Reliability improvement of a T-type three-level inverter with fault-tolerant control strategy

This paper proposes a fault-tolerant control strategy for a T-type three-level inverter when an open-circuit fault occurs. The proposed method is explained by dividing fault into two cases: the faulty condition of half-bridge switches and neutral-point switches. In case of the open-circuit fault in a neutral-point switch, two methods will be proposed and compared based on thermal analysis and neutral-point voltage oscillation. The reliability of T-type inverter systems is improved considerably by the proposed algorithm when a switch fails. The proposed method does not require any additional components. Simulation and experimental results verify the validity and feasibility of the proposed fault-tolerant control strategy.