Comparison of optimal switching angle patterns using the asymmetric selective harmonic current and voltage modulation technique for a single-phase cascaded H-bridge converter
Firas A. Obeidat1
Department of Electrical Engineering,Philadelphia University,Amman,Jordan1
Corresponding Author : Firas A. Obeidat
Received : 09-March-2026; Revised : 22-August-2026; Accepted : 23-August-2026
Abstract
Different switching angle patterns are used in multi-level converters such as quarter-wave symmetry about 90o, half-wave symmetry about 180o and full-wave symmetry about 360o. This paper addresses the use of optimal switching angle patterns, optimal modulation index, and optimal filter value for single-phase seven levels cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converter based on the asymmetric selective harmonic current and voltage modulation-PWM (ASHCVM-PWM) technique. Grey wolf optimization (GWO) technique is used to find the optimal angles, optimal modulation index, and optimal filter value. The system is simulated using MATLAB R2022b software using the obtained optimal values to obtain the harmonic values, total harmonic distortion (THD) of voltage waveforms, and total demand distortion (TDD) of current waveforms, and consequently evaluate the performance of the system. The results show that all switching patterns meet the IEEE 519 standard, and the system achieves the lowest THD and TDD when half-wave symmetry is employed, whereas the worst results are obtained when full-wave symmetry is employed.
Keywords
Cascaded H-bridge converter, Grey wolf optimization, Multilevel converter, Pulse width modulation, Selective harmonic elimination, Total harmonic distortion.
Cite this article
Obeidat FA. Comparison of optimal switching angle patterns using the asymmetric selective harmonic current and voltage modulation technique for a single-phase cascaded H-bridge converter. International Journal of Advanced Technology and Engineering Exploration. 2026;13(141):480-496. DOI : 10.19101/IJATEE.2026.131340248
References
[1]
Lai JS, Peng FZ. Multilevel converters-a new breed of power converters. IEEE Transactions on Industry Applications. 1996; 32(3):509-17.
[2]
Hasan NS, Rosmin N, Osman DA, Musta’amal AH. Reviews on multilevel converter and modulation techniques. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews. 2017; 80:163-74.
[3]
Zaragoza J, Pou J, Ceballos S, Robles E, Ibanez P, Villate JL. A comprehensive study of a hybrid modulation technique for the neutral-point-clamped converter. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. 2008; 56(2):294-304.
[4]
Zakzewski D, Resalayyan R, Khaligh A. Hybrid neutral point clamped converter: review and comparison to traditional topologies. IEEE Transactions on Transportation Electrification. 2023; 10(3):6087-99.
[5]
Perez MA, Ceballos S, Konstantinou G, Pou J, Aguilera RP. Modular multilevel converters: recent achievements and challenges. IEEE Open Journal of the Industrial Electronics Society. 2021; 2:224-39.
[6]
Debnath S, Qin J, Bahrani B, Saeedifard M, Barbosa P. Operation, control, and applications of the modular multilevel converter: a review. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2014; 30(1):37-53.
[7]
Maheswari KT, Bharanikumar R, Arjun V, Amrish R, Bhuvanesh M. A comprehensive review on cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter for medium voltage high power applications. Materials Today: Proceedings. 2021; 45:2666-70.
[8]
Du Z, Tolbert LM, Chiasson JN. Active harmonic elimination for multilevel converters. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2006; 21(2):459-69.
[9]
Winarno I, Dewantara BY, Karyatanti ID, Suryadhi, Taufiqurrohman M, Subur J, et al. Harmonic suppression in electric ship drives via fuzzy logic multilevel inverter control for improved energy management systems. In IOP conference series: earth and environmental science 2026 (pp. 1-11). IOP Publishing.
[10]
Sun J. Capacitor voltage control and harmonic suppression of modular multilevel converter. In international conference on electronics, electrical and grid technology (ICEEGT 2025) 2026 (pp. 811-22). Atlantis Press.
[11]
Choudhury S, Bajaj M, Dash T, Kamel S, Jurado F. Multilevel inverter: a survey on classical and advanced topologies, control schemes, applications to power system and future prospects. Energies. 2021; 14(18):1-47.
[12]
Leon JI, Vazquez S, Franquelo LG. Multilevel converters: control and modulation techniques for their operation and industrial applications. Proceedings of the IEEE. 2017; 105(11): 2066-81.
[13]
Mukherjee S, Kalkal P, Teja AR. Novel graphical method for uncovering multiple harmonic mitigation solutions at ultra-low switching in multilevel inverters. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. 2026; 73(6):8090-100 .
[14]
Vinothkumar DN, Sundar DR, Sivaraman DP, Venkatesh KC, Sinha DK, Vadivukarassi DM, et al. Intelligent harmonic suppression in multilevel inverters using RL-enhanced NMPC for power quality optimization. Journal of Circuits, Systems and Computers. 2026.
[15]
Vaidya S, Prasad K, Kilby J. The role of multilevel inverters in mitigating harmonics and improving power quality in renewable-powered smart grids: a comprehensive review. Energies. 2025; 18(8):1-20.
[16]
Dahidah MS, Konstantinou G, Agelidis VG. A review of multilevel selective harmonic elimination PWM: formulations, solving algorithms, implementation and applications. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2014; 30(8):4091-106.
[17]
Cabezas V, Acuna P, Aguilera RP, Lezana P, Garcia C, Watanabe EH. Selective harmonic mitigation model predictive control for grid-connected converters working with a very low apparent switching frequency. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2026; 41(8): 12553-65.
[18]
Obeidat FA, Wang S. Optimal design of single-phase cascaded h-bridge converter based on asymmetric selective harmonic current and voltage modulation-PWM technique to meet IEEE-519 standard. IEEE Open Journal of Power Electronics. 2026; 7:885-94.
[19]
Gaur P. Optimization algorithms for harmonics mitigation in cascaded multilevel converters: a review. Optical Technique. 2025; 34(9):57-62.
[20]
Ounejjar Y, Al-haddad K, Dessaint LA. A novel six-band hysteresis control for the packed U cells seven-level converter: experimental validation. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. 2011; 59(10):3808-16.
[21]
Silva CA, Cordova LA, Lezana P, Empringham L. Implementation and control of a hybrid multilevel converter with floating DC links for current waveform improvement. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Electronics. 2010; 58(6):2304-12.
[22]
Wu F, Duan J, Feng F. Modified single‐carrier multilevel sinusoidal pulse width modulation for asymmetrical insulated gate bipolar transistor‐clamped grid‐connected inverter. IET Power Electronics. 2015; 8(8):1531-41.
[23]
Banaei MR, Bakhshayesh AF. Selection of DC voltage magnitude using fibonacci series for new hybrid asymmetrical multilevel inverter with minimum PIV. Alexandria Engineering Journal. 2014; 53(3):529-35.
[24]
Oghorada OJ, Zhang L, Esan BA, Dickson E. Carrier-based sinusoidal pulse-width modulation techniques for flying capacitor modular multi-level cascaded converter. Heliyon. 2019; 5(12):1-16.
[25]
Dordevic O, Jones M, Levi E. A comparison of carrier-based and space vector PWM techniques for three-level five-phase voltage source inverters. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics. 2012; 9(2):609-19.
[26]
Urgun S, Yigit H. Selective harmonic eliminated pulse width modulation (SHE-PWM) method using genetic algorithm in single-phase multilevel inverters. International Journal on Electrical Engineering and Informatics. 2021; 13(1):191-202.
[27]
Shirabe K, Swamy M, Kang JK, Hisatsune M, Wu Y, Kebort D, et al. Advantages of high frequency PWM in AC motor drive applications. In energy conversion congress and exposition (ECCE) 2012 (pp. 2977-84). IEEE.
[28]
Hariharan K, Kapat S. Need for variable frequency control in dc-dc switching converters–challenges and opportunities using digital implementation. Proceedings of the Indian National Science Academy. 2018; 84(3):657-68.
[29]
Kala P, Arora S. Implementation of PSO based selective harmonic elimination technique in multilevel inverters. In 2nd international conference on power electronics, intelligent control and energy systems (ICPEICES) 2018 (pp. 605-10). IEEE.
[30]
Pani S, Subudhi U. Selective harmonic elimination in reduced switch multilevel inverters for microgrid application. Arabian Journal for Science and Engineering. 2026; 51:11449-63.
[31]
Wasiq M, Memon MA, Shrivastava P, Mekhilef S, Seyedmahmoudian M, Stojcevski A, et al. Selective harmonic elimination pulse width modulation based hybrid multilevel inverter topology with reduced components. IET Power Electronics. 2026; 19(1):1-10.
[32]
Kamani PL, Patel RK, Kathiria MK, Majithiya DP, Brahmkhatri JH. Implementing selective harmonic elimination in multilevel inverters with optimal dc source. e-Prime-Advances in Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Energy. 2024; 8:1-8.
[33]
Subramanian N, Stonier AA. A comprehensive review on selective harmonic elimination techniques and its permissible standards in electrical systems. IEEE Access. 2024; 12:141966-98.
[34]
Birth A, Geyer T, Du TH, Dorfling M. Generalized three-level optimal pulse patterns with lower harmonic distortion. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2020; 35(6):5741-52.
[35]
Ahmed M, Orabi M, Ghoneim S, Alharthi M, Salem F, Alamri B, et al. Selective harmonic elimination method for unequal DC sources of multilevel inverters. Automatika. 2019; 60(4):378-84.
[36]
Abd HW, Tengku TN, Applasamy K, Jidin A. Selective harmonic elimination based on newton-raphson method for cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter. International Journal of Power Electronics and Drive System (IJPEDS). 2017; 8(3):1193-202.
[37]
Yahia EH, Hamad HS, Ahmed SA, Almalaisi TA, Majdi HS, Ahmed OK, et al. Optimized selective harmonic elimination in CHB-MLI using red-tailed hawk algorithm for unequal DC sources. International Journal of Robotics and Control Systems. 2025; 5(2):830-45.
[38]
Fei W, Ruan X, Wu B. A generalized formulation of quarter-wave symmetry SHE-PWM problems for multilevel inverters. IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics. 2009; 24(7):1758-66.
[39]
Dahidah MS, Konstantinou G, Flourentzou N, Agelidis VG. On comparing the symmetrical and non-symmetrical selective harmonic elimination pulse-width modulation technique for two-level three-phase voltage source converters. IET power electronics. 2010; 3(6):829-42.
[40]
Hussain AS, Almulaisi T, Desa H, Bektaş E, Sekhar R, Shah P, et al. Selective harmonic elimination in T-type multilevel inverter with reduced switch count using Sea-Horse algorithm. Scientific Reports. 2026; 16(1):1-23.
[41]
Rajashekar VB, Hirekere MM, Lakshman R, Jayanna PS, Gurusamy M. Implementing selective harmonic elimination in cascade H-bridge and modified nine-level inverters with optimal DC source. Journal of Integrated Science and Technology. 2026; 14(3):1-12.
[42]
Naidji M, Maamar AT, Boudour M, Garmat A, Aissa-bokhtache A. Comparative analysis of numerical, evolutionary and metaheuristic methods for experimental implementation of selective harmonic elimination in a five-level emerging inverter. Electrical Engineering & Electromechanics. 2026; 2(2):59-66.
[43]
Mirjalili S, Mirjalili SM, Lewis A. Grey wolf optimizer. Advances in Engineering Software. 2014; 69:46-61.
[44]
IEEE standard for harmonic control in electric power systems, IEEE Standard 519-2022 (Revision of IEEE Standard 519-2014). 2022.