Reduced Switch Multilevel Inverter Topologies for Renewable Energy Sources

Abstract

This article proposes two generalized multilevel inverter configurations that reduce the number of switching devices, isolated DC sources, and total standing voltage on power switches, making them suitable for renewable energy sources. The main topology is a multilevel inverter that handles two isolated DC sources by ten power switches to create twenty-five voltage levels. Based on the proposed main topology two generalized multilevel inverters are introduced to indicate flexibility in designing and also to minimize the number of elements. The optimal topologies for both extensive multilevel inverters are derived from different design objectives such as minimizing the number of elements (gate drivers, DC sources), achieving a large number of levels, and minimizing the total standing voltage. The main advantages of proposed topologies are a reduced number of elements than other multilevel inverters based on the comparison studies which is performed among the proposed topologies and other topologies. The power loss analysis and standalone PV application of the proposed topologies are discussed. The experimental results are presented for the proposed topology to demonstrate the correct operation of the proposal.INDEX TERMS single-phase multilevel inverters; generalized topologies; cascaded multilevel inverters; symmetric and asymmetric operations, renewable energy sources, photovoltaic system.

Efficient switched‐capacitor multilevel inverters for high‐power solar photovoltaic systems

“…A fair comparison is set up between the suggested multilevel inverter configurations and other similar structures [8–30] to demonstrate the pros and cons of the proposal. The comparative study was performed on aspects of DC‐link voltage count, capacitors, IGBTs, driving circuits, power diodes, the maximum on‐state IGBTs, and the TSV magnitude.…”

“…The advantage of this topology is the voltage control of input capacitors without the use of any extra balancing circuits. A 25level MLI structure has been reported in [18,19] that employs four DC link voltages and ten switches. By using a low driver circuit count, [18,19] reduced control complexity.…”

“…The presented 25‐level inverter in [19] has the same circuit as [18], but the bidirectional switches have been replaced with one IGBT and four diodes, reducing the number of IGBTs to ten, but with six extra diodes. The disadvantage of this topology is similar to [18] due to the use of four DC sources that increase the elements. [20] suggested a cascading SC‐MLI by proposing a basic unit that generates five voltage levels (consisting of seven IGBTs, and two capacitors) with the objective of low blocking voltage on semiconductor devices.…”

“…Furthermore, in low input power supply applications (such as PV systems), a high amount of current drawn from the DC supplies can reduce the power level of SC-MLIs because some power semiconductors must withstand a high current rating [15]. Recently, numerous MLI topologies have been presented for renewable energy sources in literature with an emphasis on element count reduction, low input DC supplies, low tolerate voltage on power switches, control approaches, etc [16][17][18][19][20][21].…”

Fuzzy and ANFIS Controllers to Improve the Power Quality of Grid Connected PV System with Cascaded Multilevel Inverter

“…The literature discusses the idea presented in this paper are the large data analysis and Modelling of PV system was carried out in [1] [2][3] [4]. The DC converter topologies are discussed in [5] [6], Various MPPT Controllers are discussed in [7][8] [9], the converted power from the boost converter is integrated with the grid with the help inverter, the design of inverters are discussed in [10] [11] [12], various control strategies for inverter control are discussed in [13] [14] [15], the fuzzy control technology is discussed in [16].…”