Single Phase I nverter

What is meant by Inverter?

The inverter is the power electronic circuit, which converts the DC voltage into AC voltage. The
DC source is normally a battery or output of the controlled rectifier.
The output voltage waveform of the inverter can be square wave, quasi-square wave or low
distorted sine wave. The output voltage can be controlled with the help of drives of the switches.
The pulse width modulation techniques are most commonly used to control the output voltage of
inverters. Such inverters are called as PWM inverters. The output voltage of the inverter contain
harmonics whenever it is not sinusoidal. These harmonics can be reduced by using proper
control schemes.
What are the various types of Inverters?
Inverters can be broadly classified into two types. They are
Voltage Source Inverter (VSI)
Current Source Inverter (CSI)
When the DC voltage remains constant, then it is called voltage inverter(VSI) or voltage fed
inverter (VFI). When input current is maintained constant, then it is called current source inverter
(CSI) or current fed inverter (CFI). Sometimes, the DC input voltage to the inverter is controlled
to adjust the output. Such inverters are called variable DC link inverters. The inverters can have
single phase or three-phase output.
A voltage source inverter is fed by a stiff dc voltage, whereas a current source inverter is fed
by a stiff current source.
A voltage source can be converted to a current source by connecting a series inductance and
then varying the voltage to obtain the desired current.
A VSI can also be operated in current-controlled mode, and similarly a CSI can also be
operated in the voltage control mode.
The inverters are used in variable frequency ac motor drives, uninterrupted power
supplies, induction heating, static VAR compensators, etc.

The following table gives us the comparative study between VSI and CSI

VSI CSI
VSI is fed from a DC voltage source having
small or negligible impedance.
CSI is fed with adjustable current from a DC
voltage source of high impedance.
Input voltage is maintained constant The input current is constant but adjustable.
Output voltage does not dependent on the load
The amplitude of output current is independent
of the load.
The waveform of the load current as well as its
magnitude depends upon the nature of load
impedance.
The magnitude of output voltage and its
waveform depends upon the nature of the load
impedance.
VSI requires feedback diodes The CSI does not require any feedback diodes.
The commutation circuit is complicated
Commutation circuit is simple as it contains
only capacitors.
Power BJT, Power MOSFET, IGBT, GTO with
self commutation can be used in the circuit.
They cannot be used as these devices have to
withstand reverse voltage.









Single Phase Half Bridge Inverter
It is also known as "inverter leg".
Basic building blocks for full bridge, three phase and higher order inverters.
There are 2 switches by dividing the dc source voltage into two parts with the capacitors.
Each capacitor has the same value and has voltage Vdc / 2.
The top (S1) and bottom (S2) switch must be complementary to each other. (When S1 is
closed, S2 must be opened and vise versa)

Feedback (freewheeling) diodes are required to provide continuity of current for
inductive loads.
It provides current to flow even switches are opened.



Single Phase Full Bridge Converter
Full bridge converter is also basic circuit to convert dc to ac.
An ac output is synthesized from a dc input by closing and opening switches in an
appropriate sequence.
There are also four different states depending on which switches are closed.


State
Switches
Closed
Vo
1 S1 & S2 + Vdc
2 S3 & S4 -Vdc
3 S1 & S3 0
4 S2 & S4 0


State 1 and State 2

State 3 and State 4
Switches S1 and S4 should not be closed at the same time. S2 and S3 should be be closed
in parallel too.
Otherwise, a short circuit would exist across the dc source.
Real switches do not turn on or off instantaneously. Hence, switching transition times
must be accommodated in the control of switches.
Overlap of switch "on" will cause short circuit (shoot-through fault) across the dc voltage
source.
The time allowed for switching is called blanking time.
Square-wave Inverter
The figure below is the simple square-wave inverter to show the concept of AC waveform
generation.



The current waveform in the load depends on the load components.
The current waveform matches the shape of the output voltage for the resistive load.
The current will have more sinusoidal quality than the voltage for the inductive load because of
the filtering property of the inductance.
For a series RL load and a square wave output voltage, switches S1 and S2 is