Modulated Model Predictive Control with Branch and Band Scheme for Unbalanced Load Compensation by MMCC-STATCOM

This paper presents a novel modulated model- predictive control (MMPC) scheme for Modular Multilevel Cascaded Converter-based STATCOMs (MMCC-STATCOM) to compensate unbalanced load current and regulate reactive power flow. By adding a common mode voltage (CMV) to the phase-voltages of the star-connected MMCC current model, the method allows natural injection of a non-sinusoidal voltage to the neutral point of the converter, hence achieving inter-phase cluster voltage balance. Moreover the imposed CMV is shown to extend the operating ranges of MMCC STATCOMs when used for negative sequence current compensation. The proposed MMPC method incorporates a modified branch and bound (B&B) algorithm to optimize the per-phase switch duty ratios. It is shown to be computationally more efficient compared to model-predictive control schemes using optimal voltage level method combined with voltage sorting schemes. Experimental results with different weighting factors confirm the effectiveness of this control scheme, and compared favorably with the conventional scheme of injecting only a sinusoidal zero sequence voltage

Modulated Model Predictive Control with Common Mode Voltage Injection for MMCC-STATCOM Based Unbalanced Load Compensation

This paper presents a novel modulated model- predictive control (MMPC) scheme for Modular Multilevel Cascaded Converter-based STATCOMs (MMCC-STATCOM) to compensate unbalanced load current and regulate reactive power flow. By adding a common mode voltage (CMV) to the phase-voltages of the star-connected MMCC current model, the method allows natural injection of a non-sinusoidal voltage to the neutral point of the converter, hence achieving inter-phase cluster voltage balance. Moreover the imposed CMV is shown to extend the operating ranges of MMCC STATCOMs when used for negative sequence current compensation. The proposed MMPC method incorporates a modified branch and bound (B&B) algorithm to optimize the per-phase switch duty ratios. It is shown to be computationally more efficient compared to model-predictive control schemes using optimal voltage level method combined with voltage sorting schemes. Experimental results with different weighting factors confirm the effectiveness of this control scheme, and compared favorably with the conventional scheme of injecting only a sinusoidal zero sequence voltage

Power Converters in Power Electronics

In recent years, power converters have played an important role in power electronics technology for different applications, such as renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, pulsed power generation, and biomedical sciences. Power converters, in the realm of power electronics, are becoming essential for generating electrical power energy in various ways. This Special Issue focuses on the development of novel power converter topologies in power electronics. The topics of interest include, but are not limited to: Z-source converters; multilevel power converter topologies; switched-capacitor-based power converters; power converters for battery management systems; power converters in wireless power transfer techniques; the reliability of power conversion systems; and modulation techniques for advanced power converters

Comparative Analysis of Multilevel Converters for Medium-Voltage Applications

The electric energy demand has been steadily growing during the last century, and all forecasts indicate that it will keep growing in the following years. Within this frame, and due to all the problems that this demand increase generate in the environment, it is necessary improving the current techniques of electric energy conversion and transmission in order to increase the whole system efficiency. On the other hand, it is also necessary increasing the renewable energy resources exploitation through more efficient generation systems. According to these lines, the power electronics systems that have been installed in the last decades allowed to obtain better efficiency from the renewable natural resources like the wind or the solar power. These systems have also notably improved the quality of the power supplied, reducing the losses through what are known as power quality applications. Power converters are currently essential in any power electronics system. Within them, the multilevel converters specially suppose a breakthrough compared with the classical two level converters, as they allow obtaining voltage and current signals with lower harmonic content, what means fewer losses in high power medium voltage applications. In this Thesis a comparative study of some multilevel converter topologies normally used in high power medium voltage applications is done. The objective is analyzing in detail each topology and comparing it with the rest following different criteria, with the aim to know the advantages and drawbacks of each one and to realize which one is more suitable for each application

Intelligent STATCOM Voltage Regulation using Fuzzy Logic Control

Reactive power compensation is a very important and challenging task in electrical power systems today. Future trends foreseen in power systems such as high interconnectivity and the integration of renewable energy resources produce even more issues related to power system control and stability. Flexible AC transmission systems are vastly used in power systems in order to mitigate several performance aspects found in typical power systems. One shunt connected device in particular, STATCOM, is very powerful and commonly used in voltage regulation at the power transmission level. STATCOM uses voltage sourced converters to inject or absorb reactive power from the power grid as commanded to stabilize the transmission line voltage at the point of connection. The control of STATCOM has relied historically on using traditional PI controllers, however, since the dynamic response of STATCOM highly affects its ability to perform its task, improving the capabilities of STATCOM using more advanced control approaches has become vital for both manufacturers and power systems operators. Fuzzy logic control, as one area of artificial intelligence techniques, has been emerging in recent years as a complement to the conventional methods in various areas of power systems control. The most significant advantage of fuzzy controller as an intelligent controller is that it doesn’t require mathematical modelling. It is robust and nonlinear in its nature, and expert’s knowledge can be utilized in generating control rules. The main contribution is to use fuzzy logic control theory to design a pure fuzzy logic control and another fuzzy adaptive PI control strategies for STATCOM that are superior in performance to traditional PI control approach. This will increase STATCOM’s ability to seamlessly perform their task in voltage regulation. This work investigates the performance of classical PI controlled STATCOM then compares it with fuzzy logic based STATCOM and fuzzy adaptive PI controlled STATCOM. Simulations done using MATLAB on a three generator test system show that adaptive fuzzy PI control technique is faster in responding to voltage variations and better in tracking the reactive current reference. Results also show that a direct control using fuzzy logic provides even faster voltage regulation and acts almost as a perfect tracker for reference reactive current

Study and evaluation of distributed power electronic converters in photovoltaic generation applications

This research project has proposed a new modulation technique called “Local Carrier Pulse Width Modulation” (LC-PWM) for MMCs with different cell voltages, taking into account the measured cell voltages to generate switching sequences with more accurate timing. It also adapts the modulator sampling period to improve the transitions from level to level, an important issue to reduce noise at the internal circulating currents. As a result, the new modulation LC-PWM technique reduces the output distortion in a wider range of voltage situations. Furthermore, it effectively eliminates unnecessary AC components of circulating currents, resulting in lower power losses and higher MMC efficiency.Departamento de Tecnología ElectrónicaDoctorado en Ingeniería Industria

Investigation of FACTS devices to improve power quality in distribution networks

Flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) technologies are power electronic solutions that improve power transmission through enhanced power transfer volume and stability, and resolve quality and reliability issues in distribution networks carrying sensitive equipment and non-linear loads. The use of FACTS in distribution systems is still in its infancy. Voltages and power ratings in distribution networks are at a level where realistic FACTS devices can be deployed. Efficient power converters and therefore loss minimisation are crucial prerequisites for deployment of FACTS devices. This thesis investigates high power semiconductor device losses in detail. Analytical closed form equations are developed for conduction loss in power devices as a function of device ratings and operating conditions. These formulae have been shown to predict losses very accurately, in line with manufacturer data. The developed formulae enable circuit designers to quickly estimate circuit losses and determine the sensitivity of those losses to device voltage and current ratings, and thus select the optimal semiconductor device for a specific application. It is shown that in the case of majority carrier devices (such as power MOSFETs), the conduction power loss (at rated current) increases linearly in relation to the varying rated current (at constant blocking voltage), but is a square root of the variable blocking voltage when rated current is fixed. For minority carrier devices (such as a pin diode or IGBT), a similar relationship is observed for varying current, however where the blocking voltage is altered, power losses are derived as a square root with an offset (from the origin). Finally, this thesis conducts a power loss-oriented evaluation of cascade type multilevel converters suited to reactive power compensation in 11kV and 33kV systems. The cascade cell converter is constructed from a series arrangement of cell modules. Two prospective structures of cascade type converters were compared as a case study: the traditional type which uses equal-sized cells in its chain, and a second with a ternary relationship between its dc-link voltages. Modelling (at 81 and 27 levels) was carried out under steady state conditions, with simplified models based on the switching function and using standard circuit simulators. A detailed survey of non punch through (NPT) and punch through (PT) IGBTs was completed for the purpose of designing the two cascaded converters. Results show that conduction losses are dominant in both types of converters in NPT and PT IGBTs for 11kV and 33kV systems. The equal-sized converter is only likely to be useful in one case (27-levels in the 33kV system). The ternary-sequence converter produces lower losses in all other cases, and this is especially noticeable for the 81-level converter operating in an 11kV network