Z-source Inverter is a power electronic converter that has been proposed in 2002 by Prof. F. Z. Peng. The special topology used in the Z source converter avoids using a DC-DC convert bridge. Z source inverter circuits and its applications would be a good power electronics project for final-year engineering students.
Simulation and hardware of Z source inverter can be developed for various applications such as variable speed drive and solar inverter. Other renewable energy conversion systems such as windmills use Z-source inverters. The application of the developed inverter in electric vehicles can also be explored.
In addition to the simulation of available topologies, additional improvements and proposals can be put forward.
Details of the Z source inverter have to be collected and the project can be developed. The complete project can be split as below.
SIMULATION OF Z-SOURCE INVERTER
As the first step, available Z source topology can be simulated and results can be verified using Matlab or any other circuit simulation software. How to improve the performance of the inverter? There are possibilities to modify the circuits and improve the performance of the Z-source inverter.
Improvements that are proposed will be simulated during this step and a detailed comparison of the advantages of the new topology would be done at this stage.
HARDWARE SETUP
Design and set up hardware for the Z-source inverter with the proposed modifications in the first part of the project.
An important aspect is that try both base and modified topologies as hardware and compare the results.
PROJECT TOPICS BASED ON Z-SOURCE INVERTER
- Z source inverter for variable speed drives
- Z source inverter for windmills
- Z source inverter for street lighting
ADDITIONAL TOPICS
The advantages of using Z-source inverters in electric vehicles would be another interesting electrical engineering research topic.
The same simulation study can be done on the effects of various inverter topologies in EVs.
A complete vehicle model has to be developed in simulation software to perform the project.
The electrical vehicle model that was developed before could also be used for simulation studies to understand how the system reacts to a new inverter.
CONCLUSION
In this short article, we discussed about electrical projects based on Z-source inverter. The simulation and hardware setup of Z source inverter topology will be a good academic project.
The behavior of the inverter in different applications can be studied as part of the project. We have not shared the topology for the inverter in this article. You may check out IEEE papers to get the circuits and know more about the calculations.
KEY POINTS
- Simulation of Z source inverter
- Hardware set up of Z source inverter
- Application of Z source inverter