A three‐phase voltage‐source PWM inverter system characterized by sinusoidal output voltage with neither common‐mode voltage nor normal‐mode voltage

This paper deals with an inverter system integrating a small‐rated passive EMI filter with a three‐phase voltage‐source PWM inverter. The purpose of the EMI filter is to eliminate both common‐mode and normal‐mode voltages from the output voltage of the inverter. The motivation of this research is based on the well‐known fact that the higher the carrier or switching frequency, the smaller and the more effective the EMI filter. An experimental system consisting of a 5‐kVA inverter, a 3.7‐kW induction motor, and a specially designed passive EMI filter was constructed to verify the viability and effectiveness of the EMI filter. As a result, it is shown experimentally that both three‐phase line‐to‐line and line‐to‐neutral output voltages look purely sinusoidal as if the inverter system were an ideal variable‐voltage, variable‐frequency power supply when viewed from the motor terminals. This results in complete solution of serious issues related to common‐mode and normal‐mode voltages produced by the inverter. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 145(4): 88–96, 2003; Published online in Wiley InterScience ( www.interscience.wiley.com ). DOI 10.1002/eej.10206