Generalized Theory of Phase-Shifted Carrier PWM for Cascaded H-Bridge Converters and Modular Multilevel Converters

Abstract

This paper discusses the generalized theory of phase-shifted carrier pulsewidth modulation (PSC-PWM) for cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converters and modular multilevel converters (MMCs), provides a reasonable classification of the PSC-PWM, and extends the possible phase-shift angles to full range. First, the PSC-PWM for CHB converter is classified into two categories by phase-shift pattern. In addition, by rigorous mathematical derivation, the impact law of the full-range phase-shift angles on harmonic minimization is obtained. And then, it is proved that the generalized theory is equally applicable to MMC, which also merges the former proposed PSC-PWM for MMCs into itself. Moreover, the harmonic analysis of the dead-time error voltage is discussed, which is found to have the same harmonic distribution as the ideal voltage, except for the emerging of odd-order harmonics. In summary, this generalized theory offers a general perspective of the PSC-PWM for CHB converter and MMC, and builds up a scientific and comprehensive understanding for researchers from both academia and industry. Finally, the analytical findings are sufficiently validated by simulation and experimental results.