Switching frequency imposition and ripple reduction in DTC drives by using a multilevel converter

A new strategy for direct torque control with imposed switching frequency (DiCoIF) is proposed. This strategy was specially designed to operate with a multicell (flying capacitors) inverter with any number of levels, which means it can also be used for standard two-level inverters. This approach combines the well known advantages of the multicell inverter with those of a direct torque controlled (DTC) based strategy. It is shown that the multicell topology presents enough degrees of freedom to control both torque and flux with very low ripple and high dynamics on one hand, and to impose the switching frequency and the capacitors voltage balance on the other hand. Experimental and simulation results, obtained with a standard two-level inverter and with a four-level multicell inverter, are presented and discussed. Finally, a comparative analysis either with the classical DTC and field oriented techniques is carried out.