Fang Zheng Peng

Multilevel converters for large electric drives

This paper presents transformerless multilevel power converters as an application for high-power and/or high-voltage electric motor drives. Multilevel converters: (1) can generate near-sinusoidal voltages with only fundamental frequency switching; (2) have almost no electromagnetic interference or common-mode voltage; and (3) are suitable for large voltampere-rated motor drives and high voltages. The cascade inverter is a natural fit for large automotive all-electric drives because it uses several levels of DC voltage sources, which would be available from batteries or fuel cells. The back-to-back diode-clamped converter is ideal where a source of AC voltage is available, such as in a hybrid electric vehicle. Simulation and experimental results show the superiority of these two converters over two-level pulsewidth-modulation-based drives.

A multilevel voltage-source inverter with separate DC sources for static VAr generation

A new multilevel voltage-source inverter with separate DC sources is proposed for high-voltage, high power applications, such as flexible AC transmission systems (FACTS) including static VAr generation (SVG), power line conditioning, series compensation, phase shifting, voltage balancing, fuel cell and photovoltaic utility systems interfacing, etc. The new M-level inverter consists of (M-1)/2 single phase full bridges in which each bridge has its own separate DC source. This inverter can generate almost sinusoidal waveform voltage with only one time switching per cycle as the number of levels increases. It can solve the problems of conventional transformer-based multipulse inverters and the problems of the multilevel diode-clamped inverter and the multilevel living capacitor inverter. To demonstrate the superiority of the new inverter, a SVG system using the new inverter topology is discussed through analysis, simulation and experiment.

A new approach to harmonic compensation in power systems-a combined system of shunt passive and series active filters

A novel approach to compensate for harmonics in power systems is proposed. The approach differs from conventional passive and active filters in its compensation principle. A practical system configuration to implement the approach is presented. It consists of a small-VA-rating PWM (pulsewidth-modulated) converter and a passive filter. The compensation principle is described, and compensation characteristics are examined theoretically and experimentally. The practicability and validity of the approach are experimentally demonstrated.<<ETX>>

Generalized instantaneous reactive power theory for three-phase power systems

A generalized theory of instantaneous reactive power for three-phase power systems is proposed in this paper. This theory gives a generalized definition of instantaneous reactive power, which is valid for sinusoidal or nonsinusoidal, balanced or unbalanced, three- phase power systems with or without zero-sequence currents and/or voltages. The properties and physical meanings of the newly defined instantaneous reactive power are discussed in detail. With this new reactive power theory, it is very easy to calculate and decompose all components, such as fundamental active/reactive power and current, harmonic current, etc. Reactive power and/or harmonic compensation systems for a three-phase distorted power system with and without zero-sequence components in the source voltage and/or load current are then used as examples to demonstrate the measurement, decomposition, and compensation of reactive power and harmonics.

Z-source inverter

This paper presents an impedance-source (or impedance-fed) power converter (abbreviated as Z-source converter) and its control method for implementing DC-to-AC, AC-to-DC, AC-to-AC, and DC-to-DC power conversion. The Z-source converter employs a unique impedance network (or circuit) to couple the converter main circuit to the power source, thus providing unique features that cannot be obtained in the traditional voltage-source (or voltage-fed) and current-source (or current-fed) converters where a capacitor and inductor are used respectively. The Z-source converter overcomes the conceptual and theoretical barriers and limitations of the traditional voltage-source converter (abbreviated as V-source converter) and current-source converter (abbreviated as I-source converter) and provides a novel power conversion concept. The Z-source concept can be applied to all DC-to-AC, AC-to-DC, AC-to-AC, and DC-to-DC power conversion. To describe the operating principle and control, this paper focuses on an example: a Z-source inverter for DC-AC power conversion needed in fuel cell applications. Simulation and experimental results are presented to demonstrate the new features.

Four quasi-Z-Source inverters

In this paper, theoretical results are shown for several novel inverters. These inverters are similar to the Z-source inverters presented in previous works, but have several advantages, including in some combination; lower component ratings, reduced source stress, reduced component count and simplified control strategies. Like the Z-source inverter, these inverters are particularly suited for applications which require a large range of gain, such as in motor controllers or renewable energy. Simulation and experimental results are shown for one topology to verify the analysis. Also, a back-to-back inverter system featuring bidirectionality on both inverters, as well as secondary energy storage with only a single additional switch, is shown.

Constant boost control of the Z-source inverter to minimize current ripple and voltage stress

This paper proposes two constant boost-control methods for the Z-source inverter, which can obtain maximum voltage gain at any given modulation index without producing any low-frequency ripple that is related to the output frequency and minimize the voltage stress at the same time. Thus, the Z-network requirement will be independent of the output frequency and determined only by the switching frequency. The relationship of voltage gain to modulation index is analyzed in detail and verified by simulation and experiments.

Application issues of active power filters

In this article, common nonlinear loads have been characterized into two types of harmonic sources, current-source type of harmonic source and voltage-source type of harmonic source. Compensation characteristics of both parallel active filters and series active filters have been discussed analytically and experimentally for these two types of harmonic sources. The corresponding required operation conditions, features, application issues, and adaptive harmonic sources of both filters have been presented. The fact that the traditional active filter, the parallel active filter, is not a panacea to harmonic compensation, and that one cannot use it blindly, has been clearly addressed. The parallel active filter will increase harmonic current and may cause overcurrent of the load when the load is a harmonic voltage source. Instead, it has been verified that the series active filter is better suited for compensation of a harmonic voltage source such as a diode rectifier with smoothing DC capacitor. The conclusions of this article also imply that when a parallel active filter is installed in a power system network such as at a point of common coupling, the network impedance and main harmonic sources downstream from the installation point should be investigated in order to get good performance and to minimize influence to the loads downstream. In some cases, a combined system of parallel active filter and series active filter may be necessary by utilizing the harmonic isolation function of the series active filters. No doubt active filters are superior to passive filters if used in their niche applications.

A novel ZVS-ZCS bidirectional DC-DC converter for fuel cell and battery application

This paper presents a new zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) bidirectional dc-dc converter. Compared to the traditional full and half bridge bidirectional dc-dc converters for the similar applications, the new topology has the advantages of simple circuit topology with no total device rating (TDR) penalty, soft-switching implementation without additional devices, high efficiency and simple control. These advantages make the new converter promising for medium and high power applications especially for auxiliary power supply in fuel cell vehicles and power generation where the high power density, low cost, lightweight and high reliability power converters are required. The operating principle, theoretical analysis, and design guidelines are provided in this paper. The simulation and the experimental verifications are also presented.

Robust speed identification for speed sensorless vector control of induction motors

An approach to estimating induction motor speed from measured terminal voltages and currents for speed-sensorless vector control is described. The proposed technique is very simple and robust to variations of motor parameters. This approach is not dependent upon the knowledge of the value of the stator resistance, nor is it affected by stator-resistance thermal variations. Pure integration of sensed variables, in principle, is not required. Therefore, this method can achieve much wider bandwidth speed control than previous tacholess drives. The effectiveness of the technique is verified by simulation and experiment.<<ETX>>