Asymmetric DC source multilevel inverter

Abstract

An asymmetrical multilevel inverter with harmonic profile improvement and lower voltage stress is presented in this paper. The multilevel inverter is a power electronic circuit that produces sinusoidal output voltage waveform from several levels of dc input voltages, which reduces Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) and Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). Four modules are connected in series together with its dc source is configured in asymmetrical configuration to produce 31 output voltage levels. Asymmetrical Multilevel Inverter offers more advantages compared to the conventional multilevel (symmetrical Multilevel Inverter) and the two-level inverters itself. This work focuses on the cascaded multilevel inverter with it dc source configured in asymmetrical configuration. The proposed topology will be developed and simulated in MATLAB/Simulink software package. For comparison purposes, normal two-level inverter also developed. The results such as the output voltage, voltage stress across the power switch, the THD content have been analyzed and discussed.