Predictive current control of dual three-phase drives using restrained search techniques and multi level voltage source inverters

The interest in predictive control techniques and multiphase drives has re-emerged in the last decade, and predictive control techniques have been recently presented as a viable alternative to conventional PI and carrier-based or Space Vector PWM techniques in the current regulation of power converters and drives. Proposed schemes have demonstrated good performance at the expenses of a high computational cost and an unknown switching frequency. However, little attention has been paid to the multi-level VSI application. A number of predictive techniques have been developed in recent times for six-phase 2-level voltage source inverters (VSI), like the restrained search predictive control technique or RSPC, which has been used to favor on-line implementation at the expense of achieving suboptimal solutions. This paper investigates the application of multi-level VSI converters in conjunction with the RSPC method in multiphase drive applications. Simulation results are provided to test the viability of a 3-level VSI power converter and the RSPC predictive control method for the current control of an asymmetrical six-phase drive.