasing the number of
voltage levels in the inverter without requiring higher ratings on individual device can increase
the power rating. The voltage source inverters produce an output voltage or a current with levels
either 0 or ±Vdc. They are known as two level inverters .To obtain a quality output voltage or a
current waveform with 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 manner to avoid problems associated
with their series-parallel combinations that are necessary to obtain capability of handling high
voltages and currents.
The Multilevel voltage source inverter (VSI) is utilized as a part of an extensive
variety of uses like photovoltaic (PV) system, continuous power supply (UPS), energy unit,
wind control, cross breed electric vehicle (HEV) and so on. Multilevel VSI gives advantages
like better power quality, littler output AC channel prerequisites, reduction of stress over the
inverter switches. Nonetheless, traditional multilevel VSI acts like buck converter i.e. top AC
output voltage is not as much as the information DC interfaces voltage. In applications like PV
system, energy unit UPS and so forth the required AC output voltage level is accomplished by
utilizing either a DC-DC converter some time before the VSI or a transformer after the VSI.
However, more number of energy converter stages expands system control many-sided quality
and reductions the system proficiency. So also, incorporation of line frequency transformer
builds the system size and weight.In multilevel VSI, shoot through (i.e. exchanging all the
switches in the inverter leg) comes about dead short out of the source. Shoot-through is stayed
away from by giving dead band between switching control signal fed to the correlative switches
of inverter leg, which presents mutilation in the output AC Voltage. ZSI addresses the above
issues and can help the info DC voltage to accomplish the required AC voltage in a solitary
stage.
DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 1

Traditional three level Z-Source Neutral point clasped (NPC) inverters are investigated
for medium power and low power applications. It gives better power quality in the meantime
voltage stress across the switches and output filters necessity are less.
This uses two secluded DC sources which may require seclusion transformer and extra
rectifier circuits (in the event that secluded DC sources are not promptly accessible). It is
fundamentally worked in three states i.e., Non- shoot through state, zero state, Shoot through
state. In multilevel ZSI shoot-through state is used alongside passive reactive component to
support the input DC voltage. It is like the zero condition of multilevel VSI where no power is
exchanged to the load. In non-shoot through mode control is exchanged from DC source to AC
load, which is like the dynamic condition of the multilevel VSI. Nevertheless, utilization of
more number of high power passive reactive components in the middle of the network organizes
and additionally confined DC control supply builds the system size, weight and cost. In writing
single LC impedance organize based three level ZSI is talked about which utilizes less number
of high control passive elements (two capacitors and two inductors) and single split-DC source.
But, in this multilevel inverter the voltage rating of the capacitor is about double than the
traditional three levels Z-Source NPC inverter. The source/input current of the three level NPC
ZSI is broken in nature which may expand the weight on source and is not alluring in a portion
of the application like Fuel cell, UPS system, half and half electric vehicle (HEV) and so on.
Multilevel Quasi Z-Source inverter is an enhanced subordinate of multilevel Z-Source
inverter, where the source current is constant in nature and voltage stress over the inverter
switches are similarly less. Cascaded semi Z-source multilevel inverter utilizes at least two
disengaged DC sources and more number of high power detached receptive components for
better quality single stage control transformation. Correspondingly, a three level NPC Quasi Z-
Source inverter, where a Quasi Z-Source organizes is joined with customary NPC structure to
give multilevel output. Notwithstanding, utilization of more number of high control latent
receptive components and numerous disengaged DC control supply in multilevel Quasi Z-
Source inverter, expands the system measure, cost and additionally weight. In this paper a three
level LC-Switching based voltage help NPC inverter is proposed for boosting the information
voltage and give required three levels AC output voltage in a solitary stage. It employments
relatively less number of passive reactive components (as it were two inductors and two
capacitors), two dynamic switches and four diodes in the halfway system between DC source
also, inverter leg in the meantime it gives every one of the favorable circumstances of multilevel
Quasi Z-Source inverter. Thus, system estimates what's more, weights are decreased. In spite of

the fact that the cost of additional switches and diodes are very little not as much as the additional
passive parts (inductors and capacitors) utilized as a part of multilevel Quasi Z-Source inverter
however can be utilized as a part of low power or medium power applications where size and
weight are fundamental requirements.
1.2 DC-to-DC converter
A DC-to-DC converter is an electronic circuit or electromechanical device that

converts a source of direct current (DC) from one voltage level to another. It is a type of electric
power converter. Power levels range from very low (small batteries) to very high (high-voltage
power transmission).
1.2.1 History
Before the development of power semiconductors and allied technologies, one way to convert
the voltage of a DC supply to a higher voltage, for low-power applications, was to convert it to
AC by using a vibrator, followed by a step-up transformer and rectifier. For higher power an
electric motor was used to drive a generator of the desired voltage (sometimes combined into a
single "dynamotor" unit, a motor and generator combined into one unit, with one winding
driving the motor and the other generating the output voltage). These were relatively inefficient
and expensive procedures used only when there was no alternative, as to power a car radio
(which then used thermionic valves/tubes requiring much higher voltages than available from a
6 or 12 V car batteries). The introduction of power semiconductors and integrated circuits made
it economically viable to use techniques as described below, for example to convert the DC
power supply to high-frequency AC, use a transformer small, light, and cheap due to the high
frequency to change the voltage, and rectify back to DC. Although by 1976 transistor car radio
receivers did not require high voltages, some amateur radio operators continued to use vibrator
supplies and dynamotors for mobile transceivers requiring high voltages, although
transistorized power supplies were available. While it was possible to derive a lower voltage
from a higher with a linear electronic circuit, or even a resistor, these methods dissipated the
excess as heat; energy-efficient conversion only became possible with solid-state switch-mode
circuits.
Uses

DC to DC converters are used in portable electronic devices such as cellular

phones and laptop computers, which are supplied with power from batteries primarily. Such
electronic devices often contain several sub-circuits, each with its own voltage level requirement
different from that supplied by the battery or an external supply (sometimes higher or lower
than the supply voltage). Additionally, the battery voltage declines as its stored energy is
drained. Switched DC to DC converters offer a method to increase voltage from a partially
lowered battery voltage thereby saving space instead of using multiple batteries to accomplish
the same thing. Most DC to DC converter circuits also regulate the output voltage. Some
exceptions include high-efficiency LED power sources, which are a kind of DC to DC converter
that regulates the current through the LEDs, and simple charge pumps which double or triple
the output voltage. DC to DC converters developed to maximize the energy harvest
for photovoltaic systems and for wind turbines are called power optimizers.
Transformers used for voltage conversion at mains frequencies of 50–60 Hz must be large
and heavy for powers exceeding a few watts. This makes them expensive, and they are subject
to energy losses in their windings and due to eddy currents in their cores. DC-to-DC techniques
that use transformers or inductors work at much higher frequencies, requiring only much
smaller, lighter, and cheaper wound components. Consequently these techniques are used even
where a mains transformer could be used; for example, for domestic electronic appliances it is
preferable to rectify mains voltage to DC, use switch-mode techniques to convert it to high-
frequency AC at the desired voltage, then, usually, rectify to DC. The entire complex circuit is
cheaper and more efficient than a simple mains transformer circuit of the same output.
1.2.2 Electronic conversion
Linear regulators which are used to output a stable DC independent of input voltage and
output load from a higher but less stable input by dissipating excess volt-amperes as heat, could
be described literally as DC-to-DC converters, but this is not usual usage. (The same could be
said of a simple voltage dropper resistor, whether or not stabilised by a following voltage
regulator or Zener-diode.)There are also simple capacitive voltage doubler and Dickson
multiplier circuits using diodes and capacitors to multiply a DC voltage by an integer value,
typically delivering only a small current.
Practical electronic converters use switching techniques. Switched-mode DC-to-DC

converters convert one DC voltage level to another, which may be higher or lower, by storing
the input energy temporarily and then releasing that energy to the output at a different voltage.

The storage may be in either magnetic field storage components (inductors, transformers) or
electric field storage components (capacitors). This conversion method can increase or decrease
voltage. Switching conversion is more power efficient (often 75% to 98%) than linear voltage
regulation, which dissipates unwanted power as heat. Fast semiconductor device rise and fall
times are required for efficiency; however, these fast transitions combine with layout parasitic
effects to make circuit design challenging. The higher efficiency of a switched-mode converter
reduces the heat sinking needed, and increases battery endurance of portable equipment.
Efficiency has improved since the late 1980s due to the use of power FETs, which are able to
switch more efficiently with lower switching losses at higher frequencies than power bipolar
transistors, and use less complex drive circuitry. Another important improvement in DC-DC
converters is replacing the flywheel diode by synchronous rectification using a power FET,
whose "on resistance" is much lower, reducing switching losses. Before the wide availability of
power semiconductors, low-power DC-to-DC synchronous converters consisted of an electro-
mechanical vibrator followed by a voltage step-up transformer feeding a vacuum tube or
semiconductor rectifier, or synchronous rectifier contacts on the vibrator.
Most DC-to-DC converters are designed to move power in only one direction, from
dedicated input to output. However, all switching regulator topologies can be made bidirectional
and able to move power in either direction by replacing all diodes with independently
controlled active rectification. A bidirectional converter is useful, for example, in applications
requiring regenerative braking of vehicles, where power is supplied to the wheels while driving,
but supplied by the wheels when braking.
Switching converters are electronically complex, although this is embodied in integrated

circuits, with few components needed. They need careful design of the circuit and physical
layout to reduce switching noise (EMI / RFI) to acceptable levels and, like all high-frequency
circuits, for stable operation. Cost was higher than linear regulators in voltage-dropping
applications, but this dropped with advances in chip design. DC-to-DC converters are available
as integrated circuits (ICs) requiring few additional components. Converters are also available
as complete hybrid circuit modules, ready for use within an electronic assembly.
1.2.3 Magnetic
In these DC-to-DC converters, energy is periodically stored within and released from a magnetic
field in an inductor or a transformer, typically within a frequency range of 300 kHz to 10 MHz.
By adjusting the duty cycle of the charging voltage (that is, the ratio of the on/off times), the

amount of power transferred to a load can be more easily controlled, though this control can
also be applied to the input current, the output current, or to maintain constant power.
Transformer-based converters may provide isolation between input and output. In general, the
term DC-to-DC converter refers to one of these switching converters. These circuits are the
heart of a switched-mode power supply.
Some of the topologies can be defined as,
Hard switched
Transistors switch quickly while exposed to both full voltage and full current
Resonant
An LC circuit shapes the voltage across the transistor and current through it so that the
transistor switches when either the voltage or the current is zero Magnetic DC-to-DC converters
may be operated in two modes, according to the current in its main magnetic component
(inductor or transformer):
Continuous
The current fluctuates but never goes down to zero
Discontinuous
The current fluctuates during the cycle, going down to zero at or before the end of each
cycle. A converter may be designed to operate in continuous mode at high power, and in
discontinuous mode at low power.
The half bridge and fly back topologies are similar in that energy stored in the magnetic
core needs to be dissipated so that the core does not saturate. Power transmission in a flyback
circuit is limited by the amount of energy that can be stored in the core, while forward circuits
are usually limited by the I/V characteristics of the switches. Although MOSFET switches can
tolerate simultaneous full current and voltage (although thermal stress and electro migration can
shorten the MTBF), bipolar switches generally can't so require the use of a snubber (or two).
High-current systems often use multiphase converters, also called interleaved
converters. Multiphase regulators can have better ripple and better response times than single-
phase regulators. Many laptop and desktop motherboards include interleaved buck regulators,
sometimes as a voltage regulator module.
1.2.4 Capacitive

Switched capacitor converters rely on alternately connecting capacitors to the input and
output in differing topologies. For example, a switched-capacitor reducing converter might
charge two capacitors in series and then discharge them in parallel. This would produce the
same output power (less that lost to efficiency of under 100%) at, ideally, half the input voltage
and twice the current. Because they operate on discrete quantities of charge, these are also
sometimes referred to as charge pump converters. They are typically used in applications
requiring relatively small currents, as at higher currents the increased efficiency and smaller size
of switch-mode converters makes them a better choice. They are also used at extremely high
voltages, as magnetics would break down at such voltages. DC-to-DC converters are subject to
different types of chaotic dynamics such as bifurcation, crisis, and intermittency.
1.2.5 Terminology
Step-down
A converter where output voltage is lower than the input voltage (such as a buck converter).
Step-up
A converter that outputs a voltage higher than the input voltage (such as a boost converter).
Continuous current mode
Current and thus the magnetic field in the inductive energy storage never reach zero.
Discontinuous current mode
Current and thus the magnetic field in the inductive energy storage may reach or cross zero.
Noise
Unwanted electrical and electromagnetic signal noise, typically switching artifacts.
RF noise
Switching converters inherently emit radio waves at the switching frequency and its
harmonics. Switching converters that produce triangular switching current, such as the Split-
Pi, forward converter, or Ćuk converter in continuous current mode, produce less harmonic
noise than other switching converters. RF noise causes electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Acceptable levels depend upon requirements, e.g. proximity to RF circuitry needs more
suppression than simply meeting regulations.
Input noise
The input voltage may have non-negligible noise. Additionally, if the converter loads the input
with sharp load edges, the converter can emit RF noise from the supplying power lines. This
should be prevented with proper filtering in the input stage of the converter.

Output noise
The output of an ideal DC-to-DC converter is a flat, constant output voltage. However, real
converters produce a DC output upon which is superimposed some level of electrical noise.
Switching converters produce switching noise at the switching frequency and its harmonics.
Additionally, all electronic circuits have some thermal noise. Some sensitive radio-frequency
and analog circuits require a power supply with so little noise that it can only be provided by a
linear regulator. Some analog circuits which require a power supply with relatively low noise
can tolerate some of the less-noisy switching converters, e.g. using continuous triangular
waveforms rather than square waves.
1.3 Boost converter

A boost converter (step-up converter) is a DC-to-DC power converter that steps up voltage
(while stepping down current) from its input (supply) to its output (load). It is a class
of switched-mode power supply (SMPS) containing at least two semiconductors (a diode and
a transistor) and at least one energy storage element: a capacitor, inductor, or the two in
combination. To reduce voltage ripple, filters made of capacitors (sometimes in combination
with inductors) are normally added to such a converter's output (load-side filter) and input
(supply-side filter).
Fig . 1.1 The basic schematic of a boost converter.
Overview
A process that changes one DC voltage to a different DC voltage is called DC to DC conversion.

A boost converter is a DC to DC converter with an output voltage greater than the source
voltage. A boost converter is sometimes called a step-up converter since it "steps up" the source
voltage.

1.3.1 History
For high efficiency, the SMPS switch must turn on and off quickly and have low losses. The
advent of a commercial semiconductor switch in the 1950s represented a major milestone 8that
made SMPSs such as the boost converter possible. The major DC to DC converters were
developed in the early 1960s when semiconductor switches had become available.
The aerospace industry’s need for small, lightweight, and efficient power converters led to the
converter’s rapid development.
Switched systems such as SMPS are a challenge to design since their models depend on
whether a switch is opened or closed. R. D. Middlebrook from Caltech in 1977 published the
models for DC to DC converters used today. Middlebrook averaged the circuit configurations
for each switch state in a technique called state-space averaging. This simplification reduced
two systems into one. The new model led to insightful design equations which helped the growth
of SMPS.
Applications
Fig. 1.2 Boost converter from a TI calculator, generating 9 V from 2.4 V
Battery power systems often stack cells in series to achieve higher voltage. However,
sufficient stacking of cells is not possible in many high voltage applications due to lack of space.
Boost converters can increase the voltage and reduce the number of cells. Two battery-powered
applications that use boost converters are used in hybrid electric vehicles (HEV) and lighting
systems.
The NHW20 model Toyota Prius HEV uses a 500 V motor. Without a boost converter, the
Prius would need nearly 417 cells to power the motor. However, a Prius actually uses only 168
cells and boosts the battery voltage from 202 V to 500 V. Boost converters also power devices
at smaller scale applications, such as portable lighting systems. A white LED typically requires

3.3 V to emit light, and a boost converter can step up the voltage from a single 1.5 V alkaline
cell to power the lamp.
An unregulated boost converter is used as the voltage increase mechanism in the circuit
known as the 'Joule thief'. This circuit topology is used with low power battery applications, and
is aimed at the ability of a boost converter to 'steal' the remaining energy in a battery. This
energy would otherwise be wasted since the low voltage of a nearly depleted battery makes it
unusable for a normal load. This energy would otherwise remain untapped because many
applications do not allow enough current to flow through a load when voltage decreases. This
voltage decrease occurs as batteries become depleted, and is a characteristic of the
ubiquitous alkaline battery
1.3.2 Circuit analysis

Operation
The key principle that drives the boost converter is the tendency of an inductor to resist
changes in current by creating and destroying a magnetic field. In a boost converter, the output
voltage is always higher than the input voltage. A schematic of a boost power stage is shown in
Figure 1.
(a) When the switch is closed, current flows through the inductor in clockwise direction and the
inductor stores some energy by generating a magnetic field. Polarity of the left side of the
inductor is positive.
(b) When the switch is opened, current will be reduced as the impedance is higher. The magnetic
field previously created will be destroyed to maintain the current towards the load. Thus the
polarity will be reversed (means left side of inductor will be negative now). As a result, two
sources will be in series causing a higher voltage to charge the capacitor through the diode D.
If the switch is cycled fast enough, the inductor will not discharge fully in between charging
stages, and the load will always see a voltage greater than that of the input source alone when
the switch is opened. Also while the switch is opened, the capacitor in parallel with the load is
charged to this combined voltage. When the switch is then closed and the right hand side is
shorted out from the left hand side, the capacitor is therefore able to provide the voltage and
energy to the load. During this time, the blocking diode prevents the capacitor from discharging

through the switch. The switch must of course be opened again fast enough to prevent the
capacitor from discharging too much.
 in the On-state, the switch S is closed, resulting in an increase in the inductor current;
 In the Off-state, the switch is open and the only path offered to inductor current is through
the fly back diode D, the capacitor C and the load R. These results in transferring the energy
accumulated during the On-state into the capacitor.
 The input current is the same as the inductor current as can be seen in figure 2. So it is not
discontinuous as in the buck converter and the requirements on the input filter are relaxed
compared to a buck converter
Continuous mode
Fig. 1.3: Waveforms of current and voltage in a boost converter operating in continuous
mode.
When a boost converter operates in continuous mode, the current through the inductor never
falls to zero. Figure 3 shows the typical waveforms of currents and voltages in a converter
operating in continuous mode.
1.4 INVERTER
The nomenclature ‘inverter’ is sometimes also used for ac to dc converter circuits if the power
flow direction is from dc to ac side. Irrespective of power flow direction inverter’ is referred as
a circuit that operates from a stiff dc source and generates ac output.

Even though input to an inverter circuit is a dc source, it is not uncommon to have this dc
derived from an ac source such as utility ac supply. Thus, for example, the primary source of
input power may be utility ac voltage supply that is ‘converted’ to dc by an ac to dc converter
and then ‘inverted’ back to ac using an inverter. Here, the final ac output may be of a different
frequency and magnitude than the input ac of the utility supply. It is an electric apparatus that
changes direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC). It is not the same thing as an alternator,
which converts mechanical energy (e.g. movement) into alternating current.
Direct current is created by devices such as batteries and solar panels. When connected, an
inverter allows these devices to provide electric power for small household devices. The inverter
does this through a complex process of electrical adjustment. From this process, AC electric
power is produced. This form of electricity can be used to power an electric light, a microwave
oven, or some other electric machine.
An inverter usually also increases the voltage. In order to increase the voltage, the current must
be decreased, so an inverter will use a lot of current on the DC side when only a small amount
is being used on the AC side. The inverter is used for emergency backup power in a home. The
inverter is used in some aircraft systems to convert a portion of the aircraft DC power to AC.
The AC power is used mainly for electrical devices like lights, radar, radio, motor, and other
devices.
1.4.1 Types of inverters
Inverters can be classified by their structure:
1. Single-phase inverter:
This type of inverter consists of two legs or two poles. (A pole is connection of two IGBTs
where source of one and drain of other are connected and this common point is taken out).
2. Three -phase inverter:
This type of inverter consists of three legs or poles or four legs (three legs for phases and one
for neutral).
But, inverters are also classified based on the type of input source. And they are,
1. Voltage-source inverter (VSI)
In this type of inverter, a constant voltage source acts as input to the inverter bridge. The
constant voltage source is obtained by connecting a large capacitor across the DC source.

2. Current-source inverter (CSI)
In this type of inverter, a constant current source acts as input to the inverter bridge. The
constant current source is obtained by connecting a large inductor in series the DC source.
1.5 VOLTAGE SOURCE INVERTER:
Among the types of inverters the VSI is playing an important role where, the input dc
is a voltage source, then the inverter is called a voltage source inverter (VSI). The VSI circuit
has direct control over ‘output (ac) voltage’. Shape of voltage waveforms output by an ideal
VSI should be independent of load connected at the output.
The simplest dc voltage source for a VSI may be a battery bank, which may consist of several
cells in series-parallel combination. Solar photovoltaic cells can be another dc voltage source.
An ac voltage supply, after rectification into dc will also qualify as a dc voltage source. A
voltage source is called stiff, if the source voltage magnitude does not depend on load connected
to it. All voltage source inverters assume stiff voltage supply at the input.
Some examples where voltage source inverters are used are: uninterruptible power supply (UPS)
units, adjustable speed drives (ASD) for ac motors, electronic frequency changer circuits etc.
Most of us are also familiar with commercially available inverter units used in homes and offices
to power some essential ac loads in case the utility ac supply gets interrupted. In such inverter
units, battery supply is used as the input dc voltage source and the inverter circuit converts the
dc into ac voltage of desired frequency. The achievable magnitude of ac voltage is limited by
the magnitude of input (dc bus) voltage. In ordinary household inverters the battery voltage may
be just 12 volts and the inverter circuit may be capable of supplying ac voltage of around 10
volts (rms) only. In such cases the inverter output voltage is stepped up using a transformer to
meet the load requirement of, say, 230 volts.
1.5.1 General Structure of Voltage Source Inverters

Fig 1.4.and fig.1.5. Shows the typical power-circuit topologies of a single-phase and a
three-phase voltage source inverter respectively. These topologies require only a single dc
source and for medium output power applications the preferred devices are n-channel IGBTs.

‘Edc’ is the input dc supply and a large dc link capacitor (Cdc) is put across the supply terminals.
Capacitors and switches are connected to dc bus using short leads to minimize the stray
inductance between the capacitor and the inverter switches. Needless to say that physical layout
of positive and negative bus lines is also important to limit stray inductances. Q1, Q2, Q3 etc. are
fast and controllable switches. D1, D2, D3 etc. are fast recovery diodes connected in anti-parallel
with the switches. ‘A’, ‘B’ and ‘C’ are output terminals of the inverter that get connected to the
ac load. A three-phase inverter has three load-phase terminals whereas a single-phase inverter
has only one pair of load terminals.
The current supplied by the dc bus to the inverter switches is referred as dc link current and has
been shown as ‘idc’ in Figs.1.4.and 1.5. The magnitude of dc link current often changes in step
(and sometimes its direction also changes) as the inverter switches are turned on and off. The
step change in instantaneous dc link current occurs even if the ac load at the inverter output is
drawing steady power. However, average magnitude of the dc link current remains positive if
net power-flow is from dc bus to ac load. The net power-flow direction reverses if the ac load
connected to the inverter is regenerating. Under regeneration, the mean magnitude of dc link
current is negative. [The dc link current may conceptually be decomposed into its dc and ac
components. The individual roles of the ‘dc voltage source’ and the ‘dc link capacitor’ may be
clearly seen with respect to the dc and ac components of the dc link current. For the dc
component of current the capacitor acts like open circuit. As expected, under steady state, the
capacitor does not supply any dc current. The dc part of bus current is supplied solely by the dc
source. A practical dc voltage source may have some resistance as well as some inductance in
series with its internal emf. For dc component of bus current, the source voltage appears in series
with its internal resistance (effect of source inductance is not felt). But for ac component of
current, the internal dc emf of source appears as short and its series impedance (resistance in
series with inductance) appears in parallel with the dc-link capacitor. Thus the ac component of
current gets divided into these two parallel paths. However, the high frequency component of
ac current mainly flows through the capacitor, as the capacitive impedance is lower at high
frequencies. The step change in dc link current is associated with significant amount of high
frequency components of current that essentially finds its path through the capacitor.
For an ideal input (dc) supply, with no series impedance, the dc link capacitor does not have
any role. However a practical voltage supply may have considerable amount of output
impedance. The supply line impedance, if not bypassed by a sufficiently large dc link capacitor,

may cause considerable voltage spike at the dc bus during inverter operation. This may result in
deterioration of output voltage quality, it may also cause malfunction of the inverter switches as
the bus voltage appears across the non-conducting switches of the inverter. Also, in the absence
of dc link capacitor, the series inductance of the supply line will prevent quick build up or fall
of current through it and the circuit behaves differently from the ideal VSI where the dc voltage
supply is supposed to allow rise and fall in current as per the demand of the inverter circuit.
[It may not be possible to reduce supply line inductance below certain limit. Most dc supplies
will inherently have rather significant series inductance, for example a conventional dc
generator will have considerable armature inductance in series with the armature emf. Similarly,
if the dc supply is derived after rectifying ac voltage, the ac supply line inductance will prevent
quick change in rectifier output current. The effect of ac line inductance is reflected on the dc
side as well, unless this inductance is effectively bypassed by the dc side capacitor. Even the
connecting leads from the dc source to the inverter dc bus may contribute significantly to the
supply line inductance in case the lead lengths are large and circuit lay out is poor. It may be
mentioned here that an inductance, in series with the dc supply, may at times be welcome. The
reason being that for some types of dc sources, like batteries, it is detrimental to carry high
frequency ripple current. For such cases it is advantageous if the dc source has some series
inductance. Due to series inductance of the source, the high frequency ripple will prefer to flow
through the dc link capacitor and thus relieve the dc source.
The dc link capacitor should be put very close to the switches so that it provides a low impedance
path to the high frequency component of the switch currents. The capacitor itself must be of
good quality with very low equivalent series resistor (ESR) and equivalent series inductor
(ESL). The length of leads that interconnect switches and diodes to the dc bus must also be
minimum to avoid insertion of significant amount of stray inductances in the circuit. The overall
layout of the power circuit has a significant effect over the performance of the inverter circuit.

Fig. 1.4 Single phase inverter Fig. 1.5 Three phase inverter
[One of the thumb rules for good circuit layout is to put the conductor pairs carrying same
magnitude but opposite direction of currents close by, the minimum distance between them
being decided only by their voltage isolation requirement. Thus the positive and negative
terminals of the dc bus should run close by. A twisted wire pair may be an example of two
closely running wires.]
However it may be mentioned here that these circuits are essentially extension of the half
bridge circuit. For example, the single-phase bridge circuit of Fig.1.4.may be thought of as two
half-bridge circuits sharing the same dc bus. Thus the single phase ‘full-bridge’ (often, simply
called as ‘bridge’) circuit has two legs of switches, each leg consisting of an upper switch and a
lower switch. Junction point of the upper and lower switches is the output point of that particular
leg. Voltage between output point of legs and the mid-potential of the dc bus is called as ‘pole
voltage’ referred to the mid potential of the dc bus. One may think of pole voltage referred to
negative bus or referred to positive bus too but unless otherwise mentioned pole voltages are
assumed to be referred to the mid-potential of the dc bus. The two pole voltages of the single-
0
phase bridge inverter generally have same magnitude and frequency but their phases are 180
apart. Thus the load connected between these two pole outputs (between points ‘A’ and ‘B’)
will have a voltage equal to twice the magnitude of the individual pole voltage.
1.5.2 ADVANTAGES:
The VSI provides advantages like
1. It provides better power quality.
2. It requires smaller output AC filter requirements.
3. It gives lower voltage stress across the switches.
1.5.3 LIMITATIONS:
Though the VSI has certain advantages but it many limitations.
1. The conventional VSI behaves like buck converter i.e, the peak AC output voltage is
less than the input DC link voltage.

2. It requires a DC-DC converter before the VSI or a transformer after the VSI to boost
up the voltage .
3. The number of stages increases the system size and cost.
4. System control complexity also increases.
5. The shoot through switching is the main problem. Because, it creates a dead short
circuit of the source. To avoid this, a dead band is provided between switching control
signal fed to the complementary switches of inverter leg, which introduces distortion in
the output AC voltage.
The above disadvantages occurred by the use of VSI can be overcome by the introduction of the
Z-source inverter.
1.6 Z-source inverter
 A Z-source inverter is a type of power inverter, a circuit that converts direct

current to alternating current. It functions as a buck-boost inverter without making use
of DC-DC converter bridge due to its unique circuit topology.
Impedance (Z-) Source networks provide an efficient means of power conversion between
source and load in a wide range of electric power conversion applications (dc–dc, dc–ac, ac–dc,
ac– ac) . Z-source-related research has grown rapidly since it was first proposed in 2002 by Prof.
F. Z. Peng. A comprehensive pulse width modulation scheme for Z-source inverters was
proposed by Prof. P. C. Loh and Prof. D. M. Vilathganam. The numbers of modifications and
new Z-source topologies have grown exponentially. Improvements to the impedance networks
by introducing coupled magnetics have also been lately proposed for achieving even higher
voltage boosting, while using a shorter shoot-through time. They include the Γ-source, T-source,
trans-Zsource, TZ-source, LCCT-Z-source (proposed in 2011 by Dr Marek Adamowicz and
utilizing high frequency transformer connected in series with two dc-current-blocking
capacitors), high-frequency transformer-isolated, and Y-source networks. Among them, the Y-
source network (proposed in year 2013 by Dr Yam P. Siwakoti) is more versatile and can in fact
be viewed as the generic network, from which the Γ-source, T-source, and trans-Z-source
networks are derived. The incommensurate properties of this network open a new horizon to
researchers and engineers to explore, expand, and modify the circuit for a wide range of power
conversion applications.

1.6.1 Z-SOURCE INVERTER COMPARED TO VOLTAGE/CURRENT SOURCE

CONVERTERS:
From power source point of view, there are two kind of traditional converters: voltage-source
converters (abbreviated as V-source converters) and current-source converters (abbreviated as
I-source converters) that directly feed the converter. The V-source converter is widely used but
it has the following conceptual and theoretical barriers and limitations
 It is a step-down (buck) inverter for a dc-to-ac power conversion and a step-up (boost)
converter for a ac-to-dc power conversion because of it’s output voltage limited below.
For applications where the available dc voltage is limited, an additional dc-dc boost
converter is needed to obtain the desired ac output and it increases system cost and
lowers the efficiency;
 The upper and lower devices of each phase leg can’t be gated simultaneously either by
purpose or by electromagnetic interference (EMI) noise, otherwise a shoot-through will
destroy the converter;
 An output LC filter is needed for providing a sinusoidal voltage (to avoid waveform
distortion), compared with the I-source inverter which causes additional power loss and
control complexity.
I-source converter has the following conceptual and theoretical barriers and limitations:
 The I-source inverter is a boost inverter for a dc-to -ac power conversion and a buck
converter for ac-to –dc power conversion; therefore, for applications
where a wide voltage range is desirable, an additional dc-dc buck or boost converter is needed
which, in the power conversion stage, increases system cost and lowers efficiency;
 IGBT’s requires a series diode to be used in combination that prevents the use of high
performances and low cost IGBT modules and intelligent power modules (IPMs).
In addition, both V-source converter and I-source converter have common problems:
 They are either a buck or boost converter but not a buck-boost converter, so their output
range is limited either to smaller or greater value than the input voltage;
 They are not interchangeable: V-source converter can’t be used instead of a I-source
converter and vice-versa;
 they both are vulnerable to EMI noise.
The Z-source inverter interfaces the V/I source and the V/I inverter, overcomes the above
mentioned barriers and limitations of the traditional V-source and I-source converters and
provides a novel conversion concept because:

 The dc source/or load can be either a voltage or current source/or load; therefore, the dc
source can be a battery, diode rectifier, thyristor converter, an inductor, a capacitor or a
combination of these;
 The equivalent switching frequency is six times greater than the switching frequency of
the main inverter, which greatly reduces the required inductance of the Z-source
network;
 Switches used in the converter can be a combination of switching devices and diodes,
such as antiparallel, series and other combinations;
 It can be applied in applications where the input voltage changes widely, such as
photovoltaic cells.
For this case, the output ac voltage can be any value between zero and infinity regardless of the
input voltage. In conclusion, the Z-source inverter is a buck-boost inverter, feature that
traditional V-source and I-source can’t provide;
 All traditional PWM schemes can be used to control the Z-source inverter and their
theoretical input output relationship still hold;
 The electric scheme is simple and efficient, so the cost is reduced and efficiency is
increased;
 This new concept can be applied to the entire spectrum of power conversion.
Fig.1.5. A General block representation of Z-source inverter

Fig.1.6. Z-source inverter
The Z- source inverter operates in three modes non-shoot through state, zero state and shoot
through state .In conventional VSI the operating modes are of only two types i.e, non-shoot
through state and zero state. In this ZSI the shoot through state is similar to the zero state of the
conventional VSI. The shoot through state is utilized along with passive elements to boost up
the input DC voltage. The equivalent circuit of fig. 1.5. is as shown in fig.1.7.
Fig. 1.7. The equivalent circuit of fig1.5.
1.6.2 VOLTAGE BOOST AND STERSS:

The voltage gain of the Z-source inverter (in fig.1.6.) can be expressed as,
Vac
=M B (1)
Vo⁄2
Where Vac is the output peak phase voltage, Vo is the input dc voltage, is the modulation index,
and is the B is the boost factor, which is determined by
1
B= 𝑇𝑜 (2)
1−2
𝑇
Where To is the shoot-through time interval over a switching cycle T, or (𝑇𝑜 ⁄ 𝑇)=Do is the
shoot- through duty ratio.
Fig.1.8.Voltage gain of simple boost control

For simple boost control, the obtainable shoot-through duty ratio decreases with the
increase of M. The maximum shoot-through duty ratio of the simple boost control is limited
to(1-M) , thus reaching zero at a modulation index of one. The thick curve in Fig.1.8 shows the
maximum obtainable voltage gain M B, versus M , which indicates no voltage boost and no
voltage gain at M= 1. The shaded area is the possible operation region under the simple control.
In order to produce an output voltage that requires a high voltage gain, a small modulation index
has to be used. However, small modulation indexes result in greater voltage stress on the
devices.
Based on (1) and (2), define the voltage gain G as,

𝑉𝑎𝑐 𝑀
G=M B=𝑉𝑜⁄ = 2𝑀−1 (3)
2
For any desired voltage gain G , the maximum modulation index can be used is
𝐺
M=2𝐺−1 (4)
The voltage stress Vs across the switches is BVo. The voltage stress under this modulation
method can be calculated by,
Vs=BVo=(2G-1)Vo (5)
The voltage stress across switches versus the voltage gain is plotted in Fig.1.9. Using this control
method, the voltage stress across the switches is quite high, which will restrict the obtainable
voltage gain because of the limitation of device voltage rating.

Fig.1.9.Switch voltage gain verses voltage stress
1.6.3 Z-SOURCE INVERTER COMPARED WITH TRADITIONAL PWM AND

BOOSTED PWM INVERTERS
The conventional PWM inverter in Fig.1.10 must use a bidirectional DC/DC converter to control
battery’s state of charge because the modulation index is the inverter’s only control freedom.
Fig. 1.10. Traditional PWM inverter supplied by a bidirectional DC/DC converter.

Also, the conventional inverter is a buck (step-down) inverter, the output ac voltage being
limited below the input voltage. If there exists a wide voltage range variation, the conventional
inverter imposes high stresses to the switching devices and motor and limits motor’s constant
power speed ratio. The DC/DC boosted PWM inverter in Fig.1.11 improves these stresses, at
the price of higher cost and complexity. It is used to boost (step-up) the voltage
from the battery, to a steady dc bus voltage and the inverter’s output ac voltage is controlled by
the modulation index. The system configuration using the DC/DC boosted inverter typically
uses a bidirectional dc–dc converter to control battery’s state of charge, too. Both configurations
use an inverter bridge and at least one dc–dc converter, which increase the cost and system
complexity and reduces the system reliability.

The Z-source inverter is suitable for many applications. The Z-source inverter is
attractive for three main reasons. First, the traditional PWM inverter has only one control
freedom, used to control the output ac voltage while the Z-source inverter has two independent
control freedoms: shoot-through duty cycle and modulation index, providing the ability to
produce any desired output ac voltage to the traction motor, regulate battery’s state of charge
and control the output power (or voltage) simultaneously.
Second, the Z-source inverter provides the same features of a dc–dc boosted inverter (i.e.,
buck/boost), yet its single stage is less complex and more cost effective. Third, the Z-source
inverter has the benefit of enhanced reliability due to the fact that momentary shoot-through can
no longer destroy the inverter (i.e., both devices of a phase leg can be on for a significant period
of time).
By replacing one of the capacitors in the Z-source network (LC) with a battery as shown
in Fig.1.12, the Z-source inverter can be also used. Traditional PWM inverter always requires
an extra DC/DC converter to interface the battery in modern hybrid vehicles.
Fig. 1.11. DC/DC boosted PWM inverter supplied by a bidirectional DC/DC converter
The Z-source inverter eliminates the DC/DC converter and utilizes instead an exclusive Z-
source (LC) network to link the main inverter circuit to any dc power source. By substituting
one of the capacitors in the Z-source with a battery and controlling the shoot through duty ratio
and modulation index independently, one is able to control the input power, Output power, and
battery’s state of charge at the same time. These facts make the Z-source inverter highly
desirable in use, as the cost and complexity is greatly reduced when compared to traditional
inverters.

Fig.1.12 Z-source inverter supplied by a bidirectional DC/DC converter.
1.6.4 ADVANTAGES:
It limits all the limitations of VSI;
The main advantages are:
1 .This new concept can be applied to the entire spectrum of power conversion;
2. The Z-source inverter is a buck-boost inverter, feature that traditional V-source and I-source
can’t provide;
3. It can be applied in applications where the input voltage changes widely;
4. All traditional PWM schemes can be used to control the Z-source inverter and their
theoretical input-output relationship still hold;
5. cost is reduced and efficiency is increased.
6.In this type of inverter the shoot through state is utilized along with passive reactive element
to boost up the input DC voltage.
Though it has many advantages compare to the conventional VSI , it also have certain
disadvantages and is as follows.
1.6.LIMITAATIONS:
1. It uses more number of high power passive elements in the intermediate network as well as
isolated dc power supply,
2. It increases the system size, weight and cost.
To overcome these limitations , a single LC- impedence based ZSI has been proposed .but,
in this the capacitor voltage rating is double the voltage rating of the conventional Z-source
network , which leads to a major disadvantage i. e, the current will be discontinuous in nature ,
this limits to many application. The above limitations can be overcome by the improved version
of Z-source inverter called as QUASI Z- source inverter.

1.7 QUASI Z- SOURCE INVERTER:
The QUASI Z- source inverter is the improved version of the Z-source inverter ,at the
same it retains all the advantages of the Z-source inverter and the VSI. The Z-source inverter
(ZSI) has been reported suitable for residential PV system because of the capability of voltage
boost and inversion in a single stage. Recently, the quasi-Z-source inverters (qZSI), have been
derived from the original ZSI. By using the new quasi Z-source topology, the inverter draws a
constant current from the source, and is capable of handling a wide input voltage range. It also
features lower component ratings and reduced source stress compared to the traditional ZSI.
Fig.1.13 voltage fed quasi z- source inverter
Fig.1.13 shows the voltage fed QZSI . In the same manner as the traditional ZSI, the QZSI has
two types of operational states at the dc side, the non-shoot-through states (i.e. the six active
states and two conventional zero states of the traditional VSI) and the shoot-through state (i.e.
both switches in at least one phase conduct simultaneously).
The QUASI Z-source inverters has wide applications due to its extensive advantages.
1. QUASI Z-SOURCE INVERTER FOR PV SYSTEMS
2. QUASI Z-SOURCE INVERTER FOR FUEL CELL STACK SYSTEMS
3. QUASI Z-SOURCE INVERTER FOR WIND POWER GENERATION SYSTEMS
Fig. 1.14 shows the proposed qZSI in the PV power generation system. It connects the PV
arrays and outputs three phase 50 Hz, 330 V ac to resistive loads, which is the standard utility

level. A three-phase LC Filter connected in right after the inverter bridge to get 50Hz sinusoidal
ac outputs.
Fig. 1.14 QZSI in the PV power generation system
1.7.1 CONSTANT BOOST CONTROL FOR QUASI Z-SOURCE INVERTER

In the PV power generation system, in order to lower the voltage stress on the inverter bridge
and keep a high voltage gain, the maximum constant boost control with third harmonic injection
was chosen as the control method. Fig.1.18 shows the sketch map. At (1/6) third harmonic
injection, the maximum modulation index M = (2 /√ 3) can be achieved.
Fig.1.15. Sketch map of constant boost control for qZSI

This maximum constant boost control can be implemented using third harmonic injection. A
sketch map of the third harmonic injection control method, with 1/6 of the third harmonic, is

shown in Fig. 1.15. As can be seen from Fig. 1.18, Va reaches its peak value (√3/2) M while Vb
is at its minimum value (-√3/2) M. Therefore, a unique feature can be obtained only two straight
lines, Vp and Vn are needed to control the shoot-through time with 1/6 (16%) of the third
harmonic injected. Though the disadvantages of VSI and Z-source can be overcome by the
incorporation of QUASI Z-source ,it has one limitation i.e, cascaded quasi z- source uses two
isolated DC sources and more number of passive elements.
Fig.1.16 PROPOSED LC-SWITCHING VOLTAGE BOOST INVERTER:

To overcome all the limitations of the VSI, Z- SOURCE inverter, QUASI Z- source
inverter a new topology is proposed by retaining all the advantages of the above inverters with
new control scheme. The circuit operation and its control method will be discussed in the next
chapters.
1.1 MULTILEVEL INVERTER:
Earlier days, the two level inverters have used for some of the applications. The two
level voltage source inverters produce an output voltage or a current with levels either 0 or
±Vdc. They are known as two level inverters. To obtain a quality output voltage or a current
waveform with 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 manner to avoid
problems associated with their series-parallel combinations that are necessary to obtain
capability of handling high voltages and currents. The above discussed inverters are
incorporated with the multilevel inverters for various applications.
Now a day’s many industrial applications have begun to require high power. Some appliances
in the industries however require medium or low power for their operation. Using a high power
source for all industrial loads may prove beneficial to some motors requiring high power, while
it may damage the other loads. Some medium voltage motor drives and utility applications
require medium voltage. The multilevel inverter has been introduced since 1975 as alternative
in high power and medium voltage situations. The Multilevel inverter is like an inverter and it
is used for industrial applications as alternative in high power and medium voltage situations.
Fig.1.17 MULTILEVEL INVERTER
The need of multilevel converter is to give a high output power from medium voltage source.
Sources like batteries, super capacitors, solar panel are medium voltage sources. The multilevel
inverter consists of several switches. In the multilevel inverter the arrangement switches’ angles
are very important.
1.8.1 Concept of Multilevel Inverters:

Numerous industrial applications have begun to require higher power apparatus in recent
years. Some medium voltage motor drives and utility applications require medium voltage and
megawatt power level. For a medium voltage grid, it is troublesome to connect only one power
semiconductor switch directly. As a result, a multilevel power converter structure has been
introduced as an alternative in high power and medium voltage situations. A multilevel
converter not only achieves high power ratings, but also enables the use of renewable energy
sources. Renewable energy sources such as photovoltaic, wind, and fuel cells can be easily
interfaced to a multilevel converter system for a high power application.
The term multilevel began with the three-level converter. Subsequently, several multilevel
converter topologies have been developed. However, the elementary concept of a multilevel
converter to achieve higher power is to use a series of power semiconductor switches with
several lower voltage dc sources to perform the power conversion by synthesizing a staircase
voltage waveform. Capacitors, batteries, and renewable energy voltage sources can be used as
the multiple dc voltage sources. The commutation of the power switches aggregate these
multiple dc sources in order to achieve high voltage at the output; however, the rated voltage of
the power semiconductor switches depends only upon the rating of the dc voltage sources to
which they are connected.
A multilevel converter has several advantages over a conventional two-level converter that
uses high switching frequency pulse width modulation (PWM). The attractive features of a
multilevel converter can be briefly summarized as follows.
● Staircase waveform quality: Multilevel converters not only can generate the output
voltages with very low distortion, but also can reduce the dv/dt stresses; therefore
electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) problems can be reduced.
● Common-mode (CM) voltage: Multilevel converters produce smaller CM voltage;
therefore, the stress in the bearings of a motor connected to a multilevel motor drive can be
reduced. Furthermore, CM voltage can be eliminated by using advanced modulation strategies
such as that proposed .
● Input current: Multilevel converters can draw input current with low distortion.
● Switching frequency: Multilevel converters can operate at both fundamental switching
frequency and high switching frequency PWM. It should be noted that lower switching
frequency usually means lower switching loss and higher efficiency.
Unfortunately, multilevel converters do have some disadvantages. One particular
disadvantage is the greater number of power semiconductor switches needed. Although lower
voltage rated switches can be utilized in a multilevel converter, each switch requires a related
gate drive circuit. This may cause the overall system to be more expensive and complex.
Plentiful multilevel converter topologies have been proposed during the last two decades.
Contemporary research has engaged novel converter topologies and unique modulation
schemes. Moreover, three different major multilevel converter structures have been reported in
the literature: cascaded H-bridges converter with separate dc sources, diode clamped (neutral-
clamped), and flying capacitors (capacitor clamped). Moreover, abundant modulation
techniques and control paradigms have been developed for multilevel converters such as
sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM), selective harmonic elimination (SHE-PWM),
space vector modulation (SVM), and others. In addition, many multilevel converter applications
focus on industrial medium-voltage motor drives, utility interface for renewable energy systems,
flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) , and traction drive systems.
This chapter reviews state of the art of multilevel power converter technology. Fundamental
multilevel converter structures and modulation paradigms are discussed including the pros and
cons of each technique. Particular concentration is addressed in modern and more practical
industrial applications of multilevel converters. A procedure for calculating the required ratings
for the active switches, clamping diodes, and dc link capacitors including a design example are
described. Finally, the possible future developments of multilevel converter technology are
noted.
1.8.2 Types of Multilevel Inverter:
Multilevel inverters are three types.
o Neutral point clamped multilevel inverter
o Flying capacitors multilevel inverter
o Cascaded H- bridge multilevel inverter
1.8.3 Neutral point Clamped Multilevel Inverter:
The main concept of this inverter is to use diodes and provides the multiple voltage levels
through the different phases to the capacitor banks which are in series. A diode transfers a
limited amount of voltage, thereby reducing the stress on other electrical devices. The maximum
output voltage is half of the input DC voltage. It is the main drawback of the diode clamped

multilevel inverter. This problem can be solved by increasing the switches, diodes, capacitors.
Due to the capacitor balancing issues, these are limited to the three levels. This type of inverters
provides the high efficiency because the fundamental frequency used for all the switching
devices and it is a simple method of the back to back power transfer systems. Neutral point
clamped multilevel inverters use clamping diodes in order to limit the voltage stress of power
devices. It was first proposed in 1981 by Nabae, Takashi and Akagi and it is also known as
neutral point converter. A k level diode clamped inverter needs (2k – 2) switching devices, (k –
1) input voltage source and (k – 1) (k – 2) diodes in order to operate. Vdc is the voltage present
across each diode and the switch. Single phase neutral point clamped multilevel inverter is
shown in the figure below:
Ex: 3-Level neutral point clamped multilevel inverter, 5- Level neutral point clamped multilevel
inverter, 9- level neutral point clamped multilevel inverter.
1.The 5- level neutral point clamped multilevel inverter uses switches, diodes; a single
capacitor is used, so output voltage is half of the input DC.
2.The 9- level diode clamped multilevel inverter uses switches, diodes; capacitors are two
times more than the 5-level neutral point clamped inverters. So the output is more than the input.
Fig.1.18. One phase of neutral point clamped inverter.
The concept of neutral point clamped inverter can better be understood by looking into
three phase six level neutral point clamped inerter. Here the common dc bus is shared by all the
phases, use five capacitors and six levels. Each capacitor has a voltage of Vdc and same is the
voltage limit of switching devices. One important fact should be noted while considering the
neutral point clamped inverter is that five switches will remain ON at any time. Six level, three
phase dc clamped multilevel inverter is shown in the figure below.

Fig.1.19. Six level three phase inverter

Outputs of each phase can be understood by the following table. Here reference voltage is the
negative Vo. Condition 0 means switch is OFF and vice versa. Output waveforms of six level
dc clamped inverter is shown below:

Fig.1.20. Waveform of Six Level Inverter

Where, Vab is the voltage due to the phase lag b and a voltage.
Applications of neutral point clamped Multilevel Inverter:
o Static var compensation

o Variable speed motor drives
o High voltage system interconnections
o High voltage DC and AC transmission lines
Advantages of neutral point Clamped Multilevel Inverters :
o Capacitance of the capacitors used is low.

o Back to back inverters can be used.
o Capacitors are pre charged.
o At fundamental frequency, efficiency is high.
Disadvantages of neutral point Clamped Multilevel Inverters:

o Clamping diodes are increased with the increase of each level.
o Dc level will discharge when control and monitoring are not precise.
1.8.4 Flying Capacitors Multilevel Inverter:
The main concept of this inverter is to use capacitors. It is of series connection of capacitor
clamped switching cells. The capacitors transfer the limited amount of voltage to electrical
devices. In this inverter switching states are like in the diode clamped inverter. Clamping diodes
are not required in this type of multilevel inverters. The output is half of the input DC voltage.
It is drawback of the flying capacitors multi level inverter. It also has the switching redundancy

within phase to balance the flaying capacitors. It can control both the active and reactive power
flow. But due to the high frequency switching, switching losses will takes place.
The configuration of this inverter topology is quite similar to previous one except the
difference that here flying capacitors is used in order to limit the voltage instead of diodes. The
input DC voltages are divided by the capacitors here. The voltage over each capacitor and each
switch is Vdc. A k level flying capacitor inverter with (2k – 2) switches will use (k – 1) number
of capacitors in order to operate. Figure below shows a five level flying capacitor multilevel
inverter.
Fig. 1.21 5-Level Flying Capacitors Multilevel Inverter
If we compare above figures, it shows that the number of switches, main diodes and DC-
bus capacitors are same in both the cases. The only difference between the two topologies is
that the previous one uses clamping diodes in order to limit the voltage while this topology uses
flying capacitors for this purpose, and as capacitors are incapable of blocking the reverse
voltage, which diodes do, the number of switches also increases. Voltage on each capacitor is
differing from the next as it has a ladder structure. Voltage difference between two back to back
capacitors determines the voltage in the output frame.
Advantages of Flying Capacitor Multilevel Inverters

Static var generation is the best application of Capacitor Clamped Multilevel Inverters.
 For balancing capacitors’ voltage levels, phase redundancies are available.
 We can control reactive and real power flow.

Disadvantages of Flying Capacitor Multilevel Inverters
 Voltage control is difficult for all the capacitors
 Complex startup
 Switching efficiency is poor
 Capacitors are expansive than diodes

Applications of Flying Capacitors Multilevel Inverter
o Induction motor control using DTC (Direct Torque Control) circuit
o Static var generation
o Both AC-DC and DC-AC conversion applications
o Converters with Harmonic distortion capability
o Sinusoidal current rectifiers
1.8.5 Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter:
The cascaded H-bride multilevel inverter is to use capacitors and switches and requires less
number of components in each level. This topology consists of series of power conversion cells
and power can be easily scaled. The combination of capacitors and switches pair is called an H-
bridge and gives the separate input DC voltage for each H-bridge. It consists of H-bridge cells
and each cell can provide the three different voltages like zero, positive DC and negative DC
voltages. One of the advantages of this type of multilevel inverter is that it needs less number
of components compared with diode clamped and flying capacitor inverters. The price and
weight of the inverter are less than those of the two inverters. Soft-switching is possible by the
some of the new switching methods.
Multilevel cascade inverters are used to eliminate the bulky transformer required in case of
conventional multi-phase inverters, clamping diodes required in case of diode clamped inverters
and flying capacitors required in case of flying capacitor inverters. But these require large
number of isolated voltages to supply the each cell.
One phase of a cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter

In single phase inverter, each phase is connected to single dc source. Each level generates
three voltages which are positive, negative and zero. This can be obtained by connecting the AC
source with the DC output and then using different combinations of the four switches. The
inverter will remain ON when two switches with the opposite positions will remain ON. It will
turn OFF when all the inverters switch ON or OFF. To minimize the total harmonic distortion,
switching angles are defined and implemented. The calculations for the measurement of
switching angle will remain the same. This inventor can be categorized further into the following
types:
 5 levels cascaded H Bridge Multilevel Inverter
 9 levels cascaded H Bridge Multilevel Inverter
Fig.1.22 5- H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter
Applications of Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter
o Motor drives
o Active filters
o Electric vehicle drives
o DC power source utilization
o Power factor compensators
o Back to back frequency link systems
o Interfacing with renewable energy resources.

o Cascaded H Bridge Multilevel Inverters are mostly used for static var applications i.e.,
in renewable resources’ of energy and battery based applications. Cascaded H Bridge
Multilevel Inverters can be applied as a delta or wye form. This can be understood by
looking at the work done by Peng where he used an electrical system parallel with a
Cascade H Bridge. Here inverter is being controlled by regulating the power factor. Best
application is when we used as photovoltaic cell or fuel cell. This is the example of
Parallel connectivity of the H Bridge Multilevel Inverter.
Fig.1.23 Parallel connectivity of the H-bridge Multilevel inverter.
H Bridge can also be used in car batteries to run the electrical components of the car. Also this
can be used in electrical braking system of the vehicles.
Scientist and engineers have also proposed the multiplicative factor on Cascade H Bridge
Multilevel. It means that rather than using a dc voltage with difference in levels, it uses a
multiplying factor between different levels of the multilevel i.e., every level is a multiplying
factor of the previous one.
 Advantages of Cascade H Bridge Multilevel Inverters

1. Output voltages levels are doubled the number of sources
2. Manufacturing can be done easily and quickly
3. Packaging and Layout is modularized.
4. Easily controllable with a transformer
5. Cheap
6. Cascaded Inverter with transformer

 Disadvantages of Cascade H Bridge Multilevel Inverters
1. Every H Bridge needs a separate dc source
2. Limited applications due to large number of sources
As we studied different topologies of multilevel inverter in the above topics .each

topology has different advantages. Based, on our required applications we go for that
particular topology. ,In the recent years, the neutral point clamped(NPC) inverter has wide
range of applications with three level LC-switching voltage boost with new control scheme
is proposed and will be discussed in next chapters.
1.8.6 Advantages of Multilevel Inverter:
The multilevel converter has a several advantages, that is:
1. Common Mode Voltage:
The multilevel inverters produce common mode voltage, reducing the stress of the motor and
don’t damage the motor.
2. Input Current:
Multilevel inverters can draw input current with low distortion
3. Switching Frequency:
The multilevel inverter can operate at both fundamental switching frequencies that are higher
switching frequency and lower switching frequency. It should be noted that the lower switching
frequency means lower switching loss and higher efficiency is achieved.
4. Reduced harmonic distortion:
Selective harmonic elimination technique along with the multi-level topology results the total
harmonic distortion becomes low in the output waveform without using any filter circuit.
As we studied different topologies of multilevel inverter in the above topics .each topology
has different advantages. Based, on our required applications we go for that particular
topology. ,In the recent years, the neutral point clamped(NPC) inverter has wide range of
applications with three level LC-switching voltage boost with new control scheme is
proposed and will be discussed in next chapters.

1.9 LITERATURE SURVEY
1.Fang Zeng Peng(M’92_SM’96_F’05) received the B.S degree in electrical engineering from
Wuhan University, Wuhan, China,in 1983 and the M.S and Ph.D degree in electrical
engineering from Nagaoka University of technology, Nagaoka Niigata,Japan,in 1983 and 1990
respectively.
He was with Toyo electric manufacturing company Ltd., from 1990 to 1992 as a research
scientist, was engaged in research and development of Active filters, flexible AC transmission
systems(FACTS) applications and motor drives. He presented two control methods to obtain
maximum voltage gain of the Z-source inverter. The method maximizes the shoot through
period without effecting the active states by turning all zero states into the shoot through zero
state, thus maximum output voltage can be obtained for a given modulation index.
2. Miaosen Shen (S’04) was born in Zhejiang, China, in 1978. He received the B.S. and M.S.
degree from Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 2000 and 2003, respectively, and is
currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree at Michigan State University, East Lansing. His research
interests include power factor correction techniques, electronic ballast, and motor drives.
3. Zhaoming Qian (SM’92) received the M.S. degree in radio engineering from the
Department of Electrical Engineering, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China, in 1961, and the
Ph.D. degree in applied science from the Catholic University of Leuven and the Interuniversity
Microelectronics Center (IMEC), Leuven, Belgium, in 1989. Since 1961, he has been teaching
and conducting research on electronics and power electronics at Zhejiang University, where he
became a Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering in 1992. He is currently the
Deputy Director of the National Engineering Research Center for Applied Power Electronics
and the Deputy Director of the Scie professional interests include power electronics and
industrial applications, EMC in power electronic systems, and system integration in power
electronics. He has authored one book on EMC design and more than 250 papers.
4. Patrick Wheeler (M’00) received the B.Eng. (Hons.) degree from the University of Bristol,
Bristol, U.K., in 1990, where he also received the Ph.D. degree in 1994 in electrical engineering
for his work on matrix converters. In 1993, he joined the University of Nottingham, Nottingham,
U.K., and worked as a Research Assistant in the Department of Electrical and Electronic
Engineering. In 1996, he became a Lecturer in the Power Electronics, Machines and Control

Group at the University of Nottingham, where he has been a Full Professor since 2008. His
research interests include power conversion and Energy and More Electric Aircraft technology.
5. Jon Clare (M’90–SM’04) was born in Bristol, U.K. He received the B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees
in electrical engineering from the University of Bristol, Bristol. Since 1990, he has been with
the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K., where he is currently a Professor of Power
Electronics and the Head of the Power Electronics, Machines and Control Research Group. His
research interests include power electronic systems and applications, power electronic converter
topologies, and their control. His work is currently directed toward applications in aerospace,
energy systems, and in high-power RF.
5. Alan Watson (M’08) received the Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in electronic engineering and
electrical and electronic engineering from the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K., in
2004 and 2008, respectively. He is currently a Senior Research Fellow in the Power Electronics,
Machines and Control Group, University of Nottingham. His research interests include
multilevel converters, advanced modulation schemes, resonant power converters, and power
converter control. Dr. Watson is a Member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology
6. Francis Boafo Effah received the B.Sc. degree in electrical and electronic engineering from
the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana, in 2001, and the
M.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Nottingham, Nottingham, U.K.,
in 2009, where he is currently working toward the Ph.D. degree in the Power Electronics
Machines and Control Research Group. From July 2003 to August 2008, he worked with
Hospital Engineering Limited, Accra, Ghana, as an Electronic Engineer. His research interests
include multilevel, matrix and Z-source converters, and their advanced modulation schemes
CHAPTER-2
THREE LEVEL LC-SWITCHING BASED VOLTAGE BOOST

NPC INVERTER

2.1 Circuit analysis of three level LC-Switching based voltage boost NPC
inverter:
Fig.2.1.Circuit diagram of LC switching based voltage boost three levels NPC inverter.
Fig.2.1 demonstrates the schematic outline of three level LC Switching based voltage support
NPC inverter, which can support the info DC voltage source ('Vg') and give required three level
AC voltage not at all like regular NPC VSI. Here the input source can be either two equivalent
DC sources or single split DC source. This single split DC can be made by nourishing a DC
source parallel to two arrangement associated capacitors where, the interconnection point
between these capacitors can be taken as neutral point . The moderate organize between DC
source and inverter leg is contained two inductors (L1, L2), two capacitors (C1, C2), two
dynamic switches (S1, S2) and four diodes (D1, D2, D3 and D4). Though, traditional three level
Z-Source NPC inverter employments four inductors, four capacitors and two diodes in the
middle of the road organize between inverter leg and info DC as examined in writing. In these
regular Z-Source NPC inverter diodes are associated in arrangement with the input DC source
to support the voltage and the info current is irregular in nature. the NPC Quasi Z-Source
inverter is examined where, the input current is nonstop in nature in any case, it utilizes square
with estimations of four inductors, four capacitors and two diodes in the halfway system as
talked about in the presentation. While, the proposed inverter utilizes a large portion of the
quantity of uninvolved segments (two inductors also, two capacitors) in the middle of the road
arrange by using additional two switches (S1 and S2) and two diodes in the meantime keeps up
every one of the benefits of NPC Quasi Z-Source inverter. Accordingly, the proposed inverter
can be valuable in the applications where size and weight are principle imperatives.
Conventional NPC three level VSI is fundamentally worked in two states i.e. dynamic state (or

non-shoot through state) and zero state to give three particular voltage levels (i.e. +Vdc, 0, -
Vdc). Though, the proposed inverter utilizes extra one more state
2.2 Modes of Operation:
The LC-Switching voltage boost three level NPC inverter operates in three modes of
operation.
1. Non-Shoot through state (Active state)
2. Zero state
3. Shoot through state
2.2.1 During non-shoot through state (or Active state):
Fig.2.2. Equivalent circuit during non-shoot through state

It is like the dynamic condition of traditional NPC VSI where control is exchanged from
DC source to AC stack. In this interim of operation the AC load accomplishes either "+Vdc" or
'– Vdc' voltage level crosswise over AC load as for neutral point 'n'. The switches Swx1, Swx2
(where, x=1, 2, 3) are exchanged "ON" and switch "S1" is exchanged "OFF" to accomplish
"+Vdc" crosswise over AC load as for neutral point 'n', which thusly forward predispositions
the diodes "D1" and 'D2'. Subsequently, both source "Vg" and inductor "L1" stimulate the
capacitor "C1" and additionally supply energy to the heap as appeared in Fig.2.2 Thus, the
switches Swx3, Swx4 are exchanged "ON" and switch "S2" is exchanged "OFF" to accomplish
'- Vdc' crosswise over AC load regarding impartial point 'n', which thusly forward
predispositions the diodes "D3" and 'D4'. Subsequently, both source "Vg" what's more, inductor
"L2" stimulate the capacitor "C2" and also supply energy to the heap as appeared in Fig.2.2
Here for simple understanding the heap has been spoken to by current source with respect to
little span the heap current is thought to be consistent
2.2.2 During Zero State

Fig. 2.3. Equivalent circuit during zero state

In this express no power is exchanged to AC load from DC source like zero condition of
ordinary NPC VSI. The switches Swx2, Swx3 are exchanged "ON" and switch 'S1','S2', 'Swx1',
"Swx4" are exchanged "OFF" to accomplish "0" voltage over load, which thusly forward
inclinations the diodes 'D1', 'D2', "D3" what's more, 'D4'. Thus, upper source "Vg" and inductor
"L1" empower the capacitor "C1" and also bring down source "Vg" and inductor "L2" empower
the capacitor "C2" as appeared in Fig.2.3.
2.2.3 During Shoot-Through State
Amid this method of operation, the switches 'S1', "S2" what not the switches of at
least one inverter legs are turned 'ON', which thusly turn around predispositions the diodes 'D1',
'D2', "D3" and'D4'. Thus, upper DC voltage source "Vg" and capacitor "C1" empower the
inductor 'L1'. In the meantime bring down DC voltage source "Vg" and capacitor "C2"
invigorate the
Fig.2.4. Equivalent circuit during shoot-through state

inductor "L2" as appeared in Fig.2.4. Shoot however state is set inside the ordinary zero state,
without meddling the non-shoot through state (i.e. dynamic state). In non-shoot through state
and zero state ((1-D) Ts), the voltage crosswise over inductors ‘L1’ and ‘L2’ are found to be
(from Fig. 2.2 and Fig2.3)
𝑉𝑙1 = 𝑉𝑔 − 𝑉𝑐1 (1)
𝑉𝑙2 = 𝑉𝑔 − 𝑉𝑐2 (2)
Similarly, current through the capacitors ‘C1’ and ‘C2’ are found to be,
ic1 = il1 − iac (3)

ic2 = il2 − iac (4)

During shoot-through state (DTs), the voltage across inductors ‘L1’ and ‘L2’ are found to
be(from Fig2.4) 𝑉𝑙1 = 𝑉𝑔 + 𝑉𝑐1 (5)
𝑉𝑙2 = 𝑉𝑔 + 𝑉𝑐2 (6)
The current through the capacitors ‘C1’ and ‘C2’ are found to be,
i1 = −il1 (7)
i2 = −il2 (8)
Applying volt-second balance in steady state equilibrium across the inductor ‘L1’ and ‘L2’ ,
(Vg − Vc1)(1 − D) + (Vg + Vc1)D = 0 (9)
(Vg − Vc2)(1 − D) + (Vg + Vc2)D = 0 (10)
Solving (9) and (10), the voltage gains at capacitors ‘C1’, ‘C2’ are found to be,
Vg
Vc1 = Vc1 = (11)
(1 − 2D)
Applying charge-second balance in steady state equilibrium across the capacitors ‘C1’ and ‘C2’
respectively,
(il1 − iac)(1 − D) − il1D = 0 (12)
(il2 − iac)(1 − D) = il2D − 0 (13)
Solving (12) and (13), the input current is found to be,
Iac
I = Il1 = Il2 = (14)
(1 − 2D)
From the equivalent circuit (Fig.2.2), it can be observed that the DC voltage fed to the inverter
leg ‘Vdc’ during active state (i.e. non-shoot through state) is equal to the capacitor voltages. The
peak output ac phase voltage is found to be,
MVg
Vm = MVdc = (15)
(1 − 2D)
The boost factor of the converter is found to be,
1
B = (1−2D) (16)
The voltage gain factor (G) of the inverter can be expressed as,
M
G= (17)
(1 − 2D)
From this relationship and (15), it is watched that the LC-Switching support NPC inverter can
be worked as buck-help converter by picking appropriate estimations of M and D to get required
output AC load voltage. From (11), it can be seen that the converter can't be worked with shoot-

through obligation proportion (D) more than 0.5 like ZSI. For guaranteeing shoot-through state
not to cover non-shoot through state (or dynamic state) in any exchanging cycle, the shoot-
through period can be taken most extreme up to zero state, i.e.,
M+D≤1 (18)
Under continuous conduction mode (CCM) of operation, the inductors current ripple (ΔiL1 and
ΔiL2) and capacitors voltage ripple (ΔVC1 and ΔVC2) of the inverter can be expresses as,
Vg + Vc1
∆il1 = DTs (19)
L1
Vg + Vc2
∆il2 = DTs (20)
L2
Il1
∆Vc1 = DTs (21)
C1
il2
∆Vc2 = DTs (22)
C2
From the above relationships, it is observed that, based on the allowable inductor current ripple
or input current ripple for different applications, suitable values of inductors (L1 and L2) can be
used. Similarly based on allowable DC link voltage ripple for different applications suitable
values of capacitors (C1 and C2) can be used. By increasing switching frequency also values of
these passive components can also be optimized further.
CHAPTER-3
PWM TECHNIQUES
3.1 PWM Control:

Variation of duty cycle of the PWM signal provides a voltages across the load in a specific
pattern will appear to the load as AC signal. A pure sin wave is obtained after passing the signal
through a low pass filter. The pattern at which the duty cycle of a PWM signal varies can be
implemented using simple analogue components or a digital microcontroller. Either of the two
basic topologies generate sinusoidal PWM that controls the output of the inverter.
PWM signals find a wide application in modern electronics. Some of these reasons are:
 Reduced Power Loss – switched circuits tend to have lower power consumption because
the switching devices are almost always off (low current means low power) or hard-on
(low voltage drop means low power).
 Easy to Generate – PWM signals are quite easy to generate. Many modern
microcontrollers include PWM hardware within the chip; using this hardware often takes
very little attention from the microprocessor and it can run in the background without
interfering with executing code.
 Digital to Analogue Conversion – The fact that the duty cycle of a PWM signal can be
accurately controlled by simple counting procedures is one of the reasons why PWM
signals can be used to accomplish digital-to-analogue conversion.
The desired PWM technique should have the following characteristics:

1.Good utilization of DC supplies voltage possibly a high voltage gain.
2. Linearity of voltage control.
3. Low amplitude of low order harmonic of output voltage to minimize the harmonic content
of output currents.
4. Low switching losses in inverter switches.
5. Sufficient time allowance for proper operation of the inverter switches and control system.
The SPWM schemes are more flexible and simple to implement, but the maximum peak of
the fundamental component in the output voltage is limited to 50% of the DC link voltage and
the extension of the SPWM schemes into over-modulation range is difficult. In SVPWM
schemes, a reference space vector is sampled at regular intervals for determination of the
inverter switching vectors and their time durations, in a sampling interval. A space phasor based
PWM scheme for multi-level inverters use only the instantaneous amplitudes of reference phase
voltages. The SVPWM scheme for multi-level inverters can also work in the over-modulation
range, using only the instantaneous amplitudes of reference phase voltages.

In the recent past the multilevel power converters have drawn a tremendous interest in the
field of high voltage and high power applications field in industries. The multilevel inverter
approach allows the use of high power and high voltage electric motor drive systems. Using the
multilevel inverter concept, a divide and conquer approach allows more flexibility and control
over the discrete components that makeup the system. In the researches on multilevel inverters,
their corresponding PWM control strategies are the emerging research areas.
3.2 OPEN LOOP MODULATION
The control techniques for the multilevel voltage source inverter are classified into
three basic types as PWM, Selective Harmonics Elimination Pulse Width Modulation
(SHEPWM) and Optimized Harmonics Stepped Waveform (OHSW). PWM can be classified
into open and closed loop
The Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) has got a few different supplementary names
in relation with the triangular carrier waveforms and are as shown in Figure 3.1. Symmetrical
SPWM, when triangular carrier was symmetric, as shown in Figure 3.1 (a). Leading edge
SPWM, when the initial slope of triangular carrier signal was infinite, as shown in Figure 3.1
(b). Trailing edges SPWM, when the trailing edge slope of triangular carrier signal was infinite,
as shown in figure 3.1(c)
Fig. 3.1 (a) Symmetrical SPWM carrier (b) Leading edge SPWM carrier (c) Trailing
edge SPWM carrier
Generally SPWM have got a few different supplementary names in relationship with the
position of the carrier signal to the modulation wave. Synchronous SPWM, both signals were
synchronous with each other if the carrier frequency is a multiple of the sine wave frequency (fs
= k*fm). Asynchronous SPWM, both signals were asynchronous, when the carrier frequency is
not a multiple of the sine wave frequency (fs ≠ k*fm) Based on the applications of PWM signals
to multilevel inverters, the multilevel sinusoidal PWM can be classified according to carrier and
modulating signals as shown in the fig.3.2

Fig. 3.2 Classification of SPWM
In SPWM (Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation) two signals are compared. The Modulating
reference signal is sinusoidal and the carrier wave is triangular. Gating pulses are produce by
comparing the two signals and the width of each pulse is varied is proportion to the amplitude
of the sine wave . The frequency of the reference signal determines the inverter output frequency
and the reference peak amplitude controls the modulation index and the RMS value of the output
voltage.
3.3 BIPOLAR PWM INVERTER

The upper and the lower switches in the same inverter leg work in a complementary manner
with one switch turned on and other turned off. Thus we need to consider only two independent
gating signals vg1 and vg3 which are generated by comparing sinusoidal modulating wave vm
and triangular carrier wave vcr. The inverter terminal voltages are obtained denoted by VAN
and VBN and the inverter output voltage VAB = VAN-VBN. Since the waveform of VAB
switches between positive and negative dc voltages this scheme is called bipolar PWM.

Fig. 3.3 Waveforms of bipolar modulation schemes
3.4 UNIPOLAR PWM INVERTER

The unipolar modulation normally requires two sinusoidal modulating waves vm and vm-
which are of same magnitude and frequency but 1800 out of phase. The two modulating wave
are compared with a common triangular carrier wave vcr generating two gating signals vg1 and
vg3 for the upper two switches S1 and S3. It can be observed that the upper two devices do not
switch simultaneously, which is distinguished from the bipolar PWM where all the four devices
are switched at the same time. The inverter output voltage switches between either between zero
and +Vd during positive half cycle or between zero and –Vd during negative half cycle of the
fundamental frequency thus this scheme is called unipolar modulation. The unipolar switched
inverter offers reduced switching losses and generates less EMI. On efficiency grounds, it
appears that the unipolar switched inverter has an advantage.
Over modulation occurs when amplitude modulation index ma is greater than unity. It
causes a reduction in number of pulses in the line to line voltage waveform leading to emergence
of lower order harmonics. Moreover the notch and pulse widths near the center of positive and
negative half cycle tend to vanish. To complete the switching operations of the device, minimum

notch and pulse widths must be maintained. When minimum width notches and pulses are
dropped, there will be some transient jump of load current.
Fig. 3.4 Waveforms of unipolar modulation scheme
Pure sine wave DC/AC conversion will introduce the least amount of harmonics into an
electrical device, but are also the most expensive method. Since the AC sine wave must come
from a DC source, switching must still take place. However, switching takes place with logic so
that the energy delivered to a load approaches that of a pure sine wave. It can be derived from
the waveform that a unipolar inverter with a filter circuit will give better sinusoidal output
waveform compare to bipolar inverter.
3.5 PWM CONTROL OF LC-SWITCHING BOOST NPC INVERTER:
The gate control signal for the inverter leg switches are generated using unipolar PWM
technique in each phase for eliminating first center band harmonics as well as to achieve three
level pole voltages. Here, for each phase two modulating sine waves of 180 degrees phase
displacement (Va(t) and –Va(t)) are compared with high frequency triangular carrier signal
(Vtri(t)) as shown in Fig.3.5. For three phases these modulating signals (Va(t) and –Va(t)) are
phase displaced by 120 degrees and compared with triangular carrier signal to generate gate
control signal for the inverter leg switches. The shoot through gate signal is generated by
comparing two fixed reference signals (Vst and -Vst) with the carrier signal (Vtri(t)). The
voltage gain factor (G) decides the amplitude of fixed signals (Vst and -Vst) as well as

modulating signals (Va(t) and –Va(t)). For ensuring shoot-through state not to impede active
state (or non-shoot through state), shoot-through state is placed within the zero state in each
switching cycle as shown in Fig.3.5. To ensure voltage balance across the capacitors a shoot
through offset is added by using the control logic presented . The shoot through gate signal is
fed to the switches in the intermediate network (‘S1’ and ‘S2’). Whereas, gate signal fed to the
inverter leg switches are the combination of shoot through signal as well as signal generated
from the comparison of modulating signals and carrier signal. The LC-switching voltage boost
NPC inverter using a unipolar PWM technique to eliminate the center band harmonics the
inverter is modeled and simulated using a PWM technique with fuzzy controller.
Fig.3.5. PWM control of LC-Switching voltage boost NPC Inverter
CHAPTER-4
CONTROLLER

4.1 FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER:

Fuzzy Logic control (FLC) has proven effective for complex, non-linear and imprecisely
defined processes for which standard model based control techniques are impractical or
impossible. Fuzzy Logic, unlike Boolean or crisp logic, deals with problems that have
vagueness, uncertainty and use membership functions with values varying between 0 and 1.In
fuzzy logic a particular object has a degree of membership in a given set, which is in the range
of 0 to 1. The essence of fuzzy control algorithms is a conditional statement between a fuzzy
input variable A and fuzzy output variable B. In general a fuzzy variable is expressed through a
fuzzy set, which in turn is defined by a membership function. The complete block diagram of
the fuzzy logic controller is shown in figure 4.1.
Fig.4.1. Internal structure of Fuzzy Logic Controller
The fuzzy controller is considered as follows:

1. Seven fuzzy sets are used for e (n) and δe (n).
2. Nine fuzzy sets are used for V (n).
3. Fuzzification using continuous universe of Discourse.
4. Defuzzification using the „„centroid‟‟ method.
5. Mamdani‟s minimum fuzzy implication.
6. Triangular membership functions

Fig.4.2 Input membership function
Fig.4.3 Output membership fuctions.
Triangular Membership functions are used to represent input variables such as NB

(negative big), NM (negative medium),NS (negative small), ZE (zero), PS (positive small), PM
(positive medium), PB (positive big) and output variables such as NB (negative big), NM

(negative medium),NS (negative small), NVS (negative very small), ZE (zero), PVS (positive
very small),PS (positive small), PM(positive medium), PB (positive big) Here, Membership
functions should be normalized between -1 to +1.The Fuzzy Rules are represented using IF-
THEN MAX-MIN Inference algorithm and Center of Gravity Defuzzification Approach is used
to get Crisp output from Fuzzy Logic Controller. The fuzzy rules were designed based on the
dynamic behaviour of the error signal.
Fig 4.4: Fuzzy Logic Controller Surface.
The Fuzzy Logic Controller Surface is the output plotted against the two inputs. It is an
interpolation of the effect of the 49 rules of Table 2.

CHAPTER-5
SIMUALTION DIAGRAM AND SIMULATION RESULTS

5.1 SIMULATION DIAGRAM;
The Simulation model of proposed LC-switching voltage boost three level NPC inverter with
and without fuzzy controller as shown in fig.5.1.and fig.5.2.
5.1.1Simulation model of LC-Switching voltage boost NPC inverter without fuzzy

controller:
 The simulation model of the proposed inverter takes the input voltage as 48volts
and gives the required output phase voltage as 260volts.
 The unipolar pulse width modulation technique is used in the inverter to reduce
first center band harmonics.
Fig.5.1.Simulation model of three level LC-switching voltage boost NPC inverter without
fuzzy logic controller.

5.1.2 Simulation model of LC-Switching voltage boost NPC inverter with Fuzzy
controller:
 The proposed inverter takes the input voltage of 48volts as input and gives the required
output voltage of 260volts with less amount of ripple content compared to the inverter
of without fuzzy logic controller.
 The total harmonic distortion (THD) of the proposed inverter with Fuzzy logic
controller is less compared to the without controller inverter.
Fig,5.2. Simulation model of three level LC-switching voltage boost NPC inverter with
fuzzy logic controller.

5.2 SIMULATION RESULTS:
The simulation results of three level LC –switching based voltage boost NPC inverter of input
and output results with and without fuzzy controller of fig 5.1 and fig.5.2 are as shown in
fig.5.1.1,fig.5.1.2,and fig.5.2.2.
5.2.1 Simulation Input results of the proposed inverter:
Vg(in volts)
IL(in amps)

Vc1 (volts)
Vc2(volts)
Fig.5.1.1.simulation results of input voltage(Vg), line current(IL),capacitor

voltage(Vc1),capacitor voltage(Vc2).

5..2.2 Simulation Output results of the proposed inverter without fuzzy logic controller:
Vph(volts)
Iph(amps)

Vab(volts)
Van(volts)
Fig.5.1,2.Simulation results of phase voltage(Vph),phase current(Iph),line voltage(Vab),pole

voltage(Van)

5.2.3 Simulation Output results of the proposed inverter with Fuzzy Logic Controller:
Vph(volts)
Iph(amps)

Vab(volts)
Van(volts)
Fig.5.2.1.Simulation results of phase voltage(Vph),phase current(Iph),line

voltage(Vab),pole voltage(Van).

5.3 THD ANALYSIS:

The Total harmonic distortion of the LC-switching voltage boost NPC
inverter with fuzzy logic controller (21.53%), is less than the without fuzzy logic controller
(22.65%).The THD analysis of with and without fuzzy controller is as shown in fig.5.3.1.and
fig.5.3.2.
Fig.5.3.1.THD analysis of inverter without fuzzy controller.
Fig.5.3.2.THD analysis of inverter with fuzzy controller.

CONCLUSION
A complete analysis and implementation is done regarding the application of unipolar
PWM technique with FUZZY LOGIC control scheme on the LC-switching based voltage boost
three level NPC inverter is presented by using MATLAB/SIMULINK.The proposed inverter is
able to boost up the voltage with less number of ripple content in the output voltage in a single
stage compare to the conventional LC-switching voltage boost NPC inverter, the THD is
decreases by incorporating the fuzzy control . The fuzzy logic controller is best suited for the
human decision –mechanism. The proposed inverter using less number of high power passive
elements which in turn reduces size and weight.In addition to the advantages the continuous
current with less distortion makes it applicable for various applications. The fuzzy logic
controller is incorporated to systematically control the time allocation for all switching states
based on instantaneous voltage. In order to make the output voltage constant irrespective of the
load conditions a feedback also provided using fuzzy controller with PWM generator to provide
gating signal to controlling switches.

FUTURE SCOPE
 In this paper we are using the fuzzy logic controller .In future we can change the
different controllers such as ANN and PR controllers. By using these controllers we
can improve the performance of the proposed system.
 The proposed system is a three level inverter we can increase the number of levels. By
increasing the levels we can reduce the harmonic content in the output voltage.

REFRENCES
[1] M. H. Rashid, Power Electronics, 2nd ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1993.
[2] G. Buticchi, D. Barater, E. Lorenzani, C. Concari and G. Franceschini, "A Nine-Level Grid-
ConnConverter Topology for Single-Phase Transformer less PV Systems," IEEE Trans. Ind.
Electron., vol. 61, no. 8, pp. 3951-3960, Aug. 2014.
[3] J. Rodriguez, S. Bernet, B. Wu, J. O. Pontt and S. Kouro, "Multilevel Voltage-Source-
Converter Topologies for Industrial Medium-Voltage Drives," IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol.
54, no. 6, pp. 2930-2945, Dec. 2007.
[4] M. R. A and K. Sivakumar, "A Fault-Tolerant Single-Phase Five-Level Inverter for Grid-
Independent PV Systems," IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol. 62, no. 12, pp. 7569-7577, Dec. 2015.
[5] J. Rodriguez, Jih-Sheng Lai and Fang Zheng Peng, "Multilevel inverters: a survey of
topologies, controls, and applications," IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol. 49, no. 4, pp. 724-738,
Aug 2002.
[6] P. Biczel, “Power electronic converters in dc microgrid,” in Proc. IEEE Compact. Power
Electron. Conf. (CPE), 2007, pp. 1–6.
[7] Mummadi Veer chary, T. Senjyu and K. Uezato, "Neural-network based maximum-power-
point tracking of coupled-inductor interleaved boost- converter-supplied PV system using fuzzy
controller," IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol.50, no.4, pp.749, 758, Aug. 2003
[8] X. Liu, P. Wang, and P. C. Loh, “A hybrid ac/dc microgrid and its coordination control,”
IEEE Trans. Smart Grid, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 278–286, Jun. 2011.
[9] H. Fathi and H. Madadi, "Enhanced-Boost Z-Source Inverters with Switched Z-Impedance,"
IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol. 63, no. 2, pp. 691-703, Feb. 2016.
[10] Fang Zheng Peng, Miaosen Shen and Zhaoming Qian, "Maximum boost control of the Z-
source inverter," IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 20, no. 4, pp. 833-838, July 2005.
11] P. C. Loh, F. Blaabjerg and C. P. Wong, "Comparative Evaluation of Pulse width
Modulation Strategies for Z-Source Neutral-Point-Clamped Inverter," IEEE Trans. Power
Electron, vol. 22, no. 3, pp. 1005-1013, May 2007.
[12] P. C. Loh, F. Gao and F. Blaabjerg, "Topological and Modulation Design of Three-Level
Z-Source Inverters," IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 23, no. 5, pp. 2268-2277, Sept. 2008.
[13] P. C. Loh, S. W. Lim, F. Gao and F. Blaabjerg, "Three-Level Z-Source Inverters Using a
Single LC Impedance Network," IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 22, no. 2, pp. 706-711,
March 2007.

[14] F. B. Effah, P. Wheeler, J. Clare and A. Watson, "Space-Vector- Modulated Three-Level

Inverters with a Single Z-Source Network," IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 28, no. 6, pp.
2806-2815, June 2013.
[15] Y. Liu, B. Ge, H. Abu-Rub and D. Sun, "Comprehensive Modeling of Single-Phase Quasi-
Z-Source Photovoltaic Inverter to Investigate Low-Frequency Voltage and Current Ripple,"
IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron, vol. 62, no. 7, pp. 4194-4202, July 2015.
[16] V. Fernão Pires, A. Cordeiro, D. Foito and J. F. Martins, "Quasi-Z-Source Inverter with a
T-Type Converter in Normal and Failure Mode," IEEE Trans. Power Electron, vol. 31, no. 11,
pp. 7462-7470, Nov. 2016.
[17] D. Sun, B. Ge, W. Liang, H. Abu-Rub and F. Z. Peng, "An Energy Stored Quasi-Z-Source
Cascade Multilevel Inverter-Based Photovoltaic Power Generation System," IEEE Trans. Ind.
Electron, vol. 62, no. 9, pp. 5458-5467, Sept. 2015.
[18]K.Mohan Krishna “Modeling and Simulation of Three Level VSI-Neutral Point Balancing
-Fed AC Drive using Intelligence Techniques”ISSN: 2248-9622, Vol. 5, Issue 12 ,(Part - 4)
December 2015, pp.174-182.
[19] Bin Wu, “High-power converters and ac drives”, Chap.6 pp. 95, 96 Chap 7. Pp.120-121
IEEE Press, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Publication.

Chinna

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chinna

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF LC-SWITCHING VOLTAGE BOOST THREE

LEVEL NPC INVERTER WITH FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER

1.1 Necessity of multilevel inverters

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 1

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 2

1.2 DC-to-DC converter

A DC-to-DC converter is an electronic circuit or electromechanical device that

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 3

DC to DC converters are used in portable electronic devices such as cellular

1.2.2 Electronic conversion

Practical electronic converters use switching techniques. Switched-mode DC-to-DC

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 4

Switching converters are electronically complex, although this is embodied in integrated

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 5

Some of the topologies can be defined as,

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 6

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 7

1.3 Boost converter

Fig . 1.1 The basic schematic of a boost converter.

A process that changes one DC voltage to a different DC voltage is called DC to DC conversion.

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 8

Fig. 1.2 Boost converter from a TI calculator, generating 9 V from 2.4 V

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 9

1.3.2 Circuit analysis

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 10

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 11

1.4.1 Types of inverters

Inverters can be classified by their structure:

2. Three -phase inverter:

1. Voltage-source inverter (VSI)

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 12

2. Current-source inverter (CSI)

1.5 VOLTAGE SOURCE INVERTER:

1.5.1 General Structure of Voltage Source Inverters

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 13

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 14

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 15

The VSI provides advantages like

1. It provides better power quality.

2. It requires smaller output AC filter requirements.

3. It gives lower voltage stress across the switches.

Though the VSI has certain advantages but it many limitations.

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 16

1.6 Z-source inverter

 A Z-source inverter is a type of power inverter, a circuit that converts direct

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 17

1.6.1 Z-SOURCE INVERTER COMPARED TO VOLTAGE/CURRENT SOURCE

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 18

Fig.1.5. A General block representation of Z-source inverter

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 19

Fig.1.6. Z-source inverter

Fig. 1.7. The equivalent circuit of fig1.5.

1.6.2 VOLTAGE BOOST AND STERSS:

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 20

Fig.1.8.Voltage gain of simple boost control

Based on (1) and (2), define the voltage gain G as,

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 21

Fig.1.9.Switch voltage gain verses voltage stress

1.6.3 Z-SOURCE INVERTER COMPARED WITH TRADITIONAL PWM AND

Fig. 1.10. Traditional PWM inverter supplied by a bidirectional DC/DC converter.

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 22

DEPT OF EEE SOET, SPMVV, TIRUPATHI Page 23

Fig.1.12 Z-source inverter supplied by a bidirectional DC/DC converter.