Method and device for switching operation mode of a five-level inverter

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9712083-B2
Application number	US-201514938228-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 11, 2015
Priority date	Dec 18, 2014
Publication date	Jul 18, 2017
Grant date	Jul 18, 2017

Abstract

A method and device for switching an operation mode of a five-level inverter are provided. The method includes: determining a first three-level operation mode as a three-level operation mode to be switched to from a five-level operation mode in a case that a PV input voltage is higher than a bridge line-line voltage command value; switching, after the operation mode is switched to the first three-level operation mode, the operation mode from the first three-level operation mode to a second three-level operation mode, in a case that a junction temperature of a switching device operating in the first three-level operation mode exceeds a first preset value; and switching the operation mode from the second three-level operation mode to the first three-level operation mode in a case that the junction temperature of a switching device operating in the second three-level operation mode exceeds a second preset value.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method for switching an operation mode of a five-level inverter, comprising:
determining a first three-level operation mode as a three-level operation mode of the five-level inverter to be switched to from a five-level operation mode in a case that a PV input voltage is higher than a bridge line-line voltage command value of the five-level inverter required when the five-level inverter is connected to a power grid, wherein the five-level inverter has two three-level operation modes;
switching, after the operation mode of the five-level inverter is switched to the first three-level operation mode, the operation mode of the five-level inverter from the first three-level operation mode to a second three-level operation mode in a case that a junction temperature of a switching device operating in the first three-level operation mode exceeds a first preset value; and
switching the operation mode of the five-level inverter from the second three-level operation mode to the first three-level operation mode in a case that the junction temperature of a switching device operating in the second three-level operation mode exceeds a second preset value.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the first three-level operation mode refers to an operation mode in which a first switching device, a second switching device and a third switching device operate alternately, and the second three-level operation mode refers to an operation mode in which a fourth switching device, a fifth switching device and the third switching device operate alternately; and
the five-level inverter alternately outputs five levels +1, −1, +2, −2 and 0 in different combinations of switching states of the switching devices, wherein the level +1 is outputted when the fourth switching device is switched on; the level −1 is outputted when the fifth switching device is switched on; the level +2 is outputted when the first switching device is switched on; the level −2 is outputted when the second switching device is switched on; and the level 0 is outputted when the third switching device is switched on.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein
the junction temperature of the switching device operating in the first three-level operation mode exceeding the first preset value indicates that a current value of at least one of the following variants: the junction temperature of the first switching device or the second switching device, a substrate temperature of the first switching device or the second switching device, a radiator temperature of the first switching device or the second switching device, an I 2 t calculation value of the first switching device or the second switching device and an operation duration of the first switching device or the second switching device is greater than a threshold of the at least one of the variants; and
the junction temperature of the switching device operating in the second three-level operation mode exceeding the second preset value indicates that a current value of at least one of the following variants: the junction temperature of the fourth switching device or the fifth switching device, the substrate temperature of the fourth switching device or the fifth switching device, the radiator temperature of the fourth switching device or the fifth switching device, the I 2 t calculation value of the fourth switching device or the fifth switching device and the operation duration of the fourth switching device or the fifth switching device is greater than a threshold of the at least one of the variants.

4. A method for switching an operation mode of a five-level inverter, comprising:
determining a first three-level operation mode as a three-level operation mode of the five-level inverter to be switched to from a five-level operation mode in a case that a PV input voltage is higher than a bridge line-line voltage command value of the five-level inverter required when the five-level inverter is connected to a power grid, wherein the five-level inverter has two three-level operation modes;
switching, after the operation mode of the five-level inverter is switched to the first three-level operation mode, the operation mode of the five-level inverter from the first three-level operation mode to a second three-level operation mode in a case that a junction temperature of a switching device operating in a positive half-period of an output voltage of each single-phase bridge and in the first three-level operation mode exceeds a third preset value, and switching the operation mode of the five-level inverter from the second three-level operation mode to the first three-level operation mode in a case that the junction temperature of a switching device operating in the positive half-period of the output voltage of each single-phase bridge and in the second three-level operation mode exceeds a fourth preset value; and
switching the operation mode of the five-level inverter from the first three-level operation mode to the second three-level operation mode in a case that the junction temperature of a switching device operating in a negative half-period of the output voltage of each single-phase bridge and in the first three-level operation mode exceeds a fifth preset value, and switching the operation mode of the five-level inverter from the second three-level operation mode to the first three-level operation mode in a case that the junction temperature of a switching device operating in the negative half-period of the output voltage of each single-phase bridge and in the second three-level operation mode exceeds a sixth preset value.

5. The method according to claim 4 , wherein the first three-level operation mode refers to an operation mode in which a first switching device, a second switching device and a third switching device operate alternately, and the second three-level operation mode refers to an operation mode in which a fourth switching device, a fifth switching device and the third switching device operate alternately; and
the five-level inverter alternately outputs five levels +1, −1, +2, −2 and 0 in different combinations of switching states of the switching devices, wherein the level +1 is outputted when the fourth switching device is switched on; the level −1 is outputted when the fifth switching device is switched on; the level +2 is outputted when the first switching device is switched on; the level −2 is outputted when the second switching device is switched on; and
the level 0 is outputted when the third switching device is switched on.

6. The method according to claim 5 , wherein
the junction temperature of the switching device operating in the positive half-period of the output voltage of each single-phase bridge and in the first three-level operation mode exceeding the third preset value indicates that a current value of at least one of the following variants: the junction temperature of the first switching device, a substrate temperature of the first switching device, a radiator temperature of the first switching device, an I 2 t calculation value of the first switching device and an operation duration of the first switching device is greater than a threshold of the at least one of the variants;
the junction temperature of the switching device operating in the positive half-period of the output voltage of each single-phase bridge and in the second three-level operation mode exceeding the fourth preset value indicates that a current value of at least one of the following variants: the junction temperature of the second switching device, the substrate temperature of the second switching device, the radiator temperature of the second switching device, the I 2 t calculation value of the second switching device and the operation duration of the second switching device is gre

Assignees

• Sungrow Power Supply Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ding Jie
• Zou Haiyan
• Tao Lei
• Xu Taotao
• Zhang Cheng

Classifications

• Y02E10/56

  Power conversion systems, e.g. maximum power point trackers · CPC title

• H02M1/32

  Means for protecting converters other than automatic disconnection · CPC title

• H02M7/483 Primary

  Converters with outputs that each can have more than two voltages levels · CPC title

• H02M2001/327

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H02M7/487

  Neutral point clamped inverters · CPC title