A New Configuration of Paralleled Modular ANPC Multilevel Converter Controlled by an Improved Modulation Method for 1 MHz, 1 MW EV Charger

Journal Article · Wed Aug 26 00:00:00 UTC 2020 · IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/tia.2020.3019778 · OSTI ID:1848301

Abarzadeh, Mostafa  ^[1]; Khan, Waqar A.  ^[2]; Weise, Nathan  ^[2]; Al-Haddad, Kamal  ^[3]; EL-Refaie, Ayman M.  ^[4]

---

1. Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering; Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States)
2. Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States). Dept. of Electrical and Computer Engineering
3. École de Technologie Supérieure, Montreal, QC (Canada). Dept. of Electrical Engineering
4. Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States)

In this work, a new configuration of the modular multilevel converter (MLC) based on the parallel connection of three-level active-neutral-point-clamped (3L-ANPC) cells as well as its improved modulation method is proposed for 1 MHz, 1 MW electric vehicle (EV) megacharger. In the proposed paralleled modular ANPC-MLC, only six high-frequency silicon carbide (SiC) power switches operating at 333 kHz are required to generate 1 MHz switching frequency spectrum. Moreover, the operating voltage of all power devices is halved, the magnitude of the first switching frequency harmonic cluster is decreased by the factor of five, and the load current is equally distributed between the 3L-ANPC legs by employing the proposed improved modulation method. Hence, the modularity, efficiency, and power density of the proposed converter are notably increased, whereas the value of passive components and the overall switching loss are remarkably decreased. In addition, an optimized design of the one 3L-ANPC cell of the proposed paralleled modular ANPC-MLC for 1 MHz, 1MW EV megacharger using Ansys SIwave, Icepak, and Q3D finite element method platforms is presented and analyzed in detail. The provided experimental results of the down-scaled setup verify the feasibility and viability of the proposed configuration as well as its improved switching pattern.

• Research Organization: Marquette Univ., Milwaukee, WI (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Advanced Research Projects Agency - Energy (ARPA-E)
• Grant/Contract Number: AR0000898
• OSTI ID: 1848301
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications, Journal Name: IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications Journal Issue: 3 Vol. 57; ISSN 0093-9994
• Publisher: IEEECopyright Statement
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English