Performance Evaluation and Comparative Analysis of NPC, H-Bridge, and Flying Capacitor of Five Level Converters

Abstract

Multilevel converters have gained significant attention in power electronics due to their ability to improve power quality, efficiency, and voltage handling in high-power applications. They provide a number of benefits, including as enhanced voltage waveform quality, decreased electromagnetic interference (EMI), and decreased total harmonic distortion (THD). These features make them well-suited for applications such as renewable energy systems (e.g., solar and wind), electric vehicle drives, and industrial motor control. Three popular multilevel converter topologies—Neutral Point Clamped (NPC), H-Bridge, and Flying Capacitor (FC)—are compared in this work. Electrical performance measures including control complexity and total harmonic distortion (THD) are taken into account. Each topology's benefits and drawbacks are examined, offering insights into how well-suited they are for different applications. The results highlight the trade-offs between performance and complexity, ultimately identifying the most promising topology for specific use cases.