A New Topology for Multilevel Current Source Converters

This paper presents a new topology for multilevel current source converters. The new converter uses parallel connections of full-bridge cells. Four different methods have been presented for the calculation of the levels in each bridge. These methods provide more flexibility for designers and can generate a large number of levels (odd and even). Also by adding or removing the full-bridge cells, modularized circuit layout and packaging is possible, where the number of output current levels can also be easily adjusted. Using enough levels, the multilevel current converter generates approximately sinusoidal output current with very low harmonic distortion. Based on this converter a shunt active filter has been modeled. The simulation results of the proposed shunt active filter and the traditional shunt filters (which are based on PWM convectors) show that the suggested filter is better than the traditional filter in distribution systems.