Realisation of 'more electric ships' through a modular, efficient, tank-less and non-resonant inverter

During the past few decades, a constant global effort to increase clean energy production by driving down the overall production and conversion costs has paved way for many efficiency-enhancing technologies in the field of power electronics. Marine propulsion systems incorporating power inverter systems have become the 'new frontier' for various marine utility applications. Hence, an inverter system with high efficiency and faultless performance has become a necessity. A novel tank-less, non-resonant soft-switched inverter that operates at high switching frequency is presented in this study. High-frequency inverter operation offers advantages in terms of power quality, output voltage distortions, and dynamic current control. The proposed inverter topology is able to achieve zero current/voltage switching throughout the load operating range without the use of any bulky resonant tank circuit. Key results of the inverter operating at 5 kHz and with a load power of 1 kW are documented. The experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the design.