IP Library Granted Patent US 12671346
Granted Patent B2
US 12671346 · App. 18/776,294 · Granted Jun 30, 2026

High-performance control method for carrier- based modulation t-type three-level converters

Inventors: Ke Shen (Xi'an city, CN); Min Zhang (Xi'an city, CN); Kaixuan Gao (Xi'an city, CN); Yujia Cao (Xi'an city, CN); Peixin Liang (Xi'an city, CN)
Assignee: NORTHWESTERN POLYTECHNICAL UNIVERSITY
H02M7/487H02M1/123
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12671346
App. No.
18/776,294
Granted
Jun 30, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

The invention relates to a high-performance control method for carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters. The method includes: S 1, representing the mathematical model of the converter using the switching function; S 2, representing the three-phase modulation signal using the sine function, and representing upper and lower carrier signals using the piecewise function; S 3, determining the time distribution of the converter switching state and obtaining the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier under the switching state without maximum common-mode voltage; S 4, sampling voltage values of two DC-side capacitors and using the voltage difference as the basis for left or right shifts of the lower carrier; S 5, comparing the three-phase modulation wave with the upper and lower carriers to output the switching pulse signal. This method addresses neutral-point potential balance, common-mode voltage suppression, and reduces digital processor resource usage during PWM modulation.

Claims (1557)

1 . A high-performance control method for carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters, comprising a neutral-point potential balance and a common-mode voltage suppression, the specific steps are as follows:

S 1 , representing a mathematical model of T-type three-level converter by using a switching function;

S 2 , representing a three-phase modulation signal by using a sine function expression, and representing upper and lower carrier signals by using a piecewise function expression;

S 3 , using ideas of a sector partition and a regular sampling method, determining a time distribution of a converter switching state, and obtaining a critical phase shift angle of a lower carrier under the switching state without a maximum common-mode voltage;

S 4 , sampling voltage values of two DC-side capacitors, and using a voltage difference as a basis for left or right shifts of a lower carrier;

S 5 , comparing a three-phase modulation wave with the upper and lower carriers to realize a PWM control and output a switching pulse signal.

2 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters, according to claim 1 , in S 1 , a working principle of the T-type three-level converter is described by a switching function, and switching function expressions of an output voltage and a load voltage are obtained, and the switching function expressions of the common-mode voltage are derived by using the switching function and switching function expressions according to an output level state of the T-type three-level converter, the switching function values of each phase representing the output level states are 1, 0 or −1, and values are substituted into a common-mode voltage expression, under a carrier-based sinusoidal pulse width modulation, there are 25 combinations of the converter switching state, excluding [1, 1, 1] and [−1, −1, −1], and a final common-mode voltage will only have three cases, if DC-side voltage is expressed as V dc , then amplitudes of the three common-mode voltages are V dc/3, V dc /6 and 0 respectively, and the maximum common-mode voltage is V dc /3.

3 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 2 , the common-mode voltage switching function of the three-level converters are expressed as:

V

CMV

=

V

dc

6

·

(

S

A

+

S

B

+

S

C

)

.

wherein S A , S B and S C are the switching state functions of the T-type three-level converters.

4 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 1 , in S 2 , output information of the converter is collected by a voltage sensor or a resistance divider, and a fundamental amplitude of the load voltage is obtained by Fourier decomposition method, then compared with maximum amplitude value for a normalized processing to obtain modulation information, and the sinusoidal function expression of the three-phase modulation wave is provide, the piecewise function is used to represent an the upper carrier and a phase-shifted of the lower carrier by using a switching period as a piecewise interval.

5 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 4 , the expression of the three-phase modulation wave:

{

u

ra

=

m

·

sin

(

ω

r

t

+

π

/

6

)

u

rb

=

m

·

sin

(

ω

r

t

-

π

/

2

)

u

rc

=

m

·

sin

(

ω

r

t

+

5

π

/

6

)

.

the expressions of the upper carrier and the phase-shifted of the lower carrier:

u

c

1

=

{

-

2

ω

c

t

+

(

2

k

+

1

)

,

k

=

0

,

1

,

2

n

-

1

t

[

kT

c

,

kT

c

+

T

c

/

2

]

-

2

ω

c

t

-

(

2

k

+

1

)

,

k

=

0

,

1

,

2

n

-

1

t

[

kT

c

+

T

c

/

2

,

(

k

+

1

)

T

c

]

u

c

2

=

{

-

2

ω

c

(

t

+

T

c

·

θ

/

2

π

)

+

2

k

,

k

=

0

,

1

,

2

n

-

1

t

[

kT

c

,

kT

c

+

T

c

/

2

]

2

ω

c

(

t

+

T

c

·

θ

/

2

π

)

-

(

2

k

+

2

)

,

k

=

0

,

1

,

2

n

-

1

t

[

kT

c

+

T

c

/

2

,

(

k

+

1

)

T

c

]

.

wherein m is a modulation index, ω r is an angular frequency of the modulation wave, ω c is an angular frequency of a carrier wave, and T c is the switching period, θ is the phase shift angle of the lower carrier.

6 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 1 , in S 3 , periodicity and symmetry are used to conduct the sector partition on carrier and modulation waveforms in an unit power frequency period, to obtain twelve similar sectors, then, at a peak or a trough of the carrier wave in a single sector, a time function of the converter switching state is determined according to a regular sampling principle and a geometric relationship, and the time function is used to determine the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier.

7 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 6 , the time functions of the converter switching state and the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of twelve sectors are as follows:

the time function of sector 1 is:

{

δ

a

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

π

/

6

]

δ

b

=

T

c

+

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

-

π

/

2

]

δ

c

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

5

π

/

6

]

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 1 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

(

δ

b

+

δ

c

)

the time function of sector 2 is:

{

T

c

-

δ

a

=

T

c

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

π

/

6

)

T

c

-

δ

b

=

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

-

π

/

2

)

T

c

-

δ

c

=

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

5

π

/

6

)

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 2 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

[

(

T

c

-

δ

a

)

+

(

T

c

-

δ

c

)

]

the time function of sector 3 is:

{

T

c

-

δ

a

=

T

c

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

π

/

6

)

T

c

-

δ

b

=

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

-

π

/

2

)

T

c

-

δ

c

=

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

5

π

/

6

)

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 3 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

[

(

T

c

-

δ

a

)

+

(

T

c

-

δ

b

)

]

the time function of sector 4 is:

{

δ

a

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

π

/

6

]

δ

b

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

-

π

/

2

]

δ

c

=

T

c

+

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

5

π

/

6

]

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 4 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

(

δ

b

+

δ

c

)

the time function of sector 5 is:

{

δ

a

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

π

/

6

]

δ

b

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

-

π

/

2

]

δ

c

=

T

c

+

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

5

π

/

6

]

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 5 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

(

δ

a

+

δ

c

)

the time function of sector 6 is:

{

T

c

-

δ

a

=

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

π

/

6

)

T

c

-

δ

b

=

T

c

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

-

π

/

2

)

T

c

-

δ

c

=

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

5

π

/

6

)

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 6 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

[

(

T

c

-

δ

a

)

+

(

T

c

-

δ

b

)

]

the time function of sector 7 is:

{

T

c

-

δ

a

=

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

π

/

6

)

T

c

-

δ

b

=

T

c

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

-

π

/

2

)

T

c

-

δ

c

=

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

5

π

/

6

)

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 7 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

[

(

T

c

-

δ

b

)

+

(

T

c

-

δ

c

)

]

the time function of sector 8 is:

{

δ

a

=

T

c

+

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

π

/

6

]

δ

b

=

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

-

π

/

2

]

δ

c

=

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

5

π

/

6

]

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier in sector 8 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

(

δ

a

+

δ

c

)

the time function of sector 9 is:

{

δ

a

=

T

c

+

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

π

/

6

]

δ

b

=

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

-

π

/

2

]

δ

c

=

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

5

π

/

6

]

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 9 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

(

δ

a

+

δ

b

)

the time function of sector 10 is:

{

T

c

-

δ

a

=

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

π

/

6

)

T

c

-

δ

b

=

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

-

π

/

2

)

T

c

-

δ

c

=

T

c

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

5

π

/

6

)

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 10 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

[

(

T

c

-

δ

b

)

+

(

T

c

-

δ

c

)

]

the time function of sector 11 is:

{

T

c

-

δ

a

=

-

m

T

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

π

/

6

)

T

c

-

δ

b

=

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

-

π

/

2

)

T

c

-

δ

c

=

T

c

-

mT

c

sin

(

ω

r

·

kT

c

+

5

π

/

6

)

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 11 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

[

(

T

c

-

δ

a

)

+

(

T

c

-

δ

c

)

]

the time function of sector 12 is:

{

δ

a

=

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

π

/

6

]

δ

b

=

T

c

+

mT

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

-

π

/

2

]

δ

c

=

m

T

c

sin

[

ω

r

·

(

k

+

1

/

2

)

T

c

+

5

π

/

6

]

the critical phase shift angle of the lower carrier of sector 12 is:

θ

*

=

1

2

·

ω

c

(

δ

a

+

δ

b

)

.

8 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 7 , a phase shift angle range of the lower carrier is:

π

"\[LeftBracketingBar]"

θ

"\[RightBracketingBar]"

θ

*

.

9 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 1 , in S 4 , a voltage sensor or a resistance divider are used to sample the voltage values of two DC-side capacitors, and a phase shift direction of the lower carrier is determined according to a voltage difference between the two DC-side capacitors when an upper capacitor voltage is greater than a lower capacitor voltage, that is, ΔV C >0, then the lower carrier is selected to move to right within a phase shift angle range to lift aneutral-point potential; when the upper capacitor voltage is less than the lower capacitor voltage, that is, ΔV C <0, then the phase shift angle range of the lower carrier is selected to move left to reduce the neutral-point potential, a voltage difference limit is set.

10 . The high-performance control method for the carrier-based modulation T-type three-level converters according to claim 1 , in S 5 , an upper carrier and a phase-shifted lower carrier are compared with a normalized modulation signal respectively to obtain two sets of PWM pulse signals, and the two signals are complementary assigned to four power switches of each phase bridge arm.