Comparison of performance and realization effort of a very sparse matrix converter to a voltage DC link PWM inverter with active front end

This paper undertakes a comparison of the very sparse matrix converter (VSMC) and the back-to-back voltage DC-link converter (BBC) for a permanent magnetic synchronous motor drive application. The VSMC has the same functionality as the conventional matrix converter but a reduced number of switches and lower control complexity. The two converters are designed, using the same IGBT power modules, with a switching frequency of 40 kHz and a thermal rating of 6.8 kW at an ambient temperature of 45°C. From the design, the volume of the VSMC is 2.3 liters and is half that of the BBC. The efficiency for the VSMC at full load is 94.5% compared to 92% for the BBC. At very low output frequencies the output current of the VSMC can be increased by 25% above nominal compared to a 54% decrease for the BBC. Overall the VSMC offers advantages in volume and efficiency for motor drive applications requiring switching frequencies above 10 kHz.