110
4, DECEMBER 2003
A 3-D Space Vector Modulation Generalized
Algorithm for Multilevel Converters
MªÁngeles Martín Prats, L. G. Franquelo, Senior Member, IEEE, R. Portillo, J. I. León, E. Galván, and
J. M. Carrasco, Member, IEEE
Abstract—A three-dimensional (3-D) space vector algorithm
of multilevel converters for compensating harmonics and zero se-
quence in three-phase four-wire systems with neutral is presented.
The low computational cost of the proposed method is always the
same and it is independent of the number of levels of the converter.
The conventional two-dimensional (2-D) space vector algorithms
are particular cases of the proposed generalized modulation
algorithm. In general, the presented algorithm is useful in systems
with or without neutral, unbalanced load, triple harmonics and
for generating 3-D control vectors.
Index Terms—Multilevel converters, natural coordinates, states
sequence and switching times, tetrahedrons, three-dimensional
(3-D) space vector.
I. INTRODUCTION
M ULTILEVEL converters are becoming increasingly
popular in high-power applications, thanks to their
ability to meet the increasing demand of power ratings and
power quality associated with reduced harmonic distortion and
lower electromagnetic interference (EMI). They can increase
output voltage magnitude and reduce output voltage and current
harmonic content, switching frequency and voltage supported by
each power semiconductor. Recently, several two-dimensional
(2-D) multilevel converter modulation algorithms have been The
pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques’ complexity and
computational cost increase proposed [1]–[3]. with the number
of levels of the converter. Most of the presented modulation
algorithms use trigonometric functions or precomputed tables.
The space vector algorithm proposed in [3] is the first one that
calculates the switching vectors and the times without using
angles, trigonometric functions or tables. In addition, the com-
plexity and the computational cost are very low. This efficient
modulation algorithm is very useful to readily calculate the
online computation of the switching sequence and the on-state
durations of the respective switching state vectors corresponding
to the modulation of a three-level inverter without physically af-
fecting the load connected to the multilevel converter. The vector
selection is adjusted according to the input reference to improve
the voltage generation balancing the dc-link capacitor voltage.
Moreover, the numeric evaluation of the on-state durations is
reduced to a simple addition and the method uses the minimum
number of possible comparators.
Manuscript received October 24, 2003. Recommended by Associate Editor
P. Chapman.
The authors are with the Electronic Engineering Department, University of
Seville, 41092 Sevilla, Spain ( e-mail: mangeles@gte.esi.us.es).
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/LPEL.2004.825561
1540-7985/03$17.00 © 2003 IEEE2003
IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS LETTERS, VOL. 1, NO.
The three-dimensional (3-D) algorithm presented in this work
is a generalization of the well known 2-D space vector tech-
nique. The replacement of conventional two-level converters
by multilevel converters in active filters improves the harmonic
content of the output signal of the converter. Most of the active
filter control techniques found in the bibliography are based on
current control PWM or bang-bang [4] where each leg of the
converter is independently controlled. It is desirable to use an
effective 3-D space vector modulation for this kind of applica-
tion, because it can drastically reduce the control complexity
and the computational load. The space vectors will be in a plane
if the system is balanced without triple harmonics. However, it
is necessary to generalize to a 3-D space if the system is un-
balanced or if there is a zero sequence or triple harmonics, be-
cause the reference vectors are not on a plane. The proposed
algorithm is the first 3-D space vector modulation technique for
multilevel converters which permits the on-line calculation of
the sequence of the nearest space vector for generating the ref-
erence voltage vector [5]. This generalized method provides the
nearest switching vectors sequence to the reference vector and
calculates the on-state durations of the respective switching state
vectors without involving trigonometric functions, look-up ta-
bles or coordinate system transformations which increase the
computational load corresponding to the modulation of multi-
level converters. In this letter, a very simple and fast 3-D mod-
ulation algorithm based on geometrical considerations is pre-
sented. The computational cost of the proposed method is very
low and it is independent of the number of levels of the con-
verter. This technique can be used as a modulation algorithm in
all applications which provide a 3-D vector control. The 3–D
vectors space of a three-level converter is shown in Fig. 1.
In this figure, 0, 1, and 2 represent the different dc levels that
we can connect to each phase of the converter. Where 0 is the
lower dc voltage level, 1 indicates the connection between the
neutral point and each phase and 2 is la connection of the higher
dc voltage level and the corresponding phase.
II. MODULATION TECHNIQUE DESCRIPTION
A. Reference Vector Synthesis
Since the switching of any power topology stays at discrete
states, space vector modulation is used to approximate a reference
voltage vector , calculating the time to its closest state vectors.
Four vectors , , , and are used to approximate the de-
sired voltage vector in a control cycle . The modulation law
requires the current voltage vector to equal its reference value
PRATS et al.: THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPACE VECTOR MODULATION
Fig. 1. Three–dimensional space vectors of a three-level converter.
which is represented in the stationary reference frame. During
each modulation subcycle of duration , a switching sequence
is generated. It is composed of four switching state vectors , is pointing.
, , and , where , , , and are the on-state
durations of the active switching state vectors. The four vectors
nearest to the reference vector must be identified. The proposed
3-D space vector modulation (SVM) algorithm easily calculates
the four state vectors which generate the reference vector. In gen-
eral, with unbalanced systems or with triple harmonics, the refer-
ence vector could not be placed in the 2-D plane of the multilevel
converter. In this way, it is necessary to use a switching sequence
with four state vectors. Thus, the reference vector will be pointing
to a volume which is a tetrahedron. The vertexes of that tetrahe-
dron are the state vectors of the switching sequence. In addition,
the algorithm permits one to obtain the corresponding duty cycles
without using tables or trigonometric functions. The modulation
algorithm input is the normalized voltage vector. Normalization
only depends on the number of levels of the multilevel converter,
, and the voltage level value of the dc-link capacitors, [4].
The reference vector must be scaled by the normalization con-
stant:
Step 1) Find the subcube where the reference vector is
pointing.
The space vectors of a multilevel converter form a
cube in a 3-D space. This space can be split up into
several tetrahedrons which generate the cube’s total
volume. For a certain reference vector in three-phase
coordinates ( ), the integer part of each com-
ponent ( , , ) is calculated, where
(1)
The 3-D space is formed by a certain number of sub-
cubes depending on the number of the levels of the
converter; one subcube for two-level converters, eight
subcubes for three-level converters, etc. (see Fig. 1).
The coordinates ( , , ) are the origin coordinates
111
Fig. 2. Origin of the subcube where the reference vector is supposed to be
found.
Fig. 3. Planes used for calculating the tetrahedron where the reference vector
corresponding to the reference system of the subcube
where the reference vector is pointing. This is shown
in Fig. 2.
Step 2) As six tetrahedrons are considered in each subcube, it
is necessary to define the tetrahedron where the ref-
erence vector is pointing. This tetrahedron is easily
found using comparisons with the three planes in the
3-D space which define the six tetrahedrons inside the
subcube. The three planes which define the six tetra-
hedrons are shown in Fig. 3. A maximum of only three
comparisons is needed.
Step 3) Once ( , , ) coordinates are known, the main step
of the algorithm consists of calculating the four space
vectors corresponding to the four vertices of a tetrahe-
dron in the selected subcube (in step 1). These vectors
will generate the reference vector. Configurations of
the 3-D space with different numbers of tetrahedrons
in the cube have been studied. However, the minimum
number of comparisons is obtained using the six tetra-
hedrons shown in Fig. 4.
Step 4) Calculation of the switching times.
The new algorithm calculates the four state vectors on-line
into the 3-D space and the corresponding duty-cycles using only
sixty-nine instructions and a maximum of three comparisons for
calculating the suitable tetrahedron. The computational load is
always the same and it is independent of the number of levels.
In addition, the algorithm provides the switching sequence that
minimizes the total harmonic distortion and the commutation
number of the semiconductor devices.
B. General Structure of the Algorithm
The flow diagram of the new 3-D-modulation algorithm for
choosing the tetrahedron where the reference vector is pointing
is shown in Fig. 5.
Notice that the algorithm is extremely simple.
112 IEEE POWER ELECTRONICS LETTERS, VOL. 1, NO. 4, DECEMBER 2003

Fig. 4. Tetrahedrons into the cube with the corresponding state vectors.

III. CALCULATION OF DUTY-CYCLES The state vectors are the vertexes of the corresponding tetra-
hedron which generates the reference vector. The equations to
Once the state vectors which generate each reference vector be solved are the following:
are known, the corresponding duty-cycles are calculated. The
algorithm generates a matrix with four state vectors and the
corresponding switching times . Where and with
, are natural coordinates of each state vector, and
is the corresponding duty cycle
(3)

The numeric evaluation of the duty cycles or on-state durations

of the switching states are reduced to a simple addition as it is
shown in Table I. The coordinates ( , , ) represent the different
(2) voltage levels of the dc link. They take values between zero and
where is the sample time. where is the number of levels of the multilevel converter.
PRATS et al.: THREE-DIMENSIONAL SPACE VECTOR MODULATION
Fig. 5. Three–dimensional algorithm for the selection of each tetrahedron with the corresponding state vectors.
TABLE I
STATES SEQUENCE AND SWITCHING
TIMES
The duty cycles are only functions of the reference vector com-
ponents and the integer part of reference vector coordinates. In
addition, the optimized switching sequence is selected in order
113
to minimize the switching number. The space vectors sequence
in the first half cycle are , ,
and . In the second half
cycle the space vectors are in the reverse sequence.
The proposed 3-D technique is the generalization of the 2-D
space vector algorithms. In this sense, the behavior of a balanced
system without triple harmonics using the 3-D algorithm makes
zero the switching time of one of the four active vectors given by
the algorithm. Then, the problem is reduced to the well known
2-D situation.
The algorithm has been successfully implemented with a
micro controller [5] in order to prove the technique using a
reference vector with triple harmonics and zero sequence. The
modulation is the output signal of the micro controller and it
has been digitally filtered with a low pass filter that eliminates
the higher frequencies. Thus, we can get the output signals of
the diode clamped inverter ( , , and ) obtaining signals
that follow the input reference signals.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
The 3-D space vector modulation algorithm presented in this
work is very useful to readily calculate the switching sequence
and the on-state durations of the respective switching state
vectors corresponding to the space vector modulation used in
multilevel converters. The proposed technique allows directly
compensating a zero sequence in systems with neutral and
optimizing the switching sequence minimizing the number
of switchings. The computational complexity is very low and
independent on the number of levels of the converter. This
algorithm does not use trigonometric functions or look-up
tables. It has been satisfactorily implemented in very low-cost
micro controllers. This technique can be used as a modulation
algorithm in all applications needing a 3-D control vector such
114
as active filters with four-wire with single-phase distorting
loads which generate large neutral currents, where the conven-
tional 2-D space vector modulation can not be used.
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