Fault Tolerant Five-Level Active NPC Inverter for High-Reliability Photovoltaic Applications

Majid T. Fard, Jiangbiao He

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

Increasing penetration of the Photovoltaic (PV) systems in electric power generation sector entails high-reliability grid-connected PV inverters. In fact, inverter faults are one of the most common root causes for PV system failures that significantly increase the levelized cost of energy (LCOE). Meanwhile, higher voltage levels are favorable for utility-scale PV applications due to higher energy efficiency. Hence, a novel fault-tolerant four-leg five-level active neutral point clamped (5L-ANPC) inverter is proposed in this paper. In a fault scenario, the fourth leg can replace any of the faulty phases of the inverter to provide the fault-tolerant capability for post-fault operation. In normal healthy condition, the fourth-leg can be used for heavy-load current sharing to mitigate the thermal stress on the semiconductor devices of the main phase legs, which further enhances the PV system reliability. Simulation results are demonstrated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed PV inverter.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publication2021 IEEE 13th International Symposium on Diagnostics for Electrical Machines, Power Electronics and Drives, SDEMPED 2021
Pages395-400
Number of pages6
ISBN (Electronic)9781728192970
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Event13th IEEE International Symposium on Diagnostics for Electrical Machines, Power Electronics and Drives, SDEMPED 2021 - Dallas, United States
Duration: Aug 22 2021Aug 25 2021

Publication series

Name2021 IEEE 13th International Symposium on Diagnostics for Electrical Machines, Power Electronics and Drives, SDEMPED 2021

Conference

Conference13th IEEE International Symposium on Diagnostics for Electrical Machines, Power Electronics and Drives, SDEMPED 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityDallas
Period8/22/218/25/21

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 IEEE.

Keywords

  • Fault tolerance
  • LCOE reduction
  • Photovoltaic systems
  • PV inverter
  • Reliability
  • Utility scale

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Safety, Risk, Reliability and Quality

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