Submodule power losses balancing algorithms for the modular multilevel converter

Picas, R.; Pou, J.; Zaragoza, J.; Watson, A.; Konstantinou, G.; Ceballos, S.; Clare, J.

Abstract

Tolerance and component aging can cause significant differences in the capacitance values of the submodules (SMs) in a modular multilevel converter (MMC). Depending on the modulation technique, capacitance mismatches may produce uneven switching transitions of the SMs, hence imbalances in the power losses that can lead to reliability problems. In this paper, a new algorithm that helps to achieve evenly distributed switching and conduction losses within the converter SMs is presented. The proposed algorithm is based on a modification of the common voltage balancing algorithms, balancing a weighted function of voltage and losses. Even distribution of power losses is achieved at the cost of slightly increasing the capacitor voltage ripples. The effectiveness of the strategy has been demonstrated by simulation results of a high-power grid-connected MMC.

Citation

Picas, R., Pou, J., Zaragoza, J., Watson, A., Konstantinou, G., Ceballos, S., & Clare, J. (2016, October). Submodule power losses balancing algorithms for the modular multilevel converter. Presented at 42nd Annual Conference of IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2016), Florence, Italy

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: 42nd Annual Conference of IEEE Industrial Electronics Society (IECON 2016)
• Start Date: Oct 23, 2016
• End Date: Oct 26, 2016
• Acceptance Date: Jun 24, 2016
• Publication Date: 2016
• Deposit Date: Feb 8, 2017
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 8, 2017
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 5064-5069
• Book Title: IECON 2016 Proceedings - 42nd Annual Conference of the IEEE Industrial Electronics Society
• ISBN: 978-1-5090-3475-8
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/IECON.2016.7793381
• Keywords: Modular multilevel converter, Power losses, Capacitor voltage ripples, Reliability improvement
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/821528
• Publisher URL: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7793381/
• Related Public URLs: http://www.iecon2016.org/
• Additional Information: © 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.
• Contract Date: Feb 8, 2017