A General Mathematical Model for the Simulation of Common Faults in Three‐ phase Voltage Source Inverters

Abstract

In the last years the fault problem in power electronics has been more and more investigated both from theoretical and practical point of view. This paper analyzes the problem of faults modeling in a three phase voltage source inverter(VSI) and presents a model of a VSI able to simulate both unfaulty and faulty conditions when one or more devices go broken. In the past the fault problem was faced step by step considering the fault on each single device building a model for each case. The model hereafter presented solves this drawback through the introduction of the concept of the Healthy Device Binary Variable (HDBV) and the more general Healthy Leg Binary Variable (HLBV) showing also as through them it is possible to build a single model including all the running conditions (faulty and unfaulty) of a VSI. The presented model was then tested via numerical simulations by comparison of the results with those obtained with a circuit simulator and finally by comparison with experimental results on a set‐up test bench realized to test the operating conditions of a three phase VSI.