Design and Development of an Experimental Test-bench based on Multi-pulse and Multilevel Converters

This paper describes an experimental test-bench based on multi-pulse and multilevel converters proposed for research and development projects related with classical power electronics converters for high-power applications. The developed system is rated 18-kW and regroups in a single set-up most used converter topologies in electric drive and grid-connected. It is consisting of a 3-level neutral-point clamped (NPC) inverter, an 18-pulse rectifier and a multilevel cascaded H-bridge system. The practical implementation of such system for laboratory use is a time-consuming task, mostly for beginners and students. Thus, this paper can serve as a reference design and complete our previous works where no details about this platform were given. The proposed system has been used to demonstrate reversible transfer of electrical and mechanical harmonics for pulsating torque analysis and advanced modulation and control schemes. Test results obtained confirm that, diverse advanced analysis related with classical converters can be achieved by using a single test rig and significantly save time and enables researchers to be focused on the system analysis and control software development.