Loss distribution analysis of three-level active neutral-point-clamped (3L-ANPC) converter with different PWM strategies

The three-level (3L) Active Neutral-Point-Clamped (ANPC) topology has been introduced to resolve the uneven loss distribution issue in the classical 3L Neutral-Point-Clamped (NPC) topology. The Pulse-Width-Modulation (PWM) strategy is then an important means to fully explore the potential benefits of the 3L-ANPC topology. This paper presents a novel loss balancing modulation strategy - Splitting Switching Loss Distribution PWM (SSLD-PWM) strategy to achieve more even loss distribution in the 3L-ANPC converter. Basically, in the proposed PWM strategy, the switching-on losses and switching-off losses are separated in order to improve the loss distribution among the power devices. A comparison between the proposed strategy and other major PWM strategies for the loss distribution is also carried out in this paper. Benchmarking results show that the proposed strategy has effective and superior performance in contrast to the prior-art PWM strategies in terms of even power loss distribution.