Simple Analytical and Graphical Methods for Carrier-Based PWM-VSI Drives

This paper provides analytical and graphical methods for the study, performance evaluation, and design of the modern carrier-based pulsewidth modulators (PWM’s), which are widely employed in PWM voltage-source inverter (VSI) drives. Simple techniques for generating the modulation waves of the high-performance PWM methods are described. The two most important modulator characteristics—the current ripple and the switching losses—are analytically modeled. The graphical illustration of these often complex multivariable functions accelerate the learning process and help one understand the microscopic (per-carrier cycle) and macroscopic (per fundamental cycle) behavior of all the modern PWM methods. The analytical formulas and graphics are valuable educational tools. They also aid the design and implementation of the high-performance PWM methods.