CARRIER BASED SINUSODIAL PWM

SCHEME FOR THE NINE-SWITCH

CONVERTER
T.MURALI KRISHNA , M.VENKATESAN
DEPAR T ME N T O F E LE C TRI CA L & E LE C TR O N ICS E N GI NEE RI NG
(1 V yea r ) Vel te ch En g i n eer in g g . Co lleg e, Ch en n a i
mu ra 2 4 0 6 @g ma i l.co m
[email protected]

Abstract-To reduce the device count and minimize the source converter (B2B 2L-VSC), shown in Fig. 1,
dc capacitor filter CBSPWM proposed in the thesis as where a pulse width modulation (PWM) voltage
compared to back to back converter. It converts fixed ac source rectifier is used to replace the diode rectifier
input voltage to an adjustable ac output voltage. It is
[2].
capable of bi-directional energy transfer for the supply
The B2B 2L-VSC requires a relatively high
to the load or vice versa. This converter features number (12) of active switches such as insulated
sinusoidal inputs and outputs, unity input power factor, gate bipolar transistors (IGBTs). It also needs a dc-
and more importantly, low manufacturing cost due to link capacitor that is responsible for a limited
its reduced number of active switches. The operating lifespan and increased cost. To reduce the device
principle of the converter is elaborated and its count and minimize/eliminate the dc-capacitor
modulation schemes are discussed. Finally, filter, various converter topologies have been
experimental results for back to back converter and proposed in the literature. The matrix converter has
CBSPWM are provided to verify the validity of the
been already- compared with the back-to-back
proposed topology using MATLAB/SIMULINK
converter obtaining some important but not
Keywords -AC/AC converter, pulse width conclusive results. The comparison is extremely
modulation (PWM), reduced switch count difficult due to the high number of system
topology. parameters (i.e. input filter and load parameters,
I. INTRODUCTION switching frequency, output frequency, modulation
strategies, etc.) and to the inherent differences
Universal ac-dc-ac converter uses diode between the two converter topologies, such as the
for the grid side rectifying, the energy transfer is maximum voltage transfer ratio. The switching
not reversible, hence it can not meet the needs for
frequencies of the two converters are related to the
fast start-up, braking and frequently reversible
operation. The back-to-back connected PWM adopted modulation strategies and should be
converter system shown in Fig.1 is one of the latest Chosen with care in order to make a fair
high-quality energy feedback technology with comparison furthermore both converters need an
many advantages, it has bi-directional energy flow input filter for reducing the input current
ability, and can achieve four-quadrant operation by hamonics, and the filter parameters are strictly-
simply controlling the switch devices according to
related to the switching frequency. The recent
certain on-off rules, it has not only very fast motor
dynamic response, but also very small grid side progress in power semiconductor device
harmonic contents and very high power factor[1- technology followed by advancements in power
2].Generally the configuration which features low electronic control methods; variable frequency
cost and reliable operation is the use of a diode inverter-fed ac drives are being adopted for a wide
rectifier, but it generates highly distorted input line variety of applications. Recently there has been
currents and does not have regenerative or dynamic growing interest in low cost ac drives to meet the
braking capability. These problems can be
needs for reducing cost. Improvements in power
mitigated by using a back-to back two-level voltage
semiconductor switch technology have
Semiconductor switch technology have the cost and
size of such drivers and improved waveform The below fig (2) shows the simulated form of back
quality. Little change, however, has been made to the to back converter
basic structure of the conventional ac-ac converter, The IGBT specifications of the back to back
while significant advances have been made in soft converter can be given as
switching techniques and control strategies  Resistance Ron= 0.01 ohms
 Inductance Lon= 1e-6 H
 Forward Voltage Vf = 1V
 Current fall time Tf = 1e-6 s
 Current tail time Tt = 2e-6
 Snubber Capacitance Cs =0.01e-6
Fig (1): Representation of Back to Back converter

A. Switching Constraint
Pulse width modulation (PWM) control
strategies development concerns the development of
The reduction of the number of switches in
techniques to reduce the total harmonic distortion
the proposed converter topology imposes certain
(THD) of the current. It is generally recognized that
switching constraints for the switching pattern
increasing the switching frequency of the PWM
design. In the B2B 2L-VSC shown in Fig. 2, the
pattern reduces the lower-frequency harmonics by
rectifier leg voltage vAN, which is the voltage at node
moving the switching frequency carrier harmonic and
A with respect to the negative dc bus N, can be
associated sideband harmonics further away from the
controlled by switches S1 and S2 in the rectifier,
fundamental frequency component. The most widely
whereas the inverter leg voltage vXNcan be
used PWM schemes for multilevel inverters are the
controlled by S3 and S4 in the inverter. This means
carrier-based sine-triangle PWM (SPWM) technique.
that the rectifier and inverter leg voltages can be
The SPWM schemes are more flexible and simpler to
controlled independently. The B2B 2L-VSC has four
implement, but the maximum peak of the
switching states per phase, as defined in Table I.
fundamental component in the output voltage is
limited to 50% of the DC link voltage, and the
extension of the SPWM schemes into the over-
modulation range is difficult. The basic principle of
the SPWM used in two level inverters is explained
here. The reference signal (Vr) which generally is
sinusoidal is compared with the high frequency
triangle wave (Vc) of constant amplitude. When Vr>
VC, the PWM output will be high (state +1), and
output will be low (state -1) for Vr< VC.
In general, the modulation index is defined as the
ratio of the magnitude of the reference signal to that
of the magnitude of the carrier signal. The
modulation index is m = Vr/ Vc
Where Vris the magnitude of the sinusoidal
Fig (2) Simulated Form of Back to Back Converter
reference signal waveform
Vcis the magnitude of the triangular carrier Table I Switching State of Back to Back Converter
signal
By varying Vrand keeping Vcconstant, the modulation Switching S1 S2 S3 S4 Van Vxn
index can be changed. By changing the modulation State
index, the amplitude of the fundamental component 1 On Off On Off Vd Vd
of the output can be varied. For three phase inverters, 2 Off On Off On 0 0
the same carrier signal Vcis used for all the three 3 On Off Off On Vd 0
phases and three reference signals which are phase 4 Off On On Off 0 Vd
displaced by 2Π/3 radians are used for each of the
phases. The above Switching table shows when the switch is
entering and leaving which desired the output voltage
as shown in fig (3)
II. SIMULATED FORM OF BACK TO BACK
CONVERTER Table II Switching State Of CBSPW
 nine-switch converter, which implies that the inverter leg
voltage vXNcannot be higher than the rectifier leg voltage
vANat any instant. This is, in fact, the main constraint for
the switching scheme design of the nine-switch converter
which is shown in fig (4) 2L-VSC is eliminated.

Fig (3) Output Wave Form of Back to Back Converter

III. SIMULATED FORM OF CBSPWM

The Carrier Based Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation

(CBSPWM) scheme is shown in below fig (4) with
simulated. The IGBT specifications of the proposed Fig. 4 illustrates the generalized carrier-based
technique can be given as modulation scheme in a single switching period for the
 Internal resistance Ron=1e-3 ohm nine-switch converter. The rectifier modulating wave
 Snubber Resistance Rs =1e-5 vmrand the inverter modulating wave vmiare arranged such
 Snubber Capacitance Cs =inf that vmris not lower than vmiat any instant of time. These
 Source inductance of Ls = 2.5 mH. two modulating waveforms are compared with a common
 RL = 8ohm. triangular carrier vc. The generated rectifier and inverter leg
 LL = 2.5 mH. voltages vANand vXNare also shown in the figure. This
In which the novelty in this is converter has only three arrangement guarantees that switch state 4 in the B2B 2L-
legs with three switches installed on each of them. The VSC is eliminated here for the nine-switch converter.
novelty herein is that the middle switch in each individual
leg is shared by both the rectifier and the inverter, thereby
reducing the switch count by 33% and 50% in comparison
to the B2B 2L-VSC and CMC, respectively.
The converter has two modes of operation: 1) constant
frequency (CF) mode, where the output frequency of the
inverter is constant and also the same as that of the utility
supply, while the inverter output voltage is adjustable; and
2) VF mode, where both magnitude and frequency of the
inverter output voltage are adjustable. The CF-mode
Fig (5) SPWM scheme for CF-mode operation
operation is particularly suitable for applications in UPS,
whereas the VF mode can be applied to variable-speed
B. Modulation Scheme for CF-Mode Operation
drives. The input power is delivered to the output partially
through the middle three switches and partially through a
Taking SPWM as an example, Fig. 5 illustrates the
quasi-dc-link circuit. For the convenience of discussion, we
can consider that the rectifier of the nine-switch converter modified scheme for CF-mode operation, where mrand mi
is composed of the top three and middle three switches, are the rectifier and inverter modulation indexes The
whereas the inverter consists of the middle three and difference between this scheme and the traditional SPWM
bottom three switches for 2L-VSC is that here the modulating waves of the
rectifier (solid line) and the inverter (dashed line) are
placed in a single dc plane and compared to a common
Switching S1 S2 S3 Van Vxn
State triangular carrier waveThe gate signals are generated at the
waveforms’ intersections with the carrier. To prevent the
1 On On Off Vd Vd
modulating waves from intersecting
2 Off On On 0 0
3 On Off On Vd 0 each other, the rectifier’s modulating waves are
lifted to the top of the dc plane whereas the inverters are
It can be observed from table I and table II that pushed to the bottom by adding proper dc offsets. In this
switching state 4 for the B2B 2L-VSC does not exist in the way, the switching constraint of the nine-switch converter
can be satisfied. In practice, the rectifier side modulation
can be synchronized to the grid via a phase-locked loop D. Proposed Technique with out applying SPWM
(PLL). The freedoms of choosing its modulation index
mrand firing angle α between the modulating wave and the The V-I and voltage characteristics of Proposed circuit with
grid can be employed to control out applying spwm is shown in below fig (7) and fig(8)
the dc voltage and the input power factor. The inverter-side
modulation index mi can be freely selected to adjust the
output magnitude. If the inverter’s modulating wave is set
in phase with the rectifier’s, as in the case shown in Fig. 5,
both the rectifier and inverter’s modulation indexes can
simultaneously reach a maximum of unity.

Fig (7) V-I characteristics of proposed technique with out applying SPWM
C. Modulation Scheme for VF-Mode Operation

Fig. 6 shows the SPWM modulation scheme for

the VF mode of operation. In this case, the inverter’s
modulation index and phase angle can both be adjusted
independently from the rectifiers. In order to satisfy the
switching constraint discussed earlier, the sum of the two
modulation indexes mrand mi of the rectifier and inverter
must not exceed 1. For matching the input and output
ratings, we limit both of their maximums to 0.5. It can be
observed from the figure that both the rectifier and Fig (8) Voltage Characteristics of proposed technique with out applying
inverter’s modulating waves can only be adjusted within SPWM
half of the carrier’s magnitude (which represents the dc
voltage); therefore, the dc voltage vdof the converter is E. Proposed Technique applying SPWM
twice as high as the rated dc voltage of a B2B 2L-VSC with (CONSTANT FREQUENCY)
the same ac ratings.
This is different from the situation of the CF mode The Simulated representation of SPWM for nine switch
with identical input and output phases, in which the dc converter of CF mode with rectifier input voltage and
voltage of the converter can be tightly controlled and inverter output voltage is shown in below fig (9) and fig
maintained at around its rated value. It should be pointed (10). The specifications are given below
out that although the added dc offsets guarantee that the Constant Frequency:
instant value of vmris always higher than that of vmi, they
are of zero sequence in the three phases and have no effect  The modulation indexes for the rectifier mr and
on the input/output ac magnitudes. In fact, if the inverter’s inverter mi are both set at 0.9
modulation index is selected to be higher than the  The frequency of the dominant switching
rectifier’s, e.g., mi = 0.5 and mr= 0.2, the fundamental harmonics is centered around 3240 Hz
component of the inverter output voltage vXYwill be higher  which is the carrier frequency and also the
than that of the rectifier input voltage vAB. switching frequency of the converter.
The low-order harmonics are negligibly small

Fig (6) SPWM scheme for VF-mode operation

IV. SIMULATION ANALYSIS

In the simulation, the utility supply is rated at 208 V and 60 Fig (9) Rectifier Side Input Voltage Wave form
Hz with a source inductance of Ls= 2.5 mH. The converter
driving a three-phase RL load of RL = 8Ω and LL = 2.5 mH,
dc capacitorCdis 2350 μF.
 Fig (10) Inverter Side Output Voltage Form
Fig 12(a) Inverter Output Current for VF Mode
F. Proposed Technique applying SPWM (VARIABLE FREQUENCY) The rated DC Voltage of the nine switch converter is
shown in below fig (13)
The Simulated representation of SPWM for nine switch
converter of VF mode with rectifier input, inverter output
voltages and currents is shown in below fig 11(a), 11(b)
and fig 12 (a), 12 (b). The specifications are given below

Fig (13) Rated DC voltage

Table III RATED SYSTEM PARAMETERS

Nine- Nine- B2B 2L-

Fig 11(a) Rectifier Input Voltage for VF Mode Switch Switch VSC
(CF) (VF)
Rated Dc 380V 760V 320V
Voltage
Rated 600V 1200V 600V
IGBT
Voltage

Fig 11(b) Rectifier Input Current for VF Mode V. SIMULATED SPWM FOR NINE-SWITCH
CONVERTER WITH MOTOR
A motor connected to the circuit and the values of
the supply voltage, source inductance Ls, dc capacitor Cd ,
andRLload parameters are the same as those given in the
simulation.
Unity Power Factor Operation
The input power factor of the converter can be leading,
lagging, or unity. Fig. 15 (a), (b) shows the measured
supply phase voltage and line current of the converter with
unity power factor operation.

Fig 12(a) Inverter Output Voltage for VF Mode

Variable Frequency:

 The rectifier operates at 60 Hz while the inverter

operates at 30 Hz.
 The modulation indexes for the rectifier mr and
inverter mi are both set at 0.45. Fig (14) SPWM for nine switch converter with motor
 The low-order harmonics are negligibly small.
During the test, the dc voltage was maintained at 380 V by mode version requires IGBT devices with higher ratings
the rectifier, and the converter modulation index was mr= and dissipates significantly higher losses, and thus, is not as
mi =0.9. It should be noted that the control of the rectifier attractive as its counterpart.
In this thesis the proposed topology that is carrier
and inverter is decoupled, and therefore, the inverter
based sinusoidal pwm for the nine switch converter
operation will not affect the operation of the rectifier. T simulated using Matlab/Simulink. In overview, this thesis
consists of back to back converter, carrier based for the
nine switch converter without pwm, carrier based
sinusoidal pwm for the nine switch converter with constant
frequency, carrier based sinusoidal pwm for the nine switch
converter with variable frequency, and carrier based
sinusoidal pwm for the nine switch converter with motor.
The basic circuit representation using Matlab voltage,
current as well as THD wave forms are analyzed.
Fig 15(a) Unity input power operation of the rectifier
voltage
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Fig 15(b) Unity input power operation of the rectifier current
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VI. CONCLUSION:

A novel nine-switch PWM ac/ac converter

topology was proposed in this paper. The topology uses
only nine IGBT devices for ac to ac conversion through a
quasi dc-link circuit. Compared with the conventional
back-to-back PWM VSC using 12 switches, the number of
switches in the proposed converter is reduced by 33% and
50%, respectively. The proposed converter features
sinusoidal inputs and outputs, unity input power factor, and
low manufacturing cost. The operating principle of the
converter was elaborated, and modulation schemes for
constant and variable frequency operations were developed.
The proposed converter, while working in CF mode, has an
overall higher efficiency than the B2B 2L-VSC at the
expense of uneven loss distribution. However, the VF-