The high penetration of renewable energy and the emerging concept of micro-grid system raises challenges to the high power conversion techniques. Multilevel converter plays the key role in such applications and is studied in detail in the dissertation. The topologies and modulation techniques for multilevel converter are categorized at first by a thorough literature survey. The pros and cons for various multilevel topologies and modulation techniques are discussed. The 3-level neutral point clamped (NPC) topology is selected to build a 200kVA, 20 kHz power conversion system. The modularized phase leg building block of the converter is carefully designed to achieve low loss and stress for high frequency and high power operation. The switching characteristics for all the commutation loops of 3-level phase leg are evaluated by double pulse tests. The switching performance is optimized for loss and stress tradeoff. A detailed loss model is built for system loss distribution and loss breakdown calculation. Loss and stress for the phase leg and 3-phase system are quantified at all power factors. The space vector modulation (SVM) for 3-level NPC converter is investigated to achieve loss reduction, neutral voltage balance and noise reduction. The loss model and simulation model provides a quantitative analysis for loss and neutral voltage ripple tradeoff. An improved SVM method is proposed to reduce NP imbalance and switching loss simultaneously. This method also ensures an evenly distributed device loss in each phase leg and gives a constant system efficiency under different power factors. Based on the improved modulation strategy, a new modulation scheme is then proposed with largely reduced conduction loss and switching stress. Moreover, the device loss and stress distribution on a phase leg is more even. This scheme also features on the simplified implementation. The improved switching characteristics for the proposed method are verified by double pulse tests. Also the system loss breakdown and the phase leg loss distribution analysis shows the loss reduction and redistribution result. The harmonic filter for the grid interface converter is designed with LCL topology. A detailed inductor current ripple analysis derives the maximum inductor current ripple and the ripple distribution in a line cycle. The inverter side inductor is designed with the optimum loss and size trade-off. The grid side inductor is designed based on grid code attenuation requirement. Different damping circuits for LCL filter are evaluated in detail. The filter design is verified by both simulation and hardware experiment. The average model for the 3-level NPC converter and its equivalent circuit is derived with the consideration of damping circuit in both ABC and d-q frame. The modeling and control loop design is verified by transfer function measurement on real hardware. The control loops design is also tested and verified on real hardware. The interleaved DC/DC chopper is introduced at last. The different interleaving methods and their current ripple are analyzed in detail with the coupled and non-coupled inductor. An integrated coupled inductor based on 3-dimentional core structure is proposed to achieve high power density and provide both CM and DM impedance for the inductor current and output current. / Ph. D.

Orientador: Alfeu Joãozinho Sguarezi Filho / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do ABC. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Engenharia Elétrica, 2013

In this dissertation, two high-frequency (HF) transformer isolated single-stage integrated ac-dc converters are proposed for a small scale permanent magnet synchronous generator (PMSG) based wind energy conversion system (WECS). These two types of single-stage integrated ac-dc converters include expected functions of HF isolation, power factor correction (PFC), and output regulation in one single-stage. Fixed-frequency phase-shift control and soft-switching operation are employed in both proposed ac-dc converters. After reviewing the literature and discussing pros and cons of the existing topologies, it is preferred that three identical single-phase single-stage integrated converters with interleaved connection configuration are suitable for the PMSG. For the single-phase converter, two new HF isolated single-stage integrated resonant ac-dc converters with fixed-frequency phase-shift control are proposed. The first proposed circuit is HF isolated single-stage integrated secondary-side controlled ac-dc converter. The other proposed circuit is HF isolated single-stage dual-tank LCL-type series resonant ac-dc converter, which brings better solutions compared to the first converter, such as high power factor and low total harmonic distortion (THD) at the ac input side. Approximate analysis approach and Fourier series methods are used to analyze these two proposed converters. Design examples for each one are given and designed converters are simulated using PSIM simulation package. Two experimental circuits are also built to verify the analysis and simulation. The simulated and experimental results reasonably match the theoretical analysis. Then the proposed HF isolated dual-tank LCL-type series resonant ac-dc converter is used for three-phase interleaved connection in order to satisfy requirements of PMSG based WECS. A design example for this three-phase interleaved configuration is given and simulated for validation under several operating conditions. / Graduate / 0544 / duyimian@uvic.ca

Using alternating current in order to heat batteries at sub-zero temperatures is a method,which is investigated in-depth by an increasing number of study groups. The thesis considersthe resonance phenomenon with the intention to use alternating current amplificationand battery’s impedance in order to induce power dissipation inside the battery, and in thisway increase its temperature. A battery cell is thereby modelled as an impedance transferfunction, estimated from electrochemical impedance spectroscopy measurements, whichare taken for a LiNi 13Mn13Co13O2 cell. Note that at 1 kHz and room temperature (20 ◦C),the ohmic resistance of the selected cell amounts to only 0.76m. Five resonant circuitsare investigated and one of them is selected for further investigation, and as a basis for afilter design. The chosen resonant circuit lead to an LCL filter with current magnification.The experimental setup used for conducting practical experiments, offers the possibilityof operating the voltage source converter both as a Full-bridge and as a Half-bridge, withand without current control. For each possible configuration, an LCL filter and a currentcontroller are designed, taking into account the corresponding limitations in frequency,current and controller voltage. The filter design is based on a multiobjective optimizationmethod used to determine filter components that yield the highest gain value for everyconfiguration. The method minimizes two objective functions in order to find an optimalsolution. The first objective is the reversed absolute value of the gain, whereas thesecond one is the absolute impedance of the circuit, consisting of the filter and batterycells. The gain is thereby defined as the ratio between the induced cell current and thecurrent entering the circuit. The obtained results of the proposed method are experimentallyvalidated. Depending on how the filters were physically designed and taking intoaccount the corresponding voltage source converter configuration, gains of 16 were experimentallyachieved. Finally, the three investigated configurations are compared againstthe reference case (Half-bridge voltage source converter with current control and a singleinductor) regarding their power efficiencies. The power measurements showed that despitehigh obtained gains, the overall filter power losses remained approximately in thesame range, compared to the power losses of the reference case. This is due to the factthat stray resistances of the designed LCL filters easily reached values of around 40m,which hindered an efficient power transfer with the chosen voltage source converter andthe used battery cells. This further indicates the importance of building filters with lowstray resistances and in this thesis, it represents a primary source of improvement. / Användandet av växelströ m fö r att värma upp batterier är en metod som fö r närvarande undersö ks av ett flertal forskargupper. Detta examensarbete fokuserar kring hur resonans kan nyttjas fö r att ö ka strö mfö rstärkningen och, pådetta sätt, ö ka effektutvecklingen i batteriet (av LiNi1/3Mn1/3Co1/3O2-typ). Battericellens impedans modelleras som en ö verfö ringsfunktion vars parametrar estimerats från tidigare genomfö rda impedansspektroskopimätningar. Vid 1 kHz och rumstemperatur är den cellens ohmska resistansen endast 0.76 mΩ. Fem mö jliga resonanta kretsar har undersö kts och en av dem valts ut fö r vidare undersö kningar. The utvalda kretsen är ett LCL-filter med vilken strö mfö rstärkning åstadkoms. Den experimentella uppställningen, i vilken praktiska test har genomfö rts, medger mö jligheten att nyttja den tillhö rande omriktaren både som en helbrygga och en halvbrygga, med och utan strö mreglering. Fö r varje mö jlig omriktarkonfiguration har ett LCL-filter och en strö mreglering tagits fram, med hänsyn tagen till uppställningens begränsningar i termer av frekvens, strö moch dc-spänningsnivå. Filtren är framtagna med hjälp av en multiobjektiv optimering vilken åstadkommer hö gsta strö mfö rstärkning mö jlig fö r varje omriktare och strö mregleringsval. Metoden minimerar tvåfunktioner fö r att finna en optimal lö sning. Den fö rsta funktionen beskriver inversen påströ mfö rstärkningen och den andra lastens (bestående av filter och tillhö rande battericell) impedans absolutbelopp. Den resulterande ö har validerats experimentellt och en strö mfö rstärkningsnivåpå 16 uppnåddes. Slutligen har de olika konfigurationerna jämfö rts i termer av verknings-grad. De genomfö rda effektmätningarna visar att trots att hö ga strö mfö rstärkningsnivåer var mö jliga såresulterade de associerade filterfö rlusterna till liknande verkningsgrader fö r alla studerade konfigurationer. Resultaten understryker fö rdelarna med hö geffektiva filtervilka representerar en mö jlig väg fö r vidare undersö kningar.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre a corrente de fuga de modo comum em inversores monofásicos sem transformador utilizados para a conexão de sistemas fotovoltaicos (FV) à rede de distribuição de energia elétrica. O estudo se concentra em inversores do tipo fonte de tensão que empregam a topologia em ponte completa. A partir da adequada modelagem do sistema (rede, conversor e módulo fotovoltaico) identifica-se e quantifica-se a contribuição das tensões de modo comum e modo diferencial para a corrente de fuga. Conclui-se que a tensão de modo comum de alta frequência produzida pelo inversor, que depende da estratégia de modulação por largura de pulso (PWM Pulse Width Modulation) empregada, fornece a maior contribuição para produção da corrente de fuga. Esse estudo mostra que os inversores sem transformador, com topologia em ponte completa e modulação que produz tensão de saída com três níveis, necessitam de medidas adicionais para a minimização da corrente fuga quando aplicados em sistemas fotovoltaicos conectados à rede. Algumas soluções propostas na literatura para a minimização da corrente de fuga baseadas em topologias modificadas e filtros de modo comum são listadas e discutidas. Neste trabalho é proposto um filtro integrado de modo comum e modo diferencial com amortecimento passivo de baixas perdas, para minimizar a corrente de fuga produzida por um inversor monofásico sem transformador. Um exemplo de aplicação do filtro proposto é apresentado juntamente com seu procedimento de projeto, resultados de simulação e experimentais que validam a proposta. Além disso, a influência da variação da indutância da rede elétrica e da capacitância parasita do sistema fotovoltaico no comportamento do filtro proposto é analisada. A influência da variação da indutância da rede no comportamento do sistema de controle e o impacto da corrente de modo comum no projeto dos indutores do lado do conversor também são analisados. / This paper presents a study on the common mode leakage current in single-phase transformerless inverters for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. The study focuses on voltage source inverters (VSI) employing the full-bridge topology. The common mode and differential mode voltages that contribute to the leakage current are identified and quantified from the analysis of the system model (utility grid, converter and PV module). The system model analysis shows that the high frequency common mode voltage produced by the inverter, which depends on the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) strategy, is the main source contributing to the leakage current. This work shows that transformerless inverters employing the full-bridge topology and a modulation strategy that produces a three-level output voltage require some leakage current minimization strategy when they are employed in grid-connected PV systems. Some solutions proposed in the literature for leakage current minimization based on modified topologies and common mode filters are listed and discussed. In this dissertation an integrated common and differential filter with low loss passive damping is proposed to minimize the leakage current produced by a single-phase transformerless PV inverter. An application example of the proposed filter is presented with design procedure, simulation and experimental results validating the proposal. Additionally, the influence of grid inductance and PV module parasitic capacitance variations on the behavior of the proposed filter is analyzed. The behavior of the control system considering the grid inductance variation and the impact of the common mode current on the converter side inductors design are also analyzed.

Este trabalho apresenta um estudo sobre a corrente de fuga de modo comum em inversores monofásicos sem transformador utilizados para a conexão de sistemas fotovoltaicos (FV) à rede de distribuição de energia elétrica. O estudo se concentra em inversores do tipo fonte de tensão que empregam a topologia em ponte completa. A partir da adequada modelagem do sistema (rede, conversor e módulo fotovoltaico) identifica-se e quantifica-se a contribuição das tensões de modo comum e modo diferencial para a corrente de fuga. Conclui-se que a tensão de modo comum de alta frequência produzida pelo inversor, que depende da estratégia de modulação por largura de pulso (PWM Pulse Width Modulation) empregada, fornece a maior contribuição para produção da corrente de fuga. Esse estudo mostra que os inversores sem transformador, com topologia em ponte completa e modulação que produz tensão de saída com três níveis, necessitam de medidas adicionais para a minimização da corrente fuga quando aplicados em sistemas fotovoltaicos conectados à rede. Algumas soluções propostas na literatura para a minimização da corrente de fuga baseadas em topologias modificadas e filtros de modo comum são listadas e discutidas. Neste trabalho é proposto um filtro integrado de modo comum e modo diferencial com amortecimento passivo de baixas perdas, para minimizar a corrente de fuga produzida por um inversor monofásico sem transformador. Um exemplo de aplicação do filtro proposto é apresentado juntamente com seu procedimento de projeto, resultados de simulação e experimentais que validam a proposta. Além disso, a influência da variação da indutância da rede elétrica e da capacitância parasita do sistema fotovoltaico no comportamento do filtro proposto é analisada. A influência da variação da indutância da rede no comportamento do sistema de controle e o impacto da corrente de modo comum no projeto dos indutores do lado do conversor também são analisados. / This paper presents a study on the common mode leakage current in single-phase transformerless inverters for grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) systems. The study focuses on voltage source inverters (VSI) employing the full-bridge topology. The common mode and differential mode voltages that contribute to the leakage current are identified and quantified from the analysis of the system model (utility grid, converter and PV module). The system model analysis shows that the high frequency common mode voltage produced by the inverter, which depends on the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) strategy, is the main source contributing to the leakage current. This work shows that transformerless inverters employing the full-bridge topology and a modulation strategy that produces a three-level output voltage require some leakage current minimization strategy when they are employed in grid-connected PV systems. Some solutions proposed in the literature for leakage current minimization based on modified topologies and common mode filters are listed and discussed. In this dissertation an integrated common and differential filter with low loss passive damping is proposed to minimize the leakage current produced by a single-phase transformerless PV inverter. An application example of the proposed filter is presented with design procedure, simulation and experimental results validating the proposal. Additionally, the influence of grid inductance and PV module parasitic capacitance variations on the behavior of the proposed filter is analyzed. The behavior of the control system considering the grid inductance variation and the impact of the common mode current on the converter side inductors design are also analyzed.

The necessity to incorporate renewable energy systems into existing electric power grid and need of efficient utilization of electrical energy are growing every day. A shunt connected Voltage Source Inverter(VSI) capable of bidirectional power flow and fast control has become one of the building block to address such requirements. However with growing number of grid connected VSI, new requirements related to harmonic injection, higher overall efficiency and better performances during short term grid disturbances have emerged as challenges. For this purpose a grid connected three phase four wire VSI with LCL filter can be considered as a general module to study different control approaches and system behavior under ideal and non-ideal grid conditions. This work focuses on achieving enhanced performance by analyzing effect of non-ideal conditions on system level and relating it to individual control blocks. In this work a phase locked loop structure has been proposed which is capable of extracting positive sequence fundamental phase information under non-ideal grid conditions. It can also be used in a single phase system without any structural modification. The current control for the three phase four wire VSI system has been implemented using Proportional Resonant (PR) controller in a per phase basis in stationary reference frame. A simplified controller design procedure based on asymptotic representation of the system transfer function is proposed. Using this method expressions for controller gains can be derived. A common mode model of the inverter system has been derived for low frequencies. Using this model a controller is designed to mitigate DC bus imbalance caused by sensor and ADC channel offsets. A multi-rate approach for digital implementation of PR controller with low resource consumption, that is suitable for an FPGA like digital controller ,is proposed. This multi-rate method can maintain resonance frequency accuracy even at low sampling frequency and can easily be frequency adaptive. Anti-wind up methods for PI controller have been studied to find suitable anti-wind up methods for PR controller. The tracking anti-wind up method is shown to be suitable for use with a PR controller. The effectiveness of this method under sudden disconnection and reconnection of VSI from grid is experimentally verified. A resonant integrator based second order filter is shown to be useful for active damping of LCL filter resonance with a wide range of grid inductance variation. The proposed method utilizes the LCL filter capacitor voltage to estimate resonance frequency current. Suitability of fundamental current PR controller for active damping alone, and with the proposed method show the superiority of the proposed method especially for low switching frequencies. Design oriented analysis of the above topics are included in the thesis. The theoretical understandings developed have been verified through experiments in the laboratory and can be readily implemented in industrial power electronic systems.

No description available.

IGBT based power converters acts as front end in the present day Adjustable Speed Drive (ASD). This offers many advantages and makes regenerative action possible. PWM rectifier operation produces electrically noisy DC bus on common mode basis. This results in higher ground current as compared to three phase diode bridge rectifier. Due to fast turn-ON and turn-OFF time of IGBT, the inverter output voltage dv/dt is high during switching transients and voltage waveform is rich in harmonics. As a result, in applications involving long cable the motor terminal voltage during the switching transient is as high as twice the applied voltage. This voltage stress reduces the life of insulation in motors. The high dv/dt output voltage applied at the motor terminal excites the parasitic capacitive coupling resulting in increased ground currents and causes Electric Discharge Machining (EDM) which reduces the life of motor bearings. The common mode voltage due to PWM rectifier and the inverter appear at the motor terminals exacerbating these problems. The common mode voltage due to PWM inverter with PWM rectifier is analyzed. An integrated approach for filter design is proposed wherein the adverse effects due to common mode voltage of both AFE converter and the inverter is addressed. The proposed topology addresses the problems of common mode voltage, common mode current and voltage doubling due to ASD. The design procedure for proposed filter topology is discussed with experimental results that validate the effectiveness of the filter. Inclusion of such higher order filter in the converter topology leads to problems such as resonance. Passive methods are investigated for damping the line resonance due to LCL filter and common mode resonance due to common mode filter. The need for active damping technique for resonance due to common mode filter is presented. State space based damping technique is proposed to effectively damp the resonance due to line filter and the common mode filter. Experimental results are presented that validate the effectiveness of active damping both on the line basis (differential mode) and line to ground basis (common mode) of the filter.

INTRODUCTION. Frontal collisions have been observed to cause the severe injuries on heavy goods vehicle occupants, and the lower extremities have been frequently injured. Injuries of knee joints are rarely life threatening, however they tend to give long-term consequences. AIM. Evaluate non-lethal frontal impacts towards the knee joint of Total Human Model for Safety (THUMS) v4.0 using a cylindrical barrier. The main objectives are to 1) create local injury risk functions of the knee ligaments restraining frontal impacts, 2) simulate frontal impacts towards the knee joints of THUMS and3) prepare the Hybrid III (HIII)-model for corresponding frontal impacts conducted on THUMS. The intention is for future HIII-simulations to be cross-correlated with the responses from THUMS for the ability to estimate knee ligament strains by investigating impacts on HIII. METHODS. 1) Ligament risk curves of PCL, MCL and LCL were formulated by assembling mean strain threshold values and standard deviations from literature. Virtual values were generated from these pooled strain thresholds, creating the risk curves. 2) THUMS lower body was impacted by a cylindrical steel barrier at four different locations - middle of patella, middle of knee joint, upper tibia and below tibia tuberositas. Four impact velocities ranging from 8-14 km/h were used at each location, giving a total of 16 impacts. 3) The HIII-model was prepared by removing the upper body and inserting the cylindrical steel barrier into the model file. RESULTS. The strain threshold at 50% rupture risk for PCL resulted in 23.6±4.4%, 34.2±6.0% for MCL and 26.6±6.5% for LCL. The simulated THUMS PCL strains reached between 36%-58% for the highest velocity at the impact locations where tibia was involved. Both MCL and LCL gave an approximate 5% strain outcome. The resultant knee displacement for these impacts ranged between 22 mm - 32 mm. The knee displacements at the PCL strain threshold ranged between 14 mm - 16 mm. DISCUSSION and CONCLUSION. Most of the maximal PCL strains exceeded the PCL threshold with large margins. However, the knee displacement at the PCL strain threshold resulted in outcomes comparable to the thresholds used for HIIImodel. These results supported the obtained PCL threshold to be within a reasonable range.