A Comparative Study of Three Phase 2-Level VSI with 3-Level and 5-Level Diode Clamped Multilevel Inverter

Abstract—Multilevel inverters offer several advantages compared to the conventional 3-phase bridge inverter in terms of lower dv/dt stresses, lower electromagnetic compatibility, smaller rating and better output features. This paper deals with study of Three Phase Two Level, Three Level and Five Level Voltage Source Inverter (VSI). The Three Level and Five Level are realized by Neutral point clamped (NPC) or Diode clamped (DC) inverter using Sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM) technique. Similarly three phase VSI (two level) is also simulated using SPWM technique. SPWM technique is one of the most popular PWM techniques. Now-a-days harmonic reduction using SPWM is most popularly used in industries for a Variable Frequency Drives (VFDs). All the circuits are implemented using MATLAB software and their outputs are shown in figures step by step. Finally, this paper compares all the three inverters i.e., Two Level, Three Level and Five Level based on the total harmonic distortion of the output voltage waveform. Keywords—Diode clamped (DC) inverter; multilevel inverter (MLI); Sinusoidal pulse width modulation (SPWM); Total harmonic distortion (THD). I