Experimental Validation of a Seven Level Inverter with Reduced Number of Switches Using Harmony Search Technique

Selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation (SHEPWM) is modulation strategy particularly used to control high-power converters. The SHEPWM strategy allows the elimination of a specific order of harmonics and also controls the amplitude of the fundamental component of the output voltage. In this paper harmony search algorithm is used to determine optimum switching angles for a seven level inverter with reduced number of switches (asymmetrical inverter). Harmony search is an optimization algorithm inspired from the music improvisation process. The algorithm and the mathematical model of the power converter are developed in MATLAB. Simulation results are validated by an experimental setup using STM32F407 high-performance microcontroller.