Hardware-in-the-Loop Control of a Cascaded Multi-Level Converter

Next-generation U.S. Navy destroyers, known as DD(X), will use electric drive motors to meet their propulsion needs instead of the traditional mechanical drives. The use of electric drive motors in naval vessels has spurred the development of high power converters. This thesis examines the feasibility of using an advanced control algorithm known as Sine-triangle Pulse Width Modulation (SPWM) in combination with a Cascaded Multi-Level Converter (CMLC) in order to meet the U.S. Navy’s strict requirements. The SPWM control algorithm was designed in Simulink and experimentally tested on a CMLC previously constructed at the Naval Postgraduate School. The controller and converter successfully powered a quarter horsepower three-phase induction motor.