Efficient MPC for LC-Filtered Three-Level NPC Inverters in Vehicle-to-Load Applications
Finite control-set model predictive control (FCS-MPC) offers fast, modulator-free voltage regulation but is sensitive to the fidelity of its internal model. This sensitivity is usually countered by algorithmic augmentation, disturbance observers, adaptive weighting, or learning-based estimators, at the cost of extra tuning and computation. This paper instead improves fidelity at the source. For a three-level neutral-point-clamped (3L-NPC) inverter with an LC output filter in vehicle-to-load operation, a coupled alpha-beta-frame predictive model carries the capacitor voltage and filter current jointly through the state vector, so that the second-order LC coupling is retained without enlarging the 27-candidate search. The cost function additionally regulates dc-link neutral-point balance and switching effort. One-step prediction accuracy, parametric sensitivity, and computational cost are bounded in closed form. Simulation of a V2L system yields a voltage total harmonic distortion of 0.72%, a steady-state tracking error of 1.6%, and transient recovery within one fundamental cycle, meeting the applicable IEEE power-quality limits with margin, without observers, parameter estimation, or learning-based augmentation.