A novel control method for enhanced performance of single-phase matrix converters

The conventional topology of direct single-to-single-phase matrix converter (SSMC) is widely adopted in industrial and power system-related applications owing to its desired features. Current control methods in the literature either limit the voltage transfer ratio (VTR) or prohibit their utilization to drive inductive (RL) loads. In this study, we propose a novel control method that overcomes these limitations by enabling the SSMC to achieve relatively high VTRs while driving RL loads with negligible output voltage spikes and without current commutation problems. Further, the proposed control method improves the overall performance by reducing output voltage and source input current total harmonic distortion (THD) and offering soft-switching at the commutation instances. The rigidity of the proposed control method over the counterpart methods in the literature is verified through simulation and experimental case studies over a wide range of synthesized output frequencies and modulation indexes. A 530-W laboratory prototype is built for the experimental study. Results demonstrated the ability of the proposed method in enabling the SSMC to drive an RL load without current commutation issues and with mitigated output voltage spikes while achieving relatively high VTRs and suppressing the output voltage and source input current THD.