Model Predictive Virtual Flux Control Method for Low Switching Loss Performance in Three-Phase AC/DC Pulse-width-Modulated Converters

Three-phase AC/DC pulse-width-modulated (PWM) converters have been widely employed in various renewable energy systems and industrial applications, which require a high-efficiency power converter operation. This article proposes a technique to reduce switching loss in AC/DC converters by integrating a voltage vector preselection strategy to model predictive virtual flux control. The voltage vector preselection strategy preselects available voltage vectors corresponding to switching states that lead to minimum switching loss in the phase leg, which conducts the highest current. By using preselected voltage vectors, clamping intervals are generated at every fundamental period to maintain the present switching states of the power switches, resulting in the reduction in switching loss. Additionally, by using virtual flux control, the proposed approach can effectively be used under both ideal and distorted source voltage conditions. The proposed method is compared with the conventional model predictive current control and the conventional model predictive virtual flux control. Both a simulation and experiment are performed to validate the correctness and effectiveness of the proposed method, which has been found to decrease the switching loss of an AC/DC converter by up to 15% compared to conventional control schemes at a negligible increase in the input current total harmonic distortion and DC output voltage ripple.