• 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.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2013.07a
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• pp.399-400
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• 2013

본 논문에서는 수중음향 센서를 위한 전력증폭기용 전원회로로 멀티레벨 가변전압출력 AC-DC 컨버터의 제어 알고리즘을 제안한다. 제안하는 제어 알고리즘은 최종 출력으로 5-레벨 가변전압을 얻기 위한 2대의 Flying capacitor 3-level converter의 전력 균등분담 제어를 위해 사용되며, 플라잉 커패시터의 전압 밸런싱 제어를 위해 사용된다. 본 논문에서 제안하는 제어 알고리즘은 수중음향 센서를 위한 전력증폭기용 전원회로에서 유용하게 사용될 것으로 예상한다.

• The Transactions of the Korean Institute of Power Electronics
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.263-269
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• 2017

This paper proposes a novel circulating current control method for an MMC-HVDC system based on Vector PI control. The method can suppress second-order harmonics of the circulating currents under balanced and unbalanced grid conditions. The proposed method is robust to grid frequency variation. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified through frequency response and time domain simulation.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2015.11a
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• pp.161-162
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• 2015

본 논문은 수중음향센서용 전력증폭기를 위한 멀티레벨 가변 출력전압 AC/DC 컨버터를 제안한다. 제안하는 AC/DC 컨버터는 멀티레벨 가변출력전압을 얻기 위해 2개의 flying-capacitor 3-level converters와 하나의 다이오드 브리지 회로로 구성되어 있다. 또한 본 논문에서는 제안하는 AC/DC 컨버터의 상세 회로도와 설계 가이드라인을 제시하였다.

• KEPCO Journal on Electric Power and Energy
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.47-53
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• 2018

VSC technology is now well established in HVDC and is, in many respects, complementary to the older Line Commutated Converter (LCC) technology. Despite the various advantages of VSC technology, VSC HVDC stations have higher power losses than LCC stations. Although the relative advantages and disadvantages are well known within the industry, there have been very few attempts to quantify these factors on an objective basis. This paper describes methods to determine the operating losses of every component in the valve of VSC-HVDC system. The losses of the valve, including both conduction losses and switching losses, are treated in detail.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.558-572
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• 2018

In addition to its modular nature, a Hybrid Modular Multilevel Converter (HMMC) assembled from half-bridge and full-bridge sub-modules, is able to block DC faults with a minimum number of switching devices, which makes it attractive for high power applications. This paper introduces a control strategy based on the Root-Least Square (RLS) algorithm to estimate the capacitor voltages instead of using direct measurements. This action eliminates the need for voltage transducers in the HMMC sub-modules and the associated communication link with the central controller. In addition to capacitor voltage balancing and suppression of circulating currents, a fault tolerant control unit (FTCU) is integrated into the proposed strategy to modify the parameters of the HMMC controller. On advantage of the proposed FTCU is that it does not need extra components. Furthermore, a fault detection unit is adapted by utilizing a hybrid estimation scheme to detect sub-module faults. The behavior of the suggested technique is assessed using PSCAD offline simulations. In addition, it is validated using a real-time digital simulator connected to a real time controller under various normal and fault conditions. The proposed strategy shows robust performance in terms of accuracy and time response since it succeeds in stabilizing the HMMC under faults.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.65 no.10
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• pp.1655-1663
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• 2016

Recently the researches on Modular Multi-level Converter (MMC) are being highlighted because high quality and efficient power transmission are key issues in the High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission system. This paper proposes an improved pre-charging method for the sub-module capacitors in MMC that operates in Nearest Level Control (NLC) modulation. The proposed method does not require additional circuits or Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) techniques. The feasibility of proposed method was verified through computer simulations for a scaled 3-phase 10kVA MMC with 12 sub-modules per each arm. Hardware experiments with a scaled prototype were performed in the lab to confirm the simulation results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.6
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• pp.1178-1188
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• 2014

This study proposes a finite-state model predictive controller to regulate the load current and balance the DC-link capacitor voltages of a four-leg neutral-point-clamped converter. The discrete-time model of the converter, DC-link, inductive filter, and load is used to predict the future behavior of the load currents and the DC-link capacitor voltages for all possible switching states. The switching state that minimizes the cost function is selected and directly applied to the converter. The cost function is defined to minimize the error between the predicted load currents and their references, as well as to balance the DC-link capacitor voltages. Moreover, the current regulation performance is improved by using a two-step prediction horizon. The feasibility of the proposed predictive control scheme for different references and loads is verified through real-time implementation on the basis of dSPACEDS1103.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.432-444
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• 2018

This paper presents a capacitor voltage balancing topology using a three-level boost converter (TLBC) for a neutral point clamped (NPC) three-level inverter fed surface permanent magnet synchronous motor drive (SPMSM). It enhanced the performance of the drive in terms of its voltage THD and torque pulsation. The main attracting feature of the proposed control is the boosting of the input voltage and at the same time the balancing of the capacitor voltages. This control also reduces the computational complexity. For the purpose of close loop vector control, a software based cost effective resolver to digital converter RDC-less estimation is implemented to calculate the speed and position. The proposed drive is simulated in the MATLAB/SIMULINK environment and an experimental investigation using dSPACE DS1104 validates the proposed drive system at different operating condition.

• The Transactions of The Korean Institute of Electrical Engineers
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• v.63 no.12
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• pp.1640-1648
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• 2014

This paper proposes a switching frequency reduction method for MMC (Modular Multilevel Converter) utilizing redundancy operation of sub-module, which can offer reduction of voltage harmonics and switching loss. The feasibility of proposed method was verified through computer simulations with PSCAD/EMTDC software. Based on simulation analysis, a hardware scaled-model of 10kVA, DC-1000V MMC was designed and manufactured in the lab. Various experiments were conducted to verify the feasibility of proposed method in the actual hardware system. The hardware scaled-model can be effectively utilized for analyzing the performance of MMC according to the modulation scheme and redundancy operation.