• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.1088-1096
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• 2017

Load variations on a distribution line result in voltage fluctuations at the point of common coupling (PCC). In order to keep the magnitude of the PCC voltage constant at its rated value and obtain zero voltage regulation (ZVR), a D-STATCOM is installed for voltage correction. Moreover, the ZVR mode of a D-STATCOM can also be used to balance the source current during unbalanced loading. For medium voltage and high power applications, a D-STATCOM is realized by the cascaded H-bridge topology. In the ZVR mode, the D-STATCOM may draw unbalanced current and in this process is required to handle different phase powers leading to deviations in the cluster voltages. Zero sequence voltage needs to be injected for ZVR mode, which creates circulating power among the phases of the D-STATCOM. The computed zero sequence voltage and the individual DC capacitor balancing controller help the DC cluster voltage follow the reference voltage. The effectiveness of the control scheme is verified by modeling the system in MATLAB/SIMULINK. The obtained simulations are further validated by the experimental results using a dSPACE DS1106 and five-level D-STATCOM experimental set up.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.1
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• pp.240-249
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• 2018

Individual DC voltage balance problem is an inherent issue for cascaded H-bridge (CHB) based converter. When the CHB-based static synchronous compensator (STATCOM) is operating at zero current mode, the software-based individual DC voltage balancing control techniques may not work because of the infinitesimal output current. However, the different power losses of each cell would lead to the individual DC voltages unbalance. The uneven power losses on the local supplied cell-controllers (including the control circuit and drive circuit) would especially cause the divergence of individual DC voltages, due to their characteristic as constant power loads. To solve this problem, this paper proposes an adaptive voltage balancing module which is designed in the cell-controller board with small size and low cost circuits. It is controlled to make the power loss of the cell a constant resistance load, thus the DC voltages are balanced in zero current mode. Field test in a 10kV STATCOM confirms the performance of the proposed method.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.9 no.2
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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.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2013.07a
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• pp.536-537
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• 2013

전기로와 같은 고압, 대용량의 산업응용분야에서 전원 안정화를 목적으로 하는 변동부하에 의해 발생되는 정상분 및 역상분의 무효전력을 보상하기 위한 고성능의 STATCOM의 개발이 요구되었다. 본 논문에서는 POSCO ICT에서 개발한 22.9kV 5MVA STATCOM(static synchronous compensator)에 대해 기술하였다. 개발된 STATCOM은 다단 멀티레벨 컨버터(Cascaded Multilevel Converter) 방식으로 Delta 구성하였으며, 각상당 12개의 H-Bridge Inverter가 직렬로 구성되어 25 레벨의 전압을 출력한다.

• Journal of Electrical Engineering and Technology
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.1528-1538
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• 2018

In this paper, configuration of $1-{\phi}$ seven-level boost DC-link cascade based reversing voltage multilevel inverter (BDCLCRV MLI) is proposed for uninterrupted power supply (UPS) applications. It consists of three level boost converter, level generation unit and full bridge circuit for polarity generation. When compared with conventional boost cascaded H-bridge MLI configurations, the proposed system results in reduction of DC sources, reduced power switches and gate drive requirements. Inverter switching is accomplished by providing appropriate switching angles that is generated by any optimization switching angle techniques. Here, round modulation control (RMC) method is taken as the optimization method and switching angles are derived and the same is compared with various switching angles methods i.e., equal-phase (EP) method, and half-equal-phase (HEP) method which results in improved quality of obtained AC power with lowest total harmonic distortion (THD). Reduction in DC sources and switch count makes the system more cost effective. A simulation and prototype model of $1-{\phi}$ seven-level BDCLCRV MLI system is developed and its performance is analyzed for various operating conditions.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.222-231
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• 2017

In this paper, a new architecture for a cost-effective power conditioning systems (PCS) using a single-sourced asymmetric cascaded H-bridge multilevel inverter (MLI) for photovoltaic (PV) applications is proposed. The asymmetric MLI topology has a reduced number of parts compared to the symmetrical type for the same number of voltage level. However, the modulation index threshold related to the drop in the number of levels of the inverter output is higher than that of the symmetrical MLI. This problem results in a modulation index limitation which is relatively higher than that of the symmetrical MLI. Hence, an extra voltage pre-regulator becomes a necessary component in the PCS under a wide operating bias variation. In addition to pre-stage voltage regulation for the constant MLI dc-links, another auxiliary pre-regulator should provide isolation and voltage balance among the multiple H-bridge cells in the asymmetrical MLI as well as the symmetrical ones. The proposed PCS uses a single-ended DC-DC converter topology with a coupled inductor and charge-pump circuit to satisfy all of the aforementioned requirements. Since the proposed integrated-type voltage pre-regulator circuit uses only a single MOSFET switch and a single magnetic component, the size and cost of the PCS is an optimal trade-off. In addition, the voltage balance between the separate H-bridge cells is automatically maintained by the number of turns in the coupled inductor transformer regardless of the duty cycle, which eliminates the need for an extra voltage regulator for the auxiliary H-bridge in MLIs. The voltage balance is also maintained under the discontinuous conduction mode (DCM). Thus, the PCS is also operational during light load conditions. The proposed architecture can apply the module-integrated converter (MIC) concept to perform distributed MPPT. The proposed architecture is analyzed and verified for a 7-level asymmetric MLI, using simulation results and a hardware implementation.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2016.11a
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• pp.73-74
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• 2016

본 논문은 포워드-플라이백 컨버터와 태양광 단일 전원 비대칭 다단식 H-bridge 다중 레벨 인버터를 적용한 태양광 전력 조절 시스템에 관한 논문이다. 이는 기존에 연구되었던 대칭형 다단식 H-Brdige 다중 레벨 인버터나 플라이백 컨버터를 사용한 태양광 전력 조절 시스템의 단점을 보완 한 것이다. 대칭형 다단식 멀티 레벨 인버터는 각 H-Bridge 구조 마다 독립된 전원이 필요하지만, 포워드-플라이백(Foward-Flyback) 컨버터를 접목시켜 단일 태양광 전원으로 하나의 다단식 H-Brdige 인버터를 구성 할 수 있고, 또한 기존의 플라이백 컨버터를 포워드-플라이백 컨버터로 대체 하면서 기존 대비 대용량 설비가 용이하고 효율적인 태양광 전력 조절 시스템을 설계 할 수 있다. 제안한 시스템의 가능성을 확인하기 위하여, PSIM 시뮬레이션을 통해 계통 연계형 1kW급 태양광 시스템의 최대 전력 추종 제어(Maximum Power Point Tracking)와 인버터의 $V_{dc}$ 전압 제어를 확인하였다.

• Proceedings of the KIPE Conference
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• 2017.07a
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• pp.433-434
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• 2017

기존의 전력 시스템에서 큰 부피를 차지하는 계통 주파수(50/60Hz) 변압기를 대체하기 위해서, 최근 전력용 반도체 변압기 SST(Solid State Transformer)에 대한 연구가 많이 수행되고 있다. AC/DC 컨버터는 높은 시스템 입력 전압에 대응 가능한 기존의 다양한 멀티레벨 컨버터 중 CHB (Cascaded H-bridge) 컨버터는 시스템 모듈화의 용이성과 상용 소자의 정격전압을 고려했을 때 반도체 변압기 시스템에 가장 많이 적용되고 있는 토폴로지이지만 각각의 H-bridge 컨버터 DC-link 전압의 불평형 문제가 발생한다. 본 논문에서는 CHB 컨버터의 전압 불평형을 해결하기 위하여 추가적인 센서가 필요없는 간단하고 실용적인 전압 불평형 보상 제어기를 제안한다.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.14 no.6
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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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• v.16 no.5
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• pp.1706-1715
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• 2016

In this paper, a single phase modified switched-diode topology for both symmetrical and asymmetrical cascaded multilevel inverters is presented. It consists of a Modified Switched-Diode Unit (MSDU) and a Twin Source Two Switch Unit (TSTSU) to produce distinct positive voltage levels according to the operating modes. An additional H-bridge synthesizes a voltage waveform, where the voltage levels of either polarity have less Total Harmonic Distortion (THD). Higher-level inverters can be built by cascading MSDUs. A comparative analysis is done with other topologies. The proposed topology results in reductions in the number of power switches, losses, installation area, voltage stress and converter cost. The Nearest Level Control (NLC) technique is employed to generate the gating signals for the power switches. To verify the performance of the proposed structure, simulation results are carried out by a PSIM under both steady state and dynamic conditions. Experimental results are presented to validate the simulation results.