A novel soft-switched PWM inverter for AC motor drives

A novel soft-switched inverter topology is derived from the passively clamped quasi-resonant link (PCQRL) circuit. By introducing magnetic coupling between the two resonant inductors, the number of auxiliary switches can be reduced from two to one, and only a single magnetic core is required for the resonant DC link. An analysis of this novel PCQRL topology with coupled inductors is presented to reveal the various soft-switching characteristics. In comparison with the conventional passively clamped, continuously resonant DC link inverter, this soft-switched inverter can reduce voltage stresses from more than 2 per unit (pu) to 1.1-1.3 pu. It can also provide soft-switched pulse-width modulated (PWM) operation. Simulations and experiments are performed to backup the analysis.