Multilevel inverter with optimal THD through the firefly algorithm

Reduction of the Total Harmonic Distortion (THD) in multilevel inverters requires resolution of complex nonlinear transcendental equations; in this paper we propose a combination of one of the best existing optimized hardware structures with the recent firefly algorithm, which was used to optimize the THD, through finding the best switching angles and guaranteeing the minimization of harmonics within a user defined bandwidth. The obtained THD through the simulation of the thirteen-level symmetric inverter has been reduced down to 5% (FFT of 60 harmonics). In order to validate the simulation results, a thirteen-level symmetric inverter prototype has been made, and practically experimented and tested with different loads. Consequently, the measured THD with resistive load was 4.7% on a bandwidth of 3 kHz. The main advantage of the achieved work is the reduction of the THD