The five-level converter

Modern power electronics have revolutionized the delivery and usage of electrical power. In the area of drives, the ability to arbitrarily select and even continuously vary the output voltage frequency and amplitude of an inverter has permitted significant gains in energy efficiency and controllabil...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:ABB review 2011-01 (1), p.41-46
Main Authors: Kieferndorf, F, Serpa, L, Fabian, J-H, Coccia, A, Basler, M, Scheuer, G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternating current
Direct current
Electric potential
Electric power generation
Semiconductors
Switching
Voltage
Waveforms
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Summary:Modern power electronics have revolutionized the delivery and usage of electrical power. In the area of drives, the ability to arbitrarily select and even continuously vary the output voltage frequency and amplitude of an inverter has permitted significant gains in energy efficiency and controllability. Inverters synthesize AC voltage by switching between different levels of DC voltage at a high frequency using semiconductors. The waveform created thus differs from an "ideal" sinusoidal waveform because of this rectangular switching pattern. The difference can be sufficient to bar the use of drives from many applications requiring a higher "quality" of AC voltage. One way to make the energy-efficient advantages of drives available to a broader range of applications is to increase the number of DC voltage levels available. ABB's ACS 2000 breaks beyond the commonly used three voltage levels and works with five. Furthermore, through its ingenious topology, it avoids many of the issues that otherwise make five-level converters complex.
ISSN:1013-3119