Inverters

Introduction
DC to AC converters
Change DC input voltage to a symmetric ac
output voltage of desired magnitude and
frequency
Ideal inverter output waveform should be
sinusoidal
Simplest form of output: square wave

Output voltage could be fixed or variable

Fixed or variable frequency
Normally the input DC voltage is fixed
Variable output can be produced by pulse
width modulation (PWM) control within the
inverter

 Low and medium power applications square

wave voltages can be accepted
For high power applications, low distorted
sinusoidal waveforms are required
Harmonics can be reduced by using high speed
power semiconductor devices and switching
techniques

 Typical input sources:

DC batteries
Wind generator
AC rectified output

Used in industrial applications

Variable speed ac motor dries
Induction heating
Standby power supplies
UPS

Simple Example

Inverter

Requirement on the Switching

Network
Switching network must be able to:
Connect the load directly across the DC source
Reverse connect the load across the DC source
Short the load

Simple Example
Load requires ac voltage of 50Hz
Connect the load across the dc source for certain
period of time (10ms)
Reverse connect the load for an equal duration of
time (10ms)
Bipolar square wave across the load of period 20ms
(50Hz)
Square wave output having a fundamental
frequency and harmonics can be found using
Fourier series expansion

 Can remove harmonics using

filter
RL load
4 quadrant operation
Should be able to provide +ve and
ve current
Provide +ve and ve voltages

Voltage Fed Inverter (VFI)

Also called voltage source inverters (VSI)
Input voltage remains constant
Capacitor acts as input to the inverter

Half Bridge Inverter

 Triggering signal of switch 1 should be a logic

invert of the triggering signal of switch 2
When diodes conduct, energy is fed back to
the dc source
Diodes are called feedback diodes
Transistor conducts for only 90

) 1() = 0.45 = 0.45 48 = 21.6

) =

(0.5 48)2

2.4 = 240

) = 24 2.4 = 10; = 0.5 10 = 5

) = 2 24 = 48

Single Phase Full Wave Inverter

Mode 1:1 , 2 ON

Inductor energizes in forward current

Mode 2:3 , 4 ON

Inductor de-energizes in forward current

Mode 3:3 , 4 ON

Inductor energizes in reverse current

Mode 4:1 , 2 ON

Inductor de-energizes in reverse current

Output Voltage
Output RMS Voltage

Fourier Series Expansion

Fundamental Voltage RMS

Example
Repeat the same example of single phase half
wave inverter for single phase full wave inverter

Modulation Strategies

 Improve
the
output waveform
by increasing the
switching
frequency
Increase
the
number of pulses
Shape is more
sinusoidal

Voltage Control of Single Phase

Inverters
Necessary to control the output voltage of
inverters:
To compensate for changes in input dc voltage
To fulfil the requirements of ac load
To regulate voltage of inverter
To satisfy the constant volts and frequency control
requirement

Most efficient method to controlling the gain is

though pulse width modulation (PWM) control

Pulse Width Modulation Control

Controlling the output voltage by controlling
the width of pulses
Single pulse width modulation
Multiple pulse width modulation
Sinusoidal pulse width modulation

Single Pulse Width Modulation

1
=

Gate Signal for Transistor 1

Gate Signal for Transistor 4

Single PWM
One pulse per half cycle
Changing the width of the pulse controls the output
voltage of inverter
Use comparator to compare the reference dc voltage
with carrier signal (triangle waveform)
Gate signal is generated
Fundamental frequency of output voltage depends
on frequency of reference signal
By varying from 0 to , pulse width can be
varied from 0 to 180.

Single PWM
Control variable: Amplitude modulation index:

The rms value of output voltage:

where a is the pulse width

Multiple Pulse Width Modulation

Extension of single pulse modulation
Also called uniform pulse width modulation (UPWM)
Several pulses of equal distances are used in each half
cycle
Gating signal is generated by turning on an doff the
transistors by comparing the reference signal with a
triangular carrier wave
Frequency of reference signal controls output
frequency
Carrier frequency determines the number of pulses per
half cycle p

Multiple PWM

Multiple PWM

Multiple PWM
Frequency modulation ratio:

Number of pulses in each HC:

=
=
2
2

The rms value of output voltage:

Sinusoidal Modulation
Multiple PWM has equal distance pulses
Pulse width of each pulse is varied in proportion
to the amplitude o a sine wave
Reference signal is a sinusoidal wave
Several pulses per HC with different pulse
widths
Most commonly used in industrial applications

Effect of Switching Frequency