Multilevel converters have become the direct accepted solution for high power converter applications. They are used in wide variety of power electronic applications like power transmission and distribution, electric motor drives, battery management and renewable energy management to name a few. For medium and high voltage motor drives, especially induction motor drives, the use of multilevel voltage source inverters have become indispensible. A high voltage multilevel inverter could be realized using low voltage switching devices which are easily available and are of low cost. A multilevel inverter generates voltage waveforms of very low harmonic distortion by switching between voltage levels of reasonably small amplitude differences. Thus the dv/dt of the output voltage waveform is small and hence the electromagnetic interference generated is less. Because of better quality output generation, the switching frequency of the multilevel inverters could be reduced to control the losses. Thus, a multilevel converter stands definitely a class apart in terms of performance from a conventional two-level inverter. Many multilevel inverter topologies for induction motor drives are available in the literature. The basic multilevel topologies are the neutral point clamped (NPC) inverter, flying capacitor (FC) inverter and the cascaded H-bridge (CHB) inverter. Various other hybrid multilevel topologies have been proposed by using the basic multilevel inverter topologies. It is also possible to obtain multilevel output by using conventional two-level inverters feeding an open-end winding induction motor from both sides. All the conventional multilevel voltage source inverters generate hexagonal (6 sided polygons) voltage space vector structures. When an inverter with hexagonal space vector structure is operated in the over modulation range, significant low order harmonics are generated in the phase voltage output. Over modulation operation is required for the full utilization of the available DC-link voltage and hence maximum power generation. Among the harmonics generated, the fifth and seventh harmonics are of significant magnitudes. These harmonics generate torque ripple in the motor output and are undesirable in high performance motor drive applications. The presence of these harmonics further creates problems in the closed loop current control of a motor, affecting the dynamic performance. Again, the harmonic currents generate losses in the stator windings. Therefore, in short, the presence of harmonic voltages in the inverter output is undesirable. Many methods have been proposed to eliminate or mitigate the effect of the harmonics. One solution is to operate the inverter at high switching frequency and thereby push the harmonics generated to high frequencies. The stator leakage inductance offers high impedance to the high frequency harmonics and thus the harmonic currents generated are negligible. But, high switching frequency brings switching losses and high electromagnetic interference generation in the drive system. And also, high switching frequency operation is effective only in the linear modulation range. Another solution is to use passive harmonic filters at the inverter output. For low order harmonics, the filter components would be bulky and costly. The loss created by the filters degrades the efficiency of the drive system as well. The presence of a filter also affects the dynamic performance of the drive system during closed loop operation. Special pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques like selective harmonic elimination (SHE) PWM can prevent the generation of a particular harmonic from the phase voltage output. The disadvantages of such schemes are limited modulation index, poor dynamic performance and extensive offline computations. An elegant harmonic elimination method is to generate a voltage space vector structure having more number of sides like a dodecagon (12 sided polygons) or an octadecagon (18 sided polygons) rather than a hexagon. Inverter topologies generating dodecagonal voltage space vector structure eliminate fifth and seventh order harmonics, represented as 6n 1; n = odd harmonics, from the phase voltages and hence from the motor phase currents, throughout the entire modulation range. The first harmonics appearing the phase voltage are the 11th and 13th harmonics. Another advantage is the increased linear modulation range of operation for a given DC-link voltage, because geometrically dodecagon is closer to circle than a hexagon. An octadecagonal structure eliminates the 11th and 13th harmonics as well from the phase voltage output. The harmonics present in the phase voltage are of the order 18n 1; n = 1; 2; 3; :::. Thus the total harmonics distortion (THD) of the phase voltage is further improved. The linear modulation range also gets enhanced compared to hexagonal and dodecagonal structures. Multilevel dodecagonal and octadecagonal space vector structures combines the advantages of both multilevel structure and dodecagonal and octadecagonal structure and hence are very attractive solutions for high performance induction motor drive schemes. Chapter 1 of this thesis introduces the multilevel in-verter topologies generating hexagonal, dodecagonal and octadecagonal voltage space vector structures. Inverter topologies generating multilevel dodecagonal and octadecago-nal voltage space vector structures have been proposed before but using multiple DC sources delivering active power. The presence of more than one DC source in the inverter topology makes the back to back operation (four-quadrant operation) of the drive system difficult. And also the drive system becomes more costly and bulky. This thesis proposes induction motor drive schemes generating multilevel dodecagonal and octadecagonal volt-age space vector structures using a single DC source. In Chapter 2, an induction motor drive scheme generating a six-concentric multilevel dodecagonal voltage space vector structure using a single DC source is proposed for an open-end winding induction motor. In the topology, two three-level inverters drive an open-end winding IM, one inverter from each side. DC-link of primary inverter is from a DC source (Vdc) which delivers the entire active power, whereas the secondary inverter DC-link is maintained by a capacitor at a voltage of 0:289Vdc, which is self-balanced during the inverter operation. The PWM scheme implemented ensures low switching frequency for primary inverter. Secondary inverter operates at a small DC-link voltage. Hence, switching losses are small for both primary and secondary inverters. An open-loop V/f scheme was used to test the topology and modulation scheme. In the work proposed in Chapter 3, the topology and modulation scheme used in the first work is modified for a star connected induction motor. Again, the scheme uses only a single DC source and generates a six-concentric multilevel space vector struc-ture. The power circuit topology is realized using a three-level flying capacitor (FC) inverter cascaded with an H-bridge (CHB). The capacitors in the CHB inverter are maintained at a voltage level of 0:1445Vdc. The FC inverter switches between volt-age levels of [Vdc; 0:5Vdc; 0] and the CHB inverter switches between voltage levels of [+01445Vdc; 0; 0:1445Vdc]. The PWM scheme generates a quasi-square waveform output from the FC inverter. This results in very few switchings of the FC inverter in a funda-mental cycle and hence the switching losses are controlled. The CHB inverter switches Ch. 0: at high frequency compared to the FC inverter and cancels the low order harmonics (6n 1; n = odd) generated by the FC inverter. Even though the CHB operates at higher switching frequency, the switchings are at low voltage thereby controlling the losses. The linear modulation range of operation is extended to 48:8Hz for a base frequency of 50Hz. An open-loop V/f scheme was used to test the topology and modulation scheme. In Chapter 4, a nine-concentric multilevel octadecagonal space vector structure is proposed for the first time, again using a single DC source. The circuit topology remains same as the work in Chapter 3, except that the CHB capacitor voltage is maintained at 0:1895Vdc. The 5th; 7th; 11th and 13th harmonics are eliminated from the phase voltage output. The linear modulation range is enhanced to 49:5Hz for a base speed of 50Hz. An open-loop V/f scheme and rotor field oriented control scheme were used to test the proposed drive system. All the proposed drive schemes have been extensively simulated and tested in hard-ware. Simulation was performed in MATLAB-SIMULINK environment. For implement-ing the inverter topology, SKM75GB12T4 IGBT modules were used. The control al-gorithms were implemented using a DSP (TI’s TMS320F28334) and an FPGA (Xilinx Spartan XC3S200). A 1kW , 415V , 4-pole induction motor was used for the experiment purpose. The above mentioned induction motor drive schemes generate phase voltage outputs in which the low order harmonics are absent. The linear modulation range is extended near to the base frequency of operation compared to hexagonal space vector structure. In the inverter topologies, the secondary inverters or the CHB inverters functions as harmonic filters and delivers zero active power. The primary inverter in the topologies switches at low frequency, reducing the power loss. Single DC source requirement brings down the cost of the system as well as permitting easy four-quadrant operation. This is also advantageous in battery operated systems like EV applications. With these features and advantages, the proposed drive schemes are suitable for high performance, medium voltage induction motor drive applications.

Experimental research on high-power converters, particularly in an academic environment, faces severe infrastructural constraints. Usually, power source and loads of required ratings are not available. Further, more importantly, the energy consumption is huge. One possibility is to establish an experimental research platform, comprising of a network of high-power converters, through which power is circulated and which draws only the losses from the mains. This work deals with the establishment of a circulating power test set-up, comprising of two line-side PWM converters, inclusive of control and modulation methods for the two converters. Two types of circulating power test setups are developed. In the first setup, the converters are connected in parallel, on ac as well as dc sides, such that real and/or reactive power is circulated between them. In the second test setup, the dc buses of the converters are separated; hence, only reactive power circulation is possible. These setups are used to conduct heat-run tests with low energy expenditure on the PWM converters at various operating conditions up to power levels of 150 kVA. Further, these are used to validate analytically-evaluated thermal characteristics of high-power PWM converters. A safe thermal limit is derived for such converters in terms of apparent power (kVA) handled, power factor and switching frequency. The effects of voltage sag and of unequal current sharing between parallel IGBT modules on the safe thermal limit are studied. While the power drawn by the circulating-power setup from the grid is much lower than the ratings of the individual converters, the harmonic injection into the mains by the setup could be significant since the harmonics drawn by both converters tend to add up. This thesis investigates carrier interleaving to improve the waveform quality of grid current, drawn by the circulating-power test setup. The study of carrier interleaving is quite general and covers various applications of parallel-connected converters such as unity power factor rectification, static reactive power compensation and grid-connected renewable energy systems. In literature, carrier interleaving has been employed mainly for unity power factor rectifiers, sharing a common dc load equally. In such case, the fundamental components of the terminal voltages of the parallel converters are equal. However, when the power sharing between the two converters is unequal, or when power is circulated between the two converters, the terminal voltages of the two converters are not equal. A method to estimate rms grid current ripple, drawn by parallel-connected converters with equal and/or unequal terminal voltages, in a synchronous reference frame is presented. Further, the influence of carrier interleaving on the rms grid current ripple is studied. The optimum interleaving angle, which minimizes the rms grid current ripple under various applications, is investigated. This angle is found to be a function of modulation index of the converters in the equal terminal voltages case. In the unequal terminal voltages case, the optimum interleaving angle is shown to be a function of the average modulation index of the two parallel converters. The effect of carrier interleaving is experimentally studied on the reactive power circulation setup at different values of kVA and different dc bus voltages. The grid current ripple is measured for different values of interleaving angle. It is found experimentally that the optimum interleaving angle reduces the rms grid current ripple by between 37% and 48%, as compared without interleaving, at various operating conditions. Further, the reactive power circulation test set-up is used to evaluate and compare power conversion losses corresponding to different PWM techniques such as conventional space-vector PWM (CSVPWM), bus-clamping PWM (BCPWM) and advanced bus-clamping PWM methods for static reactive power compensator (STATCOM) application at high power levels. It is demonstrated theoretically as well as experimentally that an advanced bus-clamping PWM method, termed minimum switching loss PWM (MSLPWM), leads to significantly lower power conversion loss than CSVPWM and BCPWM techniques at a given average switching frequency.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The existing topologies of solar micro inverter use a number of stages before the DC input voltage can be converted to AC output voltage. These stages may contain one or more power converters. It may also contain a diode rectifier, transformer and filter. The number of active and passive components is very high. In this thesis, the design of a new solar micro inverter is proposed. This new micro inverter consists of a new single switch inverter which is obtained by modifying the already existing single ended primary inductor (SEPIC) DC-DC converter. This new inverter is capable of generating pure sinusoidal waveform from DC input voltage. The design and operation of the new inverter are studied in detail. This new inverter works with a controller to produce any kind of output waveform. The inverter is found to have four different modes of operation. The new inverter is modeled using state space averaging. The system is a fourth order system which is non-linear due to the inherent switching involved in the circuit. The system is linearized around an operating point to study the system as a linear system. The control to output transfer function of the inverter is found to be non-minimum phase. The transfer functions are studied using root locus. From the control perspective, the presence of right half zero makes the design of the controller structure complicated. The PV cell is modeled using the cell equations in MATLAB. A maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique is implemented to make sure the output power of the PV cell is always maximum which allows full utilization of the power from the PV cell. The perturb and observe (P&O) algorithm is the simplest and is used here. The use of this new inverter eliminates the various stages involved in the conventional solar micro inverter. Simulation and experimental results carried out on the setup validate the proposed structure of inverter.

[pt] O incremento de geração fotovoltaica de grande porte traz consideráveis mudanças nas características operativas e dinâmicas do sistema quando este é submetido a grandes distúrbios. Um dos problemas técnicos mais relevantes é a estabilidade transitória, já que a geração intermitente ligada ao sistema por conversores eletrônicos não contribui para o aumento da inércia total do sistema. Entretanto, os conversores eletrônicos podem, potencialmente, trazer novas oportunidades de controle rápido para dar suporte aos geradores síncronos em resposta a um distúrbio severo. No presente trabalho propõe uma estratégia de controle para inversores fotovoltaicos baseado na injeção da corrente com um grande impacto na resposta transitória do ângulo do rotor da máquina síncrona, identificada através da análise de sensibilidade dos autovalores e dos fatores de participação. Ao fazer isso, é possível aumentar a potência ativa da máquina síncrona próximo do seu valor pré-falta, reduzindo o desequilíbrio entre o torque elétrico e mecânico. A estratégia de controle proposta foi testada experimentalmente, utilizando um inversor e uma montagem máquina síncrona-motor e, através da simulação de um sistema híbrido com um sistema fotovoltaico de grande porte. Os resultados mostram que a estratégia de controle proposta não está apenas em conformidade com os requisitos dos código da rede para melhorar a estabilidade da tensão durante uma perturbação grave, mas também é capaz de manter a estabilidade transitória da rede provando, assim, ser uma melhor alternativa em relação à capacidade FRT requerida pelos códigos de rede. / [en] The increase in photovoltaic generation has caused changes in the power system s operative and dynamic characteristics when subjected to severe disturbances. One of the most relevant problems associated with this renewable energy source is the transient stability, as renewable generation connected to the system by electronic converters does not contrinute to the increase of the total inertia of the system. However, electronic converters can potentially bring new opportunities for rapid control to support synchronous generators in response to severe disturbance. The present work proposes a control strategy for photovoltaic inverters based on the injection of the current with a major impact on the transient response of the synchronous machine rotor angle, identified through the eigenvalue sensitivity analysis and the participation factors. By doing so, it is possible to increase the synchronous machine active power output close to its pre-fault value, reducing the disequilibrium between mechanical and electrical torque. The proposed control strategy was experimentally tested using an inverter and a synchronous-motor machine assembly and, by simulating a hybrid system with a large photovoltaic system. The results show that the proposed control strategy not only conforms to the grid codes requirements to improve voltage stability during a severe disturbance, but is also able to maintain transient stability thus proving to be a better alternative to the FRT capability required by the grid codes.

Ces dernières années, un intérêt croissant pour les systèmes électroniques de puissance a été motivé par l'émergence de sources d'énergie distribuées et renouvelables raccordées aux réseaux électriques. Dans ce contexte, la nécessité de topologies de faibles puissances alimentées par quelques modules photovoltaïques, en évitant l'utilisation de transformateurs, a ouvert l'étude de convertisseurs spéciaux et l’étude des stratégies de commande associées afin d’assurer la stabilité, la fiabilité et un rendement élevé du dispositif. Une possible solution est d’utiliser un dispositif générique connu dans la littérature scientifique et commerciale comme « micro-onduleur » ou «convertisseur intégré au module » qui avec le module photovoltaïque définit un produit « plug and play » appelé "module AC".Ce travail est consacré à l'étude d'un micro-onduleur monophasé avec deux étapes sans transformateur raccordée au réseau. La topologie proposée est composé d’un convertisseur DC-DC non isolé élévateur avec un gain quadratique et un onduleur réducteur lié au réseau connectés en cascade. Le convertisseur DC-DC extrait en permanence la puissance maximale du module photovoltaïque malgré les changements dans les conditions environnementales. L'étape DC-AC injecte la puissance extraite par l'étape DC-DC dans le réseau et assure un niveau élevé de qualité de l’énergie. Les efforts de recherche de ce travail sont concentrés sur la mise au point de commandes utilisant comment base, la théorie de contrôle par mode de glissement, qui conduit à une mise en œuvre simple avec une description théorique complète validée á partir de simulations et expérimentations.Après avoir décrit l'état de l’art dans le premier chapitre, le manuscrit est divisé en quatre chapitres, qui sont dédiés respectivement à l’algorithme de recherche du point de puissance maximale (MPPT), á l’étape de conversion DC-DC, á l'étape de conversion DC-AC et finalement au micro-onduleur complet. Un nouvel algorithme de recherche extrémal du point de puissance maximale est développé (SM-ESC). Pour la étape DC-DC, le convertisseur élévateur quadratique avec seulement un interrupteur contrôlé est étudié utilisant le concept de résistance sans perte par mode de glissement (de l’acronyme anglais : Sliding-Mode Loss-Free-Resistor – SM-LFR) afin d’obtenir un gain de tension élevé avec un fonctionnement sûr et compatible avec l’algorithme MPPT. Pour la étape DC-AC, le convertisseur de pont complet est contrôlé comme un onduleur de source de puissance (de l’acronyme anglais : Power Source Inverter - PSI) en utilisant une commande par mode de glissement qui poursuit une référence sinusoïdale de courant de sortie. Cette commande est complétée par une boucle de régulation de la tension du bus DC qui assure une haute qualité d’énergie injectée dans le réseau. Enfin, les trois étapes constitutives sont fusionnées pour obtenir un micro-onduleur complètement contrôlé par la technique de mode de glissement, ce qui constitue le principal résultat et contribution de cette thèse. / These last years, a growing interest in power electronic systems has been motivated by the emergence of distributed renewable energy resources and their interconnection with the grid. In this context, the need of low power topologies fed by a few photovoltaic modules avoiding the use of transformers opens the study of special converters and the associated control strategies ensuring stability, reliability and high efficiency. A resulted generic device known in the commercial and scientific literature as “microinverter” or “module integrated converter” performs a plug and play product together with the PV module called an “AC module”.This work is devoted to the study of a transformer-less single-phase double-stage grid-connected microinverter. The proposed topology has a non-isolated high-gain boost type DC-DC converter and a non-isolated buck type DC-AC converter connected in cascade through a DC bus. The DC-DC converter permanently extracts the maximum power of the PV module ensuring at the same time a good performance coping with power changes introduced by the change in the environmental conditions. The DC-AC stage injects the power extracted by the DC-DC stage into the grid ensuring a high level of power quality. The research efforts focus on the involved control functions based on the sliding mode control theory, which leads to a simple implementation with a comprehensive theoretical description validated through simulation and experimental results.After giving the state-of-the-art in the first chapter, the manuscript is divided into four chapters, which are dedicated to the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT), the DC-DC stage and its control, the DC-AC stage and its control and the complete microinverter. A new Extremum Seeking Control (ESC) MPPT algorithm is proposed. The single-switch quadratic boost converter is studied operating as a Loss-Free-Resistor (LFR) obtaining a high DC output voltage level with a safe operation. The full-bridge converter is controlled as a Power Source Inverter (PSI) using a simple sliding-mode based tracking law, regulating the voltage of the DC bus and then ensuring a high power quality level in the grid connection. Finally, the three building blocks are merged to obtain a sliding mode controlled microinverter constituting the main result and contribution of the work

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The substantial increase demand for electrical energy requires high efficient apparatus dealing with energy conversion. Several technologies have been suggested to implement power supplies with higher efficiency, such as multilevel and interleaved converters. This thesis proposes an energy conversion unit with an optimized number of output voltage levels per number of switches nL=nS. The proposed five-level four-switch per phase converter has nL=nS=5/4 which is by far the best relationship among the converters presented in technical literature. A comprehensive literature review on existing five-level converter topologies is done to compare the proposed topology with conventional multilevel converters. The most important characteristics of the proposed configuration are: (i) reduced number of semiconductor devices, while keeping a high number of levels at the output converter side, (ii) only one DC source without any need to balance capacitor voltages, (iii) high efficiency, (iv) there is no dead-time requirement for the converters operation, (v) leg isolation procedure with lower stress for the DC-link capacitor. Single-phase and three-phase version of the proposed converter is presented in this thesis. Details regarding the operation of the configuration and modulation strategy are presented, as well as the comparison between the proposed converter and the conventional ones. Simulated results are presented to validate the theoretical expectations. In addition a fault tolerant converter based on proposed topology for micro-grid systems is presented. A hybrid pulse-width-modulation for the pre-fault operation and transition from the pre-fault to post-fault operation will be discussed. Selected steady-state and transient results are demonstrated to validate the theoretical modeling.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / This research proposes state-of-the-art multilevel converter topologies and their modulation strategies, the implementation of a conventional flying-capacitor converter topology up to four-level, and a new four-level flying-capacitor H-Bridge converter confi guration. The three phase version of this proposed four-level flying-capacitor H-Bridge converter is given as well in this study. The highlighted advantages of the proposed converter are as following: (1) the same blocking voltage for all switches employed in the con figuration, (2) no capacitor midpoint connection is needed, (3) reduced number of passive elements as compared to the conventional solution, (4) reduced total dc source value by comparison with the conventional topology. The proposed four-level capacitor-clamped H-Bridge converter can be utilized as a multilevel inverter application in an electri fied railway system, or in hybrid electric vehicles. In addition to the implementation of the proposed topology in this research, its experimental setup has been designed to validate the simulation results of the given converter topologies.

<p dir="ltr">The short lifespan of capacitors in power electronics converters is a significant challenge. These capacitors, often electrolytic, are vital for voltage smoothing and frequency filtering. However, their susceptibility to heat, ripple current, and aging can lead to premature faults. This can cause issues like output voltage instability and short circuits, ultimately resulting in catastrophic failure and system shutdown. Capacitors are responsible for 30% of power electronics failures.</p><p dir="ltr">To tackle this challenge, scientists, researchers, and engineers are exploring various approaches detailed in technical literature. These include exploring alternative capacitor technologies, implementing active and passive cooling solutions, and developing advanced monitoring techniques to predict and prevent failures. However, these solutions often come with drawbacks such as increased complexity, reduced efficiency, or higher upfront costs. Additionally, research in material science is ongoing to develop corrosion-resistant capacitors, but such devices are not readily available.</p><p dir="ltr">This dissertation presents a capacitorless solution for dc-dc and dc-ac converters. The proposed solution involves harnessing parasitic elements and integrating them as intrinsic components in power converter technology. This approach holds the promise of enhancing power electronics reliability ratings, thereby facilitating breakthroughs in electric vehicles, compact power processing units, and renewable energy systems. The central scientific premise of this proposal is that the capacitance requirement in a power converter can be met by deliberately augmenting parasitic components.</p><p dir="ltr">Our research hypothesis that incorporating high dielectric material-based thin-films, fabricated using nanotechnology, into planar magnetics will enable the development of a family of capacitorless electronic converters that do not rely on discrete capacitors. This innovative approach represents a departure from the traditional power converter schemes employed in industry.</p><p dir="ltr">The first family of converters introduces a novel capacitorless solid-state power filter (SSPF) for single-phase dc-ac converters. The proposed configuration, comprising a planar transformer and an H-bridge converter operating at high frequency, generates sinusoidal ac voltage without relying on capacitors. Another innovative dc-ac inverter design is the twelve step six-level inverter, which does not incorporate capacitors in its structure.</p><p dir="ltr">The second family of capacitorless topologies consists of non-isolated dc-dc converters, namely the buck converter and the buck-boost converter. These converters utilize alternative materials with high dielectric constants, such as calcium copper titanate (CCTO), to intentionally enhance specific parasitic components, notably inter capacitance. This innovative approach reduces reliance on external discrete capacitors and facilitates the development of highly reliable converters.</p><p dir="ltr">The study also includes detailed discussions on the necessary design specifications for these parasitic capacitors. Furthermore, comprehensive finite element analysis solutions and detailed circuit models are provided. A design example is presented to demonstrate the practical application of the proposed concept in electric vehicle (EV) low voltage side dc-dc power converters used to supply EVs low voltage loads.</p>