Multi-megawatt, medium voltage, PWM, voltage source, sine-wave-output converter for industrial drive applications

This paper concerns the design, development and prototype testing of a state of the art, medium voltage (MV), high power, voltage source (VS), pulse width modulated (PWM) power converter which delivers variable frequency sinusoidal voltage at its output terminals. The main feature of this power converter is the use of series 3.3 kV, 1200 A IGBTs and a sinewave output filter. The design limitations of PWM IGBT power converters, inherent in modern devices, are briefly summarised. These have been overcome by the use of a sinewave common mode and differential mode output filter. Finally, the application of this converter to a variable speed drive application is briefly mentioned.