Abstract
In this paper, the problem of fault detection and isolation in a three-cell converter is investigated using a nonlinear geometric approach. This powerful method based on the unobservability distribution is used to detect and isolate the faulty cell in the three-cell converter. First, a model describing the faults in the cells is presented. The geometric approach is then applied on this faulty model to generate residual signals based on a sliding-mode observer that allows the detection of faults in the three-cell converter. Numerical results show the effectiveness of the proposed sliding-mode residual generators for fault detection and isolation in the three-cell converter.