• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.15 no.3
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• pp.685-694
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• 2015

The power loss of the controllable switches in modular multilevel converter (MMC) HVDC transmission systems is an important factor, which can determine the design of the operating junction temperatures. Due to the dc current component, the approximate calculation tool provided by the manufacturer of the switches cannot be used for the losses of the switches in the MMC. Based on the enabled probabilities of each SM in an arm, the current analytical models of the switches can be determined. The average and RMS currents can be obtained from the corresponding current analytical model. Then, the conduction losses can be calculated, and the switching losses of the switches can be estimated according to the upper limit of the switching frequency. Finally, the thermal resistance model of the switches can be utilized, and the junction temperatures can be estimated. A comparison between the calculation and PSCAD simulation results shows that the proposed method is effective for estimating the junction temperatures of the switches in the MMC.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1752-1762
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• 2016

To achieve higher reliability in the modular multilevel converters (MMC) for HVDC transmission systems, the internal condition of the DC capacitors of the submodules (SM) needs to be monitored regularly. For an online estimation of the SM capacitance, a controlled AC current with double the fundamental frequency is injected into the circulating current loop of the MMC, which results in current and voltage ripples in the SM capacitors. The capacitor currents are calculated from the arm currents and their switching states. By processing these AC voltage and current components with digital filters, their capacitances are estimated by a recursive least square (RLS) algorithm. The validity of the proposed scheme has been verified by simulation results for a 300-MW, 300-kV HVDC system. In addition, its feasibility has been verified by experimental results obtained with a reduced-scale prototype. It has been shown that the estimation errors for both the simulation and experimental tests are 1.32% at maximum.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2014.07a
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• pp.341-342
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• 2014

VSC-HVDC system based on Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) is an emerging technology since compared to the conventional VSC-HVDC system an MMC presents several advantages such as modularity, low dv/dt, low harmonics, and low switching losses. In this paper, a comprehensive control strategy of an MMC-based VSC-HVDC system is proposed. In contrast to the conventional system control strategy, the DC side of the MMC operates as a controlled voltage source by the proposed method, and the dynamics of the transmission line voltage and current can be actively controlled. Validity of the proposed strategy was verified by 201-level full-scale computer simulation.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.10 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 2015

This paper proposes the installation of a new modular multilevel converter based high-voltage direct current (MMC-HVDC) system to connect between mainland and Jeju island power systems in Korea in 2020. The purpose is to combine with two old line-commutated converters (LCC)-based HVDC system to achieve a stability of the Jeju island power system. The operation of the overall system will be analyzed in three cases: (i) wind speed is variable, (ii) either one of the LCC-HVDC systems is shutdown because of a fault or overhaul, (iii) a short circuit fault occurs at the mainland side. The effectiveness of the proposed control method is confirmed by the simulation results based on a PSCAD/EMTDC simulation program.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2014.07a
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• pp.55-56
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• 2014

본 논문에서는 ${\Delta}$결선 또는 3상 4선식 Y결선으로 구성된 Modular Multilevel Converter(MMC)의 동기좌표계에서의 영상분 전류제어방법을 제안한다. 제안된 영상분 전류제어방법은 새로운 가상 2상 전류 생성방법을 사용하며, 기존의 가상 2상 전류 생성방법보다 과도상태 응답특성과 파라미터 오차에 대한 성능이 우수함을 시뮬레이션을 통해 검증하였다.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.127-135
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• 2017

Recently the researches on modular multi-level converter (MMC) are being highlighted because high quality and efficient power transmission have become key issues in high voltage direct current (HVDC) systems. This paper proposes an improved pre-charging method for the sub-module (SM) capacitor of MMC-based HVDC systems, which operates in the nearest level control (NLC) modulation and does not need additional circuits or pulse width modulation (PWM) techniques. The feasibility of the proposed method was verified through computer simulations for a scaled 3-phase 10kVA MMC with 12 SMs per each arm. Hardware experiments with a scaled prototype have also been performed in the lab to confirm the simulation results.

• Journal of IKEEE
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.1140-1149
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• 2019

In general, there are various pulse width modulation(PWM) methods simply using the offset voltage injection in voltage source converter(VSC). In accordance with the AC side voltage synthesis method with the offset voltage, DC side voltage utilization factor in VSC is changed. Also, this can apply equally to the MMC system. In other words, if the DC side capacity of the high voltage DC(HVDC) transmission system is determined, the maximum reactive power which can be supplied to the AC side can be changed according to the applied output voltage synthesis method with the offset voltage. In this paper, the leg energy pulsation in MMC system according to the AC side output voltage synthesis method with offset voltage which several representative PWM are applied to are mathematically analyzed and compared with each other. Finally, the above results are verified by simulation emulating the 400MVA full-scale MMC system to determine the consistency of the mathematical analysis.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2012.11a
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• pp.197-198
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• 2012

본 논문에서는 Modular Multilevel Converter(MMC)의 전 영역 운전을 위한 제어 알고리즘을 제안한다. 이론적으로, MMC 시스템에서 셀 캐패시터 전압 맥동은 출력 주파수에 반비례하고 출력 전류에 비례한다. 따라서 교류 전동기의 기동 토크 인가 또는 저속 운전 시에 각 셀 캐패시터의 전압 맥동이 과도하게 커져 시스템 동작이 불가능하다는 단점이 존재한다. 본 논문에서는 이를 극복하기 위한 방법을 제안하고 실험을 통해 그 유효성을 살펴보도록 한다.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.9 no.5
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• pp.1746-1752
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• 2014

This paper presents an application of proportional-resonant (PR) current controllers in modular multilevel converter-high voltage direct current (MMC-HVDC) system under unbalanced voltage conditions. The ac currents are transformed and controlled in the stationary reference frame (${\alpha}{\beta}$-frame). Thus, the complex analysis of the positive and negative sequence components in the synchronous rotating reference frame (dq-frame) is not necessary. With this control method, the ac currents are kept balanced and the dc-link voltage is constant under the unbalanced voltage fault conditions. The simulation results based on a detailed PSCAD/EMTDC model confirm the effectiveness of the proposed control method.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2014.07a
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• pp.389-390
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• 2014

고압직류송전 (High Voltage Direct Current, HVDC) 시스템의 모듈형 멀티레벨 컨버터 (Modular Multilevel Converter, MMC)는 EMT (Electromagnetic Transients) 시뮬레이션으로 구현 시 많은 연산시간을 요구하므로 시간 단축을 위한 가속설계가 반드시 필요하다. 본 논문에서는 스위칭 함수를 이용한 등가 모델을 이용하여 각 암을 하나의 전압원으로 단순화하였다. 본 가속모델의 유효성을 검증하기 위해 PSCAD/EMTDC에서 제공하는 반도체 스위치를 이용한 모델과 비교하여 시뮬레이션 수행시간을 비교하였다.