A New 13-Level Flying Capacitor-based 1-φ Inverter with Full Reactive Power Support

This paper introduces a new symmetric single-phase 13-Level Flying Capacitor Inverter (13-LFCI) structure, using a two dc sources and three capacitors. The proposed single-phase 13-level inverter has the ability to increase the output voltage with fewer semiconductor components compared to the state-of-the-art structures. The Phase Disposition Sinusoidal Pulse Width Modulation (PDSPWM) method is utilized to produce switching pulses. Using this modulation scheme facilitate the 13-LFCI with self-balancing capacitors’ voltage capability. The optimal capacitors are designed for minimum voltage drop in the different loads. The 13-LFCI is also capable of transferring reactive power through R-L loads without any limitations. Furthermore, the inverter can properly generate 5-level, 7-Level, 9-level, 11-level, and 13-level output voltage for different applications with change of modulation index. Moreover, a comparison with state-of-the-art 13-level inverters is provided in terms of the number of active and passive components, boosting ability, reactive power support and voltage conversion ratio in order to show the advantages of the proposed structure. In addition, the theoretically losses are calculated to show the efficiency of the proposed topology in various powers. The performance of the converter is illustrated through different operating conditions simulations of resistive and resistive-inductive loads. Eventually, to confirm different aspects and implementation of the proposed structure, the proposed 13-LFCI has been approved in MATLAB/SIMULINK software, and the achieved simulation results are considered utilizing a laboratory prototype.