Z packed U-cell (ZPUC) converter topology is presented in this paper as a new type of multilevel converter topology that can be operated in a single phase as well as in three-phase configurations while using a single DC source. Since each U-cell includes two switches and one capacitor, in this topology, three U-cells are needed to generate 5 or 7 voltage levels. Moreover, the configuration proposed for the ZPUC is more appropriate for high-power application modular multilevel converters (MMCs) to increase the voltage levels compared to other topologies. Accurate voltage balancing on small-sized auxiliary capacitors is due to integrated modulation strategy without using additional controllers; additionally, the reduction of total harmonic distortion (THD) in AC currents for higher voltage levels is an advantage of this configuration. A full topology sequence of operation and performance analysis of ZPUC based on the 5-L inverter is investigated in Matlab-Simulink and experimentally validated on a 3 kVA prototype. The obtained results illustrate the good dynamic performance of the proposed topology and the implemented integrated switching pattern voltage balancing.

中文翻译：

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ZPUC：用于模块化多电平转换器应用的单直流电源的新配置

Z封装U单元（ZPUC）转换器拓扑结构是一种新型的多电平转换器拓扑结构，可以在使用单个DC电源的同时在单相和三相配置中运行。由于每个U单元都包含两个开关和一个电容器，因此在此拓扑中，需要三个U单元来生成5或7个电压电平。此外，与其他拓扑相比，为ZPUC提出的配置更适合于高功率应用模块化多电平转换器（MMC），以增加电压电平。小型辅助电容器上的准确电压平衡归因于集成的调制策略，而无需使用其他控制器。此外，对于较高的电压水平，减少交流电流中的总谐波失真（THD）是此配置的优势。在Matlab-Simulink中研究了基于5-L逆变器的ZPUC运行和性能分析的完整拓扑序列，并在3 kVA原型上进行了实验验证。获得的结果说明了所提出拓扑的良好动态性能以及已实现的集成开关模式电压平衡。