Performance of a Five-Phase, Eleven-Level Inverter Using Various PWM Techniques with Fewer Switches

Abstract

In this paper, various Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) techniques are used to evaluate the performance of an11-level, five-phase inverter with fewer switches. The suggested topology maintains high output quality and efficiency while reducing the number of switches. By using fewer semiconduc-tor devices, the inverter’s design improves fault tolerance and reliability while lowering overall system costs, switching losses, and complexity. Total Harmonic Distortion (THD), switching losses, and voltage stress are examined for a number of PWM techniques, such as Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM), Space Vector PWM (SVPWM), and Selective Harmonic Elimination PWM (SHEPWM). The comparative analysis emphasizes each PWM technique’s benefits in terms of improving power quality and suppressing harmonics.. To further illustrate the superiority of multiphase systems in terms of increased efficiency and fault tolerance, a thorough comparison between three-phase and five- phase 11-level inverters is provided. The suggested inverter topology is a feasible choice for high-performance industrial and renewable energy applications since simulation results confirmits efficacy in lowering THD and increasing power conversion efficiency..

Introduction

Multilevel inverters (MLIs) are widely used in high-power and medium-voltage applications such as electric vehicles, motor drives, and renewable energy systems due to their ability to produce high-quality output voltage with reduced harmonic distortion and switching stress. Unlike traditional two-level inverters, MLIs generate multiple voltage levels, reducing switching losses, electromagnetic interference (EMI), and improving power quality.

Common MLI topologies include diode-clamped, flying capacitor, and cascaded H-bridge (CHB). However, these often require many power switches, increasing complexity and cost. To address this, reduced-switch topologies—such as a five-phase 11-level inverter—offer benefits like lower total harmonic distortion (THD), better torque characteristics, and enhanced fault tolerance, especially in five-phase systems that provide improved torque density and control flexibility compared to three-phase systems.

Three main pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques are analyzed for controlling these inverters:

• Sinusoidal PWM (SPWM): Simple and widely used, based on comparing sinusoidal reference and triangular carrier waves.

• Space Vector PWM (SVPWM): More advanced, uses space vector theory for optimized voltage utilization and low THD.

• Selective Harmonic Elimination PWM (SHEPWM): Targets elimination of specific harmonics through optimized switching angles.

The paper studies the performance of a reduced-switch five-phase 11-level inverter under these PWM methods, focusing on THD, voltage stress, efficiency, and switching losses. Simulation results indicate:

• SHEPWM achieves the lowest harmonic distortion.

• SVPWM shows the lowest switching losses.

• Five-phase MLIs outperform three-phase equivalents with lower THD, higher efficiency, better fault tolerance, reduced voltage stress, and smoother power output.

This research demonstrates that reduced-switch five-phase MLIs combined with suitable PWM strategies offer an effective balance of efficiency, cost, and performance for high-power applications.

Conclusion

ThisstudyusedvariousPWMtechniquestoanalyzean 11-level, five-phase inverter topology with fewer switches. Significant improvements in power quality, fault tolerance, and efficiency were shown by the suggested topology. The study’s main conclusions are: • Switching loss analysis re- vealed that the five-phase system functions more efficiently, lowering overall power losses; the five-phase inverter demon- strated lower THD when compared to a traditional three-phaseinverter,improvingpowerqualityandloweringfiltering requirements. • The five-phase inverter is ideal for critical applications because of its fault-tolerant capability, which guarantees continuous operation even in the event of a phase failure. The superiority of the five-phase topology in terms of voltage stress, switching losses, and overall stability was demonstrated by a comparative analysis using a three-phase 11-level inverter. Space Vector PWM (SVPWM) offered the besttrade-offbetweenswitchingefficiencyandTHDreduction among the PWM techniques examined. Future research will concentrate on optimizing control strategies, experimentally validating the suggested topology, and implementing it in practical industrial and renewable energy applications.

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Mukesh Kumar. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.