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Abstract—Adjustable-speed drives involve common-mode volt- pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) strategies for classical hard-
ages, which generate common-mode currents flowing to the switched two-level and multilevel inverters [1], [7]–[11]. Since
ground through stray capacitances of electric machines. These industrial application requires low-cost and easy-to-implement
currents are known to provoke premature motor-bearing fail-
ures, as well as electromagnetic interferences disturbing neigh- solutions, the work on PWM strategies is promising because no
bor electronic devices. Furthermore, high-voltage applications additional component is needed.
involve high levels of these conducted emissions, which must be Moreover, multilevel voltage-source inverters are interest-
lowered by using bulky and expensive filters. This paper aims ing for high-power applications because they allow reduced
at elaborating a new pulsewidth-modulation (PWM) strategy in voltage constraints on the switches, as well as lowered total
order to reduce the common-mode currents generated by three-
level neutral-point-clamped inverters. The proposed strategy also harmonic distortion (THD) of the output voltages. Furthermore,
provides the ability to balance the neutral point of the dc-bus their reduced step-voltage variations involve less EMI than the
capacitors. Experimental results both in time and frequency do- conventional two-level inverters.
mains confirm that the new PWM improves the electromagnetic- This paper focuses on the three-level neutral-point-clamped
compatibility behavior of the drive compared with conventional (NPC) inverter and proposes a new PWM strategy [13] which
strategies.
is able to reduce the generated common-mode currents. The
Index Terms—Common-mode currents, electromagnetic basic control principles of the three-phase NPC inverter are
compatibility (EMC), neutral-point-clamped (NPC) inverters, introduced, and the link between the PWM strategy and the
pulsewidth modulation (PWM), variable-speed drives.
common-mode voltage is clarified. Two solutions for the re-
duction of common-mode currents are presented and combined
I. I NTRODUCTION into the proposed PWM: the Flat-Top technique and the double-
commutation mechanism. Compared with previous strategies,
T HE STATOR iron and windings of electric machines are
close metallic elements between which stray capacitances
naturally exist [1]. Furthermore, the stator is connected to
the new method provides several degrees of freedom which
are used to ensure the real synchronism of the double com-
the ground; so fast commutations (high dν/dt) on the phases mutations by controlling their nature and avoiding dead-time
result in high-frequency leakage currents flowing through the effects.
stray capacitances into the ground conductor. These common- A very important issue in using an NPC inverter is the ability
mode currents eventually come back to the inputs of the mo- to control the midpoint voltage of the dc-bus capacitors [12].
tor drive through the electrical network. They may generate This paper shows that the degrees of freedom of the new PWM
electromagnetic interferences (EMIs) that cause malfunctions still permit this regulation in addition to the electromagnetic-
in the surrounding electronic equipment and are responsible for compatibility (EMC) improvement of the drive. The maximum
premature deterioration of the motor bearings [2]. Moreover, balancing capacity is also compared with conventional PWM
these conducted emissions are all the more important as the through simulation.
commutations perform high-voltage transitions. The proposed strategy has been implemented into a
Therefore, research has focused on the reduction of common- 20-kVA NPC prototype with a new carrier-based modulator.
mode conducted emissions by using either passive or active Time- and frequency-domain experimental results confirm the
filters [3]–[5], designing converters with low dν/dt transitions best EMC performances of the new PWM compared with
(e.g., using soft switching or snubbers [6]), or developing new conventional strategies. The dc-bus balancing ability is also
verified.
(5)
hkO = hkN + hNO . (6) Fig. 4. Common-mode current generated by one commutation (time: 1 µs/div,
voltage: 50 V/div, current: 0.5 A/div).
The simplest method permanently sets hNO to zero (natural freedom that permits the control of the dc bus. Indeed, ∆us
modulation), as shown in Fig. 3(a). However, nonzero values is linked to the i0 current (Fig. 1) by (8). The mean value of
may be valuable for two main reasons. this current i0 (during one switching period “Ts”) can be deter-
1) Overmodulation possibility: The optimal dc-bus utiliza- mined from the phase currents (iA , iB , iC ) and the normalized
tion (maximum output voltages) can only be reached quantities of the modulator according to (9) [18]. Since the
by using the homopolar component and permits a 15% voltage references as well as the phase currents are imposed
voltage gain upon the natural modulation. and constant during a switching period, it appears clearly that
2) Switching-loss reduction by Flat Top: The homopolar the homopolar component hNO has a direct influence on i0 and
component can be adjusted so that one of the input thereby on ∆us.
quantities (hAO , hBO , hCO ) is held at a particular value In conclusion, the homopolar component hNO influences the
(−1, 0, or +1) during the whole switching period. This NPC converter in different ways such as the Flat-Top possibility
leads the corresponding leg to be blocked to a single state, or the dc-bus balancing. Therefore, compromises have to be
as Fig. 3(b) shows for the same reference system as the found [19], [20]
previous example: hAO is now held at level +1; therefore,
leg A does not switch anymore. This technique is named ∆us = us1 + us2 (7)
“Flat Top” and allows a reduction of the switching losses, i0 = −C · d∆us/dt (8)
as well as optimal dc-bus utilization [14].
i0 Ts = |hAO | · iA + |hBO | · iB + |hCO | · iC
These principles can be applied to all inverters (any number
of legs and levels) with well-known adapted modulations [15]. i0 Ts = |hAN + hNO | · iA + |hBN + hNO | · iB
A specificity of an NPC inverter is the midpoint balancing of + |hCN + hNO | · iC . (9)
the dc-bus capacitors and is discussed in the following section.
B. Flat-Top Solution
As long as conventional strategies are considered, there
are as many common-mode-current pulses as commutations.
Consequently, the only solution is to limit the number of
commutations, which means the use of the Flat-Top technique.
Indeed, PWM strategies can be classified as continuous
(CPWM) or discontinuous (DPWM) modulations, depending
on the hNO (t) characteristic [21]. In practice, during one
switching period, the three legs of the inverter are switch-
ing in CPWM, whereas only two are switching in DPWM,
in which the Flat-Top technique is applied. Moreover, each
switching leg performs two commutations per switching period.
Therefore, CPWM strategies involve six commutations per Fig. 5. Proposed PWM: (a) Vectorial principle and (b) VCM ∗ waveform.
switching period, whereas DPWM perform only four. There-
fore, the Flat-Top technique limits the number of common-
mode-voltage transitions to four per switching period instead
of six.
However, building up any reference vector requires at least
two switching legs. Therefore, conventional PWM cannot re-
duce the common-mode current below four pulses per switch-
ing period.
C. Double-Commutation Solution
∗
In order to reduce further the variations of VCM , noncon-
ventional techniques must be applied so that some unavoidable
commutations occur without variation of the common-mode
voltage. This result can only be obtained by doing simultaneous
commutations instead of isolated single ones. Indeed, according
∗
to (2), VCM may remain constant if two commutations on
Fig. 6. THD∗ of the phase-to-phase voltages for different PWM strategies.
different legs happen exactly at the same moment in opposite
directions (i.e., the output voltage of one leg is increasing by
D. Proposed PWM: Combining Both Solutions
one step, whereas the other one is decreasing by one step)
[13]. Therefore, it is theoretically possible to perform harmless The proposed PWM uses the Flat-Top technique as well as
commutations by applying this technique. the double-commutation mechanism once per switching period.
Most methods previously proposed in literature use double Therefore, from six initial transitions on the common-mode
commutations to reduce the common-mode currents. The most voltage per switching period, two are saved by the Flat-Top
ambitious approach is the Zero Common Mode (ZCM) strategy method, and two more are saved by the double commutation.
[8], which uses only the seven vectors of Fig. 2 in which the Only two transitions remain; thus, the number of common-
common-mode voltage is null. Therefore, there are, theoreti- mode-current pulses is limited to two per switching period.
cally, neither common-mode-voltage variations nor common- Fig. 5(a) shows the principle of the new PWM. While con-
mode-current pulses anymore. However, this perfect result is ventional modulations use states located on small equilateral
not clear when real phenomena such as dead times are taken triangles (circled in Fig. 2), the ones used in this strategy have
into account [22], and this method suffers some drawbacks the same area but have a different shape. This leads to a higher
concerning the THD of the output voltages [23], the utilization THD on the output voltages than conventional modulations
of the dc bus, or the midpoint balancing. but still lower than with two-level inverters or three-level ones
Very similar methods have been developed for two-level [1], controlled with special strategies such as the ZCM. Indeed,
[10] and other multilevel [9], [11] inverters and have likewise Fig. 6 compares different strategies based on their THD∗ [(10)]
drawbacks. (Uk is the kth harmonic of one phase-to-phase voltage). In the
VIDET et al.: CARRIER-BASED PWM PROVIDING COMMON-MODE CURRENTS REDUCTION AND DC-BUS BALANCING 3005
V. M IDPOINT B ALANCING OF THE DC B US [25]. Therefore, the maximization (or minimization) of this
particular i0 is obtained for a 100% distribution of one of these
A. Balancing Capacity
two states. Furthermore, this extreme distribution is attained
The ability to prevent the dc-bus midpoint from drifting in a Flat-Top situation. Likewise, it can be verified that the
is a crucial issue for the safety of the structure. This is the maximum (or minimum) value of i0 Ts is always obtained
reason why particular emphasis will be put on the maximum for a Flat-Top situation. Since there are only a few discrete
action that the PWM can provide to vary the dc-bus imbalance values of hNO involving a blocked leg (Flat-Top), it is possible
[characterized by ∆us according to (7)]. From now on, this to calculate all corresponding values of i0 [with (9)] and then
maximum action will be referred to as the balancing capacity. select the adequate value of hNO (maximum or minimum
Assuming that the dc-bus imbalance (∆us) is initially posi- calculated i0 ).
tive, the maximum action is reached when the i0 current (Fig. 1) As a consequence, even though CPWM strategies provide
is systematically chosen as great as possible (this way, d∆us/dt infinite available values for hNO , their balancing capacity is the
is minimal [(8)] so as to bring ∆us back to zero as fast as possi- same as DPWM strategies.
ble). During the whole voltage-supply period “T0” (i.e., during The presented method is quite straightforward, and a softer
one complete revolution of the reference vector in Fig. 2), regulation using intermediate values of hNO (CPWM only)
the mean value i0 T0 is thereby maximal. According to (8), might look even more attractive. However, the necessity of
it is representative of the fastest possible variation of ∆us performing such an emergency balancing is likely to remain
(in volts per second). occasional because the NPC inverter benefits from a natural
Thus, the balancing capacity is defined by i0 max T0 when, balancing phenomenon [26].
for each switching period, the homopolar component hNO is
chosen so as to maximize i0 Ts in (9). Moreover, in order to
C. Comparison Between the Different Strategies
avoid any user-dependent quantity, the normalized balancing
capacity (i0 ∗ max T0 ) is introduced in (11) where Ik is the According to Table II, the first EMC constraint of the
rms value of the phase currents. new PWM reduces the number of available values for the
This is an objective criterion for comparing the balancing homopolar component hNO . To appreciate the consequence
performance of different strategies, with no dependence on any of this reduction, Fig. 10 shows simulation results that are
external quantity such as the currents or the capacitances of the calculated in ideal conditions (balanced sinusoidal output
dc bus currents) in order to compare different strategies. It repre-
√ sents the normalized balancing capacity of a conventional
i0 ∗ max T0 = i0 max T0 / Ik· 2 . (11) DPWM (i0 ∗ max T0 Conv_DPWM : superior meshed surface)
and of the new modulation with the first EMC constraint
(i0 ∗ max T0 New_PWM : inferior grayed surface). It appears
B. DC-Bus-Control Method to Reach the Balancing Capacity
that this constraint lowers the balancing capacity of the mod-
In order to fully exploit the balancing capacity of a strategy, ulation, depending on the modulation depth and the phase
it is necessary to determine, for each switching period, the difference between the currents and voltages of the load.
value of the homopolar component hNO which maximizes (or For a better visualization, the relative degradation “D” [(12)]
minimizes) i0 Ts in (9). between these two surfaces is shown in Fig. 11. It shows that
Whichever modulation is used, the value of hNO happens the worst case (impossible dc-bus balancing) is obtained at
to determine the distribution of the redundant states of Fig. 2 the maximum modulation depth when the phase difference is
during the switching period. Moreover, given a pair of re- inferior to 30◦ (i.e., the power factor is above 0.866). Since the
dundant states located on the internal hexagon of the figure, nominal working point of induction motors tends to get close to
these two states, respectively, involve opposite values of i0 these values, this degradation of the balancing capacity may be
3008 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON INDUSTRIAL ELECTRONICS, VOL. 54, NO. 6, DECEMBER 2007
Fig. 11. Degradation of the balancing capacity with the new PWM.
Fig. 13. (a) NPC inverter and (b) its control card.
B. Experimental Setup
VI. I MPLEMENTATION AND E XPERIMENTS
The proposed carrier-based modulation has been im-
A. Carrier-Based Modulator
plemented into a Texas Instruments DSP (TMS320F2812)
In order to comply with the low-cost and easy-to-implement controlling a 20-kVA NPC prototype using insulated gate bipo-
industrial requirements, a new carrier-based modulator has been lar transistors at a switching frequency of 20 kHz (Fig. 13).
developed for the new PWM. It uses the principles described in The inverter is connected to a 300-V dc-bus (E) and feeds a
Section II-B, except that there are now four sawtooth carriers 3-kW induction motor (Fig. 14). A line impedance stabilization
(two increasing ones and two decreasing ones). The choice of network protected by an EMC filter is located on the dc bus in
the blocked leg (i.e., the choice of the triangle: first degree order to confine the conducted emissions.
of freedom) is realized through the choice of the homopolar
component hNO just like any other DPWM. The two switching
C. Results
legs must be compared with oppositely oriented carriers (one
increasing and one decreasing), and the choice of these orienta- All double commutations of the new PWM behave like
tions will determine the direction of the circular sequence inside the example of Fig. 15. The accuracy of their synchronism
the triangle (second degree of freedom). and waveform compensation results in an almost constant
VIDET et al.: CARRIER-BASED PWM PROVIDING COMMON-MODE CURRENTS REDUCTION AND DC-BUS BALANCING 3009
Fig. 17. Importance of the EMC constraints: Proposed PWM without meeting
the (a) first or the (b) second constraint (time: 20 µs/div, voltage: 300 V/div,
current: 0.5 A/div).
Arnaud Videt received the M.S. degree in electri- Philippe Baudesson received the Ph.D. degree in
cal engineering from the University of Lille, Lille, electrical engineering, focusing on power electron-
France, in 2005. He is currently working toward ics, from the Institut National Polytechnique de
the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering at the Toulouse, Toulouse, France, in 2000.
Laboratoire d’Electrotechnique et d’Electronique de He has been a Research Engineer with Alstom
Puissance, Ecole Centrale de Lille, Lille. Technology and Schneider Electric. He is currently
His main research interests include power elec- with Schneider Toshiba Inverter Europe, Pacy-sur-
tronics and electromagnetic compatibility for motor- Eure, France, where he is in charge of the Electronic
drive applications. R&D Department and takes part in drive design and
follows anticipation actions for the improvement of
variable speed drives. His research interests include
digital electronics and power electronics for adjustable-speed drives.
Nadir Idir (M’01) received the Ph.D. degree from Xavier Cimetière received the Engineering degree
the University of Lille, Lille, France, in 1993. from Ecole Centrale de Lille, Lille, France.
Since 1994, he has been an Associate Professor Since 1992, he has been a Research Engineer with
with the University of Lille. He is currently with the Laboratoire d’Electrotechnique et d’Electronique
the Laboratoire d’Electrotechnique et d’Electronique de Puissance, Ecole Centrale de Lille, Lille. His
de Puissance, University of Lille. His main research research interests include power electronics and the
interests include power electronics and electromag- control of electric machines.
netic compatibility for power converters.