A Review of Multi-Level Inverter Technology for High-Power Induction Motor Drives

Abstract

Multi-level inverter technology has become a preferred solution for high-voltage high-power induction motor drive systems. This is because of the considerable inherent advantages offered by multi-level inverters compared to their two-level counter parts. Neutral-point-clamed, flying capacitors, cascaded H-bridge and dual inverter fed open-end winding induction motor configurations are amongst the most widely used multi-level inverter topologies as on today. This paper presents a review of multi-level inverter technology used for the high-power induction motor drive applications. Advantages and drawbacks of different multi-level inverter topologies are discussed with their comparative analysis for device rating, power-bus complexity and dc-link capacitor voltage balancing point of views.