SPWM-An Analytical Characterization, and Performance Appraisal of Power Electronic Simulation Softwares

The conceptual understanding and comparison of pulse width modulation (PWM) strategies can better be done through analytical characterization than the circuit simulation. This paper presents a general method for determining the theoretical harmonic components of PWM. The simulation softwares of different nature (circuit level/system level) which are not distinguished for harmonic analysis are compared for spectral components of single-phase PWM inverter output voltage. The difference among the results of the simulation softwares is found greater than the value which is a (marginal) benefit rendered by most of the recent PWM strategy variations. Finally the supremacy and necessity of analytical characterization are supported by hardware results and the best suited simulation software for harmonic analysis is identified.