• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.5
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• pp.1171-1181
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• 2019

Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC)-based HVDC power transmission using a real-time simulator is one of the key technologies in power electronics research. This paper introduces the design methodology of a physical MMC-HVDC control system based on a Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), which has the advantage of high-speed parallel operation, and validates the accuracy of MMC-HVDC control when operated with a Real-Time Digital Simulator (RTDS). Finally, this paper compares and analyzes the characteristics of capacitor voltage balancing methods such as Nearest Level Control (NLC), NLC with a reduced switching frequency, and tolerance band modulation implemented on physical control system.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.64 no.2
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• pp.232-239
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• 2015

Faced with unbalanced grid operation mode, the high voltage direct current (HVDC) based on voltage source converter (VSC) can be properly controlled by a dual current control scheme. For the modular multilevel converter (MMC) controlling the AC side current is able to limit the arm current which flows along the IGBT of submodule (SM) to rated current. However the limitation of the arm current results in leaving the control range of active power at MMC confined to below the rated capacity. As a result, limiting the arm current causes the problem that the DC side voltage of the HVDC can not be controlled to the reference value since MMC HVDC adjusts the DC side voltage through the active power. In this paper, we propose the algorithm adjusting the active powers of both MMCs to resolve the problem. The back-to-back MMC HVDC applying the algorithm is modeled by PSCAD/EMTDC to verify the algorithm.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2018.11a
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• pp.173-174
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• 2018

This paper proposes the coupled inductor instead of four non-coupled inductors in each leg of the flying-capacitor modular multilevel converter (MMC) to reduce the dimension, weight and cost of the magnetic core. The simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the proposed coupled inductor.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.922-933
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• 2019

The arm inductance (AI) of a modular multilevel converter (MMC) affects both the fault and circulating current magnitudes. In addition, it has an impact on the inverter efficiency and harmonic content. In this study, the AI of a three-phase MMC is optimized in a novel way in terms of DC voltage utilization, harmonics and efficiency. This MMC has 10 submodules (SM) per arm and the power circuit topology of the SM is a half-bridge. The optimum AI is adopted and verified in an MMC that has 100 SMs per arm. Then the phase shift (PS) and phase disposition (PD) pulse width modulation (PWM) methods are investigated for better DC voltage utilization, efficiency and harmonics. It is found that similar performances are obtained for both modulation techniques in terms of DC voltage utilization. However, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the PS-PWM is found to be 0.02%, which is slightly lower than the THD of the PD-PWM at 0.16%. In efficiency calculations, the switching and conduction losses for all of the semiconductor are considered separately and the minimum efficiency of the 100-SM based MMC is found to be 99.62% for the PS-PWM and 99.64% for the PD-PWM with the optimal value of the AI. Simulation results are verified with an experimental prototype of a 6-SM based MMC.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.27 no.6
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• pp.526-534
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• 2022

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has been widely applied to various industrial areas because of its various advantages and structural characteristics. Therefore, many methods for synthesizing the output voltage of MMC have been studied. Among these methods, phase-shifted pulse width modulation (PSPWM) is frequently used in MMC systems because it has diverse merits, such as excellent output qualities even with a small number of cells and uniform power distribution among cells. In this study, the total harmonic distortion (THD) of the output voltage is analyzed in accordance with the number of cells in one arm of a single-delta bridge cell MMC in order to compare PSPWM methods in terms of the THD of the output voltage. The physical characteristics of the triangle and sawtooth carrier waves used for the PSPWM and the mathematical modeling of output voltage are introduced. Then, the obtained results are verified through real-time simulation of a 1 MW single-delta bridge cell MMC system.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2014.07a
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• pp.53-54
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• 2014

MMC(Modular Multilevel Converter)는 여러 개의 Power Module을 직렬로 연결하여 정현파에 가까운 고전압의 파형을 얻을 수 있는 토폴로지로 대용량 전력변환 분야의 요구를 만족하면서 전력 품질을 향상시킬 수 있어 근래에 상당히 주목받고 있다. 당사에서는 5Mvar급 STATCOM(STATic synchronization COMpensator)을 MMC 형태로 제작하였다. 1개의 Cell 제어기는 6대의 Power Module의 제어와 보호를 담당하여 DC 전압을 센싱하여야 한다. 본 논문에서는 제안한 SPI(Serial Peripheral Interface) 통신을 이용하여 Power Module을 제어하기 위해 DC 센싱 방법에 대해 설명한다.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2020.08a
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• pp.259-260
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• 2020

모듈화 멀티레벨 컨버터 (modular multilevel converter, MMC)는 고압직류송전(high-voltage direct current, HVDC)에 대한 기술이 발전함에 따라서 이와 관련된 전력변환 장치로써 많은 연구되어지고 있다. 10kV 이하로 구현되는 중압직류송전(medium-volatge direct current, MVDC) 시스템 및 모터 드라이브에 이용되는 MMC의 경우에는 수백 개의 직렬 서브모듈로 구성된 MMC가 사용되는 HVDC와 다르기 때문에 여러 모듈레이션 방식에서의 다른 장단점을 가지게 된다. 본 논문에서는 전력전자 시뮬레이션 툴인 PSIM을 이용하여 여러가지 모듈레이션의 MVDC으로의 적용에 있어서의 장단점을 분석한다.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.270-278
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• 2013

This paper proposes a control method for high voltage direct current(HVDC) with modular multilevel converter (MMC) under unbalanced voltage conditions considering the submodule(SM)'s current capacity and circulating current. It is aimed to propose a control method in which the current peak value does not exceed the maximum value of HVDC-MMC by considering the current capacity of the SM under unbalance voltage conditions. And it analyzes the effect of the unbalanced voltage on circulating currents in MMC and then proposes a control method considering each component of circulating currents under unbalanced voltages. The effectiveness of the proposed controlling method is verified through simulation results using PSCAD/EMTDC.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.319-328
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• 2016

In this study, we first briefly introduce the effect of circulating current control on the modulation signal of a modular multilevel converter (MMC). The maximum modulation index is also theoretically derived. According to the optimal modulation index analysis and the model in the continuous domain, different DC-side output impedance equivalent models of MMC with/without compensating component are derived. The DC-side impedance of MMC inverter station can be regarded as a series xR + yL + zC branch in both cases. The compensating component of the maximum modulation index is also related to the DC equivalent impedance with circulating current control. The frequency characteristic of impedance for MMC, which is observed from its DC side, is analyzed. Finally, this study investigates the prediction of the DC voltage ripple transfer between two-terminal MMC high-voltage direct current systems under unbalanced conditions. The rationality and accuracy of the impedance model are verified through MATLAB/Simulink simulations and experimental results.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.921-930
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• 2016

This paper proposes a design and control method for a high-voltage direction current modular multilevel converter (HVDC-MMC) considering the capacitor voltage ripple of the submodule (SM). The capacitor voltage ripple consists of the line frequency and double-line-frequency components. The double line- frequency component does not fluctuate according to the active power, whereas the line-frequency component is highly influenced by the grid-side voltage and current. If the grid voltage drops, a conventional converter increases the current to maintain the active power. A grid voltage drops, current increment, or both occur with a capacitor voltage ripple higher than the limit value. In order to reliably control an MMC within a limit value, the SM capacitor should be designed on the basis of the capacitor voltage ripple. In this paper, the capacitor voltage ripple according to the grid voltage and current are analyzed, and the proposed control method includes a current limitation method considering the capacitor voltage ripple. The proposed design and control method are verified through simulation using PSCAD/EMTDC.