Novel Voltage Source Converter for 10 kV Class Motor Drives

Mehdi Narimani,Bin Wu,Navid Reza Zargari 전력전자학회 2016 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.16 No.5

This paper presents a novel seven-level (7L) voltage source converter for high-power medium-voltage applications. The proposed topology is an H-bridge connection of two nested neutral-point clamped (NNPC) converters and is referred to as an HNNPC converter. This converter exhibits advantageous features, such as operating over a wide range of output voltages, particularly for 10–15 kV applications, without the need to connect power semiconductors in series; high-quality output voltage; and fewer components relative to other classic seven-level topologies. A novel sinusoidal pulse width modulation technique is also developed for the proposed 7L-HNNPC converter to control flying capacitor voltages. One of the main features of the control strategy is the independent application of control to each arm of the converter to significantly reduce the complexity of the controller. The performance of the proposed converter is studied under different operating conditions via MATLAB/Simulink simulation, and its feasibility is evaluated experimentally on a scaled-down prototype converter.

Novel Voltage Source Converter for 10 ㎸ Class Motor Drives

Mehdi Narimani,Bin Wu,Navid Reza Zargari 전력전자학회 2016 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.16 No.5

This paper presents a novel seven-level (7L) voltage source converter for high-power medium-voltage applications. The proposed topology is an H-bridge connection of two nested neutral-point clamped (NNPC) converters and is referred to as an HNNPC converter. This converter exhibits advantageous features, such as operating over a wide range of output voltages, particularly for 10–15 ㎸ applications, without the need to connect power semiconductors in series; high-quality output voltage; and fewer components relative to other classic seven-level topologies. A novel sinusoidal pulse width modulation technique is also developed for the proposed 7L-HNNPC converter to control flying capacitor voltages. One of the main features of the control strategy is the independent application of control to each arm of the converter to significantly reduce the complexity of the controller. The performance of the proposed converter is studied under different operating conditions via MATLAB/Simulink simulation, and its feasibility is evaluated experimentally on a scaled-down prototype converter.

Novel Voltage Source Converter for 10 kV Class Motor Drives

Narimani, Mehdi,Wu, Bin,Zargari, Navid Reza The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2016 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.16 No.5

This paper presents a novel seven-level (7L) voltage source converter for high-power medium-voltage applications. The proposed topology is an H-bridge connection of two nested neutral-point clamped (NNPC) converters and is referred to as an HNNPC converter. This converter exhibits advantageous features, such as operating over a wide range of output voltages, particularly for 10-15 kV applications, without the need to connect power semiconductors in series; high-quality output voltage; and fewer components relative to other classic seven-level topologies. A novel sinusoidal pulse width modulation technique is also developed for the proposed 7L-HNNPC converter to control flying capacitor voltages. One of the main features of the control strategy is the independent application of control to each arm of the converter to significantly reduce the complexity of the controller. The performance of the proposed converter is studied under different operating conditions via MATLAB/Simulink simulation, and its feasibility is evaluated experimentally on a scaled-down prototype converter.

A New ZVS-PWM Full-Bridge Boost Converter

Baei, Mohammadjavad,Narimani, Mehdi,Moschopoulos, Gerry The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2014 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.14 No.2

Pulse-width modulated (PWM) full-bridge boost converters are used in applications where the output voltage is considerably higher than the input voltage. Zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) is typically implemented in these converters. A new ZVS-PWM full-bridge converter is proposed in this paper. The proposed converter does not have any of the disadvantages associated with other converters of this type, including a complicated auxiliary circuit, increased current stresses in the main power switches, and load-dependent ZVS operation. The operation of the proposed converter, its steady-state characteristics, and its design are explained and examined. The feasibility of the converter is confirmed with results obtained from an experimental prototype.

Power electronic converter reliability and prognosis review focusing on power switch module failures

Abuelnaga, Ahmed,Narimani, Mehdi,Bahman, Amir Sajjad The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2021 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.21 No.6

The current trend is to go for more electric systems that rely extensively on power electronics such as EVs/HEVs and electric aircrafts, along with an increased use of renewable energy resources and variable speed motor drives. However, some field failure reports have revealed that power electronic converters represent the weakest point in these systems. A significant percentage of system failures are due to power electronic converter failures, which compromises systems reliability. This raises questions regarding the validity of relying on the current power electronic converter technology to run mission-critical/must-to-be-safe systems. Although power electronic converter technology has reached an advanced level in terms of efficiency, power density, and control, extra work should be done when it comes to reliability. Reliability engineering brings performing failure data analysis, accelerated life testing, lifetime prediction, and the implementation of efficient maintenance and reliability improvement schemes into an integrated process. This process is meant to enhance the reliability of a product throughout its life cycle. This paper provides an overview of the application of the key aspects of new approaches in reliability engineering for power electronic converters. The focus of this paper is on power switch bond-wire modules since they are the most vulnerable component in power electronic converters. This paper also proposes two general schemes for condition-based remaining useful lifetime (RUL) that are discussed in detail.

A New ZVS-PWM Full-Bridge Boost Converter

Mohammadjavad Baei,Mehdi Narimani,Gerry Moschopoulos 전력전자학회 2014 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.14 No.2

Pulse-width modulated (PWM) full-bridge boost converters are used in applications where the output voltage is considerably higher than the input voltage. Zero-voltage-switching (ZVS) is typically implemented in these converters. A new ZVS?PWM full-bridge converter is proposed in this paper. The proposed converter does not have any of the disadvantages associated with other converters of this type, including a complicated auxiliary circuit, increased current stresses in the main power switches, and load-dependent ZVS operation. The operation of the proposed converter, its steady-state characteristics, and its design are explained and examined. The feasibility of the converter is confirmed with results obtained from an experimental prototype.

Soft-Switching T-Type Multilevel Inverter

Chen, Tianyu,Narimani, Mehdi The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2019 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.19 No.5

In order to improve the conversion efficiency and mitigate the EMI problem of conventional hard-switching inverters, a new soft-switching DC-AC inverter with a compact structure and a low modulation complexity is proposed in this paper. In the proposed structure, resonant inductors are connected in series for the arm branches, and resonant capacitors are connected in parallel for the neutral point branches. With the help of resonant components, the proposed structure achieves zero-current switching on the arm branches and zero-voltage switching on the neutral point branches. When compared with state-of-art soft-switching topologies, the proposed topology does not need auxiliary switches. Moreover, the commutation algorithm to realize soft-switching can be easily implemented. In this paper, the principle of the resonant operation of the proposed soft-switching converter is presented and its performance is verified through simulation studies. The feasibility of the proposed inverter is evaluated experimentally with a 2.4-kW prototype.

Soft-Switching T-Type Multilevel Inverter

Tianyu Chen,Mehdi Narimani 전력전자학회 2019 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.19 No.5

In order to improve the conversion efficiency and mitigate the EMI problem of conventional hard-switching inverters, a new soft-switching DC-AC inverter with a compact structure and a low modulation complexity is proposed in this paper. In the proposed structure, resonant inductors are connected in series for the arm branches, and resonant capacitors are connected in parallel for the neutral point branches. With the help of resonant components, the proposed structure achieves zero-current switching on the arm branches and zero-voltage switching on the neutral point branches. When compared with state-of-art soft-switching topologies, the proposed topology does not need auxiliary switches. Moreover, the commutation algorithm to realize soft-switching can be easily implemented. In this paper, the principle of the resonant operation of the proposed soft-switching converter is presented and its performance is verified through simulation studies. The feasibility of the proposed inverter is evaluated experimentally with a 2.4-kW prototype.

Finite State Model-based Predictive Current Control with Two-step Horizon for Four-leg NPC Converters

Venkata Yaramasu,Marco Rivera,Mehdi Narimani,Bin Wu,Jose Rodriguez 전력전자학회 2014 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.14 No.6

This study proposes a finite-state model predictive controller to regulate the load current and balance the DC-link capacitor voltages of a four-leg neutral-point-clamped converter. The discrete-time model of the converter, DC-link, inductive filter, and load is used to predict the future behavior of the load currents and the DC-link capacitor voltages for all possible switching states. The switching state that minimizes the cost function is selected and directly applied to the converter. The cost function is defined to minimize the error between the predicted load currents and their references, as well as to balance the DC-link capacitor voltages. Moreover, the current regulation performance is improved by using a two-step prediction horizon. The feasibility of the proposed predictive control scheme for different references and loads is verified through real-time implementation on the basis of dSPACEDS1103.

Finite State Model-based Predictive Current Control with Two-step Horizon for Four-leg NPC Converters

Yaramasu, Venkata,Rivera, Marco,Narimani, Mehdi,Wu, Bin,Rodriguez, Jose The Korean Institute of Power Electronics 2014 JOURNAL OF POWER ELECTRONICS Vol.14 No.6

This study proposes a finite-state model predictive controller to regulate the load current and balance the DC-link capacitor voltages of a four-leg neutral-point-clamped converter. The discrete-time model of the converter, DC-link, inductive filter, and load is used to predict the future behavior of the load currents and the DC-link capacitor voltages for all possible switching states. The switching state that minimizes the cost function is selected and directly applied to the converter. The cost function is defined to minimize the error between the predicted load currents and their references, as well as to balance the DC-link capacitor voltages. Moreover, the current regulation performance is improved by using a two-step prediction horizon. The feasibility of the proposed predictive control scheme for different references and loads is verified through real-time implementation on the basis of dSPACEDS1103.