• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.96-105
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• 2017

In this paper, a hybrid modular multilevel converter (MMC) topology with an improved nearest level modulation method is proposed for medium-voltage high-power applications. The arm of the proposed topology contains N series connected half-bridge submodules (HBSMs), one full-bridge submodule (FBSM) and an inductor. By exploiting the FBSM, half-level voltages are obtained in the arm voltages. Therefore, an output voltage with a 2N+1 level number can be generated. Moreover, the total level number of the inserted submodules (SMs) is a constant. Thus, there is no pulse voltage across the arm inductors, and the SM capacitor voltage is rated. With the proposed voltage balancing method, the capacitor voltage of the HBSM is twice the voltage of the FBSM, and each IGBT of the FBSM has a relatively low switching frequency and an equalized conduction loss. The capacitor voltage balancing methods of the two kinds of SMs are implemented independently. As a result, the switching frequency of the HBSM is not increased compared to the conventional MMC. In addition, according to a theoretical calculation of the total harmonic distortion of the electromotive force (EMF), the voltage quality with the presented method can be significantly enhanced when the SM number is relatively small. Simulation and experimental results obtained with a MMC-based inverter verify the validity of the developed method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.16 no.6
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• pp.2294-2305
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• 2016

The introduction of a high-voltage direct-current (HVDC) system based on a modular multilevel converter (MMC) for wind farm integration has stimulated studies on methods to control this type of converter. This research article focuses on the control of the AC voltage and circulating current for a wind-farm-side MMC (WFS-MMC). After theoretical analysis, emotional learning (EL) controllers are proposed for the controls. The EL controllers are derived from the learning mechanisms of the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex which make the WFS-MMC insensitive to variance in system parameters, power change, and fault in the grid. The d-axis and q-axis currents are respectively considered for the d-axis and q-axis voltage controls to improve the performance of AC voltage control. The practicability of the proposed control is verified under various conditions with a point-to-point MMC-HVDC system. Simulation results show that the proposed method is superior to the traditional proportional-integral controller.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.22 no.6
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• pp.476-483
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• 2017

In this paper, a voltage-based model predictive control (MPC) scheme for a modular multilevel converter is used to reduce switching loss. The proposed method calculates an offset voltage that clamps the switching operation of submodules in which the current greatly flows at every sampling period by using the reference phase voltage and the reference phase current. To use the offset voltage, the proposed method converts the current-based MPC to the voltage-based MPC. The proposed voltage-based MPC then generates a new reference pole voltage that clamps the switching of submodules by applying the calculated offset voltage to the phase voltage. Therefore, the proposed method can reduce the switching loss by stopping the switching operation of submodules in which the current greatly flows. The switching loss reduction effect of the proposed method is verified by comparing its loss data with those of the conventional MPC method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.3
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• pp.714-726
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• 2019

This paper proposes a hybrid-boost Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) for the Medium-Voltage (MV) Variable Speed Drives (VSDs) employed in subsea applications, such as oil and gas recovery. In the presented architecture, a hybrid-boost MMC with a reduced number of semiconductor devices driving a multiphase Induction Machine (IM) is investigated. The stepped output voltage generated by the MMC reduces or eliminates the filtering requirements. Moreover, the boosting capability of the proposed architecture eliminates the need for bulky low-frequency transformers at the converter output terminals. A detailed illustration of the hybrid-boost MMC operation, the expected limitations/constraints, and the voltage balancing technique are presented. A simulation model of the proposed MV hybrid-boost MMC-based five-phase IM drive has been built to investigate the system performance. Finally, a downscaled prototype has been constructed for experimental verification.

• 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 Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.11 no.4
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• pp.829-838
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• 2016

This paper focuses on the engineering trade-offs in designing capacitor voltage balancing schemes for modular multilevel converters (MMC) HVDC: regulation performance and switching loss. MMC is driven by the on/off switch operation of numerous submodules and the key design concern is balancing submodule capacitor voltages minimizing switching transition among submodules because it represents the voltage regulation performance and system loss. This paper first introduces the state-of-the-art MMC-HVDC submodule capacitor voltage balancing methods reported in the literatures and discusses the trade-offs in designing these methods for HVDC application. This paper further proposes a submodule capacitor balancing scheme exploiting a control signal to flexibly interchange between the on-state and the off-state submodules. The proposed scheme enables desired performance-based voltage regulation and avoids unnecessary switching transitions among submodules, consequently reducing the switching loss. The flexibility and controllability particularly fit in high-level MMC HVDC applications where the aforementioned design trade-offs become more crucial. Simulation studies for MMC HVDC are performed to demonstrate the validity and effectiveness of the proposed capacitor voltage balancing algorithm.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.529-539
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• 2019

The modular multilevel converter (MMC) has become a promising topology for high-voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission systems. To control a MMC system properly, the ac-side current, circulating current and submodule (SM) capacitor voltage are taken into consideration. This paper proposes a low-computation indirect model predictive control (IMPC) strategy that takes advantages of the conventional MPC and has no weighting factors. The cost function and duty cycle are introduced to minimize the tracking error of the ac-side current and to eliminate the circulating current. An optimized merge sort (OMS) algorithm is applied to keep the SM capacitor voltages balanced. The proposed IMPC strategy effectively reduces the controller complexity and computational burden. In this paper, a discrete-time mathematical model of a MMC system is developed and the duty ratio of switching state is designed. In addition, a simulation of an eleven-level MMC system based on MATLAB/Simulink and a five-level experimental setup are built to evaluate the feasibility and performance of the proposed low-computation IMPC strategy.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.282-291
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• 2014

This paper presents a detailed theoretical analysis and performance assessment of the capacitor voltage balancing strategies for staircase modulated modular multilevel converters (MMC) in terms of the algorithm structures, voltage balancing effect, and switching frequency. A constant-frequency redundancy selection (CFRS) method with minimal switching loss is proposed and the function realization of specific modules of the algorithm is given. This method is simple and efficient in both switching frequency and regulation capacity. Laboratory results show very good agreement with the theoretical analysis and numerical simulations.

• 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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• 2013.11a
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• pp.79-80
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• 2013

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 synchronous COMpensator)을 MMC 형태로 제작하였다. 제작된 5Mvar급 STATCOM은 한 상당 12대의 Power Module로 구성하여 25-Level로 제작되었다. 제어시스템은 DSP(Digital Signal Processor)를 이용하였으며, 하나의 Main Controller와 다수의 Cell Controller, FPGA 보드 등으로 구성되어 있다. Controller 간의 상호 정보를 교환하기 위해 CAN 통신을 이용하였고, Power Module의 스위칭을 위한 보드는 각각에 연결되어 있으며, Cell Controller보드와는 절연을 위해 광신호로 연결하였다. 본 논문에서는 MMC 시스템의 제어기간 CAN 통신인터페이스와 Power Module의 PWM 동기화에 대해 설명을 하였다.