Closed-form equations for analytical exploration and comparison of switching power losses in flying capacitor multicell and active neutral-point-clamped multilevel converters

This study presents closed-form formulas in order to analytically calculate, evaluate, and compare the switching power losses in flying capacitor multicell (FCM) and active neutral-point-clamped (ANPC) converters. The equations are derived on the basis of computing the switching instants of the PWM modulator exploiting the Kapteyn (Fourier-Bessel) series. In this regard, the switching power loss investigation is carried out analytically through the derived closed-form equations, and numerically through simulation results. In order to simulate the switching power losses the numeric approach using curve-fitting method is adopted. Comparative analysis and evaluation of the switching power losses are presented for both of the multilevel converters.