TL;DR: The most important topologies like diode-clamped inverter (neutral-point clamped), capacitor-Clamped (flying capacitor), and cascaded multicell with separate DC sources are presented and the circuit topology options are presented.
Abstract: Multilevel inverter technology has emerged recently as a very important alternative in the area of high-power medium-voltage energy control. This paper presents the most important topologies like diode-clamped inverter (neutral-point clamped), capacitor-clamped (flying capacitor), and cascaded multicell with separate DC sources. Emerging topologies like asymmetric hybrid cells and soft-switched multilevel inverters are also discussed. This paper also presents the most relevant control and modulation methods developed for this family of converters: multilevel sinusoidal pulsewidth modulation, multilevel selective harmonic elimination, and space-vector modulation. Special attention is dedicated to the latest and more relevant applications of these converters such as laminators, conveyor belts, and unified power-flow controllers. The need of an active front end at the input side for those inverters supplying regenerative loads is also discussed, and the circuit topology options are also presented. Finally, the peripherally developing areas such as high-voltage high-power devices and optical sensors and other opportunities for future development are addressed.
TL;DR: This paper proposes a new topology, based on the H-bridge with a new ac bypass circuit consisting of a diode rectifier and a switch with clamping to the dc midpoint, which achieves high conversion efficiency and low leakage current.
Abstract: There is a strong trend in the photovoltaic inverter technology to use transformerless topologies in order to acquire higher efficiencies combining with very low ground leakage current. In this paper, a new topology, based on the H-bridge with a new ac bypass circuit consisting of a diode rectifier and a switch with clamping to the dc midpoint, is proposed. The topology is simulated and experimentally validated, and a comparison with other existing topologies is performed. High conversion efficiency and low leakage current are demonstrated.
TL;DR: This paper presents a single-phase cascaded H-bridge converter for a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) application that offers other advantages such as the operation at lower switching frequency or lower current ripple compared to standard two-level topologies.
Abstract: This paper presents a single-phase cascaded H-bridge converter for a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) application The multilevel topology consists of several H-bridge cells connected in series, each one connected to a string of PV modules The adopted control scheme permits the independent control of each dc-link voltage, enabling, in this way, the tracking of the maximum power point for each string of PV panels Additionally, low-ripple sinusoidal-current waveforms are generated with almost unity power factor The topology offers other advantages such as the operation at lower switching frequency or lower current ripple compared to standard two-level topologies Simulation and experimental results are presented for different operating conditions
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors proposed a voltage and power balance control for the cascaded H-Bridge converter-based solid-state transformer (SST) based on the single-phase dq model, which can balance the rectifier capacitor voltages and the real power through parallel DAB modules.
Abstract: The solid-state transformer (SST) is an interface device between ac distribution grids and dc distribution systems. The SST consists of a cascaded multilevel ac/dc rectifier stage, a dual active bridge (DAB) converter stage with high-frequency transformers to provide a regulated 400-V dc distribution, and an optional dc/ac stage that can be connected to the 400-V dc bus to provide residential 120/240 V $_{\rm ac}$ . However, due to dc-link voltage and power unbalance in the cascaded modules, the unbalanced dc-link voltages and power increase the stress of the semiconductor devices and cause overvoltage or overcurrent issues. This paper proposes a new voltage and power balance control for the cascaded H-Bridge converter-based SST. Based on the single-phase dq model, a novel voltage and the power control strategy is proposed to balance the rectifier capacitor voltages and the real power through parallel DAB modules. Furthermore, the intrinsic power constraints of the cascaded H-Bridge voltage balance control are derived and analyzed. With the proposed control methods, the dc-link voltage and the real power through each module can be balanced. The SST switching model simulation and the prototype experiments are presented to verify the performance of the proposed voltage and power balance controller.
TL;DR: In this article, a modular cascaded H-bridge multilevel photovoltaic (PV) inverter for single- or three-phase grid-connected applications is presented.
Abstract: This paper presents a modular cascaded H-bridge multilevel photovoltaic (PV) inverter for single- or three-phase grid-connected applications. The modular cascaded multilevel topology helps to improve the efficiency and flexibility of PV systems. To realize better utilization of PV modules and maximize the solar energy extraction, a distributed maximum power point tracking control scheme is applied to both single- and three-phase multilevel inverters, which allows independent control of each dc-link voltage. For three-phase grid-connected applications, PV mismatches may introduce unbalanced supplied power, leading to unbalanced grid current. To solve this issue, a control scheme with modulation compensation is also proposed. An experimental three-phase seven-level cascaded H-bridge inverter has been built utilizing nine H-bridge modules (three modules per phase). Each H-bridge module is connected to a 185-W solar panel. Simulation and experimental results are presented to verify the feasibility of the proposed approach.