Novel Topology of a Multilevel Inverter Dedicated to Electric Traction Drive

Abstract

Received: 10 March 2020 Accepted: 6 May 2020 Nowadays, research on the design of new power converter topologies, more precisely multilevel inverters, has greatly intensified due to reduced harmonic distortion rate. The multilevel inverters topologies with fewer switches are most appreciated and appropriate in embedded systems because of their small encumbrance, cost reduction and greater efficiency. In this paper, a contribution to the design of a new multilevel inverter topology with only six controllable switches to build three-phase seven-level inverter is presented. The proposed topology provides very interesting features that makes it more suitable for embedded systems, particularly in electric traction drive such as a reduced number of switches. The topology is based on a combination of three-level elementary modules. The proposed converter is tested by simulations on an inductive load and a controlled PMSM vehicle actuator. The obtained results show the effectiveness of the proposed topology.