Design methodology for three-phase four-wire T-type inverter with neutral inductor

Abstract

Three-level (3L) converters have been widely used in industry for decades. Compared to the three-phase-three-wire (3P3W) 3L inverter, the three-phase-four-wire (3P4W) one is able to supply the unbalanced loads but has to afford much larger filter inductors because the neutral wire provides a path for high-switching zero-sequence currents. To save filter inductances, a neutral inductor is proposed to insert in the neutral wire. Meanwhile, a complete design methodology is put forward to design the filter inductors and the neutral inductor. With low-frequency zero-sequence currents flowing through the neutral wire, the three-phase load voltages might become unbalanced and/or distorted. To improve the voltage quality, a resonant controller, with the resonant frequency at fundamental output frequency (fo), is presented to add into the zero-sequence voltage loop for balancing load voltages; concurrently, the other resonant controller, with the resonant frequency at 3fo, is presented to insert in the zero-sequence voltage loop or neutral current loop for mitigating voltage distortion. Finally, all of the proposed works are verified on a 3P4W T-type inverter.