Switched-capacitor multilevel inverters for high frequency AC microgrids

• Published in: 2017 IEEE Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition (APEC) pp. 2559 - 2564
• Main Authors: Raman, S. Raghu, Yuanmao Ye, Cheng, K. W. Eric
• Format: Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: IEEE 01-03-2017
• Subjects: Capacitors; Inverters; Microgrids; Renewable energy sources; Switches; Topology; Transistors
• ISSN: 2470-6647
• DOI: 10.1109/APEC.2017.7931058

This paper proposes a novel topology of a switched-capacitor multilevel inverter for high frequency AC microgrids. It employs multiple DC sources which make it ideal to be employed in renewable energy sources based AC microgrids. With the proliferation in renewable energy based solar and wind farms, such multi-input topologies gain tremendous potential. Switched-capacitor based DC-DC converter in the front end produces multiple levels at the DC bus. Further, the H-bridge inverter obtains corresponding bipolar levels and a zero level at the output. The problem of capacitor voltage balancing is inherently solved as the capacitors are charged to the input voltage every cycle. Working principle and primary analysis of the topology are presented. Simulation outcomes are validated with experimental results at different distribution frequencies and power levels.