Minimization of DC-Link Capacitance for NPC Three-level PWM Converters

This paper presents a control algorithm that minimizes the DC-link capacitance by decreasing the capacitor current. The capacitor current can be nullified by a feedback compensation term which is calculated from the power balance in the AC/DC converter. As a result, voltage variation in the DC-link is reduced further, which makes a large reduction in the size of DC-link capacitors which are expensive and have limitations in life time. Simulations are performed with two 80uF DC-link capacitors, which can be replaced by film capacitors.