IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 22, NO.

6, NOVEMBER 2007

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High-Power Machine Drive, Using Nonredundant

27-Level Inverters and Active Front End Rectifiers
Juan Dixon, Senior Member, IEEE, Alberto A. Bretn, Felipe E. Ros, Jos Rodrguez, Senior Member, IEEE,
Jorge Pontt, Senior Member, IEEE, and Marcelo A. Prez, Member, IEEE

AbstractA nonredundant 27-level inverter using H converters is being analyzed for high power machine drive applications. The main advantage of this kind of converter is the minimum
harmonic distortion obtained at the machine side. The drawbacks
are the large number of isolated dc power supplies required for
each one of the three stages of the multistage converter. In this
paper this problem has been overcome in two ways: 1) by using
independent windings for each phase of the motor and 2) by
using independent input transformers. Special configurations and
combinations of diode rectifiers and active front end rectifiers
for one of the stages of the drive are used to eliminate input harmonics. The topology can also keep high power factor at the input
terminals. Simulation results are shown and some experiments
with small three-stage prototype are displayed. The control of this
multiconverter is being implemented using DSP controllers, which
give flexibility to the system.
Index TermsHigh-power applications, multilevel inverters,
power drives.

I. INTRODUCTION

OWER electronic devices contribute with important part

of harmonics in all kinds of applications, such as power
rectifiers, thyristor converters, and static var compensators
(SVC). On the other hand, the pulsewidth modulation (PWM)
techniques used today to control modern static converters such
as high power machine drives, strongly depend on the switching
frequency of the power semiconductors. Normally, voltage (or
current in dual devices) moves to discrete values, forcing the
design of machines with good isolation, and sometimes loads
with inductances higher than the required design value. In
other words, neither voltage nor current are as expected. This
also means harmonic contamination, additional power losses,
pulsating torques, and high frequency noise that can affect the
controllers. All these reasons have generated intensive research
works on the topic of PWM modulation [1][4]. More recently,
multilevel converters [5][8] have permitted having many
levels or voltage steps to reduce the THD levels. Multilevel
converters offer new solutions for high-power applications,

Fig. 1. Three-level module for building multistage converters.

where reliability and performance are very important, enabling

reduced harmonic interaction at the network and at the load
side. In addition multilevel converter produce lower voltage
stress at the power semiconductor switches [8].
A three-stage converter using H power modules, which
gives 27 different levels of voltage amplitude is studied [9],
[10]. This kind of converters work more like amplitude modulation rather than pulse modulation [11], [12], and hence the
converter output is very much cleaner. This way of operation
allows having almost perfect currents, and very good voltage
waveforms, eliminating most of the undesirable harmonics at
the machine side. The output bridges of each converter work
at a very low switching frequency, which gives the possibility
of working with low speed semiconductors and low switching
losses. However, the drawback of this topology is that the
complete drive requires nine isolated dc power supplies, where
six of them have to be with power reversal capability. This
paper shows that these nine dc power supplies can be reduced
to only one high power dc source (which manages 80% of the
total power), three bi-directional, medium power dc supplies,
and three very small unidirectional power supplies. The current
and voltage waveforms for a standard 4 kV, 2 MW induction
machine are simulated. There are also some experiments with
a small laboratory prototype, using a three-stage three-phase
converter.
II. BASICS OF MULTISTAGE CONVERTERS

Manuscript received December 13, 2006; revised March 16, 2007. This work
was supported by CONICYT under Projects Fondecyt 1050683 and Fondecyt
1070751, and MIDEPLAN, Chile, under Project Millennium Nucleus Industrial
Electronics and Mechatronics. Recommended for publication by Associate Editor B. Wu.
J. Dixon, A. A. Bretn, and F. E. Ros are with the Department of Electrical
Engineering, Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile, Santiago, Chile (e-mail:
[email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]).
J. Rodrguez, J. Pontt, and M. A. Prez are with the Department of Electronics, Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara, Valparaso, Chile (e-mail:
[email protected]).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/TPEL.2007.909276

A. Basic Principle
The circuit of Fig. 1 shows the basic topology of one converter
used for the implementation of multistage converters. It is based
on the simple, four switches converter, used for single phase
inverters or for dual converters. These converters are able to
,
, and
produce three levels of voltage in the load:
Zero.
Fig. 2 displays the main components of a three-stage converter which is being analyzed in this work. The figure only

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Fig. 2. Main components of the three-stage converter.

shows one of the three phases of the complete system. As can be

seen, the dc power supplies of the three converters are isolated,
and the dc supplies are scaled with levels of voltage in power
of three. The scaling of voltages to the power of three, allows
different levels of
having, with only three converters, 27
voltage: 13 levels of positive values, 13 levels of negative values,
and zero. The converter located at the top of the figure has the
biggest voltage, and will be called Main Converter. The other
two modules will be the Auxiliary Converters. The main works
at a lower switching frequency and carries more than 80% of the
total power, which is an additional advantage of this topology
for high-power machine drives applications.
With 27 levels of voltage, a three-stage converter can follow
a sinusoidal waveform in a very precise way. It can control the
load voltage as an Amplitude Modulation (AM) device. Fig. 3
shows the output voltage of each stage of Fig. 2 and the total
voltage applied to the machine. The switching patterns are obtained using round modulation, which selects the output voltage
nearest to the reference voltage.
The modulation signal (normalized reference voltage) is mul,
tiply by the number of positive levels
and using the round function an index in the range from 13 to
13 is obtained. This index is used in a lookup table to select
the switching states of each inverter.
B. Power Distribution
One of the good advantages of the strategy described here
for multistage converters is that most of the power delivered
to the machine comes from the Main Converter. Fig. 4 shows
the power distribution in each stage in terms of the modulation
index. At nominal output power the Main Converter brings more
than the 80% of the total power. The power magnitude of Aux.
1 never surpasses 15% of the total power. The same happens
with Aux 2, where the power magnitude never reaches values

IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, VOL. 22, NO. 6, NOVEMBER 2007

Fig. 3. Output voltage in each stage and total output voltage.

Fig. 4. Active power distribution in a three-stage converter.

higher than 3%. The dc power sources required by each stage

are proportional to this distribution. This characteristic allows
to feed the Auxiliary Converters with low power dc supplies.
However, as in some levels of voltage regulation the power goes
through the system, requiring bi-directional sources. There are
three solutions for this problem: 1) active front-end rectifiers,
2) bi-directional dc-dc power supplies, or 3) passive rectifiers
with dissipative resistors. In the latter case it will be required to
evaluate the power losses.

DIXON et al.: HIGH-POWER MACHINE DRIVE, USING NONREDUNDANT 27-LEVEL INVERTERS

2529

Fig. 6. Multistage converter with Independent Windings topology (IW

topology).
Fig. 5. Multistage converter with Neutral Connected topology (NC topology)
for high power drives.

Another attribute of this configuration, which is possible to

see in Fig. 3, is the very low switching frequency of each converter, specially the main, which carries most of the power.
Then, the larger the power of the unit, the lower its switching
frequency. In the case analyzed here, the main has been implemented with GTOs, and the aux. with IGBTs.
III. INPUT POWER TOPOLOGY
As it was already mentioned, isolated power supplies for each
converter are required. In Fig. 5, the electrical schematic of the
complete power part including rectifiers and inverters is displayed. The three mains are fed with standard rectifiers, each
one in 6-pulse configuration. These rectifiers are isolated from
the supply by a four winding transformer, to create three secondary voltage systems, one for each of the three mains, and
, 0 , and
. With this configuration, a very
shifted in
low harmonic distortion from the mains point of view is obtained [13].
Each one of the first aux. (Aux. 1 A, B, and C in Fig. 5),
needs bidirectional power supplies because at some low voltage
operation the power goes from the machine to the mains. To
solve this problem, three PWM active rectifiers are used. The
advantage of using this type of rectifier at this stage is that they
work as a power factor compensator as well as active power fil-

ters from the mains point of view, making allowance for almost
perfect current waveforms at the supply side.
Finally, the second aux. (Aux. 2 A, B, and C in Fig. 5),
are fed with simple Graetz bridges with dissipative resistors,
which are necessary when the machine operates with very low
voltage (less than 15%) during starting. However, they can also
be implemented with PWM rectifiers like Aux. 1.
The drawback of the NC topology is that the power rectifiers
of the mains need a good filter at the dc link, because each main
represents a single-phase load. To avoid this problem, the three
mains can be fed in parallel, keeping the transformer configuration with the rectifiers connected in series as shown in Fig. 6.
Using this parallel configuration the dc voltage ripple is reduced
because the load fed by the main rectifiers is a three-phase load
instead of standard single-phase load. The smaller dc voltage
ripple improve the quality of output voltage and input current
and requires a smaller dc capacitor. However, the three windings
of the machine have to be fed independently (no electrical connection between them). This is not uncommon because many
machines are built with three independent windings because this
characteristics allow to connect the motor in delta or wye connection.
IV. SIMULATED WAVEFORMS
The following simulations were performed using PSIM, a
special simulator for power electronics circuits [15]. The ma-

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Fig. 9. Input currents for both topologies (a) NC topology and (b) IW topology.

Fig. 7. NC topology (a) converter voltage and output current, (b) phase-tophase voltage and output current, and (c) phase-to-motor neutral voltage and
output current.

Fig. 10. Output voltage THD in terms of modulation index for three-stage converter.

Fig. 8. DC voltages for both topologies.

chine is a 2 MW, 4 kV induction motor, with

. For
this simulation the frequency and the slip of the machine have
been kept constant. Fig. 7 shows the output voltages and the
motor current produced by the three-stage converter with the
NC topology. The converter output voltage, the phase-to-phase
voltage, the phase-to-motor neutral voltage, and the motor
current are displayed. In the case of independent windings
topology, the output voltage of the three-stage converter is the
same as the phase-voltage of the machine, because the windings
are independent and isolated.
The main advantage of IW topology is the reduced ripple in
the dc voltage because the current comes from a three-phase
load instead of a single-phase load in the NC topology. Fig. 8
shows the dc voltages for both topologies and clearly shows this
effect. Also, when the dc voltage has a lower ripple the input
current is improved like shows Fig. 9, where the input current
of the IW topology is almost sinusoidal.

The output voltage presents a very low Total Harmonic Distortion, but when the modulation index is decreased the distortion grows. Fig. 10 shows the output voltage THD of a threestage converters in terms of modulation index. The THD is less
than 5% at 50% of modulation. It can be noticed that the current remains almost sinusoidal even with 25% voltage amplitude, without the need of PWM modulation.
Interestingly, THD produced by low modulation index (i.e.,
) has low frequency components like shows Fig. 11.
This feature is characteristic of round modulation, instead of
PWM modulation where the frequency components are mainly
at the switching frequency.
It is also important to show the power distribution in each
stage of the power converter, particularly in some cases where
the power is reversed with the voltage variations. Fig. 12 shows
when both Aux. 1 and Aux. 2 are
the particular case
returning power from the motor to the system. This reason justifies the fact of using active front end rectifiers at the first Aux.
level and dissipative rectifiers at the second Aux., otherwise,
the power could not be returned to the mains charging the dc
capacitors and increasing the dc voltage. These higher dc voltages does not have the power of three relationship reducing the
output voltage quality and also they can cause damage to the
equipment.

DIXON et al.: HIGH-POWER MACHINE DRIVE, USING NONREDUNDANT 27-LEVEL INVERTERS

2531

Fig. 13. Voltage steps waveforms in a three-stage converter.

Fig. 11. Machine at 10% of output voltage (a) output voltage and load current
and
waveform and (b) frequency components of output voltage
load current
.

(THD = 28%)

(THD = 5%)

Fig. 14. Single-phase current and three-phase voltages.

Fig. 15. Three-stage multistage converter prototype.

m = 0 62

Fig. 12. Power distribution in the three stages of the converter at

:
. (a)
Main (mean power 300 kW), (b) Aux. 1 (mean power 25 kW), and (c) Aux.
2 (mean power 10 kW).

V. EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
An experimental converter prototype feed a 5 kW, 4-pole induction machine load with 0.84 power factor, the phase to neutral voltage is 110 V and the nominal current is 10 A. Fig. 13
shows the output voltage steps waveforms obtained with experimental prototype.
Fig. 14 shows the voltages of the three phases, and the current
in one of them. It is noticed that the current is almost sinusoidal.

The prototype used for the experiments is shown in Fig. 15. It

was built using H bridges modules of IGBTs. As these modules have their base plate electrically isolated, only one heatsink
was required for all the modules of the three phases.
The experimental results justify the research with this kind
of converter because, as was shown in Figs. 5 and 6, they are
specially suited for very large machine drives, which can be
implemented with GTOs or IGCTs at the main level, and with
IGBTs at the auxiliary levels. The low distortion voltage at the
machine windings contributes also to mitigate EMC/EMI issues
related with the commutation of power semiconductors [14] and
voltage stress of the winding coils. The apparent complexity of
the input transformer and multiple components are not difficult

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issues to be solved, which in the authors opinion are well compensated with the better reliability and performance needed for
medium and high-power drives.
VI. CONCLUSION
A three-stage inverter for high-power machine drive applications, using H converters has been analyzed. As this converter generates 27 levels of voltage, the machine current becomes almost perfectly sinusoidal. However, the need of isolated and bidirectional dc power supplies, required for each one
of the three stages of the multistage converter, represent the
main drawback. To overcome this problem, the paper has proposed three associated solutions: a) passive rectifiers at the Main
level (which manages more than 80% of the power), b) active
front-end PWM rectifiers at the Aux. 1 level (which manage
around 15% of the power and act as power filter and var compensator), and c) passive rectifiers with dissipative power resistors
during very low voltage operation at the Aux. 2 level (only 3%
of the total power). Some computer simulations were performed
and some experiments, with a small three-stage prototype, were
displayed.
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[5] A. Draou, M. Benghanen, and A. Tahri, Multilevel converters and
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[15] Powersim Technologies, PSIM Version 4.1, Power Electronics Simulations, User Manual Powersim Technologies. Vancouver, BC, Canada
[Online]. Available: http://www.powersimtech.com
Juan Dixon (SM95) was born in Santiago, Chile. He
received the Degree in electrical engineering from the
Universidad de Chile, Santiago, in 1977. He also received the Ms.Eng. and the Ph.D. degreed, both from
McGill University, Montreal, PQ, Canada, in 1986,
and 1988, respectively.
In 1976, he was working with the State Transportation Company in charge of trolleybuses operation.
In 1977 and 1978, he worked at the Chilean Railways Company. Since 1979, he has been with the
Electrical Engineering Department, Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Chile, where he is presently Professor. He has presented
more than 70 works in International Conferences and has published more than
30 papers related to power electronics in IEEE Transactions and IEE Proceedings. His main areas of interests are in electric traction, power converters, PWM
rectifiers, active power filters, power factor compensators, and multilevel and
multistage converters. He has done consulting work related with trolleybuses,
traction substations, machine drives, hybrid electric vehicles, and electric
railways. He has created an Electric Vehicle Laboratory where he has built
state-of-the-art vehicles using brushless-dc machines with ultracapacitors and
high specific energy batteries. Recently, he has started research in distributed
generation and power generation using renewable energy sources.

Alberto A. Bretn received the electrical engineering degree from Pontificia Universidad Catlica
de Chile, Santiago, Chile, in 2003.

Felipe E. Ros received the electrical engineering degree from Pontificia Universidad Catlica de Chile,
Santiago, Chile, in 2003.

Jos Rodrguez (SM95) received the Engineer and

the Dr.-Ing degrees from the University Federico
Santa Maria, Chile, and the University of Erlangen,
Germany, in 1977 and 1985, respectively, both in
electrical engineering.
Since 1977, he has been with the University Federico Santa Mara, Valparaso, Chile. He is currently
Professor and Rector of the same university. During
his sabbatical leave in 1996, he was responsible
for the mining division ofthe Siemens Corporation
in Chile. He has a large consulting experience in
the mining industry, especially in the application of large drives like cycloconverter-fed synchronous motors for SAG mills, high power conveyors,
controlled drives for shovels, and power quality issues. His research interests
are mainly in the area of power electronics and electrical drives. His main
research interests are in multilevel inverters and new converter topologies. He
has authored and co-authored more than 130 refereed journal and conference
papers and contributed to one chapter in the Power Electronics Handbook (New
York: Academic, 2007).

DIXON et al.: HIGH-POWER MACHINE DRIVE, USING NONREDUNDANT 27-LEVEL INVERTERS

Jorge Pontt (M00SM04) received the Engineer

and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from
the Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara
(UTFSM), Valparaso, Chile, in 1977.
Since 1977, he has been Professor with UTFSM
where he works with the Power Electronics Group in
the Electronics Engineering Department, with R&D,
and the Graduate Program. He is Director of the Laboratory for Reliability and Power Quality (LACSE).
He is coauthor of the software Harmonix used in harmonic studies in electrical systems. He is coauthor of
patent applications concerning innovative instrumentation systems employed in
high-power converters and large grinding mill drives. He has authored more than
90 international refereed journal and conference papers. He is a Consultant to the
mining industry, in particular, the design and application of power electronics,
drives, instrumentation systems, and power quality issues, with management of
more than 80 consulting and R&D projects. He has had scientific stays at the
Technische Hochschule Darmstadt (19791980), the University of Wuppertal
(1990), and the University of Karlsruhe (20002001), all in Germany. He is currently the Director of the Nucleus for Industrial Electronics and Mechatronics,
UTFSM. He has contributed to the foundation of two spin-off knowledge-based
companies. His research interests are high-power converter and drives, power
quality, and safety and productivity in mineral processing.

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Marcelo A. Prez (M07) was born in Concepcin,

Chile, in 1976. He received the Engineer degree in
electronic engineering, the M.Sc. degree in electrical
engineering, and the D.Sc. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Concepcin in 2000,
2003, and 2006, respectively.
Currently he holds a postdoctoral position at
the Universidad Tcnica Federico Santa Mara,
researching in the area of power converters.