Article
Module implementation and modulation strategy for sensorless balancing in modular multilevel converters
Registro en:
IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics, Volume 34, Issue 9 , September 2019, pages: 8405 - 8416
Autor
Li, Zhongxi
Lizana F., Ricardo
Peterchev, Angel V.
Sha, Sha
Yu, Zhujun
Peterchev, Angel V.
Goetz, Stefan M.
Resumen
Artículo de publicación SCOPUS Modules with series and parallel connectivity add new features and operation modes to modular multilevel converters (MMCs). Compared to full- and half-bridges, the series/parallel modules allow sensorless module balancing and reduce conduction loss with the same semiconductor area. However, in high-voltage applications with limited switching rates, the sensorless operation of the series/parallel modules suffers from large charge-balancing currents. This paper introduces a series/parallel module variant with a small port inductor. The port inductor suppresses the charge-balancing current despite low switching rates. We also propose a carrier-based modulation framework and show the importance of the carrier assignment in terms of efficiency and balancing. The proposed module and the modulation method are verified on a lab setup with module switching rates down to 200 Hz. The module voltages are kept within a narrow band with the charge-balancing currents below 5% of the arm current. The experimental results show practicality and advantages of the new series/parallel modules in high-voltage MMC applications.