This report is about control, design and implementation of a low voltage-fed quasi Z-source three-level inverter. The topology has been interesting for photovoltaic-systems due to its ability to boost the incoming voltage without needing an extra switching control. The topology was first simulated in Simulink and later implemented on a full-bridge module to measure the harmonic distortion and estimating the power losses of the inverter. An appropriate control scheme was used to set up a shootthrough and design a three-level inverter. The conclusion for the report is that the quasi Z-source inverter could boost the DC-link voltage in the simulation. But there should be more consideration to the internal resistance of the components for the implementation stage as it gave out a lower output voltage than expected.

This master thesis present the analysis of a power module with cascaded converters applied to solid state transformers. The power module is built by an AC-DC input stage, constituted by full-bridge topology, an DC-DC intermediate isolated stage, formed by the dual active bridge converter (DAB), and an DC-AC output stage composed of full-bridge topology. The central study developed is based on the investigation of the dynamic interactions impedances in the connection points of the converters and power module stability. The criterion of Middlebrook is applied as the basis for determining the margin of interaction of the coupling between rectifier/DAB and DAB/inverter and definition of critical parameters of power and control for the characteristics of the impedance of each stage. The criterion of Nyquist is applied to study the stability margin of the couplings. Due to the inverter operation, there is a significant second harmonic current that generating voltage ripple at 120 Hz in the DC bus that interconnects the power converters. In this sense, this master thesis contributes presenting a theoretical analysis of the effects of voltage ripples in the operation and performance of the power circuit and control system of the DAB converter. The methods of PI control and PI-notch in DAB control system are explored, highlighting that the inclusion of notch filter performs better by enabling the mitigation of the negative effects introduced by the voltage ripple at 120 Hz. Moreover, a methodology study and PI of the project is proposal to achieve better results with this method of control, from the point of view of stability and performance. Experimental and simulation results of the system are included to demonstrate the developed analysis. / Esta dissertação de mestrado apresenta o estudo de um módulo de potência com conversores em cascata aplicado a transformadores de estado sólido. O módulo de potência é integrado por um estágio CA-CC de entrada, constituído pela topologia full-bridge, um estágio intermediário CC-CC isolado, formado pelo conversor dual-active bridge (DAB) e um estágio CC-CA de saída composto pela topologia full-bridge. O estudo central desenvolvido baseia-se na investigação das interações dinâmicas de impedâncias nos pontos de acoplamento dos conversores e da estabilidade do módulo de potência, a partir das impedâncias de entrada e saída de cada estágio. O critério das impedâncias de Middlebrook é utilizado como base para determinação da margem de interação entre os acoplamentos retificador/DAB e DAB/inversor e definição dos parâmetros de potência e controle críticos para as características das impedâncias de cada estágio. O critério da estabilidade de Nyquist é aplicado para o estudo da margem de estabilidade dos acoplamentos. Devido à operação do inversor, há um significativo segundo harmônico de corrente que gera ondulações de tensão em 120 Hz no barramento CC que interliga os conversores de potência. Neste sentido, esta dissertação de mestrado contribui apresentando uma análise teórica dos efeitos das ondulações de tensão na operação e desempenho do circuito de potência e sistema de controle do conversor DAB. São explorados os métodos de controle PI e PI-notch no sistema de controle do DAB, destacando que a inclusão do filtro notch apresenta melhores resultados por possibilitar a atenuação dos efeitos negativos introduzidos pelas ondulações de tensão em 120 Hz. Junto a isso, uma metodologia de estudo e projeto do PI é proposta visando alcançar melhores resultados com este método de controle, do ponto de vista de estabilidade e rendimento. Resultados experimentais e de simulação do sistema são incluídos de modo a comprovar a análise desenvolvida.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Multilevel converters are being increasingly employed nowadays, specially in mediumand high-voltage industrial applications. Even though these converters are able to synthesize output line-to-line voltages with a high number of levels, close to a sinusoidal waveform, their modulation is more complex than the one for two- and three-level converters. In this context, this dissertation proposes new modulation strategies for multilevel converters, specifically symmetrical and asymmetrical cascaded multilevel ones, composed of many full-bridges, or power cells, per phase. If the converter has one or more faulty cells, they can be bypassed and the converter can continue to feed the load, increasing the process reliability. However, the converter phase voltages must be modified so as to keep the output line-to-line voltages balanced. With the objective of proposing modulation strategies that allow the cascaded multilevel converters to satisfactorily operate under these conditions, an extensive bibliographical review of the existing modulation techniques has been carried out. The carrier-based modulation approaches were studied first. It could be noticed that all these strategies belong to a larger set of solutions for the obtention of the converter modulating phase voltages. This set is derived in this work, resulting in a generalized geometrical modulation strategy for symmetrical and asymmetrical cascaded multilevel converters with any number of levels and operating under normal or faulty conditions. As the faulty cells are restrictions for converter operation, for each fault condition the region that contains all the possible converter common-mode voltages, that compensate for the loss of cells, is derived. The choice of a common-mode pertaining to this set allows the entire converter synthesis capability to be explored. The modulating voltages are the sum of the reference and the common-mode voltages, maximizing the amplitudes of the output line-to-line voltages. For asymmetrical cascaded multilevel converters, the voltages synthesized by the highervoltage cells are restrictions for the operation of the lower-voltage ones. Concerning the Space Vector (SV) modulation, it was derived only for the asymmetrical cascaded multilevel converter. The higher-voltage and lower-voltage cells switch, respectively, with low frequency by the choice of the nearest vector to the reference, and with high frequency, by the choice of the three nearest vectors to the reference, in one switching period. The voltage synthesized by the higher-voltage cells is subtracted from the reference, resulting in the new reference for the lower-voltage cells, and so successively, until the cells with the lowest voltages. A specific switching sequence is defined off-line for each sector of the SV diagram. The algorithm is carried out in a modified αβo coordinate system, resulting in switching vector with only integer entries. The choice of the switching vectors considers all the possible redundancies in abc coordinates. At last, simulation and experimental results Abstract that prove the good performance of the proposed modulation strategies are presented. / Conversores multiníveis são cada vez mais empregados, especialmente em aplicações industriais de média e alta tens~ao. Apesar de serem capazes de sintetizar tensões de linha de saída com um grande número de níveis, se aproximando de uma forma de onda senoidal, sua modulação é mais complexa, quando comparada com conversores de dois ou três níveis. Neste contexto, esta dissertação propõe novas estratégias de modulação para conversores multiníveis, especificamente multiníveis em cascata simétricos e assimétricos, compostos por diversos full-bridges, ou células de potência, por fase. Caso uma ou mais células sofram faltas, estas podem ser retiradas de operação, e o conversor pode continuar a alimentar a carga, aumentando a confiabilidade do processo. Contudo, as tensõe de fase do conversor devem ser modificadas, a fim de manter as tensões de linha de saída equilibradas. Com o objetivo de propor estratégias de modulação que permitam aos conversores multiníveis em cascata operar satisfatoriamente nestas condições, foi realizada uma extensa pesquisa bibliográfica a respeito dos métodos de modulação já existentes na literatura. Primeiramente, foram estudadas estratégias de modulação baseadas em portadora. Pode-se perceber que estas pertencem a um conjunto maior de possíveis soluções para a obtenção das tensões modulantes para as fases do conversor. Este conjunto é derivado neste trabalho, resultando em uma estratégia generalizada de modulação com abordagem geométrica para conversores multiníveis em cascata simétricos e assimétricos com qualquer número de níveis, em operação normal ou sob faltas. Como as células com falta são restrições para o funcionamento do conversor, para cada condição de falta é definida a região que contém todas as possíveis tensões de modo comum que podem ser sintetizadas pelo conversor a fim de compensar a perda de células. A escolha de uma tensão de modo comum pertencente a este conjunto permite explorar toda a capacidade de síntese de tensão do conversor. As tensões modulantes são obtidas como a soma das tensões de referência de fase e de modo comum, maximizando as amplitudes das componentes fundamentais das tensões de linha de saída. Para os conversores multiníveis em cascata assimétricos, as tensões sintetizadas pelas células de maior tensão são restrições para a operação das demais. Quanto à modulação Space Vector (SV), optou-se por desenvolvê-la apenas para conversores multiníveis em cascata assimétricos. As células de alta tensão comutam em baixa frequência pela escolha do vetor mais próximo da referência, e as células de baixa tensão comutam em alta frequência pela escolha dos três vetores mais próximos da referência, em um período de comutação. A tensão sintetizada pelas células de alta tensão é subtraída da referência, resultando na nova referência para as próximas células, e assim sucessivamente até as células de menor tensão. Para cada setor do Resumo diagrama SV é definida off-line uma sequência de comutação específica. O algoritmo implementado realiza todos os cálculos em um sistema de coordenadas αβo modificado, resultando em vetores de comutação apenas com elementos inteiros. A escolha dos vetores de comutação a serem implementados considera todas as suas possíveis redundâncias em coordenadas abc. Por fim, são apresentados resultados de simulação e experimentais que comprovam o ótimo desempenho das estratégias de modulação propostas neste trabalho.

La stabilisation et l’automatisation du vol de tout véhicule aérien nécessite la mise en oeuvre d’algorithmes de commande. La synthèse et la simulation des lois de commande reposent sur un modèle mathématique du véhicule, qui doit être de complexité et de précision appropriées. Cette thèse présente une méthodologie complète d’identification appliquée à un hélicoptère coaxialminiature. L’étude théorique de son comportement en vol permet d’établir plusieurs modèles basés sur la mécanique du vol, qui diffèrent par les phénomènes aérodynamiques pris en compte. Ils sont identifiés, comparés et validés grâce à des données de vol, mettant en évidence l’importance de certains phénomènes dans la précision du modèle. Différentes lois de commande sont alors étudiées et évaluées en simulation puis par des expérimentations sur un prototype. Les résultats obtenus sont conformes aux simulations numériques, validant ainsi l’ensemble de la démarche. / Control algorithms are at the heart of the stability and automatic flight capabilities of any aerial vehicle. Synthesis and simulation of control laws are based on a mathematicalmodel of the vehicle, which must be a trade-off between simplicity and accuracy. This work presents a complete system identification methodology applied on a miniature coaxial helicopter. Based on flight mechanics and aerodynamics, several models are built. They differ in the aerodynamic phenomena taken into account. They are identified, compared and validated thanks to flight data, highlighting important phenomena in the accuracy of the model. Several flight control strategies are then studied and evaluated through simulations and experiments with a prototype. The results are in accordance with numerical simulations, thus validating the whole approach.

The Diploma thesis deals with control of three-phase active rectifier and a three-phase DC/AC converter. It also explains phase-locked loop principle. The theoretical part including first three chapters lists several control approaches to three phase active rectifier and three phase DC/AC converter. Described control approaches to the active rectifier are control in dq frame and control in dq UVW frame. Listed control approaches to the DC/AC converter include cascaded control structure and a full state feedback control. The practical part is divided into last three chapters and includes mathematical description of phase-locked loop principle, model of active rectifier controlled in dq frame and a model of DC/AC converter controlled both by a cascaded control and a full¬ state feedback. The models are created in Matlab Simulink.

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Direct drive wave energy conversion systems have been identified as a potentially major contributor to the world’s energy demands, forecasting shares of up to 25 % of the energy mix. Anders Hagnestål conducts research at the Royal Institute of Technology where a novel linear transverse flux permanent magnet generator is developed. This concept machine is particularly well-suited for the pertaining operating conditions in marine environments, producing large forces at low speeds with outstandingly low resistive losses. However, it exhibits severe magnetic saturation and draws unsymmetrical phase currents at nominal operation. In addition, it possesses a low power factor. All in all, this places stern requirements on the power electronic system and control algorithms. The aim of this thesis has been to design a functioning power conditioning system that connects the machine to the electric grid. For this purpose, a three-phase two-level voltage source converter is proposed to be back-to-back connected with two-level single-phase voltage source converters (active rectifiers) interfacing each and every machine phase. It is shown that the intermediate DC link can be maintained at a constant voltage with restricted ripple while feeding power at unity power factor to the grid by appropriately sizing the DC capacitor and adopting a feedback linearization control scheme. The phase currents can be controlled effectively by means of a cascaded gain-scheduled PID controller. By including a low-pass filter the iron losses in the machine may be suppressed even at lower switching frequencies. A constrained cost optimization indicates that the converter consequently can reach 99.1 % efficiency. Finally, with this thesis as a background, it is suggested that the thermal stresses on the selected semiconductor modules and the iron losses of the machine are evaluated to further improve the design. If higher efficiency of the active rectifiers is strived for, more complex converter topologies could be considered. / Direktdrivna vågenergiomvandlingssystem har utpekats som en potentiellt starkt bidragande resurs för att tillgodose världens efterfrågan på energi med andelar på uppemot 25 % av energimixen förutspådda. Anders Hagnestål bedriver forskning och utveckling av en ny typ av linjär permanentmagnetiserad transversalflödesmaskin vid Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan. Konceptmaskinen är särskilt väl lämpad för de rådande marina förhållandena genom att kunna producera stora krafter vid låga hastigheter med utomordentligt låga resistiva förluster. Maskinen går emellertid i kraftig magnetisk mättnad och drar asymmetriska strömmar vid nominell drift. Dessutom är effektfaktorn låg i jämförelse med standardmaskiner. Alltsomallt inför detta hårda krav på det effektelektroniska systemet och kontrollalgoritmerna. Målet med detta examensarbete har varit att designa ett funktionellt effektkonditioneringssystem som sammanfogar maskinen med det angränsande elektriska nätet. För att åstadkomma detta föreslås att en tvånivås-trefasomriktare kopplas rygg-mot-rygg till tvånivås-enfasomvandlare (aktiva likriktare) som i sin tur är kopplade till varje maskinfas. Med den här konfigurationen visas det att spänningen på den mellanliggande DC-länken kan hållas konstant med begränsat rippel, alltmedan effekt tillförs nätet vid effektfaktor ett genom att dimensionera DC-kondensatorn på rätt sätt och använda en kontrollag baserad på exakt linjärisering. Maskinens fasströmmar kan kontrolleras effektivt med hjälp av en kaskadkopplad PID-regulator med schemalagda förstärkningsfaktorer. Genom att inkludera ett lågpassfilter förväntas det att järnförlusterna i maskinen kan begränsas även vid lägre switchfrekvenser. Genom att lösa ett kostnadsoptimeringsproblem visas det att den resulterande aktiva likriktaren kan uppnå en verkningsgrad på 99.1 %. Slutligen, med det här examensarbetet som grund, föreslås det att den termiska stressen på de valda halvledarkomponentsmodulerna och järnförlusterna i maskinen utvärderas för att ytterligare förbättra designen. Om högre verkningsgrad eftersträvas hos de aktiva likriktarna kan mer komplicerade omvandlartopologier övervägas.

For decades, the Silicon-based semiconductors have been the solution for power electronics applications. However, these semiconductors have approached their limits of operation in blocking voltage, working temperature and switching frequency. Due to material superiority, the relatively-new wide-bandgap semiconductors such as Silicon-Carbide (SiC) MOSFETs enable higher voltages, switching frequencies and operating temperatures when compared to Silicon technology, resulting in improved converter specifications. The current study tries to investigate the impact of emerging medium-voltage SiC MOSFETs on industrial motor drive application, where over a quarter of the total electricity in the world is being consumed. Firstly, non-commercial SiC MOSFETs at 3.3 kV and 400 A rating are characterized to enable converter design and simulation based on them. In order to feature the best performance out of the devices under test, an intelligent high-performance gate driver is designed embedding required functionalities and protections. Secondly, total of three converters are targeted for industrial motor drive application at medium-voltage and high-power range. For this purpose the cascaded H-bridge, the modular multilevel converter and the 5-L active neutral point clamped converters are designed at 4.16-, 6.9- and 13.8 kV voltage ratings and 3- and 5 MVA power ratings. Selection of different voltage and power levels is done to elucidate variation of different parameters within the converters versus operating point. Later, comparisons are done between the surveyed topologies designed at different operating points based on Si IGBTs and SiC MOSFETs. The comparison includes different aspects such as efficiency, power density, semiconductor utilization, energy stored in converter structure, fault containment, low-speed operation capability and parts count (for a measure of reliability). Having the comparisons done based on simulation data, an H-bridge cell is implemented using 3.3 kV 400 A SiC MOSFETs to evaluate validity of the conducted simulations. Finally, a novel method is proposed for series-connecting individual SiC MOSFETs to reach higher voltage devices. Considering the fact that currently the SiC MOSFETs are not commercially available at voltages higher above 1.7 kV, this will enable implementation of converters using medium-voltage SiC MOSFETs that are achieved by stacking commercially-available 1.7 kV MOSFETs. The proposed method is specifically developed for SiC MOSFETs with high dv/dt rates, while majority of the existing solutions could only work merely with slow Si-based semiconductors. / Ph. D.

Use of multilevel inverters are inevitable in medium and high voltage drives. This is due to the fact that the multilevel inverters can produce voltages in smaller steps which will reduce the harmonic content and result in more sinusoidal voltages and currents as compared to voltages and currents from two-level inverters. Due to the device limitations, use of two-level inverters is not possible in medium and high voltage drive applications. Though multiple devices can be connected both in series and parallel to achieve two-level operation, the output voltages still suffer from high harmonic content. Multilevel inverters have multiple DC voltage levels with switches that enable one of the voltage steps to be applied to the load. Due to decrease in step size during each switching instant, output voltages and currents of the multilevel inverters have considerably less harmonic content. As the number of levels increase, the switching step reduces thereby the harmonic content also reduces drastically. Due to their advantages, multilevel inverters have gained lot of acceptance in the industry even at lower voltages. The three main configurations that have gained popularity are the neutral point clamped converter, the flying capacitor converter and the cascaded H-bridge converter. Each converter has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Based on the requirements of various applications, it is possible to fabricate hybrid multilevel topologies that are combinations of the three basic topologies. Researchers around the world have proposed several such converters for diverse applications so as to suit particular requirements like modularity, ease of control, improved reliability, fault tolerant capability etc. The present thesis explores multilevel converters with single DC link to be used for motor drive and grid connected applications. A novel five-level inverter topology formed by cascading a floating capacitor H-bridge module to a regular three-level flying capacitor inverter has been explored in chapter 2. The three-level flying capacitor inverter can generate pole voltages of 0, VDC /2 and VDC . By cascading it with another floating capacitor H-bridge of voltage magnitude VDC /4, pole voltages of 0, VDC /4, VDC/2, 3VDC /4 and VDC . Each of these pole voltage levels can have one or more switching combinations. However each switching combination has a unique effect on the state of the two capacitor voltages. By switching through redundant switching combinations for the same pole voltage, the two capacitors present in each phase can be balanced. The proposed topology also has an advantage that if one of the devices in the H-bridge fails, the topology can still be operated as a regular three-level flying capacitor inverter that can supply full load at rated power by bypassing the faulty H-bridge. This fault tolerant operation of the converter will enable it to be used in applications like traction and marine drives where high reliability is needed. The proposed converter needs a single DC link. All the required voltage levels can be generated from the single DC link. This enables back to back grid connected operation possible where multiple converters can interact with a single DC link. Various pole voltage switching combination and its effect on individual capacitor has been studied. A control algorithm to balance the capacitor voltages by switching through multiple redundancies for the same pole voltage has been developed. The proposed configuration has been implemented in hardware using IGBT H-bridge modules and the control circuitry is realized using DSP and FPGA. The performance of the drive is verified for various frequencies and modulation indices during steady state by running a three phase induction motor at no load. The stability of the drive during transients has been studied by accelerating the machine suddenly at no load and analyzing the performance of the drive. The capacitor voltages are made to deviate from their intended values and the capacitor balancing algorithm has been verified for its ability to bring the capacitor voltages back to their intended values. The experimental results have been presented and discussed in detail in the chapter 2. In the third chapter a common-mode voltage eliminated three-level inverter using a single DC link has been proposed. The power schematic is similar to the one presented in chapter 2. In this chapter the space vector polygon formed by the three phases of the proposed topology has been presented. The common-mode voltage generated by different pole voltage combinations for same space vector location and the redundant switching state combinations has been studied. The pole voltage combinations with zero common mode voltage have been studied. The switching state redundancies for the the pole voltage have been studied. The space vector polygon formed with the pole voltage combinations has been analyzed. A drive is made with the proposed common-mode voltage eliminated inverter. The performance of the drive is tested for various modulation indices and frequencies by running a three phase squirrel cage induction motor at no load. The transient performance is verified by accelerating the motor suddenly and checking the common-mode voltage along with the capacitor voltages. The results have been presented and discussed in detail in chapter 3. This converter has advantages like use of single DC supply, ability to operate as a regular three level converter in case of failure of one of the H-bridges. The work presented in fourth chapter proposes a novel three phase 17-level inverter configuration which utilizes a single DC supply. The rest of voltages are generated using three floating capacitor H-bridges. The redundant switching combinations for generating various pole voltages and their effect on the capacitors have been studied and suitable capacitor balancing algorithm has been developed. The proposed topology has been realized in hardware and the performance of the drive during steady state has been studied by running an induction motor at various modulation indices and frequencies. The transient response of the drive has been observed by accelerating the motor suddenly under no load. The results have been presented in detail in chapter four. This configuration also needs a single DC link. The advantages of this configuration is in case of failure of any devices in the H-bridge, the drive can be operated at reduced number of levels while supplying full load current. This feature helps the drive to be used in fault tolerant applications like marine and traction drives where reliability of the drive is of prime importance. All the topologies that have been presented in the previous chapters have mentioned about the usage of the proposed genre of topologies use single DC link and hence will enable back to back grid tied inverter connection. In the fifth chapter this has has been verified experimentally. The three phase squirrel cage induction motor is driven by using the seventeen-level inverter drive proposed in chapter four. A five-level active front-end is realized by the converter topology proposed in chapter two. The converter is run and the performance of the drive is studied at various modulation indices and speeds of the motor. Various aspects like re-generation operation, acceleration and other aspects of the drive have been studied experimentally and the results are presented in detail. For experimental setup, Semikron SKM75GB12T4 IGBT modules have been used to realize the power topology. These IGBTs are driven by M56972L drivers. The control circuit is realized using TMS320F2812 DSP along with Xilinx Spartan 3 FPGA (XC3S200) has been used. The voltages and currents are sensed using LEM LV-20P and LA 55-P hall effect based sensors.