A method of reducing switching losses in three-level NPC inverter

The aim of the paper is to present a concept of implementation of a space vector modulation (SVM) algorithm, which is used to create alternating current waveforms of changing amplitude and frequency in power inverters. The main goal of the method is to decrease the number of state changes in power transistors. It is realized by utilizing a prediction algorithm and sequences of transistors, which are not common in use. The method requires measurement of inverter output current flow. The prediction algorithm analyzes possible sequences of transistors’ states and choose those which offers smaller switch count. A decrease of about 20% was obtained for the cases tested. This paper presents simulation result for selected driving scenario. The described method decreases the number of state changes in power transistors and therefore it is a potentially good method to considerably decrease energy losses of multilevel inverter-powered drive.