Third-order current harmonic suppression and neutral-point voltage balance control strategy for single-phase three-level NPC inverter

Abstract

The imbalance of capacitor voltage on the DC side of the inverter will cause the third-order current harmonics and the device will be damaged greatly with the increase of voltage stress. The mechanism of imbalance capacitors voltage and the third-order current harmonics generated by the double frequency fluctuation are analyzed. This paper presents a feedforward capacitor differential pressure control strategy based on PR controller, which is aimed at the single-phase three-level NPC inverter and considers the cause of double modulation wave. The PR controller is used in the current loop to suppress the third-order harmonic by static-free tracking of the AC signal, and the voltage balance is realized by the feedforward DC-link capacitor voltage difference to offset the DC component of the output side. The simulation model and 1kW prototype driven by the control strategy have been established to demonstrate that the capacitor voltage of the inverter is balanced and the third-order harmonic is suppressed efficiently.

Keywords

• Neutral point clamped
• Double modulation wave
• Capacitor voltage balance
• Third-order current harmonic