Practical Submodule Capacitor Sizing for Modular Multilevel Converter Considering Grid Faults

Submodule (SM) capacitors are key elements in the modular multilevel converter (MMC), the design of which influences the entire system performance. In practical cases, SM capacitor sizing must consider the abnormal system operation (e.g., grid faults). In order to find a clear design boundary for SM capacitors, a practical capacitor sizing method is presented for the first time in this paper, considering the grid-fault-ride-through operation of the MMC, impact of MMC control system, and aging mechanism of capacitors. The SM capacitor rated voltage, capacitance, ESR, thermal resistance, and lifetime can be decided to ensure reliable operations of the MMC during grid faults. The effectiveness of the proposed method has been verified through experimental tests on a down-scale MMC system.Published versio

Strategies for decoupling internal and external dynamics resulting from inter-arm passive component tolerances in HVDC-MMC

Modular Multilevel Converter (MMC) performance may be adversely affected by passive component tolerances, such as submodule capacitance and arm inductance variations. Depending on control strategies, the differences in equivalent capacitances and/or inductances of the upper and lower arms of one phase-leg can cause unequal power distribution between upper and lower arms. Assuming passive component tolerances ranging between ±10%, this paper presents a comprehensive assessment of the internal/external coupling effects due to the passive component tolerances within one phase-leg, under the control of common MMC balancing methods. A novel control strategy is proposed to suppress the fundamental component that arises in the dc-link current due to such tolerances, and its effectiveness is demonstrated via simulation and experimentation. The investigation shows that voltage-based common and differential mode balancing control provides effective ac offset suppression while the proposed method offers superior performance in terms of dc-link fundamental current ripple suppression

Control design of Modular Multilevel Converters in normal and AC fault conditions for HVDC grids

This paper describes a control design strategy of Modular Multilevel Converters (MMC) for High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) applications to operate during normal and AC fault conditions. First, a steady state analysis of the converter is performed to identify the uses of the current components within the control strategy. Based on the initial stationary study, a complete converter control structure is proposed, which enables full control of the MMC internal energy during normal and AC fault conditions. A detailed design procedure is included for the current and energy regulators, in order to be able to ensure a dynamic response under any grid condition. Finally, theoretical developments are validated through simulation results by means of a detailed model in normal operation and during an AC voltage sag

New AC–AC Modular Multilevel Converter Solution for Medium-Voltage Machine-Drive Applications:Modular Multilevel Series Converter

Due to its scalability, reliability, high power quality and flexibility, the modular multilevel converter is the standard solution for high-power high-voltage applications in which an AC–DC–AC connection is required such as high-voltage direct-current transmission systems. However, this converter presents some undesired features from both structural and operational perspectives. For example, it presents a high number of components, which results in high costs, size, weight and conduction losses. Moreover, the modular multilevel converter presents problems dealing with DC-side faults, with unbalanced grid conditions, and many internal control loops are required for its proper operation. In variable-frequency operation, the modular multilevel converter presents some serious limitations. The most critical are the high-voltage ripples, in the submodule capacitors, at low frequencies. Thus, many different AC–AC converter solutions, with modular multilevel structure, have been proposed as alternatives for high-power machine-drive applications such as offshore wind turbines, pumped-hydro-storage systems and industrial motor drives. These converters present their own drawbacks mostly related to control complexity, operational limitations, size and weight. This paper introduces an entirely new medium-voltage AC–AC modular multilevel converter solution with many operational and structural advantages in comparison to the modular multilevel converter and other alternative topologies. The proposed converter presents high performance at low frequencies, regarding the amplitude of the voltage ripples in the submodule capacitors, which could make it very suitable for machine-drive applications. In this paper, an analytical description of the voltage ripples in the submodule capacitors is proposed, which proves the high performance of the converter under low-frequency operation. Moreover, the proposed converter presents high performance under unbalanced grid conditions. This important feature is demonstrated through simulation results. The converter solution introduced in this paper has a simple structure, with decoupled phases, which leads to the absence of undesired circulating currents and to a straightforward control, with very few internal control loops for its proper operation, and with simple modulation. Since the converter phases are decoupled, no arm inductors are required, which contributes to the weight and size reduction of the topology. In this paper, a detailed comparison analysis with the modular multilevel converter is presented based on number of components, conduction and switching losses. This analysis concludes that the proposed converter solution presents a reduction in costs and an expressive reduction in size and weight, in comparison to the modular multilevel converter. Thus, it should be a promising solution for high-power machine-drive applications that require compactness and lightness such as offshore wind turbines. In this paper, simulation results are presented explaining the behavior of the proposed converter, proving that it is capable of synthesizing a high-power-quality load voltage, with variable frequency, while exchanging power with the grid. Thus, this topology could be used to control the machine speed in a machine-drive application. Finally, experimental results are provided to validate the topology

Five-Level Flying Capacitor Converter used as a Static Compensator for Current Unbalances in Three-Phase Distribution Systems

This thesis presents and evaluates a solution for unbalanced current loading in three-phase distribution systems. The proposed solution uses the flying capacitor multilevel converter as its main topology for an application known as Unbalanced Current Static Compensator. The fundamental theory, controller design and prototype construction will be presented along with the experimental results. The Unbalanced Current Static Compensator main objective is the balancing of the up-stream currents from the installation point to eliminate the negative- and zero-sequence currents originated by unbalanced single-phase loads. Three separate single-phase flying capacitor converters are controlled independently using a d-q rotating reference frame algorithm to allow easier compensation of reactive power. Simulations of the system were developed in MATLAB/SIMULINK™ in order to validate the design parameters; then, testing of the UCSC prototype was performed to confirm the control algorithm functionality. Finally, experimental result are presented and analyzed