A New Configurable SC-based Dual Source Inverter Topology with Improved Reliability

This paper proposes a configurable fifteenlevel two-source neutral point clamped inverter topology that is reliable against source outages and switch failures. The topology has two dc sources, four capacitors, a total of six unidirectional and four bidirectional switches. Levelshifted PWM is used to generate the required number of levels. The proposed topology is able to generate multilevel output waveform satisfactorily even at the advent of source outages and switch faults. Power loss analysis were performed in PLECS to demonstrate high efficiency of the proposed MLI. Switch failure rates were obtained to show the improved reliability of the MLI. Moreover, switch fault analysis for different fault conditions were carried out to show the system robustness. Finally, the hardware results are presented for 1kW experimental setup for steady-state as well as dynamic conditions. Experimental setup of MLI is based on IKW75N60T IGBT with anti-parallel diode with TMS320F28379D DSP controller. The proposed topology demonstrates, excellent efficiency (97.3% in PLECS simulation and 96.1% in experiment for 1kW power), high reliability against switch failures, and robustness against dc source outages and switch faults.