• 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.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.