CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

Multilevel-inverters (MLI) are designed for processes that require high Volt-
Ampere rating and for applications which desire high power-quality waveforms.
Large instantaneous common-mode voltage appears across motor terminals in
Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) controlled inverter. Multilevel inverters can
overcome this problem as each switching device has low dV/dt per cycle. Also, the
efficiency is high as they operate at much lower frequencies than PWM-controlled
inverters resulting in lower switching losses. Voltage source inverters like MLI can
achieve high voltage with low harmonics.
Different levels of voltage sources are used based on the configuration. Symmetric
structure uses all voltage sources of same level, whereas asymmetric structure can
use one of the following configurations
 Unary configuration
 Binary configuration
 Ternary configuration
Selection of source configuration depends on the topology used and the desired
voltage levels. By using Unary configuration we can build a fault tolerant system.
On the other hand, by using Binary or Ternary configuration we can achieve higher
output levels with optimal number of switching components
When the number of output level rises, the output voltage and current waveform
resembles the sinusoidal waveform. Due to high number of levels, the harmonics
distortion of output voltage waveform decreases. Lower dv/dt is observed in
multilevel inverter as the switching occurs between lower voltage levels when
matched to two-level inverter.
In this paper, we present a multilevel inverter to produce 31-level of output, in
which the MOSFETs are operated at fundamental frequency. This technique
enables the value of THD to lie in the range specified by IEEE standard 519
without using active or passive filter. DC/AC converters, commonly known as
voltage source inverter are widely used due to their higher efficiency, cost
effectiveness and reduced size of passive filters. Multiple types of topologies have
been developed to meet the requirement of industries where in, inverters with
different power ratings, frequency, size and voltage-levels are necessary.
Power semiconductor switching devices are controlled using gate signals generated
by using modulation techniques such as Sinusoidal PWM, Space Vector
Modulation, and Selective Harmonic Elimination (SHE). These switching
techniques generate pulses in such a way that output waveform will be adjusted to
the sinusoidal wave. Two-level inverter use PWM which is effective in producing
switch voltage /current waveform, the time average of which will be equal to the
desired reference. Dead time, which is the waiting time to prevent shoot-through of
inverter, should be considered. Dead time requirement increases the lower order
harmonics.
First multilevel-inverter topology consisted of single phase inverter connected in
series. This topology is widely known as cascaded H-bridge (CHB) inverter.
Later, an inverter named Neutral Point Clamped (NPC) was constructed using
diodes connected to the neutral point; which was capable of producing multi-
level output voltage by using a single DC voltage source. Flying Capacitor (FC)
inverter was made using several capacitors. Above said topologies are widely
known as “Classical Topologies”. In recent years, research is focused on reduced
device count inverters which require new control techniques. A modular topology
named Packed U-Cell (PUC) which uses trinary configured voltage source is
developed. The number of active switches remain constant in this topology.
 CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE SURVEY

JANNU RAMU et al, (2012) presented a Comparison between Symmetrical and

Asymmetrical Single Phase Seven Level Cascade H-Bridge Multilevel Inverter
with PWM Topology [30]. They compared between single seven levels H-bridge
Inverter, which uses equal DC sources and symmetrical MLI and different DC
sources an asymmetrical MLI, is used as load to observe the performance output
voltages. The proposed ISPWM will give the FFT Analysis THD values 21.84
voltage of 332.7 that the number of bridges and DC sources switching losses are
reduced. When compared to symmetrical MLI. Simulations have been carried out
in MATLAB SIMULINK to study the performance of the proposed prototype. A
predictive current control technique has been carried out to verify the viability of
new configuration. (MLI).

G. MURALI KRISHNA et al, 2012 presented a THD Analysis of Symmetrical and

Asymmetrical Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverters with PV Arrays [49].
Multilevel cascaded H-bridge inverters from five levels to seventeen levels have
been simulated using MATLAB/Simulink. The symmetrical Cascaded H-bridge
multilevel inverter consists of the number of switches increases for increase the
number of levels. And also control circuit, complexity, maintenance increases. The
asymmetrical cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverters to get the 7 level to 17 level
output voltage. The THD decreases to increase the number of levels, some lower or
higher harmonic contents remain dominant in each level. These will be more
dangerous induction drives. Hence the future work may be focus on implementing
closed loop control with suitable harmonic elimination technique to achieve better
performance of the converter. The fuel cell and photo voltaic cells are used for
multilevel inverter input voltage of dc sources. The future scope is to determine the
PWM techniques of asymmetrical multilevel inverters then to reduce the harmonic
content in the output voltage of the asymmetrical multilevel inverters.
(ASYMMETRTIC USED TO REDUCE THE HARMONIC IN THD AND
SWITCHES ALSO REDUCED).

R. BENSRAJ, et al, (2010) presented Unipolar PWM using Trapezoidal

Amalgamated Rectangular Function for Improved Performance of Multilevel
Inverter [7]. Ternary DC source multilevel inverter is triggered by the Unipolar
PWM strategy having sinusoidal and trapezoidal reference with inverted sine
carriers. These Pulse Width Modulating (PWM) techniques include Phase
Disposition (PD), Alternate Phase Opposition Disposition (APOD), and Carrier
Overlapping (CO). Performance factors like Total Harmonic Distortion (THD),
VRMS (fundamental), crest factor and form factor are evaluated for various
modulation indices. It is observed that UISCPDPWM strategy with trapezoidal
reference provides output with relatively low distortion and UISCOPWM strategy
with trapezoidal reference provides relatively higher fundamental RMS output
voltage. (THIS PAPER INSIST OF OTHER PWM GENERATION
METHODS).

G. Murali Krishna et al, (2012) presented that THD Analysis of Symmetrical and
Asymmetrical Cascaded H-Bridge Multilevel Inverters with PV Arrays [49]. The
non conventional energy sources are used compared with conventional energy
source because day by day the conventional energy sources are reduces. The main
energy supplier of the worldwide economy is fossil fuel. This however has led to
many problems such as global warming and air pollution. Therefore, with regard to
the worldwide trend of green energy, solar power technology has become one of
the most promising energy resources. The number of PV installations has had an
exponential growth mainly due to the governments and utility companies who
support the idea of the green energy. One of the most important types of PV
installation is the grid connected inverter configurations. These grid connected PV
39 systems can be categorized from two viewpoints: PV cell and inverter
configurations. The PV cell arrangements fall into four broad groups: centralized
technology, string technology, multi-string technology and AC-module and AC cell
technologies. The PV cells are producing the dc sources. But all electrical
equipments are operated ac supply. So I want the ac supply by using inverters. The
multilevel inverters are used for high power rating compared to the inverters. The
symmetrical and asymmetrical multilevel inverters are simulated with dc sources
in Matlab/simulink. The THD analysis observed in the 5level to 17 level of
symmetrical asymmetrical multilevel inverters with dc sources. (PV INPUT).

Kiruthika et al, (2013) presented Multicarrier Based Asymmetric Multilevel

Inverter. A design of Pulse Width Modulation for Twenty Seven Level [37]
asymmetric cascaded multilevel inverter. It focuses on asymmetrical topologies,
the general function of this multi level inverter is to synthesize a desired voltage
from several separate dc source. This hybrid topology has more advantageous of
industrial applications. In conventional methods, the need of converters to supply
the cells of reversible multilevel converters increases the cost and losses of such
inverters. The proposed method introduces 27 levels Inverter fed Induction Motor
drive. With the use of high level inverter, resolution is increase and also the
harmonics is highly reduced.(HIGHER ORDER MLI).
 CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY

3.1 EXISTING SYSTEM:

To obtain a 31-level inverter. In this approach, the modification is made in both

control circuit and predominately in power circuit to obtain 15 levels with only
seven switches. The addition of diode and capacitor (1 nF) is to normalize the
output within the given interval. Let the PV array inputs be V1–V3. During the
level 1, V1 alone is given as input to the inverter and V2, V3 in OFF condition.
Similarly, the 31 level is achieved by controlling the ON/OFF status of the input
voltages.

3.2 DISADVANTAGES:

 Low power quality

 Much Higher harmonics
 Poor Efficiency

3.3 PROPOSED SYSTEM:

In this paper, a digital logic control circuit is proposed for a solar fed CMLI to
achieve higher levels with reduced number of switches without the requirement of
bidirectional switches, filter components, detailed look-up tables and output
transformers. The techniques include ‘binary’, ‘trinary’ and modified multilevel
connections’ (MMCs) to achieve 31 level. The four stages CMLI power circuit
used to achieve 15 levels by ‘binary’ mode using digital switching technique
comprises of counters and logic functions. The same power circuit is used to
achieve 27 levels by using ‘trinary’ mode. In MMC, a 31 level is achieved with the
single stage inverter by addition of input voltages using the embedded controller
based on the proposed switching sequence. The comparison of three methods with
the existing techniques are analysed and experimentally verified.
 3.4 BLOCK DIAGRAM:

Power
circuit

Pulse Driving Inverter Load

generat circuit circuit
ng circuit
 CHAPTER 4
MULTILEVEL INVERTER

Multilevel power converter structure has been introduced as an alternative in high

power and medium voltage situations; it decreases the harmonic distortion in the
output waveform. A multilevel converter not only achieves high power ratings, but
also improves the performance of the whole system in terms of harmonics, dv/dt
stresses, and stresses in the bearings of a motor. Several multilevel converter
topologies have been developed; i) diode clamped, ii) flying capacitors, and iii)
cascaded or H-bridge. This paper deals simulation and hardware design of single
phase cascaded 31 level inverter with separate two dc sources using conventional
method and multicarrier pulse width modulation technique and the output results of
both methods are compared.

4.1 CASCADED MULTILEVEL INVERTER:

A cascaded multilevel inverter consists of a series of H-bridge also called single-
phase full bridge inverter. Each of H-bridge unit has its own dc source and each H-
bridge can produce three different voltage levels: +V,0, -V by connecting the dc
source to ac output side by different combinations of the four switches S1,S2,S3,S4
of one H-bridge and S5,S6,S7 and S8 of other H-bridge is connected in series such
that the synthesized output voltage waveform is the sum of all of the individual H-
bridges outputs. By connecting the sufficient number of H-bridges in cascade and
using proper modulation scheme, a nearly sinusoidal output voltage waveform can
by synthesized.
 FIGURE 4.1: INVERTER CIRCUIT

4.2 MODULAR MULTILEVEL CONVERTER:

A tool for component sizing for MMCs has been developed and tested through
simulations in PLECS. The steady-state behaviour under grid frequency deviations
- interesting for offshore wind farm connections - has been analysed, providing
insights in MMC characteristics and further testing the proposed tool.

4.3 SWITCHING STRATEGIES:

In conventional approach, PWM techniques are used by the comparison of

reference and carrier signals to provide the required gating signals for the inverter
switches.
The number of output voltage levels obtained from this approach is given in the
following equation:

m = 2Ns + 1

where m denotes the output voltage levels and Ns is the individual inverter stages.
The number of switches (l ) required to achieve m levels is given in the following
equation:

l = 2(m − 1)

For the implementation of 31 Level, the number of switches required is 28 with

seven individual inverter stages. In addition to the 28 switches, 182 clamping
diodes in case of NPC or diode clamped multilevel inverter and 91 balancing
capacitors in case of FC type multilevel inverter along with 14 DC bus capacitors
are needed to achieve 15-level output. The proposed paper deals with the following
topologies for

4.3.1 Binary mode

In binary mode operation, the number of levels which can be achieved for the
given set of inverter stages is given in the following equation:

m = 2Ns+1 − 1

Hence to obtain a 15-level output, only three inverter stages are required with 12
switches. To achieve this, a switching circuit with the control strategy
incorporating digital logic functions is implemented for the solar fed CMLI. The
three inverter stages are fed from varying solar PV input source.

The input voltages are scaled to the power of 2 in order to achieve the output
voltage in the range of 2Ns which can be made by possible by binary counters. An
incremental and descended operator is required to achieve the condition 2Ns + 1 −
1 at the output level.
During the positive half cycle the switches S1, S5 and S9 are in ON condition and
during negative half cycle S3, S7 and S11 are in ON condition. The conduction
period for each half cycle is fixed at 10 ms which will determine the output
frequency of the inverter as 50 Hz.

The three stage inverter requires Ns+ 2 (3 + 2 = 5) bit counters which acts as an up
counter. The combinational logic circuit makes the three bits (Q1, Q2 and Q3) to
move in forward direction during the first half of the positive half cycle and
similarly in reverse direction during second half of the positive half cycle. The
same condition is repeated in both half of the negative half cycle. The bits (Q1, Q2
and Q3) are modified by Q4 and Q4′, where Q4′ is used to control the incremental
operation in the first half of positive or negative half cycles and Q4 is used for the
decrement operation in the latter half of positive or negative half cycles. The pulse
separation block comprises of bits Q5′ and Q5 to separate the pulses requires for
both positive and negative half cycles and also controlling other bits in the circuit.

Any number of levels can be achieved with this methodology by only adding the
counters as accordance to the number of inverter stages and control logic functions.

4.3.2 Trinary mode:

In trinary mode operation, the number of levels which can be achieved for the
given set of inverter stages is given in the following equation:

m = 3Ns

With the three inverter stages 27 levels can be obtained with only 12 switches. To
achieve this, rather than a digital logic functions used in binary mode, an
embedded controller is proposed without the utlilisation of transformers and
complicated algorithms. The switching sequence for the switches S1–S12 to obtain
13-level output during the positive half cycle and in negative half cycle the same
sequence is rotated by an angle of 90° to achieve the remaining 13 level. By
including level zero, the desired 27 levels will be achieved.
4.4 MOSFET SWITCH:

FIGURE 4.2.1:MOSFET SWITCH

A field effect transistor operates in a very similar way to the transistor that we have
just experimented with except that the main current flow is controlled by an
electrostatic field. An FET has the great advantage that no current flows into the
control input (called the gate), the main current is turned on and off by the level of
voltage on the gate. FETs are available in many different types and with various
drive level requirements. We are going to keep it simple and not get into these
complications. The MOSFET that we will be using is a logic level MOSFET - they
are designed to be driven directly from the output lines of microcontrollers - that is
all we need to know! For these experiments we will be using the BS270 N channel
MOSFET. As it is designed for logic level inputs we know that when the gate is
connected to ground it is turned off and when the gate is connected to 5 volts it is
turned on. We do not need to use a resistor between the push button switch and the
gate because the current is very low whatever the input voltage (if kept within 0 to
5 volts).
4.4.1 The MO and the FE
The "metal oxide" in MOS comes from the first devices that used a metal gate over
oxide (silicon dioxide). Subsequently, poly-crystalline silicon was used for the
gate, but MOS was never renamed. The "field-effect" in FET is the electromagnetic
field that is generated when the gate electrode is energized, causing the transistor to
turn on or off.

4.4.2 NMOS and PMOS

In NMOS transistors, the silicon channel between the source and drain is of p-type
silicon. When a positive voltage is placed on the gate electrode, it repulses the
holes in the p-type material forming a conducting (pseudo n-type) channel and
turning the transistor on. A negative voltage turns the transistor off.
With a PMOS transistor, the opposite occurs. A positive voltage on the gate turns
the transistor off, and a negative voltage turns it on. NMOS transistors switch
faster than PMOS.

4.4.3 CMOS
When an NMOS and PMOS transistor are wired together in a complementary
fashion, they become a CMOS (complementary MOS) gate, which causes no
power to be used until the transistors switch. CMOS is the most widely used
microelectronic design process and is found in almost every electronic product.

4.4.4 Features
• Ultra Low On-Resistance - r DS(ON) = 0.052Ω (Type)VGS =10V
• Simulation Models -Temperature Compensated PSPICE® and SABER©
Electrical Models -Spice and SABER ©Thermal Impedance Models
• Peak Current vs Pulse Width Curve
• UIS Rating Curve

FIGURE 4.2.2: ON/OFF SWITCHING TABLE

 CHAPTER 5
PWM TECHNIQUES

The most common and popular technique of digital pure-sine wave generation is
pulse width modulation. The PWM technique involves generation of a digital
waveform, for which the duty cycle is modulated such that the average voltage of
the waveform corresponds to a pure sine wave. The simplest way of producing the
PWM signal is through comparison of a low-power reference sine wave with a
triangle wave Multicarrier PWM methods uses high switching frequency carrier
waves in comparison to the reference waves to generate a sinusoidal output wave.
The Figure-3 shows multicarrier PWM waveform for cascaded multilevel inverter.

5.1 PULSE AMPLITUDE MODULATION:

Pulse Amplitude Modulation refers to a method of carrying information on a train

of pulses, the information being encoded in the amplitude of pulses. In other words
the pulse amplitude is modulated according to the varying amplitude of Analog
signal.

5.2 PULSE WIDTH MODULATION:

Pulse Width Modulation refers to a method of carrying information on a train of

pulses, the information being encoded in the width of the pulses. The pulses have
constant amplitude but their duration varies in direct proportion to the amplitude of
Analog signal.
4.3 PULSE POSITION MODULATION:

The amplitude and width of the pulse is kept constant in the system. The position
of each pulse, in relation to the position of a recurrent reference pulse, is varied by
each instantaneous sampled value of the modulating wave. PPM has the advantage
of requiring constant transmitter power since the pulses are of constant amplitude
and duration.

5.4 PULSE CODE MODULATION:

To obtain PCM from an Analog waveform at the source (transmitter), the Analog
signal amplitude is sampled at regular time intervals. The sampling rate (number of
samples per second), is several times the maximum frequency of the Analog
waveform. The amplitude of the Analog signal at each sample is rounded off to the
nearest binary level (quantization). PCM is a general scheme for transmitting
Analog data in a digital and binary way, independent of the complexity of the
Analog waveform. With PCM all forms of Analog data like video, voice, music
and telemetry can be transferred.

5.5 LINEAR MODULATION:

The simplest method is to vary the ON time proportionally with the modulating
signal. Its advantage is that it is easy to demodulate. The modulating or
information signal can be recovered by low pass filtering. A low frequency (fm)
sine wave modulating the width of a fixed frequency (fs) pulse train. As can be
seen a low pass filter can extract the modulating signal (fm).

5.6 SAW TOOTH PWM:

 A fixed frequency PWM can be generated by comparing with a linear slope
waveform like a saw tooth waveform. As seen in the figure the output goes high
when the sine wave amplitude is greater than saw tooth. It can be achieved by
comparator with logic HIGH when non-inverting input is greater than the inverting
one.

5.7 REGULAR SAMPLED PWM:

This scheme works by generating a switching edge at the intercept of carrier and
modulating signal. In the intercepts of sampled sine values with the triangular
wave gives the edges of the pulses.

5.8 SINGLE PHASE PWM INVERTERS:

In many industrial applications, to control the output voltage of the inverters is

necessary for the following reasons

 To adjust with variations of dc input voltage

 To regulate voltage of inverters

 To satisfy the contain volts and frequency control requirement There are various
techniques to vary the inverter gain.

The most efficient method of Controlling the gain (and output voltage) is to
incorporate pulse width modulation (PWM) Control within the inverters. The
commonly used techniques are

a) Single Pulse width Modulation

b) Multiple Pulse width Modulation

c) Sinusoidal Pulse width Modulation

d) Modified sinusoidal Pulse width Modulation

e) Phase-displacement control.

The PWM techniques given above vary with respect to the harmonic content in
their output voltages.

5.9 SINUSOIDAL PULSE WIDTH MODULATION:

The Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) is a well known wave shaping
technique in power electronics for realization, a high frequency triangular carrier
signal, V1, is compared with a sinusoidal reference signal, V, of the desired
frequency. The crossover points are used to determine the switching instants. The
magnitude ratio of the reference signal (Vr,) to that of triangular signal (Vc) is
known as the modulation index.
The magnitude of fundamental component of output voltage is proportional to mi.
The amplitude Vr of the. Triangular signal is generally kept constant. By varying
the modulation index output voltage is controlled.
The pulse width modulation technique is applied to control the output voltage of
the inverter which is also known as variable duty cycle regulation.
 FIGURE 5.9: PWM DIAGRAM

Generation of the desired output voltage is achieved by comparing the desired

reference waveform (modulating signal) with a high-frequency triangular ‘carrier’
wave as depicted schematically. Depending on whether the signal voltage is larger
or smaller than the carrier waveform, either the positive or negative dc bus voltage
is applied at the output. Note that over the period of one triangle wave, the average
voltage applied to the load is proportional to the amplitude of the signal (assumed
constant) during this period. The resulting chopped square waveform contains a
replica of the desired waveform in its low frequency components, with the higher
frequency components being at frequencies of a close to the carrier frequency.
Notice that the root mean square value of the ac voltage waveform is still equal to
the dc bus voltage, and hence the total harmonic distortion is not affected by the
PWM process. The harmonic components are merely shifted into the higher
frequency range and are automatically filtered due to inductances in the ac system.
When the modulating signal is a sinusoid of amplitude Am, and the amplitude of
the triangular carrier is Ac, the ratio m=Am/Ac is known as the modulation index.
Note that controlling the modulation index therefore controls the amplitude of the
applied output voltage. PWM amplifiers run cooler than standard linear power
amps, requiring substantially less heat sink mass. At about 90% efficiency, PWM
makes electromagnetic motion feasible at power levels where hydraulics used to be
the only option.

5.10 PULSE WIDTH MODULATION: (PWM)

The energy that a switching power converter delivers to a motor is controlled by

Pulse Width Modulated (PWM) signals, applied to the gates of the power
transistors. PWM signals are pulse trains with fixed frequency and magnitude and
variable pulse width. There is one pulse of fixed magnitude in every PWM period.
However, the width of the pulses changes from period to period according to a
modulating signal.

When a PWM signal is applied to the gate of a power transistor, it causes the turn
on and turns off intervals of the transistor to change from one PWM period to
another PWM period according to the same modulating signal. The frequency of a
PWM signal must be much higher than that of the modulating signal, the
fundamental frequency, such that the energy delivered to the motor and its load
depends mostly on the modulating signal.

FIGURE 5.10.1: TYPES OF PWM

It shows two types of PWM signals, symmetric and asymmetric edge-aligned. The
pulses of a symmetric PWM signal are always symmetric with respect to the center
of each PWM period. The pulses of an asymmetric edge-aligned PWM signal
always have the same side aligned with one end of each PWM period. Both types
of PWM signals are used in this application.

It has been shown that symmetric PWM signals generate fewer harmonic in the
output current and voltage. Different PWM techniques, or ways of determining the
modulating signal and the switch-on/switch-off instants from the modulating
signal, exist. The Technique that we use is Natural PWM technique. This technique
is commonly used with three phase Voltage Source power inverters for the control
of three-phase AC induction motors.

An example of PWM: the supply voltage (blue) modulated as a series of pulses

results in a sine-like flux density waveform (red) in a magnetic circuit of
electromagnetic actuator. The smoothness of the resultant waveform can be
controlled by the width and number of modulated impulses (per given cycle).

Pulse-width modulation (PWM) of a signal or power source involves the

modulation of its duty cycle, to either convey information over a communications
channel or control the amount of power sent to a load. Pulse-width modulation
uses a square wave whose pulse width is modulated resulting in the variation of the
average value of the waveform.

The simplest way to generate a PWM signal is the intersective method,

which requires only a saw tooth or a triangle waveform and a comparator. When
the value of the reference signal is more than the modulation waveform , the PWM
signal is in the high state, otherwise it is in the low state.
 FIGURE 5.10.2: MULTICARRIER PULSE WIDTH

5.11 ADVANTAGES OF PWM:

 The output voltage control is easier with PWM than other schemes and can be
achieved without any additional components.

 The lower order harmonics are either minimized or eliminated altogether.

 The filtering requirements are minimized as lower order harmonics are

eliminated and higher order harmonics are filtered easily.
 CHAPTER 6

PHOTOVOLTAIC CELL

6.1 SOLAR ENERGY:

In today's climate of growing energy needs and increasing environmental concern,

alternatives to the use of non-renewable and polluting fossil fuels have to be
investigated. One such alternative is solar energy.

Solar energy is quite simply the energy produced directly by the sun and collected
elsewhere, normally the Earth. The sun creates its energy through a thermonuclear
process that converts about 650,000,0001 tons of hydrogen to helium every second.
The process creates heat and electromagnetic radiation. The heat remains in the sun
and is instrumental in maintaining the thermonuclear reaction. The electromagnetic
radiation (including visible light, infra-red light, and ultra-violet radiation) streams
out into space in all directions.

Only a very small fraction of the total radiation produced reaches the Earth. The
radiation that does reach the Earth is the indirect source of nearly every type of
energy used today. The exceptions are geothermal energy, and nuclear fission and
fusion. Even fossil fuels owe their origins to the sun; they were once living plants
and animals whose life was dependent upon the sun.

Due to the nature of solar energy, two components are required to have a functional
solar energy generator. These two components are a collector and a storage unit.
The collector simply collects the radiation that falls on it and converts a fraction of
it to other forms of energy (either electricity and heat or heat alone). The storage
unit is required because of the non-constant nature of solar energy; at certain times
only a very small amount of radiation will be received.

Methods of collecting and storing solar energy vary depending on the uses planned
for the solar generator. In general, there are three types of collectors and many
forms of storage units. The three types of collectors are flat-plate collectors,
focusing collectors, and passive collectors.
Flat-plate collectors are the more commonly used type of collector today. They are
arrays of solar panels arranged in a simple plane. They can be of nearly any size,
and have an output that is directly related to a few variables including size, facing,
and cleanliness. These variables all affect the amount of radiation that falls on the
collector.
Focusing collectors are essentially flat-plane collectors with optical devices
arranged to maximize the radiation falling on the focus of the collector. These are
currently used only in a few scattered areas. Solar furnaces are examples of this
type of collector. Although they can produce far greater amounts of energy at a
single point than the flat-plane collectors can, they lose some of the radiation that
the flat-plane panels do not. Radiation reflected off the ground will be used by flat-
plane panels but usually will be ignored by focusing collectors (in snow covered
regions, this reflected radiation can be significant).
Passive collectors are completely different from the other two types of collectors.
The passive collectors absorb radiation and convert it to heat naturally, without
being designed and built to do so. All objects have this property to some extent, but
only some objects (like walls) will be able to produce enough heat to make it
worthwhile. Often their natural ability to convert radiation to heat is enhanced in
some way or another (by being painted black, for example) and a system for
transferring the heat to a different location is generally added.
People use energy for many things, but a few general tasks consume most of the
energy. These tasks include transportation, heating, cooling, and the generation of
electricity. Solar energy can be applied to all four of these tasks with different
levels of success.

Heating is the business for which solar energy is best suited. Solar heating requires
almost no energy transformation, so it has a very high efficiency. Heat energy can
be stored in a liquid, such as water, or in a packed bed. A packed bed is a container
filled with small objects that can hold heat (such as stones) with air space between
them. Heat energy is also often stored in phase-change or heat-of-fusion units.

These devices will utilize a chemical that changes phase from solid to liquid at a
temperature that can be produced by the solar collector. The energy of the collector
is used to change the chemical to its liquid phase, and is as a result stored in the
chemical itself. It can be tapped later by allowing the chemical to revert to its solid
form. Solar energy is frequently used in residential homes to heat water.

Solar energy is often used to directly heat a house or building. Heating a building
requires much more energy than heating a building's water, so much larger panels
are necessary. Generally a building that is heated by solar power will have its water
heated by solar power as well.

The type of storage facility most often used for such large solar heaters is the heat-
of-fusion storage unit, but other kinds (such as the packed bed or hot water tank)
can be used as well. This application of solar power is less common than the two
mentioned above, because of the cost of the large panels and storage system
required to make it work. Often if an entire building is heated by solar power,
passive collectors are used in addition to one of the other two types. Passive
collectors will generally be an integral part of the building itself, so buildings
taking advantage of passive collectors must be created with solar heating in mind.

These passive collectors can take a few different forms. The most basic type is the
incidental heat trap. The idea behind the heat trap is fairly simple. Allow the
maximum amount of light possible inside through a window (The window should
be facing towards the equator for this to be achieved) and allow it to fall on a floor
made of stone or another heat holding material.

Another major form of passive collector is thermos phoning walls and/or roof.
With this passive collector, the heat normally absorbed and wasted in the walls and
roof is re-routed into the area that needs to be heated.

The last major form of passive collector is the solar pond. This is very similar to
the solar heated pool described above, but the emphasis is different. With
swimming pools, the desired result is a warm pool. With the solar pond, the whole
purpose of the pond is to serve as an energy regulator for a building. The pond is
placed either adjacent to or on the building, and it will absorb solar energy and
convert it to heat during the day.

Solar energy can be used for other things besides heating. It may seem strange, but
one of the most common uses of solar energy today is cooling. Solar cooling is far
more expensive than solar heating, so it is almost never seen in private homes.
Solar energy is used to cool things by phase changing a liquid to gas through heat,
and then forcing the gas into a lower pressure chamber.

This cool gas will be used to absorb heat from the area of interest and then be
forced into a region of higher pressure where the excess heat will be lost to the
outside world. The net effect is that of a pump moving heat from one area into
another, and the first is accordingly cooled.

Besides being used for heating and cooling, solar energy can be directly converted
to electricity. Most of our tools are designed to be driven by electricity, so if you
can create electricity through solar power, you can run almost anything with solar
power. The solar collectors that convert radiation into electricity can be either flat-
plane collectors or focusing collectors, and the silicon components of these
collectors are photovoltaic cells.

Most of the photovoltaic cells on the market today operate at an efficiency of less
than 15%2; that is, of all the radiation that falls upon them, less than 15% of it is
converted to electricity. The maximum theoretical efficiency for a photovoltaic cell
is only 32.3%3, but at this efficiency, solar electricity is very economical. Most of
our other forms of electricity generation are at a lower efficiency than this.

Of the main types of energy usage, the least suited to solar power is transportation.
While large, relatively slow vehicles like ships could power themselves with large
onboard solar panels, small constantly turning vehicles like cars could not.

The only possible way a car could be completely solar powered would be through
the use of battery that was charged by solar power at some stationary point and
then later loaded into the car. Electric cars that are partially powered by solar
energy are available now, but it is unlikely that solar power will provide the world's
transportation costs in the near future.

While the burning of fossil fuels introduces many harmful pollutants into the
atmosphere and contributes to environmental problems like global warming and
acid rain, solar energy is completely non-polluting. While many acres of land must
be destroyed to feed a fossil fuel energy plant its required fuel, the only land that
must be destroyed for a solar energy plant is the land that it stands on.

As the primary element of construction of solar panels, silicon, is the second most
common element on the planet, there is very little environmental disturbance
caused by the creation of solar panels. In fact, solar energy only causes
environmental disruption if it is centralized and produced on a gigantic scale. Solar
power certainly can be produced on a gigantic scale, too.
Unfortunately, at this scale, the production of solar energy would have some
unpredictable negative environmental effects. If all the solar collectors were placed
in one or just a few areas, they would probably have large effects on the local
environment, and possibly have large effects on the world environment.

Of all the energy sources available, solar has perhaps the most promise.
Numerically, it is capable of producing the raw power required to satisfy the entire
planet's energy needs. Environmentally, it is one of the least destructive of all the
sources of energy. Practically, it can be adjusted to power nearly everything except
transportation with very little adjustment, and even transportation with some
modest modifications to the current general system of travel.

6.2 PHOTOVOLTAIC SYSTEM:

PV modules generate DC current and voltage. However, to feed the electricity to

the grid, AC current and voltage are needed. Inverters are the equipment used to
convert DC to AC. In addition, they can be in charge of keeping the operating point
of the PV array at the MPP. This is usually done with computational MPP tracking
algorithms. There are different inverter configurations depending on how the PV
modules are connected to the inverter.

There are different inverter configurations depending on how the PV modules are
connected to the inverter. The decision on what configuration should be used has to
be made for each case depending on the environmental and financial requirements.
If the modules are not identical or do not work under the same conditions, the MPP
is different in each panel and the resulting voltage-power characteristic has
multiple maxima, which constitutes a problem, because most MPPT algorithms
converge to a local maximum depending on the starting point.
6.3 ADVANTAGES OF PV SYSTEMS:

Photovoltaic (PV) systems provide green, renewable power by exploiting solar

energy. We can use photovoltaic (PV) panels as an alternative energy source in
place of electricity generated from conventional fossil fuels.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels constitute a reliable, industrially matured, green

technology for the exploitation of solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) companies give
valuable warranties for PV panels in terms of both PV panel life span (years of PV
life) and PV panels’ efficiency levels across time.

Unlike wind turbines, Photovoltaic (PV) panels operate autonomous without any
noise generation as they do not incorporate any moving mechanical parts. In some
cases photovoltaic (PV) panels may be mounted on adjustable rotating basis which
is mounted on a fixed pole and allows some movement for better and longer solar
tuning – turning the solar panel to follow the sun.

With respect to operating costs and maintenance costs, Photovoltaic (PV) panels,
unlike other renewable energy technologies, require minimum operating or
maintenance costs; just performing some regular cleaning of the panel surface is
adequate to keep them operating at highest efficiency levels as stated by
manufacturers’ specs.

Photovoltaic (PV) panels can be ideal for distributed power generation as they are
highly suitable for remote applications, such as in a remote farmhouse. By
maintaining relatively small power generation stations in a distributed power
network, we can minimize energy losses in the network that are caused by the long
distance between power generation and power consumption points.
By utilizing small photovoltaic PV power stations, we can achieve cost reductions
on the power network from increased network efficiency and lower power losses;
similarly, distributed small scale Photovoltaic (PV) stations will also lead to lower
capital expenditure for the construction of power network lines.

Consequently, solar energy systems is one renewable energy technology that can
assist in balancing and smoothing-out the energy load curve and facilitate
increased penetration of renewable energy technologies within the power mix – It
should be noted that successful penetration of renewable energy technologies into
the energy production chain is largely dependent on our technological ability to
resolve reliability issues of renewable sources such as unpredictability of
environmental conditions and intermittent supply of power generation.

This reduction in PV prices together with tremendous proliferation of PV panels

applications in a range of different applications, such as solar energy for home at
roof tops, PV panels at building facades or through incorporated systems for PV on
window glass, small or large power generation plants, or the use of photovoltaic
cells for powering specific equipment or for co-generation of power systems, etc.,
have placed photovoltaic PV panels high up on the list of solar energy solutions for
now and for the future.

Although PV prices have seen a drastic reduction, the cost of installing

photovoltaic PV systems is still a considerable investment that may not be viable
without financial incentives; that is why installations of PV systems are amongst
green investments that are being subsidized by governments (e.g. FITs or Tax
incentives) in order to make their investment economically viable.

DISADVANTAGES OF PV SYSTEMS:

Perhaps the biggest disadvantage of Photovoltaic (PV) panels is their limited

efficiency levels; compared to other renewable energy sources – such as solar
thermal – PV systems have a relatively low efficiency level ranging between 12-
20%. Although there is continuous technological development in PV materials for
improving existing systems’ performances or creating new products, PV systems
are still limited by the capabilities of the materials used in PV cells (thin-films PV,
mono or polycrystalline cells etc.).

Another disadvantage of Photovoltaic PV panels is that they produce direct electric

current which must be converted to alternating current (AC) before it can be used
for consumption (either to be transferred to the power grid, or directly for own
consumption). To convert DC to AC, PV panel systems use inverters, expensive
electronic equipment and with certain technological limitations, adding to the
overall system’s cost especially at larger power sizes.

Although supply of solar energy is, usually, concurrent with peak energy demand
(e.g. for cooling in hot summer days), one of Solar Photovoltaic (PV) panels’ main
disadvantage is that it delivers only in direct sunlight and it cannot store excess
amounts of produced energy for later use.

Last but not least, it should be noted that low voltage output or fluctuation in PV
electric current may lead to increased waste of electricity since it cannot be
transmitted onto the network (intermittent output).

This presentation was designed to provide Million Solar Roof partners, and others
a background on PV and inverter technology. Many of these slides were produced
at the Florida Solar Energy Centre and PVUSA as part of training programs for
contractors.

Solar energy has more even distribution across the United States than other forms
of renewables such as wind or hydro. Where wind and hydro are available, they are
good sources of energy, but only select places get good wind, and hydro can have
many impacts, whereas solar energy is spread out across the entire U.S. and has
very little environmental impacts.

The important point of this slide is that it emphasizes that there is another type of
solar energy, solar thermal, that converts sunlight energy into heat. This workbook
does not cover solar thermal. We are not concerned about the heat content of
sunlight, PV cells and modules do not utilize the heat, only the light.
So the basic material of solar cells is abundant and safe Emphasize that the cells
are converters, not original sources of energy. They need the sunlight as their fuel
just like conventional motor generators need fuel to work. But solar cell fuel is
delivered for free all over the world.
This is intended to be a quick explanation of the basics of direct solar conversion
(“the photovoltaic effect”). This picture looks at a cross-section of a PV cell. Light
actually penetrates into the cell, it doesn’t just bounce off the surface. Particles of
light called “photons” bounce into negatively charged electrons around the silicon
atoms of the cell, and knock these electrons free from their silicon atoms.

6.5 PV OPERATIONS:
Light actually penetrates into the cell, it doesn’t just bounce off the surface.
Particles of light called “photons” bounce into negatively charged electrons around
the silicon atoms of the cell, and knock these electrons free from their silicon
atoms. The energy of the photon is transferred to the electron. There are over a
billion photons falling on the cells every second, to there are lots of electrons
knocked loose! Each electron is pushed by an internal electric field that has been
created in the factory in each cell.
As long as there is light flowing into the cells, there are electrons flowing out of
the cells. The cells doesn’t “use up” its electrons and loose power, like a battery. It
is just a converter, changing one kind of energy (sunlight) into another (flowing
electrons). For every electron that flows out the wire connected to the front of a
cell, there is another electron flowing into the back from the other return wire. The
cell is a part of a “circuit” (Latin for go around”), where the same electrons just
travel around the same path, getting energy from the sunlight and giving that
energy to the load.
Cells are too small to do much work. They only produce about 1/2 volt, and we
usually need to charge 12volt batteries or run motors. A typical module has 36 cells
connected in series, plus to minus, to increase the voltage. 36 times ½ volt yields
18 volts. However, the voltage is reduced as these cells get hot in the sun and 12-
volt batteries typically need about 14 volts for a charge, so the 36 cell module has
become the standard of the solar battery charger industry. With connected cells and
a tough front glass, a protective back surface and a frame, the module is now a
useful building block for real-world systems.
The PV module is the smallest package that produces useful power. The process
involved in manufacturing these modules requires high precision and quality
control in order to produce a reliable product. It is very difficult, and therefore not
practical, to make homemade modules.
Panel is a term used for a group of modules that can be packaged and pre-wired
off-site.The size of the panel (or large modules) is often related to how much
weight and size two workers can effectively handle on a roof surface, such as you
see here.
This array is made up of 8 panels, consisting of 3 modules each, for a total of 24
modules in the array. If the PV system has more than one grouping of PV modules,
we call each grouping a sub-array. The total of all the sub-arrays is then called the
complete PV array.
The standoff-mounted PV array is the most common type of residential roof-top
installation. It is mounted above and parallel to the roof surface. It is located
slightly above the roof for cooling purposes and is parallel to the roof for aesthetic
purposes. Two common methods of ground mounting PV systems are racks and
poles. Some pole mounts may also have the ability to track the sun across the sky.
Another method of ground-mounting is a patio cover. This provides shade to the
patio area without taking up valuable yard space. It also provides an alternative to
roof mounting. This is especially important in areas where concrete or tile roofs are
common sense it can be very difficult and costly to roof mount to tile roofs.
Another example of a very attractive shade structure that is integrated into the
home and dramatically improves the aesthetics of the home while providing both
shade and solar electricity. This is a three-tab PV roofing shingle product produced
by Uni Solar.
This is meant to answer the “why’s and how’s” of PV inverters. Since the PV array
is a dc source, an inverter is required to convert the dc power to normal ac power
that is used in our homes and offices. To save energy they run only when the sun is
up and should be located in cool locations away from direct sunlight.
• Rotating generators can be capable of delivering up to 8 times their rated current
into a fault while an inverter might be able to deliver 1.5 times rated current into a
fault.
• Inverters are switching at several kHz or higher frequency enabling them to make
many control decisions in a fraction of a cycle (rotating generators require external
relaying for control).
• Failures of protection or control features in inverters will result in an inoperative
inverter, rather than an inverter which continues to operate without protection (as
opposed to passive relaying).
It is very important to point out that inverters are by design much safer than
rotating generators. Of particular concern to utility engineers is how much current
a generator can deliver during a fault on their system. Inverters generally produce
less than 20% of the fault current as a synchronous generator of the same
nameplate capacity. This is a very significant difference.
6.6 SOLAR FED CMLI:

Harmonics is an important concern in all utility sectors. However, the electric

utilities are recently designed to monitor and analyse the existence and effects of
distortion on system and customer devices.

The factors contribute the harmonic distortion on distribution systems are

increased application of capacitors and nonlinear devices. In order to improve the
power quality and to maintain stable power supply performance, an inverter
control strategy with harmonic reduction techniques can be employed.

Hence the cascaded multilevel inverter (CMLI) is an ideal choice to synthesize the
desired output voltage from several separate DC sources (SDCs) like solar
photovoltaic with reduced number of components when compared to other
topologies.

In this paper, the optimized harmonic stepped waveform technique (OHSW) is

applied to minimize low-order harmonics in a solar photovoltaic fed fifteen level
CMLI, as well as to satisfy the desired fundamental component. Experimental
results are presented to confirm the simulation results.

6.7 PHOTOVOLTAIC EQUIVALENT CIRCUIT:

PV cells are made of semiconductor materials, such as silicon. For solar cells, a thin
semiconductor wafer is specially treated to form an electric field, positive on one
side and negative on the other. When light energy strikes the solar cell, electrons are
knocked loose from the atoms in the semiconductor material. If electrical
conductors are attached to the positive and negative sides, forming an electrical
circuit, the electrons can be captured in the form of an electric current -that is,
electricity. This electricity can then be used to power a load. It can also represented
by a diode with its p-n junction exposed to sunlight. When the light photon, strike
the PV cell electron in the valence band is ejected to cross the band gap, resulting in
production of current in the cell. Generally several PV cells are connected in series
and parallel, according to current or voltage requirements. PV cells are connected in
parallel to increase the rated current and in series to increase the rated voltage. The,
arrangement of PV cells in series or parallel is called a PV array.

FIGURE 6.7: PV CIRCUIT

The PV cell output voltage is a function of photocurrent. The photocurrent depends

upon the temperature and solar irradiation level as shown in equivalent circuit
figure 6.5. The PV cell output voltage can be expressed as

Where
e = Electronic charge (1.602× 10-19 C).
k = Boltzmann constant (1.38× 10-23 J/0 K).
I = Cell output current, in A.
Iph = Photocurrent depends on temperature and solar irradiance (5 A).
I0 = Reverse Saturation Current of diode
Rs =Series resistance of cell

T = Reference cell operating temperature.

If the temperature and solar irradiation levels change, the output voltage and
current of the PV array will follow this change. The variable ambient temperature
Ta affects the cell output voltage and cell photocurrent. The output current of the
photovoltaic cell is given by,

Where,
N - Quality factor of the diode
Iph – Solar induced current
Irs - Reverse saturation current of the photovoltaic cell
q - Electron charge
K - Boltzmann constant
T-Junction Temperature
The saturation current of the solar photovoltaic cell can be expressed as Irs,

The Photocurrent is given by,

 CHAPTER 7
MATLAB REQUIREMENTS

7.1 INTRODUCTION TO MATLAB:

MATLAB is a software package for computation in engineering, science, and

applied mathematics.

It offers a powerful programming language, excellent graphics, and a wide range of

expert knowledge. MATLAB is published by and a trademark of The MathWorks,
Inc.
The focus in MATLAB is on computation, not mathematics: Symbolic expressions
and manipulations are not possible (except through the optional Symbolic Toolbox,
a clever interface to maple). All results are not only numerical but inexact, thanks
to the rounding errors inherent in computer arithmetic. The limitation to numerical
computation can be seen as a drawback, but it’s a source of strength too: MATLAB
is much preferred to Maple, Mathematical, and the like when it comes to numerics.
On the other hand, compared to other numerically oriented languages like C++ and
FORTRAN, MATLAB is much easier to use and comes with a huge standard
library.1 the unfavorable comparison here is a gap in execution speed. This gap is
not always as dramatic as popular lore has it, and it can often be narrowed or
closed with good MATLAB programming (see section 6). Moreover, one can link
other codes into MATLAB, or vice versa, and MATLAB now optionally supports
parallel computing. Still, MATLAB is usually not the tool of choice for maximum-
performance Computing.
The MATLAB niche is numerical computation on workstations for non-experts in
computation. This is a huge niche—one way to tell is to look at the number of
MATLAB-related books on mathworks.com. Even for supercomputer users,
MATLAB can be a valuable environment in which to explore and fine-tune
algorithms before more laborious coding in another language. Most successful
computing languages and environments acquire a distinctive character or culture.
In MATLAB, that culture contains several elements: an experimental and graphical
bias, resulting from the interactive environment and compression of the write-
compile-link-execute analyze cycle; an emphasis on syntax that is compact and
friendly to the interactive mode, rather than tightly constrained and verbose; a
kitchen-sink mentality for providing functionality; and a high degree of openness
and transparency (though not to the extent of being open source software).
Right by default. Here you can give MATLAB commands typed at the prompt, >>.
Unlike FORTRAN and other compiled computer languages, MATLAB is an
interpreted environment—you give a command, and MATLAB tries to execute it
right away before asking for another.
At the top left you can see the Current Directory. In general MATLAB is aware
only of files in the current directory (folder) and on its path, which can be
customized. Commands for working with the directory and path include cd, what,
add path, and edit path (or you can choose “File/Set path. “From the menus). You
can add files to a directory on the path and thereby add commands to MATLAB;
we will return to this subject in section 3.
Next to the Current Directory tab is the Workspace tab. The workspace shows you
what variable names are currently defined and some information about their
contents. (At start-up it is, naturally, empty.) This represents another break from
compiled environments: variables created in the workspace persist for you to
examine and modify, even after code execution stops. Below the
CommandWindow/Workspace window is the Command History window. As you
enter commands, they are recorded here. This record persists across different
MATLAB sessions, and commands or blocks of commands can be copied from
here or saved to files.
As you explore MATLAB, you will soon encounter some toolboxes. These are
individually packaged sets of capabilities that provide in-depth expertise on
particular subject areas. There is no need to load them explicitly—once installed,
they are always available transparently. You may also encounter Simulink, which is
a semi-independent graphical control-engineering package not covered in this
document.
7.2 GRAPHICAL VERSUS COMMAND LINE USAGE:
MATLAB was originally entirely a command-line environment, and it retains that
orientation. But it is now possible to access a great deal of the functionality from
graphical interfaces—menus, buttons, and so on. These interfaces are especially
useful to beginners, because they lay out the available choices clearly.2 as a rule,
graphical interfaces can be more natural for certain types of interactive work, such
as annotating a graph or debugging a program, whereas typed commands remain
better for complex, precise, repeated, or reproducible tasks. One does not always
need to make a choice, though; for instance, it is possible to save a figure’s styles
as a template that can be used with different data by pointing and clicking.
Moreover, you can package code you want to distribute with your own graphical
oriented tools. In the end, an advanced MATLAB user should be able to exploit
both modes of work to be productive.
That said, the focus of this document is on typed commands. In many (most?)
cases these have graphical interface equivalents, even if I don’t explicitly point
them out.
In particular, feel free to right-click (on Control-click on a Mac) on various objects
to see what you might be able to do to them.

7.3 WHAT IS SIMULINK?

Simulink (Simulation and Link) is an extension of MATLAB by Math works Inc. It
works with MATLAB to offer modeling, simulating, and analyzing of dynamical
systems under a graphical user interface (GUI) environment. The construction of a
model is simplified with click-and-drag mouse operations. Simulink includes a
comprehensive block library of toolboxes for both linear and nonlinear analyses.
Models are hierarchical, which allow using both top-down and bottom-up
approaches. As Simulink is an integral part of MATLAB, it is easy to switch back
and forth during the analysis process and thus, the user may take full advantage of
features offered in both environments. This tutorial presents the basic features of
Simulink and is focused on control systems as it has been written for students in
my control systems.

Getting Started
To start a Simulink session, you'd need to bring up Matlab program first. From
Matlab command window, enter:
>> Simulink
Alternately, you may click on the Simulink icon located on the toolbar as shown
To see the content of the blockset, click on the "+" sign at the beginning of each
toolbox.
To start a model click on the NEW FILE ICON as shown in the screenshot above.
Alternately, you may use keystrokes CTRL+N.
A new window will appear on the screen. You will be constructing your model in
this window. Also in this window the constructed model is simulated. A screenshot
of a typical working (model) window that looks like one shown below:
To become familiarized with the structure and the environment of Simulink, you
are encouraged to explore the toolboxes and scan their contents.
You may not know what they are all about but perhaps you could catch on the
organization of these toolboxes according to the category. For instant, you may see
Control System Toolbox to consist of the Linear Time Invariant (LTI) system
library and the MATLAB functions can be found under Function and Tables of the
Simulink main toolbox. A good way to learn Simulink (or any computer program
in general) is to practice and explore. Making mistakes is a part of the learning
curve. So, fear not, you should be.
A simple model is used here to introduce some basic features of Simulink. Please
follow the steps below to construct a simple model.
STEP 1: CREATING BLOCKS.
From BLOCK SET CATEGORIES section of the SIMULINK LIBRARY
BROWSER window, click on the "+" sign next to the Simulink group to expand
the tree and select (click on) Sources.
A set of blocks will appear in the BLOCKSET group. Click on the Sine Wave
block and drag it to the workspace window (also known as model window)
I am going to save this model under the filename: "simexample1". To save a
model, you may click on the floppy diskette icon. Or from FILE menu, select Save
or CTRL+S. All Simulink model file will have an extension ".mdl". Simulink
recognizes file with .mdl extension as a simulation model (similar to how
MATLAB recognizes files with the extension .m as an MFile).
Continue to build your model by adding more components (or blocks) to your
model window. We'll continue to add a Scope from Sinks library, an Integrator
block from Continuous library, and a Mux block from Signal Routing library.
NOTE: If you wish to locate a block knowing its name, you may enter the name in
the SEARCH WINDOW (at Find prompt) and Simulink will bring up the specified
block.
To move the blocks around, simply click on it and drag it to a desired location.
Once all the blocks are dragged over to the work space should consist of the
following components:

You may remove (delete) a block by simply clicking on it once to turn on the
"select mode" (with four corner boxes) and use the DEL key or keys combination
CTRL-X.
STEP 2: MAKING CONNECTIONS
To establish connections between the blocks, move the cursor to the output port
represented by ">" sign on the block. Once placed at a port, the cursor will turn
into a cross "+" enabling you to make connection between blocks.
To make a connection: left-click while holding down the control key (on your
keyboard) and drag from source port to a destination port.
The connected model is shown below.

A sine signal is generated by the Sine Wave block (a source) and is displayed by
the scope. The integrated sine signal is sent to scope for display along with the
original signal from the source via the Mux, whose function is to multiplex signals
in form of scalar, vector, or matrix into a bus.
STEP 3: RUNNING SIMULATION
You now can run the simulation of the simple system above by clicking on the play
button (alternatively, you may use key sequence CTRL+T, or choose Start
submenu under Simulation menu).
Double click on the Scope block to display of the scope.
 CHAPTER 8

RESULT AND DISCUSSION

Simulation of Single Phase Cascaded 31 Level Inverter. The output of the bridge
inverter is connected to the resistive load. The cascaded inverter converts the DC
voltage into AC voltage and the output voltage waveform. Multicarrier PWM
technique is simulated as per the circuit shown in the Figure 6.9.2. In general
inverter with m-level, m-1 carrier with same frequency fc and same peak to peak
amplitude Ac are disposed. The reference or modulation waveform has peak to
peak amplitude Ar and frequency fr. The reference waveform is compared with
carrier signals and if it is greater than a carrier signal then switch/device
correspond to that carrier is switched on and if the reference is less than carrier
signals then device correspond to carrier is switched off. The Sinusoidal pulse
width modulation is commonly used in Industrial application. The frequency of
reference signal fr determines the inverter output frequency fo and its peak
amplitude Ar controls the modulated index M and then in turn the RMS output
voltage Vo. Here the modulation index is defined as the ratio of amplitude of
reference signal to the amplitude of carrier signal. The RMS output voltage can
varied by varying the modulation index M. If δ is the width of each pulse then
RMS output voltage can be found from Vo = Vs√ ((pδ)/ (π)).
If δm is the width of m th pulse then above equation can be extended to obtain the
RMS output voltage as follows. The output waveform for the multicarrier PWM
technique is

The output waveform for the single phase cascaded multilevel inverter using
multicarrier PWM technique is shown in Figure:8.1
FIGURE 8.1: VOLTAGE AND CURRENT WAVEFORM WITHOUT PV

FIGURE 8.2: LEVEL FFT ANALYSIS WITHOUT PV

FIGURE 8.3: CURRENT AND VOLTAGE WAVEFORM WITH PV

FIGURE 8.4 FFT ANALYSIS WITH PV

CHAPTER 9
CONCLUSION
The Single Phase 31 level Cascaded inverter is simulated using multicarrier PWM
technique. The total harmonic distortion is reduced with utility power quality is
achieved by using multicarrier PWM technique. This can be extended to higher
levels so that harmonics are reduced further. Then by using multilevel inverter
number of switched can be reduced.
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