A new pulse-width modulation (PWM) scheme for modular structured multilevel voltage source inverter

• Published in: International journal of electronics Vol. 91; no. 4; pp. 211 - 226
• Main Authors: Aziz, J. A., Salam, Z.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Taylor & Francis Group 01-04-2004; Taylor & Francis
• Subjects: Applied sciences; Electrical engineering. Electrical power engineering; Exact sciences and technology; Power electronics, power supplies; Performance evaluation; Waveform; Inverter; Modular construction; Microcontroller; Symmetric configuration; Power electronics; Experimental study; Time voltage characteristic; Implementation; Experimental result; Voltage source; Fixed point theorem; Network topology; Switching time; Numerical simulation; Harmonic distortion; Pulse duration modulation; Mathematical model; Multilevel system
• ISSN: 0020-7217; 1362-3060
• DOI: 10.1080/00207210410001675644

This work proposes a new switching scheme for a particular multilevel topology, known as the modular structured multilevel inverter (MSMI). The proposed scheme is based on symmetric regular sampled unipolar PWM, with multiple modulating waveforms and a single carrier. Mathematical equations that define the PWM switching instants are derived. These equations are suitable for digital implementation. An experimental five-level MSMI test-rig is built to implement the proposed algorithm. The derived equations are implemented by a low-cost fixed-point microcontroller. Several tests to quantify the performance of the inverter under the proposed modulation scheme are carried out.