Cross connected multilevel voltage source inverter topologies for medium voltage applications

Multilevel voltage source inverters where first introduced in the early 1980s. Since then, they have been continuously developed, offering a wide new research area in power electronics. The popularity of multilevel solutions come from the advantages that they offer: improved output quality, voltage sharing in high voltage applications, increased power density or reduction of filtering costs. Two completely new and innovative cross-connected topological families for advanced multilevel voltage source inverters are introduced in this thesis. The motivation for this work stems out from the need to generate multiple output levels while keeping the reliability as high as possible. The offered solutions are able to address the problematic, but of course they do not come without a price: A higher control complexity and more semiconductor blocking voltage capability are necessary in the design of such advanced converters. The Cross Connected Intermediate Level (CCIL) Voltage Source Inverter is the first of the two new topologies presented here. It is built as a cascade of stages using capacitors which are connected to each other by means of cross connected cell structures. The CCIL can be used in several configurations, like redundant or non-redundant switching state configurations for instance. A graphical model based on the physical properties of the inverter is proposed and an original fuzzy logic controller is designed for the balancing of the capacitor voltages and modulation of the inverter. The control algorithm is implemented and verified in simulations. The results are used to benchmark the topology against standard solutions and the conclusions are used to define what applications could benefit from such a converter structure. The Common Cross Connected Stage (CCCS) Voltage Source Inverter is the second original contribution of this work in terms of topology. It is built using the cross connected stage and its capacitor in a common configuration for the three phases of the inverter. Such a design allows to use only one stage per three phases. Because of the intrinsic three phased properties of this topology, a model based on space phasor representation is introduced. With the help of this model, a novel space phasor modulation strategy is derived and proposed. It allows to generate the three phased output voltages while using the available redundancies for balancing of the capacitor voltages. The resulting algorithm is first implemented and tested in simulation, and in a second step a test setup is built and the modulator is coded in VHDL. The simulation and experimental results obtained validate the topology and control concepts. A benchmarking of the CCCS solution is also done to understand what are the benefits and drawbacks of this solution. Analysis and comparison of the new topologies allow to evaluate in an objective way the contributions brought by this work. It is found that the newly proposed solutions cover an area of multilevel inverters where not so many solutions were available prior to this work: Generation of multiple output levels with reduced number of passive and active components (thus increasing the reliability). The drawback is a higher blocking voltage requirement. Conclusions and case study are proposed to help assess the expected performances and choose the most suitable solutions for given applications.

Symmetrical multilevel converters with two quadrant DC-DC feeding

In the technology sector of power electronics and control, the multilevel converter technology is still a rather new research area, but the application possibilities in the field of power drives and energy will demand more solutions with this promising technology. In the future, more converter systems will be realized with the multilevel topology. Up to now, multilevel converters have only been used in very particular applications, mainly due to the high costs and complexity of the multilevel converter system. The high costs are due to the fact that the latest technology on semiconductors, magnetic material for inductor and transformer cores and control system technology had to be used. But nowadays new developments in the fields of power semiconductors such as the IGBT, IGCT and perhaps in the future SiC switches as well as improvements of the performance of magnetic cores used in medium frequency transformers will favor the multilevel converters for many other application fields. It can be noted that the industrial trend is moving away from heavy and bulky passive components towards power converter systems using more and more semiconductor elements controlled by powerful processor systems integrating intelligent multi-task control algorithms. The presented work is a contribution to the large field of multilevel converters. It shows a certain kind of multilevel converter in a single phase and a three-phase configuration, called the series-connected four-quadrant converters (SCFQ). The two specialties of the presented converter type are a) that all the multilevel converter steps are fed by an identical DC voltage and b) that every multilevel converter step is realized with an individual AC-DC converter or four-quadrant converter. This type of multilevel converter is called multilevel converter with symmetrical feeding. In this work, a general theoretical development has been done for the use of this multilevel converter type. A special type of DC-DC converter is presented, in order to feed the individual four-quadrant converters of the multilevel converter with a constant DC voltage. All the developments and methods used are based on mathematical expressions. Various simulations using the latest software simulation tools are accomplished and are used to study different cases. The feasibility of the developments is underlined with a series of experimental results with all types of the used converters, which have been realized in the framework of this thesis. The main application for the multilevel converter presented in this work is the frontend power converter in locomotives. Instead of using a heavy low-frequency transformer to reduce the high-voltage from the catenary to a supportable voltage for the semiconductors, a multilevel converter concept is used. The multilevel converter is directly coupled to the catenary. There are many advantages compared to the existing solutions. In the same context, a novel solution of a multilevel converter has been developed for a locomotive usable on different power lines. The converter allows not only the operation on the high AC voltage power line (15kV), but also can be coupled to a medium-voltage DC power line (3kV). Three different configuration types of the locomotive converter have been developed and tested in a complex simulation environment. Besides the locomotive application, there are many more interesting applications for the symmetrical multilevel converter, e.g. in the fields of energy transmission (FACTS, static VAR compensators, electronic high-voltage transformers, etc.) and industrial drives. But certainly in the future with the availability of cheap semiconductors adapted to the needs of the multilevel converter, even more applications in lower power fields will be realized.

EPFL2000

Nouveaux mécanismes de commutation pour des structures dédiées aux convertisseurs de puissance de haute efficacité et interrupteurs du futur

Daniel Siemaszko

Nowadays, the scarcity of cheap energy sources requires a particular effort in optimizing the performance of all conversions. The electric power vector is particulary expected to grow in importance, in conjunction with the development of renewable energy sources. Research in the field of power electronics considers several aspects, including conversion topologies, command strategy as well as the structure and performance of power switches. This work focusses on the power component and the study of dedicated power converting structures. One goal is the use of active switches to replace elements with spontaneous behaviors presenting dissipative phenomena, in order to attempt to reduce switching and conduction losses. Indeed, several works introduce bidirectional monolithic switches adopting new structures, and predict high efficiency components in the near future. On the other hand, the emergence of components without spontaneous properties leads to a redefinition of switching mechanisms in power converters in order to enable the replacement of diodes by active devices. One aspect of this work is the investigation of a close control system including the detection of zero-crossings based on the measurement of both voltage and current in bidirectional switches. A voltage-current representation for the exploitation of experimental results is provided in order to allow for comparison with theoretical behaviors. Several material and internal structure types of components are compared in terms of switching performances. The concept of automatic switching was recently introduced to describe mechanisms based on the detection of non-compliant situations in the switching cell, namely the short-circuit of a voltage source and the opening of a current source. The proposal of applying a new control strategy allows to compensate for the absence of spontaneous extinction. Where sources of a classic switching cell are in a situation of energy exchange or isolation, a third state appears in which source values (converter input/output currents and voltages) are subject to fast changes. The use of passive elements becomes compulsory in order to allow a limitation in the theoretical infinite variations of source values. An intelligent close control system allowing a bidirectional component to switch its state on the basis of measurements of both current and voltage was designed and implemented. An automatic diode with synthesized spontaneous switching functions was studied and experimented for the validation of the proposed self-switching mechanisms model including passive circuits. The use of bidirectional switches allows the extension of conventional converter topologies to new modes of operation. This work presents the modification of a current converter topology traditionally implemented with thyristors, to allow for compensation of reactive power. The spontaneous extinction of thyristors is replaced by a controlled extinction which becomes independent of the polarity of source values. However, the forced opening of the input line inductors current path requires to be absorbed by an input filter whose study is proposed in this work.

EPFL2009

Investigation and control of a hybrid asymmetric multi-level inverter for medium-voltage applications

Martin Veenstra

Power-electronic inverters are becoming popular for various industrial drives applications. In recent years also high-power and medium-voltage drive applications have been installed. However, the existing solutions suffer from some important drawbacks. Hybrid asymmetric multi-level inverters promise significant improvements for medium-voltage applications. This dissertation investigates such a hybrid inverter. To simplify the topology, some inverter parts are deprived of their feeding from the net and can only supply reactive power. The non-supplied intermediate-circuit capacitor voltages are inherently unstable and require a suitable control method for converter operation, preferably without influence on the load. Apart from normal operation, also converter start-up is an issue to consider, for which it is desirable to limit additional equipment. In this dissertation, we investigate the behaviour of this new inverter, and develop methods to obtain its reliable operation for the considered applications. These methods include modulation, voltage stabilization and start-up. We establish suitable models for their foundation. The principle achievement of this work is the development of a control method to stabilize a multitude of capacitor voltages which have no equilibrium state. Power balancing is performed by varying the common-mode output voltage, using a non-linear model-predictive controller. This method, which is new to power electronics, is applied to our hybrid asymmetric nine-level inverter driving an asynchronous motor. Computer simulations and measurements on an experimental drive system demonstrate stable behaviour in steady-state and during transients over the whole operating range. The obtained results prove the possible implementation of such a complex control algorithm for fast real-time operation. As second important accomplishment, this thesis proposes a start-up method that charges the non-supplied intermediate-circuit capacitors in parallel with the supplied ones, without additional equipment. Measurements show its successful application in the investigated drive system.

EPFL2003