Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) Techniques

Mohammed Salah Yousef

Why Use PWM Techniques?

To control inverter output frequency (fundamental) To control inverter output voltage (fundamental) To minimize harmonic distortion

 Objective of PWM
Control of inverter output voltage Reduction of harmonics

Disadvantages of PWM
Increase of switching losses due to high PWM frequency Reduction of available voltage

EMI problems due to high-order harmonics

Basic principles of PWM

-Application of the equal-area theorem This is sinusoidal PWM (SPWM) -The equal-area theorem can be applied to realize any shape of waveforms

 Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM)

Fig. Pulse-width modulation.

 Inverter output voltage When vcontrol > vtri, VA0 = Vdc/2 When vcontrol < vtri, VA0 = -Vdc/2

Control of inverter output voltage PWM frequency is the same as the frequency of vtri
Amplitude is controlled by the peak value of vcontrol Fundamental frequency is controlled by the frequency of vcontrol

Modulation Index (m)

m where, vcontrol peak of (VA0 )1 , vtri Vdc / 2 (VA0 )1 : fundamenta l frequecny component of VA0

II. PWM METHODS

A. Sine PWM (1)

Two Level Voltage Source Inverter

Three-phase inverter

Fig. Three-phase Sine PWM inverter.

 Inverter Configuration
P
S1 S3 S5

A
Vd
Cd

iA
B
C

iB iC
LOAD

S4

S6

S2

Assumption: dc capacitor very large dc voltage ripple free

 Modulating and Carrier Waves

v
0

v cr

vmA
Vcr

v mB
Vm

vmC
t

vcr Carrier wave (triangle)

Amplitude modulation index

Vm ma Vcr

vm Modulating wave (sine)

Frequency modulation index

mf f cr fm

 Gate Signal Generation

vmA
0

v cr

v g1 vg 4

v AN
Vd
0

Phase A

v mA v cr

v g1 0 (v g 4 0) v g 4 0 (v g1 0)

S1 on ( S 4 off ) S 4 on ( S1 off )

v AN Vd

v mA v cr

v AN 0

Vg1 and Vg4 are complementary

 Line-to-Line Voltage vAB

v
0
P
S1 S3 S5

vcr

vmA
Vcr

vmB
Vm

vmC
t

v AN
A
Vd

Vd
B
C

vBN
Vd
0

S4

S6

S2

v AB
N

v AB1
Vd

 Three-phase sine PWM waveforms

Frequency of vtri and vcontrol
Frequency of vtri = fs Frequency of vcontrol = f1 where, fs = PWM frequency f1 = Fundamental frequency
V
C0 A0

Inverter output voltage

When vcontrol > vtri, VA0 = Vdc/2 When vcontrol < vtri, VA0 = -Vdc/2 where, VAB = VA0 VB0 VBC = VB0 VC0 VCA = VC0 VA0
V V
CA BC

AB

B0

Fig. Waveforms of three-phase sine PWM inverter.

 Amplitude modulation ratio (ma)

ma peak amplitude of vcontrol peak amplitude of vtri value of Vdc / 2 of (VA0 )1 ,

where,

(VA0 )1 : fundamenta l frequecny

component

VA0

Frequency modulation ratio (mf)

mf fs , where, f1 fs PWM frequency and f1 fundamenta l frequency

mf should be an odd integer

if mf is not an integer, there may exist sunhamonics at output voltage if mf is not odd, DC component may exist and even harmonics are present at output voltage

mf should be a multiple of 3 for three-phase PWM inverter

An odd multiple of 3 and even harmonics are suppressed