• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제19권2호
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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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• 제16권1호
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• pp.142-152
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• 2016

Common mode voltage (CMV) generation is a major problem in switching power converter fed induction motor drive systems. CMV is the zero sequence voltage generated due to the switching action of power converters. Even a small magnitude of CMV with a high rate of change may circulate large bearing currents which may damage a machine's bearings and shorten its life. There are several methods of controlling CMV. This paper presents 3-level sinusoidal pulse width modulation based techniques to control the magnitude and rate of change of CMV in multilevel AC-DC-AC drive systems. Simulation and experimental investigations have been presented to validate the performance of proposed technique to control CMV in 3-level neutral point clamped inverter based AC-DC-AC system.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제14권6호
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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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• 제9권2호
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• pp.133-145
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• 2009

In this paper a modular high performance MV-to-LV rectifier based on a cascaded H-bridge rectifier is presented. The proposed rectifier can directly connect to the medium voltage levels and provide a low-voltage and highly-stable DC interface with the consumer applications. The input stage eliminates the necessity for heavy and bulky step-down transformers. It corrects the input power factor and maintains the voltage balance among the individual DC buses. The second stage includes the high frequency parallel-output DC/DC converters which prepares the galvanic isolation, regulates the output voltage, and attenuates the low frequency voltage ripple ($2f_{line}$) generated by the first stage. The parallel-output converters can work in interleaving mode and the active load-current sharing technique is utilized to balance the load power among them. The detailed analysis for modeling and control of the proposed structure is presented. The validity and performance of the proposed topology is verified by simulation and experimental results.

• 전력전자학회:학술대회논문집
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• 전력전자학회 2018년도 전력전자학술대회
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• pp.288-289
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• 2018

In this paper, the coupled inductor scheme instead of noncoupled inductors is suggested to reduce the dimension, weight and cost of the magnetic core. The simulation results have verified the effectiveness of the flying-capacitor MMC with coupled inductors and its control method for medium-voltage induction motor drives at low-speed operation.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제15권3호
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• pp.660-669
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• 2015

This paper presents a control scheme with a focus on the combination of phase disposition pulse width modulation (PDPWM) and DC capacitor voltage control for a chopper-cell based modular multilevel converter (MMC) for the purpose of eliminating the time-consuming voltage sorting algorithm and complex voltage balancing regulators. In this paper, the convergence of the DC capacitor voltages within one arm is realized by charging the minimum voltage module and discharging the maximum voltage module during each switching cycle with the assistances of MAX/MIN capacitor voltage detection and PDPWM signals exchanging. The process of voltage balancing control introduces no extra switching commutation, which is helpful in reducing power loss and improving system efficiency. Additionally, the proposed control scheme also possess the merit of a simple executing procedure in application. Simulation and experimental results indicates that the MMC circuit together with the proposed method functions very well in balancing the DC capacitor voltage and improving system efficiency even under transient states.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제14권6호
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• pp.1081-1092
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• 2014

Renewable energy is being spotlighted as the electric power generating source for the next generation. Due to an increase in renewable energy systems in the grid system, their impact on the grid has become non-negligible. Thus, many countries in the world, including Europe, present their own grid codes for grid power conversion devices. In order to experiment with these grid codes, grid fault test equipment is required. This paper proposes both equipment and a control method, which are constructed with a 7-level cascaded H-bridge converter, that are capable of generating various grid faults. In addition, the Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) method for multilevel converters is compared and analyzed. The proposed structure, the control method, and the PWM method are verified through simulation and experimental results.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제18권2호
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• pp.467-481
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• 2018

Modular multilevel converter (MMC)-based high-voltage direct current (HVDC) presents attractive technical advantages and contributes to enhanced system operation and reduced oscillation damping in dynamic MMC-HVDC systems. We propose an advanced small-signal multi-terminal MMC-HVDC based on dynamic phasors and state space for power system stability analysis to enhance computational accuracy and reduce simulation time. In accordance with active and passive network control strategies for multi-terminal MMC-HVDC, the matchable small-signal stability models containing high harmonics and dynamics of internal variables are conducted, and a related theoretical derivation is carried out. The proposed advanced small-signal model is then compared with electromagnetic-transient and traditional small-signal state-space models by adopting a typical multi-terminal MMC-HVDC network with offshore wind generation. Simulation indicates that the advanced small-signal model can successfully follow the electromechanical transient response with small errors and can predict the damped oscillations. The validity and applicability of the proposed model are effectively confirmed.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• 제17권5호
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• pp.1186-1194
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• 2017

This paper proposes an improved low frequency Selective Harmonic Mitigation-PWM (SHM-PWM) technique. The proposed method mitigates the low order harmonics of the output voltage up to the $50^{th}$ harmonic well and satisfies the grid codes EN 50160 and CIGRE-WG 36-05. Using a modified criterion for the switching angles, the range of the modulation index for non-linear SHM equations is improved, without increasing the switching frequency of the CHB converter. Due to the low switching frequency of the CHB converter, mitigating the harmonics of the converter up to the $50^{th}$ order and finding a wider modulation index range, the size and cost of the passive filters can be significantly reduced with the proposed technique. Therefore, the proposed technique is more efficient than the conventional SHM-PWM. To verify the effectiveness of the proposed method, a 7-level Cascaded H-bridge (CHB) converter is utilized for the study. Simulation and experimental results confirm the validity of the above claims.

• 전기전자학회논문지
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• 제27권4호
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• pp.430-438
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• 2023

The Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) has emerged as a key component in HVDC systems due to its ability to efficiently transmit large amounts of power over long distances. In such systems, accurate estimation of the MMC capacitor voltage is of utmost importance for ensuring optimal system performance, stability, and reliability. Traditional methods for voltage estimation may face limitations in accuracy and robustness, prompting the need for innovative approaches. In this paper, we propose a novel distributed neural network observer specifically designed for MMC capacitor voltage estimation. Our observer harnesses the power of a multi-layer neural network architecture, which enables the observer to learn and adapt to the complex dynamics of the MMC system. By utilizing a distributed approach, we deploy multiple observers, each with its own set of neural network layers, to collectively estimate the capacitor voltage. This distributed configuration enhances the accuracy and robustness of the voltage estimation process. A crucial aspect of our observer's performance lies in the meticulous initialization of random weights within the neural network. This initialization process ensures that the observer starts with a solid foundation for efficient learning and accurate voltage estimation. The observer iteratively updates its weights based on the observed voltage and current values, continuously improving its estimation accuracy over time. The validity of proposed algorithm is verified by the result of estimated voltage at each observer in capacitor of MMC.