Prediction of DC-Link Voltage Switching Ripple in Three‑Phase Four-Leg PWM Inverters

• Main Authors: Riccardo Mandrioli, Aleksandr Viatkin, Manel Hammami, Mattia Ricco, Gabriele Grandi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-03-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: voltage ripple; voltage source inverter; four-wire four-leg inverter; DC-link switching ripple; harmonic pollution; pulse-width modulation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/14/5/1434

This paper presents a thorough prediction of DC-link voltage switching ripples in the three-phase four-leg inverters operating in balanced and unbalanced working conditions. The unbalanced modes examined here employ the highest degree of AC current imbalance while still preserving three-phase operation. This behavior can be found in many grid-connected or standalone grid-forming three-phase converters that supply “heavy” single-phase loads, comprising a recent trend in smart-grid, smart electric vehicle (EV)-charging applications. In this sense, for instance, the smart EV chargers might be employed in conditions when different power is drawn/injected from/to the grid, providing power conditioning services to the latter. The analysis of three-phase four-leg inverters is then extended to single-phase operations typical of home-charging or vehicle-to-home (V2H) applications. Their performances in terms of DC-link voltage switching ripple are demonstrated. Two of the most common carrier-based PWM modulation techniques are employed to drive the three-phase inverter—namely, sinusoidal PWM and centered PWM (carrier-based analogy of the space vector modulation). The derived mathematical expressions of peak-to-peak and RMS values of DC-link voltage switching ripple for balanced and unbalanced conditions are handy for designing the associated DC-link capacitor and estimating the overall efficiency of the converter. Extensive numerical simulations and experimental tests have been performed to validate the presented analytical developments.